Pruffia, during the negotiations at Laneville, Lucchesini had for fome time maintained an ascendant over the mind of his royal mafter. It was chiefly by his counfels that the affairs of Pruffia were then die rected. It was not by fecret intrigues only that Buonaparte fet himself to roule a general confederacy against England. He avowed this intention, with the reafons on which it was formed, before the whole world, in a mellage to the legislative body, the tribunate, and the confervative fenate, February 13, refpecting the treaty that had been recently made with Auftria; and which, as his other melages and mea, fares, was printed and published. "Why," fays he," is it, that this treaty is not a treaty of general pacification? This was the wifh of France! This was the conftant obe ject of the efforts of its government. But all its efforts have been in vain.. Europe knows all that the British. miniftry have done, to prevent the fuccefs of the negotiations at Lune ville. In vain did an agent, autho rized by the government, declare! to them, on the 9th of October, 1800, that France was ready to enter into a feparate negotiation with them. Its declaration was anfwered only by a refufal, under the pretext that England could not abandon her ally. Since that pee: riod, and after that ally had cons fented to treat without England, this government feeks for other, means of postponing peace, which is to neceflary to the whole world. It violates a convention confecrated by humanity, and makes war on fishermen.† It advances pretenfions It did not feem at all neceffary to enter into any hiftory of the negotiations at Lunea ville. The bafinefs tranfa&ted with the Auftrians lay in a narrow compafs, and was, in fact, for the most part, transacted at Paris. The emperor refused at firft to conclude any treaty for peace, but in conjunction with his ally, Great Britain. After the battle of Hohialinden, the progrefs of the French armies in the hereditary dominions, and the paffage of the Mincio, and the Adige, by the army under general Brune, there was no longer room for negotiation. The emperor was at the mercy of Buonaparte. Beides, the negotiations, whether at Luneville, or Paris, were not like thofe of Raftadt, in' 1-95, of a public, byt of a fecret, nature. By the presence of count Cebentzel, for fome time at Paris, inftead of Luneville, the delays that must have arifen, from the neceffity of an intercdiate agunt, were avoided. The Auftrian negotiation was invefted at once with the character of prime minifter, and plenipotentiary. And, as it was Buonaparte and count Cobentzel, that concluded the treaty of Campo Formio, they had confiderable facilities in bringing the new arrangements to an iffe. At Paris, there arrived, befides the Pruffian minifter, ambaffadors from the duke of Bavaria, the margrave of Baden, the pope, and the duke of Parma. The count de Cobentzel, on the 7th of November, accompanied by Jofeph Buonaparte, returned to Luneville, and again, after the armistice of Steyer, to Paris. The appearance of a negotiation at Luneville was not nterrupted by the renewal of hoftilities. Magnificent apartments were fitted up in the cattle of Luneville for the Auftrian and the French ministers. A telegraph, for correfponding with Paris, was erected on the top of the cattle. The presence of fo many diplomatic characters, gave an air of mystery and importance to matters: there was, however, very little done but what was public enough, and of that there was, indeed, a great deal: a never cealing fucceffion of pubic balts, dinners, and other entertainments. The politeneis, mutual civilities, and magnificence, that prevailed, feemed a triumph over the reign, of the committees of the copycational affembly, and the directory. Orders had been given, January, 1800, to the English privateers to capture all French fifhermen: but, as full liberty of fishing on their coafts to all nations was allowed by VOL. XLIII. [G] the fions contrary to the dignity and the rights of all nations. All the commerce of Afia, and immenfe colonies, are no longer fufficient to fatisfy its ambition. It is neceflary that all the feas should be subjected to the exclufive fovereignty of Eng, land It arms against Ruffia, Denmark, and Sweden, because Ruffia, Denmark, and Sweden, have, by treaties mutually guarantied their fovereignty, their independence, and their flags. The powers of the north,unjuftly attacked, have a right to rely on the affiftance of France. The French government will, with the French, these orders, on the 30th of May, were revoked. There appeared, however, to the British ministry, ground to believe that these fishermen were put into requifition and fent into Breft, to equip and arm the fileet, and that ti ofe who had been permitted to leave the prifons of this country, and return home, on the exprefs condition of not ferving in the navy, were alfo compiled in that requifition. Orders were therefore given, towards the end of January, 1801, that the orders which had been iflued in January, 1800, fhould aan be put in execution in every thing, relating to fishermen and their vefiels. And the commiffioners charged with the fervice of transports, and the care of prisoners of war, were ordered to require, in the ufual mode of communication, that althofe difcharged on their