650 



ANNUAL REGISTER. 



his residence in Paris, he constantly 

 encouraged cverj' kind of intrigue 

 that could disturb the public tran- 

 quillity ; and lie even went so far 

 as, by his official notes, to place 

 under the protection of the law of 

 nations, French emigrants, and 

 other agents, in the pay of England. 

 — France did not expect that Russia 

 Tvould purposely send on a mission 

 to Paris, those officers who had ex- 

 cited strong complaints against thera, 

 as was well known to that gorcrn- 

 ment. Strange conduct, when it is 

 considered Avhat is'the duty of all 

 governments ; but still more so, 

 when reference is made to the arti- 

 cle already cited.^ — Lastly, was the 

 mourning which the court of Russia 

 assumed for a man m hom the tii- 

 bunals of France had condemned 

 for having plotted against the safety 

 of the French government, such a 

 conduct as was conformable to the 

 letter or the spirit of this article? — 

 The French government demands 

 the execution of the 9th article of 

 the secret convention, in which it 

 is stated, " that the two contract- 

 ing parties acknowledge and gua- 

 rantee the independence and the con- 

 stitution of the republic of the seven 

 united islands, formerly belonging 

 to Venice ; and that it be agreed, 

 that there shall be no foreign troops 

 in those islands ;" an article evident- 

 ly violated by Russia, as she has 

 continued to send troops thither, 

 ■which she has openly reinforced, 

 and has changed the government ol' 

 that country without the consent of 

 France. — France also demands the 

 execution of the second article of the 

 same convention, the evident appli- 

 cation of which should have been, 

 tbat instead of manifesting such a 

 partiality for England, ^nd of be- 

 coming, perhaps, the first auxiliary 



of its ambition, Russia should have 

 been united to France, in order to '■ 

 consolidate a general peace, to re- 

 establish a just balance in the four 

 parts of the world, and to procure 

 the liberty of the seas. These arc 

 the precise expressions of the article. 

 — -Such ought to be, without doubt, 

 the conduct of the two powers, res- 

 pecting the treaty which binds them 

 both ; but the cabinet of Russia ex- 

 pects that France will fulfil the sti- 

 pulations to which she is engaged, 

 without executing those which she is 

 bound to perform. This is acting 

 like a conqueror towards a vanquish- 

 ed power: this is to suppose that 

 France can be intimidated by me- 

 naces, or that she will acknowledge 

 the superiority of any other power: 

 but the history of the years which 

 preceded the peace made with Rus- 

 sia, plainly demonstrates that, that 

 power has no more right than any 

 other to assume a haughty tone to- 

 wards France. The emperor of the 

 French wishes for the peace of the 

 continent. He has made all possible 

 advances to re-establish it with Rus- 

 sia ; he has spared nothing to main- 

 tain it : but with the assistance of 

 God and his arms, he is not in a si- 

 tuation to fear any one. The un- 

 dersigned requests M. le charge d' 

 aflaires of Russia to accept the as- 

 surance of his perfect consideration. 

 Ch. M. Talleyrand. 



Copi/ of the Note presented by M, 

 (bOttbr/l, the Rtifsmn Charge d' 

 Jfl'aircs^ to the Minister for Fo- 

 reign Affairs. 



Parif!, Jug. ^Sth, 1804. 

 The undersigned charge d'atJ'aires 

 of his majesty the emperor of all the 

 Russias, in answer to the note 



tnvnsnuttcct 



