all we should still have to restore to them, while they had nothing to reftore to England, it was impoffible not to confider the terms on which his Majefty propofed peace to Holland as generous and liberal. M. Delacroix was not at all difpofed to agree with me on this point, and faid, Holland, ftripped of thefe poffeffions, would be ru ined. He then held out, but as if the idea had juft croffed his mind, the poffibility of indemnifying the Dutch for their loffes in India, by giving them a tract of territory towards the Meufe, (I could not find out whether he meant Aix la Chapelle, Liege, or the countries of Juliers and Berg) and hinted, that if this was not to be done, an additional fugar island might, perhaps, be ceded to the Dutch Republic. I told him all this might become a subject of future difcuffion, and I conceived, that if we could agree upon the more effential points, the treaty would not break off on these fecondary confiderations. Our converfation had now been extremely long, and M Delacroix ended by faying, that although he had taken upon himself to enter with me thus far upon the fubject, yet I muft not confider any thing he faid as binding, or as pledging the Republic, till fuch time as he had laid the papers I had given him before the Directory; and in order to do this with more accuracy, he again asked me, whether in his report he was to ftate the difuniting Belgium from France as a fine qua now from which his Majefty would not depart. I replied, it moft certainly was a fine quâ non from which Lis Majefty would not depart; and that any propofal which would leave the Netherlands annexed to France, would be attended with much greater benefit to that power, and lofs to the allies, than the prefent relative fituation of the belligerent powers could entitle the French government to expect. M. Delacroix repeated his concern at the peremptory way in which I made this affertion, and afked whether it would admit of no modification? I replied, if France could, in a contre projet, point out a practicable and adequate one, fiill keeping in view that the Netherlands muft not be French, or likely again to fall into the hands of France, fuch a propofal might certainly be taken into confideration. M. Delacroix by no means encouraged me to explain myfelf more fully; he repeatedly faid, that this difficulty relative to the Netherlands was one which could not be overcome. Juft as I was taking leave of him, he begged of me to explain what was meant by the words in the memoire (A) in the 4th paragraph, beginning de s'entendre muruellement fur les moyens d'affurer, and ending at leur poffeffions refpectives. I told him, it referred to the deftructive fyftem adopted by France in the Weft Indies, and went to exprefs a with, that the two powers fhould agree on some general and uniform fyftem of internal police in the fettlements there, which would- contribute to the fecurity of these poffeflions to the refpective countries, and at the fame time to the happiness of every defcription of inhabitants in them. M. Delacroix, a little hurt at my expreffion relative to the system adopted by France, endeavoured to recriminate on us; but he ended by by faying, that they fhould ertainly be willing to concur in any arrangement relative to the regroes, which did not militate against the principles of their coftitution. Here our conference ended, and as, during the whole courfe of it, I bore in my mnd the poflibility, that although this, our firft, might be the only favourable opportunity I fhould ever have of fpeaking on the general principles on which his Majefty wasdifpofed to treat, I endeavoured by adverting more or lefs to almoft every point in my inftructions, to enable M. Delacroix (if he reports faithfully) to ftate to the Directory what I faid, in fuch a manner as to put it out of their power to mifconceive what were his Majefty's intentions, to remove all poffibility of cavil on this cafe, and to bring them to a clear and diftin&t anfwer, whether they would agree to open a negotiation on the principle of the status antebelum, or on one differing from itonly in form, not in fubftance. hope in attempting to do this I did not, in the first inftance, commit myself, or difcover more of my inftructions than it became met do; and that in the converfation with M. Delacroix nothing eføped me which might, at fome futequent period, hurt the progrefs of the negotiation. I have, I bdeve, given this conference nearly erbatim to your lordship; and I was particularly anxious to do this orrectly and minutely, as well tht you may judge on the propriety of what I faid myfelf, as that mat M. Delacroix faid to me my be accurately known, and remin on record. ning of this difpatch) that he fpoke for himfelf, as minifter indeed, but not under the immediate inftructions of the Directory, and