necessary that the reparation should be so
also. He answered me again, that the First
Consul considered M. Rheinhardt's conduct
as so reprehensible, that every satisfaction
might be expected. I have the honour to
be, &c.
(Signed) WHITWORTH.
The Right Hon. Lord Hawkesbury, &c.

Paris, April 18, 1803.

your lordship such a conchision. I do not enter into a detail of the conversation which I had the same morning with M. de Talleyrand, immediately upon leaving Joseph Buonaparté, as it differed in no wise from what I have above mentioned. He suggested also the possibility of coming to an arrangement on the ground of a temporary occupation, and I made him the same answer. Such is the state of the discussion at this moment. I am in expectation of hearing very shortly either from Joseph Buonaparté or M. de Talleyrand; and I am not without hopes that I may be able to announce to your lordship, that such an arrangement is made, as may answer his Majesty's expectations, in a very few days. Your lordship may be assured, that I feel the necessity of expedition. Were it less urgent, I might perhaps hope to bring the discussion to even a more favourable issue, I have the honour to be, &c.

(Signed) WHITWORTH, Right Hon. Lord Hawkesbury, &c.

(Translation of Inclosure referred to in No. 58.)-His Majesty will consent, for the sake of preserving peace, that the government of the Island of Malta shall be given to the Order of St. John; the Maltese enjoying those privileges which have been granted on former occasions. The fortifications of the Island shall be occupied in perpetuity by the troops of his Majesty.

No. 58.-My Lord, I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your lordship's dispatches of the 15th instant. I saw Joseph Buonaparté immediately on the receipt of your lordship's dispatch; and without troubling your lordship with a repetition of the arguments I used to hasten the conclusion of the negotiation, amongst which I endeavoured to convince him of the importance of preventing the ultimatum which would inevitably follow the rejection of what I had to propose, I will briefly state, that on finding it perfectly impracticable to establish the principle of our keeping possession of Malta in perpetuity, I delivered to him in writing the second proposal I had to make. He did not fail to observe, that by this modification the difficulty which he considered as insurmountable was not removed; that although the Order was restored, it could not be considered as independent, and, in fact, Malta would belong to that power which had possession of the forts. I enforced the adoption of this plan by every reason which could serve to recommend it; but the possession in perpetuity was constantParis, April 20, 1805. ly urged as a difficulty which nothing could No. 59.-My Lord, I had hoped that the remove. Our conversation lasted near two first extraordinary messenger I should have hours. I confess that I gained no solid had occasion to send, would have been to ground of hope that the project, which he announce to your lordship, that the differences assured me he would take to the First Consul between the two governments were adjusted at St. Cloud, would be adopted. But he on one of the modifications pointed out to said that he was not without hope that he me by my last instructions from your lordmight be authorized to propose to me the oc- ship. In this expectation I am deceived. I cupation of the fortresses for a term of years. saw Joseph Buonaparté the night before last, It was my wish, that such a proposal should before I had sealed up my dispatches of that come from him rather than from me. I told evening to your lordship; but as all he said him that I did not well see how such a tenure tended only to justify the hope I had given would suit us; but that I wished too sincerely your lordship in those dispatches, I added to avoid the fatal extremities to which I saw nothing to them. He assured me positively, the discussion was tending, not to give any that I should hear from M. de Talleyrand in reasonable proposal which might be made on the course of yesterday morning, and that a their part every assistance in my power. meeting would be appointed in order to settle This proposal originated with him, and was the term of years for which the First Consul therefore received by me merely as a matter might be induced to consent to the cession which I would refer to your lordship. If, of Malta. It is true that he declared, that in however, I can bring the matter to an imme-order to gain his consent, it would be nediate conclusion, and without further reference to your lordship, on the principle of our retaining possession of the fortresses of Malta for a term of years not less than that pointed out by your lordship, and with the assurance that this government will not oppose the cession of the Island of Lampedosa, I shall have great pleasure in announcing to

cessary to hold out the advantages which the British government was willing to offer in return, meaning the acknowledgments of the new governments in Italy. I told him that this offer was made only with a view to the possession of Malta in perpetuity; but after some conversation, I gave him to understand, that I would not refuse to adniť

