the said Onis, to the end that he may immediately enter into Negotiation with Mr. Monroe, and employ all the means which are within his reach to secure a solid and durable, Peace and good intelligence between the 2 Nations. Señor Erving. SIR, I renew, &c. PEDRO CEVALLOS. (Enclosure 3.)--Mr. Erving to Don Pedro Cevallos. Madrid, 19th September, 1816. By your Excellency's Communication of the 15th instant, I learn that a Note of Mr. Monroe, Secretary of State of The United States, under date of June 10th, addressed to Don Luis de Onis, in which Note the desire of the American Government is expressed that the said Don Luis should be authorized to negotiate with it, having been taken into consideration by the King, His Majesty, with a view of conforming to the wishes of the President, has acceded to the desire expressed in said Note, and that you have sent the correspondent orders to Don Luis, to the end that he may immediately enter into Negotiation with Mr. Monroe. I received this, your Excellency's important communication, on the day of its date, but before finally acknowledging the receipt of it, thought proper to seek, in an interview with you, such explanations as it seemed to require;-for that purpose I waited on you on Tuesday, the 17th instant. I predicated what I then said to you, on the supposition that the American Government might not have expressed a particular desire to change the seat of Negotiation,-but that the Secretary of State, in the Note of June 10th, referred to by your Excellency, had but renewed the expression of his regret that Mr. Onis should continue to urge matters of complaint on which he had not such Full Powers to negotiate, as he was understood to be in possession of previous to his reception by the President. As I have the competent authority from my Government to treat, -am in possession of all the Documents necessary to be referred to in whatever discussions may arise ;--as your Excellency is perfectly versed in all the questions which exist between the 2 Governments :for these reasons, it appeared to me that an arrangement might be made here at Madrid more expeditiously than at Washington. I stated expressly to you, that I could in no case be under a necessity of referring to my Government for further Instructions, requesting, at the same time, to know whether it was His Majesty's intention to place Mr. Onis in a position equally favourable to a speedy adjustment of our differences. I concluded by excusing the warmth with which I pressed the subject, assuring you that I was very far from seeking my personal gratification in this matter of high public interest, but that I looked only to the desired result; and that if this could be obtained more promptly by transferring the Negotiation to Washington than by pursuing it here, I should sincerely rejoice at the transfer. In reply to these observations, I understood your Excellency to state, that owing to your being actually charged with the business of 3 Ministries, besides the direction of the Posts, and to the variety of other occupations incidental to your high employ, it was impossible for you to give the time to the affairs to be discussed, which would be necessary to a satisfactory and speedy arrangement of them; that Mr. Onis was also fully acquainted with those affairs, and was in possession of all the Documents relating to them; and though you could not say but that it might be necessary for that Minister to consult with his Government, yet even the loss of 3 months' time on such an occasion would not prolong the Negotiations to the extent which the unavoidable delays here would carry them to. These reasons, urged by your Excellency for transferring the seat of Negotiation to Washington, induced me to propose that His Majesty would appoint a special Minister or a Commission to treat with me. I understood your Excellency to reply, that as such Minister or Com. mission would be entirely uninformed, and would have every thing to learn on the matters to be discussed, and hence continual necessity of referring to you this mode could in nowise expedite the result. On my asking your Excellency if Full Powers and Instructions had been already sent to Mr. Onis, I understood you to say that they had not. I then informed you, that after replying to your Communication of the 15th inst. I should prepare to send a Gentleman of my Legation to The United States with my Despatches; and I offered his services to be at the same time bearer of your Despatches to Don Luis de Onis, which offer you were pleased to accept. If I may have made any mistake in this statement of the substance of what passed in the interview which I had the honour of having with your Excellency, on Tuesday the 17th instant, I beg that your Excellency will be so obliging as to correct it. I have further to request, that you will be pleased to inform me whether it is your intention to reply to my Notes of 26th August, and September 13th, or whether I am to consider your Communication of the 15th instant as superseding the necessity of any special Reply to those Notes. I have to request, also, that your Excellency would enable me to inform my Government, whether it is His Majesty's intention to send "Full Powers" to Don Luis de Onis, to treat upon all the matters in question between the 2 Countries, and whether the Instructions to be sent to him will embrace all the points adverted to in my above-mentioned Note of August 26th. As soon as possible after I shall be honoured with your Reply to this Note, I shall send a Messenger to my Government; he shall wait, however, to be at the same time the bearer of your Despatches to Mr. Onis. I renew to your Excellency, &c. GEO. W. ERVING. H. E. Don Pedro Cevallos. No. 5.-Mr. Erving to the Secretary of State. (Extract.) Madrid, 27th September, 1816. You will perceive, Sir, by my last Communications, that there is now very little probability that I shall have occasion to use the ample Documents with which I have been furnished. Whatever complaints this Government may have to make, those originating in Mr. Onis' Report will of course be sent back to him, to bring weight into his Negotiations. It is equally probable that he may be instructed to answer at Washington, to whatever representations I may find it my duty to make here; for it is now perfectly evident, that a principal motive with Mr. Cevallos in removing the Negotiation to Washington, has been to get rid altogether of the weight and trouble of it here, and of whatever belongs to, or may any how be comprised in it. I hope that this was his only motive. I see with satisfaction that your Note of June 10th, to Mr. Onis, does not admit of any other construction than that which I conjecturally gave to it, in my conversation with Mr. Cevallos. It is very evident, too, by Mr. Onis' Reply of July 3rd, that he has not misunderstood you: after this, is it to be imagined that Mr. Cevallos has fallen into a misconception ?