Cobentzel alfo informed me, that he had received orders from his Majefty to make the fame communication to M. Blumendorff at Paris, On Friday, the 20th of April, the King of the French went to the Affembly, and fpoke as follows: "GENTLEMEN, "I HAVE come among you for an object of the highest importance in the prefent circumftances. My Minister of Foreign Affairs will read to you the report which he made to me in council on our fituation with regard to Germany." The Minifter for Foreign Affairs then went up, and ftanding by the King's fide, read the Minute of the Cabinet Council of France, addreffed to the King. "SIRE, "When you took an oath of fidelity to the conftitution, you became the object of the hatred of the enemies of liberty. No natural tie could stop-no motive of alliance, of neighbourhood, of propriety, could prevent their enmity. Your ancient Allies erafed your name out of the lift of defpots, and from that moment they forgot your Majefty's fidelity. The emigrants, rebels to the laws of their country, are gone beyond the frontiers to prepare a guilty aggreffion against France. They wifh to carry into its bofom fire and fword. Their rage would have been impotent, if the foreign princes had not feconded, and encouraged their criminal manœuvres. The Houfe of Auftria has done every thing to encourage their audacity. The Houfe of Auftria, who fince the treaty of 1756 has found us good and faithful Allies! This treaty, Sire, fubjected us to the ambitious views of this House. She engaged us in all her wars, to which fhe called us as her Allies. We have been prodigal of our blood in the cruel tragedies of defpotifm. The inftant that the House of Auftria faw fhe could no longer govern us for her purposes, she became our enemy. "It was Auftria that had stirred up against France the restless Northern Potentate, whofe tyrannical phrenzy had at last made him fall under the fword of an affaffin. It was Auftria, who in office, of which Europe fhall judge, advised one party of Frenchmen to take up arms against the other. The note of the Court of Vienna, of the 18th of February, was in truth a declaration of War; M. Kaunitz there avows the league of the Powers against France. Bb 2 France. The death of Leopold ought to have made fome change in this ambitious fyftem, but we have feen the contrary.. "The note of the 18th of March is the ultimatum of the Court of Vienna. This note is more provoking ftill than the former. The King of Hungary wishes that we fhould fubmit our conftitution to his revifion; and he does not diffemble the project of arming Frenchmen against Frenchmen, "Sire, continues the Minister, in charging me with the adminiftration of foreign affairs, you have impofed on me the telling of you the truth: I proceed to tell you the truth. It refults from this measure, that the treaty of 1756 is broken in fact on the fide of Auftria; that the maintenance of a league of the Powers, is an act of hoftility against France; and that you ought this inftant to order M. Noailles, your ambassador, to quit the Court of Vienna, without taking leave.-Sire, the Auftrian troops are on the march -the camps are marked out-fortreffes are building. The nation, by its oath, on the 14th of July, has declared, that any man who fhall accede to an unconstitutional negotiation, is a traitor. The delay granted to Auftria is expired-your honour is attacked-the nation is infulted; therefore, there remains for you no other part to take, but to make to the National Affembly the formal propofition of war against the King of Bohemia and Hungary." The Minifter having read this Minute, the King refumed bis Speech, "You have heard, Meffieurs, the deliberation and the decifion of my council. I adopt their determination. It is conformable to the wifh, many times expreffed, of the National Affembly, and to that which has been addreffed to me by many districts of France. It appears to me to be the wish of all the French people. Frenchmen prefer war to a ruinous anxiety, and to an humiliating ftate, which compromises our conftitution, and our dignity. I have done every thing to avert war-but I judge it indifpenfable; I come, therefore, in the terms of our constitution, to propose to you formally to declare war against the King of Bohemia and Hungary." The Prefident answered: « SIRE, "The Affembly will proceed to deliberate on the great propofition which your Majefty has made to them. They will addrefs to you, by a meffage, the refult of their deliberation *." *For the Decree of War, fee the Proclamations, Manifeftoes, &c. Note Note prefented by Count de Kellar, the