I begin to think they are not above the common level of men. I think many of the gentlemen I occasionally act with, equally fit for the trust they enjoy; and I do not think I over-rate myself in saying, that for my country's cause I would enter into office upon a conviction that I might do as well as many of his majesty's ministers-I could not well do worse, God knows! Very soon I shall bring forward a motion for peace, and the dismissal of ministers, as the only cures for famine and the other evils we groan under. As to the address, the former part of it I vote for sincerely; but as to the latter, breathing war, I totally deprecate it; and I cannot think that any member will vote for the address altogether, if he considers his country and his God. Mr. Sheridan said, that he considered the state as a vessel which had got damaged upon a rock, from which it was the duty of the crew to disengage her first, and then to call the master to account for his negligence. The question being put, "That the words proposed to be left out stand part of the question;" it was resolved in the affir. mative. The Address was then agreed to. The King's Answer to the Commons' Address.] To the Address of the Com mons, his Majesty returned this Answer: "Gentlemen: "I thank you for this loyal and affectionate Address. The diligence and promptitude with which you propose to take the earliest and most effectual measures for alleviating the distresses of my subjects, by encouraging an ample importation of corn, and promoting economy and frugality in the consumption, cannot fail to produce a salutary effect; and the temper and moderation with which you are prepared to enter on the different points connected with the important objects which I have recommended to your deliberation, will, I trust, be attended with present and future benefit to the country. I receive with great satisfaction the assurances of your concurrence in my wishes for the speedy restoration of peace, on grounds consistent with the honour, and true interests of my people; and at the same time of your determination, if that object should be unattainable, to afford me that continued and decided support which may best enable me to maintain unimpaired the security and honour of these kingdoms." Papers relating to the Negotiation for Peace with France.] Nov. 13. Mr. Secretary Dundas presented to the House, by his Majesty's command, the following PAPERS RELATING TO THE NEGOTIATION FOR PEACE WITH FRANCE. No. 1.-TRANSLATION of a Lettter from M. Otto to Lord Grenville, dated Herefordstreet, 6 Fructidor, 8th year, August 24, 1800. My Lord; However scrupulous I may have hitherto been to follow in all respects the with the ministry of his majesty, yet the se path traced for my official communications crecy and dispatch requisite for those which form the subject of the enclosed note, appear to me to justify a more direct communication. I flatter myself, therefore, that your excellency will not disapprove of the step I now take of communicating to you, without any intervention, the intentions of the French government respecting the overtures which have been made to it by baron Thugut.-If his majesty should accept the propositions contained in the enclosed note, I beg, my lord, that you would appoint, as soon as possible, the person who shall be employed to treat with me; and who, without doubt, will be guided in this important negotiation by that spirit of conciliation which alone can contribute to the restoration of peace and good understanding between the two governments. I have the honour, &c. Отто. No. 2.-TRANSLATION of a Note from M. His imperial majesty having communicated to the government of the French republic a note from lord Minto, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of his majesty the king of Great Britain at the court of Vienna, from which note it appears that the desire of his Britannic majesty is, to see a termination of the war which divides France thorized to demand from his majesty's miand England, the undersigned is specially aunistry farther explanations respecting the proposition which has been transmitted by the court of Vienna; and, at the same time, as it appears impossible that at the moment when Austria and England take a common share in the negotiations, France should find herself under a suspension of arms with Austria, and a continuation of hostilities with authorized to propose that a general armisEngland, the undersigned is in like manner tice be concluded between the armies and the fleets of the two states, adopting, with respect to the places which are besieged and blockaded measures analogous to those them to you is, to enable you to converse with which have taken place in Germany relative M. Otto on the subject of them, in conformity to Ulm, Philipsbourg, and Ingolstadt. The | with the instructions contained in the minute undersigned has received from his govern- herewith enclosed, which you are at liberty in ment the powers necessary for negotiating the course of your conversation to show to and concluding this general armistice. He M. Otto, as containing the heads of what you begs his excellency lord Grenville to lay this are charged to communicate to him.-You note before his Britannic majesty, and to will of course carefully confine your conversatransmit to him his majesty's answer. tion within the limits of that paper; and you will as soon as possible deliver to me a written minute of what shall have passed between you and M. Otto on the subject. I am, &c. GRENVILLE. OTTO. No. 3.