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ed thereto with fuch good-will, fince they would have furnished arms against themselves.

That his Catholic majefty is fenfible of the good-will and tendernefs, which his most faithful majefty has fhewn for him, fince his acceffion to the throne of Spain, and particularly of the readiness with which his most faithful majefty complied with the annulling the treaty of limits in Peru, by that of the 12th of February 1761, in order to avoid the confequences which might refult from the bad conduct of the officers and governors, to whom the execution of that treaty had been intrusted: however, the friendship and complaifance of his Catholic majefty was not lefs remarkable, when he himself propof ed that expedient, without thinking of others which he might have made ufe of: what he did then, and what he now propofes, by agreement with the moft Chriftian king, prove, that the ties of blood are ftronger in the mind of the Catholic king, than the flattering ideas of aggrandifement.

Finally, The ambaffador of Spain, and the minifter plenipotentiary of France, repeat what they have already fet forth in the memorial of the 16th of March: they infist on the demand therein contained, and they declare to the most faithful king, That, without further reprefentations, or his confent, the Spanish troops, already on the frontiers, will enter Portugal, for the fingle object of advancing, till they fhall obtain, that the ports of Portugal be not at the difpofal of the enemy; having, at the fame time, the most 'precife orders, not to commit, without reafon, the least hoftility against

the fubjects of the most faithful' king; to pay them, in ready money, for whatever they fhall furnish to them, as if the one and the other belonged to the fame mafter. It remains for his most faithful majefty to chuse, either to receive these troops, as allies, or to refufe them entrance, or fubfiftence, and to oppose them, as enemies: for then the two allies will take all poffible precautions, on the fufpicions, already too much founded, that the court of Lisbon, by intelligence, for fome time paft, with that of London, will march out to meet them, with English forces, in order to hinder their just designs, and to make them bloody, contrary to the fentiments of their heart.. Lisbon, the ft of April, 1762..

(Signed)

DON JOSEPH TORRERO.. DON JAQUES O'DUN,

Translation of the answer to the fecond memorial of the minifters of Spain and France, of April, 1762.

DON Lewis da Cunha, fecretary

of state of his moft faithful majefty, having laid before the king the memorial, which his excellency. M. Torrero, ambassador of the Catholic king, and M. O'Dun, minifter plenipotentary of France, remitted to him the 1ft of this month; infifting upon all the demands which they had made in the first memorial of the 16th of March laft, notwithstanding the reafons given on the part of the king, by the memorial, in answer, of the 20th of the faid month; and declaring farther, that, without any

other

other representation, and even without the confent of his molt faithful majesty, the Spanish troops, already upon the frontiers, fhould enter into Portugal, to feize his ports, and to fhut them up; and that there only remained to his moft faithful majefty, the choice of receiving them as friends, or of treating them ás enemies, the king has ordered his fecretary of state to answer ;

That his moft faithful majefty (notwithstanding a declaration fo furprising and unexpected) perfifts in the fentiments which he has always at heart, of complying with the wishes of their Catholic and moft Chriftian majefties, neverthelefs he cannot perfuade himself that it is in his power to break the defenfive treaties which he has with Great Britain, without that court's having given him motives so strong, and of fuch immediate intereft to Portugal, as to oblige him to undertake a war, and to make the people, whom his majefty ought to preferve, endure the calamities of his fcourge.

That he can no more perfuade himfelf that the faid treaties which fubfift, for fo many years paft, between Portugal and Great Britain, are offenfive, as is infinuated in this laft memorial, on account of the commerce which Portugal allows to the English fubjects; on the contrary, this reason, and the others alledged therein, are the bafis and the spirit of all defenfive treaties ; it being generally known to all the world, that these fort of treaties confist of engagements between the powers, to enable them the better to defend and maintain themselves, by the fuccours which one receives from the other, either in troops or money, or in fomething else which

may be of advantage to them; and this is the cafe of the treaties of league and commerce between Portugal and Great Britain, and it is what the law of God, of nature, and of nations, and the univerfal practice of all nations, have always deemed innocent, without there ever having been any power, who would undertake to force others to break these fame treaties, because they find their intereft in it, and would prefer the fame private and particular intereft to the common and univerfal one, of the public tranquillity of neutral powers; to attack them and invade their dominions, especially among monarchs fo religious as their Catholic and moft Chriftian majesties.

