396 



ANNUAL REGISTER. 1814. 



Foreign 



need of the appearance of this in- 

 clination, ill order to justify in the 

 eyes of its people the new exertions 

 which it did not cease to require. — 

 But every thing, however, con- 

 vinced the allied Cabinets, that it 

 merely endeavoured to take ad- 

 vantage of the appearance of a ne- 

 gociation, in order to prejudice 

 the nation in its favour, but that 

 the peace of Europe was very far 

 from its thoughts. 



The Powers, penetrating its se- 

 cret views, resolved to go and con- 

 quer, in France itself, the long-de- 

 sired peace. Numerous armies 

 crossed the Rhine; scarcely were 

 they passed the first frontiers when 

 the French Minister for 

 Affairs appeared at the outposts 



All the proceedings of the French 

 Government had henceforth no 

 other object, than to mislead opi- 

 nion, to blind the French people, 

 and to throw on the Allies the 

 odiuui of all the miseries attendant 

 on an invasion. 



The course of events had given 

 the Allies a proof of the full power 

 of the European league. The prin- 

 ciples which, since their first union 

 for the common good, had animat- 

 ed the counsels of the Allied Sove- 

 reigns were fully developed ; no- 

 thing more hindered them from un- 

 folding the conditions of the recon- 

 struction of the common edifice : 

 these conditions must be such as 

 were no hindrance to peace after 

 so many conquests. 



The only power calculated to 

 throw into the scale indemnificR- 

 tions for France, England, could 

 speak openly respecting the sacri- 

 fices which it was ready to make 

 for a general peact. The Allied 



Sovereigns were permitted to hope, 

 that the experience of late events 

 would have had some influence 

 on a conqueror, exposed to the ob- 

 servation of a great nation, which 

 was for the first time witness in 

 the capital itself to the miseries he 

 had brought on France. 



This experience might have con- 

 vinced that the support of thrones 

 is principally dependent on mode- 

 ration and probity. The Allied 

 Powers, however, convinced that 

 the trial which they made must not 

 endanger the military operations, 

 saw that these operations must be 

 continued during the negocialions. 

 The experience of the past, and 

 afflicting recollections, showed 

 them the necessitj' of this step.— 

 Their Plenipotentiaries met those 

 of the French Government. 



Meantime the victorious armies 

 approached the gates of the capital. 

 The Government took every mea- 

 sure to prevent its falling into our 

 hands. The plenipotentiary of 

 France received orders to propose 

 an armistice, upon conditions which 

 were similar to those which the 

 Allies themselves judged necessary 

 for the restoration of general peace. 

 He oflTeied the immediate surrend- 

 er of the fortresses in the countries 

 which France was to give up, on 

 condition of a suspension of mili- 

 tary operations. 



The Allied Courts, convinced by 

 20 years experience, that in nego- 

 ciations with the French cabinet, 

 it was necessary carefully to distin- 

 guish the apparent from the real 

 intention, proposed instead of this 

 immediately to sign preliminaries 

 of peace. This measure would 

 have had for France all the ad van- 



