STATE PAPERS. 



G47 



sees, with a secret joy, a war which 

 weakens France, and that she thinks 

 the moment I'avoiirable for resum- 

 ing those hostilities, of which the 

 present generation must be tired of 

 being made the victims. — His ma- 

 jesty, who has only 50,000 men in 

 Italy, 15,000 of Avhom are at the 

 extremity of the kingdom of Naples, 

 sees his most important frontier ex- 

 posed to danger, and cannot provide 

 it with fresh troops without draw- 

 ing the troops from his army of the 

 ocean ; he can, therefore, not con- 

 sider Austria in any other light than 

 that of making a diversion in favour 

 of England, which is as impressive 

 and more troublesome to him than 

 would be an open war. — His excel- 

 lency count Cobentzel will have re. 

 marked Mhat great and extraordi- 

 nary subjects the present circum- 

 stances offer. Such circumstances 

 render measures necessary answer- 

 able thereto. It is a truth, of 

 which all enlightened men are sen- 

 sible, and of which his majesty is 

 penetrated ; when Frederic the Se- 

 cond saw that a war was intended 

 against him, he was beforehand with 

 his enemies. The house of Austria 

 has more than once done the same : 

 at present the emperor of the French 

 sees preparations making in Poland 

 and in Italy. Even the places 

 where they are made, shew that 

 thry are the result of an agreement, 

 and point out against whom they 

 are intended. The undersigned 

 must ask of count Cobentzel, what 

 would the emperor of Germany do, 

 if he were in the place of the French 

 emperor ?-— However, the emperor 

 will be happy to suppose the best 

 for futurity, as it dcjjends on Aus- 

 tria (o make M'hat is to come happy 

 for Europe, and as he takes the sen- 

 timents, expressed iu the note, 



which the undersigned has receive^ 

 of count Cobentzel, for a goo 

 omen. May Austria issue the sam® 

 declaration w hich Prussia has made ' 

 may she, by acts, confirm that de- 

 claration, and reduce her whole 

 force, and the whole artillery, <S:c. 

 of her army, to the peace establish- 

 ment ; may she no longer keep 

 72,000 men in Italy; may she order 

 back to their garrisons the regi- 

 ments assembled to form an army in 

 the Tyrol, and cease the establish- 

 ing of magazines, and the fortified 

 camps, Mhich announce an ap- 

 proaching war, and nothing will 

 further disturb the peace of the con- 

 tinent; this peace, so desirable to 

 all parties, since France has nothing 

 to gain by a fresh combat. Austria 

 Will gain nothing by it, and the 

 maritime peace will soon follow. 

 When Austria shall have declared, 

 that she remains neutral, and will 

 remain neutral, a peace will be the 

 dcsir* and hope of England; it will 

 be concluded, and the treaty of 

 Amiens will be restored before the 

 month of January. The crowns of 

 France and Italy will be separated 

 for ever : Europe, enjoying security 

 and tranquillity, will owe them to 

 the wisdom of Austria, which, by 

 an opposite behaviour, would have 

 precipitated Europe into a situation, 

 which neither the cabinet of the 

 Thuilleries, nor the cabinet of Vi- 

 enna, nor any other, could calculate 

 or foresee. — His excellency count 

 Cobentzel will see, that in those 

 communications, which the under, 

 signed has been ordered to make to 

 him, it was impossible for his ma- 

 jesty to proceed with more open- 

 ness, dignity, and sincerity. For 

 the interest of Austria herself, and 

 for the glory of her sovereign, his 

 majesty wishes that the emperor of 

 i t 4 Crermanjr 



