124 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1805. 



enable our readers to judge and de- 

 termine. 



The treaty of St. lldefonso was 

 concluded, between France and 

 Spain, in the month oi" August 1790. 

 By this treaty, in the event of war, 

 the latter power was bound to fur- 

 nish the former with a certain pro- 

 portion of her troops and navy. 

 Whenever this stipulation was put 

 in force, there can be no doubt but 

 that Great Britain had the right to 

 consider it as a direct act of hosti- 

 lity, and to have immediately de- 

 clared war against Spain. 



It, however, unfortunately for tlie 

 credit of the consistency ol the Bri- 

 tish cabinet, and which has rendered 

 it liable to much censure, appi'ars, 

 that, during the course of nearly a 

 twelve-month's ncgociation, wiiich 

 took place since the commencement 

 of the present war, to have entirely 

 abandoned that ground, and ac- 

 quiesced to the not attacking bpain, 

 provided she conlined herself witliin 

 certain limits of assistance to France, 

 specifically pointed out. The Spa- 

 nish governmL'iit insists that Si)ain 

 strictly conformed to these condi- 

 tions, and conlined herself within 

 those prescribed limits, and that, 

 therefore. Great Britain was guilty 

 of a, breach of good faith in subse- 

 quently commencing hoitilities. 



Without attempting abolutcly to 

 decide this question, upon which so 

 much difficulty and so wide a dif- 

 ference of opinion • exists, we shall 

 content ourselves with giving the 

 substance of those official docu- 

 ments upon the subject, which were 

 afterwards printed, and laid before 

 parliament early in the present 

 year. 



The first paper, which it is neces- 

 sary to notice, is the letter of lord 

 Hawkesbury, the secretary of state 



for foreign affairs, to the Englislt 

 ambassador at the court of Madrid, |J 

 andof the date of June the 2d, 1803. * 

 By it Mr. Frere is instructed not to 

 make any positive declaratiora on 

 the part of Great Britain, provided 

 Spain coufmcd herself strictly to the 

 furnishing France with the au,\iliary 

 force stipulated by the treaty of St. 

 lldefonso: but to declare, positively, 

 that if the preparations went farther r 

 than that auxiliary force, or that fl 

 French troops were to be permitted 

 to march through Spain, to attack 

 Portugal, in.eithcr case his Britannic 

 majesty would consider it a direct 

 act of hostility on the part of Sj)ain. 



To the first of those demands of 

 explanation of the line of coliduct 

 Spain meant to adopt, on the com- 

 mencement of war between Great 

 Britain and France, the Spanish go- 

 vernment replied, that it had not 

 then sufficient information, upon the 

 grounds and nature of the war, to 

 enable it to give a direct answer. 

 A ver/ short time afterwards, how- 

 ever, it appeared that the court of 

 Spain had agreed to furnish France 

 with a pecuniary aid, in lieu of the 

 cowtlngent force, stipulated for by 

 the treaty of St. lldefonso. 



The exact amount of their sub- 

 sidy does not appear ever to have 

 been officially stated to the British 

 embassador, but there are strong 

 grounds for believing, that it 

 amounted to an annual sum equal to 

 tiirec millions of pounds sterling I 



About the period wlien this com- 

 mutation of money for men, was 

 agreed upon between France and 

 Spain, the minister of the latter de- 

 manded to know, from Mr. Frere, 

 whether the giving the subsidy 

 agreed upon would be considered, 

 by his court, as an act of hostility ? 

 To which the English embassador 



replied^ 



