STATE 
Does not the method taken by his 
excellency the earl of Lauderdale, 
the new plenipotentiary on the part 
of his Britannic majesty, appear to 
announce that a multitude of notes 
will not be sufficient even to bring 
the governments to an understand- 
ing? And is not a risk evidently 
incurred, by adopting such a method, 
the abuse of which has been so ma- 
nifest in our recollection, of being 
still further from a good understand. 
ing thanwe have hitherto been? If, 
_ on the contrary, it is only wished to 
form documents which may here- 
after be presented to the parliament 
of Great Britain, his majesty the 
emperor and king has no similar 
inducement, it is peace that he de- 
_ sires; a peace equally honourable 
_ for France, for Great Britain, and 
for their allies, which the mutual 
_ and assiduous labour of the respec- 
tive plenipotentiaries shall have ren- 
_ dered acceptable to both govern- 
ments. 
Nevertheless, that his love of jus- 
tice, and the sincerity of his pacific 
sentiments may be manifest to every 
one, and that it may be truly 
known to whom all hindrance to 
the progress of the negotiation 
ought to be attributed, his majesty 
_the emperor of the French has 
deigned to permit the undersigned 
to discuss here the vain question 
Telative to the basis of this negotia- 
tion, which was already advanced 
and on the point of being termi- 
nated. 
In the letter written to his excel- 
Jency Mr. Fox, on the 1st of April, 
_ by his excellency the French minis. 
ter for foreign affairs, that minister 
declared that his majesty the empe- 
ror of the French entirely adopted 
the principle set forth in the dis- 
Patch of his excellency Mr. Fox, of 
Vox, XLYIII, 
PAPERS. 
the 26th ‘March. and offered as thé 
basis of the negotiat’'on :—‘* That 
the proposed peace ought to be 
honourable for the two courts, and 
for their respective allies.” 
In his: letter of the 2nd June to 
his excéYency Mr. Fox, his exce}- 
lency the minister for foreign affairs 
went still further; he proposed, in 
the name of his majesty the emperor 
of the French, king of Italy, to 
establish as a basis two fundamental 
principles, the first of them taken 
TIO 
from Mr. Fox’s letter of the 26th 
March, namely ; ‘+ ‘That the object 
of the two powersshould be a peace 
honourable to themselves, and to 
their respective allies, at the same 
time that this peace should be of a 
nature to insure, as far as should lie 
in their power, the future tranquil. 
lity of Europe.” ; 
The second principle was, “* An 
acknowledgment in favour of both 
powers of the right of interference, 
and of guarantee with regard to con. 
tinental affairs, and with regard te 
maritime affairs.” 
Such was the basis adopted by the 
British government, and agreed upon 
with it. It could never have entered 
into the mind of his majesty tha 
emperor of the French, king of 
Italy, to take the ** udi possidetis’® 
as the basis of the negotiation. If 
such had been his intention, he 
would have kept Moravia, a part of 
Hungary, Styria, Carniola, Croatia, 
the whole of Austria, as well as ity 
capital—Trieste, and Fiume, and 
the surrounding coast would still be 
in his power, as well as Genoa and: 
Venice, Hanover, Osnaburgh, and 
all the mouths of the great rivers of 
the north of Germany would be 
subject to his dominion ; and, doubt 
less, his majesty the emperor of the 
French,’ king of italy, might then, 
3C ° without 
