Tuesday, January 26.

Petitions, complaining of undue returns, were presented from the following places, and ordered to be taken into consideration on the days annexed: Poole, Feb. 2; Maldon, March 15; Beverley, March 15.

No I.—Note from the Count de Starhemberg to Mr. Secretary Canning, dated London, April 18, 1807.

His majesty the emperor of Austria, king of Hungary and Bohemia, having resolved upon offering to the principal powers interested in the present war, his amicable mediation, in order by his intervention to bring on a negotiation for peace, the count de Starhemberg, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, has received orders to transmit to the ministry of his Briton-nick majesty, the accompanying Note, containing the offer of mediation which his imperial and royal majesty has caused to be presented in the same manner, and at the same time, to the cabinets of Petersburgh and of the Thuilleries, as well as to that of Berlin. In acquitting himself of this commission, the undersigned requests his excellency Mr. Canning will have the goodness to lay this offer of mediation of his imperial majesty before the king of Eng- land, and he ventures to hope that his excellency will not refuse to inform him as soon as possible of the resolutions taken by his Britannic majesty on this subject.—The count de Starhemberg embraces this opportunity to renew to his excellency the assurance of his high consideration.

(Note referred to in Number 1.)

The emperor Francis II. could not behold, without the deepest concern, the rupture which took place last autumn, between his majesty the emperor of the French, king of Italy, and his majesty the king of Prussia; and he was shortly afterwards still more painfully affected, by the extension of hostilities over a considerable part of Europe. If by observing a strict and scrupulous impartiality from the very commencement of the war, his imperial and royal apostolic majesty has had the satisfaction to maintain his system of neutrality in circumstances so critical, and to preserve his people from the ravages of war, he did not enter the less fully into the miseries which were multiplied around his states; and in his just solicitude for the tranquillity and the security of his monarchy, he could not but be sensible to the continually renewed alarms upon his frontiers, or to the fatal effects which they inevitably produced in various branches of his interior administration. The emperor, uniformly animated with the same dispositions, has had no other view from the commencement, and during the course of hostilities, than to endeavour to bring about a reconciliation, and to avail himself of every proper opportunity to put an end to the calamities of war. He judged he could not better effect this desirable result than by constantly impressing the belligerent powers with his sentiments of moderation and of conciliation, and in giving his whole attention towards producing in them a similar disposition. The reception which his first overtures to this effect have obtained, appears to announce that the moment of so desirable a reconciliation is not far distant. In the confidence inspired by so consolatory a prospect, the general welfare and the interest of his own dominions call upon his imperial majesty to offer to the belligerent powers his friendly intervention; and in consequence of this, he does not hesitate to make to his Britannick majesty, the offer of his mediation, and of his good offices.—But, in considering how very complicated and extensive the present war is become, the emperor would think that he had but imperfectly expressed his fer- vent desire for peace, and the hope of its compleat and speedy re-establishment, if he did not at the same time state the entire conviction he feels, that it is only by the united endeavours of the powers principally concerned in the war, and by a negotiation in common, which should embrace the whole of their reciprocal interests, that permanent tranquillity and a secure and solid peace can be attained, a peace which should secure the future political relations of Europe.—His imperial majesty, from that firm persuasion (which the frankness of his sentiments will not permit him to dissemble) conceives that this pacific overture should be made by him in common to those cabinets which are, in the first instance, to take a part in the conferences; and it is therefore with earnestness that he equally invites the cabinets of Petersburgh, of Berlin, and of the Thuilleries, to adopt the same conciliatory views, and to enter into negotiations for a peace, in which the essential relations of all the parties interested should, as far as is practicable, be combined.—The emperor has thus generally testified his wish for peace. He will not take upon himself to suggest the particular mode of negotiation, and still less to anticipate, the intentions of other powers, or to decide upon those measures which it may be thought necessary previously to settle, in order to determine the principles of the preliminary overtures between the belligerent powers.—Nevertheless, in the hope that this friendly offer of his interposition will be appreciated in such a manner as the rectitude of his intentions authorises him to expect, his imperial majesty is eager to propose (in order that the opening of negotiations may be facilitated by his good offices) any place in his dominions, the situation and locality of which might be reciprocally convenient, and which, from this consideration, ought not to be too near the theatre of war; and, in this respect, as in every other point, the emperor will feel pleasure in contributing to accelerate the period of so desirable a meeting.

No. II.—Note from Mr. Secretary Canning to the count de Starhemberg, dated April 25, 1807.

The undersigned, his majesty's principal secretary of state for foreign affairs, has laid before the king his master, the note delivered to him by the count de Starhemberg, envoy extraordinary, and minister plenipotentiary of his imperial majesty the emperor of Austria, king of Hungary and Bohemia, in which his imperial majesty offers himself as the mediator of a general peace.—The undersigned has received the orders of the king, to transmit to the count de Starhemberg, the inclosed official answer to the note of his imperial majesty. Rendering the fullest justice to the motives which have actuated his imperial majesty, in the proposal of such a mode of negotiation, as can alone, by embracing the interests of all parties, conduce to the establishment of a solid peace, and to the permanent tranquillity of Europe, the king accepts, so far as his majesty is concerned, the offer of his imperial majesty's mediation, subject only to the condition of a like acceptance of it on the part of all the other powers who are engaged in the present war.—In executing this duty, the undersigned is happy to seize the opportunity of renewing to the count de Starhemberg the assurance of his high consideration. GEORGE CANNING.

(Official Note, referred to in No. 2.)

His majesty the king of the united kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, has received, with a just sense of the consideration which is due to every communication from his imperial majesty the emperor of Austria, king of Hungary and Bohemia, and of the motives by which, on this occasion, his imperial majesty has been actuated, the offer of his imperial majesty to become the mediator of a general peace.—The king, who has never ceased to consider a secure and durable peace as the only object of the war, in which his majesty is engaged, and who has never refused to listen to any suggestions which appeared likely to conduce to the attainment of that object, cannot hesitate to declare his entire concurrence in the opinion expressed by the emperor and king, that a peace of such a description is only to be attained through negotiations which shall be common to all the powers principally engaged in the war.—To such negotiations, whenever the consent of the other powers interested in them shall be obtained, the king will willingly accede; and his majesty will lose no time in communicating with such of those powers as are connected with him by the bonds of amity and confidential intercourse, for the purpose of ascertaining their views; and if those views shall be favourable to his imperial majesty's proposal, of concerting with them the mode in which such negotiations should be opened, and of agreeing upon the principles which (according to the suggestion of his imperial majesty) it might be expedient previously to establish as the basis and foundation of a general discussion and arrangement.—With respect to the place which should be selected as the seat of the negotiations; his majesty would not object to any place which, in addition to the indispensable qualification, proposed in the note of his imperial majesty, of being sufficiently remote from the immediate influence of the events of the war, should have that of affording to his majesty, in an equal degree with all the other powers concerned, the opportunity of a prompt and uninterrupted communication with the plenipotentiaries who should be appointed to represent his majesty at the congress. GEORGE CANNING. Foreign Office, April 25, 1807.

No. III.—Note from the prince de Starhemberg to Mr. Secretary Canning, dated Nov. 20, 1807.

The undersigned has the honour to inform his excellency Mr. Canning, secretary of state for the department of foreign affairs, that he has received positive orders from his court, to make to the British ministry the most earnest representations on the importance of putting an end to the struggle which still exists between England and France; and the effects of which may produce to the rest of Europe the most fatal consequences. His majesty the emperor and king, animated by a constant desire to effect the restoration of repose and tranquillity, does not hesitate to request officially and earnestly his Britannick majesty to declare his intentions on this point in evincing to him his disposition to enter into a negotiation for a maritime peace upon a basis suitable to time reciprocal interests of the powers who may take a part in it.—The cabinet of St. James's has explained itself too often respecting its desire for the re-establishment of peace, for the undersigned not to flatter himself that he shall now obtain the formal assurance wished for by his court, which will completely prove to all the nations of Europe, the sincerity of the pacifick views of England.—The undersigned, &c. LOUIS PRINCE DE STARHEMBERG.

No. IV.—Note from Mr. Secretary Canning to the prince de Starhemberg, dated Nov. 23, 1807.

The undersigned, his majesty's principal secretary of state for foreign affairs, has laid before the king his master the official note presented by the prince de Starhemberg, envoy extraordinary and minister ple-

nipotentiary of his imperial majesty the emperor of Austria, in which the prince de Starhemberg expresses, by order of his court, the earnest desire of his imperial majesty for the termination of the present contest between Great Britain and France, and requires a sincere and formal declaration of his majesty's sentiments upon that subject.—His majesty having repeatedly and recently declared his disposition and desire to enter into negotiation for a peace on secure and honourable terms, and this declaration having been made in the most regular and authentic manner to the Austrian government, in the answer which the undersigned was commanded to return to the official offer by the prince de Starhemberg (in the month of April last) of his imperial majesty's mediation; and in that which his majesty has since directed to be returned to a similar offer on the part of the emperor of Russia, and which has been communicated to the court of Vienna; his majesty cannot receive without surprize an application for a renewal of the declaration of sentiments of which the court of Vienna has been so long and so formally in possession.—His majesty will not believe that any farther declaration can be necessary for the purpose of proving to the nations of Europe a sincerity which the nations of Europe cannot question. But in compliance with the wishes of a friendly power expressed with so much earnestness and anxiety, his majesty is nevertheless willing to repeat once more the assurance, already so often repeated, that his majesty is now, as he has at all times been, prepared to enter into negotiation for the conclusion of such a peace as shall settle on equal terms the respective interests of the powers engaged in the war, as shall be consistent with his majesty's fidelity to his allies, and shall provide for the tranquillity and security of Europe. The undersigned, &c. GEORGE CANNING.

