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France has been during that discussion, would have submitted to conditions dictated at the commencement of the negotiation, and rather announced by the noise and menace of war, and the preparations for hostilities, than proposed as the means of bringing the two States to a reconciliation.

In a case somewhat similar to the present, a feeble nation, not feeble by want of courage, but by its extent and population, dared to brave the English power in its capital to expose the habitation of its Kings-endanger its magazines, and the fruits of accumulated industry during 100 years of peace and economy-rather than subscribe to the unjust proposals then made to them, as they are to us to-day, under the idea of the convenience of England, and supported by a forcible argument-Brave men perish ed-the Danish colonies were invaded, but, however unequal was the contest, honour left that generous nation no choice of the party which it had to embrace.

In the present discussion, policy and honour speaks the same language. If the British Government has the power to conform or not to its own engagements--If it can in the treaties which it has made distinguish between the spirit and the letter-If one admits those mental restrictions as so many authorised restrictions-if the conveniencies of England are the meaning of political conventions-what will not the concessions be that it will not hope to extort success fully from the weakness of France? What will be the measure of the sacrifices and humiliation which she will undertake to impose? To-day the conveniency of England requires a guarantee against France, and she keeps Malta! Formerly the conveniency of England wanted a guarantee against France, and she destroyed Dunkirk, and an English Commissary gave laws in a country, while the colours of France hung waving in the air! To-morrow English conveniency will demand a guarantee against the progress of French industry, and a tarif will be made to stop the progress of commerce, together with our industry.

If we repair our harbours-if we con struct a canalif, by means of encouragement, we re-establish our manufactureswe shall be ordered to destroy our harbours, and demolish our moles, our canals filled up, and our manufactures ruined. They will demand the poverty of France, and that it lays down its arms in order to conform to the conveniencies of England, and afford a sufficient guarantee to its Government,

Whether one considers the principles, or examines the consequences, one is equally struck with the injustice and disgrace of

these pretensions. these pretensions. It may be asked, if they were submitted to an English Jury, would it hesitate to condemn them unanimously?

The Government of the Republic has a right to be astonished, that the British Ministry could believe itself authorised to impute to it such a degree of abasement. How could they conceive that the actual Government of France would lose in stupid repose both the memory of all that it has done, and the consciousness of all its duties?

Our provinces, are they less extended, less populous? Are we no longer the same men that have sacrificed every thing for the maintenance of our just interests? And if after our success we have shewn the greatest moderation, to what other cause can that moderation be imputed, if not to the justice of our rights and the consciousness of our strength? The undersigned, in making these observations to Lord Whitworth, thinks himself entitled to point out, that the moderate conduct of the whole French Administration, during two whole months of offensive provocations, and in spite of the deep impressions it fell from them, ought to make him appreciate the true character of the French Government. Nevertheless, it is when by its profound silence upon repeated insults, the Government of the French Republic had waited in expectation of having some reparation, or at least differences terminated; when, avoiding to prejudge the final result which affairs might take, it evinced the attention and wish only of considering the meaus which might be proposed to conciliate and satisfy the British Government; it was then that verbally, and without wishing to consent to give any written declaration, his Excellency Lord Whitworth delivered, in the name and by order of his Government, on the 6th Floreal (April 26), to the undersigned the following de

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to us! Is the English Minister to judge the French nation so weak, that at a moment when he agitates it by the most important deliberations, he does not think himself bound to conform, on its account, to the usages which are observed by all the Governments of civilized Europe?

Or, indeed, is it not rather that the operation of injustice, which weighs upon the conscience of the public as well as upon that of the private man, has precluded the British Government from signing the demand which it had made; and which, by a course less decisive, it endeavours to reserve to itself in future the means of obliterating the traces of its real claims, and some day to mislead opinion upon the origin of the rupture?

Or, in short, do the Ministers of his Britannic Majesty know so imperfectly the character of the First Consul, as to hope, by means of provocations, to exasperate or to intimidate him, by inducing him either to forget the interests of the nation, or to instigate him to some overt acts, so as that they might afterwards in the eyes of Europe misrepresent the beginning of the war?

The First Consul, more than any man who exists, knows the evils of war, because more than any other man he is accustomed to its calculations and chances. He be lieves that in such circumstances, when the first sentiments of governments ought to be to calculate upon the catastrophes and the calamities which may be engendered in a new war-he believes that their first duty is not only not to yield to motives of irritation, but to attempt by every way to explain, and to moderate the ungovernable passions of the people.

The undersigned attending at first a moment to the form of that communication of his Excellency Lord Whitworth, begged him to observe, that verbal and fugitive conversations were insufficient for the discussion of such immense interests, of which in ordinary cases all the motives are treated of in the Councils of Nations, after the most mature deliberation. In such Councils, and under such circumstances, nothing is considered as indifferent; forms, expressions even, are weighed, examined, discussed, appreciated, and serve to decide as well as to justify the party that ought to be taken.

