YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY THE NEGOTIATIONS FOR THE PEACE OF THE DARDANELLES, IN 1808-9. VOL. I. London : Printed by A. Spottiswoode, New-Street-Square. THE NEGOTIATIONS PEACE OF THE DARDANELLES, IN 1808-9: WITH DISPATCHES AND OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS. BY THE RIGHT HONOURABLE SIR ROBERT ADAIR, G.C.B. I) . BEING A SEQUEL TO THE MEMOIR OF HIS MISSION TO VIENNA IN 1806. IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. I. LONDON: PRINTED FOR LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, AND LONGMANS, rATERNOSTER-ROW. 1845. Bx 34, PREFACE. In the strangely entangled state of European politics during the year 1806, we have seen Prussia at war at the same moment with both England and France. Early in 1807 we find England at war with Turkey ; not for any wrongs of her own, but for those of Rus sia; and late in the same year, at war with Russia herself. "We had thus completely changed sides with regard to the Turks: for, more than once, in 1809, after our footing at Constantinople had been made good, Russia offered them peace if they would send me away, and more than once I was obliged to dissuade any peace which should leave them without protection against that Power. There was a complication of accidents about this period in Continental affairs which seemed at first sight not easy to manage. The case, shortly, with regard to Turkey, was as follows : — In 1802, a Treaty was made between Rus sia and the Porte, containing stipulations relative to the election, and permanence in office, of the Hospo- dars of Moldavia and Walachia. Towards the end of 1806, and in the midst of Napoleon's operations against Prussia and Russia in Germany, General Sebastiani, the French Ambassador at the Porte, (one of the ablest of Napoleon's officers, whether em- A 3 VI PREFACE. ployed on diplomatic or military service,) persuaded the Turkish Government to break this Treaty with Russia, as well as that for the passage of the Bospho- rus, to depose the Hospodars favourable to Russian interests, and replace them by others favourable to France. Russia on this occasion did exactly what Sebastiani wished and foresaw. She marched an army into the Provinces. This is not the place to inquire with what justice or prudence she took such a step, after Turkey, through the mediation of Mr. Arbuthnot, had given her full satisfaction with regard to all the matters in dispute between them : suffice it that Eng land took part with her ally, then engaged in a last effort for the independence of Europe, and sent a fleet to Constantinople to enforce the renewal of the Treaty of 1802. The event of that expedition was unfavour able, and our Ambassador left Constantinople. In July the same year, Russia made her peace with France at Tilsit, and in December broke with Eng land, and sent away our Ambassador from Peters burg. This rupture, among its other evils, left us with the Turkish quarrel upon our hands. Worse than this : by acceding to the French system, which excluded England from the Continent until a general peace, Russia made it, as far as it lay in her power, impossible for us to get out of it. How this was effected will appear from the follow ing despatches and documents relative to the negocia- tion of the peace signed at the Dardanelles in 1809 which I am permitted by the continued liberality of the Foreign Office to lay before the public. This PREFACE. VU memoir may be regarded, therefore, as a sequel to that of my mission to Vienna ; and I should have contented myself with simply printing the documents pertaining to it, but for the recent publication of a work entitled " Diaries and Correspondence of the Earl of Malmesbury." There is in that work an entry conveying a censure on my appointment to both the above missions. It is as foUows : — " A****, contrary to the assurances Canning had " given to A'Court*, remained at Vienna after Lord " Pembroke's departure, till war was declared, f Can- " ning then appointed him Ambassador to Turkey, " though he could not but know he was attached to " the Opposition, and communicated with them, and " though not without abilities, such a dupe to women, " that no secret was safe with him. This Fox, his " intimate friend and patron, knew so well, that when " he named him for Vienna, he stipulated that Mrs. " A**** (a French woman) should not go with him, " and that if ever she followed him, his mission should " cease. Yet she did go after Fox's death, and Can- " ning suffered A**** to remain at Vienna, and em- " ployed him elsewhere." (Diaries, &c. vol, iv. p. 406.) Lord Malmesbury was thus pleased to write, and his grandson thinks it decorous to publish, the above passage, where an event in my private life is brought before the world as constituting an unfitness in me for public trust. I find myself, therefore, most un willingly obliged to add a few prefatory remarks to * Now Lord Heytesbury. f Wat was never declared. — (IVote.) A 4 VIH PREFACE. this pubhcation, and to enter more fully than it would otherwise have been fit to do, into the circumstances of my nomination to these missions. And first, I will not be above acknowledging that when I read the above passage it gave me pain. Without knowing much of each other, Lord Malmes bury and myself had belonged at one time to the same party, and there subsisted among the Whigs of those days, to whom his Lordship had attached himself, from the first to the last, from the oldest to the youngest, an union and good understanding so cor dial — such a free-masonry, it might be called — in our connection, derived from the steady and honour able pursuit of a common public object, that I almost felt myself entitled to the benefit of his good-will in after life ; and little did I dream that in the inter change of mutual civilities, he was bending an evil eye upon me all the whUe, and fitting me for a future day " to the slider of his guUlotine."* As for the noble Editor, if he can reconcile the publication of this passage to what he may possess of that inward moral sense which is the foundation of all good taste as well as good breeding, I shall say nothing to him, except that I am thankful to have been brought up in a different school. But the aspersions to which he gives circulation must be re pelled. Lord Malmesbury's name is considerable; especially on the Continent, where I have many friends who may be as much misled by his authority as I have myself been mistaken in the thoughts of his regard for me. * Regicide Peace, p. 109. Burke's Works, voL viii. PREFACE. IX Yet how to deal with these aspersions is no easy matter. If as they deserve, it were cutting into dead flesh : and again, what form of denial can I assume ? Where can be found words of efficacy to dispel the venom that party rancour extracts from private afflic tion ? Facts, however, are better than denials ; and hap pily I find enough of them for my purpose in the approbation of my three successive masters, and of their advisers from all parties*, who have trusted and rewarded me. One of these statesmen, indeed, has incurred by so doing a severe rebuke from the author of the above work. I owe it therefore to his memory to show that his noble behaviour towards me — a determined and open political opponent — could have been dictated only by a sense of what, under the direction of his own warm and generous temper, he thought right for the public. I begin, therefore, with the recital of my transac tions with Mr. Canning ; and shall exhibit in his deal ings towards me, and in mine towards him, a picture not discreditable, I trust, to either of us ; although in its colouring too quiet and too sober, perhaps, to show against that effulgence of public virtue which has burst upon the world from the pages of the Diplo matist. I knew Mr. Canning long before Lord Malmesbury did ; not intimately, indeed, but enough to be capti vated by his manners and his wit, and to anticipate * Mr. Fox, Lord Grey, Mr. Canning, Lord Wellesley, Lord Pal- merston, the Duke of Wellington. PREFACE. with Sheridan and Fox, and every one else of our common friends, the brilliant success which followed him from his first appearance in public life. Much did we all hope that his abilities would be exerted on our side, and that the great cause in which the Whig party was then engaged under the Duke of Portland, as successor to Lord Rockingham, namely, that of rendering the confidence of the House of Com mons, instead of the mere will of the Crown, the road to power ; — greatly, I say, did we hope that Canning would have ranged himself in the Whig ranks ; but the French Revolution came over us, and destroyed that and every pleasing hope for our party and our country. The Whigs split among themselves on that event. With many of them there were just and honourable grounds for separation ; not perhaps for all. Passion had its fuU share in producing it ; clever manceuvring still more ; and if we would acquire a due knowledge of the success as well as of the variety of Lord Malmesbury's diplomacy, we may collect it from the recital of his own proceedings recorded by himself at that memorable period. Mr. Canning at this time was free to take his line, and he took it with Mr. Pitt ; inclining, as it always appeared to me, rather to the popular opinions on Government Avhich marked Mr. Pitt's early course, than to those of the Tories, or those of the Whig aristocracy who had joined him. During the ten years' war which followed, I had of course, no intercourse with Mr. Canning ; but upon the peace of Amiens, and the renewal of hostilities PREFACE. xi some months afterwards, there arose (as stated in my narrative of those transactions*) so general an opinion that Mr. Addington's administration would not be competent to meet the impending difficulties of the emergency, that our leading statesmen began to look about them, and consider how to get rid of it and form another. But how to do this was the difficulty. Mr. Addington was the King's Minister. There was no way to reach him but through the House of Com mons. By the Duke of Portland's coalition with Mr. Pitt in 1795, the doctrine of the constitutional ne cessity of the confidence of that House to maintain a Minister in office, as well as to entitle him to aspire to it, had been virtually renounced ; and there ap peared but little chance that George the Third, who never felt himself so happy in his life as when he had got rid of both Pitt and Fox, would easily be induced to abandon the downy cushion on which he now re posed. Yet England had some claim on those who professed to serve her on public grounds, and who had repeatedly declared that her interests were not safe in the hands of Mr. Addington. What then was to be done ? Either to bring back Mr. Pitt gently to the King's councils, or to revert to the Whig doctrines of 1784, and with all the inconvenience of forcing the King's hand, to set up a Parliamentary Admi nistration. The Diary lets us into many unsuccessful mea sures, to bring about the first of these alternatives ; and it was soon found that for any hope of effecting the * Mission to the Court of Vienna, p. 28. XU PREFACE. second, Mr. Addington's Ministry must first be put an end to by a vote of the House of Commons. In this Mr. Canning concurred, and I well remem ber (and perhaps Lord Granville may remember too). the joy with which I shook hands with him in the House of Commons on the first day that was fixed for the trial of our united strength. The circumstances which limited the success of our measures to the removal of Mr. Addington may, in some degree, be collected from the Diary, but on one important point — namely, Mr. Fox's readiness to sacrifice his own pretensions to power — there are some particulars, possibly unknown to the writer of it, which he has omitted. I will supply his silence. It is true that Mr, Pitt, in joining his forces to ours, for the removal of Mr, Addington, and in acknowledg ing the necessity of his being succeeded by a Ministry which should include Mr, Fox, never engaged to press his admission upon the King as a sine quA non of his own acceptance ; but he did fully represent to his Ma- jesty the importance of it, and this was the result : — The King said that he considered Mr, Fox as a per sonal enemy, and that he could not consent to his holding any situation which would make a personal intercourse with him necessary. To this Mr, Pitt answered, that there could be no situation suited to Mr, Fox's rank and character in which personal inter course would not be necessary , unless he were appointed to conduct some great foreign negotiation, of which there was no immediate prospect. To this the King said he should have no objection. The objection being a personal one, Mr. Fox ex- PREFACE. XUl pressed his wish that his friends, if they could be admitted as a party to their full share of influence and power, and to rather more than if he himself were to form a part of the arrangement, should accept ; and Mr, Pitt seemed inclined to discuss this proposi tion with him in a personal interview, but his friends unanimously refused to hear of his exclusion, Mr, Pitt therefore returned alone to power ; Lord Grenville and Mr. Fox's original Whig friends refusing to sanction by their acceptance of office a principle of personal exclusion for which they saw no constitu tional reason, but against it every constitutional objection. Lord Malmesbury, in speaking of Mr. Windham's refusal, represents it to have been a mere point of honour with him. Mr. Windham was the soul of honour ; but although endowed with one of the most discriminating minds ever possessed by man, he never could understand the distinction between honour and duty in public life. His Lordship, therefore, could not have understood this straightforwardness in Mr. Windham. We know the calamitous result of these transactions. A new confederacy to carry on the war, the dis comfiture of Europe at the battle of Austerlitz, and the fatal effect of these reverses on Mr. Pitt's declining health were the consequence. Another Ministry became indispensable. The King on this occasion, finding that he had no im mediate means of maintaining his prerogative at its full height, yielded with a good grace. He accepted Mr. Fox: and it is well kno-\vn that his Majesty XIV PREFACE. was not dissatisfied with his services, nor with the personal intercourse which they led to. In another publication I have mentioned my ap pointment to succeed Sir Arthur Paget at Vienna; and there is here a word in the Diary, not much worth remarking perhaps, except as it denotes the sort of tone adopted by his Lordship in the represen tation he has chosen to make of it. Patron and Client was not precisely the sort of relationship which sub sisted between Mr. Fox and myself With some drops of his own blood in my veins, on my return from Germany in 1780, and under the auspices of Admiral Keppel, I naturally fell in with him, and Mr. Burke, and the other chiefs of the Rockingham party. In 1788, on the prospect of a change of Ministry in consequence of the King's illness, he had intended me for his Under Secretary at the Foreign Office, and on the footing thus established I remained with him to the day of his death. There was nothing extraordinary, therefore, in my nomination to Vienna when he came into office, in 1806. It is true, as related in the Diary, that it was agreed " that Mrs. Adair {a French woman) should " not go out with him, and that if ever she followed him, " his mission should terminate." The fact is so ; but not for the reasons here insinuated. The injunction — why must these matters be talked of? — was at my own most earnest request, and on the represent ation of my family to Mr. Fox. As to the disparaging way of naming my wife, it may be well enough for a journal never intended, perhaps, to see the light ; but when published in this manner, it must be noticed. PREFACE. XV Let the Editor, then, be told that this "French woman " belonged to one of the oldest of the noble families of France ; that her father, a thorough royal ist, perished in that cause by the guillotine ; that she herself was one of the earliest victims of the Revo lution ; and that at the restoration of the Bourbons, her son-in-law was placed by the Comte d'Artois himself in his garde du corps. It is true that on Mr. Fox's death she did come out to me at Vienna, totally without luy knowledge, or that of my family, in respect to her intentions ; but with this painful part of my private life the public can have nothing to do. Enough of it ! — I return to Mr. Canning. My remaining at Vienna and the cause of it, after the dismission of my friends from office, have already been explained in my published correspondence. There is a circumstance in this case, however, which re quires to be noticed a little further. On the change of administration Mr. Canning notified my recal to me in a way most sure to soften every unpleasant im pression which I could receive from it. But I had already anticipated the event as a matter of course, and had informed Count Stadion that for a double reason there was an end of my mission. I wiU not flatter myself that the regret he expressed on that occasion arose from any other cause than an appre hension that the new ministry were likely to press him with more importunity than I had done, and with less consideration for the position in which Austria stood towards Napoleon, again to take part in the war ; but on a further communication I learned that by the Emperor's commands he had written to Count XVI PREFACE. Starhemberg, ordering him to mention to the Kmg his Sovereign's wish that I should not be removed from his court.* It is not for me even to conjecture how far such a wish on the part of the Emperor of Austria, supposing it ever to have been conveyed to his Majesty, might have operated with his Majesty to express, at the time that the intention of recalling me was announced to him, his satisfaction with my hum ble services ; but of this I am sure, that, for special reasons easily to be understood, it was determined not to press on his Majesty my recal by a regular official letter, but to supersede me, inasmuch as such a letter would require his Majesty's signature, and supersession would only need the appointment of an officer of higher rank. Lord Malmesbury — all secrets come out in time — was the adviser of this course ; and in consequence Lord Pembroke, a nobleman in high personal favour with his Majesty, was appointed to succeed me in the character of ambassador. I never was angry with Lord Malmesbury for this proceed ing, and have now no other remark to make upon it than that by an oversight, quite unaccountable in so deep a politician, he forgot that there must be two parties to such an appointment, namely, the power nominating and the power receiving. Lord Pembroke therefore, on his reaching Vienna, found the Austrian Government, as I had already informed Mr. Canning f, not disposed to accept him as ambassador. Of this very awkward circumstance — awkward to * Vide Mission to Vienna, p. 258. t Ibid., p. 259. PREFACE. XVU all of US — to the new ministry as well as to Lord Pembroke and myself — I apprized his Lordship on our first interview ; giving up to him, of course, the cyphers and correspondence, and offering, as it was my duty to do, my humble assistance if there should be any business in which I could be useful to him. So matters remained between us for some days, until, on his Lordship asking me at what time I pro posed to quit Vienna, and on my inquiring conse quently of Count Stadion on what day I could have my audience of leave of the Emperor, the explanation took place with the Austrian Minister, with regard to the respective situations of his Lordship and my self, which I have stated at large in page 257 of my Memoir. My reasons also for not quitting Vienna without the customary audience are contained in the pages which follow that statement, together with my letter to Mr. Canning, entreating him to relieve me, and indeed himself, from an embarrassment all caused by this 6cole of Lord Malmesbury. To these I refer for judgment whether any unbecoming effort was made by me to retain my situation either against the wish of the new Ministry or after the dismission from office of my own friends. It will be judged also for Mr, Canning whether his conduct towards me, after having become acquainted, through my despatches, with my zealous efforts for the public service, deserves the sneer with which it is noticed ; and much do I mistake my countrymen if, in estimating the character of that Minister, they will not discern in this very act of re- VOL. I. a XVUl PREFACE, taining me at Vienna, the answer of a man and oi a gentleman to the dark insinuations of the Diary. It is affirmed also in that publication, that by per mitting me to remain, Mr. Canning broke his promise to Mr. A'Court. I do not believe it ; and for this reason, if there were no other ; Lord Pembroke, after he had made up his mind to return home, sent me back the cyphers and correspondence, and desired me to resume my official functions, observing that 1 must soon receive Mr. Canning's answer to my represent ation of the 10th July. His Lordship therefore must have had a discretion as to this point, and his exercise of it in leaving me in office after his departure must exonerate Mr. Canning from the charge of a breach of promise to Mr. A'Court. Nothing was more easy for Mr. A'Court than to remain until Mr. Canning's answer should arrive, instead of leaving Vienna, as he did, with Lord Pembroke. My proceedings from this time, until the whole mission came to a violent death through the over whelming power of France, are already before the public. I come now to the circumstances which led to my being appointed to negociate the Turkish peace. Lord Pembroke quitted Vienna on or about the 14th of September, leaving me to resume my func tions. Shortly afterwards arrived despatches an nouncing Sir Arthur Paget's mission to the Turkish Government to restore peace with us. In these de spatches were inclosed a copy of Sir Arthur's instruc tions. His mission, owing to causes out of his reach PREFACE. XIX failed of its effect, and in December he set sail for England. It so happened, that on my reaching Malta on my way home in March, I found there Captain Stewart of the Sea- Horse, whose station was in the Archipelago, and who had arrived but a few hours before me with a proposal from the Pacha of the Dar danelles to resume Sir Arthur Paget's negociation. Captain Stewart of course lost not a moment in set ting sail for Malta, thinking it might be possible to overtake Sir Arthur ; but he Avas already gone. Sir Alexander Ball, who was anxious that the opportu nity should not be lost, proposed to me on this to put myself in Sir Arthur's place, and return with Captain Stewart to the Dardanelles. That of course was impossible, as I had no commission. It occurred to me, however, that it might be possible to manage this business in such a way as to give the two coun tries the benefit of peace until we could hear from home ;. — that as the commanders-in-chief of all op- \ posing forces are empowered to agree to a suspension of hostilities, and as I was in possession of the terms on which my Government was ready to make peace with Turkey, I had but to offer my services to Lord Collingwood to go up to the Dardanelles as his clerk, or in any capacity he might think fit to send me, and to settle the terms of an armistice according to the instructions of which I had a copy. The two Govern ments would then have only to turn the armistice into a treaty, and the thing was done without losing time, and risking an opportunity not easily perhaps to be recovered : as the event proved this afterwards to be, a 2 XX PREFACE. I authorised Sir Alexander Ball, therefore, to sub mit my proposal to Lord Collingwood, of whom I requested at the same time, in case of his not approv ing it, a passage to England in any ship he might be sending home ; and I wrote to Mr, Canning to tell him what I had done. Not liking to stay at Malta until answers should arrive to these letters, I went to Sicily to wait for them. Early in May the Superb arrived at Palermo with orders to take me to England. On inquiring of Captain Jackson (who commanded her) whether Lord Collingwood had sent any answer to my letter containing the proposal above-mentioned, he told me that he had not seen his Lordship ; that immediately after the fleet had been joined by the Ambuscade (by which my letter was sent), his signal was made to come to me at Palermo, and give me a passage home. There was nothing more to be said, so I embarked with him, and reached London in the month of May. With what feelings I arrived will be understood by those who consider that, from the date of my letter to Mr. Canning of the 10th of July in the preceding year until the day on which I knocked at his door in Bruton Street, I had not heard one word from him either of praise or of blame ; and that during this interval, I had taken upon myself many important acts, for which, if they were blameable, I had no right to count upon his partiality towards one so openly opposed as I was to the Government of which he made a part. PREFACE, XXi But Mr. Canning had many generous qualities. I remember his once saying in the House of Commons that his foreign policy was contained in one word — " England." He saw that, with all my defects, I had served England faithfully and zealously, and all party differences were forgotten the moment he saw me. Our conversation was therefore short, and to the purpose. On receiving my letter from Malta, he had instantly sent me full powers to open a negociation for peace with the Porte, but the frigate which brought them out crossed the Superb on her voyage, home. He now proposed to me to return, and open ; the negociation. My answer was, that as he was aware of my party principles and engagements, he must give me leave first to consult ray friends. Mr. Canning complied without hesitation, and the result was that I accepted the mission under an express agreement, that after having made the peace, I should be at liberty to return home, and resume my seat on the Opposition benches of the House of Commons. He then asked me what instructions I wished to take out in addition to those which he had sent to Sir Arthur Paget. It will be seen by my Vienna letters, that before my departure from thence, some hope had presented itself of breaking up the French and Russian alliance, the chief basis of which, as Count Stadion had informed me, Avas the pursuit of a common system in the affairs of European Turkey. I knew that some angry discussions on other points had already taken place at Paris between Count Tolstoy and the French Government, and it appeared to me that if, after settling our own concerns with a 3 Xxii PREFACE. the Porte, a peace could be effected between that Power and Russia without French intervention, there would be a fair chance for Europe of dissohdng that: unnatural but most formidable compact. I proposed, therefore, to Mr. Canning to add a clause to my \ instructions, directing me to become the mediator ^ of such a peace, without referring home for specific '(powers, if an opportunity for making it should occur. jHe readily adopted the suggestion, and added the requisite clause. But this was not all. It will be seen by the same letters * that I had not left my post without establish ing a correspondence through which our friendly intercourse with Austria might be resumed Avhenever it could be done Avithout danger to her. On my way home I had learned at Gibraltar the gallant re sistance begun by Spain to the French invasion ; and soon afterwards we heard that fresh exactions and aggressions Avere provoking the Austrian Govern ment to stand up once more against her tyranny. Mr. Canning was of course anxious to seize this opportunity of re-establishing,, if possible, our rela tions with Austria, and he authorised me to make the attempt through the channel which was open for it. I Avrote in consequence to Count Stadion the letter which Avill be found in page 6. of the present publication. It was too early to propose the measure directly, so it Avas done under cover of an invitation to assist us by his good offices in our impending negociation with the Porte. * Mission to Vienna, p. 265. PREFACE. Xxiii A rencAval of hostilities with France, on the part of Austria, must necessarily lead to the re-establishment of our diplomatic relations with her. Mr. Canning, therefore, when he gave me my credentials to the Porte, authorised me, when I should reach Malta and learn the general state of affairs, to decide upon the course most advisable to be taken for the public service — whether to proceed at once to the Darda nelles and restore peace, or to make my AA^ay to Vienna, Avhere a commission Avould be sent me to re-establish in due form our relations with that Court, and to resume my functions there. I chose the for mer as the more urgent. This is the whole and the very simple history of my appointment to the embassy at Constantinople. It will be seen by the despatches of 1809, that on the breaking out of fresh hostilities between France and Austria, it was in contemplation to form a treaty of triple alliance between England, Austria, and the Porte. With the ratification of our treaty of peace Avith the Porte,, and his Majesty's permission to resign that embassy, cr.edentials were sent me for the Court of Vienna. But the sad events which had taken place before their arrival made it impossible to make use of them. The French armies Avere already? in possession of Vienna, and it was as much as I could do to keep my ground at the Porte, and secure the exchange of the ratifications. The peace itself, indeed, appeared so little safe for some time after these disasters, that I thought it my duty to remain there beyond the time of my announced departure, and to do my best to confirm and consolidate it. The a 4 ' XXIV PREFACE, general state of Europe also, especially the danger to the House of Austria from the measures in course of execution to give effect to the Russian and French alliance, induced me to stay, and endeavour to effect some diversion in her favour by occupying the Rus sian forces, which had marched into Galicia, and were assembling on her eastern frontier of Transyl vania, European Turkey was then the only spot on the Continent from whence England could assist the House of Austria, and I was anxious to turn my position at the Porte to the best account. But the marriage of the Arch-Duchess with Napoleon was more efficacious. Sad extremity for the House of Hapsburg ! but unavoidable after the treaty of Tilsit, After this a long and dangerous illness detained me at Constantinople until the July of the foUoAving year, I then returned, to resume my place on the Opposition benches of the House of Commons, where I remained until the dissolution of Parliament in 1812, R.A. CONTENTS THE FIRST VOLUME. To Mr. Canning. Projected negociations for a treaty of peace between England and Turkey. (Malta, April 8. 1808.) - - Page 1 The peace — Difficulties in the way of its negociation. fH. M. S. Superb, Spithead, May 24. 1808.) — Letter to Count Stadion, proposing to renew our relations with Austria ----- 4 g Consultation with Lord Collingwood — Position of England towards Russia — Expedition against Corfu and the neigh bouring islands — Ali Pacha. (Hyperion, off Cadiz, July 13. 