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Maps, plates, charts, etc., mt y be filmed at different reduction ratios. Tho' e too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top i-> bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre filmds d des taux de r6duction diff6rents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul clich6, il est f ilm6 d partir de Tangle supdrieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images ndcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m^thode. 1 2 3 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 \i. m^^^::mm^msm:^m&m;s^^mmmm A N ANSWER TO THE O B S E R V A T I O N S, &c. f Price One Shilling. } i 'I.I 1 1 A N ANSWER T O T H E OBSERVATIONS ON THE PAPERS relative to the Rupture with SPAIN. Agedum, pauca accipe contra. HoR. Sat. iv. Lib. L I. O N D O N : filnted for J. Hinxman, at the Globe, in Pater ( i ) REMARKS UPON THE OBSERVATIONS, &c. AS the Author of the prefent Remarks has no other aim in view, than to lay open to the public the deceitful and fac- tious nature of the Obfervations upon the Spanifh Papers, in order to prevent or ef- face any groundlefs imprsffions they might be apt to leave upon the minds of the ge- nerality of thofe into whofe hands they may fall 5 he will confine himfelf ftridlly to that objedl, without entering into any of the general qucftions, that might arife in this difcuiiion, any further than is neceflary to the end propofed. B He G) ( 2 ) He flatters himfelf, that his Remarks will be found to be fair, candid, and im- partial ; in a word, fuch as may naturally flow from a perfon unconneded with every fadtion, nor attached to any party, but that of truth, juftice, and the public good. It is his regard to thefe conliderations alone that induces him to attempt an an- fwer to an infidious pamphlet, lately pab- lifhed under the title of Obfervations on the Papers relative to the Rupture with Spain : a work whofe only defign and tendency feems to be to ftir up the fpirit of fadion and difcontent, and infufe into the minds of the people falfe and injurious fufpicions of the prefent miniftry. It has the appear- ance of being wrote by a perfon of fomc abilities, and one who has been intimately acquainted with the meafures of the late adminiftration, as well as clofely conceded with their interefts. This enables him to throw at pleafure a glofs or {hade over mod of the tranfadions, and to reprefent them in a light very diflTerent from the true ; the more (^i more apt to deceive that it carries with it the appearance of reality, and that its fallacies, at firft fpecious, cannot be difcovered but by a ftridt examination. But as very few of thofe who may chance to read that pamphlet will chufe to give themfelves fo much trouble, the author of thefe Remarks hopes, that, all-hafty, loofe, and unconnedled as they are, they will be able to expofe the little faith and credit that is due to the Obfervations on the Spanifh Papers, and thereby anfwer the only end that (emboldened by concealment) he pro- pofes to himfclf in allowing them to appear in the world in this unfinifhed form. • The firft obfervation in this pamphlet is, that the public has not been gratified with a view of all the papers relative to the rupture mth Spain *j and that the negotiation is de^ Jigtiedly kept intricate and embarr^J[fed'\, Our obferver then proceeds to mention fome pa- Page 5. t Page 6. B 2 pers o O (■ 4 ) pers that ought to have been produced, but which are defignedly fupprejj'ed. And, iirft, he afks, ** Why the public has not been in- " dulgcd with all the memorials and papers ** relating to the old differences *with Spain ^ f that were moved for in the Hoofe of ** Commons on the nth of December, *' from which (he fays) we might have '* judged with fome degree of accuracy of *' the meritr, of the prefent war with Spain?