Chapter XLVI: Section 1: Conduct of the English Government

EXTRACT FROM MR. CANNING’S INSTRUCTIONS TO MR.
STUART AND MR. DUFF, 1808.

_To Mr. Stuart._

“You are to enter into no political engagements.”

_To James Duff, Esq_.

“_July 26, 1808._

“You will embark on board his majesty’s ship, Stately; on board of that ship are embarked to the amount of one million of Spanish dollars, three-fourths in dollars and one-fourth in bars, which sum is consigned to your care and is destined by his majesty for the use of the kingdom of Andalusia and the provinces of Spain connected with them.”

“His majesty has no desire to annex any conditions to the pecuniary assistance which he furnishes to Spain.”

“Military stores to a considerable amount are now actually shipping for Cadiz, and the articles required for the clothing of the Andalusian army will follow.”

“It was only by a direct but secret understanding with the government of Spain, under the connivance of France, that any considerable amount of dollars has been collected in England.”

“Each province of Spain made its own application with reference to the full amount of its own immediate necessities, and to the full measure of its own intended exertions, but without taking into consideration that similar necessities and similar exertions lead to similar demands from other parts, and that though each separate demand might in itself be reasonably supposed to come within the limits of the means of Great Britain, yet that the whole together occasion a call for _specie_, such as never before was made upon this country at any period of its existence.”

“In the course of the present year it is publicly notorious that a subsidy is paid by Great Britain to Sweden of one million two hundred thousand pounds, the whole of which, or nearly the whole, must be remitted in specie, amounting to at least seven million dollars. One million of dollars has already been sent to Gihon, another to Coruña _in part_ of the respective demands of the principality of Asturias and the kingdom of Gallicia, and the remainder of these demands as already brought forward would require not less than eight million dollars more to satisfy them.”——“An application from Portugal has also been received for an aid, which will amount to about twelve or thirteen hundred thousand dollars, one million as has been stated goes in the ship with you to Cadiz, and the remainder of the Andalusian demand would require between three and four millions of dollars more. Here, therefore, there are not less than three-and-twenty millions of dollars, of which near sixteen millions for Spain and Portugal required to be suddenly drawn from the British treasury.”

“In addition to this drain it is also to be considered that the British armies are at the same moment sent forth in aid of the same cause, and that every article of expence to be incurred by them on foreign service in whatever country they may be employed, must be defrayed by remittances in silver.”[1]——“You will be particularly careful in entering upon the explanation with the junta of Seville, to avoid any appearance of a desire to overrate the merit and value of the exertions now making by Great Britain in favour of the Spanish nation, or to lay the ground for restraining or limiting those exertions within any other bounds than those which are prescribed by the limits of the actual means of the country.”

FOOTNOTE:

[1] Note by Editor.—Nevertheless sir John Moore had only £25,000
in his military chest, and sir David Baird only £8,000 which were
given him by sir John Moore.

_Admiral De Courcy to Mr. Stuart, October 21, 1808._

“Mr. Frere will have told you that the Semiramis has brought a
million of dollars in order to lie at his disposal, besides £50,000
in dollars, which are to be presented to the army of the marquis
of Romana.”——“In the meantime the British troops remain in their
transports at Coruna, uncertain whether they shall be invited to
the war, and without a shilling to defray their expences.”

_Mr. Canning to Mr. Stuart._

_July 27, 1808._

“Already the deputy from Coruna has added to his original demand for two millions of dollars, a further demand for three millions on learning from the Asturian deputies that the demand from Asturias had amounted to five millions in the first instance. Both profess in conversation to include a provision for the interests of Leon and of Old Castile in the demand. But this has not prevented a direct application from Leon.”

“It is besides of no small disadvantage that the deputies from the Asturias and Gallicia having left Spain at so early a period are really not competent to furnish information or advice upon the more advanced state of things in that country.”——“I have already stated to you that in applications for succours, there is an under-ground appearance of rivalry, which with every disposition to do every thing that can be done for Spain, imposes a necessity of perpetual caution with respect to the particular demands of each province. The Asturians having been rebuked by their constituents for not having applied for pecuniary aid as quickly as the Gallicians are bent upon repairing this fault, and the Gallician having been commended for promptitude, is ambitious of acquiring new credit by increasing the amount of his demand. Whatever the ulterior demands, these several provinces have to make, will be made with infinitely more effect through you and Mr. Hunter respectively, as they will then come accompanied with some detailed and intelligible exposition of the grounds and objects of each particular application.”

_Mr. Stuart’s despatches to Mr. Canning._

_Coruna, July 22, 1808._

“Accounts of advantages in the quarters, which from the present state of things can have little or no communication with this place, appear to be numerous in proportion as the north of Spain is barren of events agreeable to the existing government; and I am disposed to consider unauthenticated reports of success in Catalonia, Valencia, Murcia, and Andalusia, to be a mode of concealing or palliating disasters in Leon, Castile, and the Montaña.”

_July 24, 1808._

“One thousand men, under de Ponte, is the utmost force the Asturias have yet organized or sent into the field, and the contingents of Leon are very trifling.

“Thirty thousand men, of which twenty thousand are regular troops under Blake, were united to ten thousand Castilian recruits under Cuesta. They went to Rio Seco to march against Burgos, and cut off Bessieres’ retreat to France, but they lost seven thousand men at Rio Seco.

