| Content Description | Reports that General Ortega, after his arrest, claimed that the Emperor and Empress of the French were involved in the Carlist movement, of which he had been the victim; the Spanish Minister at Vienna has heard that the Emperor and Empress of the French were aware of Count Montemolín's plans; it is said that French ships appeared off the coasts of Alicante and Algeciras at the time of the rebellion; he [Buchanan] does not attach much importance to these coincidences, but the Spanish people do; there is great distrust of France at the highest levels of Spanish Government; Mr Collantes stated that General Ortega had not mentioned the Emperor and Empress in his official statements, and does not believe that they were implicated; Mr Collantes was very guarded in what he said.
Mr Collantes has long suspected that the French Emperor may be planning to extend his empire; a Spanish Minister has stated to him [Buchanan] that he had been opposed to the recent war in Morocco, as it was likely to upset the good relations that it was wise for Spain to cultivate with England, given that France was increasingly becoming a threat to the peace of Europe; comments on the Spanish tendency to exaggerate. |