34] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1814. 



men of war anchored in front of 

 Nervi. In the evening a deputa- 

 tion of the inhabitants arrived 

 with a request that his lordship 

 would not bombard the town, and 

 desiring a suspension of arms 

 for a few days, as, by the accounts 

 from France, it was probable that 

 peace must soon follow. The 

 reply was, that these were argu- 

 ments to use with the French ge- 

 neral, who ought to abandon a 

 place which he could not defend ; 

 and on the next day, after several 

 communications, a convention was 

 signed, by which Genoa was to 

 be evacuated by the French troops, 

 and to be taken possession of by 

 the combined English and Sicilian 

 army, and three ships of war were 

 to enter the harbour. The maga- 

 zines and property of the French 

 government were to be placed 

 under the seals of the British go- 

 vernment, and every thing be- 

 longing to the French marine, to 

 be delivered to the British navy. 

 The losses on either side in mak- 

 ing this acquisition were not con- 

 siderable. 



The military occurrences in 

 Spain during this year have been 

 of little importance. The greatest 

 part of their country being freed 

 from their invaders by foreign aid, 

 the Spaniards appear to have been 

 content to wait for the course 

 of decisive events to effect their 

 total liberation, whilst the French 

 were reduced to a merely defen- 

 sive part, with forces continually 

 diminishing by drains for service 

 at home. The civil affairs of 

 Spain will make a very interesting 

 chapter; but at present, we shall 

 confine ourselves to those which 

 were previous to the resumption 

 of monarchical government. 



On the 5th of Januaiy, the 

 Regency and Cortes removed to 

 Madrid, where they were received 

 with all the solemnity due to the 

 national representation and go- 

 vernment. The Cortes com- 

 menced its session on Jan. 15th, 

 and on the 17th were waited 

 upon by general Villacampa, go- 

 vernor of Madrid, accompanied 

 by his staff. In a subsequent 

 sitting they were informed by the 

 Regency, that the emperor of 

 Austria had sent an envoy with a 

 note, in which he expressed a 

 desire for the re-establishment of 

 the ancient relations betv/een the 

 two countries. About the begin- 

 ning of the year, Napoleon, sen- 

 sible that Spain had been effec- 

 tually rescued from his grasp, em- 

 ployed his art to work upon his 

 captive Ferdinand's mind by a 

 treaty, in which his restoration 

 was covenanted on the condition 

 of his procuring the evacuation of 

 Spain by the English, with other 

 articles favourable to the views of 

 the French ruler. The treaty was 

 in consequence signed, and sent 

 to Spain by the hands of the duke 

 de San Carlos, the Spanish pleni- 

 potentiary, who brought two let- 

 ters to the Regency, one from 

 Ferdinand, the other from Napo- 

 leon. The former they read ; the 

 latter was returned unopened. 

 The Regency communicated the 

 business to the Cortes at a secret 

 sitting, which body expressed its 

 entire satisfaction with what the 

 other had done, and framed a 

 decree which was publicly read at 

 a sitting on the 30th. After a 

 preamble expressing the desire of 

 the Cortes to give a solemn tes- 

 timony of good faith towards their 

 allies, and perseverance against 



