; 
122] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1797. 
eouncils of Spain, that, notwith- 
standing the earnest supplication of 
the archbishop of Pigri, nuncio, at 
Madrid, for the interference of the 
Spanish monarch, in behalf of the 
Roman pontiff, he was answered, 
that the conduct of the court of 
Rome, respecting the French, was 
temporising and imsincere, and that 
those who were entrusted with the 
administration of its political con- 
cerns, had, by their imprudent and 
erroneous management, © brought 
them into so critical a ‘situation, 
that it seemed adviseable, for the 
preservation of the personal safety 
of the pope, that he should resign 
his ‘temporal dominions, in order to 
secure the rights of the clinrch, and 
to prove his disinterestedness, and 
the fervour of his piety, by an ex- 
ample that would prove so edifying 
to all the christian world. Such was 
the answer of the prince of peace, 
the Spanish minister’s title, to the 
agent of a power that had formerly 
exercised an almost boundless in- 
fluence over the minds of both the 
sovereign and people of the Spanish 
monarchy. 
This taunting and disdainful re- 
ply to an humble and submissive 
address from a sovereign prince, 
who, though not powerful, still pos- 
sessed a station of great dignity in 
Christendom, was considered equal- 
ly by the Roman cetholics and pro- 
testants as even more impolitic than 
insulting. It was disgraceful to a 
prince of the Romish communion, 
and it yielded up tamely, and with- 
out need, the dominion of a very 
considerable portion of Italy, toa 
power which all Europe was be- 
come more interested than ever, in 
restraining within its former limits. 
The period when this transaction 
happened, which was the close of 
September, 1796, shewed, at the 
same time, from whence it origi- 
nated. Spain had, a month be- , 
fore, concluded an alliance, offen- 
sive and defensive, with France, 
and a week after it declared war a- 
gainst England. But the truth was, 
that Spain was no longer its own - 
mistress. It was become a depen* 
dant of France, and had so little 
left of its former spirit and conse- 
quence, that it did not dare to act 
otherwise than by theimpulse of the ‘ 
French, who now directed the Spa- 
nish councils with a full conscious- 
ness of unresisted sway. 
The situation of the Roman see 
was, iu the mean time, peculiarly 
difficult. That spiritual power, it 
had so long exerted over kgs and 
nations, was totally vanished. Cun- 
ning and artifice were almost the 
only instruments of the smallest im- 
portance remaining to it, even among 
the princes and states of its own 
persuasion ; but even this was daily 
lessening, from the diminution of 
those religious considerations on 
which it was founded. The prin-» 
cipal motive, therefore, for not 
suffering the downfal of the pope, 
had no reference to his spiritual, 
but merely to his political, cha- 
vacter ;- which rendered it. highly 
expedient to prevent the papal 
territories from being made the 
prey/of the French, or of their ad- 
herents, 
The court of Rome itself relied 
hardly upon any other motives for 
- the assistance it so warmly solicited 
from that of Vienna, This evi- 
dently appeared from a letter, writ- 
ten by cardinal Busco, the Roman 
secretary of state to the papal nun- 
cio at Vienna, and which was in- 
tercepted, and sent by Buonaparte 
to the directory. Herein all the 
arguments 
