658 
of conduct which his majesty feels 
it to be his duty to pursue in this 
very delicate business. His majesty 
would certainly consider it incon- 
sistent with both the letter and spirit 
of the treaty of peace, between him 
and the French republic, to encou- 
rage or countenance any projects 
that might be hostile to the present 
government of France. He is sin- 
cerely desirous, that the peace 
which has been concluded, may be 
permanent, and may lead to the 
establishment of a system of good 
understanding and harmony between 
the two countries. With these sen- 
timents, he is disposed to employ all 
the means in his power to guard 
against any circumstance which can 
have the effect of disturbing the 
tranquillity that has been so happily 
restored; and he certainly expects, 
that all foreigners who may reside 
within his dominions, should not 
only hold a conduct conformable to 
the laws of the country, but should 
abstain from all acts which may be 
hostile to the government of any 
country with which his majesty may 
be at peace. As long, however, as 
they conduct themselves according 
to these principles, his majesty would 
feel it inconsistent with his dignity, 
with his honour, and with the com- 
mon laws of hospitality, to deprive 
them of that protection whiclPindi- 
viduals, resident in his dominions, 
can only forfeit by their own mis- 
conduct. ‘The greater part of the 
persons to whom allusion has been 
made in M. ‘Talleyrand’s conversa- 
tion with you, are living in retire- 
ment; and his majesty has no rea- 
son whatever to suppose, that 
since the conclusion of peace, they 
have availed themselves of their 
residence in this country, to pro- 
ANNUAL REGISTER, 1803. 
mote any designs injurious to the 
government of France. 
I have the honour to be, &c. 
(Signed) Hawkesbury. 
Anthony Merry, Esq. 
3c. &c. &e. 
No. 9. 
Dispatch from Mr. Merry to Lord — 
Hawkesbury, dated Paris, June — 
17, 1802. 
My lord, 
I have the honour to acquaint 
your lordship, that 1 have executed | 
the instructions given me by your 
secret and confidential dispatch, 
(No. 14), in consequence of the 
communication from M. ‘Talleyrand, 
which I transmitted in my number 
23, respecting the residence of the 
French princes, and other French 
persons in his majesty’s dominions. 
In delivering my answer on this 
business to the French minister, I 
took care to express, in the strong- 
est manner, the assurances which 
your lordship has authorised me to 
give of his majesty’s sincere desire 
that the peace which has happily 
been concluded should be perma- 
nent, and that it should lead to the 
establishment of a system of harmo- 
ny and good understanding between 
the two countries ; and that, as his 
majesty’s conduct would, in every 
respect, be guided by those senti- 
ments, he of course would not tole- 
rate, much less encourage, any pro- 
ceedings on the part of persons 
within his dominions, which might 
be hostile to the present government 
of France; which assurances might, 
I trusted, be sufficient to tranquil- 
lize and satisfy the first consul, with- 
out recurring to the measures which 
had been intimated to me, and which 
could not but be considered as in- 
consistent 