this confideration will take a little away from the fingularity of fome of the pofitions he advanced. I confefs, my Lord, from the civility of his manners, and from his apparent readiness to difcufs the fubject, the impreffion which remained on my mind on leaving him was, that the negotiation would go on, but be liable to fo many difficulties, and fome of them fo nearly infurmountable, that knowing as I do the opinion of the Directory, I faw little profpect of its terminating fuccessfully. But I did not expect the conduct of the Directory would immediately be fuch as to evince a manifeft inclination, and even determination, to break off on the firft propofals; and I was not a little furprized at receiving, on Sunday, at three P. M. the enclofed letter A. from M. Delacroix: he fent it by the principal fecretary of his department (M. Guiraudet) who communicated to me the original of the arreté of the Directory, of which this letter, abating the alteration in the form, is a literal copy. After perufing it, I atked M. Guiraudet whether he was informed of its contents, and this led to a fhort converfation on them. I told him that both the demands were so unexpected that I could not reply to them off hand: that as to the first, it was quite unufual to fign memorials which were annexed to a note actually figned, and that I scarcely felt nyfelf authorised to depart from what was, I believe, an invariable rule. That as to the fe It must, however, be remembered (as I obfeved in the begin- cond demand, made in fo pe remptory P. S. I thought it would be prorer for his Majefty's minifter at Vienna to receive the earliest intelligence of the negotiation being broke off, I therefore have dif pitched a meffenger to Vienna with a copy of the feveral papers which have paffed between me and M Delacroix fince our conference, an alfo a fuccinct account of what pafed on it. The meffenger left thi place to-day at three, P. M. Light Hon. Lord Grenville, &c. &c. &c. remptory and unprecedented a way, I could, without much hefitation, fay at once that it could not be complied with. M. Guiraudet lamented this much, and faid, that this being the cafe, he feared our principles of negotiation would never coincide. I agreed with him in my expreffions of concern. We converfed together afterwards for fome time, but nothing paffed at all worthy remark. I told him I fhould fend my aufwer the next day. On reflecting more attentively on the request that I would fign the two memorials which I had given in, it ftruck me that the complying with it pledged me to nothing, and that it was merely gratifying them on a point infifted on peevishly, and that the doing it would put them ftill more in the wrong. As to the ftrange demand of an ultimatum, it was perfectly clear what it became me to fay, and I hope that in the enclosed anfwer B, (which I fent yesterday morning at twelve o'clock) to M. Delacroix, I fhall be found to have adhered as clofely as poffible to the fpirit of my inftructions. SR, No. 31. M. Paris, 28th Frimaire, (Dec. 18,) 5th year. THE Executive Directory has heard he reading of the official note figned by you, and of two confidentia memorials without fignatures, which were annexed to it, and vhch you gave into me yesterday I am charged expressly by the Diretory to declare to you, that it canmt liften to any confidential repot without a fignature, and torequire of you to give into me, oficially, within four and twenty lours, your ultimatum, figned by you Yefterday evening, at half past nine, M. Guiraudet brought me the note C, to which I immediately replied by the note D. They require no comment; and as I intend leaving Paris to-morrow, and travelling with all convenient fpeed, I fhall fo foon have it in my power to fay the little which remains to fay relative to this fudden, though perhaps not unlooked-for, close to my miflion, that I need not tref país further on your lordship's patience. I have the honour to be, &c. Accept, Sir the affurance of my high consideraion. (Signed) CH. DELACROIX. had complied with all the ufual for malities, and had given the neceffary authenticity to the two confidential memorials which were annexed to it. Nevertheless, to remove all difficulties, as far as lies in his power, he willingly adopts the forms which are pointed out by the refolution of the Executive Directory, and haftens to fend to the minifter for foreign affairs the two memorials figned by his hand. With respect to the pofitive demand of an ultimatum, Lord Malmefbury obferves, that infifting on that point in fo peremptory a manner, before the two powers fhall have communicated to each other their refpective pretenfions, and that the articles of the future treaty fhall have been submitted to the difcuffions which the different interefts which are to be adjusted, neceffarily demand, is