That the unbounded confidence, which his molt faithful majefty has always had in the ties of blood, the friendship, and the good neighbourhood which he has always cultivated with his Catholic majefty, cannot be better proved, than by the filence and tranquillity with which the king has feen, for a long time paft, his frontiers almoft blocked up and infefted; the commerce of corn prohibited, the Spanish magazines upon the faid frontiers filled with all forts of military ftores, and the places fwarming with troops, without his most faithful majesty's having given the leaft order to his ambaffador at Madrid to know the object of thefe preparations.

That after having acted with fuch fincerity, tranquillity, and good faith, at the time only when his most faithful majefty faw that it was neceffary for him to liften to the clamours of his fubjects, and to preferve his royal decorum from the univerfal cenfure of all Europe, which had fpread even into [P] 2

every

public

public news-paper: and at the fame time that it was known to all the world, that the kingdom of Portugal was in want of experienced officers, his most faithful majefty invited over lord Tyrawley; he alfo took fome English officers and of other nations, to exercife his troops, as has been conftantly practifed in this kingdom, and as their Catholic and moft Chriftian majefties, and all fovereigns in general, practife alfo, without there a ifing any fufpicious distrust from fuch a proceeding.

That his most faithful majefty, paffing over in filence the reproaches against individuals, who only execute the orders of their matters, to give an anfwer upon the affair of M. de la Clue's fquadron, muit neceffarily call to mind, that having received from the king of Great Britain, the moft obliging reparation for what concerns the rights of the territory, and of the port, near which the French veffels were taken, and having by repeated follicitations demanded reftitution of thofe fhips, as he has affured the moft Chriftian king, his most faithful majefty thinks that it is more natural to obtain the reflitution of the faid fhips, from the friendship of his Britannic majesty, at a convenient opportunity, than to undertake it by the means of a precipitate war, which might perhaps render the faid reftitution impracticable.

That his most faithful majefty hopes, that the folidity of these reafons will make upon the minds of their Catholic and moft Chriftian majefties an impreffion worthy of their religion, and of their humanity; and that they will perceive the crying injuftice of purfuing against Portugal the war kindled

against Great Britain; that they will give an example, that would produce the deftruction of mankind, if neutral powers were to be attacked, because they have defenfive treaties with the belligerent powers; that a maxim fo deftructive would occafion defolation in all Europe,' the moment a war was kindled between two nations; and that his moft faithful majefty, under these circumstances, could not recede from the neutrality which he adopts for his fyftem, without lofing, even with their Catholic and moft Chrif tian majefties, that good opinion which he prefers to every other intereft.

That, for thefe reafons, and, in the unexpected cafe of the Spanish troops entering Portugal (under any pretence whatever) not only without his most faithful majesty's permiffion, but contrary to his exprefs declaration, made in the memorial of the 20th of March, and... repeated by the present, making a declared and offenfive war against him, by this violent and unexpected invafion: in fuch a cafe, his moft faithful majesty, no longer able (without offending the laws of God, of nature, and of nations, and without univerfal cenfure) to avoid doing his utmost for his own defence, has commanded his forces to hold themselves in readiness, and to join with thofe of his allies, in fupport of the neutrality, which is the only and fingle object for which they fhall be employed.

His most faithful majefty declares finally, that it will affect him lefs (though reduced to the last extremity, of which the Supreme Judge is the fole arbiter) to let the last tile of his palace fall, and to fee his faithful subjects spill the last drop

of

of their blood, than to facrifice, together with the honour of his crown, all that Portugal holds moft dear, and to fubmit by fuch ex-traordinary means, to become an unheard-of example to all pacific powers, who will no longer be able to enjoy the benefit of neutrality, whenever a war fhall be kind led between other powers with which the former are connected by defenfive treaties. Palace of Alcantara, the 5th of April, 1762.

DON LEWIS DA CUNHA.

Tranflation of a third memorial preJented to the Secretary of state, Don Lewis da Cunha, by Don Jofeph Torrero, his Catholic majefty's ambajador, and M. James O'Dun, bis moft Chriftian majefty's minifter plenipotentiary, on the 23d of April 1762.

