STATE PAPERS. 
His majesty will consider the com- 
munication of such a projeét as indi- 
cating a disposition, on the part of 
the French government, to afford 
him explanation and satisfaction re- 
specting some of the points which 
have been the subject of his repre- 
sentations. But, after all that has 
passed, his majesty cannot consent 
that his troops should evacuate the 
island of Malta, until substantial se- 
curity has been provided for those 
objects which, under the present 
circumstances, might be materially 
endangered by their removal. 
Iam, &c. 
Hawkesbury. 
His Excellency Lord Whitworth, 
&c. FC. FC. 
No. 40. 
Dispatch from Lord Whitworth to 
Lord Hawkesbury, dated Paris, 
March 5, 1803. 
My lerd, 
I saw M. de Talleyrand yester- 
day, and acquitted myself of your 
lordship’s instructions. I recapitu- 
lated the several arguments therein 
contained, dwelling particularly on 
the open avowal of the first consul’s 
views in Egypt; and concluding 
with the resolution of his majesty 
not to withdraw his troops from 
Maita, until some security should 
be given, that, by so doing, his ma- 
jesty should not expose the safety 
of his own dominions. 
He heard me with great patience, 
and, in answer, endeavoured, as be- 
fore, to convince me that ihere was 
no reason whatever for the appre- 
hensions which we entertained.— 
That it was true, the acquisition of 
Egypt had been, and, perhaps, still 
was, a fi vourite object of the first 
consul ; but that it was not so much 
80, as to allow him to go to war for 
its attainment. 
693 
I then told him, that what had in 
a particular manner excited the at- 
tention of your lordship, in my last 
report, was the assurance he had 
given me of some project being in 
contemplation, whereby the inte- 
grity of the Turkish empire would 
be so-insured, in all its parts, as to 
remove every doubt or apprehen- 
sion. I begged him, therefore, te 
explain himself on this subject, 
which I conceived to be of the ut- 
most importance, since it was only 
by such means that both parties 
could be satisfied. He then gave me 
to understand, that what he had 
termed a projeét was nothing more 
than what had been expressed in the 
first consul’s message to the legis- 
lative body, when he says, that there 
is a French ambassador at Constan- 
tinople, who is charged to give every 
assurance of the disposition of 
France to strengthen, instead of to 
weaken, that government. I ex- 
pressed a doubt whether this, or 
any other parole security, would 
be considered as sufficient in such a 
transaction. Hereupon he repeated 
the question—What, then, is the 
security which you require, and 
which the first consul can give ?— 
This, I told him, must be the sub- 
ject of the negotiation on which we 
were willing to enter ; and I trusted 
that the French government would 
bring into it the same temper, and 
the same real desire to conciliate, 
which was manifested by his majes- 
ty’s ministers. 
M. de Talleyrand now informed 
me, that the first consul had, five or 
six days ago, ordered instructions to 
be sent to general Andreossy, by 
which he was to require an immedi- 
ate and categorical answer to the 
plain question—Whether his ma- 
jesty would, or would not, cause 
Malta to be evacuated by the British 
¥y3 troops? 
