crown of France on the head of Bonaparte, the general conduct of that power was looked upon with a jealous eye by many of the cabinets of Europe. Those most exposed to the effects of the violence of the new emperor, contemplated his encroachments and their own debasement in silence; but Russia and Sweden openly avowed their sentiments. On the 21st of July a very dignified and circumstantial note, characteristic of the honourable and disinterested sentiments which have long distinguished the councils of the court of St. Petersburgh, was presented, in reply to the evasive and insulting note from Mr. Talleyrand, of the 26th of May, (already mentioned,) by M. Oubril, the Russian chargé d'affaires at Paris. It was there stated, that his court had justly disapproved his having received a paper which did not convey an answer to his preceding official communications, and was by no means fit to be laid before his angust sovereign. That its contents consisted of assertions not only unfounded, but wholly unconneéted with the note of the 22nd April.That the emperor, already moved by the calamities by which a great portion of Europe was oppressed, and by the dangers which threaten. ed the German empire, whose interests Russia was particularly bound to support, in conformity to her obligations, received intelligence of another violation of the law of na tions, which was perpetrated at Ettenheim. He, therefore, conceived himself bound to incite the assembled states of the German em. pire to concur with him, in protesting against the conduct of the French government, to whom his majesty communicated the same sentiments, in hopes that reparation would be offered to the German league, and the fears entertained by Europe, of a repetition of similar outrages, allayed. The evasive reply which was made to so plain a declaration, was offensive to Russia, to the German empire, and to France herself. We live no longer in those barbarous times, (recites the note,) when every country regards only her immediate advantages; modern polity has introduced certain principles respecting the interest of the whole community of states." No state could view with indifference the event already mentioned, which gave such a dreadful blow to the independence and security of nations. peace of Teschen, Russia undertook to guarantee and mediate for the German empire; in this quality, his imperial majesty was not merely justified in raising his voice on this occasion, but was absolutely bound to do so. By the The French government, being in a similar quality, assumes the liberty of violating the neutrality of Germany, and to act arbitrarily on that territory. It is difficult to imagine how his imperial majesty should be incompetent to assert the rights than our readers will approve. We have, besides, conceived it not amiss to insert, at full length, several of the official publications which appeared upon the occasion, the better to convey an idea of the language of the time, and the degree of servility to which the French nation has been reduced in the course of a few years, from the most outrageous democracy. We have, however, rejected whatever we judged night be dispensed with according to this view of the subject. rights of the German empire, the security and independence of which he has guaranteed. It would be in vain to attempt to explain otherwise the conduct of Russia, whose motives are so evident, or to discover therein the influence of the enemies of France her sole motive is the wretched condition to which the French government has reduced Europe. Should Russia propose to establish a coalition, for the purpose of renewing the war upon the continent, it would not be necessary to seek an unfounded cause for it. The French government has long given too much and tod just cause for breaking the bonds of harmony, which the emperor has preserved merely from his moderation, and which he desired to preserve for ever. No person, and the French government least of all, can mistake the views of the cabinet of St. Petersburgh, since his imperial majesty so explicitly declared, even before the present war, how necessary it was to labour for the consolidation of peace; to prevent new revolutions in Europe, to avoid every cause of mistrust, and to suffer every state to enjoy its independence. At the same time Russia expressed her earnest desire that the French cabinet would, by moderation and disinterestedness, give a hope to the other states of Europe, that every government might, at length, (after an unhappy war, which cost so much blood,) devote itself, in security, to the happiness of the people entrusted to it. Far from desiring to rekindle the flames of war on the continent, his Russian majesty most ardently wished to stifle those flames every where; but his majesty more particularly entertains the wish that the French government would leave those nations to themselves, who desire nothing more fervently than to avoid taking a part in the present troubles. Russia never deviated from those principles; all her transactions with the French government had no other object. Upon the same ground she proposed to act as mediator between France and England, but her offer was not accepted. Since the renewal of the war, the French government has thought itself authorised to occupy countries, and deprive them of their commerce, who in vain