-certainly not. I presume then, Sir, that you will approve of my determination not to make any attempt to alter his plan; and that you will agree with me in opinion, that the only chance of accommodation with this Government is by Negotiation at Washington. The Hon. James Monroe. GEO. W. ERVING. No. 6.-Mr. Erving to the Secretary of State. (Extract.) Madrid, 8th October, 1816. In my Despatch, No. I mentioned that Mr. Cevallos, in conversation on the 21st of September, had promised to answer my Note to him of September 19th. He was afterwards, for several days, so wholly occupied with the Marriage Ceremonies, that not the least attention to any other kind of business could be expected; but these terminated on the 3rd instant. I wrote to him unofficially a Note, of which the enclosed Paper is a Copy;* and on the 5th I again waited on him, to press him for the Answer which he had promised. On this occasion I observed to him, that since, by his Note of the 15th September, he had not assigned any sufficient motives for the determina *Not given. tion of His Majesty to transfer the Negotiations to Washington, it had been incumbent on me to ascertain what they might be, and to submit them to my Government. It was with this intent that I had sought the interview of September 17th, and had stated the substance of our conversation in my Note to him of the 19th, which, with his Reply, would be sufficient for my purpose that without explanation, the mere notification of His Majesty's determination, contained in His Excellency's Note, would have a very extraordinary appearance, to say the least; my Government had sent me with Powers and Instructions to negotiate,-I had opened the matters to be treated on, and waited several weeks for an Answer, when I was told His Majesty had determined to empower Mr. Onis. Under such circumstances must it not be concluded, either that the Spanish Government by this measure sought to avoid or to delay an arrangement, or that it had some personal objection to myself? Hence the necessity of an explanation. Mr. Cevallos answered, that the motives to the measure were what he had before assigned, and that I must not allow myself to imagine, that either the King or himself had the least objection personal to me; on the contrary, it would give him, Mr. Cevallos, peculiar pleasure to settle the business with me, if it were possible for him to attend to it; finally, that since I considered it important that my Note should be answered, I should have the answer forthwith. Yesterday, the 7th, I received the Note of the same date, of which the enclosed Paper is a Copy. In this you observe, Sir, that Mr. Cevallos speaks of "Full Powers" to Mr. Onis, and the object in sending them, to be the more expeditious termination of existing questions. In conversation Mr. Cevallos told me, that the Instructions to Mr. Onis would comprise all the matters mentioned in my Note of August 26th; but he has not thought proper, in this last Communication, to reply specially to the question put on that subject, in my Note of 19th ultimo; indeed it was impossible for him to answer that Note, and say less than he has done; he seems to have written merely to get rid of importunity, by tranquillizing what he supposes to be my personal apprehensions. My Despatches will accompany this, as well as those of the Spanish Government for Mr. Onis, which are to be ready within a few days. Considering the peculiar importance of these Communications, I have concluded to send them by Mr. Brent to the Port of Bordeaux, from whence it seems to be more probable that a speedy conveyance for The United States will be found, than either from Cadiz or Lisbon. Mr. Brent will proceed to The United States, if he should find a suitable Vessel bound home. On account of the lateness of the season, I have thought it right to leave this point to his own discretion, instructing him, however, to make the voyage, (in whatever Vessel,) unless he should find at Bordeaux some American going to The United States, under whose care he shall consider the Despatches to be as perfectly secure as under his own. I beg leave, on this occasion, to express to you my particular satisfaction with the services of Mr. Brent, who unites in his character all the qualities which make a man of business, and a valuable public Officer. H. E. Don Pedro Cevallos. GEO. W. ERVING. SIR, (Enclosure.)-Don Pedro Cevallos to Mr. Erving. Madrid, 7th October, 1816. In answer to your Note of the 19th of the last month, I have to say to you, that the determination of the King that a Full Power should be sent to Don Luis de Onis, proceeds from the desire of sooner terminating the pending disputes, and that it is unconnected with any personal considerations. Señor Don Jorge Erving. I renew to you, &c. PEDRO CEVALLOS. ADDITIONAL ARTICLES to the Treaty between Great Britain and Wirtemberg, of 1797, relative to the Marriage between the Princess Royal of England, and the Hereditary Prince of Wirtemberg.—Signed in London, 22nd May, 1817. Articles Additionnels au Traité de Mariage, conclu à Londres le 3 de Mai, 1797, entre Son Altesse Royale la Princesse Royale d'Angleterre, et Son Altesse Sérénissime le Prince Héréditaire de Wirtemberg. COMME, par le décès de feu le Duc de Portland, Pair du Royaume Uni de la Grande Bretagne et d'Irlande, de feu le Très Honorable William Pitt, Chancelier de l'Echiquier, et de feu le Baron de Rieger, Envoyé Extraordinaire et Ministre Plénipotentiaire de Son Altesse Sérénissime feu le Duc Frédéric de Wirtemberg, à la Cour Additional Articles to the Treaty As, by the demise of the late Duke of Portland, Peer of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, of the Right Honourable William Pitt, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and of the late Baron de Rieger, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of His Serene Highness Frederick, the late Duke of Wirtem |