Star. — London, England, 1805-05-22 00:00:00

DIPLOMATIC CG R RES P4iNDli SCi NINWEEN RUSSIA AND FRANCE. (Ceseuded ft= ycfrrelay's Paper.) NOTE COTT OT THE NOTE OF THE MINISTER OF roREIGN RE LATIONS TO THE CHAkGF D'AFFAIRES OF RUSSIA, DATED FARIS, THERMIDOR 9, YEAR XII. (JULY 28, 1804.) " The underfigned Minifler of Foreign Relations has laid before his Majelly the Emperor the Note of Islontieur Oubril, Charge d'Affaires of Ruffin, of Thermidor 2, (July 21, /B*. " The underligned has received orders to declare that when the Court of Ruffia fhall fulfil the articles of its treaty with France, France will be ready to execute it with the fame fidelity, for Ruflia ; no doubt, is of opinion that treaties are equally binding on the two contraCting powers. " If the Cabinet of St. Peterfburgh thinks it has any claims to make in virtue of the 4th. sth, r.md 6th articles of the fscret convention of Vendcznr,rire 8, year to (Odlober t is, t8or), France demands the execution of the 3d article of the fame treaty, which is expreffed in the rollowing terms : The two con trading parties wi(hing, as tar as is in their power, to contribute towards the trancHllity of the two Go vernments, promife not to Infer their refpedive fob jeer to maintain any correfpandence, either direaly or indirealy, with the enemies of the two Hates ; to propagate in them principles contrary to their refpec tire contlitutions, by fomenting in them troubles ; and by a confequence of this concert, every fubjea of either of the two powers, who, refiding in the Rates of the other, might make any attempt againfl its fecurity, should be removed from the laid coun try, and be tranfported beyond the frontiers, without being able in any cafe to claim the proteCtion of his Government.' a This article, drawn up with as much precifion as wirdom, difpiays the truly amicable difpofitions enter tained by the two powers at the time of this treaty. 44 France had no reafon to cape& to fee Ruffia granting its proteCtion to French emigrants, and ena bling them, by giving them credit with the powers, neighbours to France, of indulging their difpofitions of hatred towards their country. " France had no reafon to expel this from the coo duft of M. Marcoff, Minifter of }taxa', the real au• thor of the difunion and coldefs exining between the two Rates. During his refidence at Paris, he con ilantly fludied and encouraged every kind of Intl igues which could be formed againft the public tranquillity, and he even carried hib unreafonablenefs fo far as to' place under the proteCtion of the rights of nations by official notes. French emigrants, and other agents, in the Pay of England. " France had no reafon to expeet that Ruffia (hould make it a point of fending on a miffion to Paris offi cers who had already given rife to complaints fuffici ently ftronf to be made the &Ned of a communica tion to char Government : a ftrange conduCt, confi dering what all Governments owe to each other, and direely contrary to the article before quoted. In the laft place, is the mourning worn by the Court of Ruffia for a man condemned by the tribunals of France for having plotted againft the fecurity of the French Go vernment, agreeable to the letter or fpirit of that ar ticle " The French Government demands the execution of the gth article of the Secret Convention. in which h is faidi The two Contracting Parties ac knowledge and guarantee the independence of the Republic of the Seven United !Elands, heretofore belonging to Venice ; and it is agreed that there [ball be an longer in thefe finds any foreign troops e--an article evi dently violated by Ruffia, as it continues to maintain troops in the Seven Iflands ; as it has ranee reinforced them in an o flentat ions manner, and as it has changed the government o f that country without any concert with France. " In the laff place, France demands the execution of the t tth article of the fame convention, the evi dent application of which would have been, that Rol fie, indead of Chewing itfelf fo partial to England, andof becoming perhaps the fir( auxiliary of its am bitiondheald have waited with France to tonjolidate the ge neral pay, w orekr to rylore a juft balance in the four parse f the worts, to enfitre the fiber?, of the leas s;— (thefe are the exprefs words of the article.)