here. Directions having also been issued to the same Turkish officers that no molestation be given to such ships as there may be in this harbour, every thing being to continue in its actual state for the present.--And that the Sublime Porte's perseverance in her uniform system of moderation and equity may also be made known in this instance, this present official note is written, and is delivered to the ministers of all friendly powers resident here, in order to their transmitting the same to their respective courts. No. XII.-Dispatch from Mr. Arbuthnot to Lord Howick, dated Royal George, 14th February 1807.-Received 2d May. My lord, when I wrote to your ldp, the letter marked private of the 10th instant, from on board the Endymion, I fully expected that on the ensuing morning I should have an interview with his highness the Capitan Pacha, and that it would be ascertained, whether our passage though the Dardanelles was to be amicable or hostile.The wind however blew so hard on the following morning, that on account of the surf it was impossible to attempt to land me; and as the forts fired upon the Endymion, there was an evident unwillingness to permit the frigate to run into sufficiently smooth water, for me to be put on shore.Nothing therefore remained to be done, but to write a letter to Mr. Pisani, in which the cause of my not landing should be ex which he stated his claim of having an an- | property belonging to the same ambassador swer in writing. The same being taken into consideration, some hope was enter tained of his drawing back from pretensions of a nature contrary to the rights of nations and independent governments, when immediately, after giving in that note, he all of a sudden, without sending advice and without the cause being known, embarked in an English frigate which was in the harbour at the time, and taking his people and some merchants with him, left Coustantinople and absented himself in the middle of the night, by cutting and leaving the ship's anchor behind: a conduct which has created much astonishment.-After going away, he left a letter behind to be tendered to the Sublime Porte, wherein he alledges as a main subject of complaint, that some difficulty was shewn in granting a passport to a courier going to the Dardanelles, which had been asked for by him; and that under that circumstance he could not safely continue to remain here.-In the instance he alludes to, no answer having in fact been given him in the negative, it is clear that an incident of the kind could not be a matter to occasion his departure from Constantinople; and it is equally notorious that no circumstance, no pro ceeding, either of an important or a trifling nature, has occurred to take away the security either of the ambassador, or of any one individual belonging to the English nation. Things having come to this pitch, that is to say, the English ambassador leaving the residence in this way, all of a sud-plained; and in which one more effort den, without receiving an answer, being an event susceptible of many constructions, it would appear incumbent upon the Sublime Porte to act in the same manner on her part, by placing her confidence in the help and mercy of that sovereign conqueror the Almighty God. Yet, being unwilling to depart from that sytem of equity which she is ever accustomed to follow, and she being never persuaded of a proceeding occurring from the court of G. Britain, which is not consistent with the dictates of justice; orders have been sent to the different Ottoman officers to whom it appertaineth, for those English dependants who have been left here, and for the families of such as have gone from their residence, to remain under the shade of his imperial majesty's protection, in perfect security; and the Danish chargé d'affaires our friend Mr. Hubsch, whom the said ambassador has left as his agent, has been charged with the care of the effects and VOL. X. should be made to inspire the officers of the Sultan with the pacific disposition by which we ourselves are influenced.--I have the honour of transmitting a copy of this letter to your ldp. which in the course of the day we had the means of sending by a Turkish boat into the Dardanelles, although the increased violence of the wind rendered it more impossible than ever to land me on the open beach.--Yesterday morning, and not before, the weather had become so moderate that I was enabled to pay a visit to the Capitan Pacha, and I accordingly went on shore to meet him.-With his highness personally I had the greatest reason to be satisfied, but he could agree to nothing which would have authorized me to propose to Sir J. T. Duckworth not to force the passage. He wished me to go with him in the Endymion to Constantinople, that I might propose my terms to the ministers of the Porte, and that the British 2 M Fleet should in the mean while remain at anchor off Tenedos.-I told him that I could not return to the admiral with such à proposition, but that I would make an endeavour to stop the progress of the fleet towards Constantinople, provided it should be permitted to remove to the anchorage within the entrance of the passage which had been lately occupied by sir Thomas Louis, and provided a British officer was allowed to remain at each fort for the purpose of ascertaining that no additional works were carried on during the time that the negotiation with the Porte was pending. I added, that should his highness adopt this idea, and should it be approved by the admiral, to whom I had not as yet had an opportunity of mentioning it, I would most readily go up to Constantinople; but that instead of taking the Endymion, I should, for the sake of saving time, prefer a Turkish row-boat.