*' —To this we reply, That the differences that have for thefe many years fubfifted be- twixt England and Spain, relative to the captures, the Newfoundland fifliery, and the Honduras (< llcments, were not the grounds of the prefent quarrel with Spain, nor even of the advice given fome time before by Lord Temple and Mr. Pitt, the rejecting of which occafioned their refignation ; and therefore, that the fuppreffion of them could by no means tend to keep us m the dark with refped: to the merits of the prefent war with c?pain. o o The advice given by Lord Temple and Mr. Pittjfor an immediate declaration of war againft o o o ( 5 ) againft Spain, or at leaft, for fuch a proceed* ing as mull have rendered it inevitable, was founded, as they themfclvcs confefTed, upon what that court had already done *, (i. e. be- fore the 5th of Odober laft.) But the on- ly things meant by thofe fo general and un- fatisfidlory words, muft have been, J ft, The heinous infult faid to have been offered by Spain to the court of London, in the me-^ morial delivered by iMr. de Bufly to Mr. Pitt, relative to our differences with Spain : And, 2diy, The treaty of the 15th of Au^ guft, or any other conventions entered into between Spain and France. We will not enter at prefent into an examination of thefe reafonsj but will only obfcrve, that the old differences of Spain and England could not be meant in the general words cited above, as there never appears the leaft hint thatwe thought ourfelvcs aggrieved by Spain in any of thefe points: but, on the contrary, it feems to be acknowledged, that Spain had fome ground to complain of undue incroach- * Letter from a right honourable Perfon to ' in the City. ments ( 6 ) jDents made by fubjeds of England, upon the Spani(h territory on the coaft of the hayofHondara^. . . . , Neitiier was the prefent war declared upon the ground of any of the old dif- ferences. This appears evidently from our declaration of war, and from all the papers relative to the rupture with Spain ; in which the only grounds o:^the war appear to have been, ift. The refufal cf Spain to give «8 eny fatisfadion, with refpedl to the treaty of the 1 5th of Auguft, or their final intentions ; and, 2dly, The. great caufe of fufpicion af- forded us by Spain of her hoftile inknti- ons, by the great preparations making for war in all parts of the kingdom. Spain, indeed, pretended to juftify her refu/al of the fatisfadtion we afked, on the ground, that,notwithftanding her repeated demands, and our repeated promiles, we had never given her any fatisfadtion for the juft caufes of complaint {he had againft us, though {he a{ked only^ as a falvo for her honour, till matters could be fettled, that we might fend (7) fend immediate orders for the evacuation of the incfoachments made by fbme Engliih fttbjefts, upon the SpaniA territory on the Honduras coaft. And hence it is thought very material to the juflice of the war, to know whether this was a proper and fuffi- clent caufe of refufal on the part of Spain, to the neceffary ecclaircifiement demanded by us. But to fliow the weaknefs of this juilifi- cation of the Spanifh refufal, we need only compare the nature of the fatisfadlion de- manded on both fides. On the one hand, the demand made by us was of the utmoft neceffity ; made fo neceffary too by the very fufpicious condud: of Spain, and which, from the very nature of it, could not brook the lead delay. Whereas that of the Spa- niards was flill doubtful as to the jufticc of it, as it was not allowed by the Englifh; that the incroachments made upon the Spa- nish fcttlements had been without provoca^ tion on the part of Spain. Befides, if the report was true, that Spain had entered in- to ( 8 ) i to hoftile engagements againft us, flie had certainly forfeited all right to this fatisfac- tion 5 which we affured her, in the moft folcmn manner, ilie (hould mod amply re- ceive, as foon as {lie had cleared up ourjuft fufpicions on that head. This (hort delay too could be of no bad confcqaence to Spain. .. . ) . ^ - From thefe obfervations, it appears, that the publication of thefe papers could by no means have thrown any light upon the merits of the war with Spain, and therefore that the fuppreffion of them could not be with a view to keep us in the dark in that matter. But the irrelative nature of thefe papers to the real merits of the rupture, is not the only reafon that juftifies the not publifhing them 5 becaufe, had it been propofed to lay before parliament, the full and perfedt grounds of the old difputes, whole volumes muft have been publiflied, in order to fee forth in a proper manner the pretenfions, claims, and rights of both dates. The hifto- ries (9 ) ries of the fettlements at Newfoundland and Honduras, even fince their eftablifhmcnt, mufl have been minutely compiled. All the treaties, and tacit coneeffions that have iince taken place in either, mud have been fully flated j and accurate maps of the country mufl have been made. Had all this been done, A^ould it not have been de- flrudive of the end propofed by it ? Would any one have given himfelf