CHAP. V. Political Views of Buonaparte, after a Pacification with Auftria.—The Charafter now assumed ▸y France.—Buonaparte cajoles Paul 1.—and revives the Armed Neutrality of 1780, against Great Britain.-Convention on tha Principles of that Confederation between France and America.→ Ambassador fent to the United American States from Denmark.-Difputes between Sweden and Great Britain,-Capture and Condemnation of a Swedish Convoy. A Swedish Vessel pressed into the Naval Service of England.-Complaints of this made by Spain and Holland.-Dignified Conduct on that Occafion of the King of Sweden.-Reflections on the Question concerning the Liberty of the Seas.-Hiftory of this Question.-Sweden and Denmark hofile to England. TH HE chief conful of France, having made peace with Auftria, was now at liberty to bend his undivided attention to England. The leading features of his policy, with refpect to this country, appear to have been thefe: to excite a confederacy, againft this country, among all the maritime powers; to exclude her from all the ports of Europe; to attack, and, if neceffary, to fubdue her only remaining ally, Portugal; and exliauft her finances, and weary out the patience of the British nation, by the continued threats and alarms of invafion. France, now in the ninth year of the war, aflumed the character which England had taken at its commencement. The word, or according to the new phrafeology, the order of the day, in France, was, "The liberty of the feas, and the pacification of Europe." The chief conful was congratulated, of course, by all the conflituted bodies, on the peace which he had fo happily accomplished with Auftria. In his anfwer to the legifla tive body, he faid, "France will not reap all the bleffings of peace, until fie fall have a peace with England: but a fort of delirium has feized on that government, which now holds nothing facred. Its conduct is unjuft, not only towards the French people, but allo towards all the powers of the continent: and when governments are not juft, their authority is but fhortlived. All the powers of the continent muft force England to fall back into the track of moderation, of equity, and reafon." Buonaparte, ever fince the failure of his attempt, after his elevation to the confulate, to negotiate a peace with England, continued, with increafed earneftnefs, to reprefent to all maritime nations the overbearing haughtinefs and infolence of this country. By his minifters and other other agents at the courts of Péterfburgh, Stockholm, Copenhagen, and Berlin, he infinuated how encouraging the prefent pofture of Earope was for a revival of the armed nentrality of 1780, founded on the principle, that free and neutral bottoms make free and neutral goods, and how great the advantages of compelling the English to . make peace on reasonable terms. The defultory and frantic mind of the emperor, Paul, had been irritated, by various accidents, against the courts of both Vienna and London, but especially against the latter. Difputes had arifen, even to the height of action, between the Ruffians and Auftrians, after the reduction of the Ex-Venetian ifles, in 1799, at Ancona. The Auftrians had not duly fupported the Ruffians, in the campaign of that year, against France: and it appeared, not indeed without reafon, that a neighbouring and rival empire, was not actuated by the principles which had drawn the Ruffian potentate into the confederation against the French republic, but by views of individual aggrandifenient. Whatever was the caufe, certain it is, that the emperor of Ruffia had conceived great difguft at the emperor of Germany: in fo much, that when the latter announced his intention of fending an extraordinary ambaffador to Peterfourgh, to offer excufes for 'what had happened at Aucona, Paul retuled to receive him: and, the more fully to give vent to his paffion, he gave orders that no answer fhould be given to the notification from Francis. As to England, mutual accufations had taken place between the Ruffian and the Englifh generals, after the unfuccefsful and difaftrous expedition, in 1799, to Holland. After the first ebullitions of the emperor's rage against his own officers, his jealouly and refentment was awakened against the English. The beginning refentment of Paul against the British nation, as well as the court of St. James's, was inflamed by the failure of his fchemes in the Mediterranean. The genius of the Ruffian govern-` ment, amidst the caprices and fingu larities of individual characters, preferves, on the whole, the impulfe and determination that was given to it by the Great Peter. It was his aim to have a firm footing in the Mediterranean, as well as on the Northern ocean and the Baltic. In purfuance of this general aim, Paul had been led, by a concurrence of circumstances, which need not to be here enumerated, to fix his eyes and heart on Malta. Though no abfolute promife was made to that prince by the other allies; yet, it would appear, that fome hopes had been held out to him, or, at leaft, that he was allowed, without being undeceived, to entertain a fanguine expectation of being prefented with it.