-The Capitan Pacha assured me that he dared not assent to what I had suggested, as he should have to answer with his head for having presumed to disobey the Sultan's orders. He observed likewise, that the rapid march of the French army towards the Dniester would oblige the Porte to be still more cautious in her negotiations, as should the alliance with Russia be at this moment renewed through the mediation of Great Britain, Buonaparte might have a pretence for considering the sultan as his enemy, and that then he would not fail to invade the Turkish empire. To this I replied, that the misfortunes which, according to his highness's statement, had happened to Russia, would be an additional motive with us, as we were sure it would be with our sovereign, to give assistance to our ally, when it appeared to be most needed: that on account of the present situation of affairs, I might perhaps be induced to recede in some instances from what the interests of my own sovereign might have authorized me to demand; but that every effort must be made on our part to relieve the emperor of Russia from the war which the Turks were carrying on against him, and that I would willingly, to effect this object, go myself in company with a Turkish negotiator to general Michelson's head quarters, and there employ my good offices to restore peace. The Capitan Pacha seemed to listen with pleasure to all I said.-He regretted only that he did not venture to transgress his orders; and appearing to hope that sir J. T. Duckworth could be prevailed upon not to remove from his present station, he earnestly desired me to use my influence for the attainment of this object.-On my return to the fleet I made the admiral acquainted with all the particulars of my conversation with the Capitan Pacha.-I cannot say what might have been the decision of the admiral if the Capitan Pacha had readily consented to all that I had proposed; but when he learnt that nothing whatever was to be obtained as a compensation for loss of time, he gave it without hesitation as his decided opinion, that we must pass the Dardanelles before we again attempted to negotiate.— I immediately wrote to inform Mr. Pisani (who was remaining with the Capitan Pacha) of our final determination; and the letter to him, of which I inclose a copy, shall be sent on shore the very moment that the boat arrives which is to come for my answer. The die therefore is now cast. Every effort has been made by us to avert hostilities; and should the Turks commence them against us, every effort shall still be made to prove to the Porte, that the wish of our sovereign is peace. With this view I have directed Mr Pisani to inform the Capitan Pacha, that on our arrival before Constantinople, I shall once more offer to negotiate, and that no hostile measures shall be undertaken by us, while a hope remains that our pacific intentions will be justly appreciated.-Should we ultimately fail in our endeavours to preserve peace between his majesty and the Porte, every exertion will, I am certain, be made by sir J. T. Duckworth to succeed in those measures which he has been directed to undertake. But it is to be recollected, that ever since the commencement of the war with Russia, this government has been encreasing, and to a great extent, its means of defence, and should the Turkish navy have been removed into the Bosphorus, there would, I imagine, be an absolute impossibility of withdrawing it from under the new and strong batteries, which, under the inspection of general Sebastiani, have been now erected.-I mention this, because it is not unlikely that there may be a failure in some of the objects which we have in view. This apprehension, however, would have no effect on the decision of the admiral, or, if I may so say, on that of myself. Our sovereign and his ally had been greatly injured. A powerful Fleet has been sent to secure those interests which had been endangered; and though the passage of the Dardanelles in its present fortified state cannot be undertaken without great risk, any probable loss would in my opinion be preferable to that dishonour which would be attached to his maj.'s arms if a menace had been made, which in the day of trial we had not dared to act upon. First inclosure referred to in No. XII. Endymion, off the entrance of the Dardanelles, 11th Feb. 6. A. M. 1807. Sir; I am come in the Endymion according to appointment, but now I am here, captain Capel will not attempt to land me. He says, that he has no boat which in such weather as this could put me on shore.— It therefore only remains for me to repeat again for the Capitan Pacha's information, 'that our wish is to go up as friends; that we shall not fire the first shot; but that should hostilities be commenced against us, our demands will be greatly increased.We now require no more than that the Porte should place herself in that situation with regard to her foreign relations in which I found her on my arrival in this country. She was then the friend of Great Britain and Russia. She is now the friend of France. She is called upon to make her choice; and our conduct towards her will be regulated by that choice.-If I were to see the Capitan Pacha I could say no more to him than what I have written before, and what I am now writing.-Admiral sir J. T. Duckworth dares not to disobey the orders which force it upon him as an indispensable duty to appear with his fleet off Constantinople, and the first fair wind will convey him thither. The Capitan Pacha must know better than we can, whether he can venture to save his country by not carrying into effect such orders as may have directed him to fire upon our fleet; for of course it will be obvious to his highness that, without meaning to speak arrogantly or presumptuously, we should not, as I have remarked before, be so easy to treat with after the commencement of hostilities as we are now. My personal wish for peace is so great that I have no scruple in assuring the Capitan Pacha that if we are not treated now as enemies, I shall be found in future, having such a force to give weight to my representations, far less positive and far less peremptory than I thought it my duty to be, when, being left to my own individual exertions, i had to convince the Porte that my court was really in earnest.