Star.
London, England, 1805-02-04 00:00:00

•
defiring, conformably to his Majellyts orders, to 1 PreteiZed armament:, made complaint; of them in
thew to the tai moment that fpirit of conciliation a Note, dated the 27th September lA, in which he
wide!, c-ntlitotes the elf:nee of my miffion, and the reiirefented them as an hollile aggrellion againß his
dill charadetillic of my Sovereign, I have Gove! nmcnt. and as a defiance given to England,
thought it my dirty to m tke yet one more effort, and eapuctred Moil-elf in other terms not lets inju-
taiding to Phew in its truclieht the frank and friend- rious to the reputation of the King, than contrary to
ly couded which tl.e King ha, not ceafed to di:play the relations which fublitted between the two
'ince the ruoture between France and England, countries.
amidll the ditliculti.!s cf his lituation with regard to • Although filch reproaches, in return for the proofs
the two helligcren• powzrr.. I which the King had always given of his eagernefs
From the very moment that the King had learned to frengthen the bonds of friendlbip which united
the co•orne,ccrient ofhottiliticsbetween France and 114 n to the Britilh Government were of a nature to
Lagland. his Majetiv give all his attention to the 1 excite in him the greateft furprife, his Majele, ne-
en inner in which he fhould conduit himfclf in order verthi.l4., dire fed anfwers to the inteme .rite re-
t. prevent all room for di;e:aitent on the partnfthefe 1 pteli.ntations of Mr. Frere, to be made With tha: mo-
two States Isnd to the fyllem which he would have 1 deration which is the moll friking point iii the hif.
to follow in filch a conjunftere, in order to conciliate i tory of his political condua ; a nrod..r -.ion the
li•s engagements as the .111 y of Fiance with his duties more fignal from this CirCIIMMITICe: that the above-
ni friendthip towards England. Although his Ma- mentioned armament, which excited lo much fenfa•
fly knew very well, that his quality of auxiliary to thin, was confined within the limits prefcrilied by an
r: e firfl of there Powers was in no wife incompatible age cement, which was concluded on the 19111 Oao.
"Judi that of friend to the ad, he was, from the very bet, tftoe, between the two Government., fiace it
pet-redly fenfihie, and his opinion has been fiace was rettrided to the lame number of vetkls which
tiled by accounts from his Minifter at London, were already armed before this epoch ; and what
that the Britilh Government would, with difficulty, proves Rill more clearly the pacific views of the King
confent to his furnilhing to France fuccourt, filch as is that the armament in queltion had been (*ended
are Ripulated by the Treaty of 1796. In this per- by his Majeltv's orders fume days before the Britilh
fuafi .n, and, in order to remove every hollile 2p- Charge d'Affaires had broughtfcrwardhis complaint
pearance in hi's connectiens with the latter power, he on the fohjed-
eanaved to ',topple to his Ally the conclufion cf a Notwithilanding this, notwithflanding the afro.
new Treaty, by which pecuniary fuceours fhould he ranee% of friendthip and good faith exprelfcd in the
fubflitutecl b r the fuecours in troops and (hips, which anfwer of my Court, notwithllanding the ablolute eel-
be had engaged to furnifh to France,by the treaty (.f fathat of thefe pretended armaments, on which the
Alliance. Alter long and difficult negociations, the enemies of p •ace had founded their criminal hopes (a
King congratulated hirnfeif tin having at left obtained c:lft:iln of which the Britilh Charge d'Affaires could
th• e!aieft ef hi, amicable views, by the conclufioh of not he ignorant), inftead of foftening the menacing
a T•eaty Subfidy. It ne which he had at fire adopted, halted of refum-
Confiding in the nprightnefs of his intentions, and ing that friendly language which the perfe(l
juaifi-
in the pacific feptiments high had prompted kim to c ition cf my Court required of him, he did but ac-
take this Rep, his hlajelly was fully perfuaded that cumulate tient reproaches, the hatihnefe and injoi-
the Britilh Government would not tail to appreeate !ice of which bean•l to reveal the halide fylictit which
this very unequivocal mark of friendlhip. The tom- he has not lincedircontinued.
