jefty inffs upon his allies being included in the propofed armiftice, I am authorifed alfo to confent that they fhould enjoy the fame advantages as thofe of the republic.

The intentions of the firft conful are anew detailed in the projet which I have herewith the honour to inclofe, and in order not to delay a communication of fuch importance, I defer until another opportunity my anfwer to your excellency's note.

I fhall only obferve, that even if the Auftrian armiftice fhould have been broken in this interval, it would be eafy to make the refpective armies resume their former pofitions in the event of his majefly's acceding to the laft propofals which have been made to him. I have the honour to be, with the moft refpectful confideration, &c.

(Signed) Отто.

No. 32.-PROJET. In confideration of its having been agreed that negotiations for a general peace fhall be immediately opened between the French republic and its allies on the one fide, and his imperial majefty, his Britannic majefty, and their allies, on the other fide; and that the armi. ftice which has already been concluded between the armies of the French republic and thofe of his imperial majefty may be prolonged, if an equivalent arm flice fhould be concluded between the forces of the French republic and thofe of his Britannic majefty, the two governments have agreed to conclude the faid armistice upon the following conditions:

Art. I. Ali hoftilities both by fea and land between the two nations , fhall be fufpended, and fhl not be renewed until after a month's notification prior to the end of the ar

miftice. In all parts of the world the armistice fhall not be broken without the exprefs order of the contracting governments; and ho ftilities fhall not be renewed until a month after the notification which may have been given by the general or commanding officer of one of the two nations to that of the other nation.

Art. II. Orders fhall be immediately tranfmitted by the two governments to the commanding officers in the feveral parts of the world, directing them to act in conformity with this convention. Paffports fhall be given to the perfons who fhall carry out these orders; and the officers of his Britannic majefty who fhall travel through France for this purpose fhall receive fafeconducts and the neceffary facilities for accelerating their journey.

Art. III. All prizes made in any part of the world during the continuance of the armistice, by an officer having actually received the notification of this convention, fhall be restored. And generally (whether this notification fhall have been made or not) all prizes made in the Channel, or in the North Seas, after twelve days, to be computed from the exchange of the ratifications of this convention, fhall be restored; and, in regard to this object, the terms fhall be fixed for the other parts of the world conformably to the ftipulations of the 22d article of the preliminaries of the laft peace; whence it refults, that, computing from the day of the faid exchange, all trading veffels of either nation fhall have the power of putting out to fea, and of navigating freely as before the war.

Art. IV. Malta and Egypt hall be affimilated to the places in Germany, which, although blockaded by the French army, have been per

mitted to enjoy the benefit of the continental armiftice. Malta fhall be furnished with provifions for fifteen days at a time, at the rate of ten thousand rations per diem. With regard to Egypt, fix French frigates fhall have the liberty of failing from Toulon, of unlading at Alexandria, and of returning without being fearched, and without fuffering any oppofition during their paffage, either from English fhips or from those of the allies of Great Britain. An English officer of rank fhall for this purpose embark on board one of the frigates, and fhall travel through France on his way to Toulon.

Art. V. The blockade of Breft, of Toulon, and of every other French port, fhall be raised; and all British captains fhall receive inftructions not to interrupt the trade of any veffel either entering therein or going out thereof. No fhip of the line, however, of two or three decks, actually at anchor in the faid ports, all be at liberty to go out before the renewal of hoftilities, for the purposes of changing its station; but frigates, floops, and other fmail fhips of war may freely go out and navigate, and in the event of their meeting at fea with fhips belonging to his Britannic majefty, they all obferve the customs eftablified before the war.

Art. VI. The land forces in the pay of his Britannic majefty fhall not have the power of difembarking in any port of Italy during the continuance of the prefent armiftice.

Art. VII. The allies of France, namely Spain, the Batavian republic, and Genoa, fhall participate in the benefit of the prefent armiftice. (If his Britannic majefty infift upon including his allies in the armiftice, they fhall enjoy the fame advantages with thofe of France.)

No. 34.-NOTE. During the whole course of the negotiation with which the underfigned has been charged, he has had caufe to regret that the want of more direct co...munication with his majefty's miniftry has rendered it impoffible for him to give his official overtures the neceffary explanations. This inconvenience is rendered still more ftriking by the refult of his laft communications, to which the note which he had the honour to receive on the 20th of this month is an anfwer.

The first part of this note appearing to intimate a doubt refpecting the fincerity of the difpofitions of the French government to begin negotiations for a general peace, the undersigned cannot avoid entering into fome details upon this fubject, which will fully juftify the conduct of the first conful.

The propofed alternative of a separate peace, in the event of his majefty's not accepting the conditions for a general armiftice, far from evincing a want of fincerity, furnifles, on the contrary, the firongeft proof of the conciliatory difpofitions of the firft conful: it is a neceffary confequence of the declaration made by the underfigned the 4th of this month. In effect, (L2)

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he has had the honour to apprife the British miniftry, That if that armiftice be not concluded before the 11th of September, hoftilities will have been renewed with Auftria, and that in that cafe the firft conful swill no longer be able, with regard to this power, to confent to any except a feparate and complete piace.