-It cannot be offensive to the Capitan Pacha to be told that with such means in our hands, we think ourselves, under the blessing of Providence, certain of success; and having this sentiment, I feel it no pusillanimity on my part to implore his highness not to plunge his sovereign and his country into irrecoverable woes. This is to be considered as my final declaration that the admiral is determined to avail himself of the first favourable wind; and you therefore have nothing further to do than to go as expeditiously as you can to Constantinople, and there to join me. Signed C. ARBUTHNOT. Second inclosure referred to in No. XII. Copy of a letter from Mr. Arbuthnot to B. Pisani, esq. dated Royal George off the Dardanelles, 13th Feb. 1807. Sir; I did not fail to relate to vice admiral sir John Duckworth all the particulars of the conference which I had to-day with his highness the Capitan Pacha.— The vice admiral learnt from what I said, that his highness could not even adopt the idea which I had thrown out, of the fleet remaining at the anchorage occupied, within the passage, by the squadron under sir Thomas Louis. It therefore was evident that nothing was to be granted to us, while by my going up alone without the fleet, that greatest of all disadvantages, the loss of time which could never be regained, would be suffered by us. Under these circumstances the admiral feels that he has no option left to him, but that it is become his bounden duty to obey literally his sovereign's orders, and to proceed up the Dardanelles whenever the wind may permit it.-But the admiral to the very last will be amicably inclined. After he has forced the passage of the Dardanelles, he will again give to the Ottoman government an opportunity of terminating by a friendly negociation the differences which have arisen. For this purpose he will in the first instance anchor his fleet at such a distance from the town of Constantinople, as will remove every apprehension of his being hostilely inclined; and he will not proceed to extremities, even when the means of doing it shall be within his bands, until he has learnt from me that the negociation I shall propose has been fruitless.-I wish much that the Capitan Pacha had been invested with discretionary powers to treat with me. His highness says he has none such. He therefore must obey the orders of his sovereign, and we must be equally obedient to the orders of ours. I am, &c. CHA. ARBUTHNOT. [PAPERS RELATING TO PORTUGAL.] Mr. | Abercromby said, that the information obtained relative to the Expedition to Copenhagen, was just enough to excite suspicion, but was not sufficient to give any satisfactory explanation of the conduct of ministers. He hoped this temper of reserve would not be shewn in respect to the Papers he should apply for in a transaction that was said to bear so near an analogy to that proceeding: he meant the Papers connected with the negociation with Portugal. He did not think it was necessary to make any comment upon the propriety of acquiring this intelligence, until objections should be made, which he was not disposed to anticipate. He should, therefore, propose his first motion, which would be fol- | lowed by several others. It was, "That an humble address be presented to his majesty, that he will be graciously pleased to give directions that there be laid before this house, copies of the Instructions to earl St. Vincent for the direction of his conduct at Lisbon, in 1806; and also copies of the Instructions given on the same occasion to the earl of Rosslyn and to general Simcoe." Mr. Secretary Canning said, that not having had any communication with the hon. gent. on the subject of his motion, and not having collected from his speech what would be the extent of it, he wished to know what additional documents he meant to require, before he acceded to the proposition. Mr. Abercromby, replied, that his other motions would apply to the communications from the three persons he had named to the prince regent, and the replies to them; and further, the particulars of the interview with the prince regent prior to their departure from the Tagus. Mr. Secretary Canning objected, that a motion so general did not admit the exclusion of matter, however delicate in its nature, and however dangerous to impart. Applications of this kind, to provide the house with the particulars of a private interview with a sovereign prince, had never been attempted before, and if acceded to must have the most pernicious consequences. It was well known, that while the British ministers were waiting in the anti-room with the servants of Imperial princes, the French accredited agents had passed our envoys, and had bearded sovereigns within the recesses of their own cabinets. This preference had occasioned some complaints, and the result had been that, on various occasions, the British agent had been admitted to the like privilege. But this footing of equality must be destroyed, if it were permitted that the private communications with an independent sovereign should be laid on the table of the house, subsequently become the matter of debate, and again be indecently circulated through the kingdom in the public newspapers. He was happy on this occasion to make a stand, and openly to resist such propositions. There was no country in Europe where direct intercourse between the foreign ministers and the monarch was so strictly guarded as in our own: none here were suffered to approach the throne, unless the servants of the crown were present; and in proportion to the difficulty of immediate access with us, were the obstacles presented to the same access of our ministers abroad. Mr. Adam opposed the principle laid down by the right hon. secretary, and expressed