-LETTER from Lord Grenville to Sir; I am to request that you will endeayour, as soon as you can, to see M. Otto, and to ask him from me, whether he has any objection to deliver to you, sealed up for me, the papers to which his last communication refers, as his doing so will expedite his receiving the answer to it. You will at the same time apprize him that you are not informed of the particulars of that communication, or of its tendency; and that you have been charged to make this inquiry, in order to avoid drawing any attention to it. GRENVILLE. No. 4.-TRANSLATION of M. Otto's full powers, dated Paris, 2 Fructidor, 8th year. Buonaparté, first consul of the French Republic, in virtue of the forty-first article of the constitution, gives to the citizen Otto, commissary of the government for the exchange of prisoners in England, power to propose, to consent to, and to sign, conformably to his instructions, a general armistice between the French Republic and his majesty the king of Great Britain. By the First Consul, BUONAPARTE. MARET. No. 5.-LETTER from Lord Grenville to Sir;-I have the king's commands to desire that you will, as soon as you can after the receipt of this letter, see M. Otto; and that you will return to him the original of the paper which he delivered to you on Tuesday last.In making proper acknowledgments to him for his attention on this occasion, you will mention, that the paper I had wished to see was not this, but lord Minto's note referred to in that which M. Otto addressed to me by order of his government on the 24th instant; but that, while you were with M. Otto, I received, by a messenger from Vienna, the copy of lord Minto's note, together with that written on the same subject by M. de Thugut to M. Talleyrand.-I enclose to you for your information a copy of the former, and an extract of the latter of those papers, which you will return to me after you shall have seen M. Otto. The reason of my communicating No. 6.-MINUTE of Instructions to Captain 1. To declare that the note presented at Vienna by lord Minto contains the expression of his majesty's sentiments, and that the king is ready to act in conformity to it.-2. To enquire whether any answer has been returned by the French government to the proposal contained in M. Thugut's letter to M. Talleyrand respecting a place for the meeting of plenipotentiaries to carry on joint negotiation; or whether M. Otto is authorized to agree with this government on that point, agreeably to the suggestion contained in M. Thugut's letter.-3. To express in that case, that either of the places named by M. de Thugut would be agreed to by his majesty, and a proper person sent thither on his majesty's part to meet the plenipotentiaries of Austria and France, provided that the French government is willing to enter into sufficient engagements for the freedom of direct communication, by couriers, with such place of negotiation. 4. That with respect to the proposal of an armistice, the king would see with great satisfaction the moment when he could with propriety adopt any measure, the immediate effect of which would be to put a stop, at least for a time, to the calamities of war; but that an armistice as applying to naval operations, has at no period ever been agreed on between Great Britain and France during the course of their negotiations for peace, or until the preliminaries have been actually signed: That it cannot therefore be considered as a step necessary to negotiation; and that from the disputes to which its execution must unavoidably be expected to give rise, it might more probably tend to obstruct than to facilitate the success of those endeavours which the two parties might employ for the restoration of peace: That the circumstances of a naval war are obviously not such as to admit of such equal arrangements as are easily established with regard to military operations when suspended by such an agreement: That it appears, therefore, at all events, premature to enter even into the discussion of this question, until from the course of the negotiations, it shall more clearly appear how far they are likely to lead to a satisfactory issue: And that no decision could in any case be taken here on such a subject unless the French government had previously explained in what manner it is conceived that the principles of the regulations adopted in the German armistice with respect to blockaded towns, can be applied to the naval ports and arsenals of France, so as to carry bona fide into execution, as to the respect maritime forces, the objects which those stipulations have in view with respect to the military positions occupied by the two armies. No. 7.-LETTER from Captain George to Lord Grenville, dated Park-place, August 29, 1800. My lord;-In obedience to his majesty's commands, communicated to me by your lordship, in your letter of yesterday's date, I called upon M. Otto, and had a particular conversation with him on the subject of the papers delivered to me by your lordship. I made a proper acknowledgment to him for the readiness which he showed to comply with your lordship's wish of communicating the paper you wished to see, which he conceived to be the one I had the honour to deliver to your lordship; and he appears fully sensible of the attention shown him on that occasion. I declared to him,-1st, That the note presented at Vienna by lord Minto contains the expression of his majesty's sentiments, and that the king is ready to act in conformity to it.-2nd, I inquired whether any answer had been returned by the French government to the proposal contained in M. Thugut's letter to M. Talleyrand respecting a place for the meeting of plenipotentiaries to carry on joint negotiations, and was informed by him that the place of meeting was fixed at Luneville.Srd, I informed M. Otto that either of the places named by M. Thugut would be agreed to by his majesty, and a proper person sent thither on his majesty's part to meet the plenipotentiaries of Austria and France, provided that the French government is willing to enter into sufficient engagements for the freedom of direct communication, by couriers, with such place of negotiation; which he promises to communicate immediately to the French government by courier.