202 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1797. 
crown and intereft of his fubjeéts 
would never allow him to attend, 
as to make it impoffible that by 
any future cavil or fubterfuge the 
interruption of the treaty, if unfer- 
tunately it fhould be interrupted, 
could be imputed to any other 
caufe than the exorbitant demands 
of the French government; and 
the better to enfure this purpofe, I 
explained to them that his Majefty 
having already, in a detailed prayer, 
fiated freely and fully his condi- 
tions, and thefe conditions having 
been at once rejected by a {weep- 
ing claim on the part of the French 
government, it was not fitting or 
reafonable, neither could it be ex- 
etn that any new propofals 
nould: originate with his Majefty : 
and that on every ground the King 
had a right to expect a contre-projet 
from them, ftating at once, plainly 
and without referve, the whole of 
what they had to afk, inftead of 
bringing forward feparate points, 
one after another, dire¢tly contrary 
to the principle on which we had 
agreed to begin the negotiation, 
id which, from their being infu- 
lated, could only tend to protraét 
and impede its progrefs. 
On the firft point, on the inad- 
miffibility of the preliminary con- 
ditions as propofed by the French 
government, one of the French 
Plenipotentiaries faid, it was im- 
poffible for them to do more than 
to take it for reference, that the in- 
fiructions they had received when 
the Directory fent them the note 
were precife and pofitive, and that 
they had received none fince. He 
therefore had on that point fimply 
to requeft of me, that I would ftate 
in writing the feveral grounds on 
which his Majefty rejected this pro- 
pofition, in order that the report 
tranfmitted by them to the Direc- 
, 2 
tory might be correct; and he af- 
fured ine, that if I did nat think it 
proper to put in writing all the ar- 
guments I had ufed to them in the 
conierence, they would have no 
{cruple of employing thofe I omit- 
ted in fuch a way as was the beft 
calculated to give them weight, 
and (to ufe the French minifter’s 
own expreflion) to place the ne- 
gotiation once more on its legs. 
In regard to the fecond point, 
he had no hefitation in agreeing 
with me, that the beftmethod, and 
indeed the only one which could 
accelerate the whole of the bufi- 
nefs, was for them to give ina con: 
eee neither did he attempt to 
difprove our perfect right to expeé& 
one from them before we made 
any new propofals. But he faid 
that it was not neceflary for him to 
obferve, that as long as they were 
bound by their inftruétions not to 
give way on the propofition I had 
now fo decidedly rejected, that it 
was impoflible for them to move a 
ftep without new orders fromthe 
Direétory ; that they would afk for 
thefe orders immediately, and lofe 
no time in acqvainting me when 
they were received. 
I obferved, that in our laft confe- 
rence he had intimated to me they 
were empowered to come to fome 
explanation on the fubjeét of com- 
penfation to be made to his Majefty 
for the great ceffions he was difpofed 
to make; that, at the fame time, I 
conceived thefe explanations were 
of a nature to quality the wide claim 
{tated in the note; and that if I 
had abftained from prefimg him 
further at the moment, it was from 
perceiving a reludtance on their 
part to bring them forward :—that, 
however, if they really had fuch 
propofals to make me, and if they 
were of a nature'to meet in fub- 
ftance » 