Pruffian Minifter, to their High Mightinesses the States-General. THE HE ties of confidence and friendship, projected for some years, as well at Berlin as Vienna, have been formally cemented by a defenfive treaty of alliance, figned at Berlin, on the feventh of February, and ratified a fhort time before the decease of the Emperor. The King of Pruffia, defirous not to retard the communication tion of this treaty to your High Mightineffes has authorized the underfigned, his Envoy Extraordinary, and Minifter Plenipotentiary, to deliver to you a copy of the faid treaty, which he has this day the honour to prefent to you. The ftipulations it contains having for their aim the general tranquillity of Europe, as well as the repofe and happiness of individuals, his Majelly believes them to be perfectly applicable, without the fmalleft inconvenience, to the pofition and interests of the United Provinces. The King of Hungary and Bohemia, on his part, difpofing himfelf, High and Mighty Lords, to invite you to concur in this alliance, and to propofe to you defenfive engagements, fimilar to thofe of the aforenamed treaty, the friendship and intimate relations which already unite the Court of Pruffia with the Republic, engage his Pruffian Majefty to advise your High Mightineffes of the overtures his Apoftolic Majesty is about to make to you. The King cannot, at the fame time, forbear the teftimony of the fatisfaction he feels, on obferving the Republic adopt the fame principles which have determined his Majefty's alliance with the House of Auftria.-Wishing that your High Mightineffes may fee, in the fame point of view, the utility and advantages which will refult from from these alliances, the King will felicitate himself on the power of contributing, as far as may depend on his Majefty, to the fuccefs of the negociation, which cannot fail to conduce to the Republic, and the fatisfaction of all the powers interested. Hague, April 27, 1792. LE COMTE De Kellar. Tranflation 4 Tranflation of Note from M. Chauvelin* to Lord Grenville, 24th May, 1792. THE HE underfigned Minifter Plenipotentiary from the King of the French, to his Britannic Majefty, has the honour to state to his Excellency, Lord Grenville, Minifter of State for Foreign Affairs, That the Royal Proclamation, published on the 21ft of this *The first part of Chauvelin's correfpondence with the British Court, will be found in the commencement of the papers relative to Neutral Powers. BY THE KING A PROCLAMATION. GEORGE, R. Whereas divers wicked and feditious writings have been printed, published, and induftriously difperfed, tending to excite tumult and diforder, by railing groundles jealoufies and difcontents in the minds of our faithful and loving fubjects, refpecting the laws and happy conftitution of government, civil and religious, cftablished in this kingdom; and endeavouring to vilify and bring into contempt the wife and wholefome provifions made at the time of the glorious revolution, and fince ftrengthened and confirmed by fubfequent laws, for the prefervation and fecurity of the rights and liberties of our faithful and loving fubjects: and whereas, divers writings have alfo been printed, published, and induftriously difperfed, recommending the laid wicked and feditious publications to the attention of all our faithful and loving fubjects: and whereas, we have also reason to believe, that correspondences have been entered into with fundry perfons in foreign parts, with a view to forward the criminal and wicked purpofes above-mentioned: and whereas, the wealth, happiness and profperity of of this kingdom do, under Divine Providence, chefly depend upon a due fubmiflion to the laws, a just confidence in the integrity and wifdom of Parliament, and a con tinuance to that zealous attachment to the government and conftitution of the kingdom, which has ever prevailed in the minds of the people thereof: and whereas, there is nothing which we fo carnestly defire, as to fecure the public peace and profperity, and to preferve to all our loving fubjects the full enjoyment of their rights and liberties, both religious and civil: We, therefore, being refolved, as far as in us lies, to reprefs the wicked and feditious practifes aforefaid, and to deter all perfons from fol. lowing fo pernicious an example, have thought fit, by the advice of our privy counsel, to illue this our royal proclamation, folemnly warning all our loving fubjects, as they tender their own happinefs, and that of their pofterity, to guard against all fuch at tempts, which aim at the fubverfion of all regular government