The New Hampshire Gazette And General Advertiser

August 8. The present negotiations with ports, and yet more in those of France and Spain, are owing to the war expected to break out between Austria, Russia and Turkey.

The Comte de Vergennes delivered a memorial to the Duke of Manchester; the purport of which was, to desire England from giving any assistance to the Russians, & to exclude her from sending any fleets into the Mediterranean. This was insisted upon in so firm a tone, that it put an entire stop to the ratification of the peace. It seems that the House of Bourbon are expressly determined to consider the Mediterranean sea as a lake in their own territories, in which no other power shall swim a cock-boat without their permission. The Empress of Russia rejects the idea with scorn, and turns in her negotiation to us for clearing the way. Mr. Fox is for securing an alliance with the Empress; Lord North, on the contrary, thinks she will be so embroiled, that an alliance with her will be worth little to us. The whole cabinet are full of apprehensions, that France and Spain mean to make this a pretext for renewing the war, if we do not mean to come into all their terms.

The following is, as near as can be collected, the true reason of a further delay of the signing the definitive treaties:--The 4th of last month was appointed for signing, and a general exchange of the several treaties at Paris, and instructions were sent to the British Ambassador on that head. Two days, however, before the time fixed, an account arrived of the capture of New Providence and the Bahama islands, which determined the British Ministers to stop the treaty with Spain, unless that article which respected the giving up the province of East-Florida for the Bahama islands was either erased or palliated in a particular manner. It was on the morning of the day on which the last hands were to be put to the treaties, before the courier from London arrived with the dispatches in Paris. The Duke of Manchester was gone to meet the other Ministers, and had the packet delivered to him only one hour before it is probable the whole would have been finished. On a discovery of this, with respect to Spain, all the other powers demurred. An express was sent to Madrid--another courier returned, whose dispatches contained directions to his Catholic Majesty's Envoy to postpone proceedings till it should be inquired if New Providence was taken within the time specified for hostilities ceasing. On this rests the delay of the treaties, and hence the other powers charge our Ministers with being the cause of this delay: but it is such a step as must convince the nation how averse Administration are to giving up any thing that can be saved to this country.