Mr.Stanhope's Memorial to the King of Spain, July

SIR,

1726, N. S.

The underwritten Emritannick Majesty, Plenipotentiary of his Britannick Majefty, havin received Order to communicate to your Majesty the Sentiments of the King his Mafter, upon the Duke Ripperda's taking Refuge in his Houfe at Madrid, an his being taken from thence by Force by Virtue of you Majefty's Orders: And having at the fame Time re ceived the Copy of a Letter which the Duke of New caftle, Minister and Secretary of State, was ordered to write to M. de Pozɔbueno, your Majesty's Minister at London, exhibiting amply the King's Sentiments on this Affair: The faid Embaffador judges he cannot better acquit himself of this Duty, than by delivering to your Majesty the annexed Copy of the faid Letter, as containing literally all that he has been commanded to reprefent upon the faid Tranfaction; without adding any Thing of his own, more than most humbly to befeech your Majefty to be pleafed to have Regard to the folid and juft Reafons therein alledged; promifing himself, from your Majesty's high Wifdom and Justice, all neceffary Reparation of the Violence done to the Immunities of publick Ministers; and to have the Refolution communicated to him which your Majefty fhall judge proper to take in this important Cafe; that he may be able to give an Account of it to the King his Master. Done at Madrid the 13th of July, 1726.

I

SIR,

Wm. Stanhope.

To the Marquefs de Pozobueno.

Whitehall, June 20, 1726. Prefented to the King fome Time ago, as I have already acquainted your Excellency, the two Extracts of Letters which you did me the Honour to deliver to me, one concerning the Refuge which the Duke of Ripperda had taken in the King's Embaffador's Houfe at Madrid, and his being forcibly taken from thence by his Catholick Majefty's Order; the other, which you gave me at the fame Time, containing the strongest Af furances of his faid Majefty's Defire to preferve and maintain with the King my Mafter a perfect Harmony

and

May 30,
June 10,

25,

d good Correfpondence. Your Excellency will not be prized at not having had an Answer fooner, upon an Fair fo important as that in Question is, if you will collect, that though Mr. Stanhope's first Letter on this bject was of the fame Date as yours, viz. May 14, did not come to the King till at Night; and at the Caufe of this Delay was, that the Embaffador's Durier, who fet out but an Hour after him who was fpatch'd by your Court, was ftopt feven Days at Vitvia: And even that Letter, as appears by its Date, aving been sent at the Time when Mr. Stanhope was in reat Perplexity upon what had been just done to him, e could only write in general and confufedly in the Jurry he was in, and referred himself for a more di int and particular Account, to what he fhould fend by Perfon whom he promised to difpatch in a few Days rom Madrid. You will eafily conceive, Sir, that his Majefty, before he was exactly and fully informed of he Fact in all its Circumstances, could not determine what Answer to give upon fo nice and important an Affair, in which not only the Glory and Dignity of his Crown, but likewife of all Sovereign Powers, his Catholick Majefty himfelf not excepted, are fo much concerned. That Perfon being fince arrived, and the King having full Information, I am now to communicate to you his Majefty's Sentiments upon fo difagreeable an Occurrence.

To come then to the Fact, I must begin by telling you, that his Majefty does not pretend, that publick Minifters may protect Perfons who are in the Service of Princes where they refide, or who are accufed of any Crime against them: And his Majefty has obferved with Pleasure, that his Embaffador never had any fuch Thought, as appears evidently by Mr. Stanhope's Behaviour towards the Duke of Ripperda, when at his Return from his Country-Villa, he found him very unexpect ly in his Houfe, in Company with the Embaffador of Holland. His Excellency began, by making the Enquiries neceffary for rightly understanding his Cafe; as, what Situation he was in with Refpect to his Catholick Majefty, and what Reafons had induced him to feek that Refuge, that he might be able to regulate his Conduct accordingly, and judge whether it were convenient for him to permit him to remain there,

The

The first Question that Mr. Stanhope asked him, and which indeed was the moft effential one, was, whether he had fill any Employment under his Catholick Majesty, or whether he was in any Manner whatsoever in his Service? To which the Duke anfwer'd, He was not, that the Night before his faid Majesty had, at his Requeft, abfolutely difcharged and difmiffed him from all his Employments. The fecond Question his Excellency put to him, was, Whether he had Ground to believe himself to be in Difgrace or under the Difpleasure of the King of Spain, or to apprehend that his Catholick Majefty defigned to charge him with any Accufation, or to caufe him to be profecuted for any Crime or Mifdemeanour committed in his late Miniftry? For neither in the one or the other Cafe would he have found any Encouragement, much less any Protection, from his Excellency. The Duke having anfwered, That quite to the contrary, far from looking on himfelf as difgraced, and yet lefs to be fufpected or in Danger of being accufed of any Crime, the King of Spain had had the Goodness to grant him a Penfion of 3000 Piftoles a Year, in Recompence of his past Services : And perceiving that

what he had faid had not all the Effect he wished on the Mind of his Excellency, he fhewed him an original Letter, of which I fubjoin a Copy, wherein the Marquefs de la Paz fignifies to him, in the Name of his Catholick Majefty, that as the Duke himself had defired, his Majefty confented to his laying down his Employments, and did him the Favour to grant him a Penfion of 3000 Pistoles a Year, till he should employ him in his future Service, in fuch Manner as to Him should feem moft convenient. All this not having yet fatisfy'd his Excellency, he would know what Motives he had for coming to ask the Protection of his Houfe; to which the Duke reply'd, That it was not from the least Apprehenfion of any Violence on the Part of his Catholick Majefty, of whofe Favour and great Goodness he had just received fo evident a Mark as the Penfion he had granted him; but that he was in Fear of his Life, from the inveterate Malice of his Enemies, and the Rage and Fury of the Populace, who had that very Day infulted his Domefticks, and declared publickly that they would come at Night and attack his House, and tear him to Pieces.

