The Sun.
London, England, 1814-08-20 00:00:00

BUENOS Al'itES GAZE'TTI

BUENOS AYRES, JutlF. 2.--On the 24th the
Stquetne Director had the singular satisfaction of
receiving the Orii ial Account of a Naval Action,
in which our Squadron was trioii►phant, under the
orders of the commaiuler-in-Chief, Colonel Guil-
lermo Brown. ;-*

Ti`hoard' the Hercules, in
front of Montt video, May 19th-, and states, that on
the 1401,6 e enemy's squadron,- consisting of four
corvettes.; three brigs; and several smaller vessels,
S;riled from the harbour..Of MOntevideo, with in-
tent• to .7-apt nre and carry into port the squadron
under the commaild of. Griill'ermo Brown, which
was .of sruallerfOrcc,..and -which, among other
vtssels, oi,sisted -of the corvettes Hercules, Bel-
fast; Agreeable, and Nancy 'brig." By various
maneer-ivres, which occupied the Whole of the 14th,
says,•he contrived to draw the enemy's squa-
dron to some distance from Montevideo.—
These manceuvres• were continued on the I'sth,
during 'which the enemy began to retire.—
"At two in the afternoon," he adds, " we
pursued them with. our sweep, 'the wind being
slry It, while the enemy endeavoured to avoidovr
corning np wish him in
.every possible way.. : At
last, in the evening, the lleretiles corvette came op
with the enemy, gesKet hem two broadsides; and
threw them into such confusion, that• in a few
minutes tin e..ig St. Jose, and the corvettes Nep-
tune 'and Palomo, surrendered. Smrie of the ene,
my',
.squari'ron availed thernseltes Of the moment
When we were taking poss;cs,tou •pf,' the . snrren-
der,l vessels, tosinake their escape under,coVec of
the night. One brig, however,,, and two smaller •
vessels, were cut off from port by tUe Hercules,
and having ran aground,
_the' crews.got off the
brig was captured, and The two Other vessels,'
burnt Tiros the provinces of the river Plate
base obtained a complete victory over an enemy'S
sqtradron ranch superior in force, with the trifling
loss of only two men killed, and one w,,unded.—
It would appear that thk y pro, used nothing . less
than cutting the. throats of 'all on board our squa-
dron. for- their crews were-at-mot with large
knives, a circumstance whieheould hardly he cre-
dited. Be this as it may,. I must particularly re-
commend that they be, all treated as prisoners of
war. They amount in number to about 500,
"among whom the proportion of officers is very
large.

" Next clay, General.Vigodet,-tlie Governor of

.
Montevideo, sent to me a flag of truce, with the
proposal subjoined, to which is annexed a copy of
my reply.: The officer who brought the flag of
truce, proposed that an exchange of priSoner
shonid take place, to which, however, I have not
acceded ; and, I trust, that my conduct, in this
respect, will meet the approbation of your Ex-
, cellency.

" The number of cannon of, various calibre
found on bbard the raptured vessels, amounts to
m
73, together. .ith 2500 usLets, and a due pro.
portion of
.-unition.
fined)

" GUILLERMO BROWN:"

Here follows the proposal transmitted from Ge-
Vigodet„ by a flag of truce
Circuinstances essentially
,connected with the
peculiarly agreeable intelligence which I have re-
ceived frcon,the
,Peninsula, by the Polacre which
yesterday anchored in these roads, and which
confirms:the accounts received some time before
by another channel, induce me to address your
Excellency, with a view of discovering whether
you are empowered, by, the Government to which
you belong, to enter into such negoeiation with
thiS fortress,. as may, probably, through the new
order of things, come to a happy termination. Jo
this Case 1 will proceed:to appoint deputies, who
stay discuss the means of,potting an end to the
contest, unhappily subsisting between utembers
of the same family ; and, in the mean time, it.
vould be proper that a cessation of hostilities
should take place. If your Vg.xcellency is arab°
rised to accede to either of these propositions, I
hope you ‘viii favour me with a passport for the
vessel a td deputies whom I wish to send to Bue-
nos Ayres, with the view that 1 have Mentioned
above.

(Signed) ,
May IS, 1614.

" GASPAR VIGODET."

ANS W ER.

" On board the Hercules, in front of Montevideo,
Nl:ty 19, ISI4.
have hid 'the honour of receiving
your Excellency's flag of truce, and in reply, 1
Tatist acquaint you, in the name of my Govern-
ment, that until Montevideo, its forts, arsenals,
ships of war, and all public property, be delivered
up to the arms of BIIQIIOS Ayres, no conditions
will, be listened to. The property and persons of
individuals shall be respected, and,: the military
unlit deliver. up their arms, as is: usual in surren-
ders at *discretion. Humanity requires this of
your Excellency.

" D, lose 'Obregon; your Excellency's Aid-de-
Camp, has begged. Of me au exchange of pri-
soners; which at present I
cannot accede to ; hut
my Government shall be informed of. both propo-
sals as speedily as possible.
" have the honour to be, 'exc.'
4.‘ GOILLERMO DROWN."

The same;papers contain a dispatch from Don
arlos de Alvear, General of the besieging army
of Montevideo, dated Miguelete, the 17th of
ay, detailing what lie saw of the above naval
_Action from the shore.

It appears thits the Government of Buenos
Ayres is now-In the hands-of a chief, who is
styled the SuPremc pirector. This personage has
published the following accoant of an abortive
p.....
706iation with the Governor'of Montevideo.
‘-‘ inhabitants of the United. 'Provinces—The
time arri;tedior satisfying thut curiosity which
has been justly excited in you by certain important
ineasuresi'-wbieh it was necess4a7y• to prepe.re, iu
slenee; rt:icl set about with circumspection.

" lttfluenqed by the suggestions of resptetabie
Ministers, and by my ardent widl to put an-end
0) the' calamities of war,' I proposed to the Go-
vernment Of itlontevideo, in concert with my
Council of State, a sopension of hostilities, upon

Soft and honourable tcrms. Wh4terer were the
, •
obstacles opposed by decorum and delicacy, I did
not hesitate' to send Deputies to Montevideo, for
J believed it always of the highest importance to
give this.- incontestable proor ot- the good faith
with which- I.was inclined to peace, and of th.e re-
spect lhd.deterence which I yielded to the mediat-
ing Wasters. •
The first steps of this. interesti-g: negocia-
tion inspired confident ho.pcs of-a favourahle:re-
sult: bu,sl t soonondeceived. The interven-

tiott-or•prete'xtsand dehiyi.soon proved, that the

. - .
Government of Montevidzo only wanted a Spe-
cious pretence to render useless the project. In'-
stead of entering frankly into negociations, gua-
ranteed by respectable Authorities, and turning
theta to the litst account in a noble and
coming manner, it .founded its hopes in
in-
trigues, and in the manoeuvres of obscure agents.
Far,froin promoting peace; Si necessary to the
public happiness, the Governor sought to pro
voice eraubat, by au insidious policy, indulging
himself-in seditious dis-Courses unbecoMing a Ma-
gistrate, and using the the- language of a timid
audacity, which appears endeavouring-to conceal
what it means to insinuate;--a hingnage, how-
ever, which ran deceive no.,One, and which disr
honouring him who adopts its- can produce nothing
useful to the State.

" In consequence of this unexpectedcontluct, I
ordered 1111 V Dcputiessto withdraw and retire to
Ctdonia. on their departure they ‘vereuvertakin
by a courier with a letter fibril the Governor of
gontevideo, in which, withdrawing from tte
bases proposed' for the armistice, •he laid down
others so incompatible with the principles of rea-
son and policy, as to be discreditable to the cotn-,
Anon sense of the• Governor of that fortress, un-
less it were obvious that they were drawn up with
- the view of for ever shutting the door to acconinio-
dation.
• " And, in truth, how could the Governor of
Montevideo.-imagine that Deputies Would be sent
to him, to agree to conditions of complete sub-
jection to his .pleasure ? Hence it is, that atter
having deeply irritated the authorities interested
in the'negociatiOn, belihs inflamed more violently
than ever o.e civil war in the;campaii.of Monte-
vtdeo,s,has endangered- the complete. am»hilation
of its opulence, and has aggravated the mutual ca-
lamities which war occasions.
Fathers of families, merchants, and' indi-
viduals of all clasies, both ye Who compose this
population, and those who are innocent Victims
within 'the walls of INlontevideo, it you see
your fortunes, wasting away, your families in
want, ar.d your sons perishing in the field of
battle, ascribe not to me calamities ‘vhich I would
wish to avert at the expence of ,my 'own life.
--Say, who has deceived your hopes, who
has provoked to war, who has shut the door of
peace and repose which was about to be opened
Your reply is the only mitigation of the 4fiiicrioil
of my heart in this severe situation. I have done
every thing that was in my power. I have done,'
for the sake of peace, much more than the Cap-
tain-General of Montevideo was entitled to ex-
pect. he from necessity or choice 'shuts his
ears to the voice of reason ; if nothing can avail-
in his tuind.,--neither the respectanle an, hority of
the MeditaPing Ministers, nor the advantages pre-'
sented by the 'armistice, nor:the te.lrs of the un-
fortunate, condemned to every kind of calamity,
nor the ruin of so many honoured citizens,----what
resource is lett but that of arms ?.