appealed to their neutrality. His imperial majesty was thereby alarmed, not indeed on his own account, since, from the actual. situation and power of his empire, his majesty might remain a quiet spectator of those distressing scenes, but he was alarmed for the security of the other states of Europe. His imperial majesty repeatedly urged, but always ineffectually, that those countries, at least, should be permitted to remain neutral, whose neutrality France and Russia had guaranteed by mutual treaties. His majesty also repeatedly disclosed his sentiments, with respect to those states that are already in danger of sharing the fate of Italy, of a part of Germany, and of the other countries which France has already in her possession. In spite of all his remonstrances and exertions, the emperor beheld the danger increasing daily. French troops on one side occupying the coast of the Adriatic, on the other levying contributions on the Hans Towns, aud menacing Denmark; consequently, his imperial majesty has resolved, as the theatre of war approaches his frontiers, to establish a military force which shall be N 2 ade adequate to check further encroachments. Never did a government act more candidly, or more uprightly. If such conduct be considered as hostile to France, or as an attack upon the welfare and tranquillity of the German empire, there no longer any difference exists between manifest encroachments on the one part, and that just indignation which the other must feel; between attack and defence; between the oppression and the protection of the weak. The undersigned does not, in this place, examine, by the law of nations, the question whether the French government be justified in persecuting, in every country, those persons whom it has exiled from their own, and in prescribing to foreign pow. ers the manner in which they shall be permitted to treat, or to employ, the late emigrants, whom they may have adopted as their subjects, or employed in their service. Such a tenet is at variance with every principle of justice, nay, with those principles which the French nation has solemnly proclaimed. To suppose that Russia attacks the independence of the states of Europe, because she will not permit a person, in her employment abroad, to be appointed somewhere else, at the will of the French government, were to confound all ideas and word or because she claims another person, who is a naturalized Russian, and who has just now been delivered up by another state, with out any previous trial, and contrary to every appearance of justice. Never did the emperor protect conspirators; his noble and upright character is too well known to all Europe, to require an elaborate contradiction of that assertion, as false as it is indecent. The French government itself is convinced of the contrary; it need only remember that the emperor has frequently declared, that, if such an accusation were proved against any Russian in his employment, he would hasten to punish him most severely, for a crime which he considers of a most heinous nature. But the cabinet of St. Cloud returned no answer to this candid communication, nor did it furnish any proof to support its pretensions; it has then no right to complain of its unsupported demands not being complied with. But, at the present moment, when Portugal was obliged to purchase her neu trality; when Naples, to save her's, was compelled to contribute, at an enormous expense, to the maintenance of French troops on her own territory; when all Italy, especially those republics that had been promised independence and happiness; when Switzerland and Holland were considered merely as French provinces; when one part of the German empire is occupied, while in another part French detachments execute arrests, in contempt of the sacred law of nations; at such a moment, the emperor will leave to all the states mentioned, nay, to the impartial opinion of the cabinet of St. Cloud itself, the de cision of the question, which of the two, Russia or France, menaces the security of Europe. Which of them acts on principles most favourable to the independence of other states. Which interferes most in the government and internal police of other countries, and practices the most arbitrary acts against them.* Russia entertains not the * Vide "State Papers," page 617. least least inclination for war, nor can she, be benefited by it; her conduct will alone be influenced by the pressure of circumstances. It is the emperor's desire to preserve his former relations with France, but upon no other ground than that of perfect equality. The first condition is, that the terms mutually agreed upon shall be sacredly fulfilled, and on this condition only can the two states, after what has happened, enjoy their former relations of good will and amity. "The undersigned has been or"dered to declare, that he cannot "prolong his stay at Paris, unless "the following demands be pre"viously complied with.