STATE PAPERS. 
Extract* fromthe Instructions of M. 
Delessart, Minister for Foreign 
Affairs at Paris, to M. Noailles, 
Ambassador from France to the 
Court of Vienna. 
Paris, Jun, 21st, 1792. 
* & KK & # Hi) \%  * 
HAVE already spoken to you 
concerning the official note 
which was transmitted to you by 
the Prince of Kaunitz on the 2\st 
of December. I shall again speak 
to you concerning it. This unex- 
pected declaration produced at first 
the greatest agitation, for it was 
conceived that the language of the 
court of Vienna conveyed a degree 
of mewace in its tone. In order to 
justify this opinion, it will be ne- 
cessary to enter into some details. 
It was in the month of November 
that you acquainted the Austrian 
minister with the formal invitation 
which the King had just renewed to 
the Elector of Treves, for the pur- 
pose of procuring a dispersion of 
those bodies which were collected 
in his dominions ; and at the same 
time you demanded, in the name of 
the King, ‘‘ the interposition of the 
good offices and authority of the Em- 
peror, toinduce the Elector to com- 
ply with this act of Justice.” These 
bodies, the hostile preparations, the 
collection of military corps, were 
incontestibly notorious to every 
one. The measures of the emigrants 
to excite every where enemies a- 
gainst France, were not less notori- 
ous, Thecourt of Vienna, more 
than any other court, perhaps, was 
furnished with proof. Neverthe- 
less, instead of attempting to induce 
the Elector of Treves to put a pe- 
riod to this cause of fermentation 
285 
and inquietudé, the court of Vien- 
na appeared indifferent to all these 
movements, and thereby added to 
them a greater degree of power and 
importance. 
It was impossible for the nation 
to view with the same indifference 
the aggression with which it was 
menaced. The National Assembly 
addressed itself to the King, disclos- 
ing to him a wish that had mani- 
fested itself in all parts of the king- 
dom, for the purpose of inviting 
him to take the necessary precau- 
tions which the safety of the state re- 
quired. It was then that the Elec- 
tor of Treves, terrified by this mea- 
sure, requested the protection of the 
Emperor ; and that, without any 
communication, or any preparatory 
elucidations, the Prince of Kaunitz 
declared to you, ‘‘ that the Empe- 
ror had given orders to the Marshal 
Bender to march to the assistance of 
the Elector of Treves, if he should 
be attacked.”? It is true, that this 
order appeared to relate to some 
violence and incursions committed 
by the municipalities, in disobedi- 
ence of the intentions of the na- 
tion and of the King; but allows 
ing even this supposition, acts of 
this nature should never have been 
considered but as private opera- 
tions, against which the Elector 
might easily have defended himself 
by means of his own power, which 
were susceptible of an amicable ar- 
rangement, and which certainly did 
not require any movement on the 
part of Marshal Bender to repress 
them. We are not ignorant, in 
truth, that at the very time when 
the Emperor gave this order, he 
sent word to the Elector of Treves 
“* to follow a fixed rule with respect. 
* This paper is so called by the Nationa) Assembly, and is all that was published. 
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