That Count Alcudia and Count Ofalia, and one Escudero, were agents, duly authorized to act for his Catholic Majesty; and that they, as such agents, were authorized to make, and did make, to divers persons in London, statements with respect to the monies claimed by the original bill, as being in the possession of the Respondents, and to the matters in the original bill mentioned, whereby it appeared, as the fact was, that many of the allegations in the original bill contained were contrary to truth, and by which it also appeared, that if his Catholic Majesty ever had any interest in, or title to, the monies in his bill mentioned, or any part thereof, he had wholly parted (and so, in fact, he had) with such interest and right; and the said monies then by certain agreements entered into by his Catholic Majesty, or with his authority, did, as against his Catholic Majesty and all persons claiming under him, belong exclusively to certain persons having claims under a certain convention concluded in May 1823, by which his Catholic Majesty became bound to make payment and full compensation to all British subjects for property or vessels belonging to them, which had been detained, captured, or seized, by Spanish vessels or Spanish authorities, at any time after the 4th of July, 1808, down to the date of the said convention; and in particular, that a great part of the said monies did belong to the Respondents, for that the said Spanish government seized, or caused to be seized, subsequently to the 4th of July, 1808, two ships, called the Scorpion and the Vulture, with their cargoes, which belonged to these Respondents; and that the same were sold by the authority of the King of 1833. THE KING OF บ. HULLETT. Spain; and that the whole of the proceeds thereof, amounting to upwards of one million of Spanish dollars, were paid into the royal treasury, and applied to the use of his said Catholic Majesty, and that these Respondents had a good and valid claim against his said Catholic Majesty, to the amount of more than 200,000l., which they were prevented from enforcing against him merely by his royal character; but that they were entitled, under the aforesaid convention, to have the same paid by his said Catholic Majesty, or out of any monies belonging to him, or in or to which he had any right, interest, or title, which might at any time come into the hands of the Respondents, or under the controul of the British government, or any British court of justice. That the Appellant, or some agent or agents acting by his authority, did, in his name, agree with an agent duly authorized by powers of attorney from the Respondents, and certain other British subjects, to pay a large sum in satisfaction of the debt so due from him to the Respondents, and similar debts owing by him to the said British subjects, which sum the Appellant had not hitherto paid. That the British subjects, having such just claims, are very numerous, but their names are unknown to Respondents; and that the sums which they are entitled to receive or recover from or against his said Catholic Majesty, and which his said Catholic Majesty, both by contract with them and their agents respectively, and by virtue of the said convention, had agreed to discharge, and particularly the sums owing by him as aforesaid to the Respondents, were very great, as would appear if his said Catholic Majesty would set forth the names of That upon a full discovery of the matters thereinbefore mentioned, it would appear that his said Catholic Majesty had no just cause of suit against the Respondents, even if it should turn out that any part of the proceeds of the rentes in the original bill mentioned had passed through the hands of the Respondents; and the Respondents requested him to desist from such suit, and to come to an account with them, and to pay to them the large sums which he owed to them, and which he had contracted to pay to them; but that his said Catholic Majesty refused to comply with their request, trusting that the Respondents would not be able to establish by evidence the facts in the said cross bill mentioned, the more especially as, in consequence of the absolute power of the said Appellant, these Respondents were unable and would not be allowed to examine witnesses as to 1833. THE KING OF บ. HULLETT. 1833. THE KING OF SPAIN บ. HULLETT. any of the matters in the original bill mentioned, or connected therewith, in any part of his dominions, though the witnesses by whose evidence alone the truth of many of the said matters would be established were resident within his dominions. The Respondents by their cross bill further charged, that there was a special necessity that his said Catholic Majesty should be compelled to answer upon oath all the matters therein-before mentioned, inasmuch as the same were material to their defence in the original suit, and to produce all writings, papers, and documents in any way relating to any of the matters therein mentioned, which then were in the possession of him or of any of his agents, ministers, or servants. The bill then stated a pretence on the part of his Catholic Majesty, that he had no personal knowledge of any of the matters therein-before mentioned, and, therefore, that he could give no discovery with respect to them or any of them, and that the said matters were only within the knowledge of certain of his agents, ministers, and servants, of which agents, ministers, and servants, the Respondents shewed that they were unable to procure the evidence, by reason of the absolute power of his said Catholic Majesty and the Respondents by their cross bill farther charged, that his Catholic Majesty had knowledge, remembrance, information, or belief, with respect to all or many of the matters thereinbefore mentioned, and had in his possession, custody, or power, the papers, documents, and writings therein mentioned, and that he had the means of full and perfect knowledge as to the same within his power, and that he was bound to use such means in order to give the Respondents the aforesaid discovery; and that he ought to enquire of those who were or had been his agents, ministers, or servants, and particularly of such of them as were therein named, as to the matters therein mentioned, and as to the writings, papers, and documents therein mentioned, and that he ought to read and peruse the said writings, papers, and documents, in order that he might by his answer discover the purport thereof: and the Respondents thereby charged, that it was altogether untrue, and that his said Catholic Majesty knew and must admit it to be untrue, that the Respondents well knew or suspected, or had good reason to know or suspect, that any monies paid to or deposited with them were actually part of the proceeds of the funds received by the said Justo de Machado, by virtue of the convention of the 30th of April, in the original bill mentioned, or actually belonged in any manner to the Spanish government, and were not the proper monies of the persons by whom such monies, if paid to or deposited with them, were so paid and deposited: and the Respondents thereby further charged, that orders had been given to the boards in the original bill mentioned, or to some of the members thereof, to liquidate and allow some very small demands, but not to allow any large demands, and that such orders had been given by or with the privity of his Catholic Majesty, with a view to the names of the persons whose small claims should have been so allowed, so as to assist him in getting possession of and misapplying the monies in his said original bill mentioned, and that he had caused other means to be taken to prevent any except small and almost nominal claims from being allowed; BBS 1833. 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