However, notwithstanding the Marquefs de la Paz's forementioned Letter was more than fufficient to con

vince. Mr. Stanhope, that the Duke of Ripperda was neither in the Service of the Catholick King, nor fufpected of any Crime; but that on the contrary, his Catholick Majefty had even given him very recent Marks of his Goodness; yet Mr. Stanhope, ever careful not to do any Thing that might be difagreeable to the King of Spain, would not promife the faid Duke Harbour in his House, without first acquainting his Catholick Majefty with it, and knowing his Sentiments upon it; requiring M. de Ripperda, in the first Place, to fend in Writing to the Secretary of State the Motives of his Retiring; and the next Day, the 16th of that Month, his Excellency had thereupon an Audience of his Catholick Majefty, when having given him an exact and fincere Account of what had paffed between him and the faid Duke, he was for. tunate enough to be affured from his Catholick Majefty's own Mouth, that he was not difpleafed with his Proceeding, whatever Cause he had to be fo with the Duke of Ripperda's, in taking Refuge in the Houfe of a Foreign Minifter; adding, that the faid Duke having asked a Paffport that he might retire to Holland, he could not grant it him, till he had firft delivered up feveral Papers of Confequence to his Service, which he had in his Hands; and therefore he defired Mr. Stanhope would engage, not to permit him to efcape out of his House, till his Catholick Majefty fhould caufe a Lift to be drawn of his Papers, and fend to get them, which fhould be done the next Day; to which Mr. Stanhope confented, and gave his Word for the safe keeping of the Perfon of the Duke of Ripperda, which was all the King of Spain required of him: And his Catholick Majesty's Approbation of all that Mr. Stanhope had done, cannot be more ftrongly confirmed, than by the Letter, of which I fubjoin a Copy, that the Marquefs de la Paz, wrote to him that very Day, in which he tells him, That the Cathalick King had entire Confidence in the Word his Excellency had given him, to keep the faid Duke of Ripperda in his Houfe; and acquaints him, that it was refolved, for the greater Security, that fome Soldiers fhould be posted in the Neighbourhood and Avenues of his Houfe; affuring him at the fame Time, that in this Proceeding there was not the leaft Diftrust on the Part of his Majefty with relation to his Excellency, but that it was only for taking the greater Precaution against the Attempts the faid Duke might make to escape.

Mr. Stanhope having therefore, in Confequence of
what the Catholick King had done him the Honour to
fay to him in the Audience he had just had of his Ma-
jefty, given his Word to the Duke of Ripperda, that he
might remain in his House, as long as the faid Duke
should not attempt to efcape out of it, he could not re-
tract that Engagement but by Order from the King his
Mafter, and no other Perfon in the World had a Right
to releafe him from it: So that none can deny, that af
ter all that had paffed on both Sides, the making use of
Force to take the faid Duke out of his Excellency's
Houfe, without having previously obtained, or at leaf
asked the Confent of his Britannick Majefty, must be
looked upon as an Infraction of the Law of Nations.

Your Excellency will fee, that even your Court was
of that Opinion, by the Marquefs de la Paz's Letters to
Mr. Stanhope of the 18th and 21ft of the faid Month, of
which I likewife fubjoin Copies; by which it appears
that though the Catholick King had begun to entertain
Uneafinefs at the Duke of Ripperda's Stay in his Ex
cellency's House, yet all his Catholick Majefty required
of him, was, to use Means of Perfwafion to induce him
to leave it: And Mr. Stanhope on his Part, always ar
dently difpofed to do all that may be agreeable to the
King of Spain, without proftituting the Glory of the
King his Master, and his own Character of Embaffador
by breaking the Word he had given in Confequence of
what his Catholick Majefty had done him the Honour
to fay to him, wrought fo effectually with the Duke of
Ripperda, purfuant to the Intimation he had received
from his Catholick Majesty, that he prevailed with the
faid Duke to confent to leave his Houfe, provided h
might be permitted to retire to a Convent: And
cannot conceal from your Excellency, how much th
King my Master was furprized, that this Propofition wa
not accepted, not being able to conceive any folid Rea
fon for its being rejected.

But what has much more furprized the King m
Master, and renders the Treatment of his Embaffado
yet the more unreasonable, is, that it does not appear
that before Force was ufed, after all that had paffed of
both Sides, his Embaffador was ever asked in Form t
deliver up the faid Duke, or make him quit his Houfe
not even after the Refolution taken by the Council o
Caftile, by which he was declared Guilty of High Trea
fon; nor was the faid Refolution, or the Contents