—Such, no doubt, ought to have been the condo& of the two Powers in regard to the Treaty by which they are b. and ; but the Cabinet of Ruffia willies France to confine itfelf to the fulfilment of the Ilipulations with which it is charged, without fccuring to itfelf the execution of thole which are in its favour. This would be to aet as a conqueror does towards the van quiflied ; it would be fuppofing that France cculd be intimidated by menaces, or in the cafe of acknow ledging the fuperiority of any power whatever. But the hillory of the years preceding the peace made with Rnffia evidently proves that this power has as little right as any other to airtime a threatening tone towards France. The Emperor of the French willies for the Peace of the Continent ; he has made every advance towards the re-ellablifliment of it with Ruffia ; he has (pared nothing to maintain it; but with thk affillance of GOD and of his armies, he is not in a fituation to fear any perfon whatever. " The underfigned begs Monfieur the Charge d'At hires of Ruffia to accept the affurance of his perfea eonfideration." NOTE IV. COPT OP THE NOTE OF THE CHARGE D'APPAIRIS Or 11111$1A, TO THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN ILLATIONS, DATED PARIS, AUGUST 28, 1804. 66 The undeiligned Charge d'Affaires of his Ma ltby the Enviers of all the RolLas, in anfwer to the note which the Lifter I f Forei h n Relations trard =Wed to him, thinks it his duty to mare himfelf to a recapitulation of the conduit which his augua mailer has eonflantly obferved towards the French Government fimple expofure of which will be ittificient to Rove sebetreeiprccity he has experienced. 64 The Envoys", on his asceifson to the Throne, ttonk the colic* opportunity of employing all his 4:are towards the re-041)14mm of the good harmo oy between 11.1ffia and France. His rroperial Ma jetty in mewing explanations, which were to bring about a foild accommodation between the two coun tries, and 'o render it durable, Battered himfelf with she convien.o, that by this mode of ailing he !horrid cnn~libute, in an efreElnal manner, to the general , psicification of Europe the tranquillity of which had been too long interrupted t c the events that occaGon ed the war, terminated by the Treaty of Lnneville. The readinefs which his Majefty (hewed for conclud ing a peace with the French Government, while it was ttill engaged in war with other powers;the renewal of the ancient treaty of commerce which is entirely to the ad val.. Ige of France—the good offices of Raf fia to bring a-bout a reconciliation between the Re public and the Ottoman Porte, are fo many convin cing tellimonies of the fentiments of his Maje ft y, and of his defire to negleft nothing on his part that might tend to conlolidate thole bonds which he wilhed never to fee broken. Since that time, when, in confequence of the misfortunes which Germany experienced during the war, neceffity impofed facrifices on feveral mem bers of the Germanic Affociation, and the queltion was to determine them, by affigning compenfations for their lots, the Emperor confented to become a co-mediator with the French Government, in the fond hope that the aft of mediation would feal the tranquillity of Europe. The completion of this falu tary work permits his Imperial Majelly to call to mind the engagements, which France impofed on itfelf at the time of the conclufion of its Treaty of Peace with Rana. His Majefty having fcrupuloufly fulfilled thole which he contraCted in regard toFrance, had a right to expeEt that the French Government, in its turn, would thew itfelf anxious to make a pro per return t -) this exaftnefs, and take the earlieft op portunity of executing its obligations. However just may have been this ex peflation, it has never been rea lifed ; and the French Government, intlead of (hewing itfelf difpofed to jail ify it, makes a point, as one may fay, to remove to a diftance the accompli(hment of it. " The King of Sardinia totally ftripped of his poll feffions in Italy, by the union of Piedmont to France, (till waits for the indemnification which the Cabinet of the Thiiilleries had formally promifed to Ruffs for him, and which the latter has never ceafed to demand. The King of Naples, delivered for a moment from the pretence of the French troops in his king dom, fees them again occupy his provinces under a pretence abfolittely foreign to his Sicilian Majelly ; and confequently finds himfeif placed without the line of independent powers. The urgent demands of Ruffia, founded on the formal engagement entered into by France to confider the kingdom of Naples as a neutral Rate, and to Puffer it to enjoy the benefits of neut; ality, have hitherto been frnitlefs in its favour. The face of all Italy has been changed by the innovations to which the