No. V.—Note from the prince de Starhemberg to Mr. Secretary Canning, dated Jan. 1, 1808.

The undersigned, obeying the orders of his court, in conforming to the desire of that of the Thuilleries, has the honour to inform his excellency the secretary of state for the foreign department, that, in consequence of the pacifick dispositions of his Britannick majesty, announced in the answer returned on the 23d of November last, to his official note of the 20th of the same month, he is charged to propose to the English ministry to send immediately plenipotentiaries to Paris for the purpose of treating for the establishment of peace between all the powers at present at war with England. This explicit and frank invitation must furnish a proof of the good faith and of the sincere intention of France to put an end to the calamities of war; and his imperial majesty consents with eagerness to be the intermediary of a result so desireable. It is hoped, that the court of London will not hesitate to recognize on this occasion the importance of the proposal which is made to it, and that it will be disposed to give a fresh proof of that desire which it has so often expressed, to restore repose to the rest of Europe, by naming negotiators to be entrusted with the important interests to be discussed.—To avoid every species of delay, the undersigned is authorized by France to give passports to the ministers whom the cabinet of St. James's may appoint for this purpose. The mode in which these overtures are submitted to the court of London, and the measures which are taken towards realizing the execution of them with the least possible delay, will effectually demonstrate the spirit of conciliation by which they are dictated. The undersigned, &c.

No. VI.—Note from Mr. Secretary Canning to the prince de Starhemberg, dated Jan. 8, 1808.

The undersigned, his majesty's principal secretary of state for foreign affairs, has laid before the king his master, the note delivered to him the second of this month by the prince de Starhemberg, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of his majesty the emperor of Austria.—In stating himself to be charged to propose to the British government the immediate sending of plenipotentiaries to Paris, the prince de Starhemberg has omitted to explain from whom he has received that commission, whether from his imperial master or from the government of France.—If the prince de Starhemberg has, in this instance, acted under the specific and immediate orders of his court, and if the proposal to his majesty to send plenipotentiaries to Paris is to be considered as originating at Vienna, the undersigned is commanded to express his majesty's concern that so little reference should appear to have been had, in framing the proposal now offered for his majesty's consideration, to the correspondence which has already taken place between the courts of London and Vienna, upon the subject of a negotiation for peace.—After so long an interval has been suffered to elapse since the acceptance by his majesty, in April last, of the offer of his imperial majesty's meditation, his majesty could hardly have expected that the same offer should now be repeated (if indeed the prince de Starhemberg's note is to be construed as a repetition of it) without any notification of the acceptance of those conditions which were at that time stated by his majesty to be indispensable preliminaries to the opening of a negotiation. And while the note of the undersigned of the 23d of November last is cited by the prince de Starhemberg as the foundation of the present proposal, his majesty observes with surprize, that this proposal nevertheless extends only to the powers combined with France in the war against Great Britain, and not to the allies of Great Britain in the war with France.—If, on the other hand, the court of Vienna is no otherwise concerned in the step which the prince de Starhemberg has taken, than as having generally authorized that minister to receive and to convey to the British government whatever communications the government of France might think fit to intrust to him, the undersigned is commanded, in that case, to remark to the prince de Starhemberg, that although the character which the prince de Starhemberg holds from the court of Vienna, and the formalities by which he is accredited to his majesty, entitle him to immediate and implicit confidence in every exercise of his diplomatic functions, in the name and on the behalf of his imperial master; yet that when he professes to speak in the name of another power, the statement of some precise authority, and the production of some specifick and authenticated document, could alone justify the court to which he addresses himself, in founding a publick and important measure upon such a communication. From the tenour of the prince de Starhemberg's note it appears, that the note of the undersigned of the 23d of November has been communicated to the government of France.—The government of France is therefore in possession of a solemn and authentick pledge of the pacifick dispositions of his majesty. It follows that a pledge equally solemn and authentick of the reciprocal dispositions of France, is reasonably to be expected by his majesty, before his majesty can be called upon to make any further advance.—The proposal to his majesty to send negotiators to Paris, unac- companied as it is with any ostensible and unequivocal return on the part of France for the declarations already made in his majesty's name, is so far from being a proof of any such reciprocal disposition, that it can be construed no otherwise by his majesty than as implying an unjustifiable doubt of the sincerity of his majesty's professions.—Nor is the want of such formal authority and of such reciprocal assurance, the only, or the most material defect in the prince de Starhemberg's communication.—His majesty is called upon to send plenipotentiaries to Paris to negotiate for peace, without the slightest intimation being given to his majesty of the basis on which it is proposed that such negotiation should be founded.—If it could ever have been matter of doubt whether the previous settlement of a basis of negotiation were necessary to the hope of its successful termination, the experience of the last negotiation with France would have placed that question beyond controversy.—The experience of the last negotiation has further demonstrated the disadvantage and inconveniency of a negotiation conducted at Paris.—His majesty is willing to treat with France: but he will treat only on a footing of perfect equality. He is ready to treat with the allies of France: but the negotiation must equally embrace the interests of the allies of Great Britain.—As soon as the basis of negotiation shall have been satisfactorily ascertained, and an unexceptionable place of negotiation agreed upon, his majesty will be prepared to name plenipotentiaries to meet those of the other powers engaged in the war: but his majesty will not again consent to send his plenipotentiaries to a hostile capital.—But while his majesty has permitted the undersigned to address this frank and unequivocal exposition of his majesty's sentiments to the minister of the emperor of Austria, the undersigned is at the same time charged to state distinctly to the prince de Starhemberg, that not having received any authentic proof of the prince de Starhemberg's commission to enter into any explanations in the name of the French government, or to afford any assurance by which that government could be bound, his majesty has not directed the undersigned to give any authority to the prince de Starhemberg to speak in the name of his majesty to the government of France. The undersigned has the honour to request the prince de Starhemberg to accept, &c. GEORGE CANNING.

No. VII.—Note from the prince de Starhemberg to Mr. Secretary Canning, dated London, Jan. 12, 1808, Received the 13th.

The undersigned has the honour to inform his excellency the secretary of state for the foreign department, that in consequence of orders from his court, the present circumstances oblige him to demand passports for himself and all the individuals of the Austrian mission at London. The undersigned purposes to make use of them as soon as he shall have received from the French government the passports which he demanded by the messenger whom he dispatched yesterday. The undersigned, &c.

No. VIII.—Letter from Mr. Secretary Canning to the prince de Starhemberg, dated Jan. 13, 1808.

Sir, Having received information that Mr. Adair has actually quitted Vienna, in consequence of an intimation from the Austrian government; I have the honour of requesting that you will have the goodness to acquaint me what is the latest date, at which you have reason to believe that Mr. Adair was still at Vienna. I have, &c. GEORGE CANNING.

No. 9.—Note from the prince de Starhemberg to Mr. Secretary Canning, dated London, Jan. 13, 1808.

In answer to the note which the undersigned has just received from his excellency the secretary of state, he has the honour to inform his excellency, that the last dispatches which he has received from his court, were of the 30th of October, and that no mention was made in them of the departure of Mr. Adair. The undersigned &c. LOUIS, PRINCE DE STARHEMBERG.

No. X.—Note from Mr. Secretary Canning to the prince de Starhemberg, dated Jan. 13, 1808.

The undersigned, his majesty's principal secretary of state for foreign affairs, has the honour to inclose to the prince de Starhemberg, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary from his majesty the emperor of Austria, the passports which he has demanded for himself and for the Austrian mission at this court; having it at the same time in command from the king his master, to express his majesty's deep regret, that the circumstances of the time, and the orders of his court, should have imposed on the prince de Starhemberg the necessity of demanding them.—The undersigned &c. GEORGE CANNING.

No. I.—Note from General Budberg to his excellency lord Granville Leveson Gower, dated June, 1807.

My Lord, Accept my best thanks for the promptitude with which you had the goodness to transmit to me the dispatches which I have received, together with your excellency's letter of the 11th (23rd) instant. The reports which your lordship mentions are well founded. On the 9th (21st) instant, an armistice was concluded, which was yesterday ratified by both parties. The two armies remain nearly in the same positions, and hostilities will not recommence until a month after the denunciation of the armistice. Sensible that is of the utmost importance to you to transmit this intelligence as speedily as possible to your court, I lose not an instant in re-dispatching the messenger whom your excellency has sent to me.—In respect, my lord, to the interview which you request of me, it would give me great pleasure to comply with your wishes if it were possible for me to foresee at what place the emperor will stay even for a few days; but as we are still upon our journey, I must wait for the first opportunity of taking his imperial majesty's commands, in order to invite you to rejoin me, where I may then be.—I have the honour to be, &c. A. DE BUDBERG.

No. II—Note from his excellency lard Granville Leveson Gower, to general Budberg, dated Memel, 16th (28th) June 1807.