the trouble of fearching to the bottom of fo tedious an af- fair ? and would a flight and impartial exa- mination have been adequate to the intri- cacy of the bulinefs ? Secondly, The miniftry are charged with the fuppreflion of intelligence faid to have been tranfmitted by Mr. Stanley from Pa- ris, relative to the family-compadt *. But whether there really ever was any intelli- gence of that matter fent by Mr. Stanley, or whether it was of much importance, or much credit, we are totally uninformed. Pages 9, 10. Befide?, (lo) Befides, there are, I imagine, certain kinds of intelligence that would be very inriproper to be made public, left it {hould give fome ground to the ftate from whence it had been fent, to fufpedl the perfons from whom, or the means by which it had been obtained ; a ftep, that, for the future, would have totally deprived the Britifh minifters of that leading ftar of public councils. But to what purpofe (hould this intelligence have been publiOied ? To juftify the advice given by Mr, Pitt for an immediate declaration of war ? But I ihall afterwards endeavour to jfhow, that whatever information he might have had of the family-compad, or of the intenfions of Spain, that meafure would have been highly improper in every refped:. To fliow the necefTity of the declaration of war made by the prefent adminiftration ? But furely the papers that are publiflied, are fuf- ficient to (how the neceffity of that proceed- ing, without having recourfe to fo impro- per a ftep, as that of laying open the private intelligence fent by a minifter to his court. Thirdly, ( II ) Thirdly, It is alledged, That an exfraSf of me letter only of Mr. Pitt's is ptMfied *. dated July 28. — But what has been faid above may be fufficient to fhow us the rea- fon of thi?. It appears that the old difte- rences with Spain, probably the fubjea ot Mr. Pitt's former letters, were by no means the grounds of the prefent war, or of the rupture advifed by Mr. Pitt. To publiOi any of thefe letters, ihtrefore, would have been quite foreign to the purpofe propofed, in fubmitting the papers relative to the rup- ture with Spain to the confideration of par- liament. The next obfervation contained in the pamphlet, is upon that palTage of Lord Egremont^s firft letter toLordBriftol, infert- ed in the papers; in which he fays, he opens his correfpondence f . ' But how can this be « truth ? (fays our very critical obferver in * the note) when LordBriftol writes, Nov, '16. " The meffenger Ardouin deli- « vered to me, on the lOth inftant, at the * Page 9. t Page 9- C2 Efcurial, ( 1^ ) " Efcurial, your Lordfhip's difpatches of " the 28th pafl : And by the laft poft, " I received youv letter of the 2.0th of the ** fame month, in which, &c." / fuppofe * the public was not to he trufted with all ' that letter: What an idea mud he have of the im- prudence and indifcretion of the perfons who were the writers, publifliers, and cur^ tailers of thefe letters, to fuppofe them ca- pable of falling into fo grofs a blunder, in a matter where the utmoft caution was necef- fary for their own fakes ! The obferver mufl inlagine that thefe words, open my corre^ fpondence, were not in the real letter ; but that they have been fince inferted, when thefe papers were prepared for parliament, in order to make believe, that i: was the firft letter wrote by Lord Egremont to Lord Briftolj for he cannot fuppofe that Lord Egremont would ufe that expreflion in a letter dated the 28th, (at that time, certain- ly, not defigned to be {hewn to parliament) if he had wrote him one in the fame capa- city C ^3 ) city but a few days before. But Is it pofli- ble, if fuch care and attention has been given to the revifal and ordering of thefc letters, as is here infinuated, that itoccafion- ed the delay of publication for fome weeks which were employed in putting them into fuch a form, as might befl tend to thejuf- tification of the miiiiftry, and the fatisfac- tion of parliament ; by the omifTion of fome letters, and parts of letters, by the in- fe-ting fome adjufting words, and the like, that they could have been fo very carelefs, as not to obferve the repugnancy between thofe two palTages, which mufl: immediate- ly lay open the fraud, and which would have been eafily favcd by the bare omiffion of that letter of the 20th. The abfurdity of this fuppofition is felf-evident;and the feem- ing contradidion may be eafily other wife ex- plained, by only fuppofing a diftindion be- tween the