1808.) 9, 10 Improved aspect of Spanish affairs — M. Robertoni — His Sicilian Majesty — Regency of Spain. (Gibraltar, July 16. 1808.) 10,11 Interview with the Queen of Naples. (Palermo, Aug. 5. 1808.) 12, 13 Capture of two Turkish frigates — Difficulties in the way of negociating with Turkey — Revolution at Constantinople — Probable effect on the Ottoman councils. (Palermo, -Aug. 17. 1808.) ----- I3_i7 Endeavour to ascertain the intentions of Turkey respecting the peace. (Palermo, Aug. 30. 1808.) i- - 17,18 Despatch of Mr. Barthold to England for further instructions. (Palermo, Aug. 30. 1808.) - - 18 XXVl CONTENTS. To Mr. Canning. Increasing difficulties in the way of opening negociations with the Porte — Sequestration of British property at Smyrna — Prevailing ignorance relative to Turkish affairs among all classes in Malta — Mustapha Bairachar, the new Vizier — Ali Pacha. (Malta, Sept. 9. 1808.) [An enclosure.] Page 19—21 First conference with the Turkish plenipotentiary — Unpro mising aspect of affairs — Turkish trading vessels — Greek merchants — France — Russia — Tumults at Constantinople — New difficulties — Turkey and France. (Barbeiri Bay, Nov. 18. 1808.) [Eleven enclosures.] - - 24—32 Conference with Vaahid Efendi— Exchange of full powers— Ambassadors — Protections — The tariff — "War with Russia — Projet. (Port Barbeiri, Nov. 22. 1808.) [An enclosure.] - - - 48 — 58 Second conference with Vaahid Efendi — Discussion of articles of peace — Reasons for an immediate treaty — Contre-projet. (Port Barbeiri, Nov. 26. 1808.) [Two en closures.] - - 58 — 70 Further communications with the Reis Efendi — Arrival of despatches — France threatens war with Turkey — Ques tion of pecuniary assistance to Turkey — Delays — De mands of Turkey — Lofty tone of the French Charge d' Affaires — Delays — Captious objections — Probable rea sons of the Porte's refusal of proffered terms. (Port Bar beiri, Dec. 13. 1808.) - - . - 73—84 Fifth conference with the Turkish plenipotentiary — Demand renewed for compensation for the ships destroyed — General affairs of Europe — Relaxation of demands. (Port Barbeiri, Dec. 16. 1808.) - - . 84—89 Pecuniary assistance to Turkey — Proposed treaty of peace — Separate articles. (Port Barbeiri, Dec. 20. 1808.) [Two enclosures.] - . . go— 95 Unreasonable demands of Turkey — Discussion of articles — Precedence of ambassadors — Free trade — Compensation — Fi-ance— Russia. (Port Barbeiri, Dec. 23. 1808.) 102 109 Renewed den^ands of Turkey — Refusal — Determination to sail for England — Preparations — The Turkish plenipo tentiary comes to terms — Conclusion of the negociation. (Port Barbeiri, Jan. ]. 1809.) - - io9 113 CONTENTS, XXVli To Me. Cannkg. Announcing the treaty — Ordnance stores — Article of aid — Captain Stewart. (Port Barbeiri, Jan. 6. 1809.) Page 113-115 Austria and France — Russia — Spain — ^France and Turkey. (Pera, Feb. 10. 1809.) - - 124, 125 Arrival at Constantinople — Unsettled state of things in Turkey — Intended negociation at Jassy, with a Russian plenipotentiary. (Pera, Feb. 19. 1809.) [Four enclosures.] 126, 127 Project of a triple alliance between Great Britain, Austria, and the Porte — Turkey favourable to the scheme — Pre liminary steps — Difficulties as to Austria — The only mode of bringing it about — The Black Sea. (Pera, March 19. 1809.) [Four enclosures.] - - 143—151 Public audience of H. I. M. Sultan Mahmoud — Flattering attentions. (Pera, March 19. 1809.) [An enclosure.] 159, 160 Conclusion of the armistice between Russia and Turkey — Threatened hostilities — Anomalous conduct of France — Probable solution. (Pera, March 25. 1809.) [Two enclo sures.] - 161—165 Acknowledging receipt of full powers to conclude a peace with Austria. (Pera, March 28. 1809.) - 170,171 Prohibition by Turkey of all intercourse with Russia — Effect on English commerce — On Russia — Remonstrance of France against the measure. (Pera, April 12. 1808.) [Three enclosures.] ----- 171 — 173 Commencement of hostilities between Russia and Turkey. (Pera, April 18. 1809.) - - 178, 179 Urgent application by Turkey for pecuniary aid from Great Britain — Difficulties of the question — Conferences — Proposed method of meeting the case — Resources of Turkey. (Pera, April 18. 1809.) - 179—184 British protection to vessels belonging to the Septinsular re public — Umbrage taken by the French Charge d'affaires — Arrest of Mr. Dendrino — Threatened hostilities. (Pera, April 23. 1809.) [Three enclosures.] - 184—187 Reason for the Septinsular captains putting themselves XXviii CONTENTS. To Mk. Canning. >• u r ¦ under British protection — Importance of the Ionian Islands in our connection with Turkey. (Pera, April 23. 1809.) - - - - Page 189' 19^ The case of Castriot, and the question of British protection. (Pera, April 23. 1809.) - - - 190; 191 Jusuf Pacha, the new Grand Vizier, assumes the government _ Affair of Mr. Dendrino. (Pera, April 26. 1809.) 194 Affair of Mr. Dendrino — Resolution of the Porte relative to it Suspension of the functions of the French minister. (Pera, May 8. 1809.) [One enclosure.] - 194, 195 Unexpected turn of affairs with regard to the Seven Islands, arising out of Dendrino's affair — Conduct of the French Chargd d'Affaires. (Pera, May 28. 1809.) [Two en closures.] 197—199 Unsettled situation of Turkish affairs — The Janissaries — Disorders in the provinces — Arrival and reception of Jusuf Pacha — Publication of the hatti-scheriff — Weak ness of government — Imprudence of the Grand Vizier — Janissary suspicions — Confidence restored — Foreign politics of Turkey — Successes of the Turks against the Russians. (Pera, June 3. 1809.) [Four enclosures.] 205 — 216 Announcing the arrival of Don John Havat, Spanish minister, to the Porte. (Pera, June 6. 1809.) - - 222 Entry of the French into Vienna — Irruption into Croatia — Outrages of the French — Decisive measures called for — Dismission of the French mission discussed with the Reis Efendi Ghalib — Measures adopted. (Pera, June 21. 1809.) ----- 223—228 Acknowledging receipt of the ratification of the treaty of peace, &c. (Pera, July 6. 1809.) - - 228, 229 Explanatory of the reasons for conducting the negociations with Turkey, and drawing up the Treaty of Peace in the French language. (Pera, July 6. 1809.) - 229—231 Proceedings of the Porte with regard to the Spanish Ambas sador. (Pera, July 6. 1809.) [One enclosure.] 231, 232 Release of Mr. Dendrino — Subsequent proceedings Dupli city of the Turkish government — Divisions in the Divan. CONTENTS. XXIX To Me. Canning. — French influence — Course to be adopted. (Pera, July 13. 1809.) [Two enclosures.] - Page 232—238 Treaty of Peace with Persia — Sir Harford Jones — Probable benefits of the measure. (Pera, July 18. 1809.) [Two enclosures.] ----- 240, 241 The Grand Vizier on his way to the Danube — Strength of his army — Interview with Ghalib Efendi — Caution as to a peace with Russia — Artifice of Bonaparte — Secret intrigues — Austria and Russia — Uncertain condition of affairs — Recent tranquillity of Turkey attributable to more enlightened maxims of foreign policy — Advantage taken of this circumstance — Triple alliance recommended — Reasons — Necessity of the co-operation of Great Britain by a squadron in the Black Sea. (Pera, July 24. 1809.) 244—254 Audience of the Caimacan — Exchange of the ratifications of the Treaty of Peace. (Pera, July 28. 1809.) - 254, 255 Audience of the Sultan — Presentation of credentials as Ambassador Extraordinary, &c. (Pera, Aug. 2. 1809.) 255 The Persian envoy — Desire of the King of Persia to form an alliance with Turkey — Objection to it — Proposal declined — Confidence of the Reis Efendi in the British Ambas sador. (Pera, Aug. 22. 1809.) - - 256—258 Further correspondence relative to the alliance between Per sia and Turkey — Investment of Teflis — King of Persia refuses peace with Russia — Military movements — Want of money. (Pera, Aug. 28. 1809.) [An enclosure.] 258—260 Movements of the armies — Rumoured coolness between Russia and France — Poland — Bonaparte and Alexander. (Pera, Sept. 10. 1809.) - - - 260—262 The English palace at Constantinople — Dilapidated con dition — Nature of repairs necessary, &c. (Pera, Sept. 1 5. 1809.) 263—265 Receipt of presents for the principal members of the Otto man government — Necessity of a British squadron in the Black Sea. (Pera, Sept. 24. 1809.) - - 265, 266 XXX CONTENTS. To Mk. Canning. Distribution of the presents sent to the Turkish government by his Britannic Majesty. (Pera, Sept. 24. 1809.) ^ Page 266— 268 Expose of the falsification of his Majesty's speech by the French government. (Pera, Sept. 24. 1809.) - 269 The dragomans attached to the British embassy at Constan tinople — Increase in their salaries, &c. (Pera, Sept. 24. 1809.) ----- 269,270 Convention with Turkey with regard to naval stores — Pre liminary steps. (Pera, Sept. 24. 1809.) - 271 Antiquities collected by Lord Elgin in the Levant — Mea sures for their embarliation. (Pera, Sept. 25. 1809.) 272 Conference of the French Charge d'Affaires with the Porte — its object — Important revelation — Poland. (Pera, Sept. 27. 1809.) - - . - 272, 273 Displacement and banishment of Vaahid Efendi — Effects on measures in progress — Indisi^osition of the ministers to act. (Pera, October 10. 1809.) - 274 Sir ELarford Jones — Treaty of peace with Persia — Explana tion. (Pera, Oct. 10. 1809.) - - - 274, 275 Final settlement of Dendrino's affair — Re-establishment of the Septinsular government — Grounds of application to the Turkish ministers — Their embarrassment — Their compliance — Protections. (Pera, Nov. 6. 1809.) [One en closure.] - - - . 276—278 Decree of the French government against Mr. Giovanni Den drino — Reprisals the only means of inspiring confidence. (Pera, Nov. 6. 1809.) [One enclosure.] - 279, 280 Peace between Austria and France — Consternation produced by this fact — Probable demands of France on Turkey — Assurances of the Reis Efendi that they wiU be resisted. (Pera, Nov. 14, 1809.) - - 281—283 Realisation of fears as to Mr. Dendrino — Proposal to with draw him from under the protection of Great Britain, and place him under that of Turkey — Duplicity of the Otto man ministers — the Ambassador's determination Reasons CONTENTS. XXxi To Me. Canning. for it — Further proceedings — Mediation of the Inter nuncio — Satisfactory termination. (Pera, Nov. 29, 1809.) [Two enclosures.] - . . Page 283—290 Treaty between Austria and France — The Tyrol — Bona parte's intention regarding Poland — Discrepancy between him and his minister. (Pera, Dec. 5. 1809.) - 292 To Eael Bathuest. Letters of protection to the Ionian captains — Their object. (Pera, Dec. 24, 1809.) - - - 293 Sir Harford Jones — Subsidy to Persia — Importance to Britain of the friendly feeling of Turkey and Persia, with a view to the security of India. (Pera, Dec. 24. 1809.) 294 Persia and Turkey — Interview with Hussein Han — Armis tice between Persia and Russia — Duplicity of the Persian Court — Turkish envoy to Tehran — Dangers of a French mission at Tehran — Discovery of Hussein Han's real ob ject. (Pera, Dec. 26. 1809.) - - - 295—301 Zante and Cephalonia — Turkish restrictions on the Sept insular flag — The Ambassador's note to the Porte — Importance of the Ionian islands in relation to Sicily and Malta — French policy — Turkish policy — Memoir on Corfu, &c. (Pera, Dec. 26. 1809.) [One enclosure.] 301—310 France and Russia — State of affairs at the Porte — Sus pected communication between Turkey and Russia — Movements of France — The Porte's refusal of British succours — Artifice of Bonaparte — His designs on Turkey — Attempts to shake the confidence of Turkey in the En glish embassy — The Spanish minister — Lucky error of the English newspapers — Consternation of the Turkish ministers, and of the French mission — Disposition of the fleet in the Mediterranean — Proposed return to England. (Pera, Dec. 26. 1809.) 310—322 Communication between Bonaparte and the Shah of Persia — The fact made known to Alexander — Compte de St. Julien — Due de Richelieu. (Pera, Dec. 26. 1809.) 323, 324 XXXU CONTENTS. To Eael Bathuest. Spain — Probable conduct of Turkey, in the event of Bona parte's obtaining possession of that country, (Pera, Jan. 8, 1809.) . - .. - Page 324, 325 Sir Harford Jones — The French in Tehran— Good effect on the Ottoman councils — Hussein Han, (Pera, Jan. 10. 1810.) . - - - - 325—327 Presents from the Sultan to his Britannic Majesty. (Pera, Jan. 13. 1803.) - - - - 327,328 Turkish privateers — Captures of British ships — Demand of satisfaction — America and the Porte — Aggression of the Turks on an English schooner — Satisfaction — Unfortu nate occurrence — Advantage taken by the French minis ter — Unsuccessful attempt to prejudice the Porte against England — Altercations — English force required in the Black Sea — Relative power of England and France at the Porte — Possible rupture between Turkey and France — The question of pecuniary aid to Turkey. (Pera, Feb. 10. 1810.) [Two enclosures.] - - - 328—336 Leading object of the peace with Turkey — Desirableness of peace between Russia and the Porte — Communications on the subject — Necessity of caution in treating with the Turks — Question of the cession of the provinces — Intri cacies of Turkish diplomacy. (Pera, Feb. 10. 1810.) [Four enclosures.] . - . . 341 — 347 Hussein Han — His recall — Suspicious circumstances in the conduct of Persia — Embarrassments of the Turkish councils — Benefit to England of a connection between Turkey and Persia. (Pera, Feb. 12. 1810.) - 357—361 Supply of ammunition to the Turkish government. (Pera, Feb. 14. 1810.) - - . - 361, 362 CORRESPONDENCE. To the Right Honourable George Canning. Malta, April 8th, 1808. Sir, The Sea- Horse, Captain Stewart, arrived here, yes terday, from Smyrna. Captain Stewart brings a direct and most earnest application from the Reis Efendi to Lord Collingwood to enter into immediate negocia tions for the restoration of peace between his Majesty and the Porte. Having in my possession a copy of your • instructions to Sir Arthur Paget, of last May, and no other copy of them being to be found in this part of the world, I have thought it my duty to com municate them to his Excellency, Sir Alexander Ball, by Avhom they will be forwarded to Lord Collingwood as a guide to him in any negotiation which he may think proper to undertake ; and notwithstanding the many reasons I have for desiring to return to England, I have not hesitated (at the suggestion of Sir A. Ball that possibly my services might be useful) to offer myself to his Lordship to be the bearer of any answer with which he may re-despatch the Sea-Horse. As it will not be in my power to proceed further on my way to England before the 10th of May, I might receive your directions at Gibraltar ; and should VOL. I. B CORRESPONDENCE. you conceive that my remaining here could be at tended with the smallest public utility, I am ready on this as on every other occasion, to sacrifice all private considerations to it. I have the honour to be, &c. Translation of a Letter from the Reis Efendi to Captain Stewart, dated Constantinople, February 12>th, 1808 {mentioned in the preceding Letter from Mr. Adair to Mr. Secretary Canning). Monsieur, Nous avons vii avec un vrai contentement, tant moi que tons les Ministres de I'Empire, dans la lettre dat^e le 18 Janvier, laquelle vous venez d'adresser a S. A. le Kapoudan Pacha, que dans une lettre pre- cedente vous feriez part a S. A. que S. E. M. 1' Amiral Lord Collingwood ^tant charg^ de I'^change des pri- sonniers, vous etiez pret a faire parvenir a S. E. toute communication que S. A. le Kapoudan Pacha ou la Sublime Porte voudroit bien lui faire ; et qu'actuelle- ment il ^toit bien urgent, que toute proposition quel- conque que la Sublime Porte auroit a faire a la cour d'Angleterre seroit adress^e directement a S. E. M. I'Amiral ; qui peut donner immediatement un effet a ces propositions. La Sublime Porte considerant la Cour d'Angleterre, comme une Cour depuis long-tems son amie, et li^e a EUe anciennement, et d^sid^rant de renouveller les noeuds de I'amiti^ qui ont ^t^ rompus a cause de cir- constances, avoit donn^ ordre a feu Ismail Pacha Seraskier des Dardanelles, de n^gocier la paix avec le CORRESPONDENCE. 3 Pl^nipotentiaire Paget, sans attendre I'arrivee du nouveau n^gociateur, parti pour Malte — en vertu de quoi, je me suis empress^ de notifier la chose, telle qu'elle est arrivee, a S. E. M. le Plenipotentiaire, par une lettre, qui lui a ^te exp^di^e par la voie de S. A. Ali Pacha, Pacha de Jannina, et qui jusqu'^ present doit lui avoir ^t^ remise. Cependant comme il est bien certain et Evident qu'il seroit difficile, a cause de la grande distance, de pouvoir retirer k tems les r^ponses de nos lettres, il nous a 4it6 extremement doux d'apprendre votre arrivee aux Dardanelles, qui a 6t^ suivie par des ex pressions extremement sinceres et amicales. Comme ! il est certain que la S. P. se trouve actuellement dans les memes sentimens d'amitie et de sincerity envers la Cour d'Angleterre, et que cette Cour aussi de son c6t^ desire en toute maniere le bien et la prosperity de I'Empire Ottoman, et que par consequent les deux parties d^sirent mutueUement le retour de I'ancienne et sincere amiti^ qui existoit entre les deux Empires, ¦ la S. P. a muni de ses pleins pouvoirs S. A. le : Seraskier actuel des Dardanelles, Mahomet Yakki Pacha, pour renouveller les anciens liens d'amitie et de bonne harmonic. ~ II reste done k savoir si de la part de la Cour d'Angleterre aussi, S. E. M. I'Amiral ou quelque autre est muni des pleins pouvoirs necessaires a cet effet ; et dans ce cas il est de la derniere importance que le Plenipotentiaire de la Cour d'Angleterre s'ap- proche aux Dardanelles, pour que les negociations entre les deux Plenipotentiaires puissent avoir lieu au moment le plus t6t. C'est k ce but que je m'empresse k vous ecrire ma pr^sente lettre amicale en me flattant que vous vous empresserez a en faire part a S. E. M. B 2 4 CORRESPONDENCE. I'Amiral Lord Collingwood ; j'espfere au m^me tems que VOUS voudriez bien lui representer I'importance de la prompte arrivee du Plenipotentiaire de votre Cour aux Dardanelles. Comme il est bien s^ d'aiUeurs que le renouvelle- ment de I'ancienne amitie entre les deux empires est desire reciproquement, et que par consequence il est certain que cette negociation aboutira a un heureux retour de I'ancienne amitie et union des deux empires, c'est de votre loyaute que nous esperons I'arrivee prompte de votre Plenipotentiaire aux Dardanelles pour donner immediatement une fin k un ouvrage si salutaire et si desire des deux parts. P. S, Comme votre lettre amicale fait mention du reMchement des prisonniers, je m'empresse a vous annoncer que les prisonniers Anglais qui se trouvent ici, outre qu'ils ne sont pas traites comme prisonniers, ont ete remis depuis long-tems a M, le Baron de Hubsch, et dans peu ils vous seront renvoyes. To the Right Honourable George Canning. H.M.S. Superb, Spithead, May 24th, 1808. Sir, I HAVE the honour to inform you that I left Pa lermo on the 28th ult,, and arrived this morning at Spithead in H. M. S. Superb. When Lord Collingwood sent the Superb to receive me on board. Sir A. Ball's dispatches to his Lordship relative to the intelligence received at Malta by the Sea-Horse, had not reached him* ; and as his Lordship • This was a mistake. Vide Preface. CORRESPONDENCE. 5 had already proceeded to resume his station off Toulon, there appeared to be very little use in my remaining at Palermo for the chance of hearing from him on the subject I mentioned to you in my letter from Malta of AprU 8th. I thought it best, there fore, to lose no time in embarking for England, in order to render you an account of the state in which affairs are left at Vienna, and of everything which concerns the mission in which his Majesty has been pleased to employ me. The conclusion of the Turkish peace, however, or of an armistice which, while it gave us all the imme diate advantages of peace, might contain the outline of a regular treaty, is a matter of such importance, that, although I had communicated to Lord Colling wood, through the medium of Sir A. Ball, the sub stance of the instructions Avith which you furnished Sir Arthur Paget last year, I thought it best to leave the instructions themselves in Mr. Drummond's pos session at Palermo. During my stay at Palermo I had frequent con versations both Avith Mr. Drummond and Admiral Thornborough, in which I took the liberty of stating to them my opinion Avith regard to one point of this subject which strikes me as peculiarly important. ^ Our peace with the Turks is an easy matter. The great point will be to persuade them, if possible, to make peace with Russia, and this immediately, and almost at any price. The various ways in which a peace concluded in this manner, not only without the intervention of France, but in decided opposition to her views, might be rendered serviceable to our cause, will I am confident strike your mind at once. It might not only lead to a separation between Russia B 3 6 CORRESPONDENCE. and France, but it might also materially relieve Sicily from her present embarrassed .situation Avith respect to Russia, provided those advantages were taken in the negociation which the case admits of. I AviU explain my meaning on this part of the subject whenever I shall have the honour of conversing with you. What I have here written is under the supposition that the packet which left Malta on April 8th has reached England. Should that not be the case, I shall have some important intelligence to communicate to you from Sir Hew Dalrymple. The Superb passed by Gibraltar on the 11th. I have the honour to be, &c. Mr. Adair to Count Stadion. Londres, ce 26 Juin, 1808. Monsieur le Comte, Je me sers de cette voie pour avertir V. E. que d'apr^s I'invitation de la Cour Ottomane les negocia tions pour la Paix avec I'Angleterre vont ^tre re prises ; que j'en suis charge de la part de mon Gou- vernement ; et que je partirai incessamment sur la fregate Hyperion pour remplir cette mission. Cette ouverture est datee du mois d'Avril.* Elle est basee sur la connoissance acquise par la Porte des projets de la France, de la Russie, et (a ce qu' EUe assure) de VAutriche pour le partage de ses provinces Europeennes. Vous sentez bien, M. le Comte, que tout ce qui * De F^vrier. correspondence. 7 pourroit aider a retarder la chlite de ce malheureux Empire doit interesser au plus haut point I'Autriche ; aussi je vous iuAate a me preter tons les secours que vous jugerez convenables pour remplir cet objet im portant. Vous me connoissez trop bien, je me flatte, pour me croire capable d'abuser de la confiance que vous pourriez me temoigner dans une conjoncture aussi delicate ; et de mon c6te je vous garantis qu'il n' entre pas dans les vues de mon gouvemement d'attirer les Turcs dans aucun mauvais pas, ni de leur faire le cadeau funeste d'une paix qui feroit tomber sur eux la vengeance de Bonaparte. Les circonstances done, telles que je les trouverai en arrivant sur les lieux, decideront de ma conduite ; mais en tout cas il me semble qu'il seroit essentiel au bien general, et que ce seroit m^me a'ous rendre un service, de desabuser les Turcs sur le r61e qu'ils vous pretent dans le syst^me co-partageant. Ce que je vous proposerois done, M, le Comte, seroit simplement de m'autoriser (sans cependant vous compromettre vis-a-vis de la France) d'assurer le Divan que I'Autriche n'a pris aucun engagement de ce genre ni avec la France, ni avec la Russie. Cependant notre paix avec la Turquie n'est pas la seule chose qui m'occupe ; et voici ce qui exige de ma part I'ouverture la plus confidentielle : — La Russie doit se trouver maintenant assez em- barrassee de sa guerre avec nous et aA'-ec la Suede, et m^me de son etat interieur. EUe doit aussi ^tre assez convaincue de la mauvaise foi de Bonaparte sur tout ce qui regarde I'execution du Traite de Tilsit, pour se resoudre a la fin a s'arranger de bonne foi avec la Turquie. Je me propose done (bien qu'eUe B 4 8 correspondence. le merite si peu) de disposer les Turcs (si la chose est possible) a signer la paix separement avec la Russie sans attendre le consentement de la France. Ce projet, a ce qu'il me semble, doit vous convenir sous tons les rapports. N'y auroit-il pas quelque moyen d'en faire sentir egalement a I'Empereur Alex andre tons les avantages ? Si vous le croyez possible je compte sur vos lumiferes pour en faire I'ouverture a St. Petersbourg. La Russie desireroit-elle s'expliquer avec nous ? On pourroit m'envoyer Pozzo ; nous nous entendons ; nous avons meme discute a fond toute cette histoire Turque, et tout ce qui restoit du systeme Europeen, le jour avant mon depart de Vienne. L'occasion me paroit favorable. L'Espagne occupe toute la t^te de Bonaparte, et nous savons qu'il ne poursuit jamais deux objets a la fois. Quant a I'Espagne, nous sommes resolus ici de la secourir de la bonne maniere. C'est un mouvement national, et la conduite du gouvernement repond en tout au sentiment genereux qui I'inspire. NuUe demande de flottes, de forteresses, &c. &c. Notre systeme est renferme dans ces deux mots du discours de M. Canning " du moment que VEspagne s^ oppose a " la France, le passe riest plus ; elle devient de fait " Valliee de I'Angleterre." Tons les partis se reunissent pour applaudir et pour appuyer ce principe. La destinee qu'on vous reserve ne nous interesse pas moins. II nous paroit incontestable qu'apres I'Espagne ce sera votre tour. Je ne doute guferes que I'Archiduc Charles n'en soit convaincu lui-meme ; surtout apr^s la proposition modeste que vous a fait Bonaparte de s'etabUr en Moravie. C'est le cas de vous annoncer que nos dispositions envers vous sont correspondence. 9 toujours les m^mes, et que je serai pleinement autorise a vous en fournir les preuves les plus satisfaisantes. Si vous juger a propos, M. le CJomte, de m'honorer d'un mot de reponse votre lettre me trouvera k Pa- lerme (sauf les accidens de mer) vers la fin du mois prochain. Vous pouvez aussi me I'adresser a Malte sous I'enveloppe du Gouvemeur Ball. Dans ce der nier cas vous pourriez la confier aux soins de M. Adamoitch a Fiume, qui me I'expediera par le Capi- taine Campbell; mais egalement dans I'un et dans I'autre cas vous aurez la bonte de les prevenir k ces deux places de mon arrivee prochaine, afin que la lettre ne soit pas envoyee en Angleterre. J'ai I'honneur d'etre. To the Right Honourable George Canning. Hyperion, off Cadiz, July ISth, 1808. Sir, I HAATE the honour to inform you that immediately on my arrival off this place, I went on board the Ocean, in order to consult A^ith Lord CoUingwood upon those objects in my instructions in which his Lordship's co-operation might eventuaUy become necessary. I have great satisfaction in acquainting you that from the information his Lordship has received Avith regard to the dispositions of Russia towards Turkey, such is his opinion of the state in which I shaU find affairs on my arrival at the DardaneUes as to render needless any offensive operations against the Russian power in the Black Sea. In the contrary supposition, 10 CORRESPONDENCE. however, his Lordship is decidedly of opinion that it would be unadvisable to risk the passage into the Black Sea Avithout previously occupying all the points from the DardaneUes onwards by British troops ; and this he fears would require a much larger force than could be spared at present from other services. rj^ ^P ^P ^r I then consulted his Lordship with respect to an expedition against Corfu and the neighbouring islands, but he seems to think the chance of undertaking one to any effect too remote a contingency to justify his appropriating any part of the force now under his command to such a service. Lord Collingwood continues to judge favourably of the dispositions of AU Pacha, but has no hope that, under the present circumstances, that chieftain would assist in offensive measures against any of the Seven Islands, even against St. Maur. His Lordship how ever at the same time informed me that he had in structed Capt. Hervey, of the Standard, to assist in whatever enterprize it may hereafter appear adAdsable to attempt in that quarter. I have the honour to be, &c. To the Right Honourable George Canning. Gibraltar, July l6th, 1808. Sir, I HAVE the honour of informing you that I arrived this day at Gibraltar, and that I delivered to Sir Hew Dalrymple the despatches addressed to him by Lord Castlereagh, and which were entrusted to my care. CORRESPONDENCE. 1 1 Although affairs in this part of Spain, generaUy speaking, wear a much more favourable appearance than they seemed to promise when I left England, the communication with Madrid is not yet open. AU I could do, therefore, with the two letters for the Pope's Nuncio at Madrid, was to leave them in the care of Sir H. Dalrymple, in order to their being for warded if an opportunity should occur. While I was conversing with Sir Hew, he received a visit from a Monsieur Robertino, a person who caUs himself the Plenipotentiary of His SicUian Majesty to the Spanish nation, and who appears to be employed by the Court of Palermo to circulate in the interior of Spain the claims of His SiciUan Majesty to the Regency of that kingdom. At Sir Hew Dalrymple's request, I saw this gentleman, and protested strongly against his intended proceedings. I stated to him the reasons which rendered such a step highly impru dent ; that I was convinced it would be disapproved by His Majesty's Government, on whom similar claims had been pressed by Prince Castelcicala ; and I gave him full leave, if he thought it necessary, to state to those who had sent him the conversation he had had Avith me, and the conduct he intended to pursue in consequence of it. I Jiave the satisfaction to add that he has promised most faithfully to proceed no further in this business Avithout the concurrence of the British Government, and I trust that Sir Hew Dalrymple AviU prevaU upon him to return to Palermo, I have the honour to be, &c. 12 CORRESPONDENCE, To the Right Honourable George Canning. (^Private.') Palermo, August 5, 1808. My dear Sir, I aerived here on the 3d instant late at night, I went round by Minorca in order to speak Avith Ad miral Martin, and to deliver him a message from Sir Hew Dalrymple respecting the garrison of that island,, which Sir Hew Avished very much might be sent to Rosas, UnluckUy, it had already been sent in de tachments to the opposite coast. General Stuart is not just now at Palermo, but is expected every day, I shaU only wait to confer with him respecting the points mentioned in my instruc tions, and to inform him of what I have been able to coUect respecting the state of affairs in Spain, and then proceed immediately to the place of my de stination. The Queen sent for me immediately on my arrival. Her inquiries were directed very much to the inten tions of His Majesty's Government Avith regard to Spain, and particularly to the effect which the ap pearance of Prince Leopold at Gibraltar would be likely to produce. I told her frankly what I had -said to her agent Robertino upon the object of his mission when I met him at Gibraltar, and likeAvise how Ul Prince Castelcicala had judged in presenting a note to you which was not simply the advancement of a claim to the Regency on the part of His SicUian Majesty, but an actual assumption of it. I, of course, entirely confined myself on this point to the sense of the in structions I brought out from you to Mr. Drummond CORRESPONDENCE . 