General,—I have to acknowledge the receipt of the intelligence of the armistice which was signed on the 21st of this month, and although I implicitly confide in your excellency's assurances, I cannot pass over in silence the prospect of a solid and permanent peace, which, from the tenour of your publick letter to the governor of Riga, your excellency appears to believe will be the result of that measure.—The reciprocal engagements between the courts of London and St. Petersburgh, the known principles and the firmness of his imperial majesty, the verbal assurances of the emperor which I have just transmitted to the king my master, were so many pledges, that it is not now a question (according to public rumour) to negotiate for a separate peace, but for a general one; and whatever doubts I may have entertained on this subject, your excellency's letter to general Buxhovden has completely done away. The just and enlightened manner in which your excellency views the situation of Europe, convinces me that you could not expect a peace would be either firm or lasting, which did not include every power at war, and which was not founded upon an equitable basis. My court will be ready to concur in negotiations so formed, since it made war for the sole purpose of obtaining a secure and permanent peace. But your excellency will nevertheless permit me to express all the regret I feel, at being still unable to make known to my government the basis, upon which it is proposed to ground negotiations. At the moment when negotiation is carrying on with the enemy, it is most essential that unlimited confidence should subsist between the allied powers. Upon this principle it is that the court of London has ever acted, and it would be superfluous to recall to your excellency the eagerness testified by the British ministry last year to communicate to the Russian ambassador the whole of the correspondence with the French government. I wait with impatience your excellency's summons to repair to his majesty. Nothing can afford me greater pleasure than to repeat in person the assurances of the esteem, and high consideration with which I have the honour to he, &c. G. L. GOWER.

No. III.—Note from general Budberg to his excellency lord Granville Leveson Gower, dated Tilsit, 13th (30th) June 1807.

Sir, and Ambassador, I have received the letter which your excellency did me the honour of addressing to me yesterday; and, having laid it before the emperor, my august master, I hasten to transmit to you the answer which his imperial majesty has commanded me to return to it.—The firmness and perseverance with which his majesty during eight months maintained and defended a cause which he had reason to suppose common to all sovereigns, are the most certain pledges of the intentions which animated him, as well as of the loyalty and purity of his principles.— Never would his imperial majesty have thought of deviating from that system which he has hitherto pursued, if he had been supported by a real assistance on the part of his allies.—But having, from the separation of Austria and of England, found himself reduced to his own forces, having to combat with the forces of France united to the immense means of which she has the disposal, and in the critical position at which affairs had arrived, his majesty was authorized in believing, that by continuing to sacrifice himself for others, he would ultimately incur a risk of compromising the safety of his own empire, without being enabled to hope that he might ever fulfil the original object of this war.—The conduct which your government has held during these latter times is moreover of a nature completely to justify the determination which the emperor has now taken. The diversion on the continent which England has so long since promised has not to this day taken place; and if even, according to the latest advices from London, it would appear that the British ministry has at length decided on ordering the departure of 10,000 men to Pomerania, that succour is in no wise proportioned, either to the hopes which we were authorised in entertaining, or to the importance of the object to which these troops were intended to be destined.—The pecuniary succours which England constantly afforded to the powers of the continent at war with France, might in some degree have supplied the want of English troops. Not only did the British government decline facilitating the loan which the imperial court had intended to negotiate at London; but when it at length decided on offering some subsidy to the continental powers, it appeared that the sum destined for this purpose, so far from meeting the exigencies of the allies, would not even have covered the indispensable expences of Prussia.—In fine, the use which has been made of the British forces in the Mediterranean has not been more conformable than the rest to the unity and the connection with which it was indispensable to act in the operations of Russia and England. In lieu of attempting an expedition on the continent of Italy, with a view of reconquering the kingdom of Naples, or else in lieu of uniting these forces to those of Russia which were designed to compel the Porte to a reasonable peace, one part of the English troops stationed in Sicily directed their course towards an entirely different destination, which the British government had not even judged proper to communicate to the court of Russia. It is a point not to be contested, that, by following one or the other of the courses which I have just cited, the English troops in the Mediterranean would have been of an infinitely greater utility to the common cause, by compelling the enemy to divide his forces, which would have enabled Russia to have sent to her main army those reinforcements, which she was under the necessity of employing on the Danube, to support her army destined to make head against the Turkish forces which might be collected in that quarter.—From this statement, I am willing to believe that your excellency will be persuaded, that in such a conjuncture, it only remained for the emperor my master to look to the glory and to the security of his empire, and that if the present crisis does not produce every result which might be expected, if the powers equally interested had displayed vigour in the same proportion as they have exhibited tardiness and irresolution in all their operations, no blame can on this account be attached to Russia.—But, at the same time, the emperor my master offers his mediation to his Britannick majesty to make his peace with France, having the certainty that it will be accepted by the latter power. I have the honour to be; &c. A. DE BUDBERG

No. IV.—Note from M. Alopeus to Mr. Secretary Canning, dated London, 20th July (1st August) 1807.

The undersigned, minister plenipotentiary from his majesty the emperor of all the Russias to his Britannick majesty, has received the orders of his court to notify to the British ministry, that a treaty of peace was concluded at Tilsit on the 25th June (7th July) between Russia and France.—His imperial majesty of all the Russias, having on this occasion, proposed his mediation, for the purpose of negotiating and concluding likewise a treaty of peace between England and France, and the emperor Napoleon having, by the 13th article of the afore-mentioned treaty of peace, accepted that mediation, the object of the present note is to offer it in like manner to his majesty the king of Great Britain.—Long since acquainted with the pacifick sentiments of his Britannick majesty, the emperor of all the Russias flatters himself the more, that he will embrace this opportunity of restoring peace to all nations, and of insuring repose to the present generation; since that, in many conversations winch his imperial majesty has held with the emperor of the French, he has had reason to be convinced, that he is sincerely desirous of the re-establishment of a maritime peace, upon equitable and honourable principles.—The emperor of all the Russias not only offers his interposition for the attainment of so desirable a result; but he would even be ready to promise the support of all the forces of his empire, for insuring the performance of all time stipulations of peace, when once it shall have taken place between England and France. By this guarantee, his Britannick majesty will obtain that which he has ever appeared to desire, and may without distrust follow the bent of his humane and pacifick sentiments.—The undersigned, in requesting Mr. Canning, principal secretary of state of foreign affairs, to apprize him as soon as possible of the determination which the cabinet of St. James's may judge expedient to take in consequence of this offer of mediation on the part of his august master, avails himself of the opportunity of renewing to his excellency the assurances of his highest consideration. M. ALOPEUS.

No. V.—Note from Mr. Secretary Canning to M. Alopeus, dated 5th August 1807.

The undersigned, his Britannick majesty's secretary of state for foreign affairs, has lost no time in laying before the king his master the official note presented to him by M. Alopeus, minister plenipotentiary of his majesty the emperor of all the Russias; in which M. Alopeus, by order of his court, notifies to the British government the conclusion at Tilsit, on the 25th June (7th July) of a treaty of peace between Russia and France, and announces at the same time, the offer of the mediation of his imperial majesty, for the conclusion of a treaty of peace between Great Britain and France, and the acceptance of that offer by the French government.—The undersigned has it in command from the king his master to declare, that the emperor of Russia does justice to the sentiments of the king, when his imperial majesty expresses his reliance on the king's disposition to contribute to the restoration of a general peace, such as may ensure the repose of Europe. Ample proofs of that disposition have recently been afforded by his majesty, as well in the answer returned, in his majesty's name, to the offer of the mediation of the emperor of Austria, as in the willingness expressed by his majesty to accede to the convention concluded at Barteniein, on the 23d of April, between the emperor of Russia and the king of Prussia, and in the instructions which the undersigned transmitted by his majesty's command, upon the first intelligence of the late disastrous events in Poland, to his majesty's ambassador at the court of St. Petersburgh, by which instructions that ambassador was directed to signify to the ministers of the emperor of Russia, his majesty's perfect readiness to enter in concert with his august ally, into any negotiation which the emperor of Russia might think it expedient to open for the restoration of a general peace.—These sentiments and this disposition his majesty continues invariably to maintain.—The undersigned is, therefore, commanded by his majesty, to assure M. Alopeus, that his majesty waits with the utmost solicitude for the communication or the articles of the treaty concluded at Tilsit, and for the statement of those equitable and honourable principles, upon which his imperial majesty expresses his belief that France is desirous of concluding a peace with Great Britain.—His majesty trusts that the character of the stipulations of the treaty of Tilsit, and of the principles upon which France is represented as being ready to negotiate, may be found to be such as to afford to his majesty a just hope of the attainment of a secure and honourable peace. In that case his majesty will readily avail himself of the offer of the emperor of Russia's mediation.—But until his majesty shall have received these important and necessary communications, it is obviously impossible that the undersigned should be authorized to return a more specific answer to the note presented by M. Alopeus.—The undersigned, &c. GEORGE CANNING.

DECLARATION OF THE KING OF GREAT BRITAIN, RELATIVE TO THE WAR WITH DENMARK, DATED SEPT. 25, 1807.