to fhut the door against all negotiation He, therefore, can add nothing to the affurances which he has already given to the minifter for foreign affairs, as well by word of mouth, as in his official note; and he repeats that he is ready to enter with that minifter into every explanation of which the state and progrefs of the negotiation may admit, and that he will not fail to enter into the difcuffion of the propofals of his court, or of any counter project which may be delivered to him, on the part of the Executive Directory, with that candour and that fpirit of conciliation which correspond with the juft and pacific fentiments of his court. Lord Malmesbury requests the minifter for foreign affairs to accept the affurances of his high confideration. No. 33. foreign affairs is charged by the Executive Directory, to answer to lord Malmesbury's two notes of the 27th and 29th Frimaire (17th and 19th December, O. S.) that the Executive Directory, will lif ten to no propofals contrary to the conftitution, to the laws, and to the treaties which bind the Republic. And as Lord Malmesbury announces at every communication, that he is in want of the opinion of his court, from which it refults that he acts a part merely paffive in the negotiation, which renders his prefence at Paris ufelefs; the underfigned is further charged to give him notice to depart from Paris in eight and forty hours, with all the perfons who have accompanied and followed him, and to quit as expeditiously as poffible, the territory of the Republic. The undersigned declares moreover, in the name of the Executive Directory, that if the British cabinet is defirous of peace, the Executive Directory is ready to follow the negotiations, according to the bafis laid down in the prefent note, by the reciprocal channel of cou THE undersigned minifter for fuite, He He requests the minister for foreign affairs to accept the affurrances of his high confideration. Paris, 20th December, 1796. Credentials of Lord Malmesbury. GEORGIUS R. GEORGIUS Tertius, Dei gratiâ Magnæ Britanniæ, Franciæ, et Hiberniæ Rex, Fidei Defenfor, Dux Brunavicenfis et Luneburgenfis, Sacri Romani Imperii ArchiThefaurarius et Princeps Elector, etc. omnibus et fingulis ad quos præfentes hæ litteræ pervenerint, falutem : Cum belli incendio jam nimis diu diverfis orbis terrarum partibus flagrante in id quam maxime incumbamus, ut tranquillitas publica tot litibus controverfiifque ritè compofitis, reduci et ftab liri poffit; cumque, eâ de caufa, virum quemdam tanto negotio parem noftrâ ex parte plenâ auctoritate ad hoc tam magnum onus conficiendum munire decrevimus, fciatis igitur quod nos fide, induftriâ, ingenio, perfpicacia, et rerum ufu fi delis et dilecti confiliarii noftri Jacobi Baronis de Malmesbury, honoratiffimi ordinis Balnei equitis plurimum confifi, eumdem nominavimus, fecimus et conftituimus noftrum verum, certum, et indubitatum commiffarium et plenipotentiarium, dantes et concedentes eidem omnem et omnimodam poteftatem, facultatem, auctoritatemque necnon mandatum generale 'pariter ac fpeciale (itu tamen ut generale fpeciali non deroget nec à contra), pro nobis, et noftro nomine, cum miniftro vel miniftris, commiffariis vel plenipotentiariis Reipublicæ Gallica pari auctoritate fufficienter inftructo vel inftructis, cumque miniftris, commiffariis, vel plenipotentiariis aliorum principum et ftatuum, quorum inter effe poterit, fufficienti itidem auctoritate inftru&tis, tam fingulatim ac divifim, quam aggregatim ac conjun&tim, congrediendi et colloquendi, atque cum ipfis de pace firmâ et ftabili, fincerâque amicitiâ et concordia quantociès reftituendis, conveniendi et concludendi; eaque omnia quæ ita conventa et conclufa fuerint, pro nobis, et in roftro nomine fubfignandi; fuperque conclufis tractatum tractatufvevel alia inftrumenta quofquot et qualia neceffaria fuerint, conficiendi, mutuoque tradendi, recipiendique omniaque alia quæ ad onus fupra dictum feliciter exequendum pertinent tranfigendi, tam amplis modo et forma ac vi effectuque pari, ac nos fi intereffimus, facere et præftare poffemus, fpondentes et in verbo regio promittentes nos omnia et fingula, quæcumque a dicto noftro plenipotentiario tranfigi et concludi conti-, gerint, grata, rata, et accepta omni meliori modo habituros, neque paffuros unquam ut in toto, vel in parte à quoniam violentur, aut ut iis in contrarium eatur. quorum omnium majorem fidem et robur, præfentibus manu noftrâ regià fignatis, magnum noftrum Magna Britanniæ figillum appendi fecimus. Quæ dabantur in palatio noftro Divi Jacobi die decimo tertio menfis Octobris, anno Domini millenimo feptengentefimo nonagefimo fexto, regnique noftri trigefimo fexto. In Tranflation of the Credentials given to Lord Malmesbury. George Rex. GEORGE, by the grace of God, king of Great Britain, France and Ireland, |