-4th, I also informed M. Otto of the very substantial reasons that will prevent his majesty from agreeing to a general armistice previous to the signing of preliminaries, as detailed in the minute which I had the honour to receive from your lordship; and was answered by him, that he has every reason to think, and is personally convinced, that the continuation of the German armistice will depend upon the conclusion of the English armistice, the advantages of the latter being considered by France as an equivalent for the very obvious disadvantages of the German one. He observed, that the regulations contained in the German armistice do not extend to such places as were not actually blockaded or attacked by the French; judging, therefore, from analogy, such places only as are actually blockaded by the English forces could be comprehended in the proposed armistice, therefore Belleisle, Malta, and Alexandria should be put on the same footing as Ulm, Philipsburg, and Ingoldstadt.—M. Otto has been instructed to require an answer to the proposal for a general armistice before the 3rd of September, which makes him conclude that hostilities may again commence about that time, should the proposed armistice be positively refused on the part of his majesty. He farther observed, that as long as hostilities on the continent are carried on, there can be no firm basis on which to ground negotiation, as every change on either side would occasion a new subject of discussion.M. Otto farther remarked, that if a general armistice should be agreed on, he is autho rized to enter into any security that may be thought necessary for the commerce of Great Britain; and that the great importance of the subject obliges him to inquire whether he is to have a written answer on the subject of the general armistice, or whether he is to consider the present verbal communication as definitive against it. I have, &c. R. GEORGE. No. 8.-LETTER from Lord Grenville to Captain George, dated Downing-street, Sir;-As M. Otto expressed to you a desire to receive in writing the answer of the king's government to his note, I transmit to you the enclosed, which I request you will communicate to him. I am, &c. GRENVILLE. No. 9.-LETTER from Lord Grenville to M. Otto, dated Downing street, August 29, 1800. Sir; I enclose to you, by the king's command, the answer which his majesty has thought proper that I should return to the different points contained in the note which I had the honour to receive from you.-The mode which you adopted for the transmission of that paper was perfectly satisfactory to his majesty's government; but as captain George has, from his situation, the opportunity of unobserved intercourse with you, I will request you to transmit to me, through him, any farther communications with which you may be charged by your government respecting this business. GRENVILLE. No. 10.-NOTE from Lord Grenville to M. Otto, dated Downing-street, August 29, 1800. M. Otto having apprised his majesty's government, through captain George, that the proposal made by the court of Vienna, for fixing Luneville as the place for carrying on the proposed negotiation for a general peace, has been acceded to by the French government, it only remains on that head to express his majesty's agreement to the same proposal; and to declare, that in consequence thereof, a proper person shall be sent to Luneville, on his majesty's part, to meet the plenipoten That which your excellency proposes to me combines the double advantage of dispatch and of secrecy, and I shall follow it as often as orders from my government shall afford me an opportunity of profiting by it. I have, &c. Отто. tiaries of Austria and France, as soon as the passports for such minister and his suite shall be received: Provided that the French government is willing to enter into the necessary engagements, that his majesty's plenipotentiary shall be at liberty to communicate freely, and in the usual manner, by courier with this country, and with the dominions of his majesty's allies. With respect to the proposal for a general armistice by sea and land between Great Britain and France, the king would see with great satisfaction the moment when he could with propriety adopt any measure, the immediate effect of which would be to put a stop at least for a time, to the calamities of war; but an armistice, as applying to naval operations, has at no period ever been agreed on between Great Britain and France, during the course of their negotiations for peace, or until the preliminaries have been actually signed; such a step cannot therefore be considered as necessary to negotiation, and from the disputes to which its execution must unavoidably be expected to give rise, there is just reason to apprehend that it might more probably tend to obstruct than to facilitate the success of those endeavours which the two parties might employ for the restoration of peace. Besides this, it is to be considered, that the circumstances of a naval war are obviously not such as to admit of such equal arrangements as are easily established with regard to military operations, when suspended by such an agrcement. It appears, therefore, at all events, premature to enter even into the discussion of this question, until, from the course of the negotiations, it shall more clearly appear how far they are likely to lead to a satisfactory issue. But in any case no decision could be taken here on such a subject, unless the French government had previously explained in what manner it is conceived that the principles of the regulations adopted in the German armistice, with respect to blockaded towns, can be applied to the naval ports and arsenals of France and her allies now blockaded by his majesty's fleets, so as to carry bona fide into execution, as to the respective maritime forces, the same objects which those stipulations have in view with respect to the military positions occupied by the armies in Germany and Italy. GRENVILLE. No. 11.