parole, fhould be obliged to return to this country, a dto fignify to them, as well as to the French government, that fuch of them as should neglect to obey thefe o. ders, should be treated with all the rigour of the laws of war, in cafe they should be made prifoners again in the fervice of the enemies of his majefty. This notice from the British government produced the recall of Mr. Otto, with the copy of a note from Talleyrand, by orders from the chief conful, which he (M. Otto), o his departure, was to addrefs to the British government. The note ftated, "That if, on one part, this act of the British government, contrary to all the ufages of civilized nations, and to the common law which regulated them) even in time of war, gave to the prefent war a character of fury and violence, on the other it was impoffible for him not t. acknowledge that the conduct of the English government respecting the point in question, tended to exasperate the two nations more, and to remove the period of peace to a titl greater diftance: that, in confequence, the undersigned could no longer remain in a country, where the government not only abjured all difpofition for peace, but where the laws and ufages of war were defp fed and violated. The undersigned had therefore ores to quit England, where his continuance was, in every refpect; useless, and he was charged, at the fame time, to declare that the French government, whofe firft with had always been to contribute to the general pacification, and with whom it had always been, to foften, as much as poffible, the calamities of war, cannot think of rendering miserable fhermen the victims of the prolongation of hoftilities; that it had ordered, on the contrary, that the French privateers or cruifers fhould continue to leave the fishery free and undisturb d," If the French government had traudulently obtained the releafe of men fremor prifons, as fishermen, who realty were not fuch, our government had reafon to complain. On the other hand, it could carcely he fuppofed har the French fishermen fhould be exempted from being preffed, in order to exempted from being captured. The clafs of fishermen fupply hands for the British navy. The English ministry, on a due confideration of all circumilances, gave up the harth measure complained of; and Mr. Otto remained in England. publifhed, published, to fhew not only that That France had determined to ocean in a fhell, with the following motto: Liberte de mer. The liberty of the feas was not only recognised by the profeffions of Buonaparte, but by his conduct. After a long courfe of difpute, not abfolutely hoftile, a treaty was concluded, September 30, 1800, between France and America, on the principle, that free fhips make free goods, contraband excepted. Paffports from any place from whence any veffel fhould have failed, with certificates afcertaining the cargoes, were to be fufficient guarantees, on both fides, to merchant vessels, against all infults. It was agreed that the citizens of the two nations might navigate and trade, in perfect freedom and fecurity, with their merchandise and ships in the country and ports of the enemies of either party, without encountering any obftacle or control; and not only pafs directly from the ports and fortreffes of that enemy, but, moreover, from any place belonging to an enemy into any other belong ing to another enemy, whether fubjected or not to the fame jurifdiction, unless thefe fortreffes should be actually befieged, blockaded, or invefted. The articles forming contraband during war were underftood to be thefe: ganpowder, faltpetre, petards, matches, balls, bullets, bombells, piftols, halberts, cannons, harneffes, artillery of all forts, and, in general, all kinds of arms and implements for the equip. ment of troops. Thele articles, whenever they fhould be found deftined for an enemy's port, were The et cetera might have been filled up, and the fentence very properly concluded, with Holland: but this was delicate ground. difficulties which had occurred. Even before the treaty was brought to a conclufion, the French commiffioners, by the authority of their government, declared, that, even in cafe of the prefent negotiation not terminating in a treaty, the American flag fhould, nevertheless, continue to be refpected, and their veffels, in the French courts of law, be treated as thofe of a friendly nation. Orders were issued to the privateers to refpect all neutral flags, among which thofe of the Americans were by far the moft numerous, and American and other veffels were daily releafed, with damages against the owners of the privateers. Soon after the conclufion of this commercial treaty between the Americans and the French, an ambaffador was fent, for the first time, to the United States from Denmark. While the French government, by the fhew of a frank and equitable conduct towards all nations, endea voured to conciliate univerfal confidence and attachment, the British cruifers continued occafionally to knock about them, and to feize the fhips of neutrals fraught, or fufpected to be fraught, with military or naval ftores to the enemies of Britain, as ufual. A fleet of Swedish merchantmen, carrying pitch, tar, hemp, deals, and iron, to feveral ports of France, was taken, January, 1798, failing under convoy of a fhip of war, and