074 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1803. 
Antoine+ than remain in that of 
Malta; and that its detention 
would be considered as a com- 
mencement of hostilities) to the 
date of his majesty’s declaration, 
full three months after that period! 
We have already hazarded an opi- 
nion, that it has been owing toa pro- 
vidential coincidence of foreign and 
domestic events, unlooked for and 
uncaleulated by ministers, that 
Malta yet remains under the pro- 
tection of the British arms; to jus- 
tify which, it will be necessary 
briefly to recapitulate and place in 
their immediate connection, some 
matter already separately detailed 
in the foregoing pages. 
We have in the course of this 
chapter recounted the circumstan- 
ces which led to the orders for the 
detention of theDutch colonies; and 
forthe counter-orders thereto,which 
issued one month subsequent to the 
former. Wehave also stated, that 
doubtful as to the event of the com- 
manding officer at the Cape detain- 
ing or recapturing that settlement, 
as the circumstance might prove, 
the ministers of England were anx- 
ious to defer the evacuation of Mal- 
ta until they should be ascertained 
in the important fact, whether their 
counter-orders had overtaken and 
prevented the execution of those 
first dispatched to theCape, of which 
there was a possibility; or in case 
that the first had arrived, and 
that the detention either by force 
or otherwise had taken place; that 
then the yet holding possession of the 
only remaining acquisition to Great 
Britain, of her vast conquests dur- 
ing the war, might shield them from 
the odium and hostility, to which 
such an act, a direct violation of 
the treaty of Amiens, would have 
inevitably exposed them. 
In this critical posture were af- 
fairs, when the formal demand of 
the surrender of Malta was made 
by the French government; to 
which, on the 9th of February, that 
of England, in reply, assures the 
former, that the difficulties respect- 
ing the guaranty, had made it ne- 
cessary for some fresh arrangement 
respecting that island, a communi- 
cation for which purpose had been 
prepared, and should have been 
made, had not the publication of 
colonel Sebastiani’s report imposed 
the necessity of demanding satisfac- 
tory explanation upon that head. 
It was natural that the nature and 
degree of the satisfaction so de- 
manded should be ascertained. On 
these however lord Whitworth had 
no instructions ! 
As the only subject worthy the 
consideration of the English govern 
ment in the offensive report, was, 
the designs it developed, of Bona- 
parte upon Egypt: the latter seem- 
ed anxious to wipe away every im- 
pression of that nature; and in his 
long conference with lord Whitworth 
on the 2ist of Feb. positively dis- 
claimed any hostile intentions with 
respect to that country, and imme- 
diately afterwards M. Talleyrand 
assured the English ambassador, 
that a project was on foot to secure 
the integrity of the Turkish empire, 
so as to obylate any cause of doubt 
or uneasiness with respect to Egypt, 
or any other part of the Turkish do- 
minions. The ensuing dispatch trom. 
London, which immediately notices 
this communication, professes to be 
® One of the principal suburbs of Paris 
muck. 