* A fleet, with troops, General fir Charles Stuart, in ftating the reafons which induced him to refign the command of the British forces in the Mediterranean, wrote to Mr Dundas, on the 2d of April, 1800, the sollowing: "Although I have freely fubmitted thefe profeffional Temarks to you on the ditheulty of reducing Valette, by fiege, i ruft you will do me the jce to believe, that neither the circumstances I have flated, the reduction of the force first propofed, or the inferiority of the objects now in contemplation, compara vely with thefe originally designed (among which the chief is known to have been the expultion is it by any means unimportant; however Indicrous, on the prefent head, to mention, that Paul was highly offended by the caricatures of his perfon and character, publifted in the ftreets of London; and which Buonaparte took fpecial care to have trab'mitted to Peterburgh. On the irritable and irritated temper of the emperor, difgufted with Auftria,and much more with England,but as prone to fentiments of gratitude and generofity as to thole of relentment, Buonaparte operated with confummate addrefs and complete fuccefs. The world was not a little furprifed at the arrival of an embally in Paris from Paul I. not more than troops, had failed from the Black Sea, in Auguft, 1800, for the exprefs purpose of taking poffeffion of the place when it should furrender, No iemoftrances were made when Paul affumed, ridiculoufly, the title of grand mafter of Malta: and when he pretended to make captain Home Popham a knight of that order, his right to do fo was recognized in the London Gazettee. When the original deftination of that fleet was fruftrated by the furrender of Malta, and its occupation by the English, it remained long anchor in the canal of Conftantinople, waiting for orders how to act. The relentment of the emperor was, in the first inftance, as ufual in fuch cafes, wreaked on a weak party, prefenting itfelf as a ready object for the gratification of his paffion. He demanded from the Grand Signior, the ally of Eng-old Swedish refugee at the court of land, a large fum, ftipulated, he alleged, to be paid by the Turks for the maritime aid of the Ruffians. A harp difpute arofe on this fubject. The Ruffian admiral refuted to return to the Crimea till the money fhould be paid, and even threatened hoftile measures against Conftantinople. The Porte was obliged to yield to the menaces of the enraged czar of Mufcovy. Nor a year after his famous proclamation for reftoring the throne of the Bourbons. This embaffy confifted of the general baron de Sprengporten, an Ruffia, prince Jofeph Dolgorowki, the count de Tiffenbaveen, a captain in the Ruffian army, Mr. de Scheping, fon of the grand marefhal of Courland, and other gentlemen. This ftately company was met by general Clarke, at Bruffels, and by him conducted to Paris on the 18th of December. The oftentible object of the embally was, to treat for the releafe of the Ruffian prifoners expulfion of the French from Egypt), make me for one inftant, wish to relinquish the danger or honour of the undertaking: but the fame point of honour, the good of this country, and, I may add, the humanity which gives rife to thefe feelings, rendered it impoffible for me to obey the particular inftruction concerning the introduction of a Ruffian force inte Malta." Mr. Dundas, having read this extract. faid, "I cannot, on this occafion, avoid remarking, that whilft we are accufed of acting with infincerity towards Ruffia, the circumftance which led to this refignation, is a strong pr of how anxious his majesty felt to offer to that power, though bound to it by no politive engagement whatever, a participation in the advantages of that conqueft, in cafe Ruffia had remained faithful to her alliance, and to the bonds of amity then fut fifting between her and this country.' Parliamentary Register, Loufe of Commons, March 25, 1801. It is difficult to conceive, how the poffeffion of Maita could have been shared, with any tolerable profpect of continued harmony, between the English and the Ruffians. But the prefent question is, whether Paul had any reafon to look for either the whole or a fhare of it? that that had fallen into the hands of the French, to the number of 7000. For this body of Ruffians the British government had refufed to exchange an equal number of French prifoners. The chief conful, in compliment to Paul, gave orders that all the Ruffian prisoners should be newly clothed and accoutred in the uniforms of their refpective regiments, and refored freely without exchange or ranfom. Each man was prefented with a fufil of French manufacture, The baron de Spengporten hore the title only of envoy. He was followed, in February, 1801, by an ambafiador, accompanied by a retinue equally fplendid. The envoy with his train vas treated with very marked refpect: but fill greater marks of refpect and reverence were in referve for the ambaffador. When it was made known in France, that an ambassador from Ruffia was on his way to Paris, his arrival was expected in that city with the utmost eagerness, and every preparation poible was made to gratify the vanity of Paul, in the perfon of his ambaffador. This was the count Kalitcheff, a man of modeft, unaffuming, and courtly manners, who had before fuftained the character of Ruthian amballador, at Berlin and other courts. The count muft doubtless