The Statesman.
London, England, 1815-10-13 00:00:00

r 47,1

~:.~4r

matter before the King, and to beg his Majesty
do me the favour to determine die manner in a'
I might obtain the object of the King of the Netliei.
lands, without in any manner offending his mainly.
46 Prince Talleyrand promised me an answer by
the neat evening ; but as I did not receive it, I re.
paired to him in the night, had a second rotiversaiii,u
with him, iu which he gave me to understand that
the King could give siii orders upon the subjeci that
I might do as I thought proper, and uegociate vrit
M. Dentin, the Director of the 11use m.

" to the morning I sent my Aid.de-Camp, Cr.
Freetnaole, to ht. Dentin, who told him that he 114
no orders to give up an painting, out of the Cal.
levy, and that he should suffer none to be taken away
but by force.

46 I then sent Colonel Freeman,le to 1'141(1.'1'34
Itivratitl, to acquaint him with this answer, sum lo
inform him that the troops would go the nest morn.
ing, at twelve o'clock, to take. possesvi.,n ef
paintings belonging to the King of the Nettie'hinds,
end to declare, that if any thing uttplemant shoed
arise from this measure, the King's Ministers, and
not I, were answerable fur it. Colonel Frepmwe
like%ise informed M. Denon, of the measure that
was to be taken.

" It was, however, not necessary to send any
troops, because a Prussian guard constantly nem
pied the gallery, and the pictures were taken sway,
without any assistance being required from any et
the troops under my command, except a few, who
assisted as labourers in the taking down and lack.
ing up.
Flavin "It has been alleged, that by Flavin been the in.
strument of carrying away from the cry °tea.
tures of the King of the Netheil , ad Xe
guilty of a breach of a treaty which I had. ra)self
14
made; and as there is no mention of the Me.
scum, in the Treaty of the 25( March, it
segos now, that the Treaty spoken of is the Ilia
liter) Cont. minis of Paris. It is necessary to short
how this Convention is cin netted with the Museums.
C 6 I do not want to prove that the Allies were at
war with France, there is no doubt that their a'mies
entered Paris under a Military Cortrention, co '-
eluded with an Officer of the Government, the Pre-
fect of the Department of the S.ine, and an Officer
of the army, who represented both Authorities at
that moment present at Paris, and emponered by
these Authorities to negociate and conclude fur
them.

" Tlis Article of the Convention which is al-
leged to ave been bro is the 11th, which re.
later to the public pro . I positively (limy that
0
this Article has any reference whatever to the Gsllery;
of Paintings.

" The French Commissioners introduced in the ori-
gin'sl project an Article to prov:de for the security of
this species of property ; hut Prince Blocher %said
not consent, saying, that there were in the Gallery
paintings which had been taken from Prussia, and
which Louis XVIII. had promised to reblure,
which, however, had never been done. I repeated
this circumstance to the French Commissioners, and
they proposed to accept the Article, with the ex-
ception of the Prussian pictures ; and to this prepe.
sal I antsered, that I was there as the:Ally of all the
nations in Europe, and that I must claim for Witt
nations all that was conceded to the Prussians. I
added, that I had no instructions concerning the
measure, nor any grounds to form an opinion how
the Sovereigns would act ; that they would certainly
urge that the King should fulfil his obligations, and
that I advised to omit the Article entirely, and to
reserve this affair for the decisiorrd the Sovereigns
when they should arrive.

44 Thus stands the affair of the Museum in Terr-
ence to the Tresty. The Convention of Pith it
silent upon it, and • negotiation took place, •hkh
left the business to the decision of the Sovereigns.

" Taking it for granted that the silence of Iks
Treaty of Paris, of Nla),1814, had given the Freya
Government an indisputable claim to the pieces op.
twined in it, upon all tutor, occasions, it mow be
denied that this claim was annihilated by this nege•