HISTORY: OF: EUROPE. 
happily prevented the determina- 
tion of this gallant people from 
being brought to issue, we have 
thought it our duty to detail a 
transaction so honorable to the 
Maltese, who in all probability may 
hereafter be identified with the other 
parts of the British monarchy; and 
because it affords one more proof of 
the instiperable objections to that 
article of ‘the treaty of Amiens," 
which gave rise to it: and the dif- 
ficulties attending on which,(as had 
been foreseen, and foretold by the 
members of the ‘‘ new opposition,” 
and doubtless equally well known 
to government) would produce un- 
satisfactory negociation, and ulti- 
mately a renewal of hostilities be- 
tween England and France, 
The definitive treaty being how- 
-ever concluded, notwithstanding 
all the dangers which its execution 
held forth to Britain; or those, 
which the’ utter impossibility of 
_ executing some of its terms, must 
_ have equally involved the country ; 
it is here necessary to recapitulate 
; somuch of its tenth article, as re- 
lates to Malta; the fulfillment of 
_ which became matter of serious and 
z angry discussion, towards the close 
- of the year 1802, between the con- 
tracting powers; and which was ul- 
timately the ostensible cause of that 
great change and convulsion in the 
state of affairs, which form the promi- 
nent feature of our present labours. 
' The principal provisions of the 
article in question, and which ap- 
ly immediately to our purpose, 
are those which declare, That a 
grand master was to be elected in 
il chapter, by the knights of St. 
ohn of Jerusalem; that a Maltese 
ngue should be established, in the 
foo of the’ French and English 
241 
for ever abolished ; thatthe British 
troops were to evacuate the island 
in ‘three months, proyided there 
were. a grand ‘master or commis- 
sioners fully: empowered to receive’ 
the possession, and that a force, 
consisting of 20600, Neapolitan’ 
troops, to be furnished by his Sici- | 
lian \majesty, were arrived in they 
island as a garrison ; ;that Great) 
Britain, , petunia; Arwntrish, Russiay) 
Spain, and Prussia, should guaran-! 
ty this arrangement, and the inde-» 
pendence of the) \islands;'. that. 
those powers should. be. inyited to; 
accede to it: And that the Neapo4, 
litan troops were to remain, till 
the knights had raised a sufficient 
force to protect the island. io! 
It mustassuredly be to all future 
times matter of wonder and indig- 
nation, that a peace which involved » 
in it almost every consideration in- 
teresting and) dear to mankind, 
which closed. a destructive and 
bloody. warfare of twelve years, and 
on which the future tranquillity of 
the civilized world depended, should 
have been left exposed to infrac- 
tion from any contingency what- 
ever; much less, be concluded upon 
terms, which were either impracti- 
-cable from. circumstances’ suffici- 
ently known at the time to the con- 
tracting parties, or which depended 
not on the will of those parties them- 
selves, but were subject to the elec 
tion or caprice of a third power. 
These observations directly apply 
to the subject of Malta, one cere 
tainly not of minor consideration 
and upon which alone, a future 
difference must produce the most- 
fatal consequences, 
To restore the island to the 
knights, unless they could eventually 
be supposed sufficiently powerful to 
R protect 
