STATE PAPERS. 



^23 



diplomatic agent of England in the 

 states of Wurteraburgh, after the 

 example of Mr. Drake, has occu- 

 pied himself since his arrival at his 

 place of residence, only in prosti- 

 tuting his public character, his in- 

 fluence, and the gold of his govern- 

 ment, to that infamous ministry. — 

 Mr. Spencer Smith has suflcred a 

 discovery of the secret part which 

 formed the real object of his diplo- 

 matic mission. 1 present to the 

 first consul an enigmatical letter, 

 •which this minister has written to 

 M. Lelievre de Saint Remi, one of 

 his agents in Holland ; this agent, 

 spyj emigrant, and who has re- 

 ceived his pardon, was already 

 known to the police : but before I 

 had any of the parts of his corres- 

 pondence with Mr. Spencer Smith, 

 I knew, by other reports, that when 

 he was about to obtain his amnesty, 

 which he procured in Pluviose, 

 year 11, he quitted Seez, his place 

 of birth, in Nivose, the same year, 

 in order to go to Cambray ; and that 

 on the 2nd of last Frimaire he had 

 gone to Holland, there to serve un- 

 der the name of Pruneau, and to 

 follow there the double direction 

 of a Frenchman and a spy, named 

 Le Clerc, whom the British minis- 

 try supported at Abbeville, and 

 that of an accredited spy, named 

 Spencer Smith : whom, for the pur- 

 pose ef covering his designs, that 

 same ministry had invested with a 

 diplomatic character. I further 

 knew, by papers equally numerous, 

 and not less instructive, seized on 

 the spy at Abbeville, that Mr. 

 Spencer Smith, before he quitted 

 London, had entered into such in- 

 timate connexions with a general 

 committee of Espionage, established 

 by the above administration, and 

 the dircdtoa of which was entrusted 



to the Abbe Rate], that he had de- 

 manded and obtained of th;it com- 

 mittee a confidential secretary nam- 

 ed Pericaud, who was to follow 

 the secret correspondence, and to 

 receive and communicate all the ne- 

 cessary documents to the agents in 

 Holland, the spies on the coast, 

 and the conspirators in Paris. The 

 letters to Lelievre, the credit for 

 2000 louis d'ors given on the house 

 of Osy at Rotterdam, the cypher, 

 the enigmatical letter, are of the 

 hand writing of this Pericaud ; and 

 thus it will be seen that Mr. Spen- 

 cer Smith is gone to his residence 

 with all the exterior of a diplo- 

 matic minister from England ; that 

 is to say, with sympathetic inks, 

 watch-words to communicate with 

 all the spies, bills of exchange to 

 reward their services, and a confi- 

 dential intermediate agent, to fol- 

 low up their proceedings and to 

 direct them, without committing 



himself. It is necessary to recur 



once more to I\Ir. Drake. The two 

 reports which I lay before you, 

 citizen first consul, will give you 

 an account of a mission to that mi- 

 nister, by citizen Rosey, captain 

 and adjutant-major of the 9th regi- 

 ment of the line, in garrison at 

 Strasburgh, whom Mr. Drake wa? 

 very willing to employ as agent of 

 a pretended general, who was to 

 stir up four departments, to draw 

 around him the French army, to 

 overthrow your government, to in- 

 stal in its stead a democratic direc- 

 tory, and, finally, to put this phan- 

 tom of power and all France at the 

 discretion of the English govern, 

 ment. — 1 should hesitate to present 

 to you these monstrous absurdities, 

 if 1 had not to lay before you an 

 original letter from Mr. Drake, 

 backed by considerable sums of 



gold, 



