Jl/iraiii^a aitd the British Admiralty 5 i 5 longer than it is consistent with the views and projects of Bonaparte? No ! Does France draw any revenue from South America through Spain ? Yes : very great. Would it not materially distress France to cut off that source of wealth ? Yes 1 'ould it not considerably benefit Great Britain to throw that source into her scale, and open new channels for the export of her European and Asiatick manufactures ? Yes ! What supports the Spanish navy with which they are in some respects now bullying us ? The treasures and timber of South America and the nursery which that foreign conmierce holds out for her seamen. I therefore ask whether the inde- pendance of South America will not annihilate the Spanish navy and con- sequently oppose to us a less confederate force in any future war ; If I may be allowed this argument then I can assert that the third naval power in Europe will be destroyed, and that power will consider the injury to have originated with France, against whom she will in course take any opportunity of being revenged that may present itself, in the extra- ordinary fluctuation of European politicks. If I may credit the assertion of Mr King the late .merican Minister, the emancipation of South America in general terms has been acknowl- edged by some of the leading men in opposition as a measure of extreme policy, and Lord Granville [Grenville] declared to him in the most qualified [? unqualified] terms, that he thought it the greatest object for this country to attend to, and almost the only one to sm-e her. This may be a strong expression but it shows that the subject has undergone a great deal of discussion and that nothing has been publickly urged against the policy or expediency of undertaking it on a dignified and extended scale. I will not enlarge any more either on the advantages to be gained by this Expedition, or the extreme popularity that will attach to it, but con- fine myself to the intended progress from Trinidad and then notice the other points of descent. The first operation from Trinidad must depend on two things, local information which must be received on the spot and the force disposable for this service. Miranda has been obliged to change his plan of opera- tions several times, but at present he considers the possession of Leon de Caracca's,' as the first point, which will ensure the Port of La Guyra, and if there is any faith to be placed either in his intelligence or expecta- tion, he will in the course of a month be able to raise an army of twenty thousand men, daily increasing especially as he advances into the country which is his present intention, fixing on stations of communication and intercourse with the Squadron. If the provinces of Caracca and Sante Fe,^ give him that protection and assistance which he expects he will proceed by the most convenient preconcerted routes to the Isthmus of Darien, and the squadron or a proportion of it with such force as may be embarked from Jamaica will go on to the River Chagra where the Eng- ' Santiago de Leon de Caracas, now commonly called Caracas.
- /. c. , the captain-generalcy of Venezuela and the viceroyalty of N'ew (Iranada,
whose capital was Santa Fe de Bogota.
