1. The reftitution of fome captures which have been made during the prefent war upon the Spanish Flag.

2. The privilege for the Spanish nation to fifh upon the Ba..ks of Newfoundland.

3. The demolition of the English fettlements made upon the Spanish territories in the Bay of Honduras.

These three articles may be eafily adjufted agreeable to the equity of the two nations; and the King earnestly withes, that fome accommodations may be thought on, to the fatisfaction of the Spanish and English nations, with regard to thefe articles; but he cannot disguise from England the danger he apprehends, and of which he muft neceffarily partake, if thefe objects, which feem nearly to concern his Catholick Majefty, fhould be the occafion of a war. His Majefty, therefore, deems it a principal point of confideration in concluding a firm and advantageous peace, that, at the fame time that that defirable point fhall be concluded between France and England, his Britannick Majefty fhould terminate his differences with Spain, and agree to invite his Catholick Majefty to guaranty the treaty which is to reconcile (pray Heaven for ever) his Majefty and the King of England.

As to what remains, his Majefty does not intimate his apprehenfion in this refpect to the Court of London but with the most fincere and upright intentions to obviate every impediment which may arife hereafter to disturb the union of the French and English nations; and he defires his Britannick Majefty, whom he fuppofes influenced by the fame good wifhes, freely to communicate his fentiments on fo effential an object.

The precaution of France to enfure the folidity of the peace, comprised every object which could conduce to that end. The fuccours which his Majefty and the King of England afforded their allies in Germany, left a fource of war still fubfifting, and an expence detrimental to both nations. The King judged, that the most natural means to put an end to the difputes which the fuccours to be afforded their refpective allies might produce, would be to come to an agreement between France and England, that France, on her part, fhould not yield any kind of

fuccour

fuccour to the Emprefs-Queen, and in like manner, that England fhould be bound not to furnish any affiftance to the King of Pruffia. It would have been a violation of good faith to have ftipulated this withdrawing of all fuc Cour, without the confent of the allies. The King required the confent of the Emprefs-Queen, and obtained it early enough for M. Buffy to tranfmit the following note to the British Minister relative to that object, at the fame time that he gave him the memorial of the French propofitions, and that which related to Spain.

SIN

M. Buffy's Note to Mr. Pitt.

INCE the memorial of the propofition from France was formed, and at the inftant that the courier was ready to fet out for London, the King received the confent of the Emprefs-Queen to a feparate peace with England, but upon two conditions:

1. To keep poffeffion of the countries belonging to the King of Pruffia.

2. That it fhall be ftipulated, that the King of Great Britain, neither in his capacity of King nor Elector, shall afford any fuccour, either in troops or of any kind whatever, to the King of Pruffia; and that his Britannick Majesty will undertake that the Hanoverian, Heffian, Brunfwickian, and the other Auxiliaries in alliance with Hanover, fhall not join the forces of the King of Prussia, in like manner as France fhall engage, on her part, not to yield fuccour of any kind to the Emprefs-Queen, nor her allies.

Both these conditions appear fo natural and equitable in themselves, that his Majefty could not do otherwise than acquiefce in them; and he hopes that the King of Great Britain will be ready to adopt them.

Upon reading these vouchers with attention, it may be obferved, that the memorial containing the propofitions, clearly explains the means of reconciling France and England with respect to their particular interefts: and that the note, No. XIX. removes all obftacles which the fuc Cours to be given to the allies in Germany might throw in

th

the way of a reconciliation between the two Crowns. In fact, what could be more juft and advantageous both to France and England, in the circumstances in which they flood, than wholly and abfolutely to withdraw from the war in Germany? Laftly, in order to prevent the flames of war from breaking out afresh in Europe, which the complaints of Spain might re-kindle, and in which France, fooner or later, would have been forced to have taken part; nothing could be deemed more difcreet than the propofition contained in the memorial, No. XVIII. more especially as that proportion was the natural refult of the good offices which his Catholick Majesty had offered to the Crown the preceding years, in order to mediate peace between them; which kind offices had been accepted on the part of France by an authentic declaration, which had not then been opposed by England.

