doubt, that all his subjects, inflamed with that just indignation with which the violent proceedings of England must inspire them, will not omit any of all those means to which their valour shall prompt them, of cooperating with his majesty towards the most complete vengeance for the insult offered to the Spanish flag. For this purpose he invites them to arm corsairs against Great Britain, and to possess themselves, with resolution, of her ships and property, by every possible means; his majesty promising them the greatest promptitude and celerity in the adjudication of prizes, upon the sole proof of their being English property; and his majesty expressly renouncing, in favour of the captors, whatever part of the value of the prizes he had, upon other occasions, reserved to himself, so that they shall enjoy them in their full value, without the smallest discount. -And finally, his majesty has resolved, that what is contained in the premises, shall be inserted in the public papers, that it may come to the knowledge of all; and also, that it shall be transmitted to the ambassadors and ministers of the king, in foreign courts, in order that all the powers shall be informed of these acts, and take interest in a cause so just; hoping that Divine Providence will bless the Spanish arms, so that they may obtain a just and convenient satisfaction for the injuries they have received.

Address of his Excellency the Prince of Peace, Generalissimo of his Catholic Majesty's Forces, to the Fleets, Armies, and People of Spain. Dated Madrid, December 10, 1804.

The king has condescended to submit to me, as generalissimo of the royal armies, the conduct of the war commenced with Great Britain; and he commands that all the principal officers of his dominions correspond privately with me on the subject, connected with the event. To comply with the terms of the confidence reposed in me, and to fulfil the honourable duties enjoined me in the supreme authority over his gallant troops with which I am invested, it is expedient that I call into activity my loyal zeal in his cause, and adopt the most effectual means to discharge this high and important office. It is universally known, that when we were in a state of profound peace with England, hostilities were commenced by that country, by the capture of three frigates; one was destroyed in the contest; a regiment of infantry destined for Minorca was made prisoners; many vessels laden with grain were taken; and others under the burthen of 100 tons were destroyed. When were these robberies, these acts of treachery and assassination committed? When our sovereign admitted the ships of that nation to a' free and undisturbed commerce, and gave the necessary supplies to the ships of war. What profligacy and degradation in the one; what honour and dignity in the other. On the view of this perfidy, is there a Spaniard whose indignation is not excited? Is there a soldier who will not grasp the weapon of destruction? Brave seamen, 300 of your brethren have had their mangled members scattered to the winds; 1000 are deprived of the light of heaven, in the dungeons of your enemies. Valiant soldiers, an equal number of your companions

in arms are deprived of the swords they knew how to wield, and are carried to a remote island, where they will either perish with hunger, or be constrained to unite with the ranks of the detested foe. Remember, then, your sacred obligations. Generous Spaniards, a few innocent and defenceless fishermen are reduced to the lowest step of human misery, and their afflicted wives and deserted offspring implore your pity, and demand your protection. In fine, thousands of families, expecting support from the wisdom of the state, in a season of famine, are brutally deprived of the subsistence provided for them, and exclaim, with the voice of thunderVengeance! Vengeance! Let us then, my countrymen, obey; the king expects it, and honour and justice require it at our hands. If the English have forgotten that the blood which circulates in the veins of Spaniards is the same which flowed in the breasts of those who triumphed over the Carthaginian, the Roman, the Vandal, and the Saracen, it is time that the recollection should be revived: it is time to convince them that we will preserve the fame of our ancestors unsullied, and shew to them that we will perform our duty to posterity, if it require that our ranks should be thinned to add to the glorious catalogue of Castillian heroism. If these distant islanders have attributed our desire to preserve tranquillity within our borders to lamentable weakness, or to dishonourable fear, let them at least be taught that the latter can never disgrace the bosom of a Spaniard, glowing with all the ardent and liberal impressions peculiar to his country. Quickly will we teach them, that a

loyal, virtuous, and brave people, attached to religion, and enamoured of true glory, can never be insulted with impunity, much less can it endure an instance of sanguinary violence directed against its dignity and independence. If the English, unmindful of the principles of humanity respected among civilized nations, abandoning all shame and remorse, have only sought to obtain possession of our treasures, which we should have peaceably delivered to them, had they been entitled to the property, we will recal to their memory a fact which we trusted had been universally acknowledgedthat the abuse of power, the violation of public right, and the mad excesses of despotism, have ever been the awful presage of the fall of empires. Let them hide their dishonoured heads; let them tremble in the contemplation of this ill-gotten wealth; let them shudder before the bloody victims of their aggres sion; and let an eternal mark of infamy be impressed, and universal dotestation be excited for these examples of public atrocity.