public and private correfpondence of the two minifters ; in confequence of which diftincfllon. Lord Egremont mi^ht might fpeak of the letter of the 28th, as the opening of his correfpondence with Lord ( 14 ) Lord Briftol as fecretary of ftate, though he bad wrote him a private letter by the poft a few days before. Thus too, in page 47. of the papers, mention is made of a letter, inclof- ing the addrefs from the houfc of Commons, received by Lord Briftol by the poft from Lord Egremont. But no notice is taken of the omilTion of this letter in the papers, becaufe it is fuppofed to be one of a private nature. Why then may not that of the 20th be one of the fame kind ? Had it been a letter of fuch confequence, as that the mi- niftry durft not publiQi it, would they not have totally fuppreffed all mention of it ? And does not this circumftance totally de- ftroy the malignant fuppofition, that the fublic was not to he trufted with all that let- ter .? It may be obferved too, that the only letters faid in the papers to have been fent by the poft, are fuch as we may reafonably prefume to be of ii private nature. After the obferver has given a catalogue of thofe papers that have been defignedly fuppreffed from the view of parliament, he takes ( 15 ) takes occafion to launch out in praifc of the ** honed zeal of the late minifter, who *' warmly prefTcd the laying before parlia- «' ment, all the papers relative to the rup- " ture with Spain ; which his fucceflbrs ** fought to cover and conceal, or at lead to •» perplex *.'* As I do not propofe to enter into any difquifition of the merits or demerits of Mr. Pitt's adminiftration, I will allow him all the (hare of praife fo lavilhly beftowed upon him by this impartial obferver. I will fuppofe, that his fupport of the motion for all the papers was actuated by the honeft zeal of confcious innocence, and that he never courted a war with Spain. But I mufl differ widely from him in opinion, that it appears to demonflration, even from thefe papers, '' that, before the firfl overtures of " France for the particular peace with Eng- " land, Spain had refohed, nt a proper timey ♦' to take an efficient and openly hojiiie part * Page n. « r / ( 17) tion on the judgment of the public. He picks out every paflage that avows the leaft har- mony betvy^een France and Spain, and can mofl tend to irritate us againft the latter -, he conceals every word of apology or excufe j and then ccnjiudcs, /o much for becoming apologies. Lucky it is that thefe papers arc now made public, and not confined to the view of parliament alone j for had not this been done, would not every perfon into whofe hands that pamphlet fhould fall, have naturally concluded, that all the apo- logies made by Spain were matter of frefli infult ? that our acceptance of them was mean, and unworthy the dignity of the'Bri- ti{h crown, and that Mr. Pitt and Lord Temple were the only perfons who exer- ted a proper fpirit on this occafion ? This feems to have been the aim of the obferver j and had not the general publication of the papers proved a timely antidote to the poi- fon, it muft have taken root in the minds of the generality of people. I will not now lofe tim . in repeating the apologies contain- D 9d ( j8 ) ed In that memorial, but refer to the me- morial itfelf, and leave every one to judge, whether it does not contain apologies be" comin\f and fathfa5lQr\\ and fuch as totally efface all the infult that had been offered to us, at the fame time that the conciliating manner in which it is exprcfTd, feemed to (how a defire to terminate all amica- bly, ** and not to provoke us at a time ** that the court of London was in the " moft exalted fituation it had ever '* known *." I do not deny that we had reafon to fuf- ped: the intentions of Spain. We certainly had ; and the orders fent by Mr. Pitt to Lord Briftol, to make a proper and fpirited remonftrancc to the Spanifli miniffer, with refpedt to the memorial delivered by Monf. de Buffy, and to demand an explicit and ca- tegorical ecclairciflement, as to the objedlof her naval armaments, the deftination of her . 