M. Buffy laid these several pieces before Mr. Pitt on the 23d of July. They had been previously communicated to Mr. Stanley, to the end that that Minifter might tranfmit a circumftantial account of them to his court, and that the English Minifter might be apprised of the objects included in the dispatch, and might be able to confer with M. Buffy thereupon without lofs of time. The King had even tranfmitted very minute inftructions to his Minifter at London, which contained fresh expedients for reconciling the differences of France with England, in relation to the respective poffeffions of the two Crowns in America, Africa, and Afia. His Majefty had foreseen that the taking of Pondicherry, of which an account came but a few days before, might occafion some alteration which it might be neceffary to obviate by fresh facrifices, if fuch thould be deemed expedient; but the English Minifter, in the conference at which the pieces were laid before him, difcovered his perfonal oppofition to peace: he refused to agree to any of the articles in the memorial of propofitions; he entered very little into the particular motives of his oppofition; he expatiated with fome warmth on the memorial which related to Spain; rejected the note which concerned the allies in Germany with difdain; and concluded with faying, That he would take the directions of the King his mafter, with refpect

to those two laft pieces, and that he would tranfmit to Mr. Stanley the answer of his Britannick Majefty to the propofitions of France. In confequence of this, Mr. Pitt, having returned M. Buffy the memorials concerning Spain and Germany, wrote a letter to him on the 24th of July, conceived in the following terms.

Mr. Pitt's Letter to M. Buffy, 24th July 1761.

SIR,

Hterday, with respect to certain engagements of

AVING explained myself, in our conference yes

France with Spain, relative to the difputes of the latter Crown with Great Britain, of which your Court never in formed us, but at the very inftant of making, as the has done, her first propofitions for the feparate peace of the two Crowns; and as you have defired, for the fake of greater punctuality, to take a note of what paffed between us upon fo weighty a fubject, I here repeat, Sir, by his Majefty's order, the fame declaration, word for word, which I made to you yesterday, and again anticipate you with respect to the most fincere fentiments of friendship and real regard on the part of his Majefty towards the Catholick King, in every particular confiftent with reason and juftice. It is my duty to declare farther to you in plain terms, in the name of his Majefty, That he will not fuffer the difputes with Spain to be blended, in any manper whatever, in the negociation of peace between the two Crowns; to which I must add, That it will be confidered as an affront to his Majefty's dignity, and as a thing incompatible with the fincerity of the negociation, to make farther mention of fuch a circumftance.

Moreover, it is expected, that France will not, at any time, prefume a right of intermeddling in fuch difputes between Great Britain and Spain.

Thefe confiderations, fo juft and indispensable, have determined his Majefty to order me to return you the memorial which occafions this, as wholly inadmissible.

Į likewife return you, Sir, as totally inadmiffible, the memorial relative to the King of Pruffia, as implying an attempt upon the Honour of Great Britain, and the fide

lity

fity with which his Majefty will always fulfil his engagements with his allies.

I have the honour to be, &c.

Signed PITT.

The ftyle of this letter, and the manner of returning the memorials, do not bear the marks of that conciliating temper, by which the Court of England would hitherto have been thought to have been influenced.

The answers to the memorial of the French propofitions, which were remitted to Verfailles on the 29th July, are extremely analogous with Mr. Pitt's Letter; they are dictated with an air of haughtiness and defpotifm, which might have shocked a Court of lefs confequence than that of France. They follow word for word.

The Anfwer of the British Court to the Memorial of French Propofitions, 29th July, 1761,

A Paper of Articles to be delivered to Mr. Stanley, as the definitive propofitions from the Court of Great Britain,

"HIS

IS Britannick Majefty will never recede from the entire and total ceffion on the part of France, without any new limits, or any exception whatever, of all Canada and its appurtenances; and his Majefty will never relax, with regard to the full and compleat ceffion on the part of France, of the Ifle of Cape Breton, and of all the other islands in the Gulph or in the River of St. Lawrence, with the right of fishing, which is infeparably incident to the poffeffion of the aforefaid Coafts, and of the Canals or Straits which lead to them.

2. With respect to fixing the limits of Louisiana, with regard to Canada, or the English poffeffions fituate on the Ohio, as alfo on the Coast of Virginia, it can never be allowed that whatever does not belong to Canada fhall ap pertain to Louifiana, nor that the boundaries of the laft Province fhould extend to Virginia, or to the British poffeffions on the borders of the Ohio; the nations and countries which lie intermediate, and which form the true barrier between the aforefaid province, not being proper, on

any