Sir A TES PAA PPE Res: 
-with respect to the real cause of 
the prolongation of the war, and 
to cast a doubt on those dispositions 
which could alone have dictated 
the steps taken by his majesty and 
his august ally. 
In order to deprive his enemies 
of all possibility of subterfuge or 
evasion, and in the hope that a 
just sense of the continued cala- 
mities of war, and of the increas- 
ing distresses of France herself, 
might at length have led to more 
just and pacific dispositions, his 
majesty renewed, in another form, 
and through the intervention of 
friendly powers, a proposal for 
opening negotiations for peace. 
The manner in which this inter- 
vention was received indicated the 
most hostile dispositions towards 
Great Britain, and at the same 
time afforded to all Europe a strik- 
ing instance of that injurious and 
offensive conduct which is observed 
on the part of the French go- 
vernment towards all other coun- 
tries, The repeated overtures made 
in his majesty’s name were never- 
theless of such a nature, that it 
was at last found impossible to per- 
Sist in the absolute rejection of 
them, without the direct and un- 
disguised avowal of a determina- 
tion to refuse to Europe all hope 
of the restoration of tranquillity. 
_Achannel was therefore at length 
indicated, through which the go- 
vernment of France professed itself 
willing to carry on a negotiation, 
and a readiness was expressed 
(though interms far remote from 
any spirit of conciliation) to receive 
a minister authorised by his ma- 
Jjesty to proceed to Paris for that 
purpose, ha 
Many circumstances might have 
been urged as affording powerful 
[175 
motives against adoptin gthis sug- 
gestion, until the government of 
France had given some indication 
of a spirit better calculated to pros 
mote the success of such a missiong 
and to meet these advances on 
the part of Great Britain. The 
king’s desire for the restoration of 
general peace on just and honours 
able terms, his concern for the in- 
terests of his subjeéts, and his de- 
termination to leave to his ene 
mies no pretext for imputing to 
him the consequences of their own 
ambition, induced him to overlook 
every such consideration, and to 
take a step which these reasons 
alone could justify. 
The repeated endeavours of the 
French government to defeat this 
mission in its outset, and to break 
off the intercourse thus opened, 
even before the first steps towards 
negotiation could be taken; the 
indecent and injurious language 
employed with a view to irritate, 
the captious and frivolous objec- 
tions raised for the purpose of ob- 
structing the progress of the dis- 
cussion ; all these have sufficiently 
appeared from the official papers 
which passed on both sides, and 
which are known to all Europe. 
But above all, the abrupt ter- 
mination of the negotiation has 
afforded the most conclusive proof, 
that at no period of it was any real 
wish for peace entertained on the 
part of the French government. 
After repeated evasion and de- 
lay, the government had at length 
consented to establish, as the basis 
of the negotiation, a principle pro- 
posed by his majesty, liberal in its 
own nature, equitable towards his 
enemies, and calculated to provide 
for the interests of his allies, and 
of Europe. It had been agreed 
that 
