British Factory At Cadiz.
The Times, 1824-06-10T00:00:00

tADVntaw SEI rE2VT.l TO TIE IiD[TOR OF.; TIE TU3ES. "' z ,C iZ, illay 11, 1824. Sir,-The English residents in Caffiz haVe-read'with su-rprise, in the Co urkr newspaper of the ith-of April lWst4 the extract-of a let- ter from this city, dated the 16th of Mlarch, purporting to give anl account of the proceedings of our new Consul, 1%r. R:rackenburv, after his arrival here. On a cursory view, this letter might be con- sidered a mere " puff"' on the part of some indiscreet friend2 of that gentleman; and as sucli, deemed unworthy of any formal answer. But as, on closer examrtination, it involves matter? of snore serious import, to allow theiseatements to pass uncontradicted might pos sibly be cnnstrued into an acquiescence in tbhem; and it is on this ground alone, as -an advocate of truth, and as a member of the Bri- tish Factory at Cadiz, disclaiming any feeling of hostilitv towards I ,r. Braokre.bury, that I now intrude upon your readers a few ob. servations ill reply..l The correspondent of the Courier cammrises his letter by stat- ing, that" thte British factory has atlast enjoved (' at last enjovs, is presumed to be meant') the advantages of having an honotrable, liberal, and efficient gentleman to ' represent his Britannie Majesty,' and to dischlarge the important duties of consul ;" forgetting, it is imagined, tiat his Majasty is already duly represented at the Court of Iadrid,' and that a contsul at a port like that of Cadiz can be very little, if any thing, more tihan a mere commercial agent, entitled only front situatioto to the nsual respect due from one gerntiemas to an. othler, He afterwvards dilates on the moral beneiits that are Ilk-eh to accrue from the exertions and example of the gentlemin in ques- tion, whieh expectation every one here would reioice to see fulfill- ed; but is it intended really to be insinuated that former consuls at this place were not as honourable, liberal, and efficient gentlemen as the present one? Illust we, then, forget the respected and revered name of the late Sir James Dufir who carried witlh him to the grave the regret and esteem of every honest man that knew him ? and must we permit his memory to be insulted by an in. sidious imputation of " neglect of the real interests of British subjects," during the long period of his official duties ? Are the gentlemen of the Fsctory expected also to rescind the expression of. the hearty thanks publicly given bv them to the immediate pre- decessort of l?r. Brackenbur', for his constant attention to thieir in- terests, and the obliging, efficacious, and at the same time unos- tentatious ianner with which he also performed his consular du- ties, and whose removal fromq hence to a more important situation was really lamented as a loss scarcely to be compensated bv the ar- rival of any new consul ? No, those gentlemen did not testify their unqualified approbation and .satisfactin on light grounds; and when they shall have really enjoyed the advantages which possibly niav result from the eonsulship of M51r. Brsckenbury, they will be cqually eager to acknowledge his merits likewise. WVith a view of directing his cfforts to objecLs of- real utilitv, I will at least indicate one insulbsrable rievamice which actuallv exist, and by the removal of which, the new Consul would give a very agreeable "specimen of his efliciency ;" and that is, the billeting of French officers at the houses of British subjects, in a very undue proportion, compared with those of Spaniards. For example, my own houxe has never been free from these guests since the latter end of last June, whilst many Spanish houses, in the town of my resi. dence, have scarcely been incommoded with them at all. It is not true that the Consui called a meeting of the Factory iner- chants immediately after his anrival, but the usual annial meeting certainly was called, and held on the 6th of January last, when not more than five members were present, The language stated to have been used by Alr. Brackenburv on that occasion, mnight, per- haps, havebeen very pronerly addressed to masters of shiips, and persons of a similar desoriptioti, who are more immediately under his influence, and who might be suspected of dabbling in illicittraf- fic; but the British Factory assernbled would not have permitted him to address such language to thew, which would in fact hare been accusing thent to their faces of having been engaged in another course than that of honourable and lawf'ul comnmerce, without mak- ing the severe retort which such an unparalleled piece of indecorum. not to say impertinence on his pert, would have so justly merited ; and as for ' protection I !" whenever they mav stand in need of it, they well know from w hence it is to cosnc and will of course call for it by making their remonstrances throughi the Consul for the time being as the proper organ of conmmunication. The Cad.z correspondent also advcrts to the dilapidated state of the Factory funds, (wbich, according to the 4th article of the act of Parliament of the year 173I by which! the Factery was established, cannot be disposed oS without the united concurrence of the Consul and a majority of the factory merchants), and makes one sweeping charge against aU preceding consuls and factory merchants, most of whom now lie in their graves, with having squandered away those funds (without the least reference to dlates, by which to ascertain within what particular period, and under whose administration, the dilapidation complained of took place) to the amount of the lar?e suin of 80,000 hard dollars, by an annual donation of 1,000 dolars s-year to the Governorof Cadiz, s00 to another, and so on, nay,he even accuses thetn with having permitted the clerks in office (the Consular- office, I imagine) to put their mothers, sisters, and -, on the Factnrv books, without any inquiry whatever, for the purpose of obtaining weekly pensions for them. AWith strong doubts of the sum mentioned having really existed at any one time in the Factory-chest, I admit that formerly, at least fiO years ago, it appears to have been a custom to make an annual donation to the Governors of Cadiz, which we must suppose to have been proper at that period; but no such present has ever been tender- eA in latter times; and it is actualiy calumniating more modern Governors of Cadiz to have alluded to this circumstance, without mentioning the date when such praotice w?as custouary. Nothing can be more strict than tbe inquiries made by the Fac- tory respecting the circumstances and condition of such nersons as apply to them for relief, before such relief he grantedf; and the writer of this letter, who is an old member thereof, can aver that no dissipation of fanas has occurred, at least of late yeats, on this score. It may, indeed, have happened, that relief may have some. times been granted to persens in distress not strictlv Britislh sub- jects, but in every case descendants of them; and ani "Charity hides a multitude of sins," it miight have been hoped that the Con- sul's panegvrist would have thrown a veil over so venial a transgres- sion: nor is it easy to be believed that in formqr times the Factory would have suffered their books to be' polluted with ithe names of- ; and in point of justice, if true, the date ought to have been specified when such wiclked pToceedings occurred, for it is quite certain that nothing of the kind has taken place since the re. establisljrnen of the Factory at the close of the late war. 'Vith regard to chapeLs, hospitals, or buriaLplaces, I have no ob- servation to ofFer; but shoald have great pleasure bereafter in hav- ing to congratulate hEr. Brackenbury on the success of his exertions in this respect. Permit me now, MTr. Editor, to express my surprise that the correspondent of the Coutrier should have onmitted to notice an oc- currence, if not efimportance, at least of curiosity, as connected with the arrival of the new CoDsul here. The British arms were put up over his door, on the outside.of the house; and a few days afterwards they were ordered to be taken down again, to the great mortification of himself and fellow-countrynmen, who deeply de- plored, whatever might have been the motives5 that the arms of their country slhould have been thus unnecessarlly ex)osed to tle- rision. We are yet ignorant in Cadiz who the person is that so lauds by anticipation the new Consul; but it is acknowledged by every one that he must be a very efficient gentleman, for simailar articles have already begun to appear in tde Paris iapeir, which may be seen by referring to the Quotifdiiena of the 10th of April last. I have the honour to be. Sii. vour mnst ohedient hi,mh1e servn* A MEMIBER OF THE BRITISI, FAICTORY, BRITISH FACTORY AT CADIZ.