His majesty owes to himself and to Europe a frank exposition of the motives which have dictated his late measures in the Baltick. His majesty has delayed this exposition only in the hope of that more amicable arrangement with the court of Denmark, which it was his majesty's first wish and endeavour to obtain; for which he was ready to make great efforts and great sacrifices; and of which he never lost sight even in the moment of the most decisive hostility. Deeply as the disappointment of this hope has been felt by his majesty, he has the consolation of reflecting that no exertion was left untried on his part to produce a different result. And while he laments the cruel necessity which has obliged him to have recourśe to acts of hostility against a nation, with which it was his majesty's most earnest desire to have established the relations of common interest and alliance; his majesty feels confident that, in the eyes of Europe and of the world, the justification of his conduct will be found in the commanding and indispensable duty, paramount to all others amongst the obligations of a sovereign, of providing, while there was yet time, for the immediate security of his people—His majesty had received the most positive information of the determination of the present ruler of France to occupy, with a military force, the territory of Holstein:—for the purpose of excluding Great Britain from all her accustomed channels of communication with the continent; of inducing or compelling the court of Denmark to close the passage of the Sound against the British commerce and navigation; and of availing himself of the aid of the Danish marine for the invasion of Great Britain and of Ireland.—Confident as his majesty was of the authenticity of the sources from which this intelligence was derived, and confirmed in the credit, which he gave to it, as well by the notorious and repeated declarations of the enemy, and by his recent occupation of the towns and territories of other neutral states, as by the preparations actually made for collecting a hostile force upon the frontiers of his Danish majesty's continental dominions, his majesty would yet willingly have forborne to act upon his intelligence, until the complete and practical disclosure of the plan had made manifest to all the world the absolute necessity of resisting it. His majesty did forbear, as long as there could be a doubt of the urgency of the danger, or a hope of an effectual counteraction to it, in the means or in the dispositions of Denmark.—But his majesty could not but recollect that when, at the close of the former war, the court of Denmark engaged in a hostile confederacy against Great Britain, the apology offered by that court for so unjustifiable an abandonment of a neutrality which his majesty had never ceased to respect, was founded on its avowed inability to resist the operation of external influence, and the threats of a formidable neighbouring power. His majesty could not but compare the degree of influence, which at that time determined the decision of the court of Denmark, in violation of positive engagements, solemnly contracted but six months before; with the increased operation which France had now the means of giving to the same principle of intimidation, with kingdoms prostrate at her feet, and with the population of nations under her banners.—Nor was the danger less imminent than certain.—Already the army destined for the invasion of Holstein was assembling on the violated territory of neutral Hamburgh. And, Holstein once occupied, the island of Zealand was at the mercy of France, and the navy of Denmark at her disposal.—It is true, a British force might have found its way into the Baltick, and checked for a time the movements of the Danish marine. But the season was approaching when that precaution would no longer have availed; and when his majesty's fleet must have retired from that sea, and permitted France, in undisturbed security, to accumulate the means of offence against his majesty's dominions.—Yet, even under these circumstances, in calling upon Denmark for the satisfaction and security which his majesty was compelled to require, and in demanding the only pledge by which that security could be rendered effectual—the temporary possession of that fleet, which was the chief inducement to France for forcing Denmark into hostilities with Great Britain;—His majesty accompanied this demand with the offer of every condition which could tend to reconcile it to the interests and to the feelings of the court of Denmark.—It was for Denmark herself to state the terms and stipulations which she might require.—If Denmark was apprehensive that the surrender of her fleet would be resented by France as an act of connivance; his majesty had prepared a force of such formidable magnitude, as must have made concession justifiable even in the estimation of France, by rendering resistance altogether unavailing.—If Denmark was really prepared to resist the demands of France, and to maintain her independence; his majesty proffered his co-operation for her defence-naval, military and pecuniary aid; the guarantee of her European territories, and the security and extension of her colonial possessions.—That the sword has been drawn in the execution of a service indispensable to the safety of his majesty his majesty's dominions, is matter of sincere and painful regret to his majesty. That the state and circumstances of the world are such as to have required and justified the measures of self-preservation, to which his majesty has found himself under the necessity of resorting, is a truth which his majesty deeply deplores, but for which he is in no degree responsible.—His majesty has long carried on a most unequal contest of scrupulous forbearance against unrelenting violence and oppression. But that forbearance has its bounds. When the design was openly avowed, and already but too far advanced towards its accomplishment, of subjecting the powers of Europe to one universal usurpation, and of combining them by terror or by force in a confederacy against the maritime rights and political existence of this Kingdom, it became necessary for his majesty to anticipate the success of a system, not more fatal to his interests than to those of the powers who were destined to be the instruments of its execution.—It was time that the effects of that dread which France has inspired into the nations of the world, should be counteracted by an exertion of the power of Great Britain, called for by the exigency of the crisis, and Proportioned to the magnitude of the danger.—Notwithstanding the declaration of war on the part of the Danish Government, it still remains for Denmark to determine, whether war shall continue between the two nations. His majesty still proffers an amicable arrangement. He is anxious to sheathe the sword which he has been most reluctantly compelled to draw. And he is ready to demonstrate to Denmark and to the world, that having acted solely upon the sense of what was due to the security of his own dominions, he is not desirous, from any other motive, or for any object of advantage or aggrandisement, to carry measures of hostility beyond the limits of the necessity which has produced them.

DECLARATION OF THE KING OF GREAT BRITAIN AGAINST RUSSIA, DATED DECEMBER 18, 1807.