plaints brain,ltt forward Icon afterwards by Mr. Freic The Ili hill) Government on their fide, forgetting
tooting the anove.mentioned convention—complaints on a fudden the oacifie relations which they had
which he has a: different times renewed, though al- maintained daring leveral months with my Sovereign,
ways in % y vague terms, and without ever making and without waiting for more miff and lets fufmci-
an eilentiol .and decifive point of them—were there- ou. information or. our preparations at Fcirol, from
tote a re;•1 fubjec. of itirpTife to his Catholic Majelty. whence it had received none but exaggerated at-
Neverthelef., efwers full of moderation and candour count,, hi ought by the Naiad, and which is Rill more
were by his order made to them, in whic!: aniwets aac::ithing, without paying attention to the informa-
were let forth the' motives which had led him to make tion which I tranimitted to it through the channel of
a treaty of which the Enf,lilh Government reid tile Trttr Excellency, on the innocence and the true ch-
iefs room tie- complaint, a- it was folely out 0: d is ft of thefe pretended armaments, did not hefitate to
to them that his Majetty had dctcrmined to conclia:e ;;ive that extraordinary order, which, as well from
it.—At is ,ar!) the fame time, his Britannic Majefia's its nature, as from its difaftrous confequences, mull
Mintier having addieffed to my Court reprzlenta It ive itruck with horror every Cabinet in Europe.—
tions on the :.rmanients which he pretended were 1.-dlead of beginning by demanding explanations from
curving on in t irr ports, and which he furrofed to be rny Court on the fubje of these alarms, it breaks off
directed egainit E.l,land, his Majefy ordered anfwers Va.: good undertlanding which ftibfified between the
to be in I.ke manner mace to him, o That the view* two nations, by an aft of holtility of which the moll
of the Spaniih Government were very far from any t aacorans wars fcarcely afford an example; and, as if
native it lirlti.ty ; rind his Britannic Maj.:fly could iL feared that the explanations ef the Spanifh Minifter,
ant mOt4Le the patifie intentions of the K:rtg of Spain, a:.J ulterior account: trent Spain, would force it to
who h id given iiint lo many incontetlihle proofs or 1 re 'pcd a neutiality, to which it fecund abfolutely de-
friendfhip ; ani th.rt there proofs were manifetted It. mined to put an end, it flattened to make war
well in the iw'i(ices made by the King to feel, e • raainit her without any previous Declaration, and

even in the midst of die trim! proloind peace. The
sth of October was witnefs to the Ihedding of the in-
ii..ecat blood of &vet al women and children who pe-
rt.hed viztims of an unheard of violence I and this
blo.d was flied by the hands of a nation, whole Co-
ver:anent themfelves declare afterwards that they are
not at war with Spain I
Before the news r.f this dreadful event came to the
knowledge of the King, the Britifh Charge d'Affaires
terms to have made it his bufinefs to exafperate his
M.:jetty by all imaginable means. Nut being able
to conceal from hiinfell the frivolity of his accufa-
tions relative to our preparations at Ferrol, fine their
exigence had ceafed a long time before, he was ob-
liged to call to his aid fome new grievances, as (light-
ly f funded as they are dellitute of good faith. He
did not fail to make new demands, Come of them con-
trary to what had been agreed upon between the two
Givernments, the others entirely inadmiffible from
their injurious tendency. Thus it is that he exalted
from my Court the engagement. " that no arma-
ment whatever Mould be carried on" in the ports of
Spain, whilfi his Government and himfelf had con•
kilted that the naval forces of Spain should be kept
up on the fame footing as they were at the time of
the above mentioned agreement. Thus it is, that he
pretended that his Majelly had always refufed to
give a diftinet explanation with regard to his engage-
usxts with France—that without this previous coin-
mtuticalion the Britifh Government had never been
willing to violent to the neutrality of Spain—in fhort,
thug it is, that he ended, by imperioufly demanding
'Li, communication, altho' without declaring what
would be the ulterior conduit of his Court, in cafe
hi• Nlajetly fhoold acepliefce in his demand.
The Kiug, my M !tter, might have refuted an
• aniwer to t,4is extraordinary fummuns. The mime-
corm.), of the fu,.T fitions on which it is founded,
and the previous tieps of the Britifh hlinillry, who,
ani,)r.oi the conditions fixed by England for the ac-
red4rnent of the neutrality, had not comprixed
the °eerily of a fimilar communication, fufficiently
.utthotifed his M..jetly not to attend to a demand of
tl.is nature. Your Excellency knows that, immedi•
atcty after the conclulion of the treaty of fubfidy,
the Britifh Government addreffed to my Court Re-
p:‘,:.ntaticas, the °Neel (.1 which was by no means
to demand a diflina explanation with regard to the
en,...agements which that treaty contained, bot
prrli-
Lively t declare that the furnithing the pecuniary
advances, as Ripulated in the Convention concluded
with France, could not be looked upon otherwife
than as a war fuhfidy, kc." Thefe expieffions, the
very fame as tiled by the Britit Minifter in the note
which be delivered to this effed on the 3d of Decem-
ber haft, do not admit the doubt that hi, Govern-
ment was not at that time thoroughly acquainted
with the contents of the ahovementioned Convention.