If so imprudent and so gross a violation of all forms had originated with the French, what would not have been said, what would not have been written in England? There is not a speaker in either House of Parliament who would not have declared that this departure from the general rules established between nations in important

cases was an outrage to the British nation. In the judgment of every body, an offence of this nature would be a motive sufficient for putting an end to the negotiation.

As to the substance of the ultimatum proposed, the undersigned has the honour to recal to the recollection of Lord Whitworth, that he was charged to declare to him by a Note delivered the 12th Floreal, that the First Consul was not affected with menaces or with abuse, and that he was content even to pass by forms, which every other Government in similar circumstances would have insisted on.

That the Isle of Lampedosa did not belong to France; that it was under the Sovereignty of another Power; and that power hostile to peace. Scarcely was it concluded, when it became an object of the bitterest censure. It was represented as fatal to England, because it was not disgraceful to France. The seeds of uneasiness were soon sown and dangers were supposed, on which was established the necessity of such a state of peace, that it was a permanent signal for new hostilities. Those base mis

creants who had torn the bosom of their country, and who are still destined to tear it, were kept in reserve and in pay. Vain calculations of hatred! The object of it is no longer, France divided by factions and agitated by storms. It is France restored to internal tranquillity, regenerated in her administration and laws, ready to fall with her whole weight on the foreign nation which shall dare to attack her, and to unite with the brigands which atrocious policy might pour into her territories, to organize in it pillage and assassination.

At length an unexpected Message suddenly alarmed England with imaginary armaments in France and in Batavia, and supposed important discussions which divided the two Governments, while no discussion of the kind was known to the French Government.

Formidable preparations for arming were then begun où all the coasts and in the ports of Great Britain. The sea was covered with ships of war, and it was amidst this preparation that the Cabinet of London required of France to abrogate a fundamental article in the Treaty of Amiens.

They wished, they said, for new guarantees, and they disowned the sacredness of treaties; the execution of which is the first of guarantees that nations can give to each other.

In vain did France invoke that faith which they had sworn to maintain: in vain did she consent to wink at the actua! nonexecution of the article of the Treaty of

Amiens, which England pretended to pass over; in vain did she defer taking a definitive part until the moment when Spain and Batavia, both contracting parties, should have manifested their will; in vain did she call for the mediation of the powers which had been invited to guarantee, and who, indeed, have guaranteed the stipulation, the abrogation of which was demanded. All her proposals were rejected, and the demands of England became more imperious and more absolute.

It was not consistent with the principles of Government to yield to threats; it was not in its power to make the Majesty of the French people bend under laws prescribed to it with forms so haughty and so novel; had it done so, it would have consecrated to England the right of annulling by its will alone all the stipulations by which it is bound towards France.

It would have authorized it to require from France new guarantees on the least alarm which it might be pleased to suppose, and hence two new principles which would have been placed in the public right of Great-Britain, along with that by which it has disinherited other nations of the common sovereignty of the seas, and subjected to its laws and regulations the independence of their flag.

Government has stopped at that line traced out to it by its principles and its duty. The negotiations have been broken off; we are ready to combat if attacked.

At any rate, we shall combat to maintain the faith of treaties, and for the honour of the French name.

Had we yielded to vain terror, it would have been necessary to combat in order to repel new pretentions; but we should have combated, dishonoured by weakness, de. graded in our own eyes, and vilified in the eyes of an enemy, who would have made us at once yield to their unjust pretentions.

The nation will confide in a sensation of its own strength, whatever may be the wounds which the enemy may inflict where we can neither prevent nor reach them. The result of this contest will be such as we have a right to expect from the justice of our cause, and from the courage of our warriors.

The First Consul, BUONAPARTE.
By the First Consul,

The Secretary of State, H. B. MARET.

Note from the Russian Prime Minister relative to the guarantee of Malta, dated, Petersburgh, 12th November, 1802,

The Chancellor of the Empire having received the orders of the Emperor relative to

the invitation made to his Imperial Majesty by the two principal contracting parties to the Treaty of Amiens, to accede in quality of guarantee to this Treaty, so far as relates to the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, and their restoration to the possession of the Island of Malta and its dependencies, is authorised to give to the communications of the 22d of October the following reply:

His Majesty the Emperor, from the mo ment of his accession to the throne, has constantly shewn so strong a desire to seize every opportunity which presented itself of giving to the two principal contracting parties to the Treaty of Amiens the most unequivocal proofs of his sincere desire to do whatever might be agreeable to both of them, and to contribute as far as was in his power to re-establish and to confirm the continuance of the peace existing betwixt them, that it cannot now be supposed that his invariable sentiments on this point can have suffered any change. On the other hand, the two governments are too equitable not to acknowledge that it is beyond the power of the Emperor to yield to the demands made to him in virtue of the 10th article of the Treaty of Amiens, which fixes the future establishment of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, since it is, under every consideration, impossible for his Imperial Majesty to accede as a guarantee to stipulations which are not only contrary to wishes expressed relative to the Order, honoured by the interest he felt in their favour, and the protection he had pledged himself to give them, but which would be inconsistent with what had been agreed upon anterior to that treaty betwixt his Imperial Majesty and one of the two contracting powers, with respect to the said Order, and relative to the independence and neutrality of the Island of

Malta.

