No. 12.

Lord Malmesbury has the honour to prefent his acknowledge. ments to the minister for foreign affairs for the communication which he has just made to him, and he will have the honour to wait upon him to-morrow, at the hour which he fhall have the goodnefs to appoint, to receive the copy of the full powers with which he is furnished on the part of the executive directory; and as foon as they fhall have been exchanged, he will be ready to commence the negotiation with which he is charged.

He requests the minister for foreign affairs to accept the affurances of his high confideration. (Signed) MALMESBURY, Paris, Oct. 23d, 1796.

No. 13. Extra from the Regifter of the Decrees of the Executive Directory. 2 Brumaire, (23 08) 5th year of the French Republic, one and indivifible,

The executive directory, after having heard the report of the minifter for foreign affairs

The citizen Charles Delacroix, minifter for foreign affairs, is charged to negotiate with lord Malmefbury, commiflioner plenipotentiary of his Britannic majefty, furnished with full powers to prepare and negotiate peace between the French republic and that power, and to conclude it definitively between them. The directory gives to the faid minifter all powers neceffary for concluding and figning the treaty of peace to take place between the republic and his Britaunic majefty. He hall conform himfelf to the inftructions which fhall be given him. He fhall render a regular account, from time

His Britannic majesty defiring, as he has already declared, to contribute, as far as depends on him, to the re-eftablifliment of public tranquillity, and to enfure, by the means of juft, honourable, and folid conditions of peace, the future repofe of Europe; his majefty is of opinion, that the best means of ataining, with all poffible expedition, that falutary end, will be to agree, at the beginning of the negotiation, on the general princi ple which fhall ferve as a baûs for the definitive arrangements.

The first object of negotiations for peace generally relates to the reftrictions and ceffions which the refpective parties have mutually to demand, in confequence of the events of war.

Great Britain, from the uninterrupted fuccefs of her naval war, finds herself in a fituation to haye no restitution to demand of France, from which, on the contrary, the has taken establishments and colonies of the highest importance, and of a value almost incalculable.

But,

But, on the other hand, France has made, on the continent of Europe, conquefts to which his majefty can be the lefs indifferent, as the most important interefts of his people, and the most facred engagements of his crown, are effentially implicated therein.

The magnanimity of the king, his inviolable good faith, and his defire to restore repofe to fo many nations, induce him to confider this fituation of affairs as affording the means of procuring for all the belligerent powers juft and equita ble terms of peace, and fuch as are calculated to enfure for the time to come the general tranquillity.

It is on this footing, then, that he purposes to negotiate, by offering to make compenfation to France, by proportionable reftitutions, for thofe arrangements to which he will be called upon to confent; in order to fatisfy the juft demands of the king's allies, and to preferve the political balance of Europe.

Having made this firft overture, his majesty will, in the fequet, explain himfelf more particularly on the application of this principle to the different objects which may be difcuffed between the refpective parties.

It is this application which will conftitute the fubject of those difcuffions, into which his majesty has authorized his minifter to enter, as foon as the principle to be adopted as the general bafis of the negotiation is known.

But his majefty cannot omit to declare, that if this generous and equitable offer fhould not be accepted, or if, unfortunately, the difcuffions which may enfue, fhould fail to produce the defired effect, neither this general propofition,

nor those more detailed which may refult from it, can be regarded, in any cafe, as points agreed upon or admitted by his majesty. (Signed) MALMESBURY, minifter plenipotentiary from his Britannic majefty.

Paris, O. 24, 1796.

No. 15.

Extract from the Register of the Deliberations of the Executive Direc tory.

Paris, 5 Brumaire, 5th year of the
Republic, one and ind wifible.

The executive directory orders the minifter for foreign affairs to make the following answer to lord Malmesbury:

The executive directory fees with pain, that at the moment when it had reafon to hope for the speedy return of peace between the French republic and his Britannic majefty, the propofal of lord Malmesbury offers nothing but dilatory or very diftant means of bringing the negotiation to a conclution.

The directory obferves, that if lord Malmesbury would have agreed to treat feparately, as he was formally authorized by the tenour of his credentials, the negotiations might have been confiderably abridged; that the neceffity of baJancing with the interefts of the two powers thofe of the allies of Great Britain, multiplies the combinations, increases the difficulties, tends to the formation of a congrefs, the forms of which, it is known, are always tardy, and requires the acceffion of powers which hitherto have difplayed no defire of accommodation, and have not given to lord Malmesbury himfelf, according to his own declaration, any power to ftipulate for them.