government of the republic has fubjeeted it, fence the conclufion of the peace be tween Ruffla and France, without any previous con cert with his Imperial Majefty, though it had been agreed, between the two powers at that epoch, that they should come to an underftanding in regard to the political arrangements to be made in that country. _ _ 44 War being again kindled up between France and England, the integrity of the territory of the German Empire was violated, notwithftanding that France had recently engaged to protea it in common with his Majefty the Emperor. The Cabinet of St. Cloud waked not to underhand that the dignity of King of England and that of Elettor of pronfwick- Lunebourg, though united in the lime perfon, are, neverthelefs, perfectly diftind ; and that they had not been confounded during the laft years of the war now pall ; that it was therefore contrary to every idea of right and juttice, to extend boftilities to a country which by its pofition, by the conftitution of the German Empire, of which it forms a part, and by the public tranfaCtions which guaranteed it, ought to have been entirely exempted from them. 44 The occupation of Cuxhaven, though its could not be juttitied even by the pretence of intercepting Englifb property, was neverthelefs effeeted by French troops, and the Hanfeatic Towns faw themfelves con (trained to give forced loans, in order to avoid a ficni lar fate. " The repeated and urgent meafures which the Emperor purfued with the French Government, in order to induce it to fulfil its engagements towards Ruffin, and to free from every participation in the prefent war fuch f the neutral powers as wifhed to remain at peace, have been ft uitlefs. " To fo many motives of diffatisfaaion, which were conneeted with the molt important interells of Eu. rope, the French Government made a point of adding all thofe which it could give in a dirett manner to the Court of Ruflla by offenfive alrertions, which it ad vanced and ca ufed to be circulated againft the Mini tiers honoured with the confidence of hisMajefty ; by the fcenes which the Envoy of Ruflia was forced to fubmit to at the Thuilleries ; by the mifplaced deter mination which the Cabinet of St. Cloud employed in the inveterate perfecution of perfons employed by Rut:6a in foreign countries ; and, in the laft place, by the unheard of procedure which it permitted itfelf to adopt in canting an individual, naturalifed in Ruflla, to be delivered up by the Pope, without regard to the remonftrances and demands of his Majefty on that head. _ _ _ The !aft ail of violence committed by the French troops in the teri itory of the Elcitor of Baden. hav ing alarmed the folicitude of the Emperor for the fafety and independence of European States, which are within the reach of France. his Majefty explain ed to it, his ideas in regard to the necelfity there would be of infpiring them with confidence, by taking the ear lied opportunity of making that reparation to the em pire which was due to it, and by lidening to all thofe *matures which might calm the uneafutei r s of Europe, thus thrown into a date of coniternation ; but the Emperor to his note on this fubjeit rec eived an anfwer, which left him no hope that the juft expeitation of his Majefly would tie fulfilled; which tended to give a MIX colour to the frank, loyal, and difinterefted conduit, which his Majeay has conftantly obferved in regard to the affairs of Europe, and particularly towards France ; and which difplayed a manifeft in tention of offending and irritating more and more the Court of Ruffin. a If little refpeel and condefcenlion on the part of the French government to the well-founded demands of his Majetiy ; a manner of Co decidedly op polite to the defire of preferring the good under kand ing between the two nate:, already proved fefficiently toltuffia, that if the French Government, on the one hand, attached apparently very little value to its re lations with it, and confequently gave it a peremp tory motive for not continuing them. it had, on the other. formed an invariable determination to adopt for its condo° a procedure altogether contrary to the obligations inspofed on it by juttice and by the rights of nations; and after this who is there cannot nnite in the fentiments and principles profeffed by his Majefty ? The Emperor, however, was ilia defirous to make a effort with the French Go vernment, even after fo many caufes of diffatisfac. lion : to forget them, he demanded only the execu tion of the before mentioned engagements entered into by the