The declaration issued at St.Petersburgh by his majesty the emperor of all the Russias, has excited in his majesty's mind the strongest sensations of astonishment and regret.—His majesty was not unaware of the nature of those secret engagements which had been imposed upon Russia in the conferences of Tilsit. But his majesty had entertained the hope, that a review of the transactions of that unfortunate negotiation, and a just estimate of its effects upon the glory of the Russian name, and upon the interests of the Russian empire, would have induced his imperial majesty to extricate himself from the embarrassment of those new counsels and connections which he had adopted in a moment of despondency and alarm; and to return to a policy more congenial to the principles, which he has so invariably professed, and more conducive to the honour of his crown, and to the prosperity of his dominions.— This hope has dictated to his majesty the utmost forbearance and moderation in all his diplomatic intercourse with the court of St. Petersburgh since the peace of Tilsit. His majesty had much cause for suspicion, and just ground of complaint. But he abstained from the language of reproach. His majesty deemed it necessary to require specifick explanation with respect to those arrangements with France, the concealment of which from his majesty could not but confirm the impression already received of their character and tendency. But his majesty, nevertheless, directed the demand of that explanation to be made, not only without asperity or the indication of any hostile disposition, but with that considerate regard to the feelings and situation of the emperor of Russia, which resulted from the recollection of former friendship, and from confidence interrupted but not destroyed.—The declaration of the emperor of Russia proves that the object of his majesty's forbearance and moderation has not been attained. It proves, unhappily, that the influence of that power, which is equally and essentially the enemy both of Great Britain and of Russia, has acquired a decided ascendency in the counsels of the cabinet of St. Petersburgh; and has been able to excite a causeless enmity between two nations, whose long-established connection, and whose mutual interests prescribed the most intimate union and co-operation.—His majesty deeply laments the extension of the calamities of war. But called upon, as he is, to defend himself against an act of unprovoked hostility, his majesty is anxious to refute, in the face of the world, the pretexts by which that act is attempted to be justified.—The declaration asserts that his majesty the emperor of Russia has twice taken up arms in a cause, in which the interest of Great Britain was more direct than his own; and founds upon this assertion the charge against Great Britain of having neglected to second and support the military operations of Russia.—His majesty willingly does justice to the motives which originally engaged Russia in the great struggle against France. His majesty avows with equal readiness the interest which Great Britain has uniformly taken in the fates and fortunes of the powers of the continent. But it would surely be difficult to prove that Great Britain, who was herself in a state of hostility with Prussia, when the war broke out between Prussia and France, had an interest and a duty more direct in espousing the Prussian quarrel, than the emperor of Russia; the ally of his Prussian majesty, the protector of the north of Europe, and the guarantee of the Germanick constitution. It is not in a publick declaration that his majesty can discuss the policy of having, at any particular period of the war, effected, or omitted to effect, disembarkations of troops on the coasts of Naples. But the instance of the war with the Porte, is still more singularly chosen to illustrate the charge against Great Britain of indifference to the interests of her ally: a war undertaken by Great Britain at the instigation of Russia, and solely for the purpose of maintaining Russian interests against the influence of France.—If, however, the peace of Tilsit is, indeed, to be considered as the consequence and the punishment of the imputed inactivity of Great Britain, his majesty cannot but regret that the emperor of Russia should have resorted to so precipitate and fatal a measure, at the moment, when he had received distinct assurances that his majesty was making the most strenuous exertions to fulfil the wishes and expectations of his ally (assurances which his imperial majesty received and acknowledged with apparent confidence and satisfaction); and when his majesty was, in fact, prepared to employ for the advancement of the common objects of the war, those forces which, after the peace of Tilsit, he was under the necessity of employing to disconcert a combination directed against his own immediate interests and security.—The vexation of Russian commerce by Great Britain is, in truth, little more than an imaginary grievance. Upon a diligent examination, made by his majesty's command, of the records of the British court of admiralty, there has been discovered only a solitary instance in the course of the present war, of the condemnation of a vessel really Russian: a vessel which had carried naval stores to a port of the common enemy. There are but few instances of Russian vessels detained: and none in which justice has been refused to a party regularly complaining of such detention. It is therefore matter of surprize as well as of concern to his majesty that the emperor of Russia should have condescended to bring forward a complaint which, as it cannot be seriously felt by those in whose behalf it is urged, might appear to be intended to countenance those exaggerated declamations, by which France perseveringly en- deavours to inflame the jealousy of other countries, and to justify her own inveterate animosity, against Great Britain.—The peace of Tilsit was followed by an offer of mediation on the part of the emperor of Russia, for the conclusion of a peace between Great Britain and France; which it is asserted that his majesty refused.—His majesty did not refuse the mediation of the emperor of Russia: although the offer of it was accompanied by circumstances of concealment which might well have justified his refusal. The articles of the treaty of Tilsit were not communicated to his majesty: and specifically that article of the treaty, in virtue of which the mediation was proposed, and which prescribed a limited time for the return of his majesty's answer to that proposal. And his majesty was thus led into an apparent compliance with a limitation so offensive to the dignity of an independent sovereign. But the answer so returned by his majesty was not a refusal. It was a conditional acceptance. The conditions required by his majesty were,—a statement of the basis upon which the enemy was disposed to treat; and a communication of the articles of the peace of Tilsit. The first of these conditions was precisely the same which the emperor of Russia had himself annexed not four months before to his own acceptance of the proffered mediation of the emperor of Austria. The second was one which his majesty would have had a right to require even as the ally of his imperial majesty; but which it would have been highly improvident to omit, when he was invited to confide to his imperial majesty the care of his honour and of his interests.—But even if these conditions (neither of which has been fulfilled, although the fulfilment of them has been repeatedly required by his majesty's ambassador at St. Petersburgh) had not been in themselves perfectly natural and necessary; there were not wanting considerations which might have warranted his majesty in endeavouring, with more than ordinary anxiety, to ascertain the views and intentions of the emperor of Russia, and the precise nature and effect of the new relations which his imperial majesty had contracted.—The complete abandonment of the interests of the king of Prussia, (who had twice rejected proposals of separate peace, front a strict adherence to his engagements with his imperial ally,) and the character of those provisions which the emperor of Russia was contented to make for his own interests in the negotiations of Tilsit, presented no encouraging prospect of the result of any exertions which his imperial majesty might be disposed to employ in favour of Great Britain.—It is not, while a French army still occupies and lays waste the remaining dominions of the king of Prussia, in spite of the stipulations of the Prussian treaty of Tilsit; while contributions are arbitrarily exacted by France from that remnant of the Prussian monarchy, such as, in its entire and most flourishing state, the Prussian monarchy would have been unable to discharge; while the surrender is demanded, in time of peace, of Prussian fortresses, which had not been reduced during the war; and while the power of France is exercised over Prussia with such shameless tyranny, as to designate and demand for instant death, individuals, subjects of his Prussian majesty, and resident in his dominions, upon a charge of disrespect towards the French government;—it is not while all these things are done and suffered, under the eyes of the emperor of Russia, and without his interference on behalf of his ally, that his majesty can feel himself called upon to account to Europe, for having hesitated to repose an unconditional confidence in the efficacy of his imperial majesty's mediation.—Nor, even if that mediation had taken full effect, if a peace had been concluded under it, and that peace guaranteed by his imperial majesty, could his majesty have placed implicit reliance on the stability of any such arrangement, after having seen the emperor of Russia openly transfer to France the sovereignty of the Ionian republic, the independence of which his imperial majesty had recently and solemnly guaranteed.—But while the alledged rejection of the emperor of Russia's mediation, between Great Britain and France, is stated as a just ground of his imperial majesty's resentment; his majesty's request of that mediation, for the re-establishment of peace between Great Britain and Denmark, is represented as an insult which it was beyond the bounds of his imperial majesty's moderation to endure.—His majesty feels himself under no obligation to offer any atonement or apology to the emperor of Russia for the expedition against Copenhagen. It is not for those who were parties to the secret arrangements of Tilsit, to demand satisfaction for a measure to which those arrangements gave rise, and by which one of the objects of them has been hap- pily defeated.—His majesty's justification of the expedition against Copenhagen is before the world. The Declaration of the emperor of Russia would supply whatever was wanting in it; if any thing could be wanting to convince the most incredulous of the urgency of that necessity under which his majesty acted.—But until the Russian declaration was published, his majesty had no reason to suspect that any opinions which the emperor of Russia might entertain of the transactions at Copenhagen could be such as to preclude his imperial majesty from undertaking, at the request of Great Britain, that same office of mediator, which he had assumed with so much alacrity on the behalf of France, nor can his majesty forget that the first symptoms of reviving confidence, since the peace of Tilsit, the only prospect of success in the endeavours of his majesty's ambassador to restore the ancient good understanding between Great Britain and Russia, appeared when the intelligence of the siege of Copenhagen had been recently received at St. Petersburgh.—The inviolability of the Baltick sea, and the reciprocal guaranties of the powers that border upon it, guaranties said to have been contracted with the knowledge of the British government, are stated as aggravations of his majesty's proceedings in the Baltick. It cannot be intended to represent his majesty as having at any time acquiesced in the principles upon which the inviolability of the Baltick is maintained; however his majesty may at particular periods have forborne, for special reasons influencing his conduct at the time, to act in contradiction to them. Such forbearance never could have applied but to a state of peace and real neutrality in the north; and his majesty most assuredly could not be expected to recur to it, after France has been suffered to establish herself in undisputed sovereignty along the whole coast of the Baltick sea from Dantzig to Lubeck.—But the higher the value which the emperor of Russia places on the engagements respecting the tranquillity of the Baltick, which he describes himself as inheriting from his immediate predecessors, the empress Catherine and the emperor Paul, the less justly can his imperial majesty resent the appeal made to him by his majesty as the guarantee of the peace to be concluded between Great Britain and Denmark. In making that appeal, with the utmost confidence and sincerity, his majesty neither intended, nor can he imagine that he of- fered, any insult to the emperor of Russia. Nor can his majesty conceive that, in proposing to the Prince Royal terms of peace, such as the most successful war on the part of Denmark could hardly have been expected to extort from Great Britain, his maj. rendered himself liable to the imputation, either of exasperating the resentment, or of outraging the dignity, of Denmark.—His majesty has thus replied to all the different accusations by which the Russian government labours to justify the rupture of a connection which has subsisted for ages, with reciprocal advantage to Great Britain and Russia; and attempts to disguise the operation of that external influence by which Russia is driven into unjust hostilities for interests not her own.—The Russian declaration proceeds to announce the several conditions on which alone these hostilities can be terminated, and the intercourse of the two countries renewed.—His majesty has already had occasion to assert that justice has in no instance been denied to the claims of his imperial majesty's subjects.—The termination of the war with Denmark has been so anxiously sought by his majesty, that it cannot be necessary for, his majesty to renew any professions upon that subject: But his majesty is at a loss to reconcile the emperor of Russia's present anxiety for the completion of such an arrangement, with his imperial majesty's recent refusal to contribute his good offices for effecting it.—The requisition of his imperial majesty for the immediate conclusion, by his majesty, of a peace with France, is as extraordinary in the substance, as it is offensive in the manner. His majesty has at no time declined to treat with France, when France has professed a willingness to treat on an admissible basis. And the emperor of Russia cannot fail to remember that the last negociation between Great Britain and France was broken off, upon points immediately affecting, not his majesty's own interests, but those of his imperial ally. But his majesty neither understands nor will he admit the pretension of the emperor of Russia to dictate the time, or the mode, of his majesty's pacific negociations with other powers. It never will be endured by his majesty that any government shall indemnify itself for the humiliation of subserviency to France, by the adoption of an insulting and peremptory tone towards Great Britain.—His majesty proclaims anew those principles of maritime law, against which the armed neutrality, under the auspices of the empress Catherine, was originally directed; and against which the present hostilities of Russia are denounced. Those principles have been recognized and acted upon in the best periods of the history of Europe: and acted upon by no power with more strictness and severity than by Russia herself in the reign of the empress Catherine,—Those principles it is the right and the duty of his majesty to maintain: and against every confederacy his majesty is determined, under the blessing of Divine Providence, to maintain them. They have at all times contributed essentially to the support of the maritime power of Great Britain; but they are become incalculably more valuable and important at a period when the maritime power of Great Britain constitutes the sole remaining bulwark against the overwhelming usurpations of France; the only refuge to which other nations may yet resort, in happier times, for assistance and protection.—When the opportunity for peace between Great Britain and Russia shall arrive, his majesty will embrace it with eagerness. The arrangements of such a negociation will not be difficult or complicated. His majesty, as he has nothing to concede, so he has nothing to require: satisfied, if Russia shall manifest a disposition to return to her ancient feelings of friendship towards Great Britain; to a just consideration of her own true interests; and to a sense of her own dignity as an independent nation.

PRESENTED TO THE HOUSE OF COMMONS, BY HIS MAJESTY'S COMMAND, JAN. 26, 1808.

ORDER in Council; prohibiting Trade to be carried on between Port and Port of Countries under the dominion or usurped controul of France and her Allies.