This consideration, as important in itself, as it is necessarily supported by considerations of a different kind, has obliged the Emperor not to accede to the pressing requests which have been made to him on the point, by the Court of London, in spite of the ardent desire of his Imperial Majesty to comply with the wishes expressed on this subject. The dispositions, which that Court has manifested to accede to the wishes of the Emperor, with respect to the Order and the Island of Malta, and the readiness expressed by the French government to concert measures for promoting the same end, have not failed to be felt with corresponding sentiments of gratitude by his imperial Majesty. But, the obstacle which opposed his compliance with their wishes, was not weakened, since the public and formal act

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continued still contradictory to the known and expressed intention of his Imperial Majesty, and that it was for this act that his guarantee was solicited. Since, however, one of the principal difficulties is removed by the nomination and acknowledgment of the Grand Master, his Majesty the Empe ror, desirous of giving to the contracting parties to the Treaty of Amiens the clearest proofs of his friendship, and wishing to omit nothing on his part which can tend to consolidate the general tranquillity of Europe, has determined to propose to the two go. vernments the only plan which, under existing circumstances, can furnish the possibility of waving the demand which they have mutually made, and this plan would be, that the two contracting powers should form a convention or some other act supplementary to the Treaty of Amiens, by which the 10th article of the said treaty relative to the Order and the Island of Malta might be modified, altered, and completed, with respect to several of its dispositions, agreeably to the stipulations of the first arrangement agreed upon by his Imperial Majesty; which by this means being fully and formally re-established, would receive the same sanction as the treaty, of which they would then form an integral part. If the two powers believed that such a supplementary article could be agreed upon, his Majesty the Emperor would hasten to accede to it in quality of guarantee, and to share the obligations attached to such a character, with the courts of Vienna, Madrid, Naples, and Berlin. His Imperial Majesty would do this the more readily, because in complying with the wishes of the two powers, he would only follow the impulse of his own feelings on this subject, from which he is desirous of giving them manifest and reiterated proofs of his good will, by concurring in all possible cases with their wishes.

The Chancellor, by order of the Emperor, that in this affair no delay might be suppo. sed to arise on the part of the court of Russia, hastens to subjoin a projet of the articles which may serve as the basis of a supplementary act alluded to above, in case the two powers should be inclined to accede to it.

The Chancellor of the Empire in com. municating these instructions to General Hedouville, Minister Plenipotentiary of the French Republic, which express the intentions of the Emperor, in answer to the note of the 22d of October, has the honour of repeating to him his high consideration. (Signed) C. ALEXANDER DE WORONTZOW. St. Petersburgh, November 12, 1802.

(The following Public Papers being imperfect, without the explalanation accompaning them, and which are translated from the Moniteur, the whole is inserted here together.)

Paris, May, 25th, 1803-The Declaration of the KING of ENGLAND has appeared. It is accompanied by a volume of Papers of 145 folio pages. This volume contains 72 articles, amongst which ten only are official, and several of those are insignificant. Sixty-two are extracts of letters from ministers to their agents, and from the English agents to their cabinet, letters doubtless fabricated by the Chancellerie, according to the convenience of ministers. The notes, which are most important, and the most proper to inform the English people of the steps taken by the French government, and of the true spirit of the negotiation, have been carefully sup pressed. And what appears the last degree of shamelessness, and even of foily, is that in the note of Lord Whitworth, dated the roth of May, printed in page 112 of the Official Papers of London, the most essential passage is omitted, through an unfaithfulness which could not fail to be discovered.

Original Note transmitted by the English Ambassador to the Minister for Foreign Affairs.

Paris, May 10, 1853. The undersigned Ambassador Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary from his Britannic Majesty to the French Republic, having transmitted to his Court the proposition made to him by the Minister for Foreign Affairs on the 4th instant, and that proposition having been judged to be impracticable, by the refusal of his Majesty the Emperor of Russia to listen to it, and as fulling, at the same time, below the just pretensions of his Majesty.

[The remainder of the note is exactly similar to that published in the Correspondence here. The words marked in italics are those which the Moniteur charges the English minister with having omitted.]

