D.] PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 427 



royal marine of Spain, against several British vessels, without any re- 

 prisals having been made, of any sort, on the part of Britain, that power is 

 perfectly in the right to insist, as a preliminary condition, upon a prompt 

 and suitable reparation for these acts of violence ; and in consequence of 

 this principle, the practice of nations has limited such right of reparation 

 to three articles, viz., the restitution of the vessels — a full indemnification 

 for the losses sustained by the parties injured — and, finally, satisfaction to 

 the sovereign for the insult offered to his flag. So that it is evident that 

 the actual demands of my court, far from containing any thing to preju- 

 dice the rights or the dignity of his Catholic majesty, amount to no more, 

 in fact, than what is constantly done by Great Britain herself, as well as 

 every other maritime power, in similar circumstances. — Finally, as to the 

 nature of the satisfaction which the court of London exacts on this occa- 

 sion, and on which your excellency appears to desire some explanation, ] 

 am authorized, sir, to assure you, that if his Catholic majesty consents to 

 make a declaration in his name, bearing in substance that he had deter- 

 mined to offer to his Britannic majesty a just and suitable satisfaction 

 for the insult offered to his flag, — such offer, joined to a promise of 

 making restitution of the vessels captured, and to indemnify the pro- 

 prietors, under the conditions specified in the official letter of Mr. Merry 

 on the 16th of May, will be regarded by his Britannic majesty as consti- 

 tuting in itself the satisfaction demanded; and his said majesty will accept 

 of it as such by a counter-declaration on his part. I have to add, that as 

 it appears uncertain if the vessels the North- West, an American vessel, 

 and the Iphigenia, had truly a right to enjoy the protection of the British 

 flag, the king will with pleasure consent that an examination of this ques- 

 tion, as well as that relative to the just amount of the losses sustained 

 by his subjects, may be left to the determination of commissioners to 

 be named by the two courts. 



Having thus recapitulated to your excellency the heads of what I 

 observed to you in conversation, I flatter myself you will weigh the whole 

 in your mind, with that spirit of equity and moderation which character- 

 izes you, that I may be in a condition of sending to my court, as soon as 

 possible, a satisfactory answer as to the point contained in the official 

 paper sent to Mr. Merry, on the 4th of the month, and which, for the 

 reasons I have mentioned, cannot be regarded by his Britannic majesty 

 as fulfilling his just expectations. 



I have the honor to be, &.c, 



Alleyne Fitzherbert. 



(6.) 



Letter from Count de Florida Blanca to Mr. Fitzherbert. 



Madrid, June 18th, 1790. 



You will pardon me, sir, that I cannot give my assent to the principles 

 laid down in your last letter; as Spain maintains, on the most solid 

 grounds, that the detention of the vessels was made in a port, upon a 

 coast, or in a bay, of Spanish America, the commerce and navigation of 

 which belonged exclusively to Spain, by treaties with all nations, even 

 England herself. 



