696 Official Papers relative to the Negotiation -mth France, 



piffports this morning, and of returnmg im- 

 riediattly to Knt;Iand. 1 truft I need fcarce- 

 ]y alTure you, that I have as rtrong an im- 

 jncflion as any man can h.ive, of the bnd con- 

 fequences th.:t may attend cxhibitini; any 

 thing which lnoks like veifatility of conduct"; 

 and yet under the circumltiinces in which I 

 found myfelf placed, I am fatistied I had no 

 choice, and tlut I could not rcfufe, with pro- 

 priety, the folicitations of the French pleni- 

 potentiaries to renew the conference. 



At the commencement of our interview, I 

 perceived a (lifpofition to greater co-diility 

 than I had hitheito experienced. To M. de 

 Chumpagny'b inquiry, whether thcv had l;een 

 fortuniite enough, by what they had faid, to 

 induce me to deliver the project of a treaty, I 

 anfwered, by rcLalliiij:; to his rccolIcitiOn, the 

 reafon'^ I had formerly ftaled for declining fuch 

 a proceeding till the bafis that had originally 

 been propofed was again formerly recognized ; 

 and I informed him, tliat, in ouler to give 

 them an accurate virwof my conceptioii of 

 ti.e fubje<!l, I had prepared a note which I 

 wi/hcd to fubmit to them, delivering to them 

 the note, a copy of which I had the honor of 

 Licli'int; in my difpatch of Au^uft 'il>th. 



After reading: this note, and obferving in 

 general that they did not know whether, if 

 we ihould conic to a particular expbnation, 

 xve might not arrive at a conclufion coincident 

 jn its efteft with the ohjeft I had in view, 

 when 1 infifted on the general principle, they 

 entered into a dftail with refpcft to the ne- 

 ceUity of fome imniciiiatf; determination on 

 tlie fubjeft of Hanover, _and afterwards ftatcd 

 their views ;i3 to the French pollelJions in ihe 

 Ea!t Indies, the Dutch Colonies, St, Lucie, 

 and Tobago ; on all of which, they talked in 

 a rtylc fu ptrffdly (liferent from any thin? I 

 b-ad before heard, tliat I fhouUl not be more 

 furpi i^ed i(, at our next conference, ^hey were 

 to give them up, than I was at the change of 

 tone nianiferted on this occafion. 



• A great deal more pafTed in the way of ge- 

 neral converfation ; all of which tended to 

 Aew me, that, akiiough they were iliU at a 

 wide diftance from fucli terms as I could ac- 

 cede to, they had wonderfully relaxed froni 

 the tone they had antecedently aflumcd. 



M. de Champagny then invited me to 

 name a day for rcfuniing our conference. 

 To this, I decidedly objected, admitting at 

 the fame time, that they had made conceliiorj 

 in the courfc^of our difcullion ; but adding, 

 that they were ftill fo far fr'm agreeing to 

 admit what the Englilli government unitorm- 

 ly conceived the original propofition to have 

 conveyi d, that I could not yet indulge any 

 hoprs of our coming to an agreement, and 

 ihould cheiefore feel it neccflary to terminate 

 my mifiion. 



M. de Champagny atTced me with forae 

 warmth, whether ] wiihed for peace on the 

 terms which J mvfelf hud (bated ? whether I 

 thought myfelf autliorized, ater the concef- 

 fioiisi they had juil made, tD rcfufe tl|cm time 



to confider how much furtlier they might go ; 

 and whether J might not reafonably entertain 

 hopes that, with a little tiir.e, the differences 

 which appeared now to feparate ui might 

 vaniih ? 



On receiving fuch a remonftrance,! thought 

 it impofliblc not to d^.tze to a renewal of the 

 conference: and after fome converfation, 

 Tliurfday was fixed for the day of our meet- 

 ing. 

 Extrafi from a difpafch from Earl Spencer to 



the Ear! oj Laudcrddtey dated DoiuniHg-Jirecl, 



Scpt'jinber -Uh, 1806. 

 My Lord, 



I am CDHimandeJ by Iiis Majefty to inform 

 your Lordihip th.it h'? is pleated (o approve 

 entirely the conduct you liave held in the cir- 

 cumflanccs detailed in your laft difpatciics, 

 and to exprjfs his Majcfty's fatisfaflion in the 

 eood eficit which appears to have refulted 

 from it. 



It is proper, however, to remark, that as 

 the French plenipotentiaries have not bound 

 themfclves as yet by any wri'.tcn note, nor 

 have even in converfation agreed to replace 

 the negotiation on its true bafis ; the prefent 

 appearcnces of grt.ater facility on their part, 

 may probably arife only from their defire-of 

 kecpi-.g your Lord/hip at Paris till the anlwer 

 from Peterfburg fliali be received ; ar» ohjecl 

 which your Lordihip'i lall note had fliewrt 

 them they colild no longer accomplilh without 

 fome dr p;rture from the ground on which they 

 liavc hitherto llood. 



If the RulTian treaty (liall not be ratified, 

 hjs Majerty is then (as I have already ob- 

 ferved to your Lordthip; replaced with ref- 

 peft to tlie Kinperor of Ruflia in the fame 

 fitualion as before the lignature of M. d'Oub- 

 ril's treaty ; but with the addition.il tye, 

 which the two courts would in that cafe feel 

 from the frelh proufi each will have given to 

 the other of a (leady adherence to the fyftem 

 of alliance; and it will then be neceffary that 

 our jicace fliall be fo far made dependent on 

 that of Ruflia a- is pointed out m the inrtruc- 

 tions originally given to Lord Yarmouth. 



Sincethc above was written, we have re- 

 ceived the important intelligence contained in 

 tile indorfed papers,* copies of whicli 1 have 

 thought it neceflary to forward to yon with- 

 out a moment's delay for your infornjation ; 

 the cafe is alrtady provided for in this dif- 

 patch, and in the prclent ftate of our infor- 

 mation on the fubjcft, 1 have nothing to add 

 to what is above ftated. A few days will now 

 probably put us in pofiellion of tlrf further 

 views and intentions of Rulfia, to which re- 

 ference might of coarfe be had in every fuc- 

 ceediiig llar.c of the negotiation ; and as I fhall 

 lolc no time in tranfmitting to your Lordfliip 

 fuch treih inftruftions as thofe may give rife 

 to, fo we (hall he anxious to hear as foon as 

 pollible from vou what eli'ett this event may 



* Intelligence of the rcful'.il of the Empe- 

 ror of Kullia to ratify M. d'OubriPs treaty, 

 produce 



