SF A fT2B oPy Ay PE Rss. 
fhould be held, was becaufe. this 
tentiaries, and the anfwer B, which 
I made to. it yefterday morning, at 
10A,.M. Até6 P.M. the noteC 
was tranfmitted to me; to which, 
at8 P. M. [returned the anfwer D 
by Mr. Rofs, whom I fent, in order 
that he might bring me the pafi- 
ports I afked for; but at a quarter 
before 10 P. M. Derché, Secretary 
ef the French lJegation, delivered 
me a paper marked E; and_ this 
morning at 9 A.M.] replied by the 
note F, which immediately produc- 
edthat marked G. The notes {ent 
me by the French Plenipotentiaries 
fpeak for themfelves; and it is un- 
neceffary to enter into any reflec- 
tions on them. I am willing to 
hope that the anfwers I have made 
were fach as became the fituation 
in which I ftand, the importance of 
the caufe entruited to me, and the 
fteady but temperate conduct which 
the ipirit of my inftruétions enjoin 
me to hold. It was my wifh to 
give every opening to the French 
lenipotentiaries to recall the vio- 
lent ftep they had taken; and, if 
poflible, to convince them of its 
extreme impropriety. And it is 
with this view, and with a moft 
anxious defire not to exclude. all 
hope of the reftoration of peace, 
that I determined on fuggefting 
the idea of our meeting once be- 
fore I left Lifle. 
.. This meeting took place to-day 
at noon: | opened itsby obferving 
that the feveral notes they had. re- 
ceived from me fince the preceding 
evening, had been too exprefliye of 
the furprife I felt at the meafure 
the Directory had thought proper 
to adopt, to make it neceffary for 
me to enlarge upon it in this.con- 
ference; and indeed my fole mo- 
tive for fuggefting that it might be 
for our mutyal fatisfagtion that it 
215, 
meafure appeared to me to be in. 
fuch direé contradiction to the very 
{trong affurances I had fo conftantly 
and repeatedly heard from them, 
and to the pacific intentions with 
which they declared they were fent, ” 
that it was my earneft with (before 
I confidered their condué as forc- 
ing me toa ftep which muft fo ma- 
terially affect the fuccefs of the 
negotiation) to be perfectly cer- 
tain that I underftood clearly and. 
diftinétly the precife meaning of 
their official notes. On their ad- | 
mitting that nothing could be more 
reafonable than that I fhould, on fo 
important a point, require explana- 
tion, or more fatisfa¢tory to them 
than to give it me (as far as lay in 
their power) I proceeded by fay- 
ing, that it appeared to me. that I 
was called upon to produce imme- 
diately my full powers, orrather my 
inftructions. (for however different 
thefe were in themfelves, in their 
demand they feemed conftantly 
blended); and that if either I refuf- 
ed to confent to this, or if on con- 
fenting to it, it was found that 1 
was not authorifed to treat on the 
principle they laid down, I was then 
in, the {pace of twenty-four hours 
to leave Lifle, and return to my 
court; and that I was required, to 
obtain full authority to admit this 
principle, if it was withed the ne- 
sonence fhould proceed. This, I 
aid, appeared to me to be the evi- 
dent fenfe of the notes, and. I beg- 
ged to know whether I had miftak- 
en it of not. One of the French . 
Plenipotentiaries faid, ;‘* You have 
underftood it exactly; I hope you 
equally underftand the intention of 
the French government, which ‘is 
to. accelerate peace by removing e- 
very obftacle which ftands in its 
04 NEC WHY an 