Valiant Spaniards! the nobleness of your character no longer admits you to be inactive witnesses of these disgraceful scenes. The love of our king for his people is perfectly known, and leaves no doubt that his numerous vassals will coincide in his wishes, and gratify his expectations. To arms, then, my fellow soldiers and countrymen, and engage in the war in the way most likely to hurl a terrible destruction upon our enemies; but while we spread the terrors of battle, let us not, in imitation of our enemies, desert those general maxims of humanity, which are respected by all regular governments. In order that

the

the chiefs of the state may proceed in this important business with the energy which the occasion requires, and the king commands, I proclaim, in his royal name, that if the success of any enterprise should not be equal to the wisdom by which it is planned, and the gallantry with which it is executed, they will not be considered responsible for the event: but they will be liable to the consequences, if they do not put in activity the full extent of the resources with which they are entrusted. Nations not provided with the means with which we are supplied, and placed in situations much more critical, have known so well how to economise their limited powers, as to make that people which dared to trample on their rights, feel the effects of their resentment. Fan the public ardour into general conflagration; avail yourselves of the magnanimity of a whole country, and prodigies will lose their character, and become familiar. Under the present circumstances, it becomes the governors of the provinces to spread the generous spirit of enthusiasm amongst the troops under their orders; it behoves the venc. rable dignitaries of the church, and the civil officers in the various political departments, to animate all orders and ranks of men to assert the honour of their king and country, by the powerful influence of example, and by the attractive charms of elo. quence. In cases out of the ordinary current of events, it will be expedient to recur to means equal to the occasion; and each province of the empire will, according to its peculiar situation, vary in the efforts it directs to annoy the common enemy. Learn how to blend wisdom with patriotism, and let every com

mander, and every district, in obedience to him, present before the sovereign and citizens of the state, and before the eyes of all Europe, deeds worthy of the country to which they belong. When any opportunity be afforded of destroying the foe, wait not for orders from a distant officer of government: let not delay diminish the impressions of nascent valour, and let not the natural courage of man be frittered away in the collision of idle formalities. Contemplate contraband commerce as the highest crime; it is conducive only to satisfy the avarice of our enemies; the manufactures they offer you are prepared by the recking hands of those who are bathed in the blood of your fathers, and your brethren. Impress all around you with a sense of horror, at the practice of this nefarious intercourse; and when it is universally felt, when not a Spaniard will disgrace himself by this pernicious connexion, when Europe shall understand her genuine interests, and every port of the continent shall be closed upon these intruders, then will our vengeance be complete: the insupportable arrogance of the Islanders will be humbled; they will be lost amid the chaos of their own ruins; and they will be recognized only as the violators of public right, and as the tyrants of the ocean.May the spirit here applauded be that of the whole nation; may we all of us readily sacrifice our private indulgence to the general cause; and if there should be an insulated character among us not animated by this roble disposition, may he catch the flame of patriotism from his associates, and not disgrace the Spanish name by frigidity and indifference. The age and infirmities of

some

some will not permit them to take a personal part in this glorious enterprise, but they may by their opulence, or by their counsel, conduce to the general design; and this his majesty expects, and I implore of them; and thus, by availing our selves of every resource with which God and nature have furnished us, the effects of our indignation will be terrible to our enemies. In fine, if any particular member of the state should wish exclusively to undertake some scheme which he thinks likely to annoy the English, and for which he shall require the assistance of government, let him communicate his project to me, and I will provide him with the necessary means, if his purpose should be so well formed as to conduce to the injury of Britain, and the glory of Spain.

(Signed) The Prince of Peace.

Note of his Britannic Majesty's Sccretary of State for Foreign Af. fairs, to be laid before the Ministers of the King of Prussia, by the English Minister at that Court. Dated Downing-Street,

5th Nov. 1804.

His majesty has received the account of an unexampled act of violence committed at Hamburgh against the person of Sir G. Rumbold, his minister at that place, who was forcibly scized in his own house in the night of the 25th of October, by a detachment of French soldiers, and carried off, together with the papers belonging to his mission.-After the repeated proofs which the conduct of the French government has exhibited of an utter contempt and defiance of every obligation of the law of nations, his Britannic VOL. XLVI.

majesty can feel no surprise at the perpetration of even such an outrage as this upon the territory of a weak and defenceless state; but his majesty owes it, not only to himself, and to the respectable and unfortunate city whose rights are most immediately attacked, but to his relations with the rest of Europe, and to the dignity of every power which has still the inclination and the means of preserving its independence, to lose no time in entering his solemn protest against so atrocious an aggression. If any thing could render such a proceeding more insulting and alarming, it would be the explanation which his majesty' understands to have been given of it by the French resident at Hamburgh: namely, that it took place in consequence of orders given by the minister of police at Paris to the commander of the French forces in Hanover. His majesty trusts that there will not be found a power upon the continent which can remain insensible to the consequences of a measure, which, in its principle and example, not only menaces every court which may at any time fall within the reach of French arms, but which is subversive at once of the sacred rights of neutral territory, of the accustomed intercourse between independent states, and of the privileges of public ministers, hitherto respected and recognized by every age and by every nation.His Prussian majesty unquestionably will not only participate in the sentiments which must be common to every sovereign, but the vicinity of his dominions, and his situation, both as a director of the circle of Lower Saxony, and a guarantee of the Germanic constitution, will in. duce him to feel a deep and pecuZ z 3

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