GENERAL HISTORY. 



[169 



^ciation should be opened with 

 Prince Kurakin, and sketches the 

 terms on which a conciliation 

 might have been effected ; and 

 concludes with mentioning- the 

 overtures lately made to England, 

 and with saying, that, whatever may 

 be the situation of things when 

 this note shall arrive, peace will 

 still depend upon the determina- 

 tions of the Russian cabinet. 



A note is then given from Prince 

 Kurakin, the Russian minister at 

 Paris, to the minister of foieign 

 affairs. The prince states, that he 

 is ordered to declare, thiit the pre- 

 servation of Prussia, and her in- 

 dependence from every political 

 «ns:airement directed against Rus- 

 sia, is indispensable to the niterests 

 of his Icnperial Majest}"^. In order 

 to arrive at a real state of peace 

 with France, it is necessary that 

 there should be between her and 

 Russia, a neutral country, not oc- 

 cupied by the troops of either 

 power, 'rhe first basis of a nego- 

 ciation must therefore be, a com- 

 plete evacuation of the Prussian 

 states, and of all the strong places 

 of Prussia ; a diminution of the 

 garrison of Dantzic; the evacua- 

 tion of Swedish Pomerania, and a 

 satisfactory arrangement between 

 thecrow-nsof Sweden and France. 

 On these conditions, the Emperor 

 of Russia, without deviatinu; from 

 the principle laid down for the 

 commerce of his states, and the 

 admission of neutrals into his ports, 

 will bind himself not to make any 

 <;han<^e in the prohibitive measures 

 established in Russia against direct 

 trade with England, and will also 

 agree to a system of licences simi- 

 lar to that in France, provided it 

 be not calculated to augment the 

 deterioration already experienced 



in the trade of Russia. He will 

 likewise treat on certain modifi- 

 cations in the Russian customs for 

 the advantage of the French trade. 

 Furtlier, he will conclude a treaty 

 of exchan<i;e for the duchy of Ol- 

 denburg for a suitable equivalent, 

 and will withdraw his protest in 

 support of the rights of his family 

 to that duchy. 



Other papers published on this 

 occasion were, the correspondence 

 between the Duke of Bajsano and 

 Lord Castlereagh, re-^pecting over- 

 tures for peace, which have been 

 already mentioned as a topic of 

 parliamentary discussion; with va- 

 rious letters that passed between 

 the Russian and French ministers. 

 The publication of these pieces by 

 the French government, indicated 

 that it was confident in the good- 

 ness of its cause, at least as it 

 would appear in the eyes of its 

 own subjects, to justify the final 

 appeal to arms ; accordingly, a 

 bulletin was issued from the grand 

 army on Jtme 22nd, shortly stating 

 that no means were left to effect 

 an understanding between the two 

 courts, and that the emperor had 

 issued orders to march for the pur- 

 pose of passing the Niemen. Then 

 followed a brief proclamation to his 

 soldiers, conceived in his usual 

 confident and laconic style ; and 

 this was his declaration of war. 

 The disposition of the different 

 French armies is thus mentioned 

 in the bulletin : " In the com- 

 mencement of May, the first corps 

 arrived on the Vistula at Elbing 

 and Marienburg, the second corps 

 at Marienwerder, the third at 

 Thorn, the fourth and sixth at 

 Ploczk, the fifth at Warsaw, the 

 eighth on the right of Warsaw, 

 and the ninth at Pulawy." What 



was 



