178 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1804. 



crown of France on the brad of 

 Bonaparte, the general conduct 

 of that power was looked upon. 

 •»vith a jealous eye by many of the 

 cabinets of Europe. Those most px- 

 posed to the cffedts of the violence 

 of the new emperor, contemplated 

 his encroachments and their own 

 debasement in silence; but Russia 

 and Sweden openly avowed their 

 sentiments. 



On the 2 1st of July a very dig- 

 nified and circumstantial note, cha- 

 ra6teristic of the honourable and 

 disinterested sentiments which iiave 

 long distinguished the councils of 

 the court of St. Petcrsburgh, was 

 presented, in reply to the evasive 

 and insulting note from Mr. Talley- 

 rand, of the 26th of May, (already 

 mentioned,) by M. Oubril, the 

 Russian charge d'alfaires at Paris. 



It was there stated, that his court 

 had justly disapproved his having 

 received a paper which did not con- 

 vey an answer to his preceding olFi- 

 cial communications, and was by 

 no means fit to be laid before his 

 august sovereign. That its contents 

 consisted of assertions not oiilv uu- 

 founded, but wholly unconnertcd 

 with the note of the 22nd April. > — 

 That the emptror, already moved 

 by the calamities by which a great 

 portion of Europe was oppressed, 

 and by the dangers which threaten. 

 fd the German empire, wht)se in- 

 terestsRussia was particularly bound 

 to support, in conformity to her 

 obligations^ received inteiiigence of 

 another violation of the law of na- 



tions, which was perpetrated at 

 Ettenlieim. He, therefore, con- 

 ceived himself bound to incite the 

 assembled states of the German em- 

 pire to concur with him, in pro- 

 testing against the conduct of the 

 French government, to whom his 

 majesty communicated the same sen- 

 timents, in hopes that reparation 

 would be offered to the German 

 league, and the fears entertained by 

 Europe, of a repetition of similar 

 outrages, allayed. The evasive re- 

 ply which was made to so plain a 

 declaration, was oflensive to Rus- 

 sia, to the German empire, and to 

 France herself. — " We live no 

 longer in those barbarous times, 

 (recites the note,) when every coun- 

 try regards only her immediate ad- 

 vantages ; modern polity has in- 

 troduced certain principles respeft- 

 ing the interest of the whole com- 

 munity of states." No state could 

 view with indiftcrence the -event al- 

 ready mentioned, which gave such 

 a dreadTul blow to the independence 

 and security of nations. By tha 

 peace of Tci^clien, Russia undertook 

 to guarantee and mediate for the 

 German empire ; in this quality, his 

 imperial majesty was not merely 

 justified in raising his voice on this 

 occasion, but was absolutely bound 

 to do so. The French government, 

 beiug in a similar quality, assumes 

 the liberty of violating the neutrality i 

 of Germany, and to aft arbitrarily 

 on that territory. It is difiicuIt4o 

 imagine how his imperial majesty 

 should be incompettnt to assert the 



right? 



than our renrler? will approve- We hn'-r, besides, conceived it not rrniiss to insert, 

 at tbU lena;th, several of the ofiicijil piibliraiioiis which appeared upon the occri- 

 sion, the better to convey nn idea of the lan^juaije of ths time, and the degree of 

 servility to which the French nation has been reduced in the course o{ a few years, 

 from the most outrageous democracy. We have, however, rejected whatever we 

 j udged mij^ht be dispeneed with accordlns: .to this view of the subject. 



