the necessity of discontinuing my 
visits to the Thuilleries. M. de Tal- 
leyrand assured me, that it was very 
far from the first consul’s inten- 
tion to distress me; but he had 
felt himself personally insulted by 
the charges which were brought 
against him by the English govern- 
ment; and that it was incumbent 
upon him to take the first oppor- 
tunity of exculpating himself in the 
presence of the ministers of the dif- 
ferent powers of Europe. He as- 
sured me that nothing similar would 
occur. 
(Signed) Whitworth. 
The Right Hon. Lord Hawkesbury, 
&c. &c. &e. 
No. 47. 
Dispatch from Lord Whitworth to 
Lord Hawkesbury, dated Paris, 
March 18, 1803. 
My lord, 
I received your lordship’s dis- 
patch, with its inclosure, this morn- 
ing early ; and I learnt at the same 
time that a messenger had arrived 
from geveral Andreossy to M. de 
Talleyrand ; shortly after, M. de 
Talleyrand sent to desire | would 
call upon him, which I accordingly 
did. He told me that he had not 
only received your lordship’s note 
_ to the French ambassador, but also 
the ‘sentiments of the first consul 
upon it, which he was desirous to 
communicate to me, before he re~ 
- dispatched the messenger. ‘This he 
‘did; and I refer your iordship to 
“the communication which general 
. Andreossy will make, accarding to 
his instructions, without. loss. of 
time. 
From the tenor of this note, it 
appears, that this government is 
_ not desirous to proceed to extremi- 
ties ; that is to say, it is not pre- 
We 3 
SHATRESP AP EIPS. 
703 
pared so to do ; and, therefore, it ex- 
presses a willingness to enter on the 
discussion ef the point, which ap- 
pears, according to their conception, 
or rather to the interpretation they 
choose to give to it, the most mate- 
rial. This, of course, is the safety 
of Egypt. On this the first consul 
declares in the note, as M. Talley- 
rand did repeatedly to me, that he 
would be willing to enter into any 
engagement, by which such a secu- 
rity as would fully quiet our appre- 
hensions, might be given on the 
part of the French government. On 
the subject of Malta, the first con- 
sul maintains that he cannot listen 
to any compromise ; with regard to 
Egypt, he is willing to enter into any 
engagement which may be thought 
suflicient. 
1 told him that he had departed 
from the letter and the sense of your 
lordship’s note, by confining the 
question to Malta alone. ‘That note 
had comprehended other most im- 
portant considerations. That the 
best method of bringing the discus- 
sion to a speedy conclusion, such as 
his majesty’s government appeared 
to wish, was to take it up ona 
broader scale. But that, at the 
same time, his majesty’s government 
would not refuse to lend itself to 
any thing reasonable which might be 
suggested. There was, however, I 
told him, one distinction to be made 
in the situation of the two govera- 
ments, in the discussion of this 
question. By our possession of 
Malta, France was not threatened ; 
but the reverse was the case, should 
the access to Egypt be opened by its 
evacuation, 
I have the honour to be, &c. 
(Signed) Whitworth. 
The Right Honourable Lord 
Hawkesbury, §c. &c. &e. 
No. 48. 