1 3 who seems to have brought her Majesty into a very tractable humour. The rest of her conversation was the old story about Naples. I endeavoured (but most probably Avithout effect) to make her understand that the way to Naples was through Spain. I am, &c. To the Right Honourable George Canning. Palermo, August 17- 1808. Sir, When I arrived at this place, which, as I have already had the honour of informing you, was on the 3d instant. Sir John Stuart was expected every hour. It was not until the 6th, therefore, that, finding his journey deferred, I sent him the despatches entrusted to my care by Lord Castlereagh. I transmitted to him also an extract from such parts of my instruc tions as direct me to consult with his Excellency Avith regard to what force he might be able to spare from the army under his command for the occupation of any island or harbour which might eventually become of importance for naval operations in the Archipelago, and I stated to him my conference with Lord Colling wood on the expediency of occupying any such post, and his Lordship's opinion on that subject. The substance of Sir John Stuart's ansAver to this communication, as weU as that of other letters which I have received from him, and of which the last is Avritten subsequently to his receipt of Lord Castle- reagh's despatch of July 6th, is uniformly, — " That he did not think any due proportion of his army could 14 correspondence. be spared at the present crisis, A\dthout paralysing (that was his word) its entire force, and rendering it inefficient for every other active operation what soever." At the same time that I AVTote to Sir John Stuart, I despatched the messenger Kaye to Sir Alexander BaU, in order to obtain from His Excellency such information respecting the state of affairs at Constan tinople as might determine my future motions. This messenger was accompanied by Mr. Barthold, whom I had at one time thoughts of sending on privately to the Captain Pacha, in order to ascertain Avith pre cision what were the steps which the Turkish Govern ment were disposed to take, on my arrival, to faciUtate the opening of the negociations. The messenger returned yesterday, the 16th instant; and, by the accounts which he has brought me from Malta, I am afraid that some difficulties may occur in this business, for which I was not quite prepared. These difficulties are principaUy Ukely to arise from the recent capture of one Turkish frigate, and the probable destruction of another, by the Sea- Horse, after a severe action, the details of which I conclude are already in the possession of His Ma jesty's Government. I have also been informed by Mr. Werry, a gentle man of the highest respectability, who has resided many years at Smyrna in an official situation, that he has received letters from thence, of a very late date, to which he attaches much credit, stating that a new revolution had been effected at Constantinople, under the direction of the friends of Sultan Selim. His Majesty's Government Avill at once see the em barrassment created by these events, and avUI excuse CORRESPONDENCE. 15 I trust, some hesitation on my part, as to the course most proper for me to pursue. On the one hand, there is no knoAving to what degree this desperate encounter with the Turkish ships, when known with aU its details at Constan tinople, may not alter the friendly dispositions which appear to have prevailed between His Majesty's subjects and the Turks for some months past : nor can I by any means be sure that the overture itself of the Reis Efendi, which constitutes the whole found ation of my mission, may not be considered by them as annuUed by this proceeding. I am to consider too, that as the instructions for my conduct are adapted solely to meet an iuAdtation from the Turkish Go vernment, a frigate was deemed sufficient, in point of force, for my protection and appearance off the Dardanelles. But if this action of the Turkish ships should have had the effect which I apprehend, or (which I fear is stiU more probable) if the action itself should have been occasioned by a previous alteration in the Ottoman councils, and, consequently, if instead of an amicable reception I may now ex pect my flag of truce to be answered by the appear ance of a superior force ready to avenge the recent affront to their arms, it is CAddent that the nature of my mission becomes changed in its very essence. It is therefore seriously to be weighed whether I ought to appear in the character of a negociator Avithout such a force as may at least place me beyond the reach of insult, or indeed whether I ought to appear in that character at all, without a fresh invitation, or without some assurance that they still adhere to their overture of the month of February. This doubt, Avhich at any time would have arisen in my mind 16 CORRESPONDENCE. under the difference of circumstances, is most power fully strengthened by the letter, and even by the spi rit of my instructions, framed as they evidently are with a view to prevent a second unsuccessful negocia tion, and directing me to remain at Palermo until a Minister shall be appointed by the Turks to treat with me, and a place named for our conferences. But on the other hand, the vast importance of the moment, — the new turn of affairs which appears every day more and more likely to arise from the continuance of the resistance of Spain, — my anxiety to get the mediation for the Russian peace Avith Tur key out of the hands of France, as well as to promote the several objects contained in my letter to Count Stadion (which I am not wholly Avithout hopes of accomplishing),— all these are considerations which teach me the inestimable value of time upon the pre sent occasion, and seem to forbid my losing an hour or a chance in promoting the main business of my mission. I cannot but think it possible, with due caution, to avoid committing H. M.'s government by any act which may be construed into an advance on the part of his Majesty, and to which, if unsuccessful, the enemy might give the turn — always humUiating to a certain degree — of a rejected overture, while the advantage of being close at hand, ready to seize those opportunities which cannot fail in some shape or other of presenting themselves when my arrival in the Archipelago shall be known, is too obvious to be overlooked, and too valuable to be thrown away. Under the impression of these reasons, therefore, I have determined to proceed towards the straits as soon as the Sea-Horse shaU arrive at Palermo. Here it is proper for me to inform you that in my CORRESPONDENCE. 17 letter to Sir Alexander BaU I had found it necessary to acquaint him that from the state of the crew of the Hyperion, and their total ignorance of the navigation of the Archipelago, my further progress to the Dar danelles might suffer considerable delay and even dif ficulty, if I were to remain on board that ship. I had made a simUar representation to Lord CoUing wood, and his Lordship was so good as to reheve me from my embarrassment as far as he could, and to write to Capt, Stewart to receive me on board the Sea-Horse, Capt, Stewart happening to be at Malta for the repair of his ship at the time of the arrival of my messenger. Sir Alexander BaU very readily made the arrangement for me which I wished, and I now only wait for Capt, Stewart to proceed towards the place of my destination. I have the honour to be, &c. To the Right Honourable George Canning. Palermo, August 30. 1808, Sir, The Sea-Horse is just arrived, and has brought me despatches from Malta confirming the accounts I had before received of the Revolution at Constantinople. After a foU consultation with Captain Stewart, and after weU weighing over again aU the reasons for and against my immediately going on, I have, I confess, found no cause to alter the determination I had come to when I Avrote to you on the 17th instant. It is my intention, therefore, to proceed towards the Straits, and there to ascertain, under colour of VOL. I, c 1 8 correspondence . Captain Stewart's proposing an exchange of prisoners, whether, notwithstanding the recent revolution in the government, the Turks are stiU disposed to peace ; and it is in this latter case only, proved unequivocaUy by their appointing a Minister to meet me, that I shaU let it be knoAvn that I am on board the Sea- Horse. Both here and at Malta measures are taken to en courage a beUef which already has gained considerable ground, and which the supposed state of affairs be tween Austria and France renders a probable conjec ture, namely, that I am going up the Adriatic. I have the honour to be, &c. To the Right Honourable George Canning. (^Separate. — By Mr. Barthold.) Palermo, August 30th, 1808. Sir, Since closing my despatch of this day's date, I have thought it most advisable, upon a thorough reconsideration of the whole subject, to send Mr. Barthold to England for fresh instructions with re gard to the conduct I ought to pursue under the change of circumstances which has just occurred at Constantinople. As Mr. Barthold has been at Malta, and has had opportunities of conferring with Sir Alexander Ball, and with many well-informed per sons resident there, also with the captain of the Turkish prize, I take the liberty of referring you to him for more ample details than it is now in my power to write. I have the honour to be, &c. correspondence. 19 To the Right Honourable George Canning. Malta, September gth, 1 808. Sir, I HAATE the honour of informing you that I arrived at this place on the 7th inst., and that it is my in tention to proceed to Tenedos to-morrow. By inteUigence just received from Smyrna of the 27th ultimo, I am afraid that the difficulties in the way of opening a negociation with the Ottoman government, of which I was apprehensive when I wrote to you on the 17th ult., are likely to augment rather than diminish. It appears that the first step of the new Vizier has been to put all British property at Smyrna under sequestration, and likewise to stop, under severe penalties, aU commercial intercourse between Smyrna and Malta. Discouraging as this circumstance may be, added to the other events which have occurred, I by no means consider it as sufficiently so to alter my reso lution of proceeding onwards, and of endeavouring to ascertain the temper of the present Ottoman govern ment, and how far it may be disposed to adhere to its invitation of February last. The means which I find at Malta of obtaining any knowledge on this important point, are unfortunately but scanty. There is not a man on this island who possesses one particle of authentic information re specting the internal state of Constantinople, the dis positions of the army, or of the pubUc, or even of the causes of the late revolution. There is not a man who can tell me in what manner an intercourse can be opened with any of the leading persons, or who c 2 20 correspondence. are the leading persons in the present crisis. No intelligence reaches us except through the merchants, and on this it is very dangerous to depend. AU I can collect is, that the author of the revolution, Mustapha Bairactar, exercises the power of the state; that hitherto he has conducted himself with im partiality in the executions he has ordered of the friends of the deposed Sultan ; that two of our ad herents, namely, the Captain Pacha and Chelebi Efendi *, still survive, and even enjoy some share of credit with the ncAV Vizier ; and that the son of Ah Pacha stiU continues in the government of the Morea. This is the sum of aU I can collect to guide me in my first proceedings ; and his Majesty's Government will see, I trust, that for the present I can determine on nothing except to proceed to Tenedos. On mature consideration, I have not thought it expedient to address myself to Ali Pacha for his as sistance in this business. Independently of the doubts which may always be entertained of his good faith, it is clear from his letter to Mr. Forest! that he is himself uncertain as to the footing on which he stands with the new Government. While this continues to be his situation, it appears to me that we should gain nothing towards peace, but that we might risk much on the score of jealousy, if by any ostensible act I should give the new Vizier reason to think that Ali Pacha was the medium through which Great Britain wished to treat with him. The case, however, would be very different if Ah Pacha were the person through whom the Vizier should wish to treat with us. Not to lose the benefit • On my arrival at Constantinople, I found this person quite in the interest of France. CORRESPONDENCE . 2 1 of his assistance, therefore, and Avith a view of ob taining, through his means, some insight into the intentions of the ncAv Government, I have forwarded the two letters Avhich were addressed to him by his messenger Seid Achmet and by Sidki Efendi* from on board the Hyperion the 5th of July. These letters I inclosed in one from myself (of which I here send you a copy) to Captain Hervey of the Standard. I inclose you also letters received from Constanti nople and Smyrna, giving an account of some par ticulars which attended the late revolution. I have the honour to be, &c. Inclosure in the preceding despatch. To Captain Hervey of H.M.S. Standard. (^Secret.') Malta, September 9. 1808. Sir, His Majesty having been graciously pleased to nominate me his Plenipotentiary for negociating a peace with the Turkish Government, in consequence of their invitation of February last through the Reis Efendi, I have the honour of informing you that I arrived at Malta on the 7th instant, in my way to the Archipelago. In passing the Bay of Biscay, I, on the 5th of July, feU in with H.M. sloop of war the Bittern, on board of which was Seid Achmet, a confidential agent of AU Pacha. It happened that, at the same time, I had * Sidki Efendi was the Turkish charg^ d'affaires in London, whom I was taking back to his country. c 3 22 CORRESPONDENCE. Avith me on board the Hyperion Sidki Efendi, the late Turkish charge d'affaires at our Court, AA'hom I was instructed by the Secretary of State for the Foreign Department to land at the first convenient port in the Ottoman dominions. The two letters which I here inclose to you for Ali Pacha were written on board the Hyperion, the one by Seid Achmet, and the other by Sidki Efendi. It wiU be of essential public service that you immediately transmit them to Ali Pacha by a safe hand, and that in your communications with him you explain, and impress strongly on his mind, that the moment I learned that Seid Achmet was one of his confidential agents, and that the despatches, of which he was the bearer, were addressed by the Ottoman Government to their former charge d'affaires, Sidki Efendi, I did not hesitate to send Sidki Efendi back to London, there to execute the instructions they contained : and I beg you to make Ah Pacha thoroughly sensible that by this step (which may expose me to his Majesty's displeasure for deviating so far from his commands) I wished to give a proof to the Turks of the sincere wish of his Majesty's Ministers for peace with them, as well as to testify personally to Ali Pacha my sense of the services he has rendered his Majesty's Govern ment, of his good AviU towards the British nation, and of the value of his future assistance. It appears to me, I confess, in the present distress ing changes which have taken place a,t Constantinople, that Ali Pacha will be desirous of first seeing how he stands with the new Government before he undertakes anything towards the furtherance of objects which may be common to us both, but which might embroil him Avith those who at present have the ascendancy CORRESPONDENCE. 23 at Constantinople. If peace, however, should be the wish of the new Government, Ali Pacha may be equally desirous of making himself the channel for opening the negociations. In either of these cases, it is evidently his interest to discover the intentions of the Divari. I take the liberty of recommending it to you to impress this consideration most forcibly on his mind; and, as soon as he shall have anything to communicate to me in return which may facilitate the object of my mission, you Avill have the goodness to take charge of it, and to forward it to me at Malta, under cover to his Excellency Sir Alexander Ball. It would also materially assist our common views, if Ali Pacha would at the same time send, through any of his ports in the Morea, or the Gulph of Salonica, a duplicate of such communication, addressed to me under cover to Captain Stewart of the Sea-Horse. The despatch wUl find Captain Stewart at Tenedos or in its neighbourhood. For reasons which will readUy occur to you, I do not intend that either AU Pacha, or any of the mem bers of the Turkish government, should know that I am actually on board the Sea-Horse, until I shaU be previously convinced of their readiness to enter into negociation Avith me. You will have the goodness therefore to appear ignorant whether I am in the Archipelago, or at Malta, or in Sicily. I take the Uberty, Sir, of Avriting to you in this manner, and of entrusting the above-mentioned letters to your care, in preference to sending them by a special conveyance, from a thorough confidence in your zeal for the pubhc service, and in the soundness of your judgment. The nature of this communication is, you must perceive, highly confidential, and it ap- c 4 24 CORRESPONDENCE. pears to me that I can commit the execution of what business may be connected with it to no better hands than yours. I have the honour to be, &c. No. I. Eleven Inclosures. By the Imogene, Captain Stephens. To the Right Honourable George Canning. H.M.S. Sea-Horse, Barbieri Bay, Nov. 18. 1808. Sir, Although I arrived off Tenedos on the 26th of September, it has been totally impossible for me to make any progress in the execution of my mission until yesterday, when I had my conference with the plenipotentiary appointed by the Ottoman govern ment to meet me. Even now that progress has been so little that were it not for the state of affairs at Constantinople, where new scenes of blood and revolution are acting, and which renders it extremely doubtful to what period the conclusion of anything essential may be protracted, I should still have delayed Avriting untU I could send you some more satisfactory account of my proceedings. First, however, it wiU be necessary for me to mention the steps which I took in order to set the negociation on foot. Having learned nothing at Malta that could be de pended upon relative to the dispositions of the ncAV government at Constantinople, the day before I came in sight of Tenedos, which was on the 23d of Sep tember, I despatched Mr. Morier in the Saracen gun brig to the Dardanelles, with a letter from Captain CORRESPONDENCE. 25 Stewart, of which the inclosed (A) is a copy; and I instructed him to deliver it into the hands of the Capoudan Pacha, or if he should not be at the castles, to the Serasquier of the DardaneUes. On the morning of the 28th, Mr. Morier had an in terview with the Serasquier, Haiki Pacha, in which that officer informed him that he was himself au thorised to negociate and conclude a treaty of peace with any Plenipotentiary who should appear on the part of his Majesty. This assurance to Mr. Morier he confirmed the next day officiaUy, in his answer to Captain Stewart, of which I also transmit a copy. So direct an assurance from the Serasquier ap peared sufficient to justify a formal notification on my part to the Turkish government of my arrival in the character of his Majesty's Plenipotentiary ; but as the strong northerly winds prevented my setting sail for the Straits, I judged it would be as well to delay the communication until my intercourse Avith him could be regularly established, it being evident from his letter that Ave could proceed to no business until the return of his courier from Constantinople. I thought it expedient, however, considering under what circumstances I came to the DardaneUes, and doubtful of the effect which might be produced on the new government by hostUe demonstrations, while I was endeavouring to confirm as well as to ascertain their dispositions towards peace, to recommend to Captain Stewart to suffer the Turkish trading vessels to pass him unmolested, and also to send instructions to Milo, in order that any of his Majesty's vessels which might be coming to me Avith despatches might equaUy abstain from molesting the Turkish trade within the Archipelago. 26 CORRESPONDENCE. Such also was the confidence of the Greek mer chants in the continuance of the lenity which they have hitherto experienced from the commanders of his Majesty's ships on this station, that the very ap pearance of the Sea-Horse bearing a flag of truce, in duced them to resume their commercial occupations as if peace had already been made ; and I confess it appeared to me that it would be iU-timed as weU as harsh to depart from that lenity precisely at the mo ment when a servant of his Majesty was arrived in their seas charged with a pacific negociation. The readiness Avith which Captain Stewart complied Avith my recommendation wiU surprise no one who is acquainted Avith the disinterested character of that excellent officer and man. This measure of indulgence was communicated the same day to the Serasquier, accompanied by a packet containing a variety of Spanish newspapers, the de tails of the victory obtained by General Castagnos OA''er Dupont, the evacuation of Madrid by the French, and his Majesty's most gracious speech on closing the session of parliament. It was not untU the evening of the 10th of October that I could get up to Cape Janissary, and the next day I sent Mr. Stratford Canning on shore with the despatches of which I have the honour to inclose you copies (C, D, E, F), one addressed to the Serasquier, and three to the Reis Efendi. Of these, as they AviU speak for themselves, it wiU be needless to trouble you with any account, except with regard to my motive for adding the letter marked E to the official notification of my arrival. Perceiving plainly by the first communications with the Serasquier that the invitation of last February CORRESPONDENCE. 27 would count for very little in our future proceedings, and that our business would be to begin de novo, I thought it better that the Divan should have the whole question before them at once ; and thus that they, on their parts, should be enabled to come to a quick decision as to the final result, and 1, on mine, have some means of finding out Avhether they were in earnest or not. To get rid of the preUminary difficulties which had been started in the former dis cussion with Sir A. Paget, I had in my letter to the Reis Efendi marked D, pointed to the resumption of the negociation where it had terminated last October, and there remaining after this nothing real to combat, except their terror of France, a fair exposition of the state of Europe, such as should be calculated to reduce that terror within the bounds of reason, seemed to me to be my shortest and my surest road to success. It was likewise to be presumed that the Ottoman Government had been kept in ignorance Avith regard to the affairs of Spain ; and this induced me to add to my letter marked F to the Reis Efendi, a short account of the late transactions in that country Avhich Mr. Stratford Canning had drawn up. I was desirous also to lay a foundation to be con sulted in the negociations going on between the Porte and Russia ; as independent of the advantages which may result from it in the view pointed out in my in structions, it wUl be material that on the re-estabUsh- ment of peace between those powers, Russia should not be permitted to assume with regard to Great Britain that tone of superiority which she is knovm to have adopted at Constantinople towards the em bassies of aU other nations. Something too in the nature of admonition (avoid- 28 CORRESPONDENCE. ing aU expressions of menace) appeared expedient, in order to obviate any objections they might make on other grounds to treating with me, and to show them that in attempting, under frivolous pretences, to gain time, they might lose what was of more value. The next day, October 12th, I received the inclosed answer (G) from the Serasquier. WTiether my appearance at the Dardanelles, in con sequence of an invitation which, although not revoked, the new Government has not appeared very anxious to renew, produced debates and divisions in the Divan, as to their manner of proceeding, or whether it be merely OAving to the habitual procrastination of the Turkish character, I received no answer from the Reis Efendi, untU the 29th of October. I have the honour to inclose you a literal translation of it by Mr. Pisani, and for the present shaU only observe that in the first letters I may have occasion to write to the Reis Efendi, 1 shaU not fail to notice that part of it in which he refers to the conduct of Mr. Arbuthnot. About this time I was informed that Haiki Pacha had been suddenly deprived of his government at the Dardanelles and transferred to Candia. His full powers to -treat Avith me are, of course, annuUed. Nothing passed from the day on which I received the above letter until the 2d of November, when Vaahid Efendi, the Plenipotentiary of the Ottoman government, sent me the inclosed notification of his arrival at the Asiatic castle. Vaahid Efendi is the person who was appointed to be Minister at Paris in the year 1806 ; but Bonaparte being on the Vistula when he arrived at Vienna, he turned off from his road and proceeded first to the French head-quarters at Warsaw. Of this circum- CORRESPONDENCE. 29 stance, also of his return from Paris through Vienna, in his way home, in order to lay before the Divan the discovery he had made of the treachery of France in the treaty of TiUsitt, I had the honour of informing you last year, in my despatch of the 21st of November, from Vienna. In my answer annexed, I did not think proper to notice the change of phrase respecting the description of his powers, which Vaahid Efendi's letter exhibits, when compared with that of Haiki Pacha, and cA'en with that of the Reis Efendi, although this last is far from satisfactory. This it was my intention to reserve untU I should see him, as, all things considered, I did not think it prudent to start objections, the discussion of which, in the present stage, might retard our interview. The next day, November 3d, I had the satisfaction to find that both the demands mentioned in the above letter had been attended to. Mr. Pisani was sent on board the Sea-Horse, authorised to learn my wishes, and to fix Avith me on a convenient place for the con ferences. I made it a point that the frigate should be admitted within the castles of the Dardanelles. She is accordingly anchored in Barbieri Bay, near the castle of ChanacaUs (the ancient Abydos), and a country house, about a mUe from the ship's station, has been prepared for my reception. Violent contrary Avinds prevented our reaching this anchorage untU the 11th. Various other delays, partly arising from the celebration of the Ramazan by the Turks, and partly from Mr. Pisani's iUness, pre vented my entering upon business Avith the Turkish Plenipotentiary untU yesterday. The iUness of Mr. Pisani began the very evening of the day on which he 30 CORRESPONDENCE. came on board the Sea-Horse, and has been of such a nature as to prevent his even translating my full powers into Turkish, or assisting in the verification of those of the Turkish Plenipotentiary, This point is much too important for me to trust to the interpreter of that Minister, Mr. Pisani's situation being fully knoAvn to Vaahid Efendi, I was rather surprised at receiving from him yesterday morning an invitation to a conference, at which he knew that no business could be transacted. It was delivered to me at nine o'clock, and the hour appointed for our meeting was one, A private note from Mr, Pisani informed me at the same instant that a Tartar had arrived in the middle of the preceding night, Avith important despatches from Constantinople, which were kept profoundly secret. Rumours of tumults in that city had reached me before this, and particularly from the captain of a merchant vessel, who came on board the Sea-Horse, after a passage- from Constantinople of eighteen hours. Having frequently complained of delay, I could not well refuse Vaahid Efendi's invitation, particularly as it was accompanied by professions of the most earnest desire to accelerate the conclusion of the treaty, in order to enable me to go up to Constantinople, The circumstances which I have mentioned, however, were sufficient to put me upon my guard, and Avill account (I hope to the satisfaction of his Majesty's Govern ment) for my having gone no further into the business than what I have now the honour to relate. After ascertaining that he had full powers to con clude a treaty of peace, and that he now only waited CORRESPONDENCE, 31 untU Mr, Pisani should have translated mine, I told him that it appeared to me that the treaty could be settled in one conference, provided the Porte were disposed to renew its connections with us on the footing generaUy speaking' on Avhich they had been left by Mr. Arbuthnot. To this he assented without hesitation. I then said, that if he pleased I Avould draw up some articles to this effect, together with the usual articles on terminating a state of war, and produce them at our next conference, at which time I proposed that we should verify our respective fuU powers. To this he assented with equal readiness. Our next meeting was fixed for Monday the 21st inst. at the particular request of Vaahid Efendi, who wished to have two days clear after the Ramazan, which ends this day. I should of course wish to defer sending off my despatches until the result of this meeting on Monday, were I not very much inclined to think, from the present state of affairs at Constantinople, that either it will not take place, or that, if it should, nothing wiU be then concluded. Indeed, until the conflict of the two parties is over, the Turkish Plenipotentiary could hardly venture to sign a treaty with me (al though in perfect confornoity with his instructions), the effect of which, according to the menaces of the French embassy, would be an immediate war with France, Of the proceedings of the French since my arrival at the Dardanelles, I have obtained sufficient inform ation to be assured that no exertion is omitted on their parts to render the negociation unsuccessful. What they may be able to effect if the Government 82 CORRESPONDENCE, should be overturned, is more than I can venture to say, but the present Government is too far committed to retreat. It has offended France beyond forgive ness by sending a Minister to meet and negociate with me on principles which imply the probabihty of a common European interest, after having tho roughly weighed and deliberated upon the matters contained in my letter marked E to the Reis Efendi, Every advantage has been taken of the glorious struggle made by the Spaniards, and of the successes of His Majesty's arms in Portugal ; but my accounts from thence come doAvn no later than the first days in September. The Turkish Government knew no thing certain about them until my arrival. I have the honour to be, &c. P.S, I inclose a paper containing the particulars of the report received this morning from Constan tinople, Inclosure marked A in Mr. Adair's No. I, Captain Stewart to the Captain Pacha. H,M.S. Sea-Horse, Malta, Sept. 10. 