1 I * Spani(h Papers, page lo, Quarto Edition. fleets^ ( >9 ) fleets, and her final intentions, was highly ncccflary. But I muft infift: that the me- morial of the 2Hth of Auguft is a full apo- logy for that delivered by Mr. de Bufly ; and that the unfwer made in that memo- rial, and by General Wall to Lord Briflol, was fuch as might give us reafon to hope that every thing was going on in an ami- cable manner, efpecially when we conlider the different fituation of the two countries in ftrength and power ; and therefore, that the flep advifed by Lord Temple and Mr. Pitt, for an immediate declaration of war, would have been highly unjuftifiable, as well as highly impolitic : I fay, impolitic ; for whoever confiders the neceffarily ex- haufted (late of this country, muft look upon a frefh war in a very lamentable light, and mufl confefs, that, as long as there was any profpe(ft of being able to avoid it, that profpedt ought to be of much more weight than the confideration of any increafe of flrength and preparation that might accrue to Spain during a fhort delay. D Lord ( 20 ) Lord Briftol was ordered by Mr. Pitt to remonftrate with Ipirit on the indecorum of the memorial prefenied by Monf. de Buffy in the name of Spain. He did fo, and every poflible apology was made to him. He was ordered to demand an explanation of the objea of the naval armaments of Spain, the deflination of her fleets, and her final intentions with refped to England. To the firft, Mr. Wall anfwered *, " That Spain was furprifed England fhould take umbrage at any naval preparations ma- king in Spain fmce the acceffion of his prefent Catholic MajeQy, as their number of fliips of war, including frigates, did '« not exceed that of twenty." With re- gard to their deflination, he faid, " That «* fome were frequently going between « Spain and Naples 5 that fome were in- " tem'.d to convoy the homeward or V outward bound flotas, affogues, and '/ re^ifter-fhips 5 and that the remain- ( 22 ) The treaty of the 15th of Auguft was indeed of a mod alarming nature, but no article of it feemed to be particularly point- ed againft us. It refpeded all the powers of Europe, and was no lefs their caufe than ours. If therefore thecondufl: of Spain was fuch, as to render all inquiries needlefs, yet ftill political confiderations fhould have prevented us from fo haftily taking upon our ov;n fhoulders the whole burthen, which, but for our impetuofity, fo many powers in Europe would willingly have {hared with us. But ftill, however well-known the de- figns of Spain might be to us, to the reft of Europe they were totally fccret. In order therefore to juftify our own con- dud, and lay open to the world the in- juftice of that of Spain, it was neceflary, before we ftiould declare war, to demand from Spain an explanation of her engage- mentS; and final intentions with refpedl to us. The ( 23 ) The refufal of this lb juftahd necefTaryde- mand, is at once a proof of the moderation and equity of our court, and the necefTity they were unwillingly forced to,of declaring war againll: Spain, on the 4th of January laft. Whereas, had we rollowed the pre- cipitate advice given by Mr, Pitt, mod juft- ly might a fpirit of haughtinefs and difcord have been reproached to us, as the moving fprings of the Britifh government. France and Spain would not have wanted pretences to colour all their proceedings, and to retort upon us the injufticeof the late rupture. Europe, already fo jealous of our profperity, would naturally have taken alarm at the vio- lence of our meafures, and every ftate, even thofe who feem our beft allies, would have wiflied to fee us humbled to that fpirit of moderation and forbearance^ fo necelTa- /y to the general tranquility. I own indeed that the condud of Spain, fince Mr. Pitt's refignation, plainly fliows V /-at was all along the fincerity of their pro- '> ( 24 ) profeffions, and how little they were dc- ferving of faith and credit ; that the Jkth- ing declarations (o often made to us, were only the refok of the confcioufnefs of theit inferiority to us at fea,and their fear for their homeward bound floras ; that as foon as thefe were fafe, Mr. Wall quickly changed his note, and gave loofe to the moft abufivc language, and moft virulent reproaches. I admit, indeed, that the event has proved the whole condudl of Spain to be full of deceit and defign, and that they had already taken part with France. But ftill this has ap- peared only from the event 5 till then, we had reafon to hope, both from the codftant profeffions, and the true interefts of that crown, that all would be adjufted without a rupture ; and as long as We had the leaft glimmering of hope, it was our duty and interefl: to forbear from any violent mea- fures, both for our own fakes, and to (how the world the perfidy and falfhood of Spain. Whether, therefore, we