two Elates, and which ought long ago to have been fulfilled; this laft effort having Rill been followed by an evifive and nugatory anfwer, full of fuppofed imputations, and diftinguifised only by the affertion, as Rrange as unexpated, that the Ruffian troops have not reed to occupy the Republic of the Seven Ifloach, without any concert with France, while it is certain that the Citizen Minifter of Foreign Relations cannot have forgetten that this country, which was at firß evacuated by the Ruffian troops, was not occupied by thole brought from Na. pies but with the confent of the Porte, on a requeß made by the inhabitants, and in confequence cc a previous concert with France. Nothing more remains to the underfigned, but to declare that all farther ' correfpondence between Raffia and France, becom ing in this manner perfealy ufelefs, it cannot longer continue—and that his Majefty the Emperor waits only for the account of the departure of his Charge d'Affaires from Paris, to caufe it to be intimated to the French miffion to quit his capital. 4 , His Imperial Majefty, void of reproach on his head—for had it depended only on him, the bonds of the two nations, in ftead of ceafing, would have been drawn Rill elder, finds himfelf with regret obliged to furpend his relations with a Government which re fufes to fulfill its engagements and will not conform to that mutual refpea which States owe to each other ; and on the part of which, fince the relations between the two countries were renewed, his Ma jelly has experienced nothing but vexatious difap pointment—Always faithful, however, to his princi ples and averfe to the effufion of human blood, the Emperor will adhere to that meafure to which the refpettive &natio* of Ruffia and France allows him to confine himfelf. Thefe two powers may difpenfe with having any relations with each other ; and to continue them, rea lms of reciprocal utility and fatisfaaion will be ne• nefary : without thefe it is better that they Ihould enter into no treaty. As it is the French Govern ment alone which has brought on this Rate of things, it is it alone which has to determine whether or not war mall follow. In cafe it should force RufGa to open boftilities by new aggrefflons ; by provocations, direaed againft it or againft its allies, or by threaten ing Rill more imminently the independence of Eu rope, his Majefty will then put the more energy in the employment of the ultimate means, which a jail de fence renders neceffary, as he has•thewn greater pa tience ist exhaufting thofe which moderation com manded, without wounding the honour and dignity of his Crown. 04 The underfigned having thus fulfilled the orders which he received from his Court, confcquently begs the Citizen Miniller of foreign relations, to be pleafed to tranfmit to him, without delay, the pafsports ne ceffary for quitting France; and embraces this op portunity of offering to the Citizen Miniller of foreign affairs, the affurance of his high confideration. • PARLIAMENTARY PROCEEDINGS. HOUSE OF LORDS, TUESDAY, MAY sr. The LORD CHANCELLOR gave judgment as to certain points in the important mute of " Blanc v. the Earl of Wills." His Lordlidp's opinion was, that the Earl of Caddis was entitled to a coonderable part of the property in Wrote, and that certain i • f ia tions mould be fent bock to the Court of Saw. His Lord fisted, that he would proceed Rather in giving jadgment en F y next. The Earl of SUFFOLK complained that no return had been made to his Motion for an Account of Ms drawn from the Weft Indies. Lprd HAWKESBURY raid, that the immenfe quantity of thofe Bills rendered it impollihie for any return, fuch as the No ble Earl demanded, being made. He would be happy to &Kurd his Lordfhip any Information he could reafonably require. It was (cried in a wort convarfation, that the return could be limited to all Bills drawn for fans above ace& Kt. JUSTICII ;CM The Order of the Day being moved for their Lordfhips to go into a Committee upon the motions alledged in charge againft the above judicial cha• railer ; Lord HAWKESBURYobferved,that he thought the malt proper and regular cootie Of proceeding in the cafe, as it had Rood before their Lordlhips, was, that an Addrefs fhould be moved to his Majefty on the occafion, embodying in loch motion or addi•efs, a flatement of the farts upon which the charge, giving rife to the Addrefs, was founded ; and then to refer the confederation of the whole to a Commit tee of the Houfe, for the purple of affording a re gular opportunity of proving at the Bar, the