At the Court at the Queen's Palace, the 7th of January 1807; Present, The King's most excellent Majesty in council.—Whereas the French government has issued certain Orders, which, in violation of the usages of war, purport to prohibit the Commerce of all Neutral Nations with his majesty's dominions, and also to prevent such nations from trading-with any other country, in any articles, the growth, produce, or manufacture of his majesty's dominions: and whereas the said government has also taken upon itself to declare all his majesty's dominions to be in a state of blockade, at a time when the fleets of France and her allies are themselves confined within their own ports by the superior valour and discipline of the British navy: and whereas such attempts on the part of the enemy would give to his majesty an unquestionable right of retaliation, and would warrant his majesty in enforcing the same prohibition of all commerce with France, which that power vainly hopes to effect against the commerce of his majesty's subjects; a prohibition which the superiority of his majesty's naval forces might enable him to support, by actually investing the ports and coasts of the enemy with numerous squadrons and cruisers, so as to make the entrance or approach thereto manifestly dangerous: and whereas his majesty, though unwilling to follow the example of his enemies, by proceeding to an extremity so distressing to all nations not engaged in the war, and carrying on their accustomed trade, yet feels himself bound by a due regard to the just defence of the rights and interests of his people, not to suffer such measures to be taken by the enemy, without taking some steps on his part to restrain this violence, and to retort upon them the evils of their own injustice: his majesty is thereupon pleased, by and with the advice of his privy council, to order, and it is hereby ordered, That no vessel shall be permitted to trade from one port to another, both which ports shall belong to or be in the possession of France or her allies, or shall be so far under their controul, as that British vessels may not freely trade thereat: and the commanders of his majesty's ships of war and privateers shall be, and are hereby instructed to warn every neutral vessel coming from any such port, and destined to another such port, to discontinue her voyage, and not to proceed to any such port; and any vessel after being so warned, or any vessel coming from any such port, after a reasonable time shall have been afforded for receiving information of this his majesty's Order, which shall be found proceeding to another such port, shall be captured and brought in, and, together with her cargo, shall be condemned as lawful prize: and his majesty's principal secretaries of state, the lords commissioners of the admiralty, and the judges of the high court of admiralty, and courts of vice admiralty, are to take the necessary measures herein as to them shall respectively appertain. (Signed) WM. FAWKNER.

ORDER in Council; approving Draught of an additional Instruction to the Commanders of His Majesty's Ships of War and Privateers, directing that Neutral Vessels, laden with Cargoes consisting of the Articles therein enumerated, coming for importation to any Port of the United Kingdom (provided they shall not be coming from any Port in a state of strict and rigorous Blockade), shall not be interrupted; and that in case any such Articles shall be brought for Adjudication before the High Court of Admiralty, or any Court of Vice Admiralty, the same shall be forthwith liberated, upon a Claim being given by or on behalf of the Merchant or Merchants to whom such Articles shall be coming for Importation.

At the Court at the Queen's Palace, the 4th of Feb. 1807; present, the King's most excellent Majesty in Council. —Whereas there was this day read at the Board, the annexed Draught of an Additional Instruction to the commanders of his majesty's ships of war and privateers, directing that they do not interrupt Neutral Vessels laden with Cargoes consisting of the Articles therein after enumerated, coming for importation to any port of the united kingdom (provided they are not coming from any port in a state of strict and rigorous Blockade); and in case any such vessel, so coming with such articles, shall be brought for adjudication before the high court of admiralty, or any court of vice admiralty, that the same shall be forthwith liberated, upon a claim being given by or on behalf of the merchant or merchants to whom such Articles are coming for Importation: his majesty taking the said Draught of Additional Instruction into consideration, was pleased, with the advice of his privy council, to approve thereof; and to order, as it is hereby ordered, That the right hon. earl Spencer, one of his majesty's principal secretaries of state, do cause the said Instruction to be prepared for his majesty's royal signature. (Signed) W. FAWKNER. DRAUGHT of an Additional Instruction to the Commanders of our Ships of War and Privateers.

Our will and pleasure is, That you do not interrupt Neutral Vessels laden with cargoes consisting of the Articles hereinafter enumerated, coming for Importation any port of our united kingdom (provided they are not coming from any port in a state of strict and rigorous blockade); and in case any such vessel so coining with such Articles, shall be brought for adjudication before our high court of admiralty, or any court of vice admiralty, we hereby direct that the same shall be forthwith liberated, upon a claim being given by or on behalf of the merchant or merchants to whom such Articles are coming for Importation

Grain, viz. corn, meal, and flour, (if importable according to the provisions of the corn laws);. rice, Spanish wool, Mohair yarn, madder and madder roots, smalts, shumack, argol, galls, cream of tartar, safflower, valone, brimstone, Spanish wine, indigo, saffron, verdigrease, cochineal, orchella. weed, cork, olive oil, fruit, ashes, juniper berries, barilla; organzined, thrown, and raw silk (not being of the production of the East Indies or China); quicksilver, bullion coined and uncoined; goat, kid, and lamb skins; rags, oak bark, flax, seeds, oil of turpentine, pitch, hemp, timber, fir, oak, oak plank, masts and yards.

ORDER in Council; approving Draught of Additional instructions directing that the Ships and Goods belonging to the Inhabitants of Hamburgh, Bremen, and other places and countries in the north of Germany, which Vessels and Goods shall be engaged in the Trade to or from the Ports of the United Kingdom, shall, until further Order, be suffered to pass free and unmolested, &c,

At the Court at the Queen's Palace, the 18th of Feb. 1807; present, the King's most excellent Majesty in Council.—Whereas there was this day read at the board the annexed draught of Additional instructions to the commanders of ships of war and privateers, and to the judge of the high court of admiralty, and the judges of the courts of vice-admiralty, directing, that the ships and goods belonging to the Inhabitants of Hamburgh, Bremen, and other places and countries in the north of Germany, which vessels and goods shall be employed in a trade to or from the ports of the united kingdom, shall until further order, be suffered to pass free and unmolested, notwithstanding that the said countries are or may be in the possession or under the controul of France and her allies; and that all such ships and goods so trading, which may have been already detained, shall be forthwith liberated, and restored: his majesty, taking the said draught of additional instructions into consideration, was pleased, with the advice of his privy council, to approve thereof; and to order, as it is hereby ordered, That the right honourable earl Spencer, one of his majesty's principal secretaries of state, do cause the said additional instructions to be prepared for his majesty's royal signature.

(Signed) W. FAWKENER. ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS to the Commanders of Ships of War and Privateers, to the Judge of the High Court of Admiralty, and the Judges of the courts of Vice Admiralty. Given, &c.

Our will and pleasure is, That the ships and goods belonging to the inhabitants of Hamburgh, Bremen, and other places and countries in the north of Germany, which vessels and goods shall be employed in a trade to or from the ports of our united kingdom, shall, until further order, be suffered to pass free and unmolested, notwithstanding that the said countries are or may be in the possession or under the controul of France and her allies; and all such ships and goods so trading which may have been already detained, shall be forthwith liberated and restored.

ORDER in Council; directing, that all Vessel's under the flag of Mecklenburgh, Oldenburgh, Papenburgh, or Kniphausen, shall be forthwith warned not to trade in future at any hostile Port, unless such vessels shall be going from or coming to a Port of the United Kingdom, &c.

At the Court at the Queen's Palace, the 19th of August 1807; present, the King's most excellent Majesty in Council.—His majesty, taking into consideration the measures recently resorted to by the enemy for distressing the commerce of the united kingdom, is pleased, by and with advice of his privy council, to order, and it is hereby ordered, That all Vessels under the flag of Mecklenburgh, Oldenburgh, Papenburgh, or Kniphausen, shall be forthwith warned not to trade in future at any hostile port, unless such vessels shall be going from or coming to a port of the united kingdom; and in case any such vessel, after having been so warned, shall be found trading, or to have traded after such warning; or in case any vessel or goods, belonging to the inhabitants of such countries, after the expiration of 6 weeks from the date of this order, shall be found trading, or to have traded after such 6 weeks have expired, at any hostile port, such vessel and goods, unless going from or coming to a port of the united kingdom, shall be seized and brought in for legal adjudication, and shall be condemned as lawful prize to his majesty: and his majesty's principal secretaries of state, the lords commissioners of the admiralty, and the judge of the high court of admiralty. and judges of the courts of vice admiralty, are to take the necessary measures herein as to them may respectively appertain. (Signed) STEPH. COTTRELL.

ORDER in Council; containing certain Regulations under which the Trade to and from the enemies Country shall be carried on.

At the Court at the Queen's Palace, the 11th Nov. 1807: present, the King's most excellent Majesty in Council.—Whereas articles of the growth and manufacture of foreign countries cannot by law be imported into this country, except in British ships, or in ships belonging to the countries of which such articles are the growth and manufacture, without an Order in council specially authorizing the same:—His majesty, taking into consideration the Order of this day's date, respecting the trade to be carried on to and from the ports of the enemy, and deeming it expedient that any vessel, belonging to any country in alliance or at amity with his majesty, may be permitted to import into this country articles of the produce or manufacture of countries at war with his majesty:—His majesty, by and with the advice of his privy council, is therefore pleased to order, and it is hereby ordered, That all goods, wares, or merchandizes, specified and included in the schedule of an act, passed in the 43rd year of his present majesty's reign, intituled, "an act to repeal the duties of customs payable in Great Britain, and to grant other duties in lieu thereof," may be imported from any port or place belonging to any state not at amity with his majesty, in ships belonging to any state at amity with his majesty, subject to the payment of such duties, and liable to such drawbacks, as are now esta- blished by law upon the importation of the said goods, wares, or merchandize, in ships navigated according to law: and with respect to such of the said goods, wares, or merchandize, as are authorized to be warehoused under the provisions of an act, passed in the 43rd year of his present majesty's reign, intituled, "an act for permitting certain goods imported into Great Britain, to be secured in warehouses without payment of duty," subject to all the regulations of the sail last-mentioned act; and with respect to all articles which are prohibited by law from being imported into this country, it is ordered, That the same shall be reported for exportation to any country in amity or alliance with his majesty.—And his majesty is further pleased, by and with the advice of his privy council, to order, and it is hereby ordered, That all vessels which shall arrive at any port of the united kingdom, or at the port of Gibraltar, or Malta, in consequence of having been warned pursuant to the aforesaid Order, or in consequence of receiving information in any other manner of the said Order, subsequent to their having taken on board any part of their cargoes, whether previous or subsequent to their sailing, shall be permitted to report their cargoes for exportation, and shall be allowed to proceed upon their voyages to their original ports of destination (if not unlawful before the issuing of the order) or to any port at amity with his majesty, upon receiving a certificate from the collector or comptroller of the customs at the port at which they shall so enter (which certificate the said collectors and comptrollers of the customs are hereby authorized and required to give) setting forth, that such vessels came into such port in consequence of being so warned, or of receiving such information as aforesaid, and that they were permitted to sail from such port under the regulations which his majesty has been pleased to establish in respect to such vessels: but in case any vessel so arriving shall prefer to import her cargo, then such vessel shall be allowed to enter and import the same, upon such terms and conditions as the said cargo might have been imported upon, according to law, in case the said vessel had sailed after having received notice of the said Order, and in conformity thereto.—And it is further ordered, That all vessels which shall arrive at any port of the united kingdom, or at Gibraltar, or Malta, in conformity and obedience to the said Order, shall be allowed, in respect to all articles which may be on board the same, except sugar, coffee, wine, brandy, snuff, and tobacco, to clear out to any port whatever, to be specified in such clearance; and, with respect to the last mentioned articles, to export the same to such ports and under such conditions and regulations only as his majesty, by any licence to be granted for that purpose, may direct.—And the right hon. the lords commissioners of his majesty's treasury, his majesty's principal secretaries of state, the lords commissioners of the admiralty, and the judges of the high court of admiralty and courts of vice-admiralty, are to take the necessary measures herein, as to them shall respectively appertain. (Signed) W. FAWKENER.

