8.99: 
that any specific answer was made 
to this extraordinary notification, 
of itsclf indeed unanswerable. 
It may be necessary here to ad- 
vert to what had occurred in con- 
sequence of the election of persons 
eligible for the dignity of grand 
master of the order of St. John, at 
Petersburgh. From the knights 
there chosen, the pope determined 
on the nomination of prince Rus- 
poli, who, after some months of 
hesitation, at last formally rejected 
the honor; and.his holiness had 
again to chuse from the remaining 
number. In the month of Febr uary, 
his election fell on the grand bailly, 
Tomasi, which was formally no- 
tified to the different courts. of 
Europe. 
- On the 25th of January, an in- 
terview took place at Paris, between 
the minister for foreign affairs, M. 
Talleyrand, and the English ambas- 
sador, lord Whitworth, in which 
the former, with great solemnity, 
{after a prefatory discourse, em- 
pioyed in bitterly complaining of 
the licence of the British press, 
which he insisted the government 
could restrain or suppress.) re- 
quired to know what were theinten- 
tions of his Britannic majesty, with 
respect to the evacuation of Malta? 
adding, that a new grand master 
would be shortly elected; that ‘he 
difficulties, with respect to the em- 
peror of Russia, might be easily re- 
moved, and that even without him, 
the guaranty would be equally com- 
plete. 
It is not easy to conjecture, un- 
der all the circumstances of the 
case, what could have been the 
reply of the English government to 
* On the 30th of January. 
ANNUAL REGISTER, 1803. 
this formal requisition, had not the 
vaunting ambition, and absurd te- 
merity of the first consul, induced 
him, at this critical period, to pub- 
lish to the world the report of his 
itinerant missionary, Sebastiani, who 
had now returned from his tour of 
observation, throughout Egypt and 
the Levant. 
This most extraordinary mani- 
festation of deep laid design, con- 
tempt, and arrogance, which was 
given to the world in The Moniteur,* 
at once extricated ministers from all 
embarrassment, and furnished them 
not only cause of direct complaint, 
with respect to itself; but also the 
opportunity of reyerting to grounds 
of dissatisfaction, never breathed or 
heard of before, in the long course 
of the correspondence which had 
occurred since the conclusion of 
the peace. 
The report, W hich will be found 
at length in another part of this 
work, deserves an attentive peru- 
sal, and seems to be the produc- 
tion of a person every way worthy 
of the task imposed upon him, 
Throughout his extensive journey, 
he will be unceasingly found, the 
lofty representative of his all-grasp- 
ing master: and the deference he 
every where mects with, the state 
he assumes, and the protection 
which he condescends, either to 
nations or individuals, mark the de- 
sire of his country to be considered 
what Rome was of old, among the 
powers of the carth. At Tripoli 
he offers bis mediation between the’ 
dey and the king of Sweden, which 
is accepted, and a treaty concluded 
under his auspices; and he pro- 
cures from the former power an 
Vide State Papers. 
‘ acknow- 
