STATE PAPERS. 



651 



tinent who Tery early foresaw the 

 projects which were formed against 

 Turkey, hoped that the imprudent 

 rapidity with which they were deve- 

 loped, would open the eyes of Eu- 

 rope, and he has seen with pleasure, 

 a circumstance which enables his 

 majesty to bring this interesting 

 subject into discussion, and call the 

 attention of all the cabinets to it. 

 His majesty the king of Prussia 

 wrote to him to communicate the 

 desire which the emperor of Russia 

 had expressed, and to send one of 

 his chamberlains ; when passports 

 were demanded the emperor nei- 

 ther received nor asked for an ex- 

 planation. He knew before. hand, 



V and he expressed his opinion upon 

 that point to the king of Prussia, 

 that no hopes of the tranquillity of 

 the world could be founded upon 

 that negotiation ; though, perhaps, 

 a favourable opinion might still be 

 entertained of the personal genero- 

 sity of the emperor Alexander, no 

 favourable result could be expected 

 from a discussion in which his mo- 

 deration had been so perversely 

 overcome by foreign influence, and 

 by the iutrigues of those who sur- 

 round him — That, in reality, Russia 

 takes no real and sincere part in the 

 interests of the continent ; but, in- 

 dillerent to the happiness of Europe, 

 her intervention in political storms 

 has ever served only to increase ha- 

 tred and inflame passion. That, 



j at all times, the quarrels of other 



! powers have been to her only the 



I sobject of a mere idle speculation, 

 and that now, occupied as she is, 

 with the progressive annihilation of 



I Persia and Turkey, they can only 

 be to her a momentary subject for 



, diversion or perhaps of fantasy. 



I His majesty, the emperor, however, 

 ordered Uiat the passports should 



be sent; and, since then, nothing 

 more has been heard of the cham- 

 berlain of the emperor of Russia. 

 It must doubtless be regretted, that 

 an opportunity has been lost of 

 making just and severe representa- 

 tions to Piussia on her conduct in 

 Asiaj on the oppression with which 

 she menaces the Ottoman empire, 

 and on the causes of the alarm 

 which begins to spread every where, 

 at the approach of an event, which 

 threatens to destroy for ever the 

 equilibrium of the south of Europe. 

 It is in this point of view, above all, 

 that his majesty looked upon the 

 proposed negotiation as an advanta- 

 geous project, which might tend to 

 the general good, and he is afflicted 

 that the caprice of Russia has, in 

 this respect, disappointed his hopes. 

 In exposing, however, on this head, 

 his real views, he does not think 

 himself obliged to enter into any ex- 

 planation with respect to the pre- 

 tended disposftions that the letter of 

 M. de NovosiltzofF attributes to 

 him. It is simply this, that an irre- 

 solute cabinet, to give a colour to 

 an absurd measure, endeavours to 

 impute to France, contradictions in 

 conduct and languaije, which do not 

 belong to her. — But here the recri- 

 mination is only a pretext, and a 

 pretext without truth. Passports 

 solicited and obtained, do not con- 

 stitute a negotiation. France said 

 nothing. Russia alone made a de- 

 monstration, and demanded that one 

 of her agents should be admitted to 

 be heard. If this demand had been 

 coupled with offensive conditions, 

 with clauses which it is astonishing 

 to see in a note purporting to be 

 official, it would have remained un- 

 answered. The character of his 

 majesty the emperor is too well es- 

 tablished in Europe to have the im- 

 possible 