1808. Sir, In the letter which I had the honour to write to your Excellency from Miconi after the capture of the Badere Zaffere, I informed you that though, from the nature of my orders, I had been under the necessity of attacking the Turkish ships of war, still I did not conceive, after aU that had passed, that it would make the smallest difference in the sentiments of the CORRESPONDENCE. 33 British Government relative to the general question of peace or war. It however became necessary that I should proceed immediately to Malta to meet the negociator, whom I knew to be on his way from Eng land, in consequence of the letter addressed by the Reis Efendi to me, and I am happy to say that he is still ready immediately to proceed to the adjustment of aU differences, having full powers to that effect. I have seen him and his powers, and am authorised to say that the only thing which prevents his imme diately approaching the Dardanelles, is his desire first to be assured that notwithstanding the late changes, the sentiments of the Ottoman Government remain unchanged, that a plenipotentiary on their part is ready to meet him in order to settle a treaty of peace, and that a convenient place has been fixed upon for the negociation. I send this by a confidential person who has in structions to receive your Excellency's answer ; and I may venture to add that upon a clear and satisfac tory assurance from your Excellency that the Ottoman Government is still desirous of peace, and that either Haiki Pacha, or any other minister, is authorised to conclude it, the arrival of a British negociator at the Dardanelles will not long be delayed. Lord Colling wood still abstains from making more than demon stration of war, that there may not appear anything like menace in the business. I have the honour to be, &c. John Stewart, Capt. VOL. I. D 34 CORRESPONDENCE. Inclosure marked C in Mr. Adair's No. I. Mr. Adair to Haiki Pacha. Du Vaisseau de Sa Majesty le Sea-Horse, au Cap Janissaire, ce 11 Oct. 1808. Monsieur, Votre Excellence ayant fait connoltre au Capitaine Stewart, dans sa lettre du 29th Septembre, qu'elle etoit " autorisee de la part de la Sublime Porte et chargee des instructions necessaires k 1' effet de nego- cier et conclure un traite de paix avec quelconque Ministre de Sa Majeste le Roi de la Grande Bretagne," je m'empresse de notifier a votre Excellence mon ar rivee aux Dardanelles, rev^tu des pleins pouvoirs de Sa Majeste pour negocier et conclure de sa part un traite de paix entre EUe et la Sublime Porte. J'ai I'honneur en meme tems d'envoyer k votre Excellence le paquet ci-inclus pour S. E. le Reis Efendi, et de la prier de I'expedier a son adresse le plus-t&t possible. Votre Excellence me permettra de lui temoigner toute la satisfaction que j'aurai a me trouver en re lation avec Elle dans cette occasion importante, et je la prie d'agreer I'assurance de ma consideration tres distinguee. Inclosure marked D in Mr. Adair's No. I. Mr. Adair to the Reis Efendi. Du Vaisseau de S.M. le Sea-Horse, au Cap Janissaire, ce 11 Oct. 1808. Monsieur, Le gouvernement de la Sublime Porte ayant par la voie de S. E. le Reis Efendi dans sa lettre en date CORRESPONDENCE. 35 du mois de Fevrier, et adressee par ce ministre au Capitaine Stewart commandant I'escadre Britannique dans I'Archipel, manifeste son desir de faire la paix avec Sa Majeste le Roi de la Grande Bretagne, et ayant notifie en meme tems que S. E. Mehemed Haiki Pacha etoit revetu de pleins pouvoirs pour negocier et conclure un traite a cet effet, je m'empresse d' an noncer k votre ExceUence mon arrivee au Cap Janis saire revetu du caractere de plenipotentiaire de Sa Majeste Britannique pour negocier et conclure un traite de paix entre EUe et la SubUme Porte. Dans cette demarche de Sa Majeste, sit6t aprfes la rupture d'une negociation precedente, la Sublime Porte verra une nouveUe preuve des dispositions amicales que Sa Majeste n'a cesse de conserver envers EUe. Je ne doute point que la SubUme Porte, animee des m^mes sentimens qu'EUe a montres d'une maniere si claire et si positive au mois de Fevrier, n'ordonne la reprise immediate des negociations la ou elles finirent au mois d'Octobre dernier ; ni qu'EUe ne s'empresse de terminer une guerre sans objet dont la duree ne peut ^tre avantageuse qu'aux ennemis reconnus des deux empires. Aussitot qu'un endroit convenable sera designe pour la tenue des conferences, je m'y rendrai sans deiai. Je prie V. E. d'agreer les assurances de ma con sideration tres distinguee. D 2 36 CORRESPONDENCE. Inclosure marked E in Mr. Adair's No. I. The same to the same. H.M.S. Sea-Horse, off Cape Janissary, October 11th, 1808. Sir, To the official notification which I have the honour to make to Y. E. of my arrival at this place, I have thought it right to add this frank and confidential letter, as it strikes me that in laying before Y. E. some circumstances in the present situation of Europe, of which you may not have been exactly informed, however extensive your knowledge and your pene tration are known to be, your Excellency will dis cover many urgent motives for inducing your Court to put an end to the strange and monstrous situation in which our two countries stand towards each other. I call it strange and monstrous, because not only this is the first time (as I believe) that Great Britain and the Sublime Porte were ever in a state of hostility towards each other, but because the Sublime Porte, originally involved in a war with Russia, in which Great Britain participated only as the aUy of that Power, still continues at war both with Great Britain and Russia; while those Powers themselves, so far from having any object in common which can affect the Ottoman Empire, are actually at war with each other. If the government of the Sublime Porte ever seriously believed that it owed any part of its safety to its refusing to make peace with Great Britain, or if it can now believe that by signing a treaty with me it would provoke France to commence hostilities, a CORRESPONDENCE. 37 very slight consideration of the true state of affairs will demonstrate how greatly it is deceived. The Ottoman Government well knows the nature of the engagements entered into between France and Russia at the peace of TiUsitt. It cannot be ignorant that through the prevalence of the influence of France, an eventual partition of European Turkey Avas then determined upon. The double and perfidious part acted by Bonaparte upon that occasion has long been manifest. An article in the ostensible treaty stipu lated for the evacuation of Moldavia and Wallachia by the Russian troops. This stipulation he boasted to the Sublime Porte that he had dictated to Russia in his quaUty of aUy and protector of the integrity of the Ottoman empire. But the truth could not long be disguised. The secret of the engagements made at TiUsitt was communicated to your Government, and the SubUme Porte was then enabled to see that this article, which Bonaparte pretended to have ex torted with so much difficulty from Russia, instead of being a stipulation to prevent the dismemberment of your provinces, was, in fact, an arrangement to regulate the manner of taking possession of them. So far from its evincing any regard for the safety of the Ottoman Empire, it was a proof of nothing more than his distrust of his new confederate Russia, Avhom he would not suffer to remain in possession of the provinces aUotted to her in the plan of partition before he should be in a condition to seize upon those which he had allotted to himself. — Nor was this aU; — the article above-named expressed that these provinces should be evacuated by both parties until the signa ture of your peace with Russia. Of this peace, the better to cover his designs, he procured himself to be D 3 38 CORRESPONDENCE. named the mediator, and soon after artfully obtained the removal of the negociations for it to Paris. Thus, by rendering himself master of the conferences, he had it in his power either to accelerate or retard the treaty, just as it might suit his purpose. The event has proved that his sole object was to amuse both the Ottoman and the Russian cabinets under pretence of settling a peace, concerning which he has never once seriously occupied himself since he undertook to be the mediator of it. These facts alone would amply prove his designs Avith regard to Turkey ; but fortunately for the good of the world, and for the Ottoman Empire in par ticular, Europe has never yet been in such a state of absolute subjection to his wiU as to afford him the opportunity of carrying them into execution. This want of opportunity has arisen principaUy from two causes; first, the dissatisfaction expressed by Russia in consequence of his non-execution of several other important articles of the Peace of TiUsitt, and secondly, the dangerous war in which he has in volved himself with the Spanish nation. That the Emperor of Russia, after he had signed the Treaty of TiUsitt, executed his part of it Avith punctuality, cannot (unhappily for Europe) be de nied. He caused his armies to withdraw into the interior of his dominions ; he put France in possession of Corfu and the whole of the Republic of the Seven Islands ; and he renounced all pretence of interfering as a protecting power in the affairs of Germany, Italy, or the rest of Europe. But the ruler of France on his side has executed no part of the treaty to which he had bound himself. His armies continue to threaten the Russian frontiers on the side of CORRESPONDENCE . 3 9 Poland. In defiance of the most positive stipulations they still occupy SUesia and the greater part of the Prussian territories ; and the Prussian monarch con tinues an exile from his capital, while his kingdom is delivered up to lawless extortion, and every species of military violence. It cannot be supposed that the Emperor of Russia could remain an unconcerned spectator of these manifest infractions of the Treaty of TiUsitt ; still less that he should assist France in the execution of such of its arrangements as are favourable to that power at a moment when every article favourable to Russia is either procrastinated or wholly set aside. But independently of these difficulties, it has pleased Providence, which often delights in confound ing tyrants, and in rendering them the instruments of their own punishment, to raise up in the hearts of the people of Spain that generous and courageous spirit which, when exerted in its OAvn defence, never faUs to save a nation from an invading foreign enemy, however formidable that enemy may have rendered himself by the dexterity of his intrigues, or the num ber and discipline of his armies. In vain had the^Spanish nation, the faithful ally of France during so many years, and Avhich had at all times sacrificed itself for her benefit with a fidelity of Avhich history records few examples, trusted to the faith of treaties and to the honour of the ruler of France. In vain had fortune heaped her choicest gifts upon the head of that ambitious man, and ren dered him master of so many kingdoms. The unsus pecting confidence of the Spaniards tempted him but the more to invade their territory. The possession of the finest part of Europe formed in his breast but D 4 40 CORRESPONDENCE. an additional motive to seize upon what remained of it. Comparing on this occasion the danger of the enterprize Avith the advantage of the acquisition, it is evident that reason as AveU as honour, that wisdom as weU as justice, would have inclined him to the side of moderation. But man cannot avoid his fate ! Infatuated by his past successes, and behoving him self the master of futurity, he has precipitated himself into a detestable and disastrous war, of which the first events, already alarming to his fortunes, are, perhaps, but the forerunners of the moment marked out by Heaven as the destined end of his triumphs and of his crimes. Your ExceUency already knows that Bonaparte has attempted to seize on the monarchy of Spain, and to place the crown of that kingdom upon the head of one of his brothers. In pursuance of a plan long formed to this effect, he introduced by degrees a large army into the heart of Spain. Under his usual pretence of friendship, he obtained possession of many of their strong places, together with the persons of the royal family, and most of the Spanish nobles, whom he detains in France, either as prisoners or as hostages. These atrocious proceedings, followed soon after by the entrance of the usurper into Spain at the head of a numerous army, have driven the Spanish people to take up arms in their defence, and to address them selves to all the nations of Europe for protection and succour. His Majesty has been the first to listen to their just appeal ; he has made peace with the Spanish nation; he has joined his arms to theirs — God has prospered their righteous cause. The Spanish armies have everyAvhere defeated those of France ; they have CORRESPONDENCE. 41 forced their bravest generals and most discipUned troops to surrender; and finally, have driven the usurper Joseph, brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, with shame and disgrace from the city of Madrid. It is in these important events rather than in any deference towards the Sublime Porte, that your Ex ceUency Avill discover the real motive which induces Bonaparte to abstain for the present from any act of hostility against the Turkish provinces. With regard . to his real dispositions, they are as clear as day : they have been manifested by the propositions which at all times he has made to Russia (but which that Power constantly rejected during her connection with Great Britain) for the partition of your provinces ; — they have been manifested by his secret engagements at TiUsitt, and by his artful delays in concluding the peace between the Sublime Porte and Russia, of which he undertook to be the mediator. Hence it foUows that the objections to the re- establishment of our mutual relations, on the footing on which they stood before the departure of Mr. Arbuthnot from Constantinople, can have no founda tion in reason ; since whatever may be your course, the Adews of Bonaparte remain ever the same with regard to the SubUme Porte, and the execution of them, as far as it depends upon him, Avill neither be accelerated nor retarded one day. On the other hand, the sacrifices which your Go vernment would find itself obliged to make if unfor tunately our negociations should not terminate in the restoration of peace between us, are weU worthy its most serious attention and consideration. If the British power has not hitherto been exerted against the dependencies of the Ottoman Empire, nor against 42 CORRESPONDENCE. its capital, in any but the mildest manner, your Ex cellency will Avithout difficulty perceive that the mo tive for this forbearance has been nothing but an extreme reluctance on the part of the King, my mas ter, to have recourse to the extremities of war against a nation of whose friendship he is desirous, in whose preservation he feels an interest, and whose resources consequently he would be grieved to be under a necessity of impairing. His Majesty would, on the contrary, much rather assist in augmenting and in consolidating those re sources, especially when he considers the possibUity (although he hopes it may be a distant one) of your being obliged to exert them against the same enemy, against which he is himself contending. He would see Avith satisfaction tranquUlity and union restored in the interior of the Ottoman dominions. He would be well pleased that complete success should attend those measures of reform, which your government is engaged in carrying through, and which appear calculated so essentially to contribute to the stability of the Ottoman empire. But your ExceUency is too well experienced in affairs, not to know that neither these nor any plans which are formed with a view to the future, and in tended for your permanent advantage, can be carried into effect, so long as the commerce and revenues of your state he, in a manner, at the mercy of a foreign enemy. Peace Avith your neighbours is undoubtedly necessary to give you the fuU effect of the good which you are attempting ; and your ExceUency knows that however remote may be the seat of our respective I empires, England is your neighbour by sea, as by the immensity of her naval power, and by the unrivalled valour of her seamen Avhich makes the ocean her own. CORRESPONDENCE. 43 she is become the neighbour of every state whose dominions are situated on its borders. Your Excellency must also be aware that even more than in its resources and in its commerce, the strength of an empire consists in the due obedience of its sub jects. You cannot be ignorant how much it is in the power of Great Britain to cut off all intercourse be tween the seat of the Ottoman empire and its most valuable islands, and thus to raise and to foment a spirit of discontent in them, which must infalUbly end in their total separation from the dominions of the Sublime Porte. These considerations I have no doubt Avill have struck the penetrating mind of your Excellency, and that of the other enUghtened members of the Ottoman government. I need scarcely point out to your Excellency another motive for your seizing, Avithout delay, the pre sent moment to make peace with his Majesty, arising from the state of the pending negociations between the Sublime Porte and Russia. There can be no doubt that when that Power shaU see that you are no longer embarrassed by a war with Great Britain, she AviU be convinced that the time is not yet come for her to ad vance any new or extravagant pretensions, which may have been suggested to her by her intercourse with France. Nor can it escape the Ottoman government, that in making peace with England at this moment, she wiU make it with a Power unfettered by any engagement either Avith Russia or with any other considerable continental state. But your Excellency has too much sagacity not to see that this is a mere accidental effect of the new and extraordinary situation of Europe, and 44 CORRESPONDENCE. that before long the continental Powers, awakened by the continued aggressions of France to a sense of their immediate safety, must have recourse to Great Britain as to that Power whose aid never has been asked in vain, to defend the cause of the oppressed. Such a renewal of intercourse must lead to a renewal of our connections with the continent, nearly in their ancient form, and as they subsisted before that system of division and distraction which has produced the calamities of the world. The government of the Sublime Porte is too Avise therefore not to profit by this favourable opportunity of making peace Avith his Majesty. To invite your Excellency to join your endeavours to mine, in this great work, is the object of this confidential address, in which I have opened my whole mind to you without reserve. I have not hesitated to place the truth be fore your ExceUency, in the clearest light. It is best always to be sincere even with our enemies ; but it is absolutely necessary to be so with our friends. Such 1 am wUling to persuade myself are our two nations in effect, having every possible motive to unite, and not one to diAdde them. I request your ExceUency to accept the assurances of my most distinguished consideration. Inclosure marked H in Mr. Adair's No. I. The Reis Ejfendi to Mr. Adair. His Excellency, our most distinguished, hiost noble, and most judicious friend — After ftdfiUing the offices of esteem and friendship, it is sincerely notified to you as foUows : — CORRESPONDENCE. 45 The despatches, fuU of sincerity, which have been sent this time to our friendly port, have been received, and we purely understood the remarks, observations, and other detaUs, which have been deUneated by your pen. As it is expressed and acknowledged on your Ex- ceUency's friendly part, no acts of enmity have ever passed between the Sublime Porte and the Court of England ; and it is the perfect intention and effort of the Ottoman Empire, that nothing contrary (to the former amity) does happen, although the improper and causeless conduct of the former ambassador, re sident at Constantinople, under an idea of acting in concert with Russia, has produced an appearance of coolness. That posture not being what either side seeks for or desires, and the mutual inclination and wish being with a sincere intention and pure disposi tion to see amity and sincerity restored, the moment the Sublime Porte knew of your Excellency's arrival at the DardaneUes, charged with this salutary work, H. E. the most happy Sejid Vaadid Efendi, a personage of the ministerial line, actual deputy secretary in the Ottoman treasury, and invested with the rank of " Nichangy," * has also been appointed and vested with powers upon her part. Exclusive of the above-said Efendi's being a per sonage of much consideration, weU-informed, — know ing how to distinguish between friends, and endowed with the most upright principles, he being entrusted Avith the answers to the matters contained in Y. E. ¦* Drawer of the Grand Signer's Cypher, being a charge near that of Pacha in point of rank. 46 CORRESPONDENCE. friendly despatches, it would be but an useless repe tition to insert a detail of them in this sincere letter. When, therefore, under the favour of Providence, Y. E. shall have had a meeting and conference with him, you wiU then become acquainted with the good intentions of the Ottoman Empire, and it is evident that the salutary work in point will prove successful, and wiU come to a conclusion in all its details and appurtenances. Although the above Efendi is actuaUy set out, yet, being obliged on account of the advanced season to travel by land, that Y. E. may know of this before hand, we hasten to send off this friendly despatch by anticipation. Upon his arrival at the DardaneUes, it is hoped for and expected from Y. E. pacific exertions, that you will foUow up this friendly work by such a proper method as may (reference being made to the state of things and the exigence of circumstances with regard to the Porte) lead to the advantage of either side, and put a stop to inconvenience and mischief. Your friend, Sejid Mbhemmed Sayd Galib Reis Eeendi^ No date. Received Oct. 29. 1808. Inclosure marked I in Mr. Adair's No. I. Vaahid Efendi to Mr. Adair. Au Chateau d'Asie des Dardanelles, le l^"- Nov. 1808. Monsieur, La Sublime Porte ayant appris I'arrivee de V. E. dans nos parages chargee de pleins pouvoirs de la part CORRESPONDENCE. 47 du Gouvernement Britannique k I'effet de traiter de I'objet salutaire de la paix, je m'empresse de notifier a V. E. mon arrivee aux Dardanelles autorise par la Sublime Porte avec pleins pouvoirs afin d'entrer en relation et conference avec EUe a ce sujet. J'ai la satisfaction aussi de lui annoncer que M. Pisani le Dragoman vient de se rendre ce jour-ci sur ces lieux arrive de Kutaha. Inclosure marked K in Mr. Adair's No. 1. Mr. Adair to Vaahid Efendi. Du Vaisseau de S.M. le Sea-Horse, ce 2 Nov. 1808. Monsieur, J'ai I'honneur d'accuser a V. E. la reception de la lettre qu'EUe m'a ecrite annon9ant son heureuse ar rivee au Chateau de ChanacaUs. Tout en feiicitant V. E. de sa nomination a un poste si honorable et si important que celui de pacificateur, j'ai k remarquer que dans sa lettre Elle n'a designe aucun lieu pour la tenue de nos conferences. J'esp^re que V. E. donnera ses ordres afin qu'un lieu convenable sous tous les rapports soit assigne a cet effet, les vaisseaux de S.M. se trouvant exposes dans cette rade aux temp^tes continuelles dont la mer est agitee dans cette saison. Je prie aussi V. E. de donner les ordres necessaires pour que M. Pisani puisse se rendre le plus-tot possible a bord de mon vaisseau. J'ai I'honneur d'assurer V. E. de ma consideration tres distinguee. 48 CORRESPONDENCE. No. II. One Inclosure. To the Right Honourable George Canning. H.M.S. Sea-Horse, Port Barbieri. Nov. 22. 1808. Sir, Notwithstanding the disturbances which were raging with the utmost violence at Constantinople, my conference with Vaahid Efendi, which in my last despatch I mentioned to have been fixed for the 2 1st, took place according to appointment. The first point to be settled was the verification and exchange of our respective full powers. To those of Vaahid Efendi I had nothing to object. To mine he took exception on the ground of my being commissioned to treat for a peace between his Majesty and Sultan Mustapha, instead of Sultan Mahmoud ; I need not trouble you with a detail of my answers to this objection. They were such as will obviously suggest themselves. I made him comprehend indeed that, if his reasoning was good, aU treaties between states must necessarily be annulled on the demise of either of the contracting Sovereigns ; and again, that it lay rather with me to object to treating with him, than for him to object to treating with me ; but after a fuU hour's discussion he stUl adhered to his objec tion, with this curious distinction — that it was valid as far as it regarded the exchange of our full powers, although not valid as far as it regarded my compe tency to conclude a peace. Our respective commissions were of course not ex changed, and, indeed, in the disturbed state in which I knew Constantinople to be, and doubtful as I was Avhether, at the time I Avas arguing this point. Sultan CORRESPONDENCE. 49 Mustapha might not again be on the throne, I did not press the exchange so strongly as I should have done under other circumstances. And here our conference might have ended, and possibly the whole negociation, had not Vaahid Efendi most earnestly requested me to proceed to the dis cussion of the articles of the Projet, which, as we had agreed at our first meeting, I was to prepare for the business of the day. After protesting in the strongest manner against the validity of his objection to my fuU powers, and putting in my claim to caU for the exchange of them Avith his, in any stage Avhatsoever of the negociation, — after remarking to him, too, that by consenting to discuss and conclude, he in fact gave up the whole substance of his argument, I consented to his proposal. It appeared to me that, by so doing, the advantage would be wholly on our side should the negociation break off. By producing my Projet of a treaty, I made manifest his Majesty's extreme moderation ; and although this be a point too weU known to re quire proof, I did not deem the manifestation of it superfluous on the present occasion, as to my know ledge the French had been most active in their en deavours to make it be believed by the Ottoman Government that his Majesty had demands to make incompatible Avith their interests or Avith their honour to grant. Another reason which induced me to bring forward my terms arose from the distinct avowal of the Reis Efendi in his letter to me " that no cause of war existed between the two Powers." Nothing after this would be wanting to put the Ottoman Govern ment completely in the wrong according to its OAvn VOL. I. E 50 CORRESPONDENCE. Oxpress acknowledgment, should they reject the treaty which I was about to offer them on a ground so frivolous as that which I have stated. After recapitulating, therefore, to Vaahid Efendi some points which I had pressed upon his attention at our first interview, such as, that I came to the Dardanelles on the express invitation, again and again renewed, of the Ottoman Government — that the negociation being to be resumed where it had been broken off last year, the points on which it had broken off must be considered as conceded by the circumstance of that invitation, and that if there were any articles to discuss, it was rather for him than for me to prepare them, I said, that in order to bring the business to a point at once, I had reduced aU I had to propose to the articles I held in my hand, by which I would abide, provided he had no demands to make on his part. He answered that he should have something to propose, but that he was not then ready with it. The nature of this whole question is so extremely simple, and so very different from that of negociations between Powers, where, as under the ancient Euro pean system, a variety of opposite claims and com plicated interests are to be arranged, that I thought it needless to delay the discussion of the Projet by press ing at that moment any claim for a communication of the nature of the terms to which he alluded ; more especiaUy as I was fully prepared to meet any demand he might have to make. I went on, therefore, under the reservation already mentioned, and delivered in the inclosed Projet which was translated and dis cussed article by article. The first difficulty he made was with respect to CORRESPONDENCE. 5 1 the clause concerning the ambassadors. He objected to it as unnecessary, their privUeges and equaUty being provided for by the capitulations which by the preceding article were to be re-estabUshed. In answer to this I observed that the capitulations had been virtuaUy departed from in the instance of General Sebastiani's reception ; that Mr. Arbuthnot, ' having protested against the extraordinary honours paid to that ambassador, and his conduct in so doing having been approved by his Majesty, some public satisfaction was necessary ; that I came to re-estabUsh peace, and not a system of complaints and protests to which there would be no end. We discussed this much at length Avithout coming to any conclusion. The rest of the clauses of this article had been made out with a Adew of providing some remedy for those dcAdations from the true meaning of the capitulations which I had observed in the late correspondence of Mr. Arbuthnot. Of these the question of protections seemed to form the most material part ; but I was ignorant until my arrival here what scandalous abuses had been practised on the subject of protections by the ambassadors of some of the continental Powers. Vaahid Efendi ex plained them to me, and added the peremptory de termination of the Porte to put an end to them altogether. I said that I was far from contending for the restoration of any abuses which the Porte had thought proper to suppress, and only required on the subject of protections that the British ambassadors should have an equal right with the ambassadors of any other nation ; at the same time, I could not pos sibly give up the right of granting protections to 52 CORRESPONDENCE. dragomans, at least to such as were so bond fide. I proposed, therefore, to limit this clause to such dra gomans as should be employed by our consuls for the purpose of carrying on their commerce. This he seemed disposed to agree to, provided the dragomans should not exercise commerce themselves ; a propo sition to which the local information I had received upon this subject rendered it impossible for me to consent. It was agreed that the tariff should be restored ; but he objected to the stipulation for the execution of it throughout the whole extent of the Ottoman dominions. He contended that this was unnecessary in most places, and where not unnecessary that it was impracticable. The last clause he objected to, as conveying a re flection on the administration of justice in their courts. I agreed, therefore, to withdraw it. Having gone through this part of the subject, and discussed many other points needless to trouble you with, I then requested Vaahid Efendi, if the articles he had to propose on his part were not regularly reduced into form, to acquaint me generaUy with their object. He said that he wished me, against j our next meeting, to consider the question of grant ing the Porte assistance against Russia. I replied that I was at that moment as fully pre pared to give him an answer on this point as I should be at any other time. He then said that the wars in which the Porte found herself involved against Great Britain and Hussia being both brought on at the same time, and on a ground common to both those Powers, and the Porte being extremely distressed by Russia, she was CORRESPONDENCE. 