people, who are both willing and 
able to defend his just rights and 
those of their country, against every 
insult and aggression. 
The conduct of the first consul to 
his majesty’s ambassador at his audi- 
ence in presence of the ministers of 
most of the sovereigns and states of 
Europe, furnishes another instance 
of provocation on the part of the 
French government, which it would 
be improper not to notice on the 
_ present occasion, and the subsequent 
_ explanation of this transaction may 
_ be considered as having the effect of 
_ aggravating instead of palliating the 
affront. 
At the very time when his ma- 
jesty was demanding satisfaction and 
_ explanation on some of the points 
_ above mentioned, the French mi- 
_hiister at Hamburgh endeavoured to 
_ obtain the insertion in a Hamburgh 
_ paper of a most gross and opprobri- 
_ ous libel against his majesty, and 
_ when difficulties were, made respect- 
_ ing the insertion of it, he availed 
himself of his official charatter’ of 
_ minister of the French republic, to 
% require the publication of it, by or- 
i der of his government, in "the ga- 
| zette of the senate of that town. 
| With this requisition, so made, the 
‘senate of Hamburgh were induced 
Me to comply ; and thus has the inde- 
_ pendence of that town been violat- 
_ ed, and a free state made the instru- 
t ment, by the menace of the French 
| government, of propagating through- 
_ out Europe, upon their authority, 
| the most offensive and unfounded 
| calumnies against his majesty and 
his government. His majesty might 
add to this list of indignities, the 
requisition which the French go- 
} vernment have repeatedly urged 
| that the laws and constitution of his 
|” country should be changed relative 
iia 
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tg 
S TAD: PAP ERS. 
7AY 
tg the liberty of the press. His 
majesty might, likewise, add the 
calls which the French government 
have, on seyeral. occasions, made 
upon him to violate the laws of hos- 
pitality, with respect to persons whe 
had found an asylum within his do- 
minions, and against whose conduct 
no charge whatever has at any time 
been substantiated. It is impossible 
to reflect on these different pro- 
ceedings, and the course which the 
French government have thought 
proper to adopt respecting them, 
without the thorough conviction 
that they are not the eflect of acci- 
dent ; but that they form a part of 
a system which has been adopted for 
the purpose of degrading, vilifying, 
and insulting his majesty and his 
government. 
Under all these insults and provo- 
cations, his majesty, not without a 
due sense of his dignity, has pro- 
ceeded, with every degree of temper 
and moderation, to obtain satisfac- 
tion and redress, while he has neg- 
lected no means consistent with his 
honour, and the safety of his domi- 
nions, to induce the government of 
France to concede to him, what is, 
in his judgment, absolutely neces-~ 
sary for the future tranquillity of 
Europe. His efforts, in this respeét, 
have proved abortive, and he has, 
therefore, judged it necessary to or- 
der his ambassador to leave Paris. 
In having recourse to this pro- 
ceeding, it has been his majesty’s 
object to put an end to the fruitless 
discussions which haye too long sub- 
sisted between the two governments, 
and to close a period of suspense pe- 
culiarly injurious to the subjects of 
his Majesty. 
But though the provocations which 
his majesty has received might en- 
title him to larger claims than those 
3B3 which 
