out a practicable and adequate one, ftill 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.

Just as I was taking leave of him, he begged me to explain what was meant by the words in the memoire (A) in the 4th paragraph, beginning de s'enten re mu tuellement fur les Moyens d'affarer, and ending at leurs poffeffions respectives. I told him it referred to the deftructive fyftem adopted by France in the Weft Indies, and went to exprefs a wifh, that the two Powers fhould agree on fome general and uniform fyftem of internal police in the fettlements there, which would contribute to the fecurity of thefe poffeffions 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 fyftem adopted by France, endeavoured to recriminate on us; but he ended by faying, that they fhould certainly be willing to concur in any ar rangement relative to the Negroes, which did not militate against the principles of 'their Constitution. Here our conference ended, and as, during the whole courfe of it, I bore in my mind the poffibility, that although this our firft might be the only favourable opportunity I should ever have of speaking on the general principles on which his Majefty was difpofed to treat, I endeavoured, by adverting more or lefs to almost every point in my inftructions, to enable M. Delacroix (if he reports faithfully) to state to the Directory what I faid in fuch a manner as to put it out of their power to inifconceive what were his Majelly's intentions, to remove all poffbility of cavil on this cafe, and to bring them to a clear and diftinét antwer, whether they would agree to open a Negocia. tion on the principle of the Status ante Bellum, or on one differing from it only in form, not in fubftance. I hope in atter pting to do this I did not, in the first instance, commit myself, or difcover more of my inftructions than it became me to do, and that in the converfation with M. Delacroix nothing efcaped me which might, at fome fubfquent period, hurt the progrefs of the Negociation. I have, I be lieve, given this conference nearly verbatim to your Lordship; and F was particularly

anxious to do this correctly and minutely, as well that you may judge on the propriety of what I faid myfelf, as that what M. Delacroix faid to me may be accurately known, and remain on record.

It muft, however, be remembered (as I obferved in the beginning of this dispatch) that he spoke from himself, as Minifter indeed, but not under the immediate inftructions of the Directory, and this confideration will take a little away from the fingularity of some of the positions he advanced.

I confefs, my Lord, from the civility of his manners, and from his apparent readiness to difcufs the fubject, the im preffion which remained on my mind on leaving him was, that the Negociation 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 fuc cefsfully. But I did not expect the conduct of the Directory would imme diately be fuch as to evince a manifelt inclination, and even determina tion, to break off on the first propofals; and I was not a little furprifed at receiving, on Sunday, at three P. M. the inciofed letter (A) from M. Delacroix : he fent it by the Principal Secretary of his department (M. Guirauder) who communicated to me the ori ginal of the arrété of the Directory, of which this letter, abating the alteration in the form, is a literal copy. After perufing it, I afked M. Guiraudet whether he was informed of its con tents, and this led to a fhort converfation on them. I told him, that both the demands were fo unexpected that I could not reply to them off-hand: that as to the first, it was quite unusual to fign Memorials which were annexed to a Note actually figned, and that I fcarcely felt myfelf authorifed to depart from what was, I believed, an invariable rule. That as to the second demand, made in fo peremptory and unprecedented a way, I could without much he fitation fay at once that it could not be complied with. Monf. Gui raudet lamented this much, and faid, that this being the cafe, he feared our principles of Negociation 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 answer the next day. On reflecting more atten

tively 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, that it was merely gratifying them on a point infifted on peevithly, and that the doing it would put them ftill more in the wrong.

As to the strange demand of an Ul. timatum, it was perfectly clear what it became me to fay, and I hope that in the inclofed answer B. (which I fent yesterday morning at twelve o'clock to M. Delacroix), I shall be found to have adhered as closely as poffibly to the spirit of my inftructions.

Yesterday evening, at half paft 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 lay relative to this fudden, though perhaps not unlooked for, clofe to my Miffion, that I need not trefpafs any further on your Lordship's patience.

I have the honour to be, &c. (Signed) MALMESBURY. P. S. I thought it would be proper for his Majefty's Minifter at Vienna to receive the earliest intelligence of the Ne. gociation being broken off; I therefore have difparched a Meffenger to Vienna with a copy of the feveral Papers which have paffed between me and Monfieur Delacroix fince our conference, and alfo' a fuccinct account of what paffed on it. The Mellenger left this place to-day at three P. M. M. Right Hon. Lord Grenville, &c. &c. &c.

SIR,

(No. 31.)

(No. 32.)

Copy. (B.) Paris, 19th Dec. 1796. Lord Malmesbury, in anfwer to the letter which the Minifter for Foreign Affairs had the goodness to tranfmit to him through the hands of the Secre tary General of his Department, muft remark, that in figning the Official Note which he gave in to that Minifter by order of his Court, he thought he had complied with all the ufual forma. lities, 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 ouc by the refolution of the Executive Di rectory, and haftens to fend to the Minifter for Foreign Affairs the two Memorials figned by his hand.

