The National Register. — London, England, 1808-02-01 00:00:00

rEI3. 1. now obtain the formal assurance wished for by his Court, which will completely prove to all the nations of Europe the sincerity of the pacific views of England, The Undersigned avails him fe!f of this occasion to request his Excellency, the Secretary of State, to accept the offer of his high consideration. (Signed) LOUIS PRINCE DE STARIIEMBERG. No. IV.--Nnte from Mr. Secretary CANNING to the Prince STARIIEMBERG, dated November 23, 1807. Tile Undersigned, his Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign .1 flairi, has laid before the King his Master the odieial note presented by Prince de Starhemlierg, Envoy Ex traordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary (A his imperial Ma jesty the Emperor of Austria, in which the Prince de Starhem berg expresses, by order of his Court, the earnest desire of his ImperiA Majesty for the termination of the present contest between Great Britain and France, and requires a sincere and formal declaration of His Majesty's sentiments upon that subjects. His Majesty having repeatedly and recently declared his dis position and desire to enter into negotiation for a peace on se cure and honourable terms, and this declaration haviag been made in the most regular and authentic manner to the Austrian Government, in the answer which the undersigned was com manded to return to this official offer by the Prince de Starhem berg kin the month of April last) of his Imperial Majesty's Me diation; and In that which his Majesty has since directia to be returned to a similar offer on the part of the Emperor of Russia, .ind which has been communicated to the Court of N , ‘ienna; his Majesty cannot receive without surprise an application for a re newal of the declaration of sentiments of which the Court of tenna has been so long and so formally in possession. His Majesty will not believe that any farther declaration can he necessary for the purpose of proving to the nations of Europe a sincerity n Melt the nations of Europe cannot question. But in compliance wi; It the wishes of a friendly Power, expressed with so much earnestness and anxiety. His Majesty is, never theless, willing to repeat once more the a;surance, already so often repeated, that his Majesty is now, as he has at all times been, prepared to enter into negoclation for the conclusion of such a peace as shall settle on equal terms the respective inter ests of the Powers eie.taged in the war, as shall be consistent It it h His Majesty's fidelity to his Allies, and shall provide for the tranquillity and security of Europe.--The Undersigned has the honour to request the Prince de Starhemberg to accept the assurances of his high consideration. Foreign .cur. 2:1, 1807. GEORGE CANNING. O. V.—.Vule . finni the Prince' DE STARIIEMETRC to )Ir. N N i x G, dated Jan. 1, 180$. Lo h d,,n, Jan. I, ISM The ITntlersigned, obeying the orders 0 1 his Court, in conform ing' to the desire of that of the Thuilleries, has the honour to in form his Excellency the Secretary of State for the Foreign De partment, that, in consequence of the pacific dispositions of his Britannic Majesty, announced in the answer returned on the! 2:ld et' \ ovember last, to official Note of the '2oth of the same month, he is charged to propose to the English Ministry to send immediately Plenipotentiaries to Paris for the purpose of treat ing for the establishment of Peace between all the Powers at present at war with England. This explicit and frank invita 'ion must funtisli a proof of the good faith and of the sincere intemion of France to pot an end to the calamities of war; and his Imperial Majesty consents with eagerness to be the interme diary of a result so desirable. It is hoped, that the Court of London will not hesitate to recognise on this occasion the im portance of the proposal which is made to it, and that it w ill be disposed to give a fresh proof of that desire which it has so often expreSsed, to restore repose to the rest of Europe, by naming negociatorst to be entrusted With the important interests to be discussed. To avoid every speciet of delay, the under si!med is authorized by France to give passports to the Ministers whom . the Cabinet of St. James may appoint for that purpose. fhe mode in which these overtures me submitted to the Court of London, and the measures which arc taken towards realizing the execution of them with the least po , sible delay, will ef fectually demowtrute the' spirit of conciliaiion by which they are dictated. The Undersigned avails himself of this opportn nity to renew to his Excellency the Secretary of State the ex prtssions oP his,high consideration. Oigned) LOUIS PRINCE DE STARIIEUBERG. -. ~ T -:' THE NATIONAL REGISTER. No. Vl.