to mingle the difputes of a neutral power with the negotiations now carrying on with France; and that, in cafe the Spanish minifter fhall avow, that this ftrange piece has really been authorifed by the court of Madrid, then his excellency is enjoiued to remonftrate with energy and firmness against the unexampled irregularity of fuch a proceeding on the part of Spain, and to affure M. Wall, that as on the one hand, his majefty will by no means add any new facilities from the confideration of an union of councils, or of prefent, or future conjunctions between France and Spain; fo, neither on the other hand, will his majesty's equity and moderation ceafe to difpofe his royal mind to the fame reafonable terms of accommodation with Spain, as the king, excited by inclination, and determined by fyftem, has, through the courfe of this negotiation, invariably declared himself ready to embrace. Then follows the anfwer to be given to three points in difpute: Firft; concerning the reftitution of prizes made against the flag of Spain, or in violation of the territory of that kingdom; it fuffices to fay, that the courts here inftituted to take cognizance of all matters of fuch a nature, are always open to the parties who think fit to feek redress in due courfe of juftice; and it is fuperfluous to obferve, that the minifters of his moft Chriftian majefty are not a tribunal to which Great Britain allows an appeal..

Next, as to the ftale and inadmiffible pretenfions of the Bifcayans and Guipufcoans to fish at Newfoundland, let M. Wall clearly underftand, that this is a matter held facred and that no conceffion, on the part of his majefty, fo de

ftructive to this true and capital intereft of Great Britain, will be made to Spain, however abetted and fupported: And it is fill hoped, that prudence as well as juftice will induce that court no longer to expect, as the price of an union, which it is at least as much her interest as ours to maintain inviolate, a facrifice, which can never be granted.

Thefe clear and diftinct answers being given, Mr. Pitt continues his inftructions, &c. as follows: After the above mémorial, and the intimation therein, little fhort of a declaration of a war in reverfion, and that not at a diftance, held out in terrorem on the part of France and Spain, M. Wall cannot wonder that your excellency is ordered by his majesty, as you hereby are, to defire again, in this conjuncture, a proper explanation with regard to the naval armaments that have been fo long preparing in the various ports of Spain: and his excellency cannot but himself be fenfible how ftrongly the king is called upon, in the order of things, and from the indifpenfible motives of what he owes to his crown and people, to expect that the court of Madrid will come to fome explicit and categorical eclairciffement, with regard to the deftination of her fleets, as well as with refpect to her difpofi tions to maintain and cultivate friendship and good correfpondence with Great Britain: And this mea fure is become the more highly neceffary, as the emiffaries and partizans of France here are not a little active in endeavouring to infuse, particularly into people's minds in the city, for purposes too obvious to mention, that a rupture with Spain, in conjunction with France, is approaching.

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Although, in the courfe of this inftruction to your excellency, I could not, with fuch an infolent memorial from France before me, but proceed on the fuppofition, that, infidious as that court is, fhe could not dare to commit in fuch a manner the name of his Catholic majefty, without being authorised thereto; I must not, however, conceal from your excellency, that 'tis thought poffible here that the court of France, though not wholly unauthorised, may, with her ufual artifice in negotiation, have put much exaggeration into this matter; and, in cafe, upon entering into remonftrance on this affair, you fhall perceive a difpofition in M. Wall to explain away and difavow the authorisation of Spain to this offenfive tranfaction of France, and to come to a categorical and fatisfactory declarations relatively to the final intentions of Spain, your excellency will, with your ufual addrefs, adapt yourself to fo defirable a circumstance, and will open to the court of Madrid as handtome a retreat as may be, in cafe you perceive from the Spanish minifter that they fincerely wish to find one, and to remove, by an effectual fatisfaction, the unfavourable impreffions which this memorial of the court of France has juftly and unavoidably made on the mind of his majefty.

In this difpatch, which bears date July 28, 1761, was inclofed the memorial already mentioned; Mr. Pitt's letter to M. Buffy, when he returned it,with two fupplemental memorialsof a most extraordinary nature, as Mr. Pitt expreffes it, which the public has not yet feen; the receipt of all which the E.of Bristol acknowledges, and, in confequence of the

inftructions contained therein, his excellency had no less than five conferences with the Spanish minister, in which he had urged all that he had received in commiffion with great force of argument; the anfwers to which are as follow:

M. Wall owned, that he had been informed of all that had paffed at the court of London on the fubject of the memorial in queftion, and that in confequence of a propofal made by the court of Verfailles to the king his mafter, his majefty had confented to guaranty the intended peace between France and England; and, at the fame time, to accept of France's exprefs offer of endeavouring to accommodate the difputes fubfifting between England and Spain; but, in affenting to this, his excellency declared, that his Catholic majefly had no defign of offending the British court, and was not a little furprised that it could be productive of fuch an effect; that, as to England's declaration of adding no new facilities to Spain, confideration of any intimation or threatenings whatever, the Catholic king could not but applaud thofe fentiments in his majefty, which he felt foftrongly with in himself; adding, that the court of London was certainly at liberty to reject any propofals coming from the French miniftry, but that the king of Spain no doubt had an equal right to communicate whatever measures he thought conducive to his interefts, to the moft Chrif tian king, his majefty's friend, ally, and near relation.

