Your Excellency: It has been our experience that the captains of English warships conduct themselves strangely in some of t,he ports of the King. They . propose to search merchant vessels of, their own country within those very same ports. The Marquis de Tavalosos, Commandant,General .of the Canaries, reports that Captain William Corneballes [Cornwallis], who commands the English frigate of war named Palas [Pallas], on ,the 11th of January last . year, fired a cannon at an American called the Honor & Helen because she .. set sail flying a pennant. On the 28th of November of the same year another

.. English frigate of war named the Atlanta [Atalanta], under Captain Thomas Underwood, having anchored in the Port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, took possession of a brigantine of her own nation and put aboard a lieutenant with soldiers from the frigate .. He searched it thoroughly and took the papers and bills of lading that it carried. Later, however, on being better advised, he changed his mind. Lastly, on the 28th of December of the aforementioned year, the frigate of war Palas .returned to and anchored in Tenerife. One of the officers ~as sen.t to board an English brigantine that. had arrived from Barcelona. He searched it thoroughly, conducted a detailed inquiry, and obliged the captain of the briga~tine to remain ashore in the process of which the captain was struck.

These events are truly. against the Honor and sovereignty of the King and have merited His Majesty's full attention. He orders me to instruct Y,our Excellency as his agent tq inform the :appropriate officials ofthe British Min'istries of this, 'fo order 'that they may warn' the captai'ns of English warships

:10 abstain from committing similar offenses, because the Governors of the

King in those places have be.en instructed to maintain the honor and rights of His Maje.sty, although on our part they have been cautioned to use tact and courteous conduct. God grant to Your Excellency[&c.] Madrid, 1 April 1776.

Marquis de Grimaldi.