his surprise at hearing such doctrine first broached by the person, who, on a former night, read in that house extracts of documents which belonged to the crown, and so far insulted the constitution as to withhold the document, which he had partially quoted, from parliament. He should shortly bring forward a motion on this subject, in order that the house might be convinced how it stood in this respect, and where the boundaries of the crown were limited. Mr. Canning suggested an amendment, by which the Instructions to lord Rosslyn, &c. and an account of their Expedition, would be given, so that the substance only of what passed at the court of Lisbon would be obtained. The amendment was then agreed to. Upon Mr. Abercromby's third motion being put, for obtaining copies of the Order of Recall of earl St. Vincent, &c. and of the dispatches containing an account of what passed at their audience of leave, Mr. Canning made an objection to the latter part of the motion, also upon grounds of delicate attention to etiquette, and the mischief that might arise from publishing official communications of that nature. Mr. Sheridan observed, that if an ambassador from England held conferences with no other person but the sovereign at whose court he resided, we could have no other source of information concerning his conduct, but the conferences with such sovereign; and was it to be said that these conferences should never be disclosed? Mr. Ponsonby could not bear to hear in silence such language as had been used by the right hon. secretary. In the best times of English history, the conduct of persons in the highest stations, whether minister or prince, were openly, fairly, and boldly discussed in parliament; it was only at the most disgraceful periods that we find great men have shrunk from publicity, and parliament too easily led by confidence in a great name, or a high-sounding title. If members of parliament were to understand that the power of France had this effect, they had better say to their constituents, that the power of Buonaparte was so great, that it not only subverted or raised up kingdoms at will upon the continent, but that it succeeded in robbing them of their free constitution. At the time when we made the late peace | an intention on the part of France immewith France, we acknowledged the first diately to invade the kingdom of Portugal, consul as sovereign of that country. When and the French government has, by its this peace was put an end to, by the re- own Declarations, left little or no room to newal of hostilities, were not the private doubt the truth of that intelligence.-It conferences that passed between that so- has even been formally announced by that vereign and lord Whitworth, published in government to his maj.'s ambassador at this country, as the justification of the war? Paris, that an army, said to be composed Now, he contended, that no representation of 30,000 men, is actually assembled at or misrepresentation of the words used by Bayonne for this purpose, and that the a foreign sovereign, could ever be so mis- object of this invasion is nothing less than chievous as the practice of reading partial that of dethroning the present royal faand garbled extracts of letters and other mily, and destroying the very existence of documents, and refusing to produce the the Portuguese monarchy; the provinces whole of them when called for. of which are to be partitioned out, one part to Spain, and the other part, with the town and pòrt of Lisbon, to be given as a separate dominion to the prince of peace, or to the queen of Etruria.-In that case his maj. has thought it right to direct that the force now embarked, consisting of the numbers stated in the margin, should be sent forthwith to the river Tagus, there to be met by a competent naval force which has been in like manner directed to repair to that station. And his maj. has thought fit to give directions that the land force appropriated to this service, should receive successive augmentations as fast as the means of transport can be provided.—In addition to the command of the naval and military forces which he has intrusted respectively to the earl St. Vincent and to lieut. gen. Simcoe, his maj. has been pleased to direct that full powers should be granted to them, conjointly with the earl of Rosslyn, to negociate with the court of Lisbon on all matters that may concern the joint interests of the two courts in the present conjuncture of affairs. I am therefore, in this dispatch, to explain the principles on which such negotiation is to be conducted. The object most desirable, if it should be possible to be obtained, would be, to arrange sufficient and effectual mea. sures, by concert between the two courts, for the complete defence of Portugal against the threatened invasion of Portugal; an object which it ought not to be difficult for Portugal to provide for, if the invading force should not exceed the numbers stated by the French government. This is therefore the first point which is to be proposed to the court of Lisbon and if that court, either singly by its own resources, or by such co-operation as it may be able to obtain from Spain, where it is probable the plans of France will create much more alarm than pleasure, should be willing seriously to engage in Mr. Windham said, the house and the country might now be congratulated on having in the person of the right hon. secretary, a new defender of those rules of propriety, which he himself had so lately broken. Sometimes a smuggler made a very good custom-house officer. This was analagous to the right hon. gent. who spoke with such animation against the practice of disclosing confidential communications. The house then divided-For the motion 82. Against it 142. Majority 60. The following are copies of the papers laid before the house in consequence of the above motions: viz. PAPERS No. I.-Dispatch from Mr. Secretary ; |