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Article MONTHLY CHRONICLE. ← Page 5 of 20 →
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Monthly Chronicle.
took up my arguments on the precise groundsset forth inyour Lordship ' s No . 19 , I neither omitted any thing , nor inserted any thing of my own , which , could at ali alter its spirit ; and I only varied from the letter inasmuch as was necessary to make it applicable to a conference . ' My first object was to state , in as forcible a way as possible , the utter inadmissibility ofthe pretension set forth in the note , the frivolous and illusory reasons alledged for bringing if forward ; and I observed that , if it was persevered in , it must lead to this necessary conclusion , that there did exist when it was framed oft
an intention on the partof the Directory to break * the Negociation in the outset . My second object in point of reasoning , though a very primary one in point of importance , was either to prevent the Negociation breaking off at all , or if this was not to be prevented , to endeavour to be so clear and explicit in my language , and to draw the line so distinctly between such sacrifices as his Majesty might be inclined to make in order to restore so great a blessing as peace , and those to which the digaity of his Crown and interest of his Subjects would never allow him to attendas to make it impossible that by future cavil or subterfuge the
in-, any terruption ofthe Treaty , if unfortunately it should be interrupted , could be imputed to any other cause than the exorbitant demands of the French Government ; and the better to insure this purpose , 1 explained to them that his Majesty having already in a detailed Projet stated freely and fully his conditions , and these conditions having been at once rejected by a sweeping claim on the part of the French Government , it was not fitting or reasonable , neither could il be
expected , that any new proposals should originate with his Majesty : and that on every ground the King had a right to expect a Conlre-Projet from them , stating at once , plainly and svithout reserve , the whole of what they had to ask , instead of bringing forward separate points , one after another , directly contrary to the principle on which we had agreed to begin the Negociation , and ' which , from their being insolated , could only tend to protract and impede its . progress . On the first point , on the inadmissibility of the preliminary conditions as proposed by the French Government , one ofthe French Plenipotentiaries said , it was
impossible for them to do more than to take it for reference , that the instructions they had received when the Directory sent them Ihe note , were precise and positive , and that they had received none since . He had , therefore , on that point simply to request of me , that I would state in writing the several grounds on which his Majesty rejected this proposition , in order that the report transmitted by them to the Directory might be correct ; and he assured me , that ii I did not think it proper to put in writing all the arguments I had used to them in the conference , they would have no scruple of employing those 1 omitted in such way as was the best calculated to give them weight , and to use the French Minister's own expression , to place the Negociation once more on its legs . ' In regard to the second point , he had no hesitation in agreeing with me , that the best method , and indeed the only one , which could accelerate the whole of
the business , was for them to give in a Contre-Projet ; neither did he attempt to disprove our perfect right to expect one from them before we made any new proposals . But he said , that it was not necessarv for him to observe , that as long as they were bound by their instructions not to give way on the propositions ! had now so decidedly rejected , that it was impossible for them to move a s'ep without new orders from the Directory ; that they would ask for these orders immediately , and lose no time in acquainting me when they were received . ' I observed , that in our last conference he had h . timaled ' 0 me they were emto lo lanation with
powered come some exp me upon the subject of Compensation to be made to his Majesty for the great cessions he was dispo . ed to make ; that at the time . I conceived these explanations were of a nature 10 qualify ihe wide claim stated in the note ; and that if / had abstained from pressing him further at the moment , it was from perceiving a reluctance on their pa . t to bring them for-, ward : —That , however , if they really had such proposals to make me , and if they were of a nature to meet in substance and effect ihe basis laid down in the Projet I had given , I should be well disposed to listen to them ., * One ofthe French Ministers , after some hesitati n and a sort of silent reference to one of his colleagues , said , he thought , as matters now stood , it would be much
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Monthly Chronicle.
took up my arguments on the precise groundsset forth inyour Lordship ' s No . 19 , I neither omitted any thing , nor inserted any thing of my own , which , could at ali alter its spirit ; and I only varied from the letter inasmuch as was necessary to make it applicable to a conference . ' My first object was to state , in as forcible a way as possible , the utter inadmissibility ofthe pretension set forth in the note , the frivolous and illusory reasons alledged for bringing if forward ; and I observed that , if it was persevered in , it must lead to this necessary conclusion , that there did exist when it was framed oft
an intention on the partof the Directory to break * the Negociation in the outset . My second object in point of reasoning , though a very primary one in point of importance , was either to prevent the Negociation breaking off at all , or if this was not to be prevented , to endeavour to be so clear and explicit in my language , and to draw the line so distinctly between such sacrifices as his Majesty might be inclined to make in order to restore so great a blessing as peace , and those to which the digaity of his Crown and interest of his Subjects would never allow him to attendas to make it impossible that by future cavil or subterfuge the
in-, any terruption ofthe Treaty , if unfortunately it should be interrupted , could be imputed to any other cause than the exorbitant demands of the French Government ; and the better to insure this purpose , 1 explained to them that his Majesty having already in a detailed Projet stated freely and fully his conditions , and these conditions having been at once rejected by a sweeping claim on the part of the French Government , it was not fitting or reasonable , neither could il be
expected , that any new proposals should originate with his Majesty : and that on every ground the King had a right to expect a Conlre-Projet from them , stating at once , plainly and svithout reserve , the whole of what they had to ask , instead of bringing forward separate points , one after another , directly contrary to the principle on which we had agreed to begin the Negociation , and ' which , from their being insolated , could only tend to protract and impede its . progress . On the first point , on the inadmissibility of the preliminary conditions as proposed by the French Government , one ofthe French Plenipotentiaries said , it was
impossible for them to do more than to take it for reference , that the instructions they had received when the Directory sent them Ihe note , were precise and positive , and that they had received none since . He had , therefore , on that point simply to request of me , that I would state in writing the several grounds on which his Majesty rejected this proposition , in order that the report transmitted by them to the Directory might be correct ; and he assured me , that ii I did not think it proper to put in writing all the arguments I had used to them in the conference , they would have no scruple of employing those 1 omitted in such way as was the best calculated to give them weight , and to use the French Minister's own expression , to place the Negociation once more on its legs . ' In regard to the second point , he had no hesitation in agreeing with me , that the best method , and indeed the only one , which could accelerate the whole of
the business , was for them to give in a Contre-Projet ; neither did he attempt to disprove our perfect right to expect one from them before we made any new proposals . But he said , that it was not necessarv for him to observe , that as long as they were bound by their instructions not to give way on the propositions ! had now so decidedly rejected , that it was impossible for them to move a s'ep without new orders from the Directory ; that they would ask for these orders immediately , and lose no time in acquainting me when they were received . ' I observed , that in our last conference he had h . timaled ' 0 me they were emto lo lanation with
powered come some exp me upon the subject of Compensation to be made to his Majesty for the great cessions he was dispo . ed to make ; that at the time . I conceived these explanations were of a nature 10 qualify ihe wide claim stated in the note ; and that if / had abstained from pressing him further at the moment , it was from perceiving a reluctance on their pa . t to bring them for-, ward : —That , however , if they really had such proposals to make me , and if they were of a nature to meet in substance and effect ihe basis laid down in the Projet I had given , I should be well disposed to listen to them ., * One ofthe French Ministers , after some hesitati n and a sort of silent reference to one of his colleagues , said , he thought , as matters now stood , it would be much