There was to be no persecution of persons who had been the adherents of
France during the occupation; the only serious difference that arose was
as to the Russian fleet in the Tagus. Kellermann proposed to have it
guaranteed from capture, with leave to return to the Baltic. This,
however, was refused, and the question was referred to Admiral Cotton,
who, as chief representative of England, would have to approve of the
treaty before it could be signed.
Kellermann returned to Lisbon with Colonel Murray, the
quartermaster-general, and after three days' negotiations the treaty was
finally concluded, the Russian difficulty being settled by their vessels
being handed over to the British, and the crew transported in English
ships to the Baltic. The convention was, under the circumstances,
unquestionably a most advantageous one. It would have cost long and severe
fighting and the siege of several very strong fortresses before the French
could have been turned out of Portugal. Heavy siege-guns would have been
necessary for these operations. At the very shortest calculation a year
would have been wasted, very heavy loss of life incurred, and an immense
expenditure of money before the result, now obtained so suddenly and
unexpectedly, had been arrived at.
Nevertheless, the news of the convention was received with a burst of
popular indignation in England, where the public, wholly ignorant of the
difficulty of the situation, had formed the most extravagant hopes,
founded on the two successes obtained by their troops.
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