186] ANNUAL REGISTER, 18J2. 



that gave scope to a variety of 

 conjectures, but which was pro- 

 bably a necessary consequence of 

 her peculiar situation. The state- 

 ment of her affairs made by the 

 crown-priuce to the king, on the 

 resumption of the royal authority 

 by the latter on January 7th, was 

 noticed in our last volume. It 

 evidently pointed at a system of 

 independent neutrality as that 

 which ought to be adopted by the 

 kingdom, and which it possessed- 

 the means of maintaining. In the 

 same month, some representations 

 were made by the Swedish mi- 

 nister at Paris on behalf of mer- 

 chants whose ships had been taken 

 by French privateers during the 

 war; to which the answer given 

 was, that the war had liquidated 

 all these claims. Shortly after, 

 the French charge d'affaires at 

 Stockholm made a requisition in 

 behalf of certain French, Dntch, 

 and Genoese creditors of the state, 

 demanding that the commissioners 

 for the national debt should pay 

 them, if not their capitals, at least 

 the interest which had accrued. 

 To this, the Swedish minister for 

 foreign affairs was directed to re- 

 turn the same answer that was 

 given in the former case, " That 

 the war between the two powers 

 had liquidated all debts whatever." 

 These replies and retorts indicated 

 little wish in the two courts to live 

 in harmony with each other. 



The occupation of Swedish Po- 

 merania by the French has been 

 mentioned as one of the earliest 

 military events of the year. It 

 seems at first to have produced the 

 intended effect of influencing the 

 Swedish government ; for in an 

 official publication b/ that govern- 

 ment OQ the subject of the en- 



trance of the French into Stral- 

 sund, it is said that this proceeding 

 was not to be regarded as a hostile 

 act. An application, also, made 

 by the merchants to the Crown 

 Prince for permission to import 

 goods from Great Britain, met 

 with a decided negative; and it 

 was followed by strict orders to 

 the governor of Gottenburgh not 

 to admit British merchandize into 

 the ports of Sweden without im- 

 mediately sequestrating the same. 

 As the prospect of hostilities be- 

 tween France and Russia, how- 

 ever, became more certain, the 

 conduct of Sweden assumed a more 

 determinate aspect; and when the 

 Russian general VonSuchtelen was 

 on his mission at Stockholm, he 

 was joined in the beginning of 

 April by Mr. Thornton, the Eng- 

 lish minister, though as yet under 

 no public character. On April 

 20th the diet of the kingdom as- 

 sembled at Orebro. It was opened 

 by a speech from the king, in 

 which, after alluding to the happy 

 effect of various acts passed at the 

 former diet, he says, " I have 

 called you together at a moment 

 when great and important occur- 

 rences out of oup native country 

 seem to threaten Europe with new 

 misfortunes. Guarded by her situa- 

 tion from the forced obligation of 

 paying obedience to foreign sway, 

 which possibly might not accord 

 with her own interests, Sweden 

 has every thing to hope from 

 unity, valour, and conduct; every 

 thing to lose, if she gives herself 

 up to intestine division?, and un- 

 wise fear." His Majesty proceeds 

 to set forth the advantage of union, 

 and hints at the reasons which in- 

 duced him to convoke the diet at 

 Orebro rather than at Stockholm-: 



and 



