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MONTHLY REGISTER,

FOR FEBRUARY, 1809.

STATE PAPERS.

THE LATE

OVERTURES FROM nations,-I have the honour to be, with sentiments of the highest consideration, &c.

RUSSIA AND FRANCE.

No. I.-Letter from Count Nicholas de Romanzoff to Mr. Secretary Canning, dated Erfurth, 30th Sept. (12th. Oct.) 1808.

SIR.I send to your Excellency a letter which the Emperors of Russia and France write to his Majesty the King of England. The Emperor of Russia flatters himself that England will feel the grandeur and the sincerity of this step. She will there find the most natural and the most simple answer to the overture which has been made by Admiral Saumarez. The union of the two Emperors is beyond the reach of all change, and the two Emperors have formed it for peace as well as for war. His Majesty has commanded me to make known to your excellency, that he has nominated plenipotentiaries, who will repair to Paris, where they will await the answer which your excellency may be pleased to make to me. I request you to address it to the Russian ambassador at Paris. The plenipotentiaries named by the Emperor of Russia will repair to that city on the Continent, to which the plenipotentiaries of his Britannic Majesty and his allies shall have been sent. In respect to the bases of the negociation, their Imperial Majesties see no difficulty in adopting all those formerly proposed by England, namely, the uti possidetis and every other basis founded upon the reciprocity and equality which ought to prevail between all great

VOL. Y.

COUNT N. de ROMANZOFF. No. II.-Letter from his Majesty the Emperor of all the Russias, and Bonaparte, to his Majesty. Erfurth, 12th. Oct. 1808.

SIRE. The present circumstances of Europe have brought us together at Erfurth. Our first thought is to yield to the wish and wants of every people, and to seek, in a speedy pacification with your Majesty, the most efficacious remedy for the miseries which oppress all nations. We make known to your Majesty our sincere desire in this respect by the present letter.

The long and bloody war, which has torn the Continent, is at an end, without the possibility of being renewed. Many changes have taken place in Europe; many states have been overthrown. The cause is to be found in the state of agitation and misery, in which the stagnation of maritime commerce has placed the greatest nations. Still greater changes may yet take place, and all of them contrary to the. policy of the English nation. Peace then, is at once the interest of the people of the Continent, as it is the interest of the people of Great Britain !

We unite in entreating your Majesty to listen to the voice of huma nity, silencing that of the passions; to seek, with the intention of arri ving at that object, to conciliate all interests, and by that means to preserve all the powers which exist, and

to insure the happiness of Europe and of this generation, at the head of which Providence has placed us.

ALEXANDER. NAPOLEON. No. III.-Letter from M. de Champagny, to Mr. Secretary Canning. Erfurth, Oct. 12, 1808.

SIR,I have the honour to transmit to your Excellency a letter which the Emperor of the French, and the Emperor of the Russias, write to his Britannic Majesty. The grandeur and the sincerity of this step will, without doubt, be felt. That cannot be attributed to weakness which is the result of the intimate connection between the two greatest Sovereigns of the Continent, united for peace as well as for war. His Majesty the Emperor, has commanded me to make known to your excellency, that he has nominated plenipotentiaries, who will repair to that city on the Continent, to which his Majesty the King of Great Britain and his allies shall send their plenipotentiaries. With respect to the bases of the negociation, their Majesties are disposed to adopt those formerly proposed by England herself; namely, the uti possidetis, and and any other basis founded upon justice, and the reciprocity and equality which ought to prevail between all great nations. I have the honour to be, with the highest consideration, &c. CHAMPAGNY.

No. IV. This is a copy of a letter (No. II.) from Bonaparte and his Majesty the Emperor of all the Russias, to his Majesty, which was transmitted by the Russian minister. No. V.-Letter from Mr. Canning to the Russian Ambassador, at Paris. Foreign Office, Oct 22.

SIR. At the desire of Count Nicolas de Romanzoff, I have the honour to acknowledge to your Excellency the receipt of the letter which Count Romanzoff has been pleased to write to me from Erfurth, Aated the 30th of September (12th October), as well as the letter an

nexed to it, addressed to the King my master. I shall lose no time in laying these two letters before his Majesty, and in transmitting the answers to your Excellency by an English courier. I have the honour to be, &c. G. CANNING.

No. VI.-A similar letter from Mr. Canning to M. de Champagny. No. VII.-Letter from Mr. Canning to the Russian Ambasador, at Paris. Oct. 28, 1808.

