134] ANN 
sia in August following, without the 
participation of Great Britian. No- 
tice was however given by the Swe- 
dish monarch, that the Empress 
would still abide by the conditions 
she had proposed, and did not in- 
tend to alter them, notwithstand- 
ing the success of her arms during 
the last campaign, nor the future 
success that might still attend them. 
The empress adhered faithfully to 
the proposals she had made; but in 
consequence of the message deliver- 
ed by the King’s order, on the 28th 
of March of the preceding year, to 
both Houses,a formidable armament 
was equipped; subsequent to which 
a negociation was set on foot by the 
British ministerat the Russian court, 
in order to secure afortified frontier 
to Turkey, on the side of Russia; 
but this negociation ended byaccept- 
ing the very terms already preferred 
by the Empress in the foregoing 
year, and by the consent of the Bri- 
tish ministry; that if they were not 
also accepted by the Turks within 
the space of four months, the two 
belligerent powers should be left to 
terminate their quarrels without 
further interference. Thus four- 
teen months of fruitless negociation 
elapsed on the part of Great Bri- 
tain; during which her naval pre- 
parations proved ineffectual, and 
made not the least impression where 
it had been hoped and intended. 
The war had in the mean time con- 
tinued, with the same determina- 
tion in the Empress to conclude it 
upon her own terms, in detiance of 
our threats, and of the hostile pos- 
ture which we had so vainly assum- 
ed. The Turks had met with addi- 
tional misfortunes; and the com- 
mercial interest of Great Britain 
been exposed to continual hazards, 
from the perplexed situation of our 
UAL REGISTER, 
1792. 
affairs ; but what in the public:ex- 
amination was of much higher :va- 
lueand importance, the honour and 
dignity of the British nation suffer- 
ed a material injury in. ithe = 
Europe. 
To these weighty asseverations 
it was answered on the ministerial 
side, that notwithstanding the argue 
ments of opposition, it remained an 
incontrovertible trath, that) mini- 
stry had committed no sort of error 
in its interference between Russia 
and Turkey. The balance of Eu- 
rope required that no power what- 
soever should be depressed, norany 
permitted to extend its just propor- 
tions. It was manifestly the interest 
of Britain to oppose the systeny 
adopted by the court of Peters- 
burgh; which was the aggrandize- 
ment of the Russian empire, al- 
ready too extensive and potent for 
the safety and peace of its neigh- 
bours; and which, if not timely 
arrested in its progress, would at 
last prove irresistivle, and give laws 
to all the north of Europe. It was 
solely, therefore, in compliance 
with the earnest wishes of the pub- 
lic, that ministry had desisted from 
measures which in themselves were 
unquestionably consistent with the 
-long adopted policy of Britain, and 
at this juncture peculiarly adapt- 
ed toexisting circumstances. These. 
were truly critical, and particularly 
demanded the immediate exertion 
of our naval power, in order to 
prevent in time the exercise of that 
which was forming by a ‘potentate 
that had in the preceding war acted 
an unfriendly part, and was new 
again preparing with all her might 
to oppose us upon our own-element. 
Nor was the formidable fleet that 
had been equipped, to be consider- 
ed as.a useless parade of our mari- 
time 