• —Had it been otherwife, could Mr. Frere have held
this language without knowing the extent of our (ob-
i tidies, efpecially after having declared in the fame
note, " That his Government was difpofcd to over-
look loch pecuniary facrifices as lhould not be of fuf-
ficiet:t magnitude to force attention on account of
their political effee,?" If, therefore, they were then
acquainted vit4 tEe am'.unt of the fums which his
Majefly had to pav to Fiance, how could they now
be ignorant of it ? And not being ignorant of it,
what end do they ai nrefent propofe to themfelves in
demanding st,e difclofure of a fcciet which could
never have lien cue to them ?

peace. as in the cx:rzilid, even before it v a•
demanded, tem .trds h •fe of his fu:tjeis who had abed
contrary to the dt.eies of neutron:7. In tine, that,
accor6ing theft: t:sta, there did not exit] the lean
caufcfor aopn.hen ;hut ti at lipain wollel engage in
further armainer::•, for that would be atFtiatz ayainll
ber pacifi.. t'Fftem."
At the fame tithe, as the Conn of Madrid was not
enabled to form an moo and fix:el judgment of the
principles and the et.ndull which the Britith Govern-
latent prop/sled to follow on account of the equivocal
language in which Mr. Frere always enveloped his
reprefentations, it invited him to exprefs himielf in a
clear and precife manner as to the intentions And the
views of his Government with regard to Spain. It
was in conktpience of this fsank and friendly invita•
tion, that his Britannic Majetly's Milliner at lail par-
ticularized to try Court. in a Note which he turd.-
:stifled to it on the illth Febrbary late, the conditions
on which his Government would be difpofel to re-
cognize the neutrality of Spain. There condition,
were, the Cufpenfion of all ulterior armament. and
the prohibition of the Cale of prizes in his Majefly's
dominions. Not having exacted others, it is pc t fatly
clear, that the Britifh Minillry engaged hfell thereby
to refped the neutrality, as (non as the King, my
Mr. ter, ihnold acquit:lce in theft conditions.
Majeay, 'Rh,' kid relolved to make every fa-
crifice compatible with the welfare of his people, in
order to fecure to thcni the benefits of a fol d peace,
determined to forbid the tale of prizes in his Ling
doms; which prohibition VA: place on the 23d
March lafl : And with regald to the arm itmaits, he
renewed the a!furances, which the Britifh Govern-
ment had already received on this head: all•trances,
the fincerity of which v.,as well guaranteed by the
lively intereft which his Majefty has connan:ly at•
wheel to the maintenance of peace, flue rulaure
between France and England.
This eagernefs of the King to fulfil all the vifhcs
of the Britifh Cabinet, and the painfol facrifice which
his Majefly has jun made of the advantages at
the tale of prizes in the ports of Spain held out to
Spanith commerce, ought to have completed the con-
fidence of England, and to have eradicated front
the t+inion of its Government every atcm of doubt
on the pacific fentiments of my Court accordingly,
tlo Englith Mini!ler feemed to have felt ail the va•
lye tu:h faei dices, fence he brought forward no
more complaint., and that the moil perfect harmony
every day to unite more and more the two
Governments.
ota:b were the relations fubflaing between the two
nations, when, i:t the month of September loft, Come
eiliontent having broken out in Bifcay, his
oi.'ctett the embarkation of a part of the troops
which sieve in garrifon at Ferrol, in order to
being -ronfporteci without delay to the place v •It -e
the diforda had occurred. Then it was, that the
comics of Spain, fourniing the alarm, under the
lt-1-4: that conliderable armaments were c.:rrying
cr, urn be' puns, fouAt r. communicate their feigned
tin, dine; ; to the Britifh.Governmenr, by piacitoz, be-
floe then. in the mon hottile cnlcu:s, a mature as I
I"leign Su the itaeitns of England. as it was indif- I
pentatle to the tlifinll in their birth movements,
%Line!' had rnanitelted themfelves in a province of I
brain. Then it was, that the Britifh Charge
Canes, Lutried :,t1 by reports which malevolence had
in,eratvel, and without examining either the na-
lutes Cg.Z:, 0: the well known objea of thefe