M. Wall purfued his difcourfe, by acquainting the earl with France's having fpontaneously offered, (in cafe the difputes of Great Britain and Spain should, at any time here

after,

after, occafion a rupture between the two courts) to unite her forces with thofe of Spain, to prevent the English encroachments in America: An offer which the Spanish monarch had received with great cordiality.

General Wall then afked, whether it was poffible to be imagined in England, that the Catholic king could feek to provoke the court of London at a time when the British nation was in the moft flourishing and most exalted fituation it had ever known? Affuring the earl, on the contrary, that the Catholic king, both before, and at prefent, efteemed, as well as valued, the frequent profeffions he had made of his majefty's defire to adjuft our mutual differences amicably; but, he perceived, the terms on which thofe difputes were fought to be accommodated, occafioned the difficulty. The Catholic king, he said, did not think England would look upon the French minifters as a tribunal to which the court of London would make an appeal, nor meant it as fuch, when the firft article of grievances was conveyed through that channel. As to the fecond, the claim of the Guipufcoans and Bifcayans to fish for bacallao; it was what Spain had always infifted

upon, and never receded from by any treaty †: And lastly, concerning England's evacuating all the ufurped fettlements on the logwood coafts, it had never been offered, but upon fuch conditions as were inconfiftent with the dignity of the Spanish crown to accept; fince the court of London would only confent, that, previous to her fending orders to thofe unjust fettlers to remove, the Catholic king fhould be compelled to make known to the English, in what manner the logwood was to be affured to the king's fubjects, notwithstanding the Spanifh monarch had repeatedly given his royal word, a method fhould be found out for that purpose; and that, till it was adjusted, in what manner Great Britain fhould enjoy that privilege, the English cutters of logwood should continue, without interruption, or moleftation of any kind, to carry on their commerce upon the footing they at prefent exercife it. His Catholic majefty only asking, that, for his own royal decorum, the ufurped establishments fhould be relinquished by the English, to prove that good faith we piqued ourselves on, and to convince Spain, we did not maintain those forcible poffef

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Lions, as pledges, which fooner or later we imagined would compel the court of Medrid to grant us our own terms, and in the mean time to increase (which the British fubjects did daily) the encroachments upon the coafts of Honduras.

With regard to the naval armaments of Spain, the destination of her fleets, and the difpofitions of his court to maintain friendship, and to cultivate a good correfpondence with his Britannic majefty, M. Wall faid, firft, as to the naval preparations of Spain, that fince the acceffion of his prefent Catholic majefty, including both the fhips of the line and frigates, the whole number did not exceed that of 20; that, 2dly, with regard to their destination, fome were frequently paffing between Spain and Naples ; others were intended to convoy the homeward, or outward bound flotas, affogues, or register fhips; and the remainder were to ferve as a check upon the Barbary corfairs, and to defend their coafts, or fmaller veffels, from infults. And, in relation to the third queftion, his Catholic majefty's difpofition and profeffions had invariably been the fame, and were ever meant to cement and cultivate the friendship fo happily fubfifting between the two

courts.

the governor of Sanroque had enquired into the behaviour of the inhabitants of Tariffa, and had given fuch effectual orders, refpecting their illegal protection of the French row-boats, as would effectually prevent any farther remonftrances on that head; that the Spanish minifter had complained of fome additional works carrying on at Gibraltar, and that he had afked, whether Great Britain could feriously entertain any apprehenfions of a rupture between the courts; adding, That the Catholic king had at no time been more intent on cultivating a good correfpondence with his majesty than at prefent. This letter did not come to hand till October 5, the day on which Mr. Pitt refigned the feals.

In another letter, his excellency informs Mr. Pitt of the fafe arrival of the flota, in the bay of Cadiz, on board of which he fays there is little more than 330,000l. upon the Catholic king's account, and this paltry fum, the produce of the royal revenue for two years, owing to want of management in the viceroys and governors, and to the knavery of the affeffors and collectors, who are the principal people concerned in defrauding the king

of his dues.

Another letter from his excellency, dated Sept. 28, exhibits a complaint made by the Spanish court against the English logwood cutters, who had begun to fortify themselves at Rio Tinto, on the river Wallis, and about the Laguna Azul; and an intimation from M. Wall, that if thofe fettlers were ordered to withdraw, no kind of molestation whatever fhould be given to any of the English logwood cutters, either on the coaft of Honduras, or the

bay