proceeded against for refiftance of vifitation and fearch by British cruifers. Sir William Scott, the judge in our admiralty court, after ftating the law of nations, and that there did not exit any special circumstances in the cafe in hand, which ought, in any manner or degree, to alect the application of that ge neral principle, which he held to be incontrovertible, obferved, "That it was his bufinefs merely to decide, whether, in a court of the law of nations, a pretenfion could be legally maintained, which had for its purpose, neither more nor lefs, than to extinguifh the right of maritime capture in war, and that by the direct use of hoftile force on the part of a neutral ftate. It was high time that the legal merit of fuch a pretenfion fhould be difpofed of one way or other. It had been for fame few years paft preparing in Europe, and it was extremely fit that it fhould be brought to the test of a judicial decifion; for a worse state of things could not exift, than that of an undetermined conflict between the ancient law of nations, and a modern project of innovation, utterly inconfiftent with it; and, in his apprehenfion, not more inconfiftent with that, than with the amity of neighbouring flates, and the perfonal fafety of their refpective fubjects." The judge, then, having allowed fuch cofts as feemed equitable, condemned the flips and cargoes, dire&ing, at the fame time, all private adventures to be restored; and he concluded in these words: "This is the fubftance of what L have to pronounce judicially in this cafe, after weighing, with the moft anxious care, the feveral facts, and the learned arguments that have been applied to them. I deliver it to my country, and to foreign countries, with little diffidence in the rectitude of the judgement itself. I have ftill more fatisfaction in feeling an entire confidence in the rectitude of the confiderations, under which it has been formed.” It is not common for men to bear with equanimity even the judge not admit. Secondly, France held it for a maxim, that free ships make free goods, with the exception of goods comprifed under the defcription of contraband of war, and which have been juft fpecified. Great Britain neither admitted that maxim, nor limited contraband goods to the articles there particularized, but confidered as contraband various materials that formed naval and military ftores. Thirdly, the French required that thofe ports only fhould be confidered as blockaded, at the entrance of which the blockading ships were actually anchored, and that fo near as to create, at all times, an evident danger to thofe hips which might attempt to enter. The English infifted, that blockades might be constituted by cruifing fquadrons, anfwering, in a naval war, to thofe real or virtual lines of circumvallation, which belong to a fiege by land. Thefe ideal lines on the fea, though not defended in every point by an equal force, they held fufficient to exclude all right of commerce with the towns fo invested: it was by this fyftem only, that many ports hoftile to England, and particularly that of Breft, could be effectually blockaded. The eagerness of the French government to exhibit to the world a proof and example of their maritime jurifprudence and moderation, was difplayed by fome facrifices, on the part of France, to that object. By the treaty between Great Britain and America, of 1794, it was kipulated, that a free entrance fhould be granted into their refpective ports, with complete protection to the privateers and fhips of war of the two countries, and the prizes taken from their enemies; and they engaged Bever to conclude a treaty, extend ing the fame favour to any nation at war with either of the contracting parties. The treaty of 1778, having been annulled by the latter, and now regarded as if it had never exifted, they could not allow the fame privileges to France, without violating their treaty with England, By the fame treaty, the United States were prevented from acceding to the great principle of the new maritime fyftem, viz. that free fhips make free goods, without an exception in favour of the fuperior naval power of England. They admitted the right of fearch on the part of England. In return for fuch complaifance, certain advantages were accorded by the British government to the Americans, as will appear from the treaty. The French commiffioners in their negotiations with the Americans, urged how hard it was that France, for the fake of establishing univerfally the rights of neutrality, and the law of nations, should be obliged to recognife and ratify, in favour of her rivals and enemies, proceedings fo little expected on the part of the Americans, with whom he had fo recently made a common cause against those very enemies, directed to the fame object, for which France herself was now at war, the attainment of liberty and independence: but the diplomatic conferences were conducted throughout in the most amie cable manner. The American am▾ balladors, during their refidence at Paris, were treated with every poffible mark of refpect. The French negotiators laboured hard to renew the treaty of 1778, with certain modifications; but, when they found that this could not be done, they only expreffed their regret that it fhould be impoflible to remove the [G 3] difficulties |