4796.] State Papers relative to ihe late Negociation with France: 93% 
q 
tertain no expecatii, that Hrs Majesty 
will relax, or ever confént to fee the Nether- 
ands remain a part of France.”’ 
M. Drtacrorx replied, he faw no pros. 
{pect in this cafe of our ideas éyeér meeting; 
“and he defpajred of the fuccefs of our Nego- 
ciation. He returned again, however, to his 
idea of a poflible equivalent to be found for 
the EMPEROR; but as all he propofed was 
the alienation or difmemberment of Coun- 
tries not belonging to France, even by Con- 
quefi, I did not confider it as deferving at- 
tention, and it is certainly not worth repeat- 
tag to your Lordthip. 
_ I need not obferve, that all the Equiva- 
tents propofed, however inadequate to the 
exchange, were offered as a return for our 
‘ confent that the Netherlands fhould remain 
part of France; of courfe, the admitting them 
in any fhape, would have been in direét con- 
tradiction to my Initruétions. 
M. Detacrorx touched very lightly on 
{taly ; and the courfe of our converfation did 
not bring this part of the fubjeé more into 
difcuffion, 
I muft add, that whenever I mentioned the 
reftoration of the Netherlands to the Empr- 
ROR, I always took care it fhould be under- 
Rood that thefe were to be accompanied by. 
fuch further ceffions as fhould form a com- 
petent line of defence, and that France could 
not be permitted to keep poffeffion of all the 
intermediate Country to the Rhine; and I 
particularly dwelt on this point, when I held 
eut the pofiibility of admitting an extenfion 
ef the limits of France on the fide of Ger- 
many. But as the French Minifter no lefs 
firenuoufly oppofed the reftitution of the 
Netherlands to the EMPEROR,.than I tena- 
cioufly infifted upon sit, the further extenfion 
of my claim could not of courfe become a 
fubject of argument. 
I believe I have now, with a tolerable de- 
gree of accuracy, informed your Lordthip of 
all that the French Minifter faid on, my open- 
Ang myfelf to him on that part of my In- 
tiructions which more immediately relates to 
Peace between Great Britain, His IMPERIAL 
Majesty, and France. It remains with me 
to inform your Lordfhips what paffed be- 
tween us on the fubje@ of our refpedtive 
Allies. 
On the articles referving a right to the 
Court of St. Poterfburgh, and to that of Lif- 
_ bon, to accede to the Treaty of Peace on the 
firict Status ante Bellum, the French Minifter 
made no other remark than by mentioning 
the Allies of the Republic, and by enquiring 
whether I was prepared to fay any thing re- 
lative to their interefis, which certainly the 
Republic could neverabandon. This afford- 
_ed me the opportunity of giving in the con- 
dential Meimorial B. telative to Spain and 
Holland, and I_prefaced it by repeating to 
him the fubftance of the fitit part of your 
Lordihip’s No. 12, 
Although I had touched upon the fubjea 
f the Spanish part of St. Domingo, when I 
Montury Mag. No. XI, 
had been {peaking to M. DrLacroix on the _ 
Peace with France, yet, as it did not become 
a matter of difcuffion between us till I came 
to mention the peace with Spain, I thought » 
it better to place all that paffed on the fub~ 
ject in this part of my Difpatch: it was the 
only point on which he entered; but I by - 
no means infer fre¢m his not bringing forward 
fome claims for Spain, that we are not to 
hear of any in the courfe of the Negociation 
on the contrary, I have little doubt that many, - 
and moft of them inadmiflible, will be made » 
before it can end. He, however, Was filent 
on them at this moment, and confined all he 
had to fay to combating the idea that Spain 
was bound by the Treaty of Utrecht not ta 
alienate her Poffeffions in America.—I had 
the Article copied in my pocket, and I read® 
ittohim. He confeffed it was clear and ex= _ 
plicit, but that cireumitances had fo materiale 
ly altered fince the year 1713, that engage= ~ 
ments made then ought not to be confider« 
ed as in force now. I faid, that the fpirit 
of the Article itfelf went to provide for di-+ 
itant Contingencies, not for what was expect= 
ed to happen at or near the time when the 
Treaty was made; and that it was becaute the 
alteration of direumftances he alluded to was 
forefeen a3 poffible, that the claufe was infert=- 
ed; and thatif Spain paid any regard to the: 
faith of Treaties, the muft confider herfelf ag 
no lets ftrictly bound by this claufe now, than 
at the moment when it was drawn up. I went > 
on by faying, that it did not, however, ap- 
pear quite impoffible that this point might be 
fettled without much difficulty; and thatmeans 
might be devifed that His CarHotic Ma-. 
JESTY fhould not break his faith, and both 
England and France be equally fatisfied. JI 
then held out to him, but in general terms, 
that either Spain might regain her part of St. 
Domingo, by making fome confiderable cef= 
fion to Great Britain and France, as the price 
of Peace, or that, in return for leaving the 
whole of St. Domingo to France, we fhould 
retain either Martinico, or St. Lucia and To-# 
bago. M. DrLacrorx liftened with a degree 
of attention to thefe propofals, but he was 
fearful of committing himfelf by any expref=-. 
fion of approbation; and he difmiffed the fub-« 
ject of the Court of Madrid, by obferving, 
that France never would forfake the intereits 
of its Allies. ; 
Our converfation on thofe of its other Ally, 
Holland, was much longer, as the wording of 
the Memorial inevitably led at once deep in= 
to the fubjea, 
M. DeLacroix affected to treat any devi-+ 
ation from the Treaty of Peace concluded be= 
tween I'rance and that Country, or any re= 
ftoration of Territories acquired under that. 
Treaty to France, as quite impraéticable. He 
treated as equally impracticable any attempt 
at refloring the Ancient Form of Government 
in the Seven United Provinces. He talked 
with an air of triumph of the eftablithment of 
a National Convention at the Hague, and 
with an affectation of fecling, that by it the 
; §C Caufle 
x 
