432 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1S13. 



fresh and important ground for en- 

 tertaining just doubts as to the 

 sincerity oi the assurances which 

 the emperor Napoleon had more 

 than once pubhcly expressed of 

 his disposition to peace, although 

 several of his expressions at that 

 particular period afforded just rea- 

 son to believe that a maritime 

 peace was the object of his most 

 anxious solicitude. 



During that interval, their ma- 

 jesties the emperor of Russia and 

 the king of Prussia had nominated 

 their plenipotentiaries to the Con- 

 gress, and had furnished them with 

 very decisive instructions. On the 

 12th of July they both arrived at 

 Prague, as well as his majesty's 

 minister, charged with the con- 

 cerns of the mediation- 



The negociations were not to 

 be protracted beyond the 10th of 

 August, except in the event of 

 their assuming such a character as 

 to induce a confident hope of a 

 favourable result. To that day 

 the armistice had been extended 

 through the mediation of Austria : 

 the political and military situation 

 of the allied sovereigns, the con- 

 dition of the countries they occu- 

 pied, and their anxious wish to 

 terminate an irksome period of 

 uncertainty, prevented any further 

 extension of it. With all these 

 circumstances the emperor Na- 

 poleon was acquainted : he well 

 knew that the period of the nego- 

 ciations was necessarily defined by 

 that of the armistice ; and he could 

 not moreover, conceal from him- 

 self how much his own determi- 

 nations would influence the happy 

 abridgment, and successful result, 

 of the pending negociations. 



It was therefore with real sor- 

 row that his majesty soon per- 



ceived, not only that no serious 

 step was taken by France to acce- 

 lerate this great work ; but, on 

 the contrary, it appeared as if a 

 procrastination of the negociations, 

 and evasion of a favourable issue 

 had been decidedly intended. There 

 was, indeed, a French minister at 

 the place of Congress, but without 

 any orders to proceed to business, 

 until the appearance of the first 

 plenipotentiary. 



The arrival of that plenipoten- 

 tiary was in vain expected from 

 day to day. Nor was it until the 

 21st of July that it was ascertain- 

 ed, that a demur which took 

 place on settling the renewal of 

 the armistice between the French 

 and Russian and Prussian commis- 

 sioners — an obstruction of very 

 subordinate importance, having no 

 influence whatever upon the Con- 

 gress, and which might have been 

 very easily and speedily removed 

 by the interference of Austria, — 

 was made use of as the justification 

 of this extraordinary delay. And 

 when this last pretext was removed, 

 it was not until the 28th of July, 

 sixteen days after that appointed 

 for the opening of the Congress, 

 that the first French plenipoten- 

 tiar}' arrived. 



Even in the very first days after 

 this minister's arrival, no doubt re- 

 mained as to the fate of the Con- 

 gress. The form in which the full 

 powers were to be delivered, and 

 ti)e mutual explanations should be 

 conducted, a point which had al- 

 ready been treated by all parties, 

 became the object of a discussion 

 which rendered all the endeavours 

 of the mediating power abortive. 

 The apparent insufficiency of the 

 powers intrusted to the French 

 negociator occasioned a silence of 