ORDER in Council; declaring the future Sale and Transfer of enemies Vessels to the Subjects of a Neutral Country, to be invalid.

At the Court at the Queen's Palace, the 11th Nov. 1807; present, the King's most excellent Majesty in Council.—Whereas the sale of ships by a belligerent to a neutral, is considered by France to be illegal:—And whereas a great part of the shipping of France and her allies has been protected from capture during the present hostilities by transfers, or pretended transfers, to neutrals:—And whereas it is fully justifiable to adopt the same rule, in this respect, towards the enemy, which is applied by the enemy to this country:—His majesty is pleased, by and with the advice of his privy council, to order, and it is hereby ordered, That in future the sale to a neutral of any vessel belonging to his majesty's enemies shall not be deemed to be legal, nor in any manner to transfer the property, nor to alter the character of such vessel: and all vessels now belonging, or which shall hereafter belong to any enemy of his majesty, notwithstanding any sale or pretended sale to a neutral, after a reasonable time shall have elapsed for receiving information of this his majesty's Order at the place where such sale or pretended sale was effected, shall be captured and brought in, and shall be adjudged as lawful prize to the captors.—And the right hon. the lords commissioners of his majesty's treasury, his majesty's principal secretaries of state, the lords commissioners of the admiralty, and the judges of the high court of admiralty and courts of vice admiralty, are to take the necessary measures herein, as to them shall respectively appertain. (Signed) W. FAWKENER.

ORDER in Council; declaring the Dominions of his Majesty's Enemies, and of Countries under their Controul, in a state of Blockade, under the Exceptions specified in the said Order.

At the Court at the Queen's Palace, the 11th Nov. 1807; present, the King's most excellent Majesty in Council.—Whereas certain Orders, establishing an unprecedented system of warfare against this kingdom, and aimed especially at the destruction of its commerce and resources, were some time since issued by the government of France, by which "the British islands were declared to be in a state of blockade," thereby subjecting to capture and condemnation all vessels, with their cargoes, which should continue to trade with his majesty's dominions:—And whereas by the same Orders, "all trading in English merchandize is prohibited; and every article of merchandize belonging to England, or coming from her colonies, or of her manufacture, is declared lawful prize:"—And whereas the nations in alliance with France, and under her controul, were required to give, and have given, and do give, effect to such Orders:—And whereas his majesty's Order of the 7th of January last, has not answered the desired purpose, either of compelling the enemy to recall those Orders, or of inducing neutral nations to interpose, with effect, to obtain their revocation; but, on the contrary, the same have been recently enforced with increased rigour:—And whereas his majesty, under these circumstances, finds himself compelled to take further measures for asserting and vindicating his just rights, and for supporting that maritime power which the exertions and valour of his people have, under the blessing of Providence, enabled him to establish and maintain; and the maintenance of which is not more essential to the safety and prosperity of his majesty's dominions, than it is to the protection of such states as still retain their independence, and to the general intercourse and happiness of mankind:—His majesty is therefore pleased, by and with the advice of his privy council, to order, and it is hereby ordered, That all the ports and places of France and her allies, or of any other country at war with his majesty, and all other ports or places in Europe, from which, although not at war with his majesty, the British flag is excluded, and all ports or places in the colonies belonging to his majesty's enemies, shall from henceforth be subject to the same restrictions, in point of trade and navigation, with the exceptions hereinafter mentioned, as if the same were actually blockaded by his majesty's naval forces, in the most strict and rigorous manner: and it is hereby further ordered and declared, that all trade in articles which are of the produce or manufacture of the said countries or colonies, shall be deemed and considered to be unlawful; and that every vessel trading from or to the said countries or colonies, together with all goods and merchandize on board, and all articles of the produce or manufacture of the said countries or colonies, shall be captured and condemned as prize to the captors.—But, although his majesty would be fully justified, by the circumstances and considerations above recited, in establishing such system of restrictions with respect to all the countries and colonies of his enemies, without exception or qualification; yet his majesty, being nevertheless desirous not to subject neutrals to any greater inconvenience than is absolutely inseparable from the carrying into effect his majesty's just determination to counteract the designs of his enemies, and to retort upon his enemies themselves the consequences of their own violence and injustice; and being yet willing to hope that it may be possible (consistently with that object) still to allow to neutrals the opportunity of furnishing themselves with colonial produce for their own consumption and supply; and even to leave open, for the present, such trade with his majesty's enemies as shall be carried on directly with the ports of his majesty's dominions, or of his allies, in the manner hereinafter mentioned:—His majesty is therefore pleased further to order, and it is hereby ordered, That nothing herein contained shall extend to subject to capture or condemnation any vessel, or the cargo of any vessel, belonging to any country not declared by this Order to be subjected to the restrictions incident to a state of blockade, which shall have cleared out with such cargo from some port or place of the country to which she belongs, either in Europe or America, or from some free port in his majesty's colonies, under circumstances in which such trade from such free port is permitted, direct to some port or place in the colonies of his majesty's enemies, or from those colonies direct to the country to which such vessel belongs, or to some free port in his majesty's colonies, in such cases, and with such articles, as it may be lawful to import into such free port;—nor to any vessel, or the cargo of any vessel, belonging to any country not at war with his majesty, which shall have cleared out from some port or place in this kingdom, or from Gibraltar or Malta, under such regulations as his majesty may think fit to prescribe, or from any port belonging to his majesty's allies, and shall be proceeding direct to the port specified in her clearance;—nor to any vessel, or the cargo of any vessel, belonging to any country not at war with his majesty, which shall be coming from any port or place in Europe which is declared by this Order to be subject to the restrictions incident to a state of blockade, destined to some port or place in Europe belonging to his majesty, and which shall be on her voyage direct thereto: but these exceptions are not to be understood as exempting from capture or confiscation any vessel or goods which shall be liable thereto in respect of having entered or departed from any port or place actually blockaded by his majesty's squadrons or ships of war, or for being enemies' property, or for any other cause than the contravention of this present Order.—And the commanders of his majesty's ships of war and privateers, and other vessels acting under his majesty's commission, shall be, and are hereby instructed to warn every vessel which shall have commenced her voyage prior to any notice of this Order, and shall be destined to any port of France, or of her allies, or of any other country at war with his majesty, or to any port or place from which the British flag as aforesaid is excluded, or to any colony belonging to his majesty's enemies, and which shall not have cleared out as is herein before allowed, to discontinue her voyage, and to proceed to some port or place in this kingdom, or to Gibraltar or Malta; and any vessel which, after having been so warned, or after a reasonable time shall have been afforded for the arrival of information of this his majesty's Order at any port or place from which she sailed, or which, after having notice of this Order, shall be found in the prosecution of any voyage contrary to the restrictions contained in this Order, shall be captured, and, together with her cargo, condemned as lawful prize to the captors.—And whereas countries, not engaged in the war, have acquiesced in the Orders of France, prohibiting all trade in any articles the produce or manufacture of his majesty's dominions; and the merchants of those countries have given countenance and effect to those prohibitions, by accepting from persons styling themselves commercial agents of the enemy, resident at neutral ports, certain documents, termed "Certificates of Origin," being certificates obtained at the ports of shipment, declaring that the articles of the cargo are not of the produce or manufacture of his majesty's dominions; or to that effect:—And whereas this expedient has been directed by France, and submitted to by such merchants, as part of the new system of warfare directed against the trade of this kingdom, and as the most effectual instrument of accomplishing the same, and it is therefore essentially necessary to resist it:—His majesty is therefore pleased, by and with the advice of his privy council, to order, and it is hereby ordered, That if any vessel, after reasonable time shall have been afforded for receiving notice of this his majesty's Order at the port or place from which such vessel shall have cleared out, shall be found carrying any such certificate or document as aforesaid, or any document referring to or authenticating the same, such vessel shall be adjudged lawful prize to the captor, together with the goods laden therein, belonging to the person or persons by whom, or on whose behalf, any such document was put on board.—And the right hon. the lords commissioners of his majesty's treasury, his majesty's principal secretaries of state, the lords commissioners of the admiralty, and the judges of the high court of admiralty and courts of vice-admiralty, are to take the necessary measures herein as to them shall respectively appertain. (signed) W. FAWKENER.

