The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1807-12-23 00:00:00

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Famigit-Ofice, Nee. 19, 11107.
A dispatch, of which the following is a copy, hat
been this day received from Lord Viscount Strang-
ford, His Majesty's Minister Plenipotentiary at the
Courtot Lisbon, by the Right Honourable George
Canning, His Majesty's Principal Secretary of State
for Foreign Mfaus.
His Majesty's ship Hibernia, .' the Tape,
NorembAr 29, 1607.
Si have the honour of announcing to you,
that the Prince Regent of Portugal has effened the
wise and magnanimous purpose of retiring from a
kingdom which he could no longer retain, except as
the vassal cf France; and that His Royal Highness
and family, accompanied by most of his ships of
war, and by a mukitude of his faithful subjeas and
adherents, have this day departed from L:sbon, and
are now on their way to the Brazils, under the escort
of a British Sect.
ilk grand and memorable event is not to be ate
Vs-bated only to the sudden alarm excited by the ap-
pearance of a French army within the frontiers of
Portugal. It has been the genuine result of the
system of persevering confidence and moderation
adopted by His Majesty towards that country ; for
the ultimate success of which I had in a manner
rendered myself responsible ; at,4 which, in obeli-
.nee to your instruMinns, I had uniformly continued
to support, even under apfearanccs of the most din. 1
couraging nature.
I had frequently and distinntly stated to the Ca.
binet of Lisbon, that in agreeing not to resent the
exclusion of Btitish commerce from the ports of
Portugal, His Majesty had exhausted the means
of forbearance ; that in making that concession to
the peculiar circumstances of the Prince Regent's
situation, His Majesty had done all that friendship
and the remembr nice of ancient alliance could
justly require; but that a single step beyond the
line of modified hostility, thus most reluelautly
consented to, must necessarily lead to the extremity
of aiflual war.
The Prince Regent, however, suffered himself for
a moment to forget that, in the present state of Ee.
rope, no country could be permittelto be an enemy
to England with impunity, and that however much
His Majesty might be disposed to make allowance
for the deficiency of the means possessed by Form-
gal of resistance to the power of France, neither his
own dignity, nor the interests of his people, wotdd
permit tilts Majesty to accept that excuse for a efm-
pliance with the full extent of her unprincipleVde-
mends, On the nth instant, his Royal Highness
was jadaced to sign an order for the detemice of
the few British subjefts, and of the inzonsiderable
portico of British property, which yet remained at
it.lehon. Os das-publication of this ;sealer I ceased
the Arms of England to he removed front the gates
of my resilience, demanded my passports, presented
a filial remonstrance against the teem conduit of
the Court of Lisbon, and proceeded to the smnicfron
commanded by Sir Sidney Smith, which arrived ISr 1
the coast of Portugal some days after I had received
my passports, and which I joined on the 17th inst.
I immediately suggested to Sir Sidetn Smith the
expediency of establishing the moat rigorous block-
ade at the mouth of the Tagas ; and I had the
high satistaaion of afterwards findiog, that I had
thus anticipated the intentions of His Majesty ;
your dispatches (which 1 received by the Messenger
Bylvester,on the I 3,1) direning me to authorise that
Measure, ie case the Portuguese Government should
pass the bounds which His Majeny had thought fit
to set to his forbearance, and attempt to take any
farther step injurious to the honour or interests of
Great Btitain.

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Those Dispatches wet, drawn up under the idea
that I was still resident at Lisbon, and though I
did not receive them until I bad aetually taken :Ty
departure from that Court, still upon a careful:con.
sideration of the tenor of your instruCtioos, I thrui.l t
that it would be right in adt as if that case had r, t
occurred. I resolved, therefore, to proceed f 'rt/ -
with to ascertain the tffeEt produced by the blocl.-
ade of Lisbon, and to propose to the Portogue,e
Government, as the only condition upon which the t
blockade could cease, the alternative, stated by
you, either of surrendering the &et to His Majesty,
or of immediately employing it to remove the Print*
Regent and his family to the Brazils. I took upon
myself this responsibi,ity in mussing negotiations
after my puhlic Nations bad aaually ceased, con-
vinced that, although it was the fixed efneriumatioa
of His Majesty not to suffer the fleet of Portugal to
fall into the possession of his enemies, still His Ma-
jesty's first nbjt continued to be the application of
that fleet to the on purpose, of saving the
Royal Family of Bragatiza froas the tyranny of
France.

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I accordingly requested an audience of the Prince
Regent, together with due assurances ot protean a
and security ; and upon receiving His Royal .
ness's answer, I proceeded to Lisbon on the 27th,
His Majesty's snip Conaance, bearing a Bag cf
truce. I had immediately most intetestiog com-
munications with the Court of Lisbon, the parti-
culars of which shall be fully detailed in a loupe
Dispatch. It suffices to mention in this place, that
the Prince Regent wisely dire led all his apprehet.
*ions to a French army, and all his hopes to tot
English fleet; that he received the sr eiplici! as•
suratices from me that His Majesty would gene'.
ously ovesionk those ads of unwilling and mime!.
tary hostility to which His Royal Highness's en' .
sent hid been extorted; and that I promised to H
Royal Highness, on the faith ot my Sovereign,thi 2
the British squadron before the Tagus ',tmid been .
played to prittea his retreat from Lisbon, and his
voyage to the Brazils.
A Decree was published yesterday, in wlticti the
Prince Regent announced his insention of retiring
to the city ot Rio de Janeiro untll4lllWsion of
a general peace. and of apkt-•-
taanaaß the Admiaiatratian elf"-

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