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460 Correfpondence between Great Britain and France. [June l, 
Wo. 32 contains a difpatch from Mr. Gare 
like to Lord Hawkefbury, dated Peterfburgh, 
September 17, 1802, ftating that the French 
Minifter had at length been direéted by his 
Government to make, conjointly with his 
Majefty’s Minifter here, a formal invitation 
tothe Emperor of Ruffia for his Imperial 
Majefty’s guarantee. honey 
No. 33 confitts of a difpatch from Sir John 
Borlafe Warren to Lord Hawkejfbury, dated 
St. Peterfburgh, November 18, 1802, ftating 
that on the 3d of that month he had waited 
upon the Chancellor with General Hedou- 
ville; and that the General entered-into va- 
riovs reafons to induce the Ruffian Govern- 
ment to grant.the guarantee ; the principal of 
which was to prove, that without the guaran- 
tee of Ruffia, either of thetwo powers,upon the 
firtt difference between them, would look upon 
themifelves at liberty to feize upon the ifland, 
which was cnly important in a military point 
of view ; and the only alteration he fhould 
make in his invitation was, that the ifland 
might be given up to the Neapolitan troops. 
—He added, that the a& of guarantee would 
not be confidered as affecting the arrange- 
ment of any particular power with the Or- 
der, or of any alteration that power might 
wifh to make in the baillages, or that part 
belonging to ittelt, as Spain bad already acne. 
No, 34 contains the conditions upon which 
his Imperial Majefty of all the Ruffias is 
willing to accede to the ftipulations of the 
goth article of the Treaty of Amiens. 
No. 35. 
My Lord, Paris, Sanuary 27, 1803, 
TF have to report to your Lordfhip the pur- 
port of a converfation I had on Tuefday laft, 
by appointment, with M, Talleyrand. He 
had invited me fome days ago for this pur- 
pofe. The communication he had to make 
to me related to two points, both equally 
important, as he faid, to the maintenance of 
good harmony between the two countries 5 
with this difference however, that the one 
©riginated with himfelf, and was dictated by 
his anxiety to do away every thing which 
might feed the mutual irritation of the two 
countries ; and the other by the exprefs or- 
der of the Firft Conful. That which came 
from himfelf related to the Englifh Newf- 
papers, againft which he pronounced a moft 
bitter Philippic, afluring me that the Firft 
Conful was extremely hurt to find that his 
endeavours tg conciliate had hitherto pro- 
diced no other efie€&t than to increafe the 
zbufe with which the papers in England con- 
tinually loaded him. He expatiated much 
ppon this topic, and endeavoured to eftablifh 
a fact, which I affured him a reference to 
any one newipaper in Paris would inftantly 
retuie; that during four months not a word 
af preyocation had appeared in any French 
journal, which could juftify a retort from 
thote publifhed in England. , For the reff, he. 
aovanced nothing but what had been faid on 
more than one occafien to Mr. Merry, and 
reported by him to your Lordthip. I-was, 
however, given to underitand, that the Fir. 
Conful was in fa& highly incenfed, and the 
more fo, he was pleafed to fay, as it came 
from a country of whofe good opinion he was 
fo very ambitious. 
-In my reply, I could but go over the old 
ground, and endeavour to make M. Talley- 
rand underftand—firt, that whatever was faid 
in the Englifh newfpapers might. be confidered 
but as a national retaliation for what was pubs 
lifhed in the French papers ;—fecondly, that 
what was officially publifned here was bynomeang 
fo in England ;-—-and, thirdly, that although 
the Government poffefied a controul over the - 
prefs in France, the Englifh Government 
neither had nor could have, unleis they pur- 
chafed it at the fame price, any whatever in, 
England. Upon this he endeavoured to prove 
to me, that there were papers in England at- _ 
tached to different parties, and went over 
their names and fuppofed conneétions with 
great precifion 3 and that confequently his 
Majefty’s Minifters might fo far controul 
thofe at leaft which depended upon them, as 
to prevent their inferting that abufe which 
muft.be confidered as haying their fan@tion. 
I endeavoured toexplain to him what the in- 
fiuence was, which he fuppofed Minifers to 
poflefs in England ; that it amounted to no- 
thing more than a preference which your 
Lordthip, for inftance, might give to one 
paper rather than to another, by fending te 
it any articles of news which it might te 
wifhed to make pubiic; but that your Lord- 
fhip’s influence went no further 5 and that if 
the editor of fuch:a paper conceived it more 
for his intereft to continue to write after his 
own fancy and uncontrouled, than to be the 
publither of fuch occafional articles, in that 
cafe all influence was at an end. I told him, 
that if he had remarked any abufive article 
in any paper of fuch a defcription, it was 
natura] and fair to conclude that it did not 
depend upon Government to prevent it. He 
perfifted in his opinion, that his Majefty’s 
Minifters might keep certain papers in order, 
as I did in affuring him, that until the Firft. 
Conful could fo far mefter his feelings as to 
be as indifferent to the fcurrility of the Eng- 
lifh prints, as the Englifh Government was 
to that which daily appeared in the French, 
this ftate of irritation was irremediable, I 
told him, however, that I would report the 
fubftance of this communication to your 
Lordfhip, although I could affure him that - 
your Lordfhip could add nothing to the ex=- — 
planation which had been given, and in fuch” 
detail, by Mr. Merry, from your Lordhhip. 
M. Talleyrand, with great folemnity, re- 
quired of me to inform him, and this by the 
exprefs order of the Firft Conful, what were 
his Majefty’s intentions with regard to the 
evacuation of Malta. He again on this oce 
cafion made great profefiions of his fincere de- 
fire to fet afide every thing which could in- 
terrupt the good underftanding between wre 
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