230 ANNUAL REGISTER, ISOO. 



The hostilities which you have 

 committed without waiting for ad- 

 miral Keith's answer, who was 

 unacquainted with the convention 

 concluded for the evacuation of 

 Egypt, have furnished us with a 

 rule for our conduct. I had not 

 demanded of my court the ratifica- 

 tion of the convention; I merely 

 was desirous to remove some obsta- 

 cles that might have opposed the 

 return of tlie French to their 

 country. 



As general Kleber didnot,in the 

 late preliminaries which were 

 agreed to, give us to understand 

 that it was necessary the treaty 

 which was to have followed them 

 should be ratified by the consuls, 

 this condition now introduced by 

 you in your preliminaries has the 

 appearance of a refusal to evacuate 

 Egypt, and the grand vizier has 

 commissioned me to require of you 

 on that head a clear and precise 

 answer. You vnsh, as I do, for a 

 termination to the war which deso- 

 lates the wliole world : 



It is in your power to remove 

 one of the obstacles in the way of 

 peace by evacuating Egypt accord- 

 ing to the terms agreed upon with 

 general Kleber; and if you refuse, 

 we sliall exert all our means, and 

 those of our allies, in order to com- 

 pel you to accept conditions which 

 may not prove so advantageous. I 

 cannot suppress my regret at being 

 forced to fulfil that duty ; but tlie 

 evacuation of EgA-pt being an ob- 

 ject of so much interest to the cause 

 of humanity, the mode of accom- 

 plishing it by correspondence and 

 conference is still open. 



As the admiral, ui.der whose or- 

 ders I am, is at a considej-able dis- 

 tance, I am authorized to agree to 

 such arrangements as the necessity 



of circumstances m.ay dictate ; and 

 although, from the nature of events, 

 I am not warranted in ottering any 

 new proposition, I am, however, 

 ready and disposed to receive all 

 those which ycu may think fit to 

 make. I can declare to you otBci- 

 ally that I shall exert all ray efforts 

 to prevent any rash proceedings, 

 and to oppose all vexatious mea- 

 sures, from whatever quarter they 

 may arise. 



I shall literally adhere to all the 

 instructions of my court. I know 

 its principles to be founded upon 

 the most punctilious equity and the 

 most perfect good faith. My con- 

 duct shall be conformable to its 

 principles, and all my exertions 

 shall be directed to the performance 

 of my duty, by promoting its in- 

 terests. 



As it is not yet decided in what 

 direction I am about to act, I beg 

 you will transmit me your answer 

 in two dispatches, the one addressed 

 to Alexandria and the other to 

 JaflFa, at the camp of the grand 

 vizier. 



(Signed) Sidney Smith. 



Menou, provisional General- in- 

 Chief, to Citizen Buonaparte, 

 First Consul of the Republic. 



Head-quarters at Cairo, Hth 

 Messidor (July 3.) 



C^ITIZEN consul, a horrible 

 y event, of which there are few 

 examples in history, has provisio- 

 nally raised me to the command of 

 the army of the east. General 

 Kleber was assassinated on the 25ih 

 of last month (June 14). A wretch 

 sent by the Aga of the Janissaries of 

 tlie Ottoman army, gave the gene- 

 ral-in-chief four stabs with a 