“The Estremadura army under Gallegos is at Almaraz, consisting of twenty-four thousand infantry and four thousand cavalry, but the battle of Rio Seco has cut the communication which had been before kept up to Andalusia.”

_Abstract of information sent to Mr. Canning by Mr. Stuart._

_July 26, 1808._

“The 29th of May the inhabitants of Coruna appointed a provisional junta of forty members taken from the notables of the place, and this junta despatched circulars to the seven provinces of St. Jago, Betanços, Coruna, Mondonedo, Orense, Lugo, and Tuy, desiring that deputies from each should come to Coruña to form a junta for Gallicia entire. Seven persons came and immediately seized the government and dissolved the local junta; the troops marched to the frontier, deputies went to England, and all seemed to proceed well until contributions were demanded. Then the provinces demurred saying, their deputies were empowered only to signify their approbation of what had past, but not to seize the government, and St. Jago insisted upon sending more deputies, and having additional votes as being of more consequence. It was then arranged that two deputies from each province should be sent to Coruña with more power. The archbishop and a Mr. Friere came from St. Jago, and others were arriving when the first deputation resolved not to submit, and declared the second to be an ordinary junta, chosen for the mere purpose of raising money, and subordinate to themselves. The archbishop and the bishop of Orense refused to act in such a capacity; but a letter from the latter painting the true state of things being intercepted, he was arrested and confined in the citadel. A body of troops was sent to St. Jago, it was uncertain whether to seize the archbishop or to awe the people; but Mr. Stuart was secretly assured it was for the former purpose. The archbishop thought so also and came immediately to Coruña. This transaction was studiously concealed from the English envoy but he penetrated the secret. The people were discontented at this usurpation of the junta of seven, but the lavish succours sent to them by Mr. Canning and the presence of Mr. Stuart induced them to submit, as thinking the junta were supported by England.

“This junta of seven adopted no measures in common with any neighbouring province, but willingly entered into close alliance with the insurgents of Portugal as one independent state with another; and they withheld any share of the English supplies for the armies of Asturias and Leon.

“The archbishop was an intriguing dangerous man, and secretly wrote to Blake to march with the army against the junta, his letter being intercepted six voted to arrest him, but the seventh with the assistance of Mr. Stuart persuaded them to avoid so violent a measure as tending towards a civil commotion. Tumults however did take place, and the English naval officers were requested and consented to quell a riot, and it proved that they had more influence over the people than the junta.

“In August the archbishop was commanded to leave Coruña, he obeyed, and the bishop of Orense was after some resistance made a member of the junta.”

_Mr. Stuart to Mr. Canning_.

“_August 7._

“There is no common plan, and consequently no concert in their proceedings. No province shares the succour granted by Great Britain with its neighbour, although that advantage may not be useful to themselves. No gun-boats have been sent from Ferrol to protect St. Andero on the coast of Biscay, and the Asturians have in vain asked for artillery from the depôts of Gallicia.

“The stores landed at Gihon, and not used by the Asturians have remained in that port and in Oviedo, although they would have afforded a reasonable relief to the army of Blake.

“The money brought by the Pluto for the province of Leon which has not raised a man and was till this moment in the hands of the French, remains unemployed in the port where it was landed. Estremadura is said to have nine thousand cavalry, which are of little service since the French quitted that province. Yet they have not sent a man to Blake who cannot prudently stir from his present position without cavalry. General Cuesta also has deprived him of six hundred horse and his flying artillery with which he has actually quitted Salamanca on his way to join the Estremadura army.”

_Ditto to Ditto_.

(Abstract.)

“_August 12._

“The duke of Infantado reached Blake’s quarters, after escaping from France. Blake gave him his confidence and sent him to Madrid to form a council of war, and to persuade Cuesta to send two thousand cavalry to the army of Gallicia. The junta did not approve of this; they suspected Infantado as a double dealer and in the French interest.

“After Baylen, the juntas of Seville and Murcia wished to establish a despotism, differing in nothing from that of Charles III. and Charles IV. save that Florida Blanca was to be the head of a regency. But in the north they were all for liberty, and put forward the British constitution as a model. The army spoke of Infantado as regent, but the civilians disliked him. All the English guns sent out for Gallicia went by mistake to the Asturias, the succours were absurdly distributed and every thing was in confusion.”

_Mr. Stuart to Mr. Canning_.

“_Coruna, August 9._

“I am placed at the very extremity of the kingdom where I cannot possibly obtain any sort of information respecting other provinces, and my presence has very materially contributed to cherish the project of separation from the rest of the peninsula in the minds of the Gallicians.

“Besides the constant communication of the navy with the junta, a military mission is placed here consisting of several persons who communicate regularly with the government and the admiralty, and whose correspondence with England being a mere duplicate of my own renders the one or the other perfectly useless.

“The packet instead of coming weekly only arrived every fortnight, being sent to Gihon to carry home Mr. Hunter’s letters, who I understand has no order to report to me!

“The admiral having no official notice of my situation here on the part of government, cannot be expected to detach vessels for the purpose of sending my despatches at a time when he is occupied in sending his own accounts of the events taking place in Spain to the admiralty.”