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STATE PAPERS. 



61^ 



troops, establishing of magazines, 

 baking of biscuit, taking up of 

 draught-horses, are considered by 

 all powers as a declaration of war, 

 especially if such preparations are 

 made on a frontier, which is left 

 unprovided by a power employed 

 elsewhere, at an opposite and very 

 distant frontier. His majesty, de- 

 sirous of reconciling those disposi- 

 tions wi^h the pacific expressions of 

 his majesty the emperor of Ger- 

 manv , in which he has always placed 

 the strongest confidence, can only 

 reconcile them on ti^e supposition, 

 that this raon.irch knows nothing of 

 the wrong tiiat has been done to 

 F^anc^: and that the diversion oc- 

 casioned by his armament is tanta- 

 mount to actual hostilities. Ilis 

 majesty is still desirous of persuad- 

 ing himself, that that monarch really 

 knows nothing of it ; but the natu- 

 ral consequences of a similar error 

 arc equally detrimental to France 

 as positive hostile intentions ; and 

 for this very reason his majesty's 

 interest requires to be beforehand 

 with them.-— It is no longer protes. 

 tations which can satisfy his majesty. 

 His majesty cannot admit any iwtcr- 

 mediate state betwixt that of war or 

 of peace. If Austria wants peace, 

 every thing in Austria must be re- 

 stored to the peace establishment. 

 Should Austria desire war, his ma- 

 jesty will have no other alternative 

 than to throw back upon the aggres- 

 sor all the evils which he would 

 bring, not only upon the present 

 generation, but also (his majesty 

 dares to utter it with pride) upon his 

 own states and his own fauiily ; for 

 his mnjesty will Hatter himself to 

 obtain, in a new war, similar victo- 

 ries as in the preceding; and to se- 

 cure himself against those diversions 

 which are, as it were, the first step 



of a coalition in favour of England. 

 — The undersigned has, therefore, 

 received orders, on the supposition 



most 

 on the 



agreeable to his majestj', viz. 



supposition that Austria is 

 desirous of peace, to demand : J . 

 That the twenty-one regiments, 

 which have been sent to the German 

 and Italian Tyrol, shall be with- 

 drawn, and that those troops only 

 shall remain in both the said pro- 

 vinces, which were there six month* 

 ago. 2. That the camp-fortiiica- 

 tions be discontinued. The emperor 

 does not require, that Austria shall 

 not erect real fortifications. The 

 right of erecting them belongs to all 

 states, and precaution often makes 

 it the duty of a prince. But a« 

 Venice is certainly no fortress, the 

 Avorks carrying on there at present 

 are nothing elsi; than camp-works. 

 3. That the troops in Stiria, in 

 Carinthia, in Friuli, and in the Ve- 

 netian territory, be reduced to the 

 numbers at which they stood six 

 months ago. Lastly, That Austria 

 declare to England her firm and 

 unshaken determination to preserve 

 an exact and scrupulous neutrality, 

 without taking a part in the present 

 dispute ; because it is the duty of 

 Austria, if she Aviil preserve a sys- 

 tem of neutrality, to do nothing, 

 either mediately, or immediately, in 



favour of England. 



The undersign- 



ed has also received orders to de- 

 clare to his excellency count Co- 

 bentzei, or rather to repeat the 

 declaration so often made to him, 

 that the dearest wish of his majesty 

 the emperor of the French, is the 

 continuance of the peace with the 

 (ierman emperor ; that his majesty 

 would unwillingly take those steps 

 which he would be obliged to take, 

 by a positive refusal, or even an 

 evasive or dilatory answer, to the 



demands 



