720 
considerable compensation and coun- 
terpoise. M. de Talleyrand did not 
seem disposed to dispute any of 
my positions, and I left him, I con- 
fess, fully impressed with the idea, 
that the next day (Friday) I should 
find him prepared to treat on this 
ground, and that the only difficult 
point to be arranged would be, 
the number of years for which 
Malta should be ceded to his ma- 
jesty- 
Your lordship will conceive my 
surprise, when, on seeing him the 
next day, he told me, that, although 
he had not been able to obtain from 
the first consul all he wished, still 
the proposition he had to make 
would, he trusted, be such as fully 
to answer the purpose: he then 
said, that the first consul would onno 
terms hear either of a perpetual or 
a temporary possession of Malta ; 
that his object was the execution of 
the treaty of Amiens; and that rather 
than submit to such an arrangement 
as that I had last proposed, he would 
even consent to our keeping the ob- 
ject in dispute for ever; on the 
ground that, in the one there was an 
appearance of generosity and mag- 
nanimity, but in the other, nothing 
but weakness and the effect of coer- 
cion ; that, therefore, his resolution 
was taken, and what he had to pro- 
pose was the possession we required 
of the island of Lampedosa, or of 
any other of the small isles, of 
which there were three or four be- 
tween Malta and the coast of Afri- 
ca; that such a possession would be 
sufficient for the objeét we had in 
view, which was a station in the 
Mediterranean, as a place of refuge 
and security for any squadron we 
might find it convenient to keep in 
that sea. I suffered him to expa- 
tiate a considerable time, and with- 
ANNUAL REGISTER, 18063. 
out interruption, on the great ad- 
vantage we were to derive from 
such an acquisition, as well as on 
the confidence which the first consul 
reposed in our pacific intention in 
lending a hand to such an establish- 
ment. He concluded by desiring I 
would transmit this proposal te 
your lordship. I told him that I 
was extremely sorry indeed, to find 
that we had made such little pro- 
gress in the negotiation; that my 
orders were positive; that I could 
hear of nothing short of what I had 
proposed, neither could I possibly 
undertake to make such a proposal 
to his majesty, since every word of 
my instructions (from which I cer- 
tainly should not depart) applied 
positively to Malta, unless an equi- 
valent security could be offered ; 
and surely he would not pretend to 
tell me that Lampedosa could be 
considered as such ; that the posses- 
sion of Malta was necessary for our 
security, and was rendered so not 
from any desire of aggrandizement 
on the part of his majesty, but by 
the conduét of the French gevern- 
ment ; and that so strongly were we 
impressed with the necessity, that, 
rather than abandon it, we were 
prepared to go to war. Thatit was 
on this ground I must declare to 
him, that I could neither take upon 
myself to forward such a proposal as 
he had made to me, or, indeed, any 
thing short of what I had last pro- * 
posed as a fair equivalent. That, 
in so doing, I aéted in conformity 
to his majesty’s views, who would 
most assuredly disapprove of my 
conduct, were I, by unnecessarily 
protracting the negociation, to add 
one day, or one hour, if it could be 
avoided, to the suspense and anxiety 
under which his own subjeéts and 
all Europe must labour at such a 
crisis > 