ORDER in Council; approving Draught of Instructions to the Commanders of his Majesty's Ships of War and Privateers, &c. to act in due conformity to and execution of the Order in Council of the 11th of November, declaring the Dominions of his Majesty's Enemies, and of Countries under their Controul, in a state of Blockade.

At the Court at the Queen's Palace, the 18th Nov. 1807; present, the King's most excellent Majesty in Council.—Whereas there was this day read at the Board, the annexed Draught of Instructions to the Commanders of all ships of war and privateers, and to the judge of the high court of admiralty, and the judges of the courts of vice admiralty, strictly charging and enjoining them to act in due conformity to and execution of his majesty's Order in Council of the 11th of this instant, declaring the dominions of his majesty's enemies, and of countries under their controul, in a state of blockade, under the exceptions specified in the said Order: his majesty, taking the said draught of instructions into consideration, was pleased, with the advice of his privy council, to approve thereof, and to order, as it is hereby ordered, That the right hon. lord Hawkesbury, one of his majesty's principal secretaries of state, do cause the said instructions (a copy whereof is hereunto annexed) to be prepared for his majesty's royal signature. (Signed) W. FAWKENER.

DRAUGHT of Instructions to the Commanders of his Majesty's Ships of War and Privateers, and to the judge of the High Court of Admiralty, and Judges of the Courts of Vice Admiralty. Given, &c.

Whereas by our Order in Council of the 11th Nov. instant, it is recited and ordered as follows; to wit, &c. [Here the said Order is recited, as in p. 134.] Our will and pleasure is, and we do hereby direct, by and with the advice of our privy council, that the commanders of our ships of war and privateers do act in due conformity to and execution of our aforesaid Order in Council: and we do further order and declare, That nothing in the said Order shall extend or be construed to extend to prevent any vessel, not belonging to a country declared to be under the restrictions of blockade as aforesaid, from carrying from any port or place of the country to which such vessel belongs, any articles of manufacture or produce whatever, not being enemies property, to any port or place in this kingdom.—And we do further direct, That all articles of British manufacture, upon due proof thereof, (not being naval or military stores) shall be restored by our courts of admiralty or vice admiralty, on whatever voyage they may have been captured, to whomsoever the same shall appear to belong: and we do further direct, with respect to vessels subject only to be warned, that any vessel which shall belong to any country not declared by the said Order to be under the restrictions of blockade, and which shall be proceeding on her voyage direct to some port or place of the country to which such vessel belongs, shall be permitted to proceed on her said voyage; and any vessel bound to any port in Ame- rica or the West Indies, to which port or place such vessel does not belong, and which is met near to America or the West Indies, shall be permitted, at the choice of the master of such vessel, to proceed either to Halifax, or to one of our free ports in the West Indies, at the option of such master, which choice of the master, and the port chosen by and assigned to him, shall be written on one or more of the principal ship's papers; and any vessel subject to warning, met beyond the equator, shall in like manner be permitted to proceed, at the choice of the master of such vessel, either to St. Helena, the Cape of Good Hope, or the island of Ceylon; and any such vessel which shall be bound to any port or place in Europe, shall be permitted, at the choice of the master of such vessel, to proceed either to Gibraltar or Malta, or to any port in this kingdom, at the option of such master, which request of the master, as well as the port chosen by and assigned to him, shall be in like manner written upon one or more of the principal ship's papers: and we do further direct, that nothing in the above Order contained, shall extend or be construed to extend to repeal or vacate the additional instructions of the 4th day of February last, directing that neutral vessles laden with cargoes consisting of the articles therein enumerated, coming for importation to any port of our united kingdom (provided they are not coming from any port in a state of strict and rigorous blockade) shall not be interrupted.

ORDER in Council; approving Draught of Additional Instructions to the Commanders of Ships of War and Privateers, &c. for protecting Goods going from and coming to any Port of the United Kingdom, to whomsoever the Property may appear to belong.

At the Court at the Queen's Palace, the 25th Nov. 1807; present, the King's most excellent Majesty in Council.—Whereas there was this day read at the Board, the annexed Draught of Additional Instructions to the commanders of all ships of war and privateers, and to the judge of the high court of admiralty, and the judges of the courts of vice admiralty, for protecting goods going from and coming to any port of the united kingdom, to whomsoever the property may appear to belong: his majesty, taking the said Draught of Instruction into consideration, was pleased, with the advice of his privy council, to approve thereof, and to order, as it is hereby ordered, That the right hon. lord Hawkesbury, one of his majesty's principal secretaries of state, do cause the said instruction (a copy whereof is hereunto annexed) to be prepared for his majesty's royal signature. (Signed) W. FAWKENER.

DRAUGHT of an Additional Instruction to the Commanders of Our Ships of War and Privateers, and to the Judge of Our High Court of Admiralty, and the Judges of Our Courts of Vice Admiralty. Given, &c.

Our will and pleasure is, that vessels belonging to any state nor at war with us, laden with cargoes in any ports of the united kingdom, and clearing out according to law, shall not be interrupted or molested in proceeding to any port in Europe (except ports specially notified to be in a state of strict and rigorous blockade before our order of the 11th Nov. instant) or which shall hereafter be so notified, to whomsoever the goods laden on board such vessels may appear to belong: and we do further direct, that vessels belonging as aforesaid, coming from any port in Europe (except as before excepted) direct to any port of the united kingdom with goods for importation, shall not be interrupted in the said voyages, to whomsoever the goods laden on board the said vessels may appear to belong: and in case any vessel which shall be met with, and asserted by her master to be so coming, shall be detained, on suspicion of not being really destined to this kingdom, such vessel shall be brought to the most convenient port in the course of her asserted destination, and the captors are hereby required to enquire, with all convenient speed, into the alledged destination; and in case any vessel and goods so brought in and detained shall be proceeded against in our high court of admiralty, or in any courts of vice admiralty, we hereby direct that the same shall be forthwith restored, upon satisfactory proof being made that the cargo was coming for importation to a port of this kingdom.

ORDER in Council; appointing Times at which Notice shall be presumed to have been received of the Order of the 11th instant at the different places specified in the said Order.

At the Court at the Queen's Palace, the 25th Nov. 1807; present, the King's most excellent Majesty in Council.—Whereas it has been represented that it would be expedient to fix certain periods, at which it shall be deemed that a reasonable time shall have elapsed for receiving information, at different places, of his majesty's Order in council of the 11th Nov. instant, respecting the trade with his majesty's enemies, and in their produce and manufactures: his majesty, taking the same into consideration, and being desirous to obviate any difficulties that may arise in respect thereto, and also to allow ample time for the said Order being known to all persons who may be inflected thereby, is pleased, by and with the advice of his privy council, to order and declare, and it is hereby ordered and declared, That information of the said Order of the 11th Nov. instant, shall be taken and held to have been received in the places hereinafter mentioned, at the periods respectively assigned to them; namely, ports and places within the Baltic, Dec. 21st 1807; other ports and places to the northward of Amsterdam, Dec. 11th 1807; from Amsterdam to Ushant, Dec. 4th 1807; from Ushant to Cape Finisterre, Dec. 8th 1807; from Cape Finisterre to Gibraltar, inclusive, Dec. 13th 1807; Madeira, Dec. 13th 1807; ports and places within the Streights of Gibraltar, to Sicily and Malta, and the west coast of Italy, inclusive, Jan. 1st 1808; all other ports and places in the Mediterranean, beyond Sicily and Malta, Jan. 20th 1808; ports and places beyond the Dardanelles, Feb. 1st 1808; any part of the north and western coast of Africa, or the islands adjacent, except Madeira, Jan. 11th 1808; the United States, and British possessions in North America and the West Indies, Jan. 20th 1808; Cape of Good Hope, and the east coast of South America, March 1st 1808; India, May 1st 1808; China, and the coast of South America, June 1st 1808; and every vessel sailing on or after those days from those places respectively, shall be deemed and taken to have received notice of the aforesaid Order: and it is further ordered, That if any vessel shall sail within twenty days after the periods above assigned respectively, from any of the said places, in contravention of the said Order of the 11th Nov. instant, and shall be detained as prize on account thereof, or shall arrive at any port in this Kingdom, destined to some port or place within the restriction of the said Order, and proof shall be made to the satisfaction of the court of admiralty, in which such vessel shall be proceeded against, in case the same shall be brought in as prize, that the loading of the said vessel had commenced before the said periods, and before information of the said Order had actually been received at the port of shipment, the said vessel, together with the goods so laden, shall be restored to the owner or owners thereof, and shall be permitted to proceed on her voyage, in such manner as if such vessel had sailed before the day so specified as aforesaid: and it is further ordered, That no proof shall be admitted, or be gone into, for the purpose of shewing that information of the said Order of the 11th Nov. instant had not been received at the said places respectively, at the several periods before assigned. And the right hon. the lords commissioners of his majesty's treasury, his majesty's principal secretaries of state, the lords commissioners of the admiralty, and the judges of the high court of admiralty, and courts of vice admiralty, are to take the necessary measures herein as to them shall respectively appertain.

(Signed) WM. FAWKENER.