| Content Description | Comments on the Spanish distrust of the French Emperor, and fear of a rupture between England and France which could be disastrous for Spain; they could not remain neutral in the event of a war between Britain and France; Marshall O'Donnell is of a reserved disposition and rarely goes into society; therefore he [Buchanan] usually has to gauge his opinions by means of his colleagues, but he [O'Donnell] has stated to him that he has been falsely accused of being hostile to England; it appears that he [O'Donnell] is not on intimate terms with the French Ambassador; the chief members of the Spanish Government tend to be anti-French; the Spanish press tend to portray the Ultra Moderatos as favouring an alliance with the French, but this is probably an attempt to discredit them.
However, there is a chance that Spain may be tempted into an alliance with France by her growing desire to regain her former position as a Great Power and to regain Gibraltar; this feeling may be stronger than her fear of losing Cuba through the hostility of England. |