53 desirous — first, that the peace between the two Powers should be made at the same time also ; and secondly, that in order to bring this about speedily, Great Britain should come forward to the assistance of the Porte. And he founded this claim on the pre tence that Russia never would have commenced hos- tiUties had she not been sure of support from Great Britain. Desirous on every possible account to avoid such a discussion as this statement, accompanied by the demand of assistance (which evidently was meant to be pecuniary), was calculated to provoke, I replied that into the justice of the war commenced by Rus sia, or into the degree in which Great Britain was bound by her aUiance Avith Russia to support her re presentations for the restoration of the treaties, I would not enter. It was a question on which neither of us would probably convince the other, and on which, if we should, no argument could be grounded for assistance in the present stage of our negociations. That the only ground on which assistance could be granted was in a case of aUiance ; but that peace must precede alliance. With regard to their peace with Russia, it could not be proposed to me to consent that ours should be deferred untU Russia, who had put herself totaUy into the hands of France, should be ready to sign it ; nor could I weU understand why the Porte should think it better to have two wars than one. The rupture between Great Britain and Russia appeared to afford every facUity that could be desired to a peace between Great Britain and the Porte, as each of these Powers would thus have its hands free to attack Russia with better effect. This was surely the most natural way of bringing Russia E 3 54 CORRESPONDENCE. to terms. That nothing would please me more than to become the mediator of their peace with Russia, if that Power would make any opening towards it of which, consistently with my duty, I could avail my self; but that neither into this, nor into any other views for their benefit could I enter with any effect untU after the signature of the Treaty of Peace. Here it seemed to me best to leave the subject. Our next conference is fixed for the 26th inst., when Vaahid Efendi is to produce his propositions in the shape of a Contre-Projet. I am sorry not to have been able to make greater progress in the negociation ; but from the state of the capital, and the precarious situation of Mustapha Bai ractar who is disposed in our favour, I hardly ex pected to have advanced even so far. I have the honour to be, &c. Inclosure in Mr. Adair's No. II. PROJET. Au nom de Dieu tout puissant : Les circonstances qui ont produit la rupture entre la Grand Bretagne et la Sublime Porte Ottomane, ayant cesse d'exister, Sa Majeste le Roi du Royaume uni de la Grande Bretagne et d'Irlande, et Sa Majeste Imperiale Sultan Mahmoud II. , le tr^s magnifique et tres puissant Empereur Ottoman, animes du desir sincere et mutuel de retablir la bonne intelligence, et les anciennes relations de paix et d'amitie entre leurs empires respectifs, ont nomme les Soussignes, savoir CORRESPONDENCE. 55 le Roi de la Grand Bretagne de sa part et Sa Majeste Imperiale de sa part, le tr^s excellent leurs Plenipotentiaires, k I'effet de negocier et de conclure definitivement un traite de paix sur des conditions justes et equitables ; lesquels, apres avoir reciproquement verifie et echange leurs pleins pouvoirs trouves en bonne et due forme, sont convenus des Articles suivans : — Article I. Du moment de la signature du traite les hostilites entres les sujets de Sa Majeste le Roi de la Grande Bretagne et les sujets de la Sublime Porte cesseront par terre et par mer. Les prisonniers de part et d' autre seront mis en Uberte. Article II. II y aura oubli et amnestic generale pour tout ce qui aurait ete fait avant et aprfes le commencement de la guerre qui vient d'etre terminee. Article III. Les preprietes des sujets Britanniques qui auront ete mis en sequestre par ordre du gouvernement de la Sublime Porte seront rendues aux proprietaires sans delai et sans aucune diminution quelconque. Article IV. Les capitulations et en general toutesles stipula tions et conventions relativement au commerce qui subsistoient entre la Grande Bretagne et la Sublime E 4 56 CORRESPONDENCE. Porte jusqu'au moment de la rupture seront retablies en etat et forme tel que si cette rupture n'eut jamais existe. Article V. L'acte de concession plus particuliferement emane de la Sublime Porte en favour des vaisseaux mar- chands Britanniques de naviguer dans la Mer Noire, sera remis en pleine vigueur et execution ; et cette navigation sera ouverte aux vaisseaux marchands Britanniques du jour de la signature du present Traite. Article VI. La Paix et les anciennes relations d'amitie etant heureusement renouveliees entre les deux empires afin d'en mieux resserrer les Uens, et d'obvier autant qu'il dependrait de la prevoyance humaine, a tout sujet de mesinteUigence future, il est convenu de la part de la Sublime Porte : — 1°. Que les ambassadeurs et ministres de Sa Majeste Britannique jouiront derechef de tous les droits et privileges, sans exception quelconque, qu'Us posse- doient en aucun tems, et que possedent actueUement les ambassadeurs et ministres des autres nations. 2°. Que les consuls et vice-consuls Anglais re- prendront I'exercice de leurs fonctions dans tous les etats de la Sublime Porte ; qu'ils jouiront de tous les droits et exemptions qui leur avaient ete assures par les anciens traites et conventions entre les deux empires, et qu'en general ils seront mis sur le pied des consuls et vice-consuls de la nation la plus fa- vorisee. CORRESPONDENCE. 57 3°. Les Dragomans Barataires en actualite de ser vice dans les Echelles seront retablis sur le m^me pied. 4°. Si parmi les individus jouissant ci-devant de la protection Britannique a Constantinople il s'en trou- veroit qui voudroient de leur gre rentrer dans la jouissance de cette protection, U leur sera permis de le faire sans difficulte. 5°. Que les sujets de Sa Majeste Britannique exer- 9ans le commerce dans les etats de la SubUme Porte seront mis sur le pied de la nation la plus favorisee, et continueront k etre ainsi regardes dans toutes les concessions que la Sublime Porte pourroit accorder dorenavant aux sujets des autres nations. 6°. Que le nouveau tarif, tel qu'il a ete regie a la satisfaction de la Sublime Porte en I'annee 1805, dans la forme la plus solenneUe, sera mis en vigueur ; et la SubUme Porte donnera des Firmans afinque les pre- poses de douane dans tous ses etats aient a s'y con- former sans detour quelconque. 7°. Qu'il ne sera plus etabli de monopole ou d'impot extraordinaire, au prejudice des sujets de Sa Majeste Britannique, et qu'Us ne seront plus soumis k rimp6t connu sous le nom de " Bidaat." 8°. Les marchandises Anglaises, nommement la Bierre, le Rum, le Vin, et autres Uqueurs de pro duction etrangere, ne seront point sujettes aux regle^ mens ou restrictions que la Sublime Porte pourroit etabUr sur les productions de ses propres etats ; et specialement seront exempts de tout empechement et demande pecuniaire de la part du Vaivode de Galata, et d'autres preposes du Gouvernement Ottoman. 9°. Au cas des contestations personnelles qui puissent arriver entre les negocians Britanniques et les sujets Ottomans, Mussulmans, ou Rajaa, dans les Echelles, 58 CORRESPONDENCE. la Sublime Porte donnera les injunctions les plus strictes k tous ses magistrats et administrateurs de justice, afinque les plaintes des parties en litige soient ecoutees et jugees avec impartialite, et sans prevention quelconque. No. III. Two Inclosures. To the Right Honourable George Canning. Port Barbieri, Nov. 26. 1808. Sir, My second conference with Vaahid Efendi took place this day according to appointment. Before we entered upon business I learned from him that Mustapha Bairactar and his party had been put to death by the Janissaries, that the deposed Sultan Mustapha had been strangled, and that tranquillity was restored in the capital. Vaahid Efendi then proceeded to state the claims he had to make on the part of the Sublime Porte, and I leave you to judge of the surprise, mixed with some disappointment, Avith which I listened to the demands contained in the inclosed paper (A). Passing by for the moment all objections of a secondary nature, such as the style of the preamble, and in general the tone of the articles, the omission of that of amnesty, and other matters which you wiU at once perceive, I come to the great points on which our discussion turned, and on which the issue of the negociation wiU depend. / When Article HI. was read, I thought it necessary to reject it in a manner so positive and so peremptory as to prevent its ever being mentioned to me again. CORRESPONDENCE. 59 The discussion of this Article, however, took up a considerable time, ovsdng either to the most unac countable mistake that ever occurred, or the most audacious fraud that ever was practised in the course of diplomatic correspondence. Vaahid Efendi ex pressing himself much astonished that I should object so strongly to a proposition which had been agreed to by Sir Arthur Paget, I discovered on questioning him further, that IsmaU Pacha, the Serasquier who had been named plenipotentiary to negociate with Sir Arthur Paget, had, in the report of his interview with Sir Arthur, affirmed directly that this concession had been made. In justice to Sir Arthur, I felt myself called upon not only most strenuously to deny the fact, appealing for the truth of my denial to his " Correspondence," which was fortunately in my pos session, but likcAvise to address myself directly to the Reis Efendi upon the subject in a letter of which I here transmit you a copy (B). Vaahid Efendi expressed great regret on finding that I refused to Usten to this Article in any form, or under any modification ; and seemed to think that the Porte would not recede from the demand. I then was obUged to say that any further discus sion on the other Articles would be useless. But on his desiring to refer it to his Court, I consented, un der the circumstances, to proceed. The next Article was No. VI., to which, in this report of our conference, I add No. VII., as my ob jections to both came under the same head. After considering these Articles Avith a little atten tion, it reaUy appeared to me that the Porte did not understand what it asked. I explained therefore to Vaahid Efendi so much of our navigation laws as 60 CORRESPONDENCE. rendered it impossible to grant to Turkish vessels the liberty of going to the British colonies, or carrying the produce of other countries to England. But without going further into the subject I argued that neither this, nor any question of commerce, was fit to be introduced into a treaty of peace, unless in so far as the war might have had a reference to some specific objects of commerce ; that the granting a right to trade, together with the adjustment of a re ciprocity of duties, was the proper object of a treaty of commerce ; that I could not consent to buy a peace with the promise of any concessions after the invatation I had received to restore it upon principles which implied the very reverse of concessions; and that he knew I had nothing to offer but what I had so clearly and so frequently declared, namely, the re- estabUshment of the relations of the two countries on the footing on which they stood before the departure of Mr. Arbuthnot. He did not seem at aU satisfied with this answer, conceiving it unjust that when the Porte granted such extensive privileges to Great Britain we should refuse to grant her any in return. Next came the question of the Dragomans. The Porte requires that our consuls should employ none of her subjects in that capacity, and that those whom they do employ should not trade. And this regula tion they say they have been under the necessity of resorting to in order to prevent the sale of protections by foreign ministers. I said that I not only did not Avish to re-estabUsh such an abuse, but would assist them in preventing and eradicating it as much as lay in my power, but that he must see how totaUy impos sible it was for our commerce to be carried on with- CORRESPONDENCE. 61 out these dragomans, whom I was wUling to limit to a definite number. That as to their not being sub jects of the Porte, where could others be found who could speak the language ? And how could they Uve unless a fair traffic were aUowed them ? These were the articles of the Contre-Projet which occasioned the most discussion. Nothing was posi tively agreed to on either side, although some impres sion of the unreasonableness of his demands has, I think, been made on Vaahid Efendi. After his interpreter had finished reading the Contre-Projet, and had delivered it into Mr. Pisani's possession to be translated, I asked if that contained the whole of what the Porte had to propose ? Vaahid Efendi then said that it contained all of a public na ture, but that he had something to bring forward as matter for a secret article. He then opened the subject by premising that he considered the signature of peace with England as a declaration of war against France; and indeed he { srave me to understand that the French Charge d'Af- ; faires at Constantinople had announced that he should so consider it, and demand his passports in conse quence. Under these circumstances, what (he asked) would be their situation ? Already at war with Rus sia through our means, and soon to be at war with France for our sakes, what did we propose to do to succour the Ottoman Empire ? The pressure of the war with Russia he stated to be most he^Yj, and the expences of the army eight times what they used to be in former wars. The Porte had reason to fear that the connections between Russia and France, so far as they related to the Ottoman territories, were rather drawn closer than in any way impaired, and 62 CORRESPONDENCE. the meeting at Erfurt he considered as intended to settle finaUy their doom. Great Britain was rich : she paid subsidies to all her aUies, and why refuse to succour in the same manner a friend who was about to risk so much to be at peace with her ? In answer to this overture I told him plainly that if it was at that time to be made the foundation of any proposition of the nature he alluded to, I must decline entering further into the subject than I had already done at the close of our first conference. He said that he only wished to talk confidentially with me. I replied that confidential discourse with any minis ter employed by his Majesty must be considered as no less binding on him as far as it went than the most solemn engagement. In the Uttle I should say, therefore, I entreated him to mark distinctly that there would be nothing which was meant to alter or influence the simple question of peace as I had pro posed it. I begged him not to consider what he might think favourable to his wishes as said by way of inducing his Government to sign the treaty, nor, on the contrary, the steadiness of my refusal to mix the two questions of peace and alUance, as a rejection of all succour, under any possible circumstances, to the Ottoman Empire. After controverting the accuracy of his statement respecting the origin of the war, I reverted to my letter to the Reis Efendi of the 11th of Obtober as containing all I could say respecting the general situation of Turkey as connected with the state of Europe. That all the subsequent information I had received confirmed the belief that Bonaparte was by no means in a situation to attack them immediately. CORRESPONDENCE. 63 and that Avith regard to the future, and his personal dispositions towards them, Vaahid Efendi was him self the man from whom I should, if uninformed, inquire for proofs, instead of the man to whom I should think of offering any. I here stated to him, however, that there existed one proof of which he could know only a part, namely, that at the very moment that he was himself at TiUsitt, where the Emperor Alexander, in conjunction Avith Bonaparte, was settUng the partition of the Turkish provinces, a Russian plenipotentiary* was actuaUy at the Dar danelles with a commission from the same Emperor to make peace, giAring up Walachia and Moldavia. That commission was dated in March or April, at which time Russia was in aUiance with us. Here was the difference between the Emperor Alexander influenced by England, and the Emperor Alexander influenced by France : and here was what they had got by the friendship of France ! The influence of Sebastiani at Constantinople prevented the reception of the Russian negociator, and consequently the re storation of their provinces ; and the influence of Bonaparte at TiUsitt prevaUed on the Emperor Alexander to Avithdraw the powers he had given for their restoration. Thoroughly convinced in my OAvn mind, therefore, that the signature of their peace with England would make no difference whatever in the intentions of Bonaparte respecting the Ottoman Empire, I felt myself justified in pressing upon their consideration aU the motives they had to conclude it. In the front of these motives I placed the policy of their making peace Avith us before we made peace ¦^ Pozzo di Borgo. 64 CORRESPONDENCE. Avith Russia. I stated, that if they neglected this opportunity, I could by no means answer that when we resumed our relations Avith the Court of St. Peters burg, we might not enter into engagements in which the interests of the Ottoman Empire would at the best be forgotten. What could they expect other wise if they continued at war with us both ? Whereas, if they signed a peace with Great Britain now, they would be considered and treated as a friendly state in any engagements into which we might enter either with Russia or Avith any other power. I perceive that this idea has had its effect, but I shall take care, in pursuing it, to do nothing which may fetter the hands of his Majesty's Government in any negociation which may be carrying on at St. Petersburg. The next motive, and surely no trifling one, was peace itself. Was it nothing to possess their islands in safety ? Was the revenue of the DardaneUes no thing in their present distresses, which made them even apply to England for a subsidy ? What would France do for them ? Would France, on a promise to admit no British Minister at Constantinople, engage within any given time to perform her OAvn promises and oblige Russia to evacuate Walachia and Moldavia? I would be content to rest the whole on this issue. But what so likely to bring Russia into reasonable terms as their seeing the Porte at peace with Great Britain? Distressed already in the North by the combined forces of his Majesty and the King of Sweden, what might she not apprehend for her safety in the South, if the friendship which I proposed in his Majesty's name to rencAV with the Sublime Porte Avere judiciously improved and directed to its true ends ? CORRESPONDENCE. 65 Remembering that the idea of mediation, which I had thrown out in our last conference, had been eagerly seized by Vaahid Efendi, I again recurred to it in this place. I observed to him that we were a great way yet from so desirable a situation as that in which my good offices could be attended Avith effect ; but the first and most obvious of all steps was, that I should go to Constantinople to put the matter in train. These, I said, were a few of the many motives to peace which existed, at present, between the two empires. But what he proposed in asking for subsidies was not peace simply, but alUance. Now this was certainly inadmissible by me, and I should think not advisable even for themselves ; — inadmissible by me, because, if an article were offered on this subject, it must evidently be a condition of making the peace ; and I could by no means consent to take the negocia tion less favourably than it had been left by Sir Arthur Paget, to whom no such proposal had been mentioned ; — unadvisable for themselves, because an aUiance with us would instantly make them parties to the war Avith France, which they seemed so anxious to avoid, and which undoubtedly it was not for their interest to provoke. They must also know that the engagements of alUances are reciprocal. Now what service did they propose to render to Great Britain in return for her subsidies ? I thought it fair to let him know that of all possible sorts of assistance that by subsidy would be the most objectionable. I have here, in the most concise manner I am able, stated to you the substance of this conference, which VOL. I. ^ 66 CORRESPONDENCE. lasted during five hours. At parting, I asked when it was his intention to appoint another, assuring him that I should be ready the next day to produce an ultimatum founded on what had been reciprocally ad mitted in this and the preceding one. Vaahid Efendi once more asked if my refusal about the ships was absolute. On my answering in the affirmative, he said that he could not name any time until he should hear from Constantinople, I then expressed a hope that our next meeting would be final, and intimated an intention of bringing the ne gociation to a close as soon afterwards as possible, I have the honour to be, &c. Inclosure A in Mr. Adair's No. III. Traduction du Contre-Projet remis, par S. E. Vaahid Efendi, dans la Conference du 26 Novembre, 1808. Au nom de Dieu tres misericordieux : Le sujet du present instrument fid^e et authentique est comme suit : — Les evenemens du siecle inconstant ayant amene un eioignement apparent entre la SubUme Porte et la Cour de la Grande Bretagne, et etant le desir sincere des deux parties de renouveller I'ancienne amitie, par consequent moi soussigne, revetu du haut rang de Nichangy Imperial, en qualite de Plenipotentiaire de la part du tres majestueux, formidable, tres puis sant, et tres magnifique Padishah de la nation Otto mane, Mahmoud II. , mon maitre, d'un part, et le trfes distingue et trfes edaire Robert Adair, Esq., Pieni- CORRESPONDENCE. 67 potentiaire du trfes auguste, trfes respecte, et tr^s eieve George III., Padishah du Royaume Uni de la Grande Bretagne et d'Irelande, et membre distingue de son Parlement de la Grande Bretagne, de I'autre, — avons tenu un Congr^s en bonne forme, oil nous ayant reciproquement communique nos pleins pou voirs et eu plusieurs conferences et discussions, nous avons termine I'ouATage salutaire de la paix entre les deux Cours, par les Articles stipules comme ci-dessous, savoir : — Article I. Dorenavant tout acte d'eloignement et d'inimitie entre le Sublime Porte et la Cour de la Grande Bretagne cessera ; et les Traites de Capitulation stipules en I'annee Turque 1086 a la mi de la lune de Gemmaziel Ahir, ainsi que certains privUeges arretes par acte dans des epoques subsequentes, comme le commerce de la Mer Noire, seront observes et mis en vigueur comme par le passe et comme s'ils n'avoient souffert aucune interruption. Article II. A recheance de trente et un jours depuis I'epoque de la signature du present Traite, s'il y auroit des endroits occupes de la part de la Cour d'Angleterre, ils seront restitues et remis a la Sublime Porte dans la m^me condition oti ils etoient lorsqu' Us furent occupes, avec leurs danons, munition, et autres effets ; p 2 68 CORRESPONDENCE, fet les prisonniers qui auroient ^te fait de part et d'autre seront echanges au dit terme sans hesitation. Article III. Les vaisseaux de guerre de la Sublime Porte qui ent ete bruies par les Anglois dans le Detroit de la Mer Blanche, seront indemnises sur un pied exact ; et tout batiment marchand, et autres effets et mar chandises, qui ont ete pris par les vaisseaux de guerre de la SubUme Porte, et de part et d'autre, seront en- ti^rement remis et restitues. Article IV. Ayant toujours ete interdit originairement que des vaisseaux de guerre puissent se rendre a la Rade de Constantinople, et cette ancienne maxime de I'Empire Ottoman devant ^tre observee dorenavant en tems de paix vis-a-vis des vaisseaux de toute puissance que ce puisse ^tre, la Cour d'Angleterre aussi s' engage de se conformer a cette regie. Article V. Le Tarif des Douanes qui a ete arrange en dernier lieu k la Porte fonde sur I'ancien principe du 3 pour cent, et surtout I'affaire du commerce interieur de vant d^s k present pour toujours ^tre observes et servir de regie permanente, la Cour d'Angleterre aussi se contente, et promet de s'y conformer. CORRESPONDENCE. 69 Article VI. Etant conforme a I'amitie et sincerite que les vais seaux marchands et negociants de la SubUme Porte puissent aUer en toute Uberte et faire le commerce dans les etats, isles, et echelles de I'Angleterre, U est convenu, que de la m^me maniere que les Anglois jouissent de la faveur Imperiale dans les etats de terre et de mer de la Sublime Porte, la Cour d' Angles terre aussi ait k accorder aux negociants de la Sub Ume Porte la m^me permission et franchises. II sera egalement permis d'etabUr des (Shahbenders) consuls la oil il sera necessaire pour veiUer aux affaires de leurs negociants ; les memes traitemens et privUeges devant etre exactement observes envers ces " Shahbenders " dont jouissent les consuls Anglois residents dans les Etats Ottomans.. Article VII. Les negociants de la SubUme Porte Ottomane payeront la meme douane sur les effets et marchan dises qu'ils importeront aux etats Anglois, et que des etats de I'Angleterre Us exporteront pour d'autres pays, que les negociants Britanniques payent sur les objets et marchandises qu'ils importent et exportent des etats de la Turquie. Article VIII. L'on ne doit donner aucune patente (de protection) a aucun des individus " Rayaas," negociants ou de pendants de la Sublime Porte, et les ambassadeurs et consuls n'y deiivreront des passeports sans permission. F 3 70 CORRESPONDENCE, Article IX. Les ambassadeurs et consuls d'Angleterre peuvent comme k 1' ordinaire employer les Dragomans qui leur sont necessaires ; mais ayant ete ci-devant convenu, avec un accord unanime, que la Sublime Porte n'ac- corderoit point de Barats sous le nom de Dragomans pr^s des ambassadeurs et des consuls k des personnes que ne s'attacheroient point a cette fonction d'une maniere suivie et reguU^re, U est arrete que, con- formement a cette regie, la legation Britannique ne demandera point I'emanation des Barats en faveur d' aucun individu de la classe de negociants et de com- mergants, et ne nommera ou employera en aucun endroit des consuls etant des individus sujets de la Sublime Porte. Article X. Comme il est dit et specifie dans les traites anciens dont aujourd'hui on en renouveUe la teneur, que les capitulations Imperiales et autres stipulations et articles accordes aux Souverains qui sont en paix et amitie avec la Sublime Porte, doivent aussi, par ordre Imperial, ^tre observes en faveur de I'Angleterre k i'avenir, par consequent les ambassadeurs, consuls, et autres employes de la Cour de la Grande Bretagne, d' apres la noble maxime Imperiale jouiront des m^mes immunites, liberies, et securite comme les ambassa deurs et employes des autres Cours amies jouissent dans les etats de I'Empire Ottoman. CORRESPONDENCE. 71 Inclosure B in Mr. Adair's No. HI. Mr. Adair to the Reis Efendi. A bord du Vaisseau de Sa Majesty, le Sea-Horse, au Port Barbieri, ee 26 Novembre, 1808. Monsieur, Si je n'ai pas encore repondu k la lettre que Votre ExceUence m'a fait I'honneur de m'ecrire en reponse aux miennes du 11""" Octobre, c'est qu'ayant ete pre- venu par V. Ex. de I'arrivee prochaine de S. E. Vaahid Efendi, muni de pleins pouvoirs pour travaUler avec moi a 1' ouvrage salutaire de la paix, j'ai prefere d 'attendre le resultat de mes premieres conferences avec ce ministre. Maintenant que je me suis explique avec Son ExceUence sur plusieurs points importants, et que j'ai eu occasion de reconnaitre en EUe les talens et les qualites les plus distingues toute cor- respondance directe entre V. E. et moi paroitra super- flue. Cependant il est arrive dans notre entretien d'aujourd'hui un cas si extraordinaire et si imprevu qu'U faut absolument que je m'explique la-dessus avec V. E. ; ce que je ferai de la maniere la plus franche et la plus claire. La Sublime Porte exige de la Grande Bretagne re stitution et reparation au sujet des vaisseaux pris aux DardaneUes lors de 1' entree de I'Amiral Duckworth au mois de Fevrier, 1807. II est meme dit que mon predecesseur, le Chevalier Paget, dans ses pourparlers avec IsmaU Pacha, avoit promis cette restitution et reparation k la Sublime Porte. Je crois de mon devoir d'assurer V. E. que jamais cette promesse n'a ete faite par le ChevaUer Paget ; que ses instructions ne I'autorisaient point a la faire, p 4 72 CORRESPONDENCE. et que dans sa correspondance avec sa Cour, il n'est question ni d'une telle concession de sa part, ni m^me d'une telle demande de ceUe de la Sublime Porte. Le Chevalier Paget dans son entretien avec Ismail Pacha, lui a remis par ecrit les bases d'un Traite pour I'arrangement de nos differens. Cet ecrit doit na- tureUement se trouver dans la correspondance d'IsmaU Pacha avec la Sublime Porte. Que Votre Excellence I'examine : EUe n'y trouvera pas un mot qui renferme une proposition de cette nature. EUe n'y verra qu'un projet pour le retablissement pur et simple de nos relations teUes qu'elles subsistoient avant le depart de M. Arbuthnot de Constantinople. II est vrai que revacuation d'Alexandrie suivit de pr^s la discussion amicale que ce Plenipotentiaire avoit entamee, mais le Gouvernement Britannique est bien loin d'attendre que la Sublime Porte se prevaiUe de cette preuve de sa bonne volonte pour en faire la base d'une pretention toute nouveUe, et que I'honneur du Roi rend et rendra toujours inadmissible. Je n'examinerai point igi la solidite des principes sur lesquels la SubUme Porte paroit avoir fonde une demande pareiUe. Ce ne seroit que le renouvelle- ment d'une discussion interminable sur I'origine de notre mesinteUigence, et qui ne serAdra a rien si la paix est serieusement desiree de part et d'autre, C'est pourquoi j'ai passe sous silence une phrase dans la lettre de V. E. au sujet de M. Arbuthnot. II ne me seroit pas difficile de justifier la conduite d'un Ministre a qui on ne reproche rien sinon d'avoir soutenu la cause de la Russie, I'aUiee alors et I'amie du Roi son maitre, contre celle de la France, son ennemie juree et implacable. Mais a quoi bon cette contestation ? Pourquoi entamer des discussions CORRESPONDENCE., 73 hostiles au moment de negocier le paix ? Pourquoi envenimer et eterniser des disputes k I'instant meme on l'on se propose de bon coeur de les ensevelir mu tueUement dans un oubli etemel ? Je me persuade que V. E. se rendra k I'assurance tres positive que je viens de lui donner que jamais le Chevalier Paget n'a consenti k la proposition dont il est question. Elle verra de m^me qu'apres I'invita tion formelle et reiteree de la Sublime Porte pour la reprise des conferences, il m'est absolument impossible de consentir k traiter de la paix sur un autre pied que celui de I'annee precedente. C'est ce que j'ai eu I'honneur d'annoncer tres distinctement a V. E. dans ma premiere lettre, oii elle trouvera ce qui suit : " Je ne doute point que la SubUme Porte animee des m^mes sentimens qu'EUe a fait voir d'une maniere si claire et si positive au mois de Fevrier, n'ordonne la reprise immediate des negociations la oti elles finirent au mois d'Octobre dernier; ni qu'EUe ne s'empresse de terminer une guerre sans objet, dont la duree ne peut etre avantageuse qu'aux ennemis re connus des deux Empires." Je prie Votre ExceUence d'agreer les assurances de ma haute consideration. No. IV. By Captain Downie. To the Right Hon. George Canning. H.M.S. Sea-Horse, Port Barbieri, Dec. 13th, 1808. Sir, From the 26th of November, untU yesterday the 12th inst., no further meeting took place between the Ottoman Plenipotentiary and myself. 