believe the Spa- niards to have been lincere or not, whe- ther • ( ^5 ) ther we fuppofe the war to have been avoidable or not, the hally ftep advifed by Mr. Pitt would have been mofl: highly improper. - Thus then have I endeavoured to ihow; 1 ft. That, even at the time of Mr. Pitt's re- fignation, we had reafon to hope 5 2dly, That, as long as we had any glimmering of hope, every violent meafure would have been highly wrong; and, 3diy, That even fuppofing all hopes of an accommodation at an end upon the receipt of the intelligence of the 18 th of September, ftill every rule of good policy demanded that we fhould make appear to the world where the injuftice of the rupture was due, by a moderate demand of that juft fatisfac- tion that the very fufpicious condud: of Spain had drove us to the neceffity of re- quiring. E Moft ( 26 ) Moft heartily therefore do I join with the obferver in wifhing, that ** Whoever can now •* pride himfelf in the frocrajlinating advice " he gave to his fovereign, may enjoy in full " luftre that eminent glory of his life*** Sure I am it was an advice didlated by prin- ciples the moft happy that can aduate the condu<5t of any miniftcr, a fpirit cf juftice, of moderation, and love of peace > whilft the bold and animated meafures of the prefent adminiftratbn, even fiuce the refufal of Spain to give us any fatif- fadlion, by the demand of an immediate and categorical anfwer, by the declarati- on of war, by the ardour of the prepa- rations for reducing the enemy to reafon, fpeak them pofleffed of all the firmnef^ and intrepidity that the dangers of the time^ require. * Page 31. % How { 27 ) it tc How indecent then are the refledlions thrown out again ft his Majcfty's minifters ? " lamforry to fay we have had too much ex^ '* perience of one part of them, and too little " of the other ^ to be very fanguine. Two ** Secretaries of State, become minifters by infpiration in thefe dangerom times. We have as little experience of them as they " have ofbufnefs *." If both the Secreta- ries of State are fo unfit for the manage- ment of great and difficult affairs, how came it that one of them was chofen by the late admin iilration as the perfon mofl fit to be fet at the head of that moft im- portant and complicated negotiation, in which the intcrefls of every quarter of the globe were to be adjufted, and thofe of every flate in Europe to be thoroughly canvaffed ? * Page 31. E2 The ( 28 ) The peculiar rank of favour held by the other Noble Lord, will not allow me to urge the injufticc of thofe afperfions, here caft upon his miniflerial character, in fo flrong a manner as, did he ftand in a lefs exalted point of view, my opinion of his merits, his ability, and integrity, v/ould ob- lige me to do. It is very hard to keep the due medium, when we fpeak of perfons who have the fortune to enjoy in any emi- nent decree the favour and confidence of their Sovereign. I refer to the glorious teftimony that his M?jefty himfeif bore to his fervices, at the time he introduced him into a fiiare of his councils : I refer to the charadter he ever held, whilfl his ability and worth made him not an objedt of jea- loufy and envy : I refer to the fliort expe- rience wc have had of him as a minifter. But I mean not to dwell on this fubjedt. I leave the Jo-long -neghEled Martinico, as a happy prefage of what we may expecft from the prefent adminiftration : I leave the ( 29 ) the ftrength and ardour of the expeditions now on foot, as famples of the fpirit and boldnefs of their meafuies. One obferva- tion however I mufl: make, If our prefcnt minifters are fo unfit for the trufts repofed in them, what thanks, what obligations are not due to thofe illuftriom and difmterefted patriots J v^ho^Q dcfertion of their country, from motives of private fafety, at the time of her greatefl difficulties, reduced her to the ncceffity of flying to thofe for fupport. who vet dared to undertake her caufe, even at the hazard oirefponjibility f Another very favourite topic of this pam- phlet is to (how, that both Lord Briflol, and the prefent miniflry, were the dupes of the Spanifh cunning*. With refpedt to the former, the whole courfe of his letters plainly fliov/s that he long entertained a diffidence of the Spanifli defigns, tho' at the * P-'ge 37. fame (30) fame tims he always nourifhed fome hopes. He fays in one letter, that he had long ob- ferved the jealoufy of Spain at our fuccef- fes. He kept a fteady eye upon all their motions, and gave