This infidelity, committed to cover a false allegation, which they durst not support, has given rise to another. The English ministers have in consequence omitted the note transmitted in answer by Citizen Talleyrand on the 12th of May, which is to the following effect:

Paris, May 12, 1803. The undersigned is charged to make known to his Excellency Lord Whitworth, Ambassador from his Britannic Majesty, that the First Consul having proposed in the Note of the 4th instant, that the Island of Malta should be delivered into the hands of one of the guaranteeing powers, Russia, Austria, or Prussia, it does not suffice to put an end to that proposition, to argue from the refusal of his Majesty the Emperor of Russia to receive that depot, since it still remains to be known what are the intentions of their Majesties the Emperor of Germany and King of Prussia.

--

That besides the assertion contained in the Note of his Excellency, dated the 10th instant, and which is expressed in these terms By the refusal of his Majesty, the Emperor of Russia to accede, entirely contrary to the guarantee which his Imperial Majesty has formally offered, under the condition of some slight changes which the First Consul had no difficulty in adopting, and which he knows that the English ministry refused, doubtless meditating upon the strange pretensions of keeping Malta,Moreover, this assertion is in direct contradiction to the assurauces which the First Consul has received from Petersburgh, since the Message from his Britannic Majesty was known, and which has been renewed by an au hentic communication, which the Count De Marcoff made yesterday of the intentions of his Court From wherce it results that it is impossible to reconcile the last Note, transmitted by his Excellency Lord Whitworth, with the new confirmation which has been acquired of the disposition of his Majesty, the Emperor of Russia, and he cannot refuse to believe that his Pritaonic Majesty, better informed, will himself hasten to give to his Excellency different instructions to those which he has received and communicated. in the name of his Government.The undersigned seizes this occasion of renewing to his Excellency Lord Whitworth, the assurance of his high consideration.

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(Signed) C. M. TALLEYRAND.

And the English nation calls itself free, and the parliament represents the nation.-We have translated the whole verbatim, which will be printed in this Journal, for nothing ought to be hidden from the French people. If they have had the shamelessness to suppress the most important notes, and to garble those of which the originals are in the hands of our government, with respect to objects so important, what confidence can we place in the recital of conversations made by English agents, and turned by the ministry to suit its own purposes?- And thus fifty millions of men are delivered to be slaughtered.-The giddy spirit which has for two months seized upon the English government will not allow it to reflect; it doubtless thinks that we have neither ink nor arms. But of what importance to the ca. binet of London is the opinion of Europe, or that of posterity? The parliament will make its address, several of the members will be led away by false reports, and this is all that the English ministers desire. The fol lowing decree was communicated on Monday, to the senate, the legislative body, and the tribunate, by the orators of govern

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and Colonies, a dispatch from the Maritime Prefect of Brest, dated this day, announcing that two English frigates having taken two French merchant vessels in the Bay of Audierne, without any previous declaration of war, and in manifest vio lation of the law of nations, which dispatch is to the following effect the day before yesterday two English frigates captured two vessels in the Bay of Audierne; the one was destined for Quimper, to procure timber for building, and the other was laden with salt for Fecamp. (Signed) 4CAFFARELLY, Maritime Prefect."

DECREES.

Art. I. It is prescribed to all Commanders of Squadrons or Naval Divisions of the Republie, Captains of its Ships and other Vessels of War, to chase those of the King of England, as well as those vessels belonging to his subjects, to attack, capture, and conduct them into the ports of the Republic.

fl. Commissions will be delivered, in course, to those French Privateers for which they are demanded, and which, in the event of obtaining those commissions, will be regulated, in conformity with the existing laws and regulations, or with whatever may be made in the mean-time.

III. All the English enrolled in the Militia, from the age of eighteen to sixty, or holding any commission from his Britannic Majesty, who are at present in France, shall be immediately constituted prisoners of war, to answer for those citizens of the Republic who may have been arrested and made prisoners by the vessels or subjects of his Britannic Majesty, previous to any declaration of

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The English government has then commenced hostilities by the ruin of one or two miserable traders, who under the faith of treaties were peaceably navigating on our coasts.-It has committed this act of hostility without a declaration of war, without any of the forms used by polished nations and agreed upon amongst them, and in pursuance of those odious principles of public law which it has created for itself alone, and which are entirely barbarous.It is with pain that the government of the republic sees itself forced to use reprisals, and to constitute prisoners of war all the English enrolled in the militia, and residing in the French territory. In every thing that is illiberal it will always leave initia illiberality. tion to England, but the French people ought to act towards England as she acts towards France. For too long a period Europe has pursued a different line of conduct. This what has more particularly authorized England fo-constitute for herself alone, a public law, to which she is now so much accustomed, that every act of just

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