have been aftonished to find himself treated, by fo great and glorious a nation as the French, with a degree of magnificence and of adulation exceeding all the marks of honour and devotion that he had ever known to be paid to his own imperial mafter. On his entrance into Paris, he was faluted by a fire of all the cannon. A magnificent palace was appropriated to his refidence, and he was entertained at the expence of the republic. He was honoured with a body guard. It was artfully contrived that petitions fhould be prefented to him from perfons under the profecution or the fentence of the law, imploring his interference in their behalf with the chief conful, and from others, foliciting favours. The protection of Kalitcheff was never extended to any one without effect: his applications to the confuls were never made in vain. But what was confidered as the head and crown of all this climax of compliment to Paul, was, the affectation of granting, only through the intercellion of the emperor of Ruffia, peace and independence to the king of Naples. The queen of Naples, judging rightly of the character of Paul, governed more by private humours and caprices, than by views of found policy, or even of ambition, had gone to Petersburg, in November, 1800, to perfuade the emperor to continue the war, or if not, to continue, at leaft, his countenance to the royal family of Naples, and to exert his influence and authority for the fafety of the kingdom. A lady in diftrefs could not folicit in vain the protection of a knight errant, after fo long a journey in fuit of it. The emperor's zeal in the caule of the Neapolitans was increafed. The French government expreffed a difpofition to grant to the interceffion of Paul, what they would have granted without it. General Mirat, on the 24th of January, 1801, wrote from Florence, to general de Damas, commander of the Neapo litan troops, as follows: "It is almost a month, general, fince the French miniftry acquainted you that the interest which his majesty the emperor of Ruffia takes in the king of of Naples, had induced the first conful to bury in oblivion the innumerable injuries of all kinds, of which your government has been guilty towards the French people, After this opening towards a good understanding, we entertained the hope, that you would have remained a quiet fpectator of a conteft, in which you can be but of little confequence on one fide or other. Yet the king of Naples forgetting for the tenth time the dictates of found policy, and what was due to the generous conduct of the French government, dispatched his troops into Tufcany, where they came to be thrashed by general · Miollis. But war is attended with fo many calamities, that the French government ftudies all poflible means of avoiding it. 1. Evacuate all the ecclesiastical states, and the caftle of St. Angelo. 2. Make no farther claims of any benefits from the armiftice of Trevifo, in which you are not included, nor at all mentioned, or on the influence of a power which must no longer protect you. The only prince who has if now in his power to protect you, in confequence of the perfonal regard that is borne to him by the firit conful, is, the emperor of all the Ruffias. Let it he the ftudy, fir, of your government to merit a continuation of that prince's goodnefs; which cannot be done but by fhut ting all the ports of Sicily and Naples against the navigation of the Engfith, and laying an embargo on all the fhips of that nation, which it is now high time to expel from all points of the continent.” But the grand point on which Buonaparte's intrigues with Paul turned, was Malta. Malta was to be Ruffia's whenever it could be wrefted, by arms or negotiation, from the English. It is almost needlefs to mention, that, amidst so many acts of studied complaifance, orders were given by the French government for a cessation of all hostilities against Ruffia. On the 19th of January, 1801, the confuls iffued a decree, by which, "All veffels of the republic, and all cruiters bearing the French flag, were forbidden to interrupt the fhips of war, or the commerce of the emperor of all the Rulias, or of his fubjects; on the contrary, all French veffels were ordered to afford fuccour and aid to the fhips of Ruffia. Next to Ruffia, the power of moft importance, in the formation of a confederation against England for the purpose just mentioned, was Pruffia. Without the concurrence of the king of Pruffia, the hoftility of the northern powers could not be attended with any bad effects to us, very lafting. But it was in the power of the king of Pruffia, who commanded fo extensive a maritime coaft, and the navigation of all the great rivers, from the Rhine to the Eider on the north of Germany, to render it truly formidable, and, at a time when Great Britain was hard preffed by fcarcity of provifions and menaced with famine, peculiarly dif trefling. No means, therefore, were neglected by Buonaparte to ftrengthen the confederacy by the acceffion of the Pruffian monarch. For the accomplishment of this important object, he fent his brother Lewis to Berlin; and a very happy opportunity occurred of intriguing for the fame end, in the miffion of the marquis de Lucchesini to Paris, to take care of the interefts of Pruffia, |