-First, "That, conformably to the 4th and 5th articles of the secret conven"tion of the 11th of October, 1801, "the French goverment shall cause "its troops to evacuate the king"dom of Naples; and, when that done, that it shall engage to "respect the neutrality of that "kingdom, during the present "and any future war. Secondly, "That, in conformity to the second "article of the said convention, the "French government shall promise "to establish immediately some "principle of concert with his Im"perial Majesty, for regulating the basis upon which the affairs of Italy shall be finally adjusted."Thirdly, That it shall engage, in "conformity to the sixth article of "the convention aforesaid, and the "promises so repeatedly given to "Russia, to indemnify, without de"lay, the king of Sardinia, for the "losses he has sustained. Fourthly, "and lastly, That, in virtue of "the obligations of mutual gua"rantee and mediation, the French 66 government shall promise imme"diately to evacuate, and withdraw "its troops from the north of Ger66 many, and enter into an engagement to respect, in the strictest 66 manner, the neutrality of the "Germanic body. The under"signed has to add, that he has re"ceived orders from his govern"ment to demand a categorical an"swer to these four points *.” This note produced a reply, dated the 29th of July, abounding in invective, and full as unsatisfactory as the former one from the French government +. It is there repeated that France is justified in reproaching Russia with having neglected to perform her engagements, contracted by the secret convention of the 11th Vendemaire, year 10, with having changed the government of the Seven Islands, without any concert or communication with France, and of having assembled large bodies of troops at Corfu; with having patronized the emigrants, and their projects against France-with having even placed herself in a posture of direct defiance to France, by ordering a court mourning, as a mark of respect to the memory of an agent, in the pay N 3 of * Our readers will find, in the above-cited state paper, a most correct and temperate exposure, of the dispositions manifested by the French government, and the system of aggression uniformly pursued by that power. And as no language which we could have used, would have depicted the conduct of France towards other nations more faithfully, we have thought proper, contrary to our usual practice, to insert the greater part of that able production in the body of our narrative. † Vide State Papers, p. 649. of England, engaged in a criminal pelled. It is stated that the total in design against France, after this traitor had been condemned by the just decision of a tribunal of the French government, and had been executed in pursuance of his sentence. The glaring partiality manifested by Russia towards England, and the perfidious conduct of count Marcoff, who had increased the differences between the two govern. ments, and had engaged in all the wicked designs of the emigrants and disaffected persons in France. That these were the real causes of the disposition lately evinced by Russia towards France. That Russia must fulfil the stipulations by which both powers were mutually bound, before she could expect France to comply with them. That the conduct of Russia was that of a conqueror to the vanquished. It were to suppose that France could be intimidated by menaces. The history of the war which preceded the peace with Russia, proves that that power had no more right than any other, to assume a haughty tone towards France. But if, notwithstanding all the solicitude of the emperor of the French, to maintain the relations of peace and amity be ween the two countries, the cmpeof Russia should join his armies to those of England, the emperor of French, with the assistance of Gdand his arms, was not in a situato to fear any man. Sas corespondence was termimed by a note, dated the 28th of 4gust, presented to the French miLister for foreign affairs, by M. bril. The allegations contained the former Russian notes, are forcibly recapitulated, whilst the recriminations made by the French government, are triumphantly re attention of the French government to the just claims and remonstrances of Russia, was evidence of the little value attached by the French government to its relations with her, and of its invariable determination to adopt for its conduct a line, ab, solutely contrary to the principles of justice, and the laws of nations, which could by no means harmonize with the sentiments and principles professed by his Russian majesty. In short, nothing further remained for the undersigned than to declare, that all correspondence between the two powers having, by these means, become perfectly useless, must cease, and that his majesty the emperor only waited for intelligence of the departure of his chargé d'affaires from Paris, to signify to the French mission to quit his capital. As the present state of affairs has arisen solely from the conduct of the French government, upon it would depend the decision of the question, whether or not war was to be the consequence. In case it should compel Russia, either by fresh inju. ries or by provocations, aimed against her or against her allies, or by still threatening more seriously the security and independence of Europe, his majesty would then manifest as much energy in the employment of those extreme means, which a just defence requires, as he has given proofs of patience, in resorting to the use of all the means of moderation, consistent with the maintenance of the honour and dignity of his crown. This important paper concludes, by M. Oubril demanding the necessary passports for his departure from France. In the mean time a vigorous protest, dated 27th July, was made on |