us exadl information of them. At the fame time, his high opini- nion of Mr. Wall's iincerity and inclina- tion towards England, made him always flatter himfelf that a rupture might be a- voided. And indeed, if we may judge from Mr. Wall's behaviour during Lord Briftol's conference with him on the 6th of De- cember, the refufal of the fatisfadion we alked was not owing to him : on the con- trary, he hoped to bring fuch an anfwer to the demands of England, as might fettle every thing in an amicable way. ** *Let me next remark (fays the obferver) ** how dextrous the new miniftry were in " deceiving themfelves. He obferves, that * Page 37' ti the ( 31 ) " the firft orders fent to Lord Briftol, re- " garded only the treaty of the 15th of ** Auguft, but took no notice of the final <' intentions of Spain j that they had quite " ^0/ off from the true ground, which was the " memorial deliiered by Mr, de Buffy, and ** that of the 2Sih of Auguft y with Lord " Brt/iors Letter of the -T^iftr This laft charge we have already obviated, by fhew- ing the memorial of the 28th of Augurt", and Lord Briiiol's letter of the 31ft, was a full nniwer to Mr. Pitt's letter of the 28th of July. No mention is made indeed in thefe firft orders of the final intentions 3 but in effed, this was in- cluded in the fatisfadlion demanded with refpedt to the treaty of the 15th of Au- guft. The only method in which Spain could think of breaking with us, was by a con- jundion withFrance. And if {he had any fuch views, the engagements muft have been ( 30 been formed before that lime ; if they were not, there was all reafon to fuppofe they never would be. So that the aiifwer to be given, with refped to the late engagements of Spain with FVance, would fufiiciently ex- plain the nature of her final intentions. But allowing that the appreheniiuns of that treaty engaged all the attention of the mi- nifter at the time of his fending his firfl orders, and that he did not then think of the final intentions of Spain, is this a fuf- ficient ground for fo atrocious a charge as that of an intentionally facile and mlUng credulity f In his next difpatch he is more exprefs, and demands a categorical expla- nation of that treaty, and of the final in- tencions of Spain. The anfwer given to this demand by the Conde de Fuentes, in Iiis lad memorial to Lord Egremont (for it was in confequence of this laft demand, and not in anfwer to thefirft, fo falfely infi- iiuated by the obferver, that the Spanilh ambaf- i ( 33 ) ambafTador made the declaration contained in that memorial) refpeded only the treaty of the I 5th of Auguft, and nothing more. How then can the remark of that unfa- tisfadlory anfwer in Lord Egfemont's reply be conftrued into a confeffion of guilt * .^ The next remark -I" is juft of the fame nature, and hardly worthy an anfwer ; as it mufl: be obvious to every one, not determined to mifmterpret and mifrepre- fent every thing, that the juft requifitions fpoken of by Lord Egremont, in his lad memorial to Mr. de Fuentes, were thofe made by Lord Briftol of his own accord, and mentioned in his letter of the 2d of November. i After all thefe juft afid well-founded obfervations, the author obferves, that he feei nothing fo alarming in the ivar with '% ■" ^^ge 39. t Page 41. F Spain ( 34 ) Spain "^^ I will not now enter into any argument on that head, but take it for an axiom, that, exhaufted as this country is by a long and neceflarily expenfive war, and ftill more by the prodigality of en adminifcration that defpifed every fyf- tern of ceconomyy no greater misfortune coul'i have happened to it, than to be forced into a freili war with a rich and pov/erful enemy. Hiiving now gone through moft of the principal cbfervations of that pamphlet, I hope I have not failed in my purpofe, of laying open the fallacious and deceitful na- ture of it. I have fluck to my text as clofe as poffible, have entered very little into any of the general queflions, and have not prcfumed to offer any new cbferva- tions upon the papers in queftion. The reader will make allowances for the very uufinifhed nature of thefe re- ir.arks. 'i ( 35 ) marks. He will confider them as the work of a few hady hours, and of a perfon whofe total unacquaintance with every meafure and motive of government, allows him no other lights than what mud necef- farily ftrike every one, whofe political cu- riofity is fufficient to engage him to an exa- mination of matters of this kind. I N -^-jlt-st-n"-^" '4 • i