74 CORRESPONDENCE". This interval did not pass, however, Avithout some communication between us. Our preceding con ference had at its close impressed me with so bad an opinion of the result of this negociation, that I thought it my duty to urge every reason of a general nature, and especiaUy such as were connected Avith the poh- tical situation of Europe, in order to give Vaahid Efendi the opportunity of enforcing upon his Court all those motives in favour of peace which, as I stated in my last despatch, I had endeavoured to impress upon his own mind. The arrival of Mr. Baker in the Success with des patches and letters from various quarters, assisted me materially in this view. I received by him several accounts of a very satisfactory nature respecting the affairs of Spain and Portugal. Some inteUigence had reached me Ukewise from Vienna, on which it ap peared to me possible to frame a proposal that could not faU of interesting to a great degree the Ottoman Government. Accordingly, I sent Mr. Stratford Canning on shore Avith instructions to communicate these articles in person to Vaahid Efendi, avoiding at the same time to say more on the subject of Austria than simply to state her preparations, and the dispo sition which prevailed on the part of France to attack her. The Success saUed again on the 2d of December with my despatches. Two days afterwards I sent notice to Vaahid Efendi that I had drawn up a treaty in a regular form which I was anxious to discuss with him during the interval which would yet elapse before he could receive an answer to the questions he had desired to refer to his Court. This message, which was delivered to him verbally correspondence: 75 by Mr. Pisani, drew from him an answer of which the most material part was an expression of regret at my great reserve in entering into the subject of the possible attack of France in concert with Russia, should peace be now concluded between England and the Porte. The Ottoman Government had already, he said, been threatened with a declaration of war from Bona parte if they signed a treaty of peace Avith England. They expected it, and were resolved to meet it with courage, provided England would do something to wards assisting them ; but that upon this subject I had refused so absolutely to enter, that he did not see how it was possible to settle a peace with me which could be satisfactory to the Porte. He then touched upon his own situation. He said that to conclude a peace upon the terms I offered, his govern ment must give up many points to which they at tached great weight and importance. That he was the channel through which those'^'sacrifices were to be made. That if he had it in his power to hold out^ some prospect of real assistance on the part of Great Britain, he could then carry on the negociation with a bolder liand, and employ a much more unreserved and persuasive language with his government than hitherto he had been enabled to adopt. I was not sorry to have this opportunity of ex plaining to him in Avriting that I had by no means refused to enter into the question of assistance, but that aU I had contended for was the necessity of keeping the two subjects of peace and aUiance sepa rate. I then stated that one of my great objects in pressing the speedy signature of the treaty, was that I might be free to confer with him most fully and 76 CORRESPONDENCE. confidentiaUy on the means of protecting the Ottoman Empire from the designs of France or Russia ; but I observed at the same time, that in the situation in Avhich I then stood, I could not be justified in reveal ing matters of a most confidential nature materiaUy affecting other Powers, untU the Ottoman Government had, by signing a treaty, placed itself in a situation to be trusted. I then added that I had received letters of great importance from Vienna; but that neither into their contents, nor into any views which I might form for the benefit of the Ottoman Empire, could I enter, untU my arrival at Constantinople. In fine, to show him that I was in earnest, I sent him an additional article, which I proposed adding to -the treaty, with a view to ulterior arrangements after its signature. To these communications, which I instructed Mr. Pisani to read to him in private, I received an answer conveyed in the strongest terms of satisfaction. The secret article, he said, provided for what his govern ment was then most anxiously looking forward to; and he added that the Adews I had opened to him gave him fresh Ufe, and that he should now be able to proceed with alacrity and hope in the business in which he was engaged. Mr. Pisani at this interview was instructed to fix a day for another conference, at which I should pre sent my treaty. It was named accordingly for the 10th. On that day, just as he was setting out to the place of meeting, his despatches arrived from Con stantinople, and he requested to defer the conference until the 12th instant. CORRESPONDENCE. 77 I consented of course to this request. In order, however, to confirm the favourable impression which appeared to have been made on his mind by my pre ceding communication, as well as to save time (and also if "possible to find out the tenour of his last de spatches from Constantinople) I sent Mr. Pisani again to Vaahid Efendi with a letter which I com missioned him to read, and in which I announced an anxious desire to assist in the formation of a treaty of triple alliance betAveen Great Britain, Austria, and the Porte. I said at the same time, that these were matters which I would not enter into at our con ferences, not only for the reasons I had already so frequently given, but also because at those conferences we were not sufficiently alone to talk of matters of so much deUcacy in the situation in which Austria stood with regard to France.* Mr. Pisani's report of this interview reached me in the course of the day. He stated that immediately on his intering the room, and Avithout waiting for the communication he had to make, Vaahid Efendi desired him to hear the contents of three papers which he had just received from Constantinople in answer to the report he had made of our tAVO conferences. The first was a despatch which contained the usual complaints against Great Britain for having joined Russia in the attack upon the Porte : — a refusal to restore the British property under sequestration, un less the demand about the ships were complied with : — a refusal to grant the number of Barats I had applied for : — and a paraUel calculated to make out a difference between the conciliatory language * I suspected his interpreter. 78 CORRESPONDENCE. held in London to Sidki Efendi upon the subject of assistance, and that which I had held on the same subject in my two conferences. The despatch also laments my insisting on going up to Constantinople immediately after signing the treaty, and instructs Vaahid Efendi to represent to me the inconvenience of such a step to the Porte, in consequence of the menaces of France. The next paper he read was a despatch from Sidki Efendi containing a report (as he is stated to have given) of two conferences with yourself, together with a copy of your note to him. Sidki Efendi is made to say, that when he first spoke to you about succours, you had taken time to consult about it, but that he soon after received an answer in writing, and that that answer proved of the most agreeable tenour. The third was a note from the French charge d'affaires at Constantinople, of which the substance is as follows : — " He says he has heard Avith great astonishment of a frigate Avith an EngUsh agent on board, having been permitted to come into harbour near the Dardanelles ; that what he conceives to be still more extraordinary is, that agents having been received with the greatest pomp and edat by Emir Vaahid Efendi at his house, and that, contrary to the rules of vessels bearing flags of truce, the crew and officers of that frigate were suffered to go on shore and to walk about the town without the smaUest control, — that this was a proof of great weakness on the part of the Porte, who ought by this time to know how to distinguish be tween the sincere and ancient friendship of France, and the false, ungenerous conduct of England towards CORRESPONDENCE. 79 her ; that it was the more surprising the Porte should have chosen this moment for suffering such proceedings to take place at the Dardanelles, lohen the French Government was actually engaged in carry ing into effect all the promises which it had held out to this Court; that he understands the above agent is in the intention of going up to Constantinople with the frigate, to treat of peace directly with the ministers of the Porte ; that this last ought to recoUect her promise that she was not to admit of any such thing till the time of a general peace ; that if the frigate should appear off Constantinople, with or without the Turkish Government's leave, the charge d'af faires was determined in either case to leave the residence and return to France." After reading the above papers to Mr. Pisani, he gave him to understand that immediately after the conferences at Erfurt, a courier had been despatched to England to propose a renewal of negociations for peace, and that an armistice had actuaUy been signed between Great Britain and Russia. That a congress, also, was soon to be formed for a peace between the Porte and Russia, at which Galib Efendi (the present Reis Efendi) was to assist as Plenipotentiary on the part of the Porte, After he had finished, Mr. Pisani read my letter to him (of which I have already stated the substance), and left him a copy of the Treaty. From the complexion of the papers read to Mr. Pi sani, the difficulties in the way of an amicable settle ment with the Porte appeared more serious than they had ever as yet presented themselves to me. It was without surprise, therefore, that when I met Vaahid Efendi on the foUoAving day, I found him, notwith standing all his former professions, disposed to dispute V 80 CORRESPONDENCE. every point of the Treaty, even those which had been in conversation already admitted. I began by teUing him that as we had each received despatches of im portance since our last conference, I hoped that we were each fully prepared to conclude finaUy aU we had to treat of. To save unnecessary discussion, I had framed a Treaty consisting partly of the Articles contained in my Projet, and partly of those he had himself presented, from the terms of which, although I should be ready to listen to any thing he might have to suggest, I could not in substance depart. In say ing this, I presented him the Articles, Avith which, as they may possibly receive many alterations, I think it needless here to trouble you. Vaahid Efendi began his answer by asking me if I had maturely considered the two Articles respecting the compensation for the ships destroyed and captured, and the free trade, which I appeared so determined at our preceding conference to reject ? I replied, that I had seen no reason to alter that determination, but, on the contrary had received instructions by the Success which fuUy confirmed me in the resolution of adhering to it. He then began arguing (and at some length), in favour of the justice of those demands, and added, that Sidki Efendi (the result of whose pretended con ferences with you, he said, had been received at the Porte) had obtained far more favourable answers to Avhat he had proposed than the answers I had given. Among other matters he added, that you had by no means refused the demand of restitution for the ships, but had left me fuU powers to grant it. In ansAver to this, I produced my last despatches, and said that I then held in my hand the Avhole of Avhat had passed in London with Sidki Efendi. The CORRESPONDENCE. 81 Ottoman Government would, therefore, gain nothing by an attempt to give a new turn to the negociation here by referring to the despatches of the charge d'affaires in London. With regard to the three points, viz. Assistance, the Free Trade, and Restitu tion of the Ships and Property, either Sidki Efendi had grossly deceived the Ottoman Government, or the real tenour of his despatches had been misrepresented to me. I took occasion to observe to Vaahid Efendi that on the subject of assistance, you had promised nothing whatever to Sidki Efendi, and I had refused nothing to the Porte. As your answer to Sidki Efendi was stated to be in writing, I desired that it might be produced against my despatches, declaring myself ready to agree to whatever it might be found to contain. With regard to one of the articles con cerning which he was so positive, namely, that con cerning a Iree trade, Sidki Efendi had not even named it ; and Avith regard to the other, namely, the ships, my instructions concurred so exactly with the reason of the thing, and with the determination I had already declared not to admit it, that it was use less discussing the matter further. On this answer he proceeded to examine my Treaty and his OAvn Contre-Projet together, and from this moment until the end of our conference, which lasted the whole day, our meeting was a scene of continued altercation. To give an idea of the captious nature of his objections, I will beg you to turn to the Article in his Contre-Projet in which it is required that aU "places," &c., occupied by his Majesty's arms should be restored. I had altered this article merely by supplying the obvious omission of " places belonging to the Sublime Porte." To this alteration he objected VOL. I. G 82 CORRESPONDENCE. strenuously, and it was a full hour before I could obtain its admission. You Avill not, therefore, be surprised that in this day's conference Ave proceeded no further than to discuss the preamble, the restoration of places and prisoners, and the re-establishment of the capitulations. At the close of it he proposed meeting again on the 15th. The disposition which I have already noticed to contest every point, I may almost say, every word of the Treaty with me, added to the demands from which he had not announced any intention of desist ing, obliged me here to ask him at once whether it would be to any purpose to hold another meeting, and what were the real intentions of his Court. To this question Vaahid Efendi replied frankly, that aU would depend on the two Articles already mentioned ; the one relating to the ships, and the other to the free trade ; and he said that if I would admit those Articles he would be ready to sign the Treaty with me that very day. I repeated all my former objections to them ; and as I perceived by his perpetually adverting to my powers, and to your silence towards Sidki Efendi, that he was impressed with an idea not only of my having a large discretion upon this subject, but that my opposition to his demands proceeded from my own pertinacity, and was contrary to the sentiments of my Govern ment, I thought fit to read him that part of your letter of the 2 2d of August, which declared the Article concerning the ships to be utterly inadmis sible. After having done this, I said that I was afraid it would be useless discussing the matter further or meeting again on the 15th, since, once for all, I was resolved not to give way on either of the points on CORRESPONDENCE. 83 vvhich he had stated the peace to depend. If he per sisted, therefore, I should be under the necessity of declaring my mission at an end ; and I begged him to tell me frankly whether it was his intention to per sist, as in that case I should set sail immediately for England. Vaahid Efendi in reply said that he Avould not be the person to tell me to return to England ; and after urging over again all his former arguments, grounded as he appeared to think on the principles of justice, and the duties which govern the intercourse between states really friendly towards each other, he desired that our conference might still stand for the 15th. I did not think proper to refuse his invitation, although I told him that in our respective Avays of thinking it would be to very little purpose. In the course of our discussion he said more than once, that Great Britain could entertain but little value for the friendship of the Porte, if she suffered a trifle of a few thousand purses to stand in the wav of peace. A Avish to understand more fully the mean ing of this remark was a principal motive with me for agreeing to meet once more. These are the difficulties which embarrass at pre sent the negociation. They certainly are serious; and I judge them to be so the more from Vaahid Efendi's haAdng declined admitting the Secret Article with which, when it was first read to him, he appeared so much pleased. What the real nature of these dif ficulties may be, — whether they arise from the fears or from the hopes of the Ottoman Government on the side of France^ — whether from an increased obstinacy founded on the distance of their danger, — - whether from a desire to delay, in spite of possible conse- G 2 84 CORRESPONDENCE. quences, the signature of a peace with England until they know how Russia, with whom they are negocia ting, may feel upon it, — whether from a wish to com bine it with negociations for a general peace, which they hope the proposal sent from Erfurt may lead to, — or whether simply from a point of honour or of interest, or from an union of all these motives toge ther, mixed up with the fickleness of the Turkish character, I hope on the 15th to ascertain. It shall be my endeavour to render that conference conclusive, although no patience that I can exert shall be spared to render the conclusion an amicable one. I have the honour to be, &c. No. V. To the Right Honourable George Canning. : ,. H.M.S. Sea-Horse, Port Barbieri, Dec. 16. 1808. Sir, My fifth conference with the Turkish Plenipotentiary took place yesterday, according to appointment. Although the temper with which it was conducted was widely different from that which prevailed at the preceding meeting, and although the result was rather more satisfactory, I am afraid that we are still too far asunder to enable me to give hopes of an amicable conclusion. Our conference began with Vaahid Efendi's repeat ing his demand of compensation for the ships. I re stated my determination on this point, with a hope that it would not again be mentioned. Vaahid CORRESPONDENCE. 85 Efendi then asked with what justice I could demand the restoration of British property under sequestra tion ? I endeavoured to make him understand the difference between the property of merchants peace ably settled in the country under the protection of the laws, and the property of an enemy's state, and of enemy's goods found on the high seas, where by the custom of Europe the laws of Avar had a different operation. He then again reverted to the origin of this war with the Porte, into which, finding that this was his perpetual theme, and more especiaUy as it was accompanied with a constant reproach for our preferring the interests of Russia to those of the Porte, I did at last consent in some degree to enter. Our direct alliance with Russia against France, the motives to that alliance, and the indirect but most important assistance afforded by the Porte to the common enemy, formed, as you may suppose, the chief points to which my observations were directed. With regard to our general preference of the Russian interests, the fact I stated to be so much the reverse that it was our alliance with Russia which had inspired that Power with all the moderation it had ever shown towards the Ottoman Empire. The conversation then turned on the general state of continental affairs, and on the mutual benefit to our two countries which would result from the re-esta blishment of peace at this juncture. Vaahid Efendi assured me that he was as fully impressed with the truth of what in all our conversations 1 had repre sented to him on this subject, as 1 could myself desire. He was equally convinced of the views of France against the independence of the Porte, but he would not disguise from me that this was not the general be- G 3 86 CORRESPONDENCE. lief of the present Ottoman administration. It was true they wished peace with England, and for that purpose had selected him to be their plenipotentiary, whose sentiments were knoAvn to be most strongly on the same side. But with all their Avishes for peace, they were not blind to what it would expose them to at the present juncture. He then entered much further into an explanation of the reasons which induced the Ottoman Govern ment to persist in their demands of compensation for the ships than he had ever yet attempted ; and as I was anxious to afford him every means of getting over this difficulty, which it was clear to me would other wise prove an insurmountable bar to the Treaty, I listened patiently to what he had to state. He went on to say that the Porte could not depart from this claim without offending against its religion and its honour. Both prescribed to it restitution to the sufferers of their property taken without a declara tion of war. He then entered largely into the pacific conduct of the Ottoman Government since the attack on their capital, their constant refusal to enter into the views of France, and their having foreborne to confiscate British property. All this was known to their own subjects, the proprietors of the ships and goods for which compensation was now asked, who had already become very troublesome at the Porte on the mere rumours of the conclusion of peace, and whose fury, if their losses were not reimbursed, would most probably excite insurrections. He added, con fidentially, that these discontents would be inflamed by Seid Aly, the Captain Pacha, who had himself a great, and as I understood him, a personal interest in the affair. With regard to what was property of the CORRESPONDENCE. 87 State, he said that he would find a means of modify ing that demand, and he even said that if the private purse of the Sultan could reimburse the claimants on the other ground, the point would not be pressed so strenuously by his Government ; but he affirmed that the Porte was too much exhausted already by the Avar Avith Russia, and foresaw so large an increase of ex pense by the preparations Avhich would become ne cessary in order to resist France, if peace Avere signed with Great Britain, that it was absolutely impossible to satisfy those claims from the public treasury. When he talked in this tone, I began (as I thought) to understand him. In my answer, therefore, I con fined myself strictly to the two grounds of objection already stated, namely, those of principle and example. Repeating these grounds, and particularly resisting* the doctrine attempted to be introduced by France \ since the Revolution, and now advanced by the Porte Avith respect to property taken on the high seas with out a previous declaration of war, I protested once more, and for the last time, that I never would admit an Article in the Treaty, either secret or ostensible, which should in the remotest degree imply a com pensation for those losses. I observed, hoAvever, that in the Avay in Avhich his ExceUency had just brought forward the question, there was a material deviation from that in which he had brought it forward at first. He noAv reduced his demand from that of a public satisfaction to the State to that of private indemni fication to individuals ; he had affirmed that the Porte was bound to find this indemnification for her OAvn subjects in whatever manner our present dispute might terminate ; and he declared that nothing, but the inability of the Porte to satisfy these claims (an G 4 88 CORRESPONDENCE. inability arising, in part, from a foreseen increase of expense on account of military preparation against France), induced her to persist in requiring from Great Britain the advance of a certain sum of money on the present occasion. If this were really all, some method of arranging this affair might possibly be found. Great Britain was far from Avishing the Porte to suffer on her account. If France, therefore, should attack the Ottoman territories in consequence of the peace now negociating, I was confident that Great Britain would assist in defending them in a manner as efficacious as the circumstances of the extensive war she had to support would render it practicable. Such assistance on the part of Great Britain would necessarily relieve to a great degree the distressed finances of the Porte, and thus enable her, if she saw fit, to satisfy the claims on Avhich his Excellency was instructed to press me. A proposal of this nature I should have no objection to listen to after signing the Treaty, and even to recommend to his Majesty's Government ; and I made no doubt but that with the ratification of the Treaty I should receive instruc tions on this head which would satisfy the Ottoman Government. I again repeated, however, that I would admit no Article to this effect into the Treaty of Peace. It was simply a question of assistance, which, as it belonged to a state of alliance, must be provided for by a separate instrument. Vaahid Efendi in his answer appeared to enter fuUy into the principle of this overture. He made no diffi culty either in consenting to refer the whole matter to the general question of assistance, or to providing for what might be agreed upon by separate and secret Articles. But he objected (as, indeed, it was obvious CORRESPONDENCE. 89 that he would) to accepting my simple recommend ation as a security for the Ottoman Government to begin its disbursements to the claimants for the ships. After we had exhausted aU that could be said on this point, I again most earnestly pressed him for my final answer. With equal earnestness on his part he entreated me to devise some practicable method of settling this question, on which he again and again assured me, although in the most temperate manner, the issue of the negociation would depend. He begged me Ukewise to name an early day for another conference. Notwithstanding aU my objections, both public and personal, to protracting the negociation any longer, I could not absolutely refuse his request, and I was the more inclined to a further discussion Avith him from having apparently made some impres sion in this last, and gained the renunciation of the chief objectionable grounds on which the proposition had been advanced. I accordingly consented to meet again on the 19th instant. Of course we could make no further progress in the Treaty. I deeply regret these delays ; but to those who know the nature of Turkish negociations, they wiU not appear surprising. I am convinced that the difficulty is a serious, and if not obviated, that it wUl prove an insuperable, obstacle to peace. When to this is added the operation of general political causes, and the commencement of their negociation Avith Russia (which in right reason ought rather to accelerate than retard their coming to a conclusion with me), it is impossible to say what contrivances they may not yet resort to in order to postpone a final decision. I have the honour to be, &c. 90 CORRESPONDENCE. No. VI. Two Inclosures. To the Right Hon. George Canning. H.M.S. Sea-Horse, Port Barbieri, Dec. 20. 1808, Sir, My last despatch must have made it clear to his Majesty's Government, that unless some method could be devised for overcoming the obstacles to peace to which I have so frequently alluded, it would be in vain to proceed any further in discussing the rest of the Treaty, It will, I trust, have appeared equaUy clear, that no such method could be found unless I would take upon myself so far to exceed the limits of my instructions as to enter into the general question of assistance and co-operation, even before the signa ture of a Treaty of Peace. This was the natural con sequence of the situation in which I found matters on my arrival here. You wiU remember, that in the first letter I had the honour of addressing to you from this place, I noticed, notwithstanding the friendly communications of the Serasquier of the Dardanelles, and even his candid avowal of the fact of the invitation last February, a visible reluctance on the part of the Ottoman Government to proceed frankly upon that invitation in the negociations about to be commenced. It undoubtedly did not escape me, that under these circumstances it would be the policy of the Ottoman Government to find out what I had to offer on my part before committing them selves , by any proposal on theirs; but, considering the liberal views in Avhich my instructions were framed, it did not appear to me that any moderate CORRESPONDENCE. 91 overture which I might now bring forward would give an advantage to the Turkish Plenipotentiary in the conferences sufficient to counterbalance the evil of breaking off the Treaty, which would have been the sure effect of my continuing any longer silent. This I offer as an apology for my having ven tured upon a step which I can safely pronounce to have afforded the only chance of bringing the nego ciation to an amicable issue, and also to have been undertaken only in the very last extremity. Each of my two preceding despatches, but particu larly the last, must have led you to remark, in my conversations Avith the Ottoman Plenipotentiary, an opening by which this great difficulty concerning the ships might be surmounted. Not that it could be evaded by any middle measure which should cast a doubt upon the firmness with which the demand had been resisted throughout; but that it could be got rid of by engaging the Ottoman Government itself to adopt a different course, one more consistent with the friendship it professed tOAvards his Majesty, and even with its own real dignity, namely, that of ap plying frankly to his Majesty for aid in the war in which they expected to be involved with France. At the close of my last letter, I informed you with what earnestness Vaahid Efendi had pressed me to consider of some method of reconciling the extremes of our reciprocal instructions ; Ukewise that he fuUy acceded to the principle of referring all he had de manded to the general question of assistance, and of providing for what might be agreed upon by separate Articles. Considering, therefore, the importance in every point of view of finishing this treaty, and get ting up to Constantinople without further loss of 92 CORRESPONDENCE. time, after much anxious deliberation with myself, I gave the inclosed paper (A) to Mr. Pisani, with in structions to read it to Vaahid Efendi as a ground for discussing the subject of assistance at our next meeting. It was my intention, after gaining his formal assent to this method of proceeding, to examine in the course of amicable explanation whether any sum could be settled between us Avith which I could fiU up the blank, and transmit it home as an Article fit to be considered by his Majesty's Government. At the same time that Mr. Pisani was to read this paper to Vaahid Efendi, he was instructed also to deliver the letter of which I have here the honour to inclose a copy (B). Vaahid Efendi had two days to reflect upon the contents of these papers before our meeting, which, as already settled, took place yesterday the 19th. Of this conference I have thus much satisfactory to report, that, having heard and thoroughly under stood the nature of the communication made to him by Mr. Pisani on the 17th, Vaahid Efendi approved the mode of settling the difficulty which had been pointed out. Thus far advanced, therefore, and the important point which had so long impeded the negociation being now, by common consent, to be considered under the head of general assistance to the Porte in case of attack, I expected that Vaahid Efendi would have chosen the subject of pecuniary assistance for his first topic. He began, however, with a desultory conversation on other matters, some of a very general nature, and others calculated to renew those discus sions respecting the origin of the war, and the justice CORRESPONDENCE. 