When the French first entered Spain, general Castaños commanded the Spanish troops at St. Roque; in that situation he was an object of interest to Napoleon, who sent two French officers privately Sir Hew Dalrymple’s Correspondence. MS. to sound his disposition. Castaños secretly resolving to oppose the designs of the emperor, thought those officers were coming to arrest him, and at first determined to kill them, and fly to Gibraltar; but soon discovering his mistake, he treated them civilly, and prosecuted his original plans. Through the medium of one Viale, a merchant of Gibraltar, he opened a communication with sir Hew Dalrymple, and the latter, who had been closely watching the progress of events, encouraged him in his views, and not only promised assistance, but recommended several important measures, such as the immediate seizure of the French squadron in Cadiz, the security of the Spanish fleet at Minorca, and a speedy communication with South America. But before Castaños could mature his plans, the insurrection took place at Seville, and he acknowledged the authority of the junta.
Meanwhile Solano arrived at Cadiz, and general Spencer, in conjunction with admiral Purvis, pressed him to attack the French squadron, and offered to assist if he would admit the English troops into the town. Solano’s mind was, however, not made up to resist the invaders, and expressing great displeasure at the proposal to occupy Cadiz, he refused to treat at all with the British. This was not unexpected by sir Hew; he knew that most of the Spaniards were mistrustful of the object of Spencer’s expedition, and the offer was made without his concurrence; thus a double intercourse was carried on between the British and Spanish authorities; the one friendly and confidential between sir Hew and Castaños, the other of a character proper to increase the suspicions of the Spaniards; and when it is considered that Spain and England were nominally at war, that the English commanders were acting without the authority of their government, that the troops which it was proposed to introduce into Cadiz were in that part of the world for the express purpose of attacking Ceuta, and had already taken the island of Perexil, close to that fortress, little surprise can be excited by Solano’s conduct.
His death intervening, general Morla succeeded to the command, and Spencer and Purvis renewed their offers; but Morla likewise declined their assistance, and having himself forced the French squadron to surrender, by a succession of such ill-directed attacks, that some doubt was entertained of his wish to succeed, he commenced a series of low intrigues calculated to secure his own personal safety, while he held himself ready to betray his country if the French should prove the strongest. After the reduction of Sir Hew Dalrymple’s Correspondence. MS. the enemy’s ships, the people were inclined to admit the English troops, but the local junta, swayed by Morla’s representations, were averse to it, and he, while confirming this disposition, secretly urged Spencer to persevere in his offer, saying that he looked entirely to the English troops for the future defence of Cadiz; and thus dealing, he passed with the people for an active patriot, yet made no preparations for resistance, and by his double falsehoods preserved a fair appearance both with the junta and the English general.
With these affairs sir Hew Dalrymple did not meddle, he early discovered that Morla was an enemy of Castaños, and having more confidence in the latter, carried on the intercourse at first established between them without reference to the transactions at Cadiz. He also supplied the Spanish general with arms and two thousand barrels of powder, and placing an English officer near him as a military correspondent, sent another in the capacity of a political agent to the supreme junta at Seville.
Castaños being appointed commander-in-chief of the Andalusian army, as I have before related, rallied Echevaria’s troops, and asked for the co-operation of the British force; he had no objection to their entering Cadiz, but he preferred having them landed at Almeria to march to Xeres. General Spencer, however, confined his offers to the occupation of Cadiz; and when Morla pretended that to fit out the Spanish fleet was an object of immediate importance, colonel sir George Smith, an officer employed by general Spencer to conduct the negotiations, promised on his own authority, money to pay the Spanish seamen, who were then in a state of mutiny. Lord Collingwood and sir Hew Dalrymple refused to fulfil this promise, and the approach of Dupont causing Morla to wish Spencer’s troops away, he persuaded that general to sail to Ayamonte, under the pretence of preventing Avril’s division from crossing the Guadiana, although he knew well that the latter had no intention of doing so.
The effect produced upon colonel Maransin by the appearance of the British force off Ayamonte has been already noticed. General Thiebault says, that Spencer might have struck an important blow at that period against the French; but the British troops were unprovided with any equipment for a campaign, and to have thrown five thousand infantry, without cavalry and without a single place of arms, into the midst of an enemy who occupied all the fortresses, and who could bring twenty thousand men into the field, would have been imprudent to the greatest degree. General Spencer, who had by this time been rejoined by his detachment from Sicily, only made a demonstration of landing, and having thus materially aided the insurrection, returned to Cadiz, from whence he was almost immediately summoned to Lisbon, to execute a new project, which proved to be both ill-considered and fruitless.
Sir Charles Cotton, after superseding sir Sydney Smith, had blockaded the mouth of the Tagus with the utmost rigour, expecting to force the Russian Mr. Canning to lord Castlereagh, 28th Dec. 1807. squadron to capitulate for want of provisions. This scheme, which originated with lord Strangford, never had the least chance of success; but the privations and misery of the wretched inhabitants was so greatly aggravated thereby, that Junot had recourse to various expedients to abate the rigour of the blockade with regard to them, and among others, employed a Portuguese, named Sataro, to make proposals to the English admiral. This man at first pretended that he came without the privity of the French, and in the course of the communications that followed, sir Charles was led to believe that only four thousand French troops remained in Lisbon. Under this erroneous impression, he requested that general Spencer might be sent to him, for the purpose of attacking Sir Hew Dalrymple’s Correspondence. the enemy while they were so weak. Spencer, by the advice of sir Hew Dalrymple and lord Collingwood, obeyed the summons, but on his arrival was led to Parliamentary Papers, 1809. doubt the correctness of the admiral’s information. Instead of four thousand, it appeared that there could not be much less than fifteen thousand French in or near Lisbon; and the attack was of course relinquished. When Spencer returned to Cadiz, Castaños again pressing him to co-operate with the Spanish forces, he so far consented, as to disembark them at Sir Hew Dalrymple’s Correspondence. the port St. Mary, and even agreed to send a detachment to Xeres; but being deceived by Morla, who still gave him hopes of finally occupying Cadiz, he resolved to keep the greater part close to that city.
At this period the insurrection of Andalusia attracted all the intriguing adventurers in the Mediterranean towards Gibraltar and Seville, and the confusion of Agramant’s camp would have been rivalled, if the prudent firmness of sir Hew Dalrymple had not checked the first efforts of those political pests; but among the perplexing follies of the moment, one deserves particular notice, on account of some curious circumstances that attended it, the full explanation of which I must, however, leave to other historians, who may perhaps find in that and the like affairs, a key to that absurd policy, which in Sicily so long sacrificed the welfare of two nations to the whims and follies of a profligate court.
The introduction of the salique law had long been a favourite object with the Bourbons of Spain; but the nation at large would never agree to change the ancient rule of succession, which admitted females to the throne. The project was, however, secretly revived by some of the junta at this moment, and the party favouring the salique law wished to offer the regency to the prince of Sicily, who (Ferdinand and his brothers dying without sons) would, under that law, have succeeded, to the prejudice of the princess Sir Hew Dalrymple’s Correspondence. of the Brazils. The chevalier Robertoni, a Sicilian agent, appeared early at Gibraltar, and from thence (as if under the auspices of England), attempted to forward the views of his court; but sir Hew Dalrymple, being accidentally informed that the British cabinet disapproved of the object of his mission, sent him away. Meanwhile Castaños, deceived by some person engaged in the intrigue, was inclined to support the pretensions of the Sicilian prince to the regency, and proposed to make use of sir Hew Dalrymple’s name to give weight to his opinions; a circumstance which must have created great jealousy in Spain, if sir Hew had not promptly refused his sanction.
Ibid.