68 THE INFLUENCE OF GRENVILLE ON PITT’S FOREIGN POLICY. 
Malmesbury wrote a long letter to Grenville,* describing a visit paid 
him by one Melville, who brought forward a similar suggestion, stating 
that he was acting for Barras, but who also, like Potter, could not pro¬ 
duce any proof of the authenticity of his offer. Malmesbury thought 
these overtures were but intrigues in some stock-jobbing operation, 
yet considered them of sufficient importance to report them in detail to 
Grenville. He also received from Maret the information that both 
Barras and Rewbell were venal,f though Maret did not believe Mel¬ 
ville authorized to make the proposal in question. Melville proceeded 
to London and there laid his project before Pitt himself. J Pitt was at 
first suspicious, but becoming convinced that Melville was really com¬ 
missioned by Barras, wrote Grenville to that effect,§ and wrote also to 
the King on September 6, saying : 
“ The sum he names is a very large one, amounting to four hundred 
and fifty thousand pounds ; but it seems not to be more than would be 
wisely employed if he can make good what he proposes as the condition 
previous to its being paid, namely, that the treaty shall be signed and 
ratified without delay, leaving this country in possession of the Cape, 
Ceylon, Cochin, and Trinidad, and exacting nothing in return. * • * * 
The sum might without material difficulty, it is conceived, be supplied in 
part from the territorial revenues of India, and the remainder from secret 
service, without the necessity of ever disclosing the transaction.” || 
Pitt proposed to conduct this remarkable transaction through the 
medium of Malmesbury at Lille, but before the arrangement could be 
perfected the rupture of negotiations at that place had occurred. Gren¬ 
ville appears to have had no connection as yet with these overtures, 
except that he was kept informed of them by Pitt. Probably he did 
. not choose to oppose them, because he did not believe them to be 
authentic, but when later in September an offer of a similar nature 
came through a much more responsible channel, he was roused to state 
his disapproval and to use his skill in criticism. Melville’s offer had 
included so large a concession to England as to seem preposterous. 
The offer that now came through Boyd, a prominent banker, was limited 
to a cession of Ceylon and the Cape, while the bribe demanded was 
increased to ,£2,000,000, or ,£1,200,000 for Ceylon alone.H Pitt could 
not hope to withdraw secretly so large a sum from the revenues, and 
* Dropmore, III, 356. 
t Malmesbury to Grenville, Aug. 22, 1797. Ibid., 358. 
% Pitt to Grenville, Aug. 28, 1797. Ibid., 360. 
§Sept. 2, 1797. Ibid., 368. 
i| Ibid., 369. 
i| The letters in Dropmore, considered alone, have caused the editor of the MSS. 
to confuse slightly two distinct offers. See letter quoted, p. 69, note *, from Stan¬ 
hope. 
