174] 
to open the way for negotiation, if 
any corresponding desire prevailed 
on the part of his enemies. He 
directed an overture to be made in 
his name, by his minister in Swis- 
sertand, for the purpose of ascer- 
taining the dispositions of the 
French government with respect to 
peace. The answer which he re- 
ceived in return was at once haugh- 
ty and evasive; it affected to ques- 
tion the sincerity of those dispo- 
sitions of which his majesty’s con- 
duct afforded so unequivocal a 
proof; it raised groundless objec- 
tions to the mode of negotiation 
proposed by his majesty (that of a 
general congress, by which peace 
has so often been restored to Eu- 
rope); but it studiously passed over 
in silence his majesty’s desire to 
learn what other mode would 
be preferred by France, It at the 
samme time’ asserted a_ principle 
which was stated as an indispen- 
sible preliminary to all negaciation 
—a principle under which the 
terms of peace must have been re- 
gulated, not by the usual conside- 
rations of justice, policy, and reci- 
procal convenience; but by an im- 
plicit submission, on the part of all 
the powers, to a claim founded 
on the internal laws and separate 
constitution of France, as having 
full authority to supersede the trea- 
ties entered into by independent 
states, to govern their interests, to 
conirol their engagements, and to 
dispose of their dominions. 
A pretension in itself sO extra- 
yagapt, could in no instance have 
been admitted, or even listened to 
for a moment. Its application to 
thé present case led to nothing 
less than that France should, as a 
preliminary to all discussion, retain 
ANNUAL REGISTER, 1796. 
nearly all her conquests, and those 
particularly in which his majesty was 
most concerned, both from the ties 
of interest,and the sacred obligations 
of treaties: that she should in like 
manner recover back ali that had 
been coi quered from her in every 
part of the world; and that she 
should be left at liberty to bring 
forward such further demands on 
all other points of negotiation, as 
such unqualified submission on the 
part of those with whom she treated 
could not fail to produce, 
On such grounds as these it was 
sufficiently evident that no nego- 
ciation could be established; nei- 
ther did the answer of his majesty’s 
enemies afford any opening for 
continuing the discussion, since 
the mode of negociation offered 
by his majesty had been peremp- 
torily rejected by them, and no 
other had been stated in which 
they were willing to concur. 
His majesty was however not 
discouraged even by this result 
from still pursuing such measures 
as appeared to him most conducive 
to the end of peace ; and the wishes 
of his ally the emperor correspond. 
ing with those which his ma- 
jesty had manifested, sentiments 
of a similar tendency were ex- 
pressed on the part of his Imperial 
majesty at the time of opening 
the campaign; but the continu. 
ance of the same spirit and prin- 
ciples, on the part of the enemy, 
rendered this fresh overture equally 
unsuccessful. f 
While the government of France 
thus persisted in obstructing every 
measure that could even open the | 
way to negociation, no endeavour 
was omitted to mislead the public | 
opinion throughout all Europe 
with 