93 of the claims insisted on, to which I have already so often adverted. At length we came more to the point by my bringing under consideration the naval succours which his Majesty might be induced to employ for the protection of the Ottoman dominions. Of these at first he made but light, arguing that Great Britain would always, for her own sake, attack the fleets of France wherever she could find them ; but at length he seemed satisfied with the plain state ment I made to him upon this subject. I said that having, since the peace with Spain, no use for a squadron in the Mediterranean, except to defend Sicily, we should naturally, on concluding peace with the Porte, reduce our ships to a number just sufficient^ for that purpose. That if the Porte Avere to be con sidered as an ally, a large additional force would become necessary for the protection of the Morea, the Archipelago, Egypt, the coasts of Asia Minor, and above all, for any operations to be undertaken in con cert against the French forces, or for any plan to prevent their augmentation in Dalmatia ; and that if his Majesty were to take so much upon himself, the Porte would be saved the expense of fitting out its own fleet, which, but for his Majesty's friendship, would become indispensable. When this point had been discussed, he stated that the Porte was in great want of ammunition and ordnance stores, and he asked me whether I would consent to include them under the head of assistance ? I made no difficulty of assenting to the reasonable ness of such a request, under a proviso, always, that if the demand should exceed a moderate quantity, and such as might be wanted for the immediate de fence of some exposed point on their frontiers, the 94 CORRESPONDENCE. quantum should be referred to his Majesty's Govern ment. And here I took occasion to point out to him how easily our difficulties might be settled in this mode ; that both what I had throAvn out respecting the employment of a naval force, and the supply of ordnance stores, was in fact a pecuniary supply, in asmuch as it would save to the Porte the money it must otherwise expend for those articles, with this additional advantage, that the articles were ready. As Vaahid Efendi in reply again adverted to the British property under sequestration, and even pro posed to let it stand as a set-off against the Turkish property captured, I repeated to him what I had before declared, that England, in none of her nego ciations with other States, ever had admitted, or ever would admit, that the property of merchants peace ably settled in a country under the laws, was liable to seizure and confiscation whenever war broke out between the State in which they were settled and the State of which they were subjects. This was a doc trine which the French had been endeavouring to estabUsh ever since the Revolution, and which Eng land had uniformly resisted. I never would aUow, therefore, the two questions to be mixed even in dis cussion. After some further conversation, it was proposed in conclusion to draw up two instruments, the one to contain simply the Treaty of Peace, and the other the separate and secret arrangements, of which we Avere then endeavouring to settle the basis. This was precisely what I wanted. The question would thus be cleared from all the difficulties in point of principle which encumbered it, and reduced to the quantum either of the sum required, or of naval force CORRESPONDENCE. 95 to be employed, or of ordnance stores to be furnished in an equivalent proportion, by way of aid to the Porte. And I confess that it appeared to me prac ticable, through a mixture of these three modes, to fix upon some proposition fit, after the signature of the treaty of peace, to be submitted to the approbation of his Majesty's Government. But here I found it impos sible to make Vaahid Efendi speak out. He wanted me to speak first, and to explain my own views. This I positively refused. I had already, as he knew, ex ceeded my instructions in conversing even upon the subject. I could only consent, therefore, to listen to a proposal from him which it was his indispensable business, as the party asking, to bring forward. The time was consumed in discussing this point without effect. At length he desired that Mr. Pisani might call on him the next day, when he has promised to explain himself fully, and, as I understand, finally. No other Article of the Treaty was discussed, but another conference is settled for the 22d. I have the honour to be, &c. To the Right Hon. George Canning. (^Separate and Secret.') H.M.S. Sea-Horse, Port Barbieri, Dec. 20. 1808. Sir, The real motive of my sending Mr. Pisani to the Turkish Plenipotentiary on the 1 7th, was to find out the meaning of what he had more than once in sinuated respecting the poverty of his Government. I thought it Avould be weU to know what were his 96 CORRESPONDENCE. own views (if in fact he had any) or what were those of Seid Aly, or of the other Ottoman Ministers. Whether Mr. Pisani had nothing to offer which flat tered their expectations, or whether I was mistaken in my supposition, I cannot say ; but nothing came out in this conversation which could help me to any conclusion. I have the honour to be, &c. Inclosure A in Mr. Adair's No. VI. Secret Article. Ie the SubUme Porte should be attacked by France in consequence of the peace now happily re-esta blished with Great Britain, his Majesty, as a proof of his friendship, agrees to assist the Sublime Porte with a sum not exceeding The above sum to be paid at two separate payments at the distance of six months each from the other ; the first payment to commence at the time of exchanging the ratifications of this present Treaty. It is agreed that the departure of the French charge d'affaires from Constantinople shall constitute a case in which the obligation of the above Article shaU take effect. Inclosure B in Mr. Adair's No. VI. Mr. Adair to Vaahid Efendi. H.M.S. Sea-Horse, Port Barbieri, Dec. 17. 1808. Sir, Before your ExceUency shall determine finaUy to reject the Treaty of Peace which I have presented to correspondence. 97 you for signature^ it is my duty once more to entreat that your ExceUency wiU seriously reflect upon the consequences. Is it possible that your ExceUency, after the ex perience which you have had of Bonaparte, can believe that the object of any congress he may pre tend to summon for the settlement of the affairs of the Sublime Porte, is to obtain for her the restoration of Moldavia and Wallachia ? Does your Excellency beUeve that Russia wiU be induced to evacuate those provinces by other means than by force ? Does your ExceUency beUeve that Bonaparte wUl employ force to procure their evacuation ? Does your ExceUency believe that the armies of the Porte alone avUI suffice for that object ? Finally, does not your ExceUency see that the only rational chance of re-obtaining possession of those pro vinces by force for the SubUme Porte, is through the pressure of the war on Russia by the united arms of his Majesty and the King of Sweden in the North, added to those means which the Sublime Porte will have at her disposal in the South, when the pressure of her own war against Great Britain shaU be re moved ? But it is rumoured that since the conferences at Erfurt, Bonaparte has proposed to open negociations Avith Great Britain, and that a Congress is to be held for a general peace. Can your ExceUency look to the affairs of Spain, and doubt the motive of such a proposal ? Is it not, if trtie, the clearest demon stration of his weakness ? So far from being in a situation to attack you, is it not a proof that he can not even begin to attack Spain in earnest until he has VOL. I. H 98 correspondence. secured himself on the side of Poland and Germany ? And is it not most strange, after aU the amicable professions of the Sublime Porte, that a circumstance which evinces how little the Sublime Porte has reaUy to fear from France should increase the difficulties in the way of its maldng peace Avith Great Britain ? These are questions to which your ExceUency can make but one answer. On the other hand, if the SubUme Porte should throw away the opportunity of making peace vrith Great Britain which now presents itself, does your ExceUency think that she wUl ever again find one so favourable ? Great Britain is the natural friend of Russia ; and sooner or later peace must be re-established between the two nations. That peace must be re-established on one or the other of these principles : — first, simple peace, Avithout joining Great Britain in any league against France : — secondly, peace and aUiance. If the peace should be made on the first of these principles, does your Excellency think that, supposing [the treaty I offer you to be rejected, Great Britain jAviU interpose in any form or shape whatever to pre- I vent Russia from occupying and uniting to her own dominions any part of the territories of the Sublime I Porte which she may judge convenient for the security of her oavti frontiers ? If we should make peace with her on the second principle, namely, that of aUiance, would it not be natural that Great Britain should adopt measures of active co-operation with Russia, and assist her in carrying all her objects into effect, both on the Danube and in the Archipelago, against the Ottoman Porte ? correspondence. 99 On the other hand, can your Excellency avoid see ing that Great Britain, unfettered at this moment by any engagement with Russia, must be the friend of that State with Avhich she shall inake peace first ? If AAdth Russia, the interests of that Power (so long as they are compatible with justice) wiU be preferred to those of the Porte. If Avith the Porte, not only the present interests, but the future security and inde pendence of the Porte, will form the essential objects of her care in any treaty of peace she may make here after Avith Russia or with France. Your Excellency asked, in our conference of the 12th instant, what the Ottoman Government would gain by such a peace as that which I propose ? After what I have here stated to your ExceUency, it AvUl be enough in answer to this question to say, that the Ottoman Government wiU gain Peace. Can your ExceUency, who knows the meaning of this word, be ignorant of its value ? But may I be permitted in my turn to ask your Excellency what the Ottoman Government wiU gain by Avar ? And here it becomes my duty, in obedience to the instructions I have recently received, and Avhich were written subsequently to the conference which took place in London between Mr. Secretary Canning and Sidki Efendi, to make the following most explicit declaration to the Ottoman Govern ment : — " That if after being invited by the Sublime Porte to the renewal of the negociation, the British Govern ment should find itself deceived, the war will from that moment begin to assume a serious character, and the interposition of Great Britain to save Turkey H 2 100 correspondence. •from being dismembered wiU be at once and alto gether withdrawn." I am also further instructed to declare, " that the restoration of the ships of war taken or burnt in the expedition to the Dardanelles, and of merchant ships captured since the war, is inadmissible." Having made these declarations in the name of my Sovereign, I repeat my question, — What does the Ottoman Government expect to gain by war ? Does it expect to gain the two points, or even one of the points, on which your ExceUency has an nounced to me that peace now depends ? Does your ExceUency seriously imagine that Great Britain will be compelled by force to restore, or pay a compensation for, these ships ? Your ExceUency may be assured, that untU the fleets of the Sublime Porte shall have beaten and destroyed the fleets of Great Britain, no proposal of such a nature will ever be admitted, nor even the discussion of it be suffered, by a British Plenipotentiary. Or does your ExceUency think, that by continuing the war, we may be forced at last to purchase a peace by surrendering our Navigation Act, and vio lating the charter of the East India Company ? An idea so extravagant can only have been sug gested to the Ottoman Government by its enemies. In effect no article of this nature was proposed by Sidki Efendi to Mr, Secretary Cannmg. If, therefore, your ExceUency should persist in making these two articles the conditions of peace, do you not see that you are denouncing eternal war against Great Britain? And can your ExceUency hope that the Sublime Porte vrill gain by such a con test ? Is it not likely, on the other hand, that many CORRESPONDENCE. 101 more ships belonging to the SubUme Porte AviU be captured, and consequently that the difficulties of making peace will be more and more increased every day that the war continues ? Your Excellency appears to think that his Ma jesty's Government at London has been more liberal in its offer of assistance than I have been. But your Excellency must recoUect that I have not refused assistance to the Sublime Porte in the event of her being attacked by France. I have only declared, in obedience to my instructions, that I could not entei: upon a subject which belongs properly to a state of alliance, until after the restoration of a state of peace. I have proposed also, after the restoration of a state of peace, to enter into the most confidential explana tions Avith your Excellency upon the means of form ing such an aUiance as in the present circumstances of Europe might most effectually contribute to the permanent security of the Ottoman Empire. These considerations it is my absolute duty now, for the last time, to lay before your Excellency in the plain, the friendly, but at the same time the fearless language of truth. I am anxious to make this lan-r guage agree as much as possible with that of conci- Uation, but the duty imposed upon us both at this eventful moment compels me to state without dis-. guise, and wUl induce your ExceUency (I hope) to consider without passion, the inevitable consequences of rejecting a peace which your own Government has desired, and which I again oflfer in the name of mine. I request your ExceUency to accept the- assurances of my most distinguished consideration. (Signed) Robert Adair, H 3 102 correspondence. No. vii. To the Right Honourable George Canning. H.M.S. Sea-Horse, Port Barbieri, ¦ Dec. 2Sd. 1808. Sir, According to what was settled in my conference of the 19th Avith the Turkish Plenipotentiary, Mr. Pisani called on his ExceUency by my directions the next day, and returned to me after attending him Avith the foUowing demands : — 1. The blank in the paper read to him on the 17th to be filled up with the sum of 1,000,000?. sterling. 2. To be an Article in the Treaty, and not a re commendation. 3. Also to be absolute and not contingent upon an attack by France, It is scarcely necessary to acquaint you with the answer I returned to these propositions. I in structed Mr. Pisani to declare that I would not even discuss them, and that if they should be persisted in, there would be no use in my attending the conference fixed for the 22d, except for the purpose of closing the negociation. The very extravagance of these terms, however, conAdnced me that Vaahid Efendi could not be serious in proposing them ; and as I felt extremely reluctant to terminate this business abruptly by any act of my own, or under any imperfect conception of his mean ing, as I wished also to get through the Treaty in order to clear it of all its remaining difficulties, I did CORRESPONDENCE. 103 not absolutely refuse attending on the 22d, but left it open to Vaahid Efendi to take his own course. Hearing no further from him, I went to the meet ing accordingly on the 2 2d. He began by asking me the astonishing question — What was the object of our meeting ? I told him that it was for him to name it, as he had already received through Mr. Pisani my rejection of his most extraordinary demands. After again going over the old ground of argument until I was obliged peremptorily to declare that I would hear no more, he himself desired to discuss the remaining Articles of the Treaty. I remarked to him the total inutility of proceeding further, unless he could assure me of a reasonable probability of our agreeing upon the point which had been so long under discussion ; but to prove how anxiously I held to the slightest hope of peace, and in order that not a shade of doubt or obscurity should be cast over the real grounds on which the negociation had broken off on the part of Great Britain (if such, unhappily, should be its end), I would consent to what he proposed ; specially and formaUy protesting, however (which the use at tempted to be made of Sir Arthur Paget's convers ation with Ismail Pacha obliged me to do), against draAving into precedent at any future time any modi fication of the Treaty I might assent to, or in short any thing whatsoever which might be said or done on the present occasion. Under this protest, we went through the rest of the Treaty, reducing the Articles as we proceeded into regular form. We had discussed the preamble, although without coming to any conclusion about it, in our conference of the 12th. The course of this negociation has H 4 104 CORRESPONDENCE, abundantly proved to me the tenacity of the Turks with regard to their peculiar modes of expression, and the difficulty of making them comprehend the supe riority of those simple formuloe in use among Christian States in all solemn transactions of business. The genius of their language, and the impossibiUty (al most) of conveying the sense of it through a literal translation, contributes greatly to their obstinacy on this point. On the present occasion, VaaMd Efendi earnestly requested me to adopt the Turkish preainble, and to admit also the use of expressions calculated to describe the mildest degree of warfare in reciting the late rupture. As this could in no way influence the Treaty either in principle or substance, or bear upon the justice of the war, I consented, with some alter ations, to foUow the form proposed. The Article of arnnesty and obUvion has at aU times met Avith a resistance, which, considering that it is so general an Article in all treaties of peace, I confess sur prised me. My motive for introducing it, besides that of observing ancient forms, was to claim under its construction pardon for the unfortunate inhabitants of Alexandria, who since the departure of the British forces have been exposed to the most tyrannical treats ment from the Pacha of Egypt. I naade no difficulty of avowing this motive to Vaahid Efendi, although I could not, consistently with the safety of that unfor tunate clajSS of persons, expatiate upon those additional reasons derived from the enthusiasm with which they received his Majesty's troops, which entitled thern to all my exertions in their favour. Vaahid Efendi promised me (and in this what he said was confirmed by Mr. Pisani), that on my saying a word at the Porte as soon as peace should be concluded, every in- CORRESPONDENCE. 105 dulgence I might ask for them Avould be cheerfully granted ; and he assured me likewise, — such was the jealousy of the Porte with regard to its own subjects, -—that this would be a much better course for the sufferers themselves than that of attempting to pro- Adde for their security by any separate stipulations. He objected, as he said, to this Article only as one unusual in the treaties of peace between the Porte and other Powers. He said, that it was not admitted in those with Austria, or Russia, or France ; and if I had no motive, except that which I had assigned, he requested me to give it up as it would extremely em barrass the Porte, if admitted in any Treaty with Russia. This certainly may, in some degree, be the truth, but I am persuaded that another motive to his oppo sition is, that he conceives that his admission of an article of oblivion would shut him out from his de mand of restitution for the ships. Having uniformly resisted this claim directly upon the principle of the claim itself, and having no other motive for pressing the Article than those already mentioned, I told Vaahid Efendi that for the present I would not insist upon it, and that if we could agree on the other points, I would relinquish it altogether. All the points of real importance after this were conceded to me, namely, that respecting the am bassadors— which, as I mentioned in a former despatch, the conduct of the Porte in the reception of Sebastiani had rendered necessary — the re-establishment of the Dragoman Barataires without other limitation, except that they should be such bond fide, and the permission to them to exercise commerce. The Article respecting the free trade, one of 106 CORRESPONDENCE. those on which Vaahid Efendi had before stated that the peace would depend, was after much difficulty AvithdraAAm on the foUowing agreement: — 1st. That he should draw up an Article in such terms as I could not object to, stipulating only for general favour and protection to the Ottoman flag ; and 2dly, that I would promise to enter into discussions with the ministers at Constantinople upon the means of settling, if pos sible, a commercial Treaty Avith Great Britain. I agreed to this as a shorter way of getting rid of the question than that of convincing Vaahid Efendi how difficult it would be to settle such a Treaty. There were some other points which I laboured hard to obtain, but I found the opposition to them so strong, and indeed some of the arguments on which it was grounded so reasonable, that I gave them up. The first was to Obtain permission during the war with France for his Majesty's vessels of war carrying despatches to come up to Constantinople ; the next, the reinstatement of some of the Barataires whose pro tections had been taken away in the time of Mr. Arbuthnot, and against which he had protested ; the third, an Article respecting some commercial com plaints which it had been suggested to me would, if I could obtain the insertion of it, be very agreeable to the Levant Company. The resistance to the two first of these Articles was grounded on an objection to introduce any expressions into the Treaty which should render doubtful to her OAvn subjects the determination which the Porte had taken to abolish some long subsisting abuses. The Porte wishes to seize this opportunity of a war with Russia to put an end absolutely to the admission of the ships of war of that Power through the Dards.- CORRESPONDENCE. 107 nelles, and to the system of granting protections. There are, Ukewise, various internal reforms, particu larly in the revenue department, which the Govern ment has often meditated, but in vain endeavoured to carry into effect. For all the essential objects which Great Britain could want, Vaahid Efendi referred me to the capitulations again by a solemn and formal act to be re-established together with what had been since added to them ; also to the tariff, and to the renewed permission to navigate and trade in the Black Sea. AU these advantages, in fact, are so fully expressed in the capitulations, and in the firmans subsequently issued, that proAdded they be duly executed, there is nothing we could require further ; and the due exe cution or not of these, or of any other agreements we may make with this Government, wiU always depend upon the station which a British minister is enabled to assume at the Porte. If Great Britain stands high in Europe, there is nothing she wiU not be able to effect through her minister ; if the reverse, no Treaty wiU be punctually observed, no past favours will be remembered. The objection to the last Article was that the abuse complained of was too trifling to merit admission into the present Treaty ; that there were other remedies for it, of which, by the capitulations, I could insist upon the execution ; and further, that as it was a deviation from the ground of negociation on which I had so rigidly insisted, namely, the restitution of things to the state they were in under Mr. Arbuthnot, it would open the question to. demands on the other side. I consented, therefore, to withdraw it. When we had finished, I told him that as all was now reduced to the point of the ships, and as he kncAv 108 CORRESPONDENCE. my positive and ultimate determination on that sub ject, it was easy for him to tell me plainly whether he would sign the Treaty ? After he had once more pressed me to reconsider that determination, and not to break off the peace for what he caUed a trifle, and after I had repeated my former resolution, he desired to see Mr. Pisani on the following day, at which time he would give him the commercial article he had pro mised to draw up ; and he ended by proposing another meeting on the 26th, finaUy to take the whole business into consideration, and to conclude it. With this I was obliged to content myself. Just before we parted, I received an account on which I could place some dependence, that two couriers had arrived in England Avith proposals for peace from the Emperor Alexander and from Bonaparte, and that his Majesty had been pleased to ansAver them by con senting to treat in concert with his aUies, reckoning Portugal and Spain among the number. I commu nicated this inteUigence in the terms in which I re ceived it to Vaahid Efendi, and most earnestly pressed him to seize the favourable opportunity which now offered to conclude the Treaty we had been so long discussing, and to put the Porte, in her negociations with Russia, in a situation in which she might profit by the friendship of his Majesty. I placed before him in the strongest light the advantages which the Porte would reap by the services I should be thus empowered to render her, and by making a proper use of the good dispositions of Great Britain, without the disadvantage of being bound to us by a formal alUance. I referred to the Treaty we had just settled, and to the principles therein recognised by Great Britain, as a means of placing his country in the CORRESPONDENCE. 109 proudest possible situation with respect to Russia, | both in conducting the negociations for peace, and in / settling the terms of future intercourse with that Power. I told him, however, that his decision must be immediate ; that he could not suppose me blind to the advantages which the Ottoman Ministers would derive in the negociations with Russia by the very circumstance of my remaining at the DardaneUes; but that I was resolved to disappoint all schemes of double poUtics which might be attempted, by setting sail for England, unless the Treaty were signed with out further procrastination. From Vaahid Efendi's answers I should suppose that these observations had been attended with some effect, had I not learned to attach but little import ance to what is said to me. I have the honour to be, &c. No. VIII. By Captain Prevost. To the Right Hon. George Canning. H.M.S. Sea-Horse, Port Barbieri, January 1st. I8O9. Sir, On the 24th of December, two days after the con ference of which I had the honour to render you an account in my last despatch, Mr. Pisani came on board the Sea-Horse in order to report to me a con versation he had had that morning with Vaahid Efendi's interpreter. The object of his visit to Mr. Pisani was to bring him a Turkish copy of the Article respecting commerce, of which Vaahid Efendi had made such a point to obtain the insertion. He took 110 CORRESPONDENCE. that opportunity likewise of intimating that the de mand of 1,000,000?. would be reduced to 300,000?. The article respecting commerce I agreed to accept with a sUght alteration ; but the reduced demand of 300,000?. I declared to be just as inadmissible as the former one. With this message Mr. Pisani went the next day to Vaahid Efendi, and he returned to me the same evening with the curious proposal that I should sign the public Treaty, including the stipulation about the ships by way of preUminary articles, and that we should add to it a secret agreement by which its execution was to be suspended until the ratification of a definitive treaty. He desired Mr. Pisani at the same time to acquaint me, that if it did not suit me to agree to this proposal, he saw no use which could result from our attending the conference fixed for the next day. The nature of this communication, ac companied by a proposal so degrading, as far as it was intelligible, appearing at least to promise a speedy issue to the negociation, I was anxious, before I closed it, to give to this misguided Government one chance more of making peace. I accordingly deputed Mr. Pisani the next day with an offer to sign proAdsionaUy a separate instru ment for an aid of 300,000?. under a stipulation sub jecting it to a special ratification. He returned to me the same evening with increased demands, grounded, as you wiU see by the under mentioned specification of them, on a recantation of all the principles which had been before so often and so distinctly admitted : — 1. The delivery of the four Turkish men-of-war in CORRESPONDENCE. Ill our possession, either by a public or a secret Article in the Treaty, for which he would give up the claim for the ships burnt in our passage up the Dardanelles. 2. Turkish property and merchant ships destroyed or taken since the war, to be restored against that of the English merchants. 3. The indemnity claimed for the above Turldsh property to be admitted under no other denomination than that of compensation, and the quantum to amount to about 600,000?. Seeing that nothing more was to be done, I thought it inconsistent Avith his Majesty's dignity to remain any longer at this place. I accordingly commissioned Mr. Pisani to give notice to the Ottoman Plenipo tentiary that I had no answer to return to his pro position, and that I should sail for England on the 31st. On the deUvery of this message great regret was expressed ; but he declared his instructions to be so positive that he could not recede. From this day until the 30th, I had no further communication with Vaahid Efendi; but I learned that he was frequently consulting with the new Serasquier of the Dardanelles, Haiki Pacha, the same whom I found on my arrival invested with full powers to treat with me, who had been deposed soon afterwards, and who was now just restored to his government. Of course I did not neglect this opportunity of congratulating him * on his return to the DardaneUes, and of expressing my regret that the Ministers of the * Haiki Pacha. 