hostile measure must occasion, and of preventing the evil by friendly counsel and assistance.

So broke up the Congress at Verona. The Plenipotentiary of France left it to return to Paris, to consider what step his Government would take more in advance than the rest of the continental allies: the Plenipotentiaries of the continental allies, to prepare their despatches for Madrid, which would not form a part of the papers upon the table, because they were not at all within the jurisdiction of this country, although they were well known, having been printed in all the Gazettes of Europe: the British Plenipotentiary, to renew at Paris the remonstrances he had ineffectually made at Verona, and, in the last resort, to report to his Government his disappointment, if disappointment it should be, in order that to the Minister at Madrid instructions might be sent to disavow, on the part of this country, any participation in these proceedings; but at the same time to advise, and strenuously implore, that the slightest excess might be studiously avoided, which could retrospectively justify, or prospectively encourage, the war threatened by France. The Duke of Wellington returned to Paris about the beginning of December. The French Government, far from being found in a more warlike disposition, were, on the contrary, whether on reconsideration or from what other motive did not belong to him to speculate, inclined to maintain peace. The British Plenipotentiary found the French Ministry disposed to send back to Verona, at least to the sovereigns who had not then actually quitted that city, the despatches prepared for Madrid, and to entreat them to reconsider the contents of those despatches, and the impropriety of the time for sending them. Such was the first report received from the Duke of Wellington. Up to this period, no communication whatever had taken place between

this country and Spain, on the subject of what was passing at Verona; and he would shortly explain to the House why no such intercourse had occurred. Honourable gentlemen might remember, that towards the end of the last session of Parliament the clamour, the just clamour, and complaint in this country had been raised, respecting the state of our commercial navigation in the West Indies. Pirate vessels, some bearing the flag of the independent but unacknowledged colonies of Spain, and others of Spain herself, had committed the most grievous depredations on British trade, to an enormous amount, and attended with circumstances of such violence and cruelty, as to call for national interposition. He (Mr. Canning) recollected these matters well; because it had been his duty, as the representative of a great commercial town, to bring forward the case in that House, and to remonstrate against what was considered the supineness, or at least the forbearance, with which the strength of this country had been withheld from the assertion of its own rights and interests; those rights having been shamefully abused, and those interests seriously injured. Not long, therefore, after Parliament rose, it had been thought necessary by the British Government to send orders, and therewith an armament, to the West Indies, to take into our own hands that redress which had been in vain sought by representation and remonstrance at Madrid. Orders were given to the commander, in the event of the owners of pirate vessels continuing to find refuge on the shores of Cuba, that, after first communicating with the Spanish governor of the island, and asking his assistance-if assistance he could give-then, conjointly, or, upon his refusal, separately, to effect a landing in Cuba, to root out the nest of marauders that infested those seas and impeded our commerce and navigation. In giving these orders, and in taking this step, he hoped it was unnecessary to say, that

the British Government had thought right to communicate the course it had pursued to the Cabinet at Madrid. But this was not all. About the same time, pretensions were revived by commanders on the Spanish Main, pretensions utterly obsolete, waved, and forgotten, for many years, to declare constructive blockades of the whole coast of what was Spanish America, and to capture all trading vessels that should presume to violate these blockades. Many instances, recent and flagrant, had occurred, in which the laws of these blockades had been rigorously carried into execution, and outrages of the same sort had been continued, more or less, for many preceding years. Almost from the year 1815, there had been a series of unanswered representations of unredressed grievance prefered to the Court of Madrid, which it was at length thought expedient, avoiding if possible angry discussion, to bring directly to a point. That justice was on the side of the British complaints might be inferred from the circumstance, that, after negociation, redress was finally accorded; and that the amount of the grievance was not small, might be gathered from the sum the Spanish Government itself appropriated to the liquidation of the claim, being about half a million sterling. This did not amount to the whole of the demand; but it showed, at least, the estimate of Spain as to what might turn out to be just. The business on which Sir W. A'Court, our Minister at Madrid, was first employed there was in the making these remonstrances, and in urging-successfully urging— the redress it was necessary to afford. He was to communicate to the Spanish Government, first, the instructions. with regard to Cuba; and, secondly, the further fact, that the armament had been sent to the West Indies, with orders to make reprisals if our maritime rights should not be observed. Redress was promised on the part of Spain, and instructions were accordingly sent out to Sir John Owen.

Remonstrance having been once made, redress once claimed, and satisfaction accorded, no hostile feeling could possibly remain on the part of this country. But the House would see, that it was not in the midst of negociations like these that it would have been either delicate or proper towards Spain to have entered into discussions, or rather to have made declarations, of the part Great Britain was taking on behalf of European Spain. This country had pursued two courses of action: on the one hand, it had claimed of Spain redress for injuries inflicted by her South American colonies; and on the other, she had defended Spain against an invasion by European powers. The British Government well knew that a time must come when a disclosure of the latter course might be made to the ministry at Madrid; and by a coincidence in point of time, it was at the close of the Congress at Verona that our negociations for redress had been brought to a favourable conclusion.

He would now take the liberty of drawing the attention of the House to one particular circumstance. He had seen in various quarters, and had heard from different persons, that some offence had been given to Spain by sending Sir W. A'Court to represent His Majesty at Madrid. It happened, whimsically enough, that about the time when Sir W. A'Court's name was thus brought forward with obloquy in this country-not about the time he set off for Madrid, for he had proceeded thither long before his (Mr. C.'s) appointment, and he had nothing more than the slightest personal acquaintance with him-about the time when Sir W. A'Court's appointment to Spain was represented as the greatest grievance to that country, the Ministers of the three allied powers called upon him (Mr. Canning) in Downing-street, to make representations against sending him out, as giving countenance to Spain. It was somewhat difficult to steer between these two diffi

culties; but the answer to the Ministers was very short and simple that Sir W. A'Court was gone-that there he was, and there he must remain. Undoubtedly, he could well believe, that the course of negociation in which Sir W. A'Court was first employed-that of an obdurate and pressing creditor, calling up obsolete demands, and enforcing a speedy settlement-could not tend to make him very popular with the Spanish Government, which was every day suffering under his applications; while that Government was not yet aware of the course Great Britain had pursued in the European negociations. It might be very readily imagined that Sir W. A'Court might have made an impression in the Spanish capital, unfavourable to his official, but not to his personal character. As soon as the general understanding, that no interference in the affairs of Spain should take place, was abandoned-as soon, in short, as it was clear, that the issue of the negociations at Verona must become publicly known-so soon communication was made to Madrid of the line this country had pursued in those negociations. It was then unequivocally shown, that while Sir W. A'Court had been employed in this obdurate and unpopular character, the British Government, through their Plenipotentiary at Verona, had been anxiously engaged in securing the national independence of Spain. From that time, the feeling with respect to Sir W. A'Court, at Madrid, was completely changed. Before this disclosure of the discussions at Verona was made to Spain-while she was yet uncertain what steps had been taken at Congress—an application was made on the part of the Spanish Government-first, to ascertain what the precise course of negociations had been; and next, to interest this country to employ her good offices for the maintenance of peace. In making this application, which, being in writing, formed part of the papers on the table, pains were dis