allega tions Rated in the Addrefs. This line 'of proceeding would, he thought, beg fquare with the Aft of Set. tlement ; and, upon this ground, he fhould beg leave to fuggeft to his Noble Friend the propriety of mov ing fuck an Addrefs, in which fhould be embodied. for the purpofe he had mentioned, the important falls of the cafe. The Marquis of ABERCORN expretred his wil lingnefs to accede to the propofition of the Noble Se eretary,did fuch appear to be the fenfe of their Lord- Ships, as the moft proper ; for, it was his with never again to be reproached with urging the adoption of any particular mode of proceeding, in preference to another. Under this impreffion, he fhould therefore readily undertake to move an Addrefs as fuggefted ; but he Mould content himfelf with fimply moving the Addrefs, and not offer a word in the way of comment upon it. From the moment, he judged it important to come forward as he had done, in a cafe involving the rights and privileges of his fellow ids jeas, and faw the matter placed in a train of invetii gation. He had carefully, as their Lordthips mutt recoiled!, abftained from any obfervations in that Houfe, which might go to affed the individual, or bias their Lordfhips judgment on the cafe. On thefe grounds, he repeated, he thould contea himfelf with fimpiy moving the Addrefs. On the motion of Lord AUCKLAND, the order for their Lordthips going into the Commiuee was difcharged. • • • Some private bufinefs was then difpofed of, and Come witnctfes were Am% with rerPea to their intended evidence at the Bar of the Houle, touching the charges againti Mr. Jußice Fox. A propofition on this cafe is, we nnderftood, fixed for,tamorrow, and on which the Linde are fun'. monc4.—Adjourned. HOUSE. OF CONTMONS. The Lltnerick Road Bill was reported, and ordc red to Se eu grcffed. Mr. Seleant BEST gave notice, that on Monday mat he wou:.: more for leave to bring in a Bill to anteod the Act of the pth o: Geo.ll. refpeding the privileges of P...:etnixrs of PA 014014:tit in re lation to their being exempted front Arreft, for Debt. On the Order of the Day for the third reading of the Bi:I for the better fupply of the Market Towns in Ireland with Water, Sir GEORGE HILL oppored it, on the ground that it would have a partial operation, and fubjedt many perform to rates who did noc Rand in need of Rich accommodation. He mould make no objedtion if the heavy expence was to fall exclufivdy on thole who wined for it ; but confidering that it would be barthenfome as well as unneceffary in general, he moved that the Bill be read a third time this day three months. Mr. Barnard and Sir William Borrows (pole in favour of the Bill; and Mr. French, Sir Win. Elford, acd Mr. hl'Naghtot againft It. Mr. FOSTER confidered the tneafure to be of ronCdc-rable in pomace, and fuck as Ihould not be heftily adoptcd, al a genet.' act, meant only for local advantage, might ultimately tend t o th e embarraffment of the whole country. He fhould therefore lc commend it to the Hon. Baronet (Sir G. Hill) to sv::hdraw motion, for the purpofe of poftponing the third read:ng to th!. fortnight, when Gentlemen might be better prcpa-ei to bode:- Stand it. To this Mr. M'Naghton objeded—.that in the courfe of a fort. night many Iriih Members would have occafion to return home: and after foam dcfultory converfation, the Hour,: div;ded us Mr. Fuller's amendment.—For it 29—Againft it t.7—Majority 2 . The Bill was then ordered to be read a third time on this day fortnight. _ _ _ The Irifh Cdterna and Ezeire Bill was read a teeond time, and ordered to be committed to-morrow. Mr. Becby, from the Etehequer, prefaited an Account of the indication of the grants for Naval Serdees, from the year illot to the lateft period.—Ordered to lie on the table. Mr. MATTHEWS moved the fccond reading of the fler•rd Turnpike Bin, which. after a few obfervations from Sir 0. bITN.