112 Correspondence. Porte had thrown such insurmountable difficulties in the way of peace. On the 30th I received another pressing iuAdtation to a conference next day. I answered that it would be to no purpose, unless Vaahid Efendi would come to it Avith a determination to sign the Treaty; for otherwise I Avas resolved positively to set sail. Every thing on board the Sea-Horse being in rea diness, and the preparations for putting to sea having been made in sight of the inhabitants of the Castles, I went once more to the place of meeting. And here it is impossible for me to describe to you the state of mind in which I found Vaahid Efendi. He fairly confessed that I could do no more than I had done to faciUtate this peace ; and he complained that his Government had made him responsible for its con clusion on terms which he owned I could not admit. If the peace should not be signed, therefore, he said he was a lost man, and that he must take refuge in England. I need not trouble you with the particulars of this conversation, in which I made him every offer in my power to secure him from the anger of his Government. The topics of business we discussed were only such as you know already, and with which I fear I have too often fatigued you. It was closed at last in perfect amity on my part, but Avith aU the forms of a final interview. On my return to the ship it was nearly a calm, and much too late to reach any anchorage beyond the Castles. But I had not been an hour on board the Sea-Horse before I received a note from Mr. Pisani, informing me that Vaahid Efendi had entreated to see him the next morning. I returned for answer CORRESPONDENCE. 113 that I should certainly not delay my departure beyond 10 o'clock. In the morning at daylight aU preparations were made for getting under weigh ; the anchor was a-peak, and I only waited to settle some matters with Mr. Pisani relative to the distressed situation of our Dragomans at Constantinople, when he arrived bring ing me another inadmissible proposal. In a few minutes afterwards Vaahid Efendi's interpreter came on board with something of the same nature. On this I ordered them both to leave the ship, and not to return except the offer I made on the 27th were unequivocally accepted. In less than half an hour Mr. Pisani appeared with Vaahid Efendi's compliance. I now regard, therefore, this tedious negociation as concluded, and hope with my next despatch to send you the Treaty. I have the honour to be, &c. No. IX. By Captain Prevost. To the Right Hon. George Canning. H.M.S. Sea-Horse, Port BarbieriX Jan. 6. 1809. Sir, I HAVE the honour of informing you that a treaty of peace between his Majesty and Sultan Mahmoud IL, was yesterday signed by the Ottoman Plenipotentiary and myself. Captain Prevost of his Majesty's sloop, the Saracen, VOL. I. I 114 CORRESPONDENCE. will deliver to you the Treaty, together with the additional and separate Articles belonging to it. My despatches will explain so fully the nature of them aU, that I think it unnecessary to trouble you with a repetition of the various reasons which guided me in omitting some articles in my Projet, and re ceiving others from the Contre-Projet of Vaahid Efendi. The secret Articles are left to the performance of his Majesty's Government in such a manner as they may judge most consistent with the public interests. I think it my duty, however, to recommend as the best way of bringing Russia to reason, the co-opera tion of a British squadron in any attempt Avhich may be judged advisable against the Crimea, and likeAvise that aU possible encouragement be given to Ali Pacha to assist in expelling the French from Albania, Dal matia, and the Cattaro. The Article respecting ordnance stores may be easily fulfilled, if the case should occur, and without much expense to Government, by sending out the artillery belonging to a class of frigates, mostly French prizes, which have been deemed no longer serviceable. These are described to me as long 18 pounders, which have been changed for guns of a lighter weight, and of which considerable quantities may be found at Woolwich. Of powder I understand that the quantity at Malta is more than can possibly be wanted. The examination of the tAvo Conventions made on the occupation of, and retreat from, Alexandria, may give some employment to his Majesty's Minister at the Porte, but can lead to no embarrassing decision. The separate Article concerniiig an aid of 300,000?. CORRESPONDENCE , 115 is SO perfectly optional, and I have spoken out to the Turkish Plenipotentiary so fairly upon it, that his Majesty's Government can be put to no difficulty in refusing its ratification. AU I should Avish in that case is, that the Ottoman charge d'affaires in London should be informed of the reasons for the non-ratifi cation, and that it should be recommended to him to state them correctly to his Court. I cannot conclude these details of the negociation, and of the embarrassments which attended it, without acknowledging my great obligations to Captain Stewart of the Sea-Horse, without whom I could haA^e done nothing. After the deposition of Sultan Mustapha, the great difficulty was to set the negociation on foot ; and to effect this I do not know in what manner I could have proceeded without Captain Stewart's assistance, and above all if I had not had the benefit of the high character he has established in these seas for lenity when it was deserved, vigour when it was wanted, and disinterestedness from first to last. His gaUant action with the Turkish frigates proved serviceable rather than hurtful to me, inasmuch as it led the way to explanations by which I greatly pro fited in opening the business. I will say nothing of his attentions to the Avhole mission during a period of nearly five months, except that they have been unremitting. It Avould not be come me to urge his merits any further. I have the honour to be, &c. P.S. 1 am waiting only for a firman to proceed in the frigate to Constantinople Avith the first favourable wind. I 2 116 CORRESPONDENCE. Literal Translation of Vaahid Efendi's full Powers. To the most glorious among the noble and distin guished personages, possessed of the most virtuous and praiseworthy qualifications, and protected by the mercy of the eternal God : his Excellency Sejid Mehemmed Emin Vaahid Efendi, one of the noble men of the Ministerial line attached to my Sublime Porte, vested with the rank of " Nishangy," of the Imperial Chancery, and now appointed Plenipoten tiary on the part of my high Court (may his eleva tion be everlasting) : Upon the receipt of this noble. Imperial writ, be it known to you that, although in consequence of some incidents peculiar to the revolution of times a dis union has taken place between my Sublime Porte and the Court of Great Britain, without its being the choice of either party, and the restoration of peace and amity between the two Courts being the sincere desire of both sides, it is expedient and necessary that a Plenipotentiary vested with full powers be appointed on the part of my Sublime Porte, in order to hold conferences and negociate a peace with tlie Plenipotentiary that has been named by the afore named Court of Great Britain. Wherefore, it being manifest to our Imperial knowledge that among the noblemen of the ministerial line attached to my high Court, you above-named Efendi are more particularly endowed with every quality of prudence, judgment, rectitude, and fidelity, and are knoAvn in the long course of time that you have been employed in affairs of the most important and secret nature under my Imperial Court to have given proofs of an agreeable CORRESPONDENCE. 117 disposition, and the most loyal principles, it is our Imperial expectation and hope that at all times you AviU continue to render satisfactory services, and to give fresh proofs of the same loyal principles as duly becomes the dignity and high rank of my Sublime Porte, and the honour of my Imperial person. My Imperial will being, therefore, fixed upon your being chosen and appointed Plenipotentiary on this important business, to act on our illustrious Imperial side, and the most glorious among Christian princes, the most eminent amidst the celebrated grandees pro fessing the faith of the Messiah, the conciliator of the affairs of the Christian commonwealth, decorated Avith the marks of majesty and honour, and possessing the badges of glory and fame, the Padishah (Em peror) of the United Kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland, the most majestic and most honoured George III., Avhose end may be attended with happi ness, having also deputed and appointed a Plenipo tentiary on his side : ample permission and full undoubted poAvers are therefore hereby given you to hold conferences with the above Plenipotentiary, and to restore amity and peace in a manner becoming the dignity and rank of my Sublime Porte, and con sistently Avith the honour of my Imperial person. You are therefore to proceed (imploring first the assistance of God Almighty) to hold conferences with the Plenipotentiary appointed by the English Court as above, and to treat Avith him for the restoration of amity and peace, and when you wiU have known it to be certain and positive that Avhatever you may think it right and expedient to do for terminating and concluding that peace, after holding meetings 118 CORRESPONDENCE. and conferences as above, shaU be accepted and ap proved on our Imperial side, and that the ratifications shall also be sent at the time that will be appointed ; this Imperial firman is issued, I giving you thereby ample power to exchange acts for the purpose of framing this salutary peace on a proper footing, and bringing it to a conclusion ; further authorising you to put your seal and signature to the same purpose and effect. I therefore hereby order and command that you shall act according to the noble tenor of these Im perial fuU powers issued as above; that you shall know and acknowledge the same such as they are ; and that you shall place full faith in this Imperial signet. Given at our Imperial residence of Constantinople towards the end of the moon Sciaban, in the Turkish year 1223, i. e. towards the end of September, 1808. {A true translation.) (Signed) B. Pisani. Treaty of Peace between His Majesty and the Sublime Porte, signed January 5, 1809. Au nom de Dieu tres misericordieux : L 'objet de cet instrument fideie et authentique est ce qui suit : Nonobstant les apparences d'une mesinteUigence survenue k la suite des evenemens du tems entre la Cour de la Grande Bretagne et la Sublime Porte Ottomane; ces deux puissances egalement animees du desir sincere de retablir I'ancienne amitie qui sub- sistoit entre Elles, ont nommc pour cet effet leurs CORRESPONDENCE. 119 Plenipotentiaires respectifs : savoir, sa Majeste le tres auguste et trfes honore George III., Roi (Padi shah) du Royaume Uni de la Grande Bretagne et d'Irelande a nomme pour son Plenipotentiaire Robert Adair, Ecuyer, Membre du Parlement Imperial de la Grande Bretagne ; et sa Majeste le tres majestueux, tres puissant, et tres magnifique Sultan Mahmoud Han II. , Empereur des Ottomans, a nomme pour son Plenipotentiaire Sejid Mehemmed Emin Vaahid Efendi, Directeur et Inspecteur du Departement ap- pele Mercoufat, et revetu du rang de Nichangi du Divan Imperial, lesquels s'etant reciproquement com muniques leurs pleins pouvoirs, ont apres plusieurs conferences et discussions conclu la paix egalement desiree des deux puissances, et sont convenus des articles suivans : Article I. Du moment de la signature du present Traite, tout acte d'hostilite doit cesser entre I'Angleterre et la Turquie ; et les prisonniers de part et d'autre doivent, en vertu de cette heureuse paix, etre echanges sans hesitation en trente et un jours apres I'epoque de la signature de ce Traite ou plut6t si faire se pourra. Article II. S'il se trouvera des places appartenantes a la Sub lime Porte dans I'occupation de la Grande Bretagne, elles devront etre restituees et remises a la Sublime Porte avec tous les canons, munitions, et autres effets dans la meme condition ou eUes se trouvaient lors de I 4 120 CORRESPONDENCE. leur occupation par I'Angleterre, et cette restitution dcATa se faire dans I'espace de trente et un jours aprfes la signature de ce present Traite. Article III. S'il y auraient des effets et proprietes appartenans aux negociants Anglais en sequestre sous la jurisdic tion de la Sublime Porte ils doivent ^tre entierement rendu s et remis aux proprietaires ; et pareiUement s'il y auraient des effets, proprietes, et vaisseaux ap partenans aux negociants et sujets de la Sublime Porte en sequestre a Malthe ou dans les autres isles et etats de sa Majeste Britannique, ils doivent 6tre egalement entierement rendus et remis k leurs pro prietaires. Article IV. Le Traite des Capitulations stipule en I'annee Turque mil quartre-vingt-six k la mi de la lune Gem maziel Ahir, ainsi que l'acte relatif au commerce de la Mer Noire, et les autres privileges (Imtiazat) egalement etablis par des actes k des epoques subse quentes, doivent etre observes et maintenus comme par le passe, comme s'ils n'avaient souffert aucune interruption. Article V. En vertu du bon traitement et de la faveur accorde par la Sublime Porte aux negociants Anglois k regard de leurs marchandises et proprietes et par rapport k CORRESPONDENCE. 121 tout ce dont leurs vaisseaux ont besoin, ainsi que dans tous les objets tendants a faciliter leur commerce ; I'Angleterre accordera reciproquement sa pleine fa veur et un traitement amical aux pavilions sujets et negociants de la Sublime Porte qui dorenavant fre- quenteront les etats de sa Majeste Britannique i pour y exercer le commerce. Article VI. Le Tarif de la Douane qui a ete fixe k Constanti nople en dernier lieu sur I'ancien taux de trois pour cent, et specialement 1' article qui regarde le commerce interieur, seront observes pour toujours ainsi qu'ils ont ete regies ; ce a quoi I'Angleterre promet de se conformer. Article VII. Les ambassadeurs de sa Majeste le Roi de la Grande Bretagne jouiront pleinement des honneurs dont jouissent les ambassadeurs des autres nations prfes la Sublime Porte ; et reciproquement les ambassadeurs de la Sublime Porte pres la Cour de Londres jouiront pleinement de tous les honneurs qui seront accordes aux ambassadeurs de la Grande Bretagne. Article VIII. II sera permis de nommer des Shahbenders (consuls) k Malthe et dans les etats de sa Majeste Britannique oil il sera necessaire pour gerer et inspecter les affaires et les interets des negociants de la SubUme Porte, et 122 CORRESPONDENCE. les m^mes traitemens et immunites qui sont pratiques envers les consuls d'Angleterre residents dans les Etats Ottomans seront exactement observes envers les Shahbenders de la SubUme Porte. Article IX. Les ambassadeurs et consuls d'Angleterre pourront selon I'usage se servir des Dragomans dont ils ont besoin ; mais comme il a ete arrete ci-devant d'un commun accord que la Sublime Porte n'accordera point de Barat de Dragoman en faveur d'individus qui n'exerceront point cette fonction dans le lieu de leur destination, il est convenu conformement a ce principe que dorenavant il ne sera accorde de Barat k personne de la classe des artisans et banquiers, ni a quiconque tiendra de boutique et de fabrique dans les marches publics, ou qui pretera la main aux affaires de cette nature ; et il ne sera pas nomme non plus des consuls Anglois d'entre les sujets de la Sublime Porte. Article X. La patente de protection Anglaise ne sera accordee a personne d'entre les dependants et negociants sujets de la Sublime Porte, et il ne sera livre k ceux-ci aucun passeport * de la part des ambassadeurs ou consuls sans la permission prealable de la Sublime Porte. Article XL Comme il a ete de tout tems defendu aux vaisseaux de guerre d'entrer dans le Canal de Constantinople, * Passeport de protection. CORRESPONDENCE. 123 savoir dans le detroit des DardaneUes et dans celui de la Mer Noire, et comme cette ancienne regie de I'Empire Ottoman doit etre de meme observee dore navant en tems de paix vis-^-vis de toute puissance quelconque, la Cour Britannique promet aussi de se conformer a ce principe. Article XII. Les ratifications du present traite de paix entre les hautes parties contractantes seront echangees a Constantinople dans I'espace de quatre-vingt-onze jours depuis la date du present Traite ou plut6t si faire se pourra. En foi de quoi et afin que la ratification des douze Articles de ce Traite qui vient d'etre heureusement conclu avec I'assistance de Dieu, et en vertu de la sincerite et loyaute des deux parties, puisse etre echangee ; Moi, Plenipotentiaire de la Sublime Porte, ai en vertu de mes pleins pouvoirs signe et cachete cet instrument, lequel j'ai remis au Plenipotentiaire Anglais en echange contre un autre instrument tout- a-fait conforme ecrit en langue Fran§aise, avec sa traduction, qui m'a ete remis de sa part conforme ment k ses pleins pouvoirs. Fait pr^s des Chateaux des Dardanelles, le 5 Jan vier, 1809, qui correspond a I'an de I'Hegire, 1223, le 19 de la lune Zilkaade. (L.S.) Sejid Mehemmed Emin Vaahid Eeendi. 124 correspondence . No. X. By Captain Prevost. To the Right Hon. George Canning. H.M.S. Sea-Horse, Port Barbieri, Jan. 6. I8O9. Sir, I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your despatches of the 20th of August by Mr. Baker. The despatches of Sir Harford Jones I have for warded to Persia, with a letter from myself, informing him of the conclusion of peace between his Majesty and the sublime Porte. I have the honour to be, &c. To the Right Hon. George Canning. (^Private. — By Vienna.) Pera, February 10. I8O9. Dear Sir, I ARRIVED here in the Sea-Horse on the 26th ult. The first thing 1 did was to send to the Internuncio; but he had no letters for me, nor any further commu nications from Vienna. His last instructions enjoin him still to keep up the appearance of friendly inter course with the French mission. This, hoAvever, has been rendered impossible by the conduct of the charge d'affaires of France, who has broken off all intercourse with him under pretence of his having received the gentlemen of the EngUsh mission at his house. 1 am glad to find that my language during the correspondence. 125 negociation respecting the Russian peace, and the cession of the two provinces, is precisely^ch as has been held here by the Court of Vienna. This, and particularly the warm interest felt at Vienna about the fate of Servia, has encouraged me to write to my correspondent a letter of which the inclosed is the substance. No account has been received of the arrival of the Turkish Plenipotentiaries at Jassy. All rational speculation is against their obtaining the restoration of the provinces. There can be no doubt that Bona parte will now encourage Russia to hold them. It is believed at the Porte that the war has again broken out between Russia and Persia, that General Gardanne has withdrawn himself from the Court of Persia, and that Sir Harford Jones has been received there. No accounts of the affairs of Spain since the entry of the French into Madrid have reached this place. I have received none even of that event. The French mission keeps its ground notAvithstand- ing all the threats of the charge d'affaires. I have got possession of tAvo notes from him of the I7th and 19th of January, requiring the Porte even then to break with England. The Porte is about to answer them, and I hope in the manner and even in the terms 1 have suggested. I will send these papers by a brig which is Avaiting at Smyrna for my despatches, as soon as I know whether I am to have an audience of the Sultan. I have taken measures to secure a direct communi cation with the Ottoman Plenipotentiary at Jassy, and to act with relation to the negociations there, in entire concert with the Court of Vienna. 1 am, dear Sir, &c. 126 CORRESPONDENCE . No. XI. Four Inclosures. By the Ronco. To the Right Hon. George Canning. Pera, February 19. I8O9. Sir, I HAATE the honour of informing you that I arrived at Constantinople in His Majesty's ship the Sea-Horse on the 26th ult. It was not until yesterday that I could see the Cai- makan, and the other officers of State. I myself deferred these Adsits until I could ascertain whether it was the intention of the Sultan to grant me an audience. Having no credentials except my full powers as Plenipotentiary, I had no right to demand one ; but feeling it to be of the utmost importance in the present situation of affairs that this distinction should be granted to me, I let it be understood (although in the mildest manner) that it would be the condition of my transacting any official business Avith the Porte. The point, after some difficulty, has been conceded, and the audience is to take place Avith- in a few days. Immediately on my arrival I had a meeting Avith the Internuncio. I found him very little informed either of what is transacting on the Continent, or of the general AdcAvs of his own Court. I thought it best therefore to write directly to Vienna, and I in close you a copy of my letter to Count Stadion (A). I have taken the necessary steps to obtain intelli gence of all that may be transacted at Jassy, and 1 rather hope to be able in some degree to influence the negociations there. CORRESPONDENCE . 127 The three notes (B, C, D) I have here the honour of inclosing Avill afford a proof of the diligence of those who have engaged to serve me on these occasions. Of the internal state of this Empire, 1 am not yet able to send you any detailed account. In general, I am sorry to say that the tranquillity which it now enjoys does not appear likely to last. The Sultan is a man of firmness, but no confidence subsists between him and the Janissaries. No Grand Vizier is as yet named, consequently there is no fixed administration. What is stiU worse, I am afraid there is no army to oppose to Russia. I am of course Avithout any means of knowing what effect the peace just signed with England is likely to produce on the councils of Russia. Its effect on those of France the Turks do not appear much to dread. Their army is tolerably strong on the side of Bosnia and Albania, and they rely with confidence on our keeping a sufficient number of frigates and sloops stationed off Corfu and in the Adriatic to prevent any reinforcements from reaching the French army in Dalmatia. I trust that his Majesty's Government wiU permit me to recommend this object to its parti cular attention. I have the honour to be, &c. Inclosure A. Mr. Adair to Count Stadion. Pera, ce 9 Fe'vrier, I8O9. Je saisis cette occasion, Monsieur le Comte, de vous donner des nouvelles de mon arrivee a Constantinople 128 CORRESPONDENCE. dans la fregate de sa Majeste le Sea-Horse. La manifere dont les relations diplomatiques de nos Cours avoient termine I'annee passee ne me paroissant pas exclure les communications interessantes que deux Gouvernemens essentieUement amis pourroient avoir a se faire reciproquement, je me suis adresse aussit&t k Monsieur I'lnternonce pour lui temoigner I'impatience avec laquelle je desirois m'entretenir avec lui sur les objets importans dont il est question dans ce moment. II eut la bonte de m'envoyer son premier interprete dont j'ai toute raison d'etre content. J'ai appris de lui que M. I'lnternonce vous avoit envoye copie de ma lettre du 6 Janvier *, et c'est avec ijne satisfaction veritable que je me suis appergu que le langage dont je me suis servi dans le cours de ma negociation a ete precisement ce qui convenoit au systeme de la Cour de Vienne relativement a la paix entre la Porte et la Russie. Afin d'encourager les Turcs a tenir ferme contre la cession des deux pro vinces j'ai autorise le negociateur Ottoman k Jassy a faire sentir aux Russes que I'Angleterre ayant fait la paix avec la Porte, s'interessoit de la maniere la plus vive a la conservation de I'independance et de I'integrite de son Empire ; et a declarer en meme temps que j'etois muni des pouvoirs necessaires ou pour donner la main a la confection de la paix entre eux, ou pour fournir k la Porte toute I'aide dont EUe pourroit avoir besoin pour la continuation de la guerre. J'ai non seulement autorise les Plenipotentiaires Ottomans a parler sur ce ton, mais je dois vous dire * Announcing the signature of the peace with Turkey. CORRESPONDENCE. 129 que j'ai m^me pris un engagement avec la Porte qui temoigne I'inter^t que prend le Gouvernement de sa Majeste a son existence comme puissance Europeenne. II est vrai que cet engagement ne renferme pas, comme de raison, la garantie de ses etats, mais il est d'une nature k engager la bonne foi de I'Angleterre k lui procurer, autant qu'il dependroit d'EUe, une pais honorable, et basee sur la restitution de ses proAdnces. Pour m'ouvrir k vous de la maniere dont il faut tou jours agir en traitant des affaires de cette nature, je ne suis pas autorise k admettre cette clause de garantie sans la concurrence de la Russie. Or, I'intention de mon Gouvernement etant claire, que par la Russie on vouloit dire Puissance du premier ordre qui avoisine aux Etats de la Porte, je me sens pleinement autorise a y substituer I'Autriche en cas de necessite. Vous jugerez d'apres vos connoissances des projets de Bonaparte, si celui d'une triple alliance entre I'An gleterre, I'Autriche, et la Porte pourroit presenter quelque moyen de salut pour ce qui nous reste en Europe de Uberte et d'independance. L'utiUte d'un engagement pareil n'auroit pas sans doute de quoi meriter un examen bien profond, si ce n'est k cause des liaisons encore mysterieuses, et du systeme plus inexplicable que jamais, de la Russie. Sous ce rapport, et en supposant que la Russie en voudroit a I'Autriche, il me semble que I'alliance de I'Angleterre, la Suede, et la Porte pourroit vous offrir quelques avantages defensifs de ce c6te la. Au reste, cette ouverture meme, lors meme qu'elle n'auroit pas d'autre suite, pourroit vous devenir utile dans le cas oil vous trouveriez necessaire de forcer la Cour de St. Peters bourg a se declarer sur son systeme. J'ai I'honneur d'etre. VOL. I. K 130 CORRESPONDENCE. Inclosure B in Mr. Adair's No. XI, Translation of an official Note presented by the Porte to the French Charge d'Affaires, resident at Constanti nople, January lA.th, 1809. The Porte to the French Charge d^ Affaires. L'apfaire Anglaise est une des preuves fortes et evidentes de la sincerite, de la loyaute, et de la con- stance des sentimens que la Sublime Porte a de tout tems professes pour le Gouvernement Frangois. Les conferences qui ont eu Ueu avec M. le Charge d'Af faires tendent toutes a prouver qu'on n'y a point atteinte. II n'existoit entre la Sublime Porte et la Grande Bretagne aucun motif d'eloignement et d'animosite. Ce n'est done que par pure complaisance pour le Gou vernement Fran§ois et pour lui prouver la loyaute de ses sentimens, que la SubUme Porte s'est mise en etat de guerre avec I'Angleterre, qu'EUe a eprouve des pertes sensibles, et qu'EUe a essuye des desagremens sans nombre. La Sublime Porte avoit lieu de s'atten- dre a de la reciprocite de la part du Gouvernement Frangois ; EUe n'en a point eprouve, et cependant Elle n'a pas ete moins constante dans ses principes, Un Plenipotentiaire de la Grande Bretagne s'est rendu I'annee derniere aux Dardanelles avec des offres de paix a la Sublime Porte, Comment s'en est-U re- tourne ? M. le Charge d'Affaires de France salt tres bien comment les negociations ont ete entamees. II n'ignore point toutes les peines que l'on s'est donnees pour les trainer en longueur, malgre la presence aux correspondence . 131 DardaneUes du Plenipotentiaire Britannique avec des forces maritimes Angloises. Tout homme sense et juste conviendra que tous ces faits tendent a prouver d'une maniere victorieuse la sincerite des dispositions de la SubUme Porte pour la France. Quoique M. le Charge d'Affaires ait officieUement annonce k la Sublime Porte, qu' a la suite de I'entre- vue des Empereurs de France et de Russie k Erfurt, des courriers ont ete expedies par ces deux Souverains en Angleterre avec des offres de paix, quoique le Ple nipotentiaire de la Grande Bretagne, qui se trouve depuis quelques mois aux Dardanelles, s'y fut rendu avec la commission expresse de faire des propositions pacifiques k la SubUme Porte, cependant la Sublime Porte, d'apres la loyaute des sentimens qui I'animent, a fait tout son possible pour temporiser, mais il est enfin devenu impossible de prolonger davantage. Le Plenipotentiaire de la Grande Bretagne a insiste sur I'option de I'un de ces deux partis — oude conclure la paix, ou de recommencer les hostilites, et il a demande une reponse cathegorique. Ces informations ayant ete transmises a la SubUme Porte par Vaahid Efendi charge de la negociation et ensuite par Son Excellence Hakki Pacha, il s'est aussit6t tenu chez le Scheih-ul- Islam un conseil compose des Ulemas et des Ministres de I'etat. Aprfes que la matiere a ete bien discutee, et qu'il a ete pris en consideration, que si le Plenipo tentiaire de la Grande Bretagne etoit dans le cas de s'en retourner sans avoir rien conclu, il en resulteroit, VU la superiorite des forces maritimes de I'Angleterre, des prejudices infinis pour les c6tes de I'Empire Ottoman ; il est en consequence emane un Fetwa qui a prononce que la loi ne permet point de se refuser aux K 2 132 CORRESPONDENCE. propositions d'une Puissance qui ne demande que le retour de I'amitie et de la bonne harmonic. C'est d'apres cela que la paix avec I'Angleterre a ete arr^tee et conclue par un Instrument signe. La paix de la Sublime Porte avec I'Angleterre est purement et simplement le renouvellement des anciens rapports reciproques d'amitie. C'est sous ce point de vne qu'il faut I'envisager, et la Sublime Porte n'entend qu'il soit porte la moindre atteinte aux sentimens qu'EUe a toujours professes pour la France. Comme M. le General Sebastiani pendant sa resi dence a Constantinople a approuve la paix de la Su blime Porte avec la Grande Bretagne, convenant de la superiorite de cette Puissance sur mer, et de tout le mal qu'EUe pouvoit faire a la Sublime Porte, comme M. le Charge d'Affaires de son c6te a declare plus d'une fois que si la paix generale venoit a se conclure a la suite des propositions faites a I'Angleterre par la France et la Russie, la Sublime Porte y seroit infaiUi- blement comprise, et comme enfin il seroit impos sible de trainer les negociations en longueur jusqu'4 la conclusion de la paix generale pendant que le Pleni potentiaire de la Grande Bretagne attend aux Darda nelles, la Sublime Porte est justifiee par toutes ces considerations, et EUe a ete forcee de terminer. II se trouve ainsi qu'un des obstacles pour la conclusion de la paix generale est applani. On ne peut pas desap- prouver que la Sublime Porte ait de cette manifere retabli ses anciennes relations avec la Grande Bretagpe. Sa Majeste I'Empereur Napoleon connu par ses sentimens de moderation et de generosite et tous les ministres de France en conviendront infailliblement. La Sublime Porte a tout lieu de s'y attendre d'apres CORRESPONDENCE. 133 les sentimens qu'EUe professe pour le Gouverne ment Frangois ; ses dispositions sinceres et amicales n'ont jamais variees ; elles seront inalterables et EUe se flatte que la France usera de reciprocