The Sun.
London, England, 1823-05-29 00:00:00

NOTE.

" The desire of satisfying the question of an honourable de-
Futy in.,,the session of yesterday, the. 23(1, as to whether the
rench Government of itself, or, through the medium of any
other power, had made any propositions to Spain, after the
suspension of the diplomatic relations between the two coun-
tries, and the Consideration that the explanation of this matter
may be the means of removing entire of perhaps great import-
ance, have induced me to make an addition, which will leave
no doubt on this subject, and to enter into details, the state.
ment of which I did not, on the drawing tip of' the memorial,
think-sufficiently interesting. ; • '
" I have stated that his Majesty's Government communicat-
ed to the English Cabinet official copies of the notes received
from the four Continental Powers, and the answers returned to
thoiie notes, explaining the just grounds on which it was thought
prefper, under such delicate circumstances, to act in this man-
ner ; and at the same time that it protested against all claim of
interference in its affairs, that it hoped. Great Britain would in.
terpose her good offices to avert a rupture which might produce
fatal results. The English Government, desirous on its part to
preserve the peace of the Continent, (lid In fact endeavour to
prevent the war from breaking out; and as the French Govern.
ment made alleged vices in our Constitution a pretext for war,
England Manifested a wish that we should offer something
which might serve as a basis for her negociations. But what
proposition could the Spanish Government make under such
circumstance? Modifications in the Constitution! To propose
modifications to the Cortes would be self-degradation, after
having in the memorable sittings of the 9th and 11th of Jan.
witnessed so unanimous and solemn an apyirobation of its
conduct. The Government, therefore, adhered to its first de-
clarations, and would not render itself guilty of the most absurd
.inconsistency.
" While Great Britain was taking these steps in favour of
Pence, which, as has been stated, were fruitless, the Spanish
Government was shown two or three communications made to
Sir William .A'Court—one by the Minister for Foreign Af-
fairs, Mr. Canning; and the others by the English Ambassa-
'dor in France. In the former, the English Minister stated,
that it would be Impossible that his endeavours to prevent the
war could have a favourable result, while we made no conces-
sions on 'our part which might serge as a basis for the media-
tion. The other two were copies of dispatches which the Eng-
lish Ambassador in France had transmitted to Mr. Canning,
in which he related conversations lie had, had with the Viscount
de Chateaubriand on the point in question.
" The undersigned Secretary of State does not perfectly re.
collect the contents of these three communications, which were
read to him by Sir W. A'Court by order of his Cabinet, with-
out being accompanied by any note, atd of which he has only
a memorandum in his office. lie can only State that the pre.
tensions put forth in them were--
" 1. That the Constitution should be declared to be given
by the King, from whom it should proceed as from its true
source.
" 2. That the Council. of State should be appointed by the
King, and participate in the legislative authority.
" 3. That it should be declared that the time for making re-
forms in the Con§titution had arrived.
" 4. That the Deputies of the Cortes should in future have
the property indicated by the Constitution; and something
more which I do not recollect.
" In the communications of Mr. Canning to Sir W. A'Court
no mention is made of the first of these four modifications.
"These communications, verbally made anti brought for-
ward in an indirect and vague manner, could, according to the,
view of his Majesty's Government, make no change in the
question. Ist, Because the alterations in the Constitution
which they involved were altogether contrary to what
had already been manifested in the most public manner
to the Cabinets of the Holy Alliance. 2dly, Because these
alterations are also contrary to the solemn declarations made by
the Cortes in the sittings of the 9th and 11th January.
tlolemcaautsetertshoeipsruopci highoisitins were
notatAlenidn4athmly7Bieercasuusietatbhlee
vague manner in which the Viscount de Chateaubriand had
declared himself, carried with it all the character of the bad
importance.
faith of the Government of the Tuileries, of which Spain has
already received so many proofs-
" For these weighty reasons, and others which it is not ne.
cessary to state, his Majesty's Government was of opinion that
they might overlook the insinuations which had been made;
anti supposing that the documents would always preserve the
confidential character with which they had been invested, the
Government did not enter into the subject in the memorial
drawn up on the state of our diplomatic relations. But now
that malignity has wished it to be supposed that France had
made new propositions ; that these propositions had been reject.
ed ; and that the inopportune tenacity of the Spanish Govern-
ment had in part been the cause of the invasion by the French
army, it is proper to make known to the Cortes, that the new
propositions are the same as the old ones which have been re.
jected, since they reduce themselves to changes in the Consti-
tution; that the Government would not degrade 'itself by such
a course of inconsistency ; that the Government is als'o of opi-
nion that any reform which the Congress might thus snake in
the fundamental code, would appear to be wrested from it by
terror and force ; and finally, that vague hints, indirectly
thrown out by a Government which had given so many proofs of
bad faith—which has insulted the Spanish nation—and which
has invaded our soil, bringing a vanguard for its army, com-
posed of factious enemies of the country, do not deserve to be
listened to.

" In the mean time, while the French Government was thus
ambiguously expressing itself to the English Ambassador, it
publicly announced that it was going to deliver Spain from her
revolutionary oppressors ; and while we were still in full peace,
in the middle of February, a French ship of war captured and
carried into Martinique the Spanish merchantman Veloz Mari-
ana, which was bringing to the Peninsula 3,000,000 of dollars
belonging to the merchants. On a consideration of this, and
a thousand other proceedings on the part of France the Cortes
Government
could be fully convinced that the conduct of the
could not, in such dangerous circumstances, be other than it
had been; that consequently, acting as duty and honour dic-
tated, its conduct in public and private was the same ; and that
if the Ministers should have had any doubt on the propriety of
their conduct, their conscience must have been tranquillized in
consequence of the patriotic and sublime enthusiasm displayed
by the Cortes in the sessions of the 9th and 11th of January,
and by the innumerable congratulations which on that account
have been presented to the Congress and the Government by
many respectable corporations of the monarchy.
" Seville, April 2.. " EVARISTO SAN MIGUEL."