When Buccarelli’s invaſion was known, and the dignity of the crown infringed, we demanded reparation and prepared for war, and we gained equal reſpect by the moderation of our terms, and the ſpirit of our exertion. The Spaniſh miniſter immediately denied that Buccarelli had received any particular orders to ſeize Port Egmont, nor pretended that he was juſtified otherwiſe than by the general inſtructions by which the American governors are required to exclude the ſubjects of other powers.
To have inquired whether our ſettlement at Port Egmont was any violation of the Spaniſh rights, had been to enter upon a diſcuſſion which the pertinacity of political diſputants might have continued without end. We therefore called for reſtitution, not as a confeſſion of right, but as a reparation of honour, which required that we ſhould be reſtored to our former ſtate
