1.68] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1812. 



his army consisted, were cantoned 

 on both banks of the Oder. A 

 numerous corps of Prussians was 

 assembling at Breslau under Field- 

 marshal Count Kaheuth, Quit- 

 tins; the festivities at Dresden, Na- 

 poleon suddenlj' afipeared at Uant- 

 2ic on June 7th, where he took a 

 view of the diii'erent points of the 

 coast. At this period, negociations 

 seem to liave been carrying on be- 

 tween the two emperors; and a 

 suspicion generally prevailed that 

 the Russian would be so much 

 overawed by the terrible storm 

 impending over him, that his firm- 

 ness would give way ; whilst it 

 was very certain that Napoleon, in 

 the confidence of power and former 

 success, would not yield a single 

 point in a contest which had 

 seemed to him important enough 

 to justify such vast preparations. 

 It was, however, an advantage to 

 Alexander, that tiie destructive 

 war between Russia and Turkey 

 was at length terminated by a 

 peace, which set free the veteran 

 troops upon the banks of the Da- 

 nube. On the other hand, a trea- 

 ty was now made public, which 

 had been signed in March, be- 

 tween the emperors of France and 

 Austria, and which included a re- 

 ciprocal guarantee of each others 

 territories, with the stipulation, if 

 cither of them should be attacked 

 or menaced by another power, of 

 sending a succour of 24,000 in- 

 fantry and 6,000 cavalry, with 60 

 pieces of cannon, to march at the 

 first requisition. The treaty also 

 guaranteed the integrity of the do- 

 minions of the Ottoman Porte in 

 Europe, and recognized the pi in- 

 ciple of neutral navigation ; and 

 the Austrian emperor renewed his 

 <engag,emej)t to adhere to the pro- 



hibitive system against English 

 commerce. 



The immediate commencement 

 of hostilit'cs was preceded by the 

 publication at Paris of certain pa- 

 pers, the first of which was a note 

 addressed on April 25th, by the 

 Duke of Bassano, minister of fo- 

 reign relations, to Count Roman- 

 zow. Chancellor of Russia. In 

 this p-Hper, after a statement of the 

 stipulations of the treaty of Tilsit, 

 and the public wrongs imputed to 

 the English cabinet, the writer 

 proceeds to complain of the aban- 

 donment by Russia of the princi- 

 ples of that treaty, and of her en- 

 gagement to make common cause 

 with France. The first cause of 

 complaint is the ukase which 

 opened the ports of Russia to all 

 ships laden with English colonial 

 produce, English property, pro- 

 vided they were under a foreign 

 flag. The next is, the opposition 

 made by Russia to the French an- 

 nexation of the duchy of Olden- 

 burg, rendered necessary by the 

 uniting of the Hanseatic towns to 

 France. Instead of amicably treat- 

 ing for an indemnity lor the 

 duch\', the Russian cabinet made 

 an affair of state of it, and issued 

 a manifesto against her ally. Rus- 

 sia is then charged with having 

 disclosed the plan of a rupture 

 ready formed : for, whiledictatmg 

 terms of peace to Turkey, she 

 suddenly recalled five divisions of 

 the army of Moldavia, in conse- 

 quence of which, the army of the 

 duchy of Warsaw was obliged to 

 repass the Vistula, and to fall back 

 upon the confederation, through 

 the menacing posture of the Rus- 

 sian armies. The paper then states 

 four points on which the emperor 

 of France was desirous that a ne- 



gociatioB 