-TRANSLATION of a Letter from M. Otto to Lord Grenville, dated Herefordstreet, 12 Fructidor, 8th year, August 30, 1800. No. 12.-TRANSLATION of a Note from M. Otto to Lord Grenville, dated Herefordstreet, 12 Fructidor, 8th year, August 30, 1800. His excellency lord Grenville having been pleased to inform the undersigned of the intention of his majesty to send a plenipotentiary to Luneville in order to take a share in the negotiations which shall be entered upon, as soon as the necessary passports shall have been transmitted by the French government, and as soon as assurance shall have been given respecting the free correspondence of this plenipotentiary with his court and with the countries belonging to the allies of his majesty, the undersigned immediately dispatched an extraordinary messenger in order to communicate these dispositions to his government.-The conciliatory and humane sentiments which have had an influence in producing this decision of the cabinet, are a happy presage of the re-establishment of good harmony between two countries which, from the genius, the talents, and the industry of their people, are so strongly interested in cherishing the arts and the enjoyments of peace. It is with a view to attain more speedily this end so ardently desired by all Europe, that the undersigned was directed to submit to the British government the projet for a maritime truce; but the ministers of his majesty having judged that it would be premature to enter even upon the discussion of this object, it is his duty to respect the motives which appear to them to militate against such a negotiation, although he may have had every reason to hope that the adherence of his majesty to that proposal might have become the pledge of the continuance of the two armistices concluded in Germany and Italy; the French government not being able to consent, for any length of time, to sacrifice the advantages afforded to it by its military position upon the continent, without the assurance of an analogous sacrifice on the part of Great Britain.—If, through the imperious force of circumstances, the result of the negotiations of Luneville should be subjected sumed that the respective instructions and to the future fortune of war; it is to be predeliberations would no longer have for a basis a state of things known and appreciated on all sides, and that the pacific dispositions manifested by the belligerent powers would not produce effects as prompt and salutary as might have been hoped for from a general truce. The apprehensions of the undersigned, relative to the probable renewal of hostilities in Germany and in Italy, notwithstanding the negotiations which, in concert with his ma[N] No. 15.---LETTER from Lord Grenville to Sir;---I am to desire that you will apprise M. Otto, that the king has been pleased eventually to make choice of Mr. Grenville to represent his majesty at Luneville, and of Mr. Garlike, now his majesty's secretary of legation at Berlin, to act as his majesty's secretary to Mr. Grenville's mission. It will therefore be necessary that a separate passport for Mr. Garlike should be furnished by the French government, such as will enable him to proceed directly from Berlin to Luneville. You will add, that it will be a matter of convenience to his majesty's government, and to Mr. Garlike personally, if that passport, instead of being sent through London, were transmitted, through the French minister at Berlin, to the earl of Carysfort, his majesty's minister at that court.---I wish you farther to remark to M. Otto, that it is usual in the opening of negotiations for peace, that such previous explanations should take place, as may enable the respective ministers to arrive nearly at the same time at the place of negotiation; and that as the communication on this point may be received here so much sooner from Paris than from Vienna, his majesty's government would wish to be informed through you of the period which may be fixed for the arrival of the Austrian and French plenipotentiaries at Luneville, in order that no delay may take place on his majesty's part in the opening of the negotiation. I am, &c. GRENVILLE. No. 14.---TRANSLATION of a Letter from M. Otto to Lord Grenville, dated Hereford Street, 17 Fructidor, 8th year, September 4th, 1800. My Lord;--Mr. George not being yet returned from Margate, whither he has conveyed his family, I hope that your excellency will not disapprove of my transmitting to you directly the very important communications which I received this morning by an extraordinary courier. I should add that, if his majesty consents to the proposed armistice, I am directed to deliver the passport, and to give all the assurances demanded for the plenipotentiary who shall be appointed. I have, &c. Отто. No. 15.---TRANSLATION of a note from M. The undersigned having communicated to his government the note dated the 29th of August, forwarded to him by his excellency lord Grenville, is directed to submit to him The the following observations :---Preliminaries of No. 16.---LETTER from Lord Grenville to Sir;---It appearing by a note received this day from M. Otto, that the French government has determined to make the continuance of the armistice between Austria and France, and the commencement of the nego |