the demand, sub sperati, on the condition, that the cession should be made for a considerable term of years; that Holland and Switzerland should be evacuated; and that a suitable provision should be made for the King of Sardinia. He seemed to think there could be no difficulty in this arrangement; and I left him in the persuasion, that I should the next day, yesterday, or this morning, receive the summons from M. de Talleyrand, which he had given me reason to expect. I am sorry to say, that no such summons has been received by me, neither has any further notice been taken of the business. So that I feel, that I should betray the confidence your lordship may place in me, were I to delay any longer requesting, that 1 may be immediately furnished with the terms on which his Majesty's ministers would be willing to conclude, and which probably will not differ much from those above stated, in order that I may propose them in the form of an ultimatum; and that at the expiration of the period allowed for deliberation, I may be authorized not only to declare that I am to leave Paris, but actually so to do, unless in the intermediate time, the French government should accede to our demands. I have the honour to be, &c.

(Signed) WHITWORTH. Right Hon. Lord Hawkesbury, &c.

given up to the inhabitants, and not to the
Order; and provided likewise, that his Si-
cilian Majesty shall be induced to cede to
his Majesty the Island of Lampedosa. It is
indispensable that, as a part of this arrange-
ment, Holland should be evacuated by the
French troops within a short period after the
conclusion of a convention by which all
those provisions are secured. His Majesty
will consent to acknowledge the new Italian
states, upon the condition that stipulations in
favour of his Sardinian Majesty, and of
Switzerland, form a part of this arrange-
ment. It is his Majesty's pleasure that, in the
event of the failure of the negotiation, you
should delay your departure from Paris no
longer than may be indispensably necessary
for your personal convenience; and that you
should in no case remain there, after the re-
ceipt of this dispatch, more than seven days.
I have the honour to be, &c.
HAWKESBURY.

His Excellency, Lord Whitworth, K. B. &c.
Paris, April 23, 1803.

No. 61.-My Lord, As I heard nothing from M. Talleyrand, I called on him on Thursday, in order to learn the effect of the proposal which I had made, conformably to your lordship's instructions, on the basis of a perpetual possession of the forts of Malta, on re-establishing the Order in the civil governDowning-street, April 23, 1805. ment of the Island. He told me, that if I No. 60.-My Lord, Your excellency's had called on him sooner, he should two dispatches of the 18th and 20th instant have days ago have communicated to me the First been received, and laid before the King. Consul's answer, which was, that no consiIt is necessary for me to do little more on the deration on earth should induce him to conpresent occasion than to refer you to my sent to a concession in perpetuity of Malta, dispatch of the 13th of April, in which I in any shape whatever: and that the restated to you the several propositions on establishment of the Order was not so much which alone, in the judgment of his Majesty, the point to be discussed, as that of suffering the differences between this country and Great Britain to acquire a possession in the MeFrance could be satisfactorily adjusted. If, diterranean. I told him that I did not call upon the receipt of this dispatch, it shall not sooner, because I had been given to underhave been in your power to bring the nego-stand that he would have himself proposed it tiation to a conclusion on any of the propositions to which I have above referred, it is his Majesty's pleasure that you should communicate, officially, to the French government, that you have gone, in point of concession, to the full extent of your instructions; and that, if an arrangement, founded upon one of these propositions, cannot be concluded without further delay, you have received his Majesty's commands to return to England. His Majesty can only consent to relinquish the permanent occupation of Malta by his forces, on the conditions that the temporary possession shall not be less than ten years; that he authority, civil and military, shall, during that period, remain solely in his Majesty; and that, at the expiration of that period, the Island shall be

to me, for the purpose of communicating the answer of the First Consul; and that it did not in any shape become me to put myself on the footing of a solicitor in this transaction. After some conversation, and finding (what I most sincerely believe to be the case) that the First Consul's determination was fixed on the point of a possession of Malta in perpetuity; I repeated to him what I had previously suggested to Joseph Buonaparté, the modification which I had to propose, namely, that, for the sake of peace, his Majesty would be willing to waive his pretensions to a possession in perpetuity, and would consent to hold Malta for a certain number of years to be agreed upon, on the condition that no opposition should be made on the part of the French government to any negotiation His Majesty

