308 
vate conversation, when committed 
to ministerial communications, be- 
comes the most sensible affront to 
the honour of a nation. What ef- 
fect, Sir, have these representations, 
so strongly urged, produced? You 
have at present in your hands the 
communication of March 1Sth; the 
government here have made this 
communication, and those which 
preceded it, as public as possible, by 
publishing it, of which I enclose you 
three copies, and by announcing 
that an exact translation of them into 
German will speedily make its ap- 
pearance. What can be more glar- 
ingly offensive, or what means can, 
after such a conduct, remain open 
for negotiation? So little am I ac- 
quainted with any, that I should 
think myself wanting to the honour 
of the naticn and the dignity of the 
King, if I took any step with the mi- 
nistry here till you shall have the 
oodness to answer my dispatch of 
the 19th of March. I have only ta- 
ken occasion to send to the chancel- 
lor of state a letter to the King of 
Hungary, presuming it was an an- 
swer to the notification of the death 
of the Emperor. 
{ shall suspend sending my resig- 
nation, from those motives of ho- 
nour which I have mentioned ; 
otherwise nothing is hazarded, since 
there is nothing to negotiate.—I[ 
shall mention, for this last reason, 
that I have had the honor to write 
to the King to entreat his Majesty 
to permit me toresign. J again de- 
mand this favour, Sir, through your 
mediation, and J solicitit with all the 
ardour ofa zealous servant of his coun- 
try; who, perceiving ihat be can no 
Jonger be useful at his post, thinks 
himself bound to yield it to another. 
I can, in the mean time, continue to 
attend to the ordinary business till 
ANNUAL REGISTER, 1792. 
the end, and while I wait to receive 
the final orders of his Majesty. 
(Signed) NoatLugs. 
‘ fit 
Dispatch from M. Dumouriez to M. 
de Noailles. 
Sir, Paris, March 27th. 
I HAVE received your letters of 
the 28th and 29th of February, and 
one of the 12th and 13th of March, 
andalso one, No. 10, from M. Mar- 
bois, dated the 13th. IL. see, by 
your first letter, that the negotia- 
tions would be infinitely prolonged, 
if you do not carry it on according 
to the spirit of my first dispatches; 
that the King would not be able to 
give a satisfactory answer to the 
nation ; and that shoutd the opinion 
of M. Cobentzel prevail, we should 
not be able for a great while to 
terminate the business; for it is im- 
possible to make us believe that the 
troops by which we were surround- 
ed, ought not to give us umbrage ; 
it is impossible to make us believe 
that the court of Vienna sends 
troops into the Brisgaw, reinforces 
those in the Milanois, and is form- 
ing an army attended with a train 
of besieging artillery and immense 
magazines, for the sole purpose of 
maintaining tranquillity in the Ne- 
therlands. 
As the spring is approaching, and 
the troops are reinforcing ;—as we 
see over all Europe hostile prepara- _ 
tions making against us, it is no 
longer possible to be imposed on by 
words,—The opinion of Cobentzel 
is besides erroneous, when he at- 
tempts to make you believe that 
there is no reason why the federa- 
tion of the different courts should 
not continue on the same ground as 
before ; that is, depending on events. 
Whatever M. Cobentzel may say, 
our 
