The Sun.
London, England, 1835-09-08 00:00:00

SPAIN.

The following are copies of official notes, addressed by
Lord John Hay, Commander of the British Naval Forces
on the north coast of Spain, to the Commander-in-Chief
of the Carlists off that Coast, with the official answers, re-
lative to an insult offered by the Carlists to the British
flag :

No. I.

" His Majesty's ship Castor, Santander, Aug. 10,

" Sir,—Commander Lapidge, the officer in command of his
Majesty's vessels in the river of Bilboa, has reported to me, by
a letter of the Bth instant, that the Corza, a gun-boat attached
to his Britannic Majesty's brig I?ingdove, when passing up the
river with the British flag flying, at 1 30 P. M., on the 7th in-
stant, when opposite the convent of St. Mames, was fired upon
by a party of soldiers belonging to the army under your com-
mand, and that two of his Britannic Majesty's subjects were
severely wounded.

" As the officer in command of his Britannic Majesty's squa-
dron on this coast, I protest against this unprovoked and out-
rageous insult, and I demand that you will immediately deliver
over to Captain Lapidge, the officer in charge of the convent
of St. blames, together with the guard, at the time his Bri-
tannic Majesty's flag was fired on.

" I have ordered Commander Lapidge to receive these men
on board the Ringdove, and there to be kept in safe custody
until the pleasure of his Britannic Majesty's Government is
made known to me.

" As I consider the insult offered to his Britannic Majesty's
flag on the 7th instant, a premeditated act of hostEtity, and in
direct opposition to the assurances which I have so repeatedly
received from the different officers in the' comm and of the
troops of Don Carlos in the neighbourhood of Bi lboa, I have
to acquaint you that I will receive no further pledges or assur-
ances whatever, and that orders have been given to his Britan-
nic Majesty's vessels to resist by force, and to r eturn the fire
of any soldiers or party of men, that may press erne to insult
the British flag on its progress up and down the I raver.

I have, &c.,
"JOHN HA Y,
" Captain of his Britannic Majesty's shi p Castor, and
Superior Officer on the North Coa it of Spain.
" To the Officer in Command of the troops of Don
Carlos, in the vicinity of Bilboa."

No. 11.

" Head-quarters at Arrigarriaga, August 12,
" TO THE RIGHT HON. LORD JOHN HAY.

"My Lord,—lt is painful to me, at the first moments of my
command, that the motive of our correspondence should be
such a disagreeable affair as that which now occi spies us, but
as in all such occurrences many mistakes usually take place,
either from the want of guilt on the one side, or from the ex-
cessive demands of the party which supposes itself aggrieved,
the superior officers, or those entrusted with the authority of
command, ought always to suspend their judgrne nt, by limit-
ing their opinions to the results of scrupulous examinations.
Conformably to those important reflections, which never sepa-
rate themselves from my imagination, I matte arrangements
the moment I received information of the co mplaint of Com-
mander Lapidge, relative to the fire made oia the gun-boat
Corza, to have the most exact and detailed: examination, in
order to guide me afterwards in dictating a line of proceeding
such as the laws and military honour require.
" The letter of your Lordship, dated the TOth inst., which
I received this morning from the hands of tfse said Lapidge,
captain of the brig Ringdove, with the objec:t of demanding
the officer and individuals of the party place I in St. Mames,
and who, it was said, were the persons that fa -ed at the gun-
boat Corza, belonging to his Majesty's brig I?ingdove, pre-
suming thereby that the fact was an outrage and an unpro-
voked insult on their part, and protesting ag:a inst it, demands
on my part, in consideration of the conseq: Jances which may
be thereby complicated, an explanation, wl rich I shall have
the honour of making to your Lordship, f ounded on the re-
port of the investigation held for the purpose , and with all the
respect for truth, which is so characteristic o.' me.
" A sergeant posted in the convent of St. Mames, with in-
structions to make observations on the town of Bilboa, and the
river Oliviaga, in order to prevent all e nnmunication, al-
though with the charge of respecting fore; ign flags, saw ap-
proaching towards the passage a vessel laving on board,
according to confidential information, the I Annt Mirasol, the
principal officer of the enemy—without any flag, and he
hailed it in a loud voice, asking, Who goes there ?' which
words he repeated three times without r?ceiv'mg any answer,
which gave him sufficient motives to think that it was one of
the vessels in the service of Isabella 11. that cruised so much
in that river, and induced him at the monsent to fire solely one
shot from his gun, which, however, it is true, avas loaded with
two balls ; after which he noticed the flag or tthe English na-
tion and stopped firing, without offering any more opposition
to the passage. This simple circumstance, the result without
any doubt of a mistake on the part of the s rgeant, or of an
involuntary neglect on the part of the said vessel, does not
deserve, in my judgment, the epithet of an insult—of an act
of premeditated hostility—and much less tha t of a vile ambus-
cade—all which are at the same moment bes towed on it; nei-
ther is it opposed in any manner to the asst trance which your
Lordship is pleased to tell me you have re peatedly received
from the different officers in the command of -the troops of the
king my master, stationed against Bilboa.. Consequently,
your Lordship will permit me to regard as boa ted and super-
fluous the orders which appear to have been given to the
vessels under your command to resist with 'force all those who
may have the temerity to insult the British Flag..
" I flatter myself with the idea that there exists no legal
grounds for our conflicting in such a conjuncture, having to
assure your Lordship that I shall dictate the most severe and
extensive orders for the purpose, from the interest that I feel
in the continuation of the good harmony that ought to reign
between our nations ; but I require that your. Lordship will
take with the greatest efficacy such measures :as may contri-
bute to the same object, taking care that no ve sael in the ser-
vice of Isabella 11. should be intentionally e unfounded with
the British flag, and much less that it s hould take ad-
vantage thereof to carry on operations r against the de-
fenders of the just cause of Don Carlos V . of Bourbon.
Your Lordship should be aware, that it appears positive that
the steam-boat which, with the English fir tg, relieved the
enemy's garrison in Plencia, disembarked at t'he 'point of Oli_
viaga troops of Isabella 11., or those called ?eget eros, which,
after they had been beaten in their attack on our forces, went
on board under the same flag which saved them in their es-
cape. From the same authority it appears. that the launches
which honour themselves with the title of British pass
through the harbour of Oliviaga, making signalla , and afford-
ing services little conformable to a strict neutral ity, and fa-
vouring the garrison of Bilboa, and contributi n g besides in
unison with other gunboats depending on the British flag,
by which means, under its partial protection, tF Le relief of the
garrisons of Barcena and Portugalette has been 'effected, and
that these very boats are very frequently the bearers of the
common mail of the servants of Christina on its . passage from
Bilboa to •Portugalette, for the conventional sun x of 18 dollars,
and sometimes they have continued so far as to convey it to
Santander.

" It is possible that in such circumstances , )r complication
of events some inaccuracy or misunderstand ling may occur,
but what is certain is, that they, without doubt, are the origin
and cause of the accident that has given 1.4 Ise to the belief
that the defenders of Carlos V. hare attac. ked the English
flag. It is evident to your Lordship in an v .nden3ablc manner
that all the superior officers of the armies of that Sovereign
make it their boast to act with the greatest deference towards
the individuals of a nation with whom, in. ver:z similar cir-
cumstances, they fraternized and fought for a long time in the
field of honour and loyalty, against another m ore sagacious
and powerful usurper. This knowledge Of th ese• facts, united
to the unequivocal proofs of esteem and redd wo,zal friendship,
allow me not to doubt that your Lordship r till be convinced
of the necessity of avoiding controversies w hic'h, when sub-
mitted to the criticism of all Europe, may s omotimes be re-
garded under another aspect from that wh;.el t either of us on
his part should desire.

"*ln conclusion, and without in any shar?e whatever lending
myself to the demand which your Lords hip has made to me
for the delivery of those whom you consider criminal, I shall
transmit all the correspondence and de tails to th Govern-
ment of my Sovereign, in order that His. Majesty In ay resolve
on any course convenient ; your Lordship, on your :part, doing
what may seem best to you, in the firm. assurance that in all
cases you will find in me, at the same time, a faith ful servant
of Carlos V., a soldier who is not ignorant of the duties of his
office, who has the honour to offer to your Lords'nip his es-
teem and distinguished consideration.._.Lief ttena nt-General
in the service of Carlos V."

“ RAFAEL MAROTO.”

No. 111.

" His Majesty's ship, Castor, Santar Ader, Aug. 18.
" Sir,—.l have to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of
the 14th inst., which I forwarded to his Bi itannic Majesty's
Government, and I will only remark, that it appears evident
to me that you must have been imposed up I i by false informa-
tion.

" The British flag was flying at the timr:: thcz gun-boat was
fired at, and the officer in charge of tha'. vess el, on whom I
can place the utmost;confidence, declares that LK) guard chal-
lenged the boat, neither did a man app ear in sight, otherwise
he would very properly have returned the fir., in compliance
with my orders.

" On the gunboat's return from Bilboa, two bo urs afterwards,
the British flag was again insulted ; therefore Ido not hesitate
to designate it a premeditated act of hostility.
" The officer in command of her Catholic Majesty's steam-
vessel has pledged his word to me that the . British flag has
never been hoisted in his vessel when in prese nee of the enemy.
" The officers under my command have 01 .ders not to permit
the British flag to be hoisted in any vessel or boat in the river
of Bilboa that is not strictly British, and I can rely on their
faithful obedience to my orders.

In no one instance has a British officer received a remune-
ration for conveying mails.
" You may consider my orders to hi Britannic Majesty's
ships as superfluous, and put any interpretation upon them you
think proper, but I will with equal confidence again assure
you, that the first attempt made to sr op oi, molest the British
flag when passing up and down the ri ter Bil boa will be resisted
and opposed with force. As you F.Artve thoa'ght proper not to
comply with my just demand to d elir;er up tbt soldiers who. had
the audacity to fire on `his Brd. taro* Majesty's flag, it is of