Norfolk Gazette And Publick Ledger

From a Jamaica paper of March 16.

The following is translated from the Periodical American Redacteur, of January 19, printed at New-Grenada, in South-America.

Official letter from Don Santiago Liniers Y Bremont, commander in chief of the victorious troops who re-captured Buenos Ayres, to major-gen. Wm. Carr Beresford.

Buenos-Ayres, 30th August, 1806.

The name of capitulation that your excellency has given in his letter of the 27th instant, to the private and personal indulgencies, which you repeatedly requested of me to grant, several days after your excellency had surrendered a prisoner of war, in order, as you said, to avoid your total ruin, and which I acceded to in a noble and generous manner, is not only a breach of good faith, but even insidious. Sixty thousand witnesses have perceived the white flag hoisted on the fort of Buenos-Ayres, and immediately after the Spanish placed in its stead; they have likewise seen your excellency retire from the fort with my aid-du-camp Quintana, after you had hoisted the Spanish flag, and without any previous agreement or convention having been entered into. Let all your officers, let the innumerable witnesses in Buenos Ayres, who were present, say whether there can be any doubt, but that the surrender of your excellency under such circumstances, was discretionary and unconditional. Your excellency being then a prisoner of war, how could you have capitulated several days after? Was it possible I could have granted to your excellency a capitulation, which it was then out of power to offer, (as it has been intimated to your excellency by the governor of Monte Video answer to the letter your excellency him on that subject, and cor possession, and from who authority I was invested words are as follow :)

"When I entrusted him (gen. Liniers) command of the troops which re-c Ayres, then in the possession under the command of your authorise him to conclude t your excellency has done it is for that very reason ,r far as it lays in my pow the favors above mentioned dered at, that in spite your excellency shou utterly false, passing private regard for yo to grant your repeated nancy of your exe your grief; but no cellency's letter to that far from being ain, was to produce consolation that I c tion, when you pr peril that would a a tribunal of your But being aware cellency, as much in the publicity given to I condescended to grant excellency of wh the nullity of favours excellency from giving a kind of existence, to wh Our respective situation soner of war at discre that time forbid us enteri ty E. ness which the vigorous e so soon decided, and wl reduced y lency to the necessity of laying wn you been witnessed in your tbrowi our swo the ground, but which was instantaneously returned you, the Spanish nation thinking it unbecoming to deprive a general of his arms, who had just given proofs of the most tried courage and the itest sangfroid, in the most imminent danger, ng the fort the last, after having had your see capt. George W. Kenneth, of the engineer by your side.

In regard to our verbal agreement, when ur excellency left the fort, it consisted only in forming you that I should grant you the hou war due to the defence you had made, and th should be exchanged for the Viceroy of Lima, whom I conceived had been made a prisoner, a cir- cumstance which, however, cannot now take place, having been informed that he was not taken.

Finally, I proposed to my superiors, to the su- preme council, and the corporate body, to send to Europe the British troops and their officers, after having taken the necessary surety for their exchange. I supported that proposition with all my power, but the chapter, the great majority of the principal in- habitants of this city, the governor, the corpora- tion of all the inhabitants of Monte Video, were of a contrary opinion. I did still more in favour of the troops under the orders of your excellency, I cal- led a council of war, which was composed of all the staff officers and captains, who on the 26th in- stant, approved of my generous proceedings; but, copies of what your excellency called a capitulation, having been spread abroad on the 25th and 29th in this city, and the same to my knowledge, having also been forwarded by post to Monte Video, and rendered publick there, both cities have positively insisted, that they would not consent to the British troops being sent to Europe, to which opinion, the council of war assembled by me yesterday, have themselves acquiesced in, and that general senti- ment I now accede to the more readily, as many persons have done the most unheard of injustice to iny honour, character, and tried loyalty, by insi- nuating that I was base and mean enough, to suffer
myself by bribery, to be seduced to grant those a- vours called by your excellency a capitulation.-Al- though these insinuations excite in me but contempt for their authors, and my publick character shields me from them, I nevertheless cannot pass them over in silence, and this was the reason why I found my- self obliged to inform your excellency by your aid- de-camp, capt. Arbuthnot, that in future, our com- munications should be by writing.

Lastly I have the honour to inform your excel- lency, that it has been resolved upon, that the Bri- tish troops should be marched into the interior of the provinces, and quartered in different towns, and the officers sent to Europe on their parole, not to serve against Spain or her allies, till exchanged.

I have the honour to be, &c.

SANTIAGO LINIERS.

To Maj. Gen. Wm. Carr Beresford.