—Note from Mr. Secretary CANNING to the Prince DA . STARHEMBERC, dated Jan. 8, 1808. , . The Undersigned, His Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Atlairs, has laid before the King his Master, the Note delivered to him on the '..td of this month by the Prince de Starhemberg, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipoten tiary of his Majesty the Emperor of Austria. In stating him self to be charged to propose to the British Government the mediate sending of Plenipotentiaries to Paris, the Prince de Starhemberg has omitted to explain from whom he has received that Commission, whether from his Imperial Master or from the GoVernment of France. If the Prince de Starhemberg has, in this instance, acted under the specific and immediate orders of his Court, and if the proposal to His Majesty to send Plonipotentiaries to Paris is to be considered as originating at Vienna, the Undersigned is com manded to express His Majesty's concern that so little reference. should appear to have been had, in framing the proposal now offered for His Majesty's consideration, to the correspondence which has already taken place between the Courts of Londoti and Vienna, upon the subject of a negociation t'or Peace. After so long an interval hm• been suffered to elapse since the acceptance by his Majesty, in April last, of the offer of his Im perial Majesty's mediation, his Alajesty could_ hardly have ex. pected that the same offer should now hr repeated (if indeed the Prince de Starhemberg's Note is to be construed as a repeti tion of it) without any notiticatiou of the acceptance of those conditions which were at that time stated by his Majesty, to be indispensable preliminaries to the opening of a negociation. And while the Note of the Undersigned of the 2:ld of November last is cited by the Prince de Starhemberg as the foundation of the present proposal, his Majesty obserses with surprise, that this proposal nevertheless extends only to the Powers combined • with France in the war against Great Britain, and not to the Allies of Great Britain in the war with France. lf, on the other hand, the Court of Vienna is no Otherwise concerned in the step which toe l'rince de Starhember t : taken, than as haying generally authorised that Minister to re;- ceive and to convey to the British t;oyermnent w hateyer munications the Government of France might think fit to intrbst to him, the Undersigned is commanded, in that case. to remark to the Prince de Starhemberg, that although the char.eter which the Prince de Starhemberg holds from the Court of V 'Nina, and the formalities by which he is accredited to his Majesty, entitle him to immediate and implicit confidence in every exercise of hih diplomatic functions, in the name and on the behalf of his Imperial Master; yet that when he professes to speak in the name of anther Power, the statement of some precise authority, and the production of some specific and authenticated document, could attire justify the Court to which he addresses himself, in fonti ing a public and important measure upon such a communica tion. From the tenonr of the Prince de •tarlieniberg's Note it ap pears, that the Note of the Undersigned of the 2311 of Novem ber, has been communicated to the government of France. The government of France k therefore in possession of a %Ovum noili authentic pledge of the pacific dispositions of his Majesty. It follows that a pledge equally solemn and authentic of the reci procal disposition of trance is reasonably to he expected by his Majesty, before his Majesty can be called upon to make any further advance. The proposal to his Majesty to send Negotiators to Paris, tin get:mop:wird it is with any ostensible and unequivocal return on the part of France for the Declarations already made in his Majesty's name, is so far from being a proof of ans such recipro;• cal disposition, that it can he construed no otherwise by his Ma"- jesty than as implying au unjustifiable doubt of the sincerity of nis Nlnjest's prufrssions. ;for is the want of ~u ch formal au thority aunt of such reciprocal a , surance, the out y, or the most material defect in the Prince de Starliemberg's counnunica.- Ilia Majesty is called upon to send Plenipment larks to Parr to ne;oriate for peace, without the slightiet intimation being given to his Majesty on the basis on which it i' proposed that such negociation should be founded. If it soul I ever have been matter of doubt whether the previous settlement of a b-t,is of negociation were necessary to the hope of its succe-sful nation, the experience of the last negociation ttita France would have placed that Questich beyond controversy. T;te ex perience of the last negociation has further demotic/toted the disadvantage and inconveniency of a ne..;ociation co: ducted at Paris. His Majesty is willing to treat with France ; but he will t. - eut only on it fuuting of perlevt equ4lity. lie is ready to treat ••• • re: 74. ".mr!" 1 7 , 77 -, i•Yr^ , ^ f ' "I -~ .4