within this kingdom, and which are inconfiftent with the peace and order of fociety; and carneftly exhort ing them at all times, and to the utmost of their power, to avoid and difcourage all proceedings, tending to produce riots and tumults: and we do frictly charge and command all our magiftrates in and throughout our kingdom of Great-Britain, that they do make diligent enquiry, in order to discover the authors and printers of fuch wicked and feditious writings as aforefaid; and all others who fhall difperfe the fame and we do further charge and command all our sheriffs, juftices of the peace, chief magistrates in our cities, boroughs, and corporations, and all other our officers and magiftrates throughout our kingdom of Great-Britain, that they do, in their fe veral and respective stations, take the most immediate and effectual care to fupprefs and prevent all riots, tumults, and other diforders, which may be attempted to be raifed or made by any perfon or perfons, which, on whatever pretexts they are grounded, are not only contrary to law, but dangerous to the most important interests of the kingdom and we do further require and command all and every one of our magiftrates aforefaid, that they do, from time to time, tranfmit to one of our principal fecretaries of ftate, due and full information of fuch perfons as fhall be found offend ing as aforefaid, or in any degree aiding or abetting therein; it being our determination, for the prefervation of the peace and happiness of our faithful and loving fubjects, to carry the laws vigorously info execution against fuch offenders as aforefaid. Given at our Court at the Queen's-houfe, the 21st day of May, 1792, in the thirty-fecond year of our reign. : GOD fave the KING, month, month, and communicated to the two Houfes of Parliament, contains fome expreffions which might, contrary to the intentions of the British Ministry, give weight to the false opinions which the enemies of France endeavour to circulate with respect to her intentions towards Great-Britain. If certain individuals of this country have established a correfpondence abroad, tending to excite troubles therein, and if, as the Proclamation feems to infinuate, certain Frenchmen have come into their views, that is a proceeding wholly foreign to the French nation, to the Legiflative Body, to the King, and to his Ministers; it is a proceeding of which they are entirely ignorant, which militates against every principle of juftice, and which, whenever it became known, would be univerfally condemned in France. Independently of those principles of juftice, from which a free people ought never to deviate, is it not evident, from a due confideration of the true interefts of the French nation, that she ought to defire the interior tranquillity, the continuance and the force of the Conftitution of a country which the already looks upon as her natural ally? Is not this the only reasonable wifh, which a people can form, which fees fo many efforts united against its liberty? The Minifter Plenipotentiary, deeply fenfible of these truths, and of the maxims of univerfal morality upon which they are founded, had already reprefented them in an official note, which he tranfmitted to the British Miniftry the 15th of this month, by the exprefs orders of his Court; and he thinks it his duty to repeat, on the préfent occafion, the important declarations it contains: "Religiously faithful to the principles of its Constitution, "whatever may be definitively the fortune of her arms in this "war, France repels every idea of aggrandifement; fhe wishes "to preferve her own limits, her liberty, her Conftitution, and "her inalienable right of `reforming herself, whenever she shall "judge proper: fhe will never confent that foreign powers should "in any fhape dictate, or fhould dare to nourish a hope of dic"tating laws to her; but this very pride, fo natural and so just, " is a pledge to all the powers from whom the fhall have received "no provocation, not only of her conftantly pacific difpofitions, "but alfo of the refpect which the French will at all times know "how to pay to the laws, the ufages, and all the forms of go"vernment of different people. The King alfo defires that it "may be known, that he would difavow, decidedly and severely, "all thofe of his agents in foreign Courts at peace with France, "who might dare to deviate a moment from this respect, either "by fomenting or by favouring revolts against the established or"der, or by interfering in any manner whatever in the internal "politics of thole ftates, under pretext of making profely es, |