- TON and Mr. HART, was agreed to, and the Bill ordered to be committed to morrow. IRISH SECRET SERVICE 'MONEY. Sir JOHN NEWPORT rote, in purfuance of his motion, to draw the attention of the Finufe to a full jai which appeared to him of conliderable impor twice. By referring to the proceedings on the AEI of the sth of his prefent Majefly, the Honfe would perceive, that it had frequently been propofed to Par liament, and as often rejected —nor had it patted into a law, till the penfion lift of Ireland was augmented to nearly double its former amount. The whole of the fecret fervice money for that country, up to the time alluded to, had only amounted to r zo,oool. which, however, was thought an extravagant rum— and the Parliament enaaed, that, in future, the fe cret fervice money of Ireland fhould not exceed the annual firm of pool. exelnfitrely of what may be ex pended in the detation and prevention of treafonable confpiracies and rebellion. For the lag (*twice, lie other account was required, than the oath of the Chief Secretary of State ; but the appropriation of the for mer was made fubjed to the reeifion of .be The Alt alfo provided, that any turn of money for private fervice, for three years fucceiflvely, (hould be deemed a penfion ; but no fuch previfion was made. in relation to grants made by the Lords Lieutenant. He did not deny, that the object of his Motion ink to make difclofures, which, to Come perfons, might not be altogether agreeable. It had not been am• coiled, that a raft furls of money was paid, for the purpofe of bringing about the Union, which was held out as a meafure calculated to produce the molt impor tant and beneficial confequences, which, be was lorry to fay,' were not very likely to refult from it. Ever fume the year 1793, it was notorious that no account was given to Parliament of the difburfements for fe cret fervices; and he regretted the abfence de No ble Lord (Citakreagh), whole allifiance he hal a right to expect, upon the prefent occafion. (Some ktuziter war here eariteti, as Lord Cellereegb, thetegh," of mile, 'infests by the Heteetsrak Baronet, coat that lea* in hit Park He hoped, he Paid, that the Houle would 'nciw pay more attention than formerly to the difborfements of Ireland, as the Englifh Members were aware, that our country bad to defray two feventeenths of the 'pence'. The expences of route, though not all, of the proportions in Ireland, were now before the Honk amounting to the cant of ro,oool. and his motion would be fora Secret Com mittee to enquire into that expenditure. On lookieg into the Journals, he found a precedent fir his ism tion, in the reign'of William and Mary, November 1688, when a motion Was paired, calling for an ao• count of the money paid for ferret ferviees to Mem bers of Parliament, and was prefented by Mr. ilecreta ry Harley, in the December following. As he did not expect to have 'the right of the public,' to knew what they aettally did pay, difputed, he moved, a that a Secret ComMittee, of 13 Members, exclufively offish Members as held any public offices at the will of the Crown, be appointed to enquireinto the difburfements of fecret fervice money in Ireland,from the year um, to the end of 1804, inclufive, excepting Inch furns as might have been paid for' the deteaion of any confpi racies, and diftinguilbing their refpeeive amounts, and the name; and fervices of the perfons to whom they were paid." • • Mr. VANSIrI'ART Paid, that he Should perhaps have no great' objeetion to the motion, if it had been properly worded—though he confidered it altogether unneceli'ary, as the Ale of Parliament pofitively inked the fecret fervice money Of Ireland to wool. annually. Is was determined by the Finance CcM mittee, iii 02, that the go vernment of this country could not go on without the expenditure of fecret fer vice money ; after which,. Mr. Burke's Bill limited that difburfement w to,oool. for England, and soool. for Ireland. This lalk country, it mug be remem bered, was, for Some years pall, in a very peculiar Situation, and the accounts on the table would thew, that confiderable (urns of money had been paid for information to various perfons whofe names could not be difclofed without imminent hazard of their murdered. If in the courfe of thefe proceeding!: any improper expenditure had been pointed out, it might fairly fnrnilh a proper ground of enquiry ; but, at prefent, he had heart of nothing which the Houle could be called onto proceed upon. The account r f the money laid out in the purchafe of boroughs, confequence of the Union, could be regularly obtained at any time ; and as to the abufe of pen (ion s, and forne other points animadverted on by the H Baronet, he conflered them totally unconneeted with the fub jea. The accounts required by the AO nt King Liam, which had been referred to, were already before them, as alfo the account of the amount of fecret fervice money, which, he believed, could rot be thought unreafonable, during a period in whict there ex ifled two rebellions, or, at lead, infirree4ions. The whrale expence be underflood to be about so,oocl. a great part of which was paid for foreign corretpon• dente, to detea the comedies between domettic and foreign enemies.