Thus, without prejudging the (12) intentions

intentions of lord Malmesbury; without drawing any conclufion from the circumftance of his declaration not appearing to accord with his credentials; without fuppofing that he has received any fecret inftructions which would detroy the effect of his oftenfible powers; without pretending, in fhort, to affert, that the British government have had a double ob

ject in view to prevent, by general propofitions, the partial propofitions of other powers, and to obtain from the people of England the means of continuing the war, by throwing upon the republic the odium of delay occafioned by themfelves; the executive directory cannot but perceive, that the propofition of lord Malmesbury is nothing more than a renewal, under more amicable forms, of the propofitions made last year by Mr. Wickham, and that it prefents but a difiant hope of peace.

The executive directory farther obferves, with regard to the principle of retroceffions advanced by ford Malmefoury, that fuch a principle, prefented in a vague and ifolated manner, cannot ferve as the bafis of negotiation; that the firft points of confideration are, the common neceffity of a just and folid peace, the political equilibrium which, abfolute retroceffions might deftrov, and then the means which the belligerent powers may poffefs

the one to retain conquefts made at a time when it was fupported by a great number of allies, now detached from the coalition; and the other, to recover them at a time when those who were at first its enemies, have, almost all, become either its allies, or at leaft neuter.

Nevertheless, the executive direftory, animated with an ardent

defire of putting a stop to the fcourge of war, and to prove that they will not reject any means of reconciliation, declares, that as foon as lord Malmesbury fhall exhibit to the minifter for foreign affairs fufficient powers, from the allies of Great Britain, for ftipulating for their refpective interefts, accompa nied by a promife on their part to fubfcribe to whatever shall be concluded in their names, the execu tive directory will haften to give an answer to the fpecific propofitions which fhall be fubmitted to them, and that the difficulties fhall be removed, as far as may be confiftent with the fafety and dignity of the French republic.

ity to permit an answer to be made to them on his part in any manner whatsoever.

The progrefs and the refult of the negotiation will fufficiently prove the principles by which it will have been directed on each fide; and it is neither by revolting reproaches wholly deftitute of foundation, nor by reciprocal invective, that a fincere with to accomplish the great work of pacification can be evinced.

The underfigned paffes, therefore, to the first object of difcuffion brought forward in the anfwer of the executive directory; that of a feparate negotiation, to which it has been fuppofed, without the fmalleft foundation, that the underfigned was authorized to accede.

His full powers, made out in the ufual form, give him all neceffary authority to negotiate and to conclude the peace; but thefe powers prefcribe to him neither the form, the nature, nor the conditions of the future treaty.

. Upon these points, he is bound to conform himself, according to the long established and received cuftom of Europe, to the inftructions which he fhall receive from his court; and accordingly he did not fail to acquaint the minifter for foreign affairs, at their first conference, that the king his mafter had exprefsly enjoined him to liften to no propofal tending to feparate the interests of his majefty from those of his allies.

There can be no queftion then but of a negotiation which fhall combine the interefts and preten fions of all the powers who make a common caufe with the king in the prefent war.

In the courfe of fuch a negotiation, the intervention, or, at leaft, the participation of thefe powers,

will doubtlefs become abfolutely neceffary; and his majefty hopes to find at all times the fame difpofitions to treat, upon a just and equitable bafis, of which his mas jefty, the emperor and king, gave to the French government fo ftriking a proof at the very moment of the opening of the prefent campaign.

But it appears, that the waiting for a formal and definitive authority on the part of the allies of the king, before Great Britain and France begin to difcufs, even provifionally, the principles of the negotia tion, would be to create a very ufelefs delay.

A conduct wholly different has been obferved by thofe two powers on almost all fimilar occafions; and his majefty thinks, that the best proof which they can give, at the prefent moment, to all Europe, of their mutual defire to put a ftop, as foon as poffible, to the calamities of war, would be to fettle, without delay, the bafis of a combined negotiation, inviting, at the fame time, their allies to concur in it, in the manner the moft proper for accelerating the general pacifi cation.

It is with this view that the underfigned was charged to propofe at firft, and at the very commencement of the negotiation, a principle, which the generofity and good faith of his majefty could alone dictate to him that of making compenfation to France, by pro portionable reftitutions, for the arrangements to which he will be called upon to confent, in order to fatisfy the juft pretenfions of the king's allies, and to preferve the political balance of Europe.

The executive directory has not explained itself in a precife manner, either as to the acceptance of (I 3)

this