STATE PAPERS. 



601 



of assassination :'' — an accusation m cncement of the present war, has 



already made with equal falsehood 

 and calumny by the same authority 

 against the members of his majesty's 

 government during the last war; an 

 accusation incompatible with the ho- 

 nour of his majesly, and the knosvn 

 character of the British nation; and 

 so complelely devoid of any shadow 

 of proof, that it may be reasonably 

 presumed to have been brought for- 

 ward at the present moment for no 

 other purpose than that of diverting 

 the attention of Europe from the 

 contemplation of the sanguinary 

 deed which has recently been per- 

 petrated, by the direct order of the 

 first consul, in France, in violation 

 of the right of nations, and in con- 

 tempt of the most simple laws of 

 humanity and honour.* 



That his majesty's government 

 should disregard the feelings of such 

 of the inhabitants of France as are 

 justly discontented with the existing 

 government of that country, that 

 it should refuse to listen to their 

 designs for delivering their country 

 from the degrading yoke of bon- 

 dage under which it groans, or to 

 give them aid and assistance, as far 

 as those designs are fair and justifi- 

 able, Mould be to refuse fulfilling 

 those duties which every wise and 

 just government owes to itself, and 

 to the world in general, under cir- 

 cumstances similar to the present. 

 Belligerent powers have an acknow- 

 ledged right to avail themselves of all 

 discontents that may exist in coun- 

 tries with which they may be at 

 war. The exercise of that right 

 (even if in any degree doubtlul) 

 would be fully sanctiontd in the pre- 

 sent case, not only by the present 

 state of the P'rench nation, but by 

 the conduct of the govermcnt of 

 that country, which, since the corn- 



constantly kept up com.munications 

 with the disaffected in the territories 

 of his majesty, particularly in Ire- 

 land; and which has assembled, at 

 this present moment, on the coasts 

 of France, a corps of Irish rebels, 

 destined to second them in their de- 

 signs against that part of the united 

 kingdom. 



Under these circumstances, his 

 majestj-'s government w ould be un- 

 justitiable if they negledted the right 

 they have to support, as far as is 

 compatible with the principles of the 

 law of nations, Avhich civilized go- 

 vernments have hitherto acknow- 

 ledged, the etlbrts of such of the in- 

 habitants of France as are hostile to 

 the present government. Tliey ar- 

 dently desire, as well as all Europe, 

 to see an order of things established 

 in that country, more compatible 

 with its own happiness, and with 

 the security of the surrounding na- 

 tions ; but, if that wish cannot be 

 accomplished, they arc fully autho- 

 rised by the strictest principles of 

 personal defence, to endeavour to 

 cripple the exertions, to distract the 

 operations, and to confound the 

 plans of a government, whose sys- 

 tem of warfare, as acknowicdged 

 by itself, is not only to distress the 

 commerce, to diminish the power, 

 and to abridge the dominions of its 

 enemy, but also to carry devastation 

 and ruin into the very heart of the 

 British empire. 



In the application of these prin- 

 ciples, his majesty has commanded 

 me to declare, besides, that his go- 

 vernment have never authorised a 

 single act which could not stand the 

 test of the strictest principles of jus- 

 tice and of usages recognised and 

 practised in all ages. If any mi- 

 nister, accredited by his majesty at 



a loreigij 



* The murder of the Duke DTnsihien. 