DON Jofeph Torrero, his Catho. lic majefty's ambaffador, and M. James O'Dun, his moft Chrif tian majefty's minifter plenipotentiary to the king of Portugal, agreeably to the inftructions and orders of their auguft fovereigns, to put an end to the negotiation which they are jointly engaged in and have purfued, in order to bring his most faithful majefty over to his true intereft, which although expofed to the contingencies of war, yet is furely for his honour and glory, to unite his forces to thofe of France and Spain, and endeavouring to shake off the prejudicial dependency on England, which the Portuguefe nation labours under, the faid ambaffador, and minifter plenipotentiary, having loft all hopes that their masters fhould attain this fo laudable and heroic a

purpose; either because the Por tuguese monarch and his minifters, being accustomed to this evil, do not perceive it, or elfe because the common enemy has gained a defpotic power over their understanding; fince they will not admit of thofe reafons which their Catholic and moft Chriftian majefties have, with fo much friendship, and fuch good intentions, reprefented; and knowing that although very easy, it would be abfolutely useless to refute thofe contained in his excellency's Don Lewis da Cunha's laft memorial, delivered to them the 5th of this month, they will only lay before the most faithful king, through his means, a curfory refutation

thereof.

That it is a matter of great concern to the kings their mafters, that the most faithful king, by confef fing, that England has given him caufe to break the defenfive treaties,

which he does in saying, that it is not of fo great, or fo immediate, intereft to Portugal, as to outweigh the calamities of war: if his molt faithful majefty has weighed in the fame scale thofe of a war with England, and thofe of maintaining it against France and Spain, he has chofen the latter, with little regard to their power, and great difregard of their friendship, fince he joined himfelf, to one who has offended him, whether much or little, to offend thofe who have given him no other motive, than that of perfuading him to what would be most convenient for him.

The king and his minifters cannot, because they will not, be perfuaded, that thefe defenfive treaties with the English, are offenfive ones with regard to Spain and France, the arguments to the contrary, al[P] 3 ledged

ledged in the preceding memorials, being unanswerable; and the comparing them to thofe of other powers ill-grounded, his fituation and circumstances being extremely different from theirs.

That their most Chriftian and Catholic majefties, far from finding any merit in the friendly confidence of his most faithful majefty, from the filence obferved by his ambaffador, at Madrid, upon the military preparations that were making and carrying on upon the frontiers of Portugal; this has from the beginning railed in them a diftrust, which, to their great concern, is now confirmed by the experience of his preferring the alliance of the king of Great Britain to theirs; for otherwife he would in a friendly manner have enquired into the defign of fuch preparations, and have endeavoured to have fet on foot a negotiation, which their Catholic and moft Christian majefties could not immaturely follicit at the known hazard of having their views difcovered by the court of Lisbon to that of London, which then held, and ftill holds poffeffion of their affections. Certain it is, that that of Lisbon had already taken the refolution within itself, which it is now obliged to difcover; and that the apparent indifference with which it faw what is called the blockade and infeftations of its frontiers without fpeaking of it in Madrid, was a latent fire for folliciting fuccours in London; thus, oppofing difguifed preparations to open ones. That not withstanding the court of Lifbon infifts that there is no difference between her neutrality and that of other powers, and that there is no right to force them out of it, they may be affured, that it is by no

means looked upon as a point of indifference, on account of the inconveniencies experienced by Spain in other wars with the English, and be perfuaded, that if the breach with their Catholic and moft Chriftian majefties fhould bring upon the most faithful king thofe, which united with the king of Great Britain he does not fear, to these will be added the diffatisfaction, in the opinion of the most found and judicious part of Europe, of his having had it in his power to avoid them.

That fince his most faithful majefty erroneously founds his own hoour, and that of his crown, not in delivering himself from the truly oppreffive ycke of the English, but in oppofing the entry of Spanish troops into Portugal, who come to his affiftance and defence, their Catholic and moft Chriftian majeßies found theirs in attempting it, and will fuflain it with as much inflexibility as his most faithful majesty, when he heroically declares, that rather than abandon Portugal, he will see the laft tile fall from his palace, and fpill the laft drop of his fubjects blood.

And finally, that the most faithful king having, upon the alternative propofed to him, preferred the refifting the entry of Spanish troops as enemies, to admitting them as friends; and confequently the enmity of their Catholic and most Chriflian majefties to their friendfhip, there is nothing more unneceffary, and even unbecoming, than the continuance of the above-mentioned ambaffador of Spain, and minifter plenipotentiary of France, near his molt faithful majefty; therefore they befeech him, and hope he will be pleased to direct the neceffary paffports to be furnished,

that

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