Britain. 



GFQKGrlll 



1802. 



Aggres- 

 sions of 

 Bonaparte. 



Subjuga- 

 tion of 

 Switzer- 

 land by 

 the J? rench 



Dispute 

 respecting 



Malta. 



676 



and Mr Windham in the commons, denounced the 

 peace as the most degrading and dangerous evil that 

 'could have befallen the country. They declaimed 

 against the aggressions of Bonaparte, and the tame 

 and imbecile security of ministers. Mr Fox and the 

 majority of his party exhorted to cultivate peace, and, 

 while they deplored the humiliation of the continent, 

 thought that it could not bi- saved by our interference. 

 The ministry seemed divided, between the views of 

 their divided opponents. 



The great aggressions of Bonaparte, both pending 

 and after the treaty of Amiens, on which those alarms 

 were founded, were his dispatching a large fleet and 

 anr.a'.ient to the West Indies ; his assumption of the 

 dominion of the Italian republic, in his own person; 

 the annexation of Parma to his dominions ; his treaty 

 with Spain, by which Louisiana was ceded to France ; 

 and his occupation of Porto Ferrajo, and the island 

 of Elba in the Mediterranean. His harsh remon- 

 strances against the liberties of the British press, and 

 his insisting on the unfortunate emigrants of France 

 being driven from the hospitality of ->ur shores, were 

 rather indignitits than injuries ; but the public indig- 

 nation of Europe was roused to the highest pitch 

 against him, when Switzerland fell under his yoke. 

 On this occasion the British ministry ventured to in- 

 terpose. They sent Mr Moore to Constance, with a 

 view to stimulate the exertions of the Swiss, who arrived 

 there on the 31st of October, (1802,) but found not 

 a trace of resistance existing in the country. After 

 the subjugation of Switzerland, they seem to have 

 dropt for a time the intention of quarrelling with the 

 French ruler, and dispatched orders to surrender all 

 our conquests in pursuance of the treaty of Amiens. 

 Of this measure, they soon after repented, and sent 

 out counter orders to retain pur conquests. While 

 it was uncertain whether the latter dispatches would 

 arrive in sufficient time to prevent a violent resump- 

 tion of those ceded places, the discussions respecting 

 the restoration of Malta were continued, and furnished 

 at last the avowed occasion of the war. 



It had been stipulated in the treaty of Amiens re- 

 specting this island, " that a grand master should be 

 elected in full chapter by the knights of St John of 

 Jerusalem ; that a Maltese langue should be established 

 in the room of the French and English, which were 

 to be for ever abolished ; that the British troops were 

 to evacuate the island, provided that there were a 

 grand master or commissioners fully empowered to 

 receive the possession, and that a force of 2000 Nea- 

 politan troops, which were to be furnished by his Si- 

 cilian majesty, should have arrived in the island as a 

 garrison ; that Great Britain, France, Austria, Rus- 

 sia and Spain, should guarantee this arrangement, 

 uiid the independence of the island ; that these powers 

 should be invited to accede to it, and that the Nea- 

 politan troops were to remain till the knights had 

 raised a sufficient force to protect the island." It 

 might well be remarked, that if Britain desired the 

 independence cf Malta, this treaty was not the best 

 calculated to preserve it. The property of the 

 knights was known to lie in other countries, and they 

 were not capable of defending their territory. The 

 revenues of the order had been already confiscated 

 in France and Lombardy. Pending the treaty, its 

 property in Spain was also confiscated, and that in 

 Portugal was likely to follow the same fate. Yet 

 6 



BRITAIN. 



Britain. 



did the British minister, in tiie open view of these cir- 

 cumstances, conclude the treaty. 



During the first part of the discussions respecting GEOROR!! 

 Malta, it appears that Bonaparte, confiding in the pa- 

 cific wishes of the British government, was anxious Negotia. 

 only for the positive stipulation of the treaty, viz. tion re. 

 our surrender of Malta, the conditional part, that is, spectinj; 

 the guarantee of the independence of the island Malta. 

 by the powers of Europe, he hoped would have 

 been dispensed with, and that the island would 

 thus be left to his power and influence, as a step- 

 ping-stone to Egypt, the great object of his wish- 

 es. As his strides to universal dominion in Eu- 

 rope became bolder, and more rapid, he perceived an 

 alarm in the British councils, which he probably fear- 

 ed might occasion a war prematurely for his purposes. 

 He wished, at all events, to throw the appearance of 

 aggression on our court, and, instead of delaying the 

 guarantee of Malta, used his influence so successfully 

 at Petersburgh, that the emperor Alexander gave in 

 his projet respecting the island, and agreed to guaran- 

 tee its independence. The British court, which had 

 so lately pushed all Europe to guarantee this inde- 

 pendence, were now solicitous to find pretexts for re- 

 jecting the sponsors. Alexander's projet was sent 

 back for alteration ; and an objection to the very re- 

 storation of the island to the knights, founded on the 

 dislike of the inhabitants to their government, was 

 studiously brought forward after the treaty had been 

 signed. On the 25th of January 1803, M. Talley. 180S - 

 rand informed Lord Whitworth, that the difficulties 

 respecting the emperor Alexander's guarantee of 

 Malta would be speedily removed, and requested to 

 know the intentions of his Britannic majesty respect- 

 ing the 10th article of the treaty. From the embar- 

 rassment of this question, our ambassador was deliver- 

 ed by the conduct of the first consul, who had pub- 

 lished the report of his military missionary Sebasti- 

 ani, a report, which brought to light his design of oc- 

 cupying Egypt and the Ionian islands. Britain de- 

 clined any promise about Malta, till this offensive re- 

 port should be explained. 



At this unfavourable stage of the negotiation, a 

 message came from the king to parliament, stating, 

 that such preparations had taken place in the ports 

 of France, as called upon his majesty to increase his 

 armaments by sea and land. The French government 

 protested, that they had no view in these prepara- 

 tions, but the quieting their own colony of St Do- 

 mingo. 



The resolution of France, to consider our refusal 

 to evacuate Malta as the signal for hostilities, was an- 

 nounced in the ever memorable interview, when the 

 French ruler insulted Lord Whitworth before all the 

 ambassadors of Europe. Yet, as it was evidently not 

 the interest of the first consul to go so soon to war, 

 he recovered his irritation so far as to protract the 

 negotiation. In the ultimatum offered by Britain, it 

 was proposed, that we should retain Malta for ten tj * ^. 

 years. France in return, proposed, that it should be a g a j nst 

 ceded to Russia. Lord Whitworth left Paris with France, 

 this offer to return thither no more, war being de- May 18. 

 clared against France by his Britannic majesty, on I 803 - 

 the 18th of May 1803. 



The invasion and occupation of Hanover by the Occupa- 

 French, was the most important of the early fruits of "" e "' b " a 

 the war. (See HANOVER.) The preparations on the * 