" Peace, however, is necessary to our exist-
ence ; -and since it cannot be obtained by nego-
eiation, it must be conquered', Slavery cannot
be denominated peace : an ikust and ignomini-
ous- submission, that. 1.1:14 is required of
-you--what other effect can it produce but that of
renderiug disturbance and i-evolution eternal
Hatred and distrust will always find pretexts for.
new acts of vrolenCe, and the desolation of the
country ix-ill be inevitlible.
" I will never subscribe to such condition's.—
Notliing shall ever induce me to sacrifice-your
rights and-your liberty. YOU yourselves Cannot
consent to it.' And since honour, justice, and an
irresistible „necessity require it, let us maintain.
the war to the last extremity. It is better to sa-
crifice our property and our existence, puce for
all, with glory, than to expoie ourselves ,to• a
death, infamous and prolonged'. s The Supreme
Being, the eternal protector of justice, will crown
our efforts with success ;•• will giie n stable and
lasting tranquillity. But, whatever may be t,he
fortune of our arms, my wishes for peace 'shall
be equally ardent : victory itself will Only be agree--
able to me, in so far as it promotes the terrhiutt-
;ot. this wait of the passions figaiitst itht:urc.
GERVASIO ANTONIO DE POSADAS"
" Castle of lilueu6s.A37es, May.l,. 1814."

BASES OF PACIFICATION PROPOSED BY THE
GOVERNOR OF moNirviDto.

•
1. Buenos Ayres and all the towns subject to its govern-
' Ment, with the.troops of its armies, shall' swear to the poli-
tical constitution of the Spanish Monarchy, Nanctimied by
the General and Extraordinary Cortes of the nation, and.
. shall take the oath of fidelity to Ferdinand VII. and -during:
his absence and captivity to the Itegency of the kingdom ap-
pointed by the said Cortes.
2. Within a fortnight after the- ratification of the treaty of
pacification, the constitution shall be proclaimed at Buenos
Ayres, and sworn to with all possible solemnity; and in all
the towns subject to that Government, it Shall be carried into
effect:within a fortnight after our fraternal reconciliation shall
have been intimated to them: „From that period no other
Authorities shall be acknowledged, but those designated
the Constitution, and which have been appointed by the
Regency of the kingd(m.
3. -Whatever respects the political, ecclesiastical, civil, And
military departments, and that of the Treasury, shall he re-
gulated' conformably to- the principles of the two preceding
ba*es, for wltich purpose Deputies must come fully autho-
rised from Buenos Ayres, who, 'conjunction with those ap-
pointeti by the Captain=Gencral of these provinces, shall te-
galate every thing that may contribute to 'the Common pros-
andthe inviolable security of all the inhabitants now
gnbjest.to the Govermhent of Buenos, Ayres : with this un-
den•taiirling, that if any of the existing public officers be not
confirmed in the situations which they hold, every measure
shall be taken to employ them in succession, pensions being
at the *Arne time assigned to tlieM for their decent subsis-
tence. _ _ .

4. The fraternal union of •all the towns subject to the Go-
vernment of Buenos Aires, with the rest of 'the Monarchy,
belngaccomplishe4 under the two first Uses, all forintr di-
visions remain ipso- facto buried. By consequence, no one
shall he molested or prosecuted for any.Opioions which he
nia7 hare held, defended, or written; and no other Magis-
trate possessing powers to gnarantee this promise-but the
Captain-General of these provinces, he offers solemnly, in.the
name of Ferdinand VII., end in canformity with the high and
extensive powers conferred upon him bi• thillt!g-eney of the
Kingdom, to observe, fulfil, and cause to be observed and ful-
filled, the stipulated treaty, which ,will-have the same validity
in this respect as if entered into with the National Govern.

'tient, ivhoe'quthority.The Cat)tain General exclusively exer-,
Cist.s in the provinces of the River Plate.
itrojitevideo, April 12, 1614. GASPAR VIGODET.
(A true copy.) . HERRERA.