RE IG LE SE ne eS Se 
PO FO ON FOE TO CT I TN ED OY OG 
ee 
Ce ae 
: 
-wafl. 
480 
would, on no terms, hear either. of a per- 
petual or a temporary pofleflion of Malta; 
that his object was the execution of the Trea- 
ty of Amiens ; and thar rather than fubmit 
to fuch an arrangement as that J had laft pro- 
pofed, he would even confent to our keep- 
ing the objeé&t in difpute for ever: on the 
ground that in the one there was an appear~ 
ance of generofity and magnanimity; but 
in the other, nothing but weaknefs and the 
effe&t of coercion: that, therefore his refo- 
jution was taken, and what he had to pro- 
pofe, was the poffeffion we required of the 
afland of Lampedola, or of any other of the 
{mall ifles, of which there were three or four 
between Malta and the coaft of Africa; that 
fuch a poffeffion would be'fufficient for the 
obje& we had in view, which was a fiation 
an the Mediterranean as a place of refuge 
and fecurity for any fquadron we might find 
it convenient to keep inthat fea. I fuffered 
him to expatiate a confiderable time, and 
without mterruption, on the great advantages 
we were to derive from fuch an acquifition, 
as well.as on the confidence which the Firit 
Conful repofed in our pacific intention, in 
Jending a hand to fuch-an eftablifhment. 
He concluded by defiring I would tranfmit 
this propofal to your Lordfhip. I told him 
that I was extremely forry indeed to find 
that we had made fuch little progrefs in the 
negotiation ; that my-orders were pohitive ; 
that I could hear of nothing fhort of what 
I had propofed, neither could I poflibly 
undertake to make fuch a propofal to his 
Majeity, fince every word of my inftructions 
(from which I certainly fhould not depart) 
applied pofitively to Malta, unlefs an equi- 
valent fecurity could be offered, and furely 
he would not pretesd to teil me that Lampe- 
@ofa could be confidered as fuch; that the 
poffeflion of Malta was neceffary for our fe-_ 
curity, and was rendered fo not from any 
Gefire of aggrandifement on the part of his 
Majefty, but by the condué of the French 
Government; and that fo ftrongly were we 
imprefled with the neceflity, that, rather 
than abandon it, we were prepared to go to 
That it was on this ground I muit 
declare to him, that I could neither take 
upon myfelf to forward {uch a propofal as he 
had made to me, or indeed any thing fhort’ 
ef what I laft propofed as a fair equivalent. 
That ia fo doing, I aéted in conformity to his 
Majelty’s views, who would moft Miealy 
difapprove of my conduct, were I, by uanc- 
ceflarily protracting the negotiation, to add 
one day, or one hour, if it could be avoid- 
ed, to the fufpenfe and anxiety under which 
his own fubjeéts and all Europe maft labour 
at fuch acrifis; that I had hoped the French 
Government, a€iuated by the fame generous 
motives, would have aéted in the fame man- 
ner; that it might, by purfuing a comcrary 
line of conduét, gain itill a few days; but 
I muft declare, that ina very fhort time I 
thould haye to communicate to him thole 
{ 
Correfpondence beiween Great Britain and France, {June 1, 
very terms from which his were fo wide, 
but to draw nearer to which was, perhaps, 
the objeét of his negotiating, in the form of 
an ultimatum, which would at leaft have one 
good effeét, that of bringing the matter ta 
an iffue; and the certainty even of war was 
preferable to the prefent flate of indecifion. 
To all I could fay M. Talleyrand objeéted 
the dignity and honour of the Firft Conful, 
which could not admit of his conienting to. 
any thing which might carry with it the ap- 
pearance of yielding to athreat. I told him 
that it never could be admitted that the Firlt 
Conful had a right to a& in fuch a manner 
as to excite jealoufy and create alarm in 
every State in Europe, and when afked for 
explanation or fecurity, fay that it was con- 
trary to his honour or his dignity to afford 
either, Such arguments might perhaps do 
when applied to fome of thofe governments 
with which France had been accuftomed to 
treat, or more properly to diétate to, but 
never could be ufed to Great Britain; that 
his Majefty had a right to fpeak freely his opie 
nion, and pofleffed alfo the means, when- 
ever he chofe to employ them, of oppofing 
a barrier to the ambition of any individual, 
or of any ftate, which fhould be difpofed to 
threaten the fecurity of his dominions, or 
the tranquillity of Europe. 4 
Our converfation concluded by M. de 
Talleyrand’s affuring me that he would re 
port the fubftance of it to the Firft Conful 
in the evening, and that probably he fhould 
have occafion to. fee me on the following 
day. WHITWORTH. 
Rt. Hon, Lord Hawkefbury. 
; No. 62. ; a 
My Lord, Paris, April 25, 1803. 
The converfation I had on Saturday morne 
ing with M. Talleyrand has produced no- 
thing from which I can draw a more favour 
able conclufion as to the refult of the nego- 
tiation, than when I laft addrefled your 
Loréfhip. He told me, that although he 
had feen the Fixit Conful the night before, 
he had nothing to add to what he had coms 
municated to me on Friday; that the Firlk 
Conful was determined not to give his con- 
fent to our retaining Malta, either in per-» 
petuity or for aterm, although of the two 
he would prefer the former tenure as the — ~ 
lefs repugnant to his feelings ; that he wag 
therefore ordered to repeat the propofal he 
had lately made me, of .acceding to our de= + 
mand of Lampcdofa or any of the neigh- 
bouring iflands ; and that as our object was 
to obtain a fettlement in the Mediterianeany 
he imagined that which we had ourfelves 
pointed out would anfwer every purpofe we 
might have in view ; but, at all events, the 
Firft Conful neither could nor would relin- 
quifh his claim to the tull execution of the 
Treaty of Amiens. -To.this I could only ree 
peat what I had already faid to him on the 
inadequacy of fuch a propofal, and of the 
impofiblity in which I found myfelf te 
| tranimit 
7 
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