That armiftice was not concluded at the date fixed upon; it was therefore natural eventually to expect a Separate peace with Auftria, and, according to the fame fuppofition, a peace in like manner, feparate with Great Britain, unless it is thought that the calamities with which a great part of Europe has been for eight years paft oppreffed fhould be continued without other hope of termination than that of the complete'deftruction of one of the belligerent powers.

It is not therefore the French government which propofes to his majefty to feparate his interefts from thofe of his allies; but having in vain attempted to unite them in a common centre, and finding them feparated in fact by the refufal of England to lay down on the altar of peace fpecial advantages of which France had already made a facrifice, the firft conful has given a fresh proof of his difpofitions, by pointing out another means of reconciliation which the courfe of events will bring about fooner or later.

In conformity with the advice which the underfigned had transmitted on the 4th of this month, notification was given of the ceffation of the continental armistice at the term which had been fixed upon; but the counter-projet of the British miniftry, difpatched by the underfigned on the 8th of this month, having reached Paris on the 10th, and his imperial majefty having ap

peared to be convinced that his ally would not withhold his consent to an admiffible armistice, the first conful determined for eight days to retard the renewal of hoftilities. Orders were immediately dispatched to the armies of Germany and Italy; and in the event of thofe orders arriving too late in the last mentioned country, and of the French generals having obtained fucceffes in confequence of any military operation, they are ordered to refume that pofition which they occupied on the precife day on which hoftilities were recommenced.

The fimple relation of these facts will, without doubt, be fufficient to prove that the French government never can have intended to cover, by pretended negotiations, a fresh attack upon Auftria; and that, on the contrary, it has acted throughout the negotiation with that franknefs and loyalty which can alone enfure that re-establishment of general tranquillity which his majesty and his miniftry have fo much at heart.

It would be in vain to look for proofs of a contrary intention in fome expreffions contained in the official communications of the French government to the allies of his majefty-more efpecially if fech proofs were attempted to be drawn from one of the laft letters written to baron Thugut, which the underfigned might have communicated himself, if he had found an opportunity; that letter would prove that the French government, always a friend to peace, appeared to complain of the intentions of Great Britain only, because it had every reafon to believe them contrary to a folid fyftem of pacification.

The underfigned has entered into thefe details only becaufe, on the

eve

eve of negotiations which may be entered upon, it is of importance to the councils of the two powers to be reciprocally convinced of the fincerity of their intentions, and becaufe the opinion which they may have of that fincerity is the only pledge for the fuccefs of the negotiations.

With refpect to the fecond point in the note which the underfigned has had the honour of receiving, he is to refer to his letter of the 16th, in which he informed his excellency lord Grenville that he was directed to give fatisfactory explanations relative to the principal objections of the British government to the propofed armiftice, and entreated him at the fame time to facilitate the means, of verbal communications with the miniftry. It was therefore difficult to believe that the French government would adhere, without any modifica tion, to its firft overtures; for in that cafe it would have been quite ufelefs to folicit for an interview, in order to give fatisfactory explanations.

In fpeaking of the compenfations requifite, in order to place the naval armistice upon a footing with the continental truce, his majefty's miniftry think that there is fome preponderance in the balance fettled by the French government; a formal difcuffion upon this point would undoubtedly be mifplaced. After the various fucceffes of a war which kas produced fo many extraordinary events, it is difficult to doubt of the moral influence of thofe events upon armies, upon nations, upon governments themselves, and the deductions which may be drawn from it at prefent, appear to juftify the opinion which the underfined has felt it his duty to state. If there be any exaggeration in this opinion, it is fhared with the enemies of the

republic themselves, who have employed every effort to prolong the truce, and who have not fcrupled to ufe the means of pretended negotiations in order to gain time. The preliminaries figned by the count de St. Julien, and difavowed by.his court, are a memorable example of th's; and the prolongation of the continental armiftice muft neceffarily be confidered as a facrifice on the part of the republic, fince every effort has been employed to extort its confent to it,

But even whilft his majefty's miniftry admit the exiflence of this facrifice, they formally declare that an analogous facrifice cannot be expected to be made on the part of his majefty. It certainly does not become France to judge how far his majefty's engagements with his aliies may counteract his inclination in this refpe&t; but France appears to have certainly an undoubted right to demand the price of the facrifice which he has made, and which he is ftill willing to make. The first conful has given to Europe repeated pledges of his pacific dif pofitions; he has never ceafed manifefting them to the cabinets interefted in this conteft; and even although the hopes of the enemies of the French republic fhould be excited by his moderation. it fhall always be the fole guide of his actions.

Notwithstanding this difference in the manner of viewing feveral queftions acceffory and preliminary to the propofed pacification, the underfigned cannot but congratulate himfelf on finding, in all the communications which he has hitherto had the honour of receiving, the fame affurances of his ajetty's difpofition to employ his efforts towards the re-eftablishment of the tranquillity of Europe; and he will neglect no opportunity of placing (L. 3)

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