With refpect to the pofitive demand of an Ultimatum, Lerd Malmesbury obferves, that infifting on that point in fo peremptory a manner, before the twe Powers hall have communicated to each other their respective pretenfions, and that the Articles of the future Treaty fhall have been fubmitted to the dif cuffions which the different interests which are to be adjusted neceffarily demand, is to fhut the door against all Negociation. 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 Mi nifter into every explanation of which the flate and progrefs of the Negocia tion may admit, and that he will not fail to enter into the difcuffion of the Propofals of his Court, or of any ContreProjet which may be delivered to him,

Paris, 28th Frimaire (Dec. 18), on the part of the Executive Diretory, zib year.

THE Executive Directory has heard the reading of the Official Note, figned by you, and of two Confidential Memo. rials, without fignatures, which were annexed to it, and which you gave in to me yesterday. I am charged expressly by the Directory to declare to you, that it cannot listen to any Confidential Note without a fignature, and to require of you to give in to me, officially, within four and twenty hours, your Ultimatum, figned by you.

Accept, Sir, the affurance of my high confideration.

(Signed) CH. DELACROIX, VOL. XXXI. JAN. 1797

with that candour and that spirit of conciliation which correfpond with the just and pacific fentiments of his Court.

Lord Malmesbury requests the Minifter for Foreign Affairs to accept the affurances of his high confidera. tion.

On fuch grounds as these, it was fufficiently evident that no Negociation could be eftablished: neither did the anfwer of his Majefty's Enemies afford any opening for continuing the difcuffion, fince the mode of Negociation offered by his Majefty had been peremptorily rejected by them, and no other had been ftated in which they were willing to concur.

His Majefty was, however, not difcouraged even by this refult from ftill purting fuch measures as appeared to him molt conducive to the end of Peace; and the wishes of his Ally, the Emperor, correfponding wirh thofe which his Majefty had manifested, sen. timents of a fimilar tendency were expreffed on the part of his Imperial Majetty at the time of opening the Campaign: but the continuance of the fame fpirit and principles on the part of the Enemy rendered this fresh overture equally unfuccefsfu!.

While the Government of France thus perfifted in obftructing every meafure that could even open the way to Negotiation, no endeavour was omitted to miflcad the public opinion through-, out all Europe with refpect to the real caufe of the prolongation of the war, and to caft a doubt on those difpofitions which could alone have dictated the steps taken by his Majefty and his auguft ally.

In order to deprive his enemies of all poflibility of fubterfuge or evasion, and in the hope that a juft fenfe of the continued calamities of War, and of the increasing diftreffes of France herfelf, might at length have led to more just and pacific difpofitions, his Majesty renewed in another form, and through the intervention of a friendly Power, a propofal for opening Negotiations for Peace. The manner in which this intervention was received, indicated the moft hoftile difpofition towards Great Britain, and at the fame time afforded to all Europe a ftriking inftance of that injurious and offenfive conduct which is obferved, on the part of the French Government, towards all other countries. The repeated overtures made in his Majefty's name were nevertheless of fuch a nature, that it was at last found impoffible to perfil in the abfolute rejeétion of them, without the direct and undifguifed avowal of a determination to refufe to Europe all hope of the reforation of tranquillity. A channel was therefore at length indicated

through which the Government of France profeffed itfelf willing to carry on a Negotiation, and a readiness was expreffed (though in terms far remote from any fpirit of conciliation) to receive a Minifter authorized by his Majefty to proceed to Paris for that purpofe.

Many circumftances might have been urged as affording powerful motives against adopting this fuggeftion, until the Government of France, had given fome indication of a fpirit better cal culated to promote the fuccefs of fuch a Miflion, and to meet thefe advances on the part of Great Britain. The King's defire for the restoration of ge neral Peace on juft and honourable terms, his concern for the interests of his fubjects, and his determination to leave to his enemies no pretext for imputing to him the confequences of their own ambition, induced him to overlook every fuch confideration, and to take a ftep which thefe reafons alone could juftify.

The repeated endeavours of the French Government to defeat this Miffion in its outfet, and to break off the intercourfe thus opened, even before the firft fteps towards Negotiation could be taken, the indecent and injurious language employed with a view to irritate, the captious and frivolous objec tions raised for the purpose of obftru&t• ing the progrefs of the difcuffion ; all thefe have fufficiently appeared from the Official Papers which paffed on both fides, and which are known to all Europe.

But, above all, the abrupt termination of the Negociation has afforded the moft conclufive proof, that at no period of it was any real with for Peace entertained on the part of the French Government.

After repeated evafion and delay, that Government had at length confented to eftablish, as the Bafis of the Negociation, a principle propufed by his Majefty, liberal in its own nature, equitable towards his Enemies, and calculated to provide for the interefts of his Allies, and of Europe, It had been agreed, that Compenfation fhould be made to France by proportionable Reftitutions from his Majefty's Conquefts on that Power, for thofe arrangements to which the thould be called upon to confent, in order to fatisfy the juft pretentions of his Allies, and to preferve the political Balance of Europe. At the defire of the French Government itself, Memorials were

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