I possibly undertake to make such a proposal to his Majesty, since every word of my instructions (from which I certainly would not depart) applied positively to Malta, unless an equivalent security could be offered, and surely he would not pretend to tell me that Lampedosa could be considered as such; that the possession of Malta was necessary for our security, and was rendered so not from any desire of aggrandizement on the part of his Majesty, but by the conduct of the French government; and that so strongly were we impressed with the necessity, that ra ther than abandon it, we were prepared to go to war. That it was on this ground I must declare to him, that I could neither take upon myself to forward such a proposal as he had made to me, or indeed any thing short of what

in so doing, I acted in conformity to his Majesty's views, who would most assuredly disapprove of my conduct, were I, by unnecessarily protracting the negociation, to add one day, or one hour, if it could be avoided, to the suspence and anxiety under which his own sub

might set on foot with his Sicilian Majesty for the acquisition of the Island of Lampedosa. We discussed this proposal in a conversation of some length, and I made use of all the arguments which have been furnished me by your lordship, or which occurred to me in its favour. I begged him particularly to recollect that we were in actual possession of the object, and that therefore every modification tending to limit that possession, was in fact a concession on the part of his Majesty, and a proof of his desire to sacrifice to his love of peace the just claim which he had acquired in consequence of the conduct of France, and which had recently been admitted, of a much more considerable compensation and counterpoise. M. de Talleyrand did not seem disposed to dispute any of my positions, and II had last proposed as a fair equivalent. That left him, I confess, fully impressed with the idea that the next day (Friday) I should find him prepared to treat on this ground, and that the only difficult point to be arranged would be the number of years for which Malta should be ceded to his Majesty. Your lordship will conceive my surprise, when on see-jects and all Europe must labour at such a criing him the next day, he told me that although he had not been able to obtain from the First Consul all he wished, still the proposition he had to make would, he trusted, be such as fully to answer the purpose. He then said that the First Consul would, on no terms, hear either of a perpetual or a temporary possession of Malta; that his object was the execution of the treaty of Amiens; and that rather than submit to such an arrangement as that I had last proposed, he would even consent to our keeping the object in dispute for ever: on the ground that in the one there was an appearance of generosity and magnanimity; but in the other, nothing but weakness and the effect of coercion that therefore his resolution was taken, and what he had to propose was the possession we required of the Island of Lam-yielding to a threat. I told him that it never. pedosa, or of any other of the small Isles of could be admitted that the First Consul had a which there were three or four between Malta right to act in such a manner as to excite jeaand the Coast of Africa; that such a possession lousy and create alarm in every state of Europe, would be sufficient for the object we had in and when asked for explanation or security, view, which was a station in the Mediterra- say that it was contrary to his honour or his nean as a place of refuge and security for any dignity to afford either. Such arguments might squadron we might find it convenient to perhaps do when applied to some of those gokeep in that sea. I suffered him to expatiate a vernments with which France had been accusconsiderable time, and without interruption, tomed to treat, or more properly to dictate to, on the great advantages we were to derive but never could be used to Great Britain;" from such an acquisition, as well as on the that his Majesty had a right to speak freely' confidence which the First Consul reposed in his opinion, and possessed also the means, our pacific intention in lending a hand to such whenever he chose to employ them, of oppoan establishment. He concluded by desiring sing a barrier to the ambition of any indiviI would transmit this proposal to your lord-dual, or of any state which should be disposed ship. I told him that I was extremely sorry to threaten the security of his dominions, or indeed to find that we had made such little the tranquillity of Europe. progress in the negotiation; that my orders were positive; that I could hear of nothing short of what I had proposed, neither could

sis; that I had hoped the French government, actuated by the same generous motives, would have acted in the same manner; that it might, by pursuing a contrary line of conduct, gain still a few days; but I must declare, that in a very short time I should have to communicare to him those very terms from which his were so wide, but to draw nearer to which was, perhaps the object of his negotiating, in the form of an ultimatum, which would at least have one good effect, that of bringing the matter to an issue, and the certainty even of war was preferable to the present state of indecision., To all I could say M. Talleyrand objected the dignity and honour of the First Consul, which could not admit of his consenting to any thing which might carry with it the appearance of

Our conversation concluded by M. de Talleyrand's assuring me that he would report the substance of it to the First Consul in the even