436 
twelve o’clock; and J wrote to M de Tal- 
leyrand, informing him of it, and defiring 
him to mame an hour when I might wait 
upon him, in order to communicate to him 
the purpo:t of my inftruétions.” To this let- 
ter I received no anfwer that evening, or 
the following morning. Anxious to execute 
my orders, and to lofe no time, I enclofed 
the proje@ furnifhed me by your Lordfhip, 
accompanied by an official note, and a private 
letter to M. de Talleyrand, and fent it to the 
Foreign Department by Mr. Mandeville, 
with dire€tions to deliver it to VM. de Talley- 
rand, or in his abfence to the Chef du Burcau. 
He delivered it accordingly to M. Durand, 
who promifed to give it to his chief as soon 
as he ¢ame in, which he expeéted, he faid, 
fhorily. At half paft four, having waited 
ti}l that time in vain, I went myfelf to M. 
de Talieyrand ; I was told that the family 
was in the country, and that they did not 
know when the Minifter would be in town. 
Half an hour after I had returned home, the 
packet which Mr. Mandeville had given into 
the hands of M. Durand, was brougitt to me, 
I believe, by a fervant, with a verbal mef- 
face, that as M. de Falleyrand was in the 
country, it would be neceffary that I fhould 
fend it to himthere. In order to defeat, as 
much as depended upon me, #ietr intention of 
gaming time, I wrote again to M. de Talley- 
rand, recapitulating the fleps I had teken 
fince the return of the meffengers; and de- 
fired Mr. Talbot, the fecretary of the em- 
baffy, to take it himfelf at nine o’clock at 
night, when I thought M. de Talleyrand 
would be at home, to his houfe at Meudon. 
He was, however, notat home. Mr. Taibet 
was told that he was at St. Cloud, where he 
had been al! day, and that he would not be 
back until very late: he therefore left my 
private leiter, with his name, and returned 
with the packet. It was my intention to 
have fent it on the following morning to the 
Bareau, with orders that i: fhould be left 
there : at one o’clock in the morning I re- 
ceived a note from M. de Talleyrand, ac- 
counting for his not having been able to 
aniwer me fooner, and appointing me at 
twelve o’clock at the Bureax des Relations 
Extérieurs. I went at the appointed time: 
he began by apologizing for having fo long 
poiitponed the interview, which he attributed 
to his having been the whole day with the 
Firfi Conful, We then entered upon bufi- 
nefs :—I told him, that, limited as I-was 
by your Lordfhip’s inftru€ions, he could 
not be furprifed at my impatience to acquit 
myfelf of my duty. I explained to him the 
nature of your Lordfhip’s obfervations on 
the propofal of the ath, and that it was con- 
fidered as on one hand impraéticable, from 
the refufal of the Emperor of Ruffia to take 
charge ef Malta; and, on the other, as being 
wholly in¢dequate to his Maiefty’s juait pre- 
renaons. | gave him the note in which this 
was expreiled, and the proje@, on which 
Correfpondence between Great Britein and France. [June 1, 
alone a fatisfa€tory arrangement could be 
framed, He read them with apparent atten= 
tion, and without many remarks ; and after 
fome time, he afked me if I felt myfelf au 
thorized, by my inftruétions, to conclude 
with him a convention, framed on the bafis 
of my project, or indeed extending that 
bafis, fince the Arf article of it would be 
the perpetual poffeffion of Maltato England, 
in return for a confideratiun. J told him, I 
mof? certainly was not authorized to enter into 
any engagement of fuch a nature, which would 
make the negotiation one of exchange, injicad of 
a demand of fatisfagtion and fecurity. Jo this he 
replied, that the fatesfaGion and fecurity whick 
we reguired was Malta, and that this we obtam- 
ed. That the Firft Conful could not accede to 
what ke confdered, and what muft te confidered 
by the publtc and Europe, as the effc& of coercion ; 
but if it were puffdle to make the craugh: palatable, 
did I think myfelf juftifiabie in a to do fo # 
I told him, that-aéing in flri& compliance with 
my inftruGions, I could have no need of ju/tificae 
tion, and that I came to him with the determina- 
tion of abrding feriétly by them. He contended, 
that by communicating a project, I merely 
fated on what grounds we would be will- 
ing to conclude; and thata counter-projeét, 
founded on the balis of giving us what we 
required, could not be refufed a fair dif- 
cutlion. To this I urged the refolution of 
his Majefty’s Miniilers, to avoid every thing 
which could protra& the negotiation. That 
I faw no other means of a€ting up to thofe 
views, than by making my ftand on the 
project at all events. I urged him repeat. 
edly to explain himfelf more fully on the 
nature of the demand which he fhould make 
for Malta, dut he could not, er would not explain 
him/eif. After much conteft, it was agreed, 
that the prepofal fhould be fubmitted to me 
in the courfe of a few hours, and that I 
fhowld determine on the line of conduv€ I 
might feel mylelf juftified in purfuing : ei | 
ther to ign it, to fend it home, or to leave 
Paris. 
The remainder of this day paffed without 
receiving any communication from M, de 
Talleyrand. Upon this, I determined to - 
demand my pai{fports, by an official note, 
which I fent this morning by Mr, Mande- 
ville, in order that I might leave Paris in the 
evening. 
At two I renewed my demand of paff- 
ports, and was told I fhould have them im- 
mediately. They arrived at five o’clock,- 
and I propofe fetting out as foon as the car- 
riages are ready. 
Firft Inclofure referred toin No.70. 
The underfigned, his Britannic Majefty’s 
Ambaffador Extraordinary and Plenivetenti- 
ary to the French republic, having tranfmmit- 
ted to his court the propofal which was 
made to him by -the Minifter for Foreign 
Affairs, on the 3d init. has juft received or- 
Cets to tranfmit to his Excellency the ace 
companying projeét of a convention, isa 
"€ 
