Sir William Drummond, the British envoy at Palermo; Mr. Viale; and the duke of Orleans were the ostensible contrivers of this notable scheme, by which, if it had succeeded, a small party in a local junta would have appointed a regency for Spain, paved the way for altering the laws of succession in that country, established their own sway over the other juntas, and created interminable jealousy between England, Portugal, and Spain; but with whom the plan originated does not very clearly appear. Sir William Drummond’s representations induced sir Alexander Ball to provide the ship of war, nominally for the conveyance of the duke of Orleans, but in reality for prince Leopold, with whose intended voyage sir Alexander does not appear to have been made acquainted. That the prince should have desired to be regent of Spain was natural, but that he should have been conveyed to Gibraltar in a British ship of the line, when the English government disapproved of his pretensions, was really curious. Sir William Drummond could scarcely have proceeded such lengths in an affair of so great consequence, without secret instructions from some member of his own government, yet lord Castlereagh expressed unqualified approbation of sir Hew’s decisive conduct upon the occasion! Did the ministers act at this period without any confidential communication with each other? or was lord Castlereagh’s policy secretly and designedly thwarted by one of his colleagues? But it is time to quit this digression and turn to THE PROCEEDINGS IN PORTUGAL. The bishop of Oporto being placed at the head of the insurrectional junta of that town, claimed the assistance of England. “We hope,” said he, “for an aid of three hundred thousand cruzado novas; of arms and accoutrements complete, and of cloth for forty thousand infantry and for eight thousand cavalry; three thousand barrels of cannon powder, some cargoes of salt fish, and other provisions, and an auxiliary body of six thousand men at least, including some cavalry.” This extravagant demand would lead to the supposition than an immense force had been assembled by the prelate, yet he could never at any time have put five thousand organized men in motion against the French, and had probably not even thought of any feasible or rational mode of employing the succours he demanded; but the times were favourable for extravagant demands, and his were not rejected by the English ministers, who sent agents to Oporto and other parts, with power to grant supplies. The improvident system adopted for Spain being thus extended to Portugal, produced precisely the same effects, that is, cavils, intrigues, waste, insubordination, and inordinate vanity and ambition among the ignorant upstart men of the day. [Sidenote: Par^y. Pap^s. L^d. Castle^h. to S. A. Well^y. 21st June, 1808.]