SIR,-Having laid before the King my master the two letters which his Excellency the Count Nicolas de Romanzoff has transmitted to me from Erfurth, I have received his Majesty's commands to reply to that which is addressed to him, by the official note which I have the honour to inclose to your Excellency.-However desirous his Majesty might be to reply directly to his Majesty the Emperor of Russia, you cannot but feel, Sir, that from the unusual manner in which the letters signed by his Imperial Majesty, were drawn up, and which has entirely deprived them of the character of a private and personal communication, his Majesty has found it impossible to adopt that mark of respect towards the Emperor of Russia, without at the same time acknowledging titles which his Majesty never has acknowledged! 1 am commanded to add to the contents of the official note, that his Majesty will hasten to communicate to his Majesty the King of Sweden, and to the existing government of Spain, tho proposals which have been made to him. Your Excellency will perceive that it is absolutely necessary that his Majesty should receive an immediate assurance, that France acknowledges the government of Spain as party to any negociation. That such is the intention of the Emperor of Russia his Majesty cannot doubt. His Majesty recollects with satisfaction the lively interest which his Imperial

Majesty has always manifested for commuicate with your Excellency on the remaining points of your letter. I have the honour to be, &c.

the welfare and dignity of the Spanish Monarchy; and he wants no other assurance that his Imperial Majesty cannot have been induced to sanction by his concurrence or by his approbation, usurpations, the principle of which is not less unjust than their example is dangerous to all legitimate Sovereigns. As soon as the answers on this point shall have been received, and as soon as his Majesty shall have learnt the sentiments of the King of Sweden, and those of the Government of Spain, I shall not fail to receive the commands of his Majesty for such communications as it may be necessary to make upon the ulterior of the letter of Count Romanzoff.-I have the honour to be, &c.

GEORGE CANNING. No. VIII.-Letter from Mr. Canning to M. de Champagny. Oct. 28.

SIR,

Having laid before the King my master the two letters which your Excellency transmitted to me from Erfurth, one of which was addressed to his Majesty, I have received his Majesty's command to return, in answer to that letter, the official note which I have the honour berewith to inclose.

I am commanded to add, that his Majesty will lose no time in communicating to the King of Sweden, and to the government of Spain, the proposals which have been made to bis Majesty.

Your Excellency will see the necessity of an assurance being immediately afforded to his Majesty, that the admission of the government of Spain as a party to the negociation is understood and agreed to by France.

After the answer of your Excellency upon this point shall have been received, and so soon as his Majesty shall be in possession of the sentimeats of the King of Sweden, and of the government of Spain, I shall receive his Majesty's commands to

GEORGE CANNING.

No. IX.-Official Note. The King has uniformly declared his readiness and desire to enter into negoconsistent with the honour of his Maciations for a general peace, on terins jesty's crown, with fidelity to his engagements, and with the permanent repose and security of Europe. His Majesty repeats that determination.

If the condition of the continent be one of agitation and of wretchedness; if many states have been overthrown, and more still menaced with subversion; it is a consolation to the King to reflect, that no part of the convulsions which have already been experienced, or of those which are threatened for the future, can be in any degree imputable to his Majesty. The King is most willing to acknowledge that all such dreadful licy of Great Britain. changes are indeed contrary to the po

If the cause of so much misery is to be found in the stagnation of commercial intercourse—although his Majesty cannot be expected to hear, with unqualified regret, that the system devised for the destruction of the commerce of his subjects, has recoiled upon its authors or its instruments.—yet is it neither in the disposition of his Majesty, nor in the character of the people over whom he reigns, to rejoice in the privations and unhappiness even of the nations which are combined against termination of the sufferings of the conIrim. His Majesty anxiously desires the

tinent.

The war in which his Majesty is engaged, was entered into by his Majesty for the immediate object of national safety! It has been prolonged only be

cause no secure and honourable means

of terminating it have hitherto been afforded by his enemies.

But in the progress of the war, begun for self-defence, new obligations have been imposed upon his Majesty, in behalf of powers whom the aggressions of a common enemy have compelled to make common cause with his Majesty; assistance and support in the vindication or who have solicited his Majesty's of their national independence.

The interests of the crown of Portu

gal,and of his Sicilian Majesty, are con

fided to his Majesty's friendship and protection.

With the King of Sweden his Majesty is connected by ties of the closest alliance, and by stipulations which unite their counsels for peace as well as for war.

To Spain his Majesty is not yet bound by any formal instrument; but his Majesty has, in the face of the world, contracted with that nation engagements not less sacred, and not less binding upon his Majesty's mind, than the most solemn treaties.

His Majesty, therefore, assumes that, in an overture made to his Majesty for entering into negociations for a general peace, the relations subsisting between his Majesty and the Spanish monarchy, have been distinctly taken into consideration; and that the governmer.t acting in the name of his catholic Majesty Ferdinand the Seventh, is understood to be a party to any nego ciation in which his Majesty is invited to engage.

GEORGE CANNING.

No. X.-Letter from Count Nicolas de Romanzoff, to Mr. Canning. Paris, 31st Oct, 1808.

SIR,-The immediate departure of the English Courier who conveyed to me your Excellency's letter of the 28th of this month, obliges me to confine myself for the present to the acknowledgement of its receipt. I rejoice that my arrival at Paris has enabled me to receive that letter my self, which was addressed to the Russian ambassador; and, M. de Tolstoi, who held that post, having been recalled by the Emperor my master, in order to his being succeeded by the Prince de Kourakin, I am happy to find myself in a situation to correspond directly with your excellency.-I have the honour to be, with sentiments of high

consideration, &c.

COUNT N. DE ROMANZOFF. No. XI.-Letter from M. de Champagny,to Mr. Canning. Paris, Oct.

31, 1808.

SIR, His Majesty the Emperor my master, having left Paris, I am not willing to wait his orders to ac

knowledge the receipt of the letter which your excellency did me the honour to write to me on the 28th of this month, and which I received this morning, as also of the official note which was annexed to it. I shall lose no time in forwarding these papers to his Imperial Majesty; and, as soon as his intentions shall be made known to me, I shall hasten to send another courier to your excellency. I am, with the highest consideration, &c.

CHAMPAGNY.

No. XII.-Letter from Count Nicolas de Romanzoff, to Mr. Canning. Paris, 16th (8th) November 1808.

SIR,- transmit to your excellency my answer to the note of the 28th October, which you were pleased to address to Count de Tolstoi and I hasten to seize this fresh opportunity of renewing to your excellency the assurances of the high consideration with which I have the honour to be, &c,

COUNT N. DE ROMANZOFF.
No. XIII.-Note.

The undersigned minister for foreign affairs of his Majesty the Emperor of all the Russias, has the honour to reply signed by Mr. Canning, Secretary of to the note of the 25th of October, State for foreign affairs to his Majesty the King of Great Britain, and addressed by his excellency the Russian amıbassador at Paris;

That the admission of the Sovereigns in alliance with England, to a congress, cannot be a point of any difficuity, and that Russia and France consent to it.

But this principle by no means extends to the necessity of admitting the plenipotentiaries of the Spanish insurgents. The Emperor of Russia cannot admit them. His empire in similar circumstances, and England can recollect one particular instance, has always been true to the same principle. Moreover he has already acknowledged the King Joseph Napoleon. He has announced to his Britannic Majesty, that he was united with the Emperor of the French for peace as well as for war; and his Imperial Majesty here repeats

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that declaration. He is resolved not to separate his interests from those of that monarch; but they are both 'ready to conclude a peace, provided it be just, honourable, and equal for all parties.

The undersigned sees with pleasure, that, in this difference of opinion respecting the Spaniards, nothing presents itself which can either prevent or delay the opening of a congress. He derives his persuasion in tins respect, frou that which his Britannic Majesty has himself confided to the two emperors, that he is bound to no positive engagement with those who have taken up armis in Spain.

After fifteen years of war, Europe has a right to demand peace. The interest of all the powers, including that of England, is to render it general. Humanity commands it; and such a desire surely, cannot be foreign to the feelings of his Britannic Majesty. How can it be, that he alone can withdraw himself from such an object, and refuse to terminate the miseries of suffering humanity!

The undersigned consequently renews, in the name of the Emperor his august master, the proposal already made, to send plenipotentiaries to any city on the continent, which his Britannic Majesty may please to point out; to admit to the congress the plenipotentiaries of the Sovereigns in alliance with Great Britain; to treat upon the basis of the uti possidetis, and upon that of the respective power of the belligerent parties: in fine, to accept any basis which may have for its object the conclusion of a peace, in which the parties shall find honour, justice, and equality.

The undersigned has the honour to renew to his excellency Mr. Canning the assurances of his high consideration,

COUNT DE ROMANZOFF. No. XIV.-Letter from M. de Champagny to Mr. Canning: Paris 28th November, 1808.

SIR.I have the honour to transmit to your excellency the answer which I have been commanded to make to the note which accompanied your letter of the 28th of October last. I have the honour to be with the highest cousideration, &c. CHAMPAGNY.

No. XV.-Note. The undersigned has laid before the Emperor his master, the note of his

excellency Mr. Canning.-If it were true that the evils of war were felt only on the continent, certainly there would be little hope of attaining peace.

The two Emperors had flattered themselves that the object of their measure would not have been misinterpreted in London. Could the English ministry have ascribed it to weakness or to necessity, when every impartial statesmen must recognize, in the spirit of peace and moderation by which it is dictated, the characteristics of power and true greatness? France and Russia can carry on the war so long as the court of London shall not recur to just and equitable dispositions; and they are resolved to do so!

How is it possible for the French government to entertain the proposal which has been made to it, of admitting to the negociation the Spanish insurgents? What would the English government have said, had it been proposed to them to admit the catholic insurgents of Ireland? France, without having any treaties with them, has been in communication with them, has made them promises, and has frequently sent them succours. Could such a proposal have found place in a note, the object of which ought to have been not to irritate, but to endeavour to effect a mutual conciliation, and good uuderstanding!

England will find herself under a strange mistake, if, contrary to the experience of the past, she still entertains the idea of contending successfully upon the continent, against the armies of France. What hope can she now have, especially as France is irrevocably united with Russia?

The undersigned is commanded to re peat the proposal,to admit to the negociation all the allies of the King of England; whether it be the King who reigns in the Brazils; whether it be the King who reigns in Sweden; or whether it be the King who reigns in Sicily and to take for the basis of the negociation the uti possidetis. He is commanded to express the hope that, not losing sight of the inevitable results of the force of states, it will be remembered, that between great powers there is no solid peace but that which is at the same time equal and honourable for all parties. The undersigned requests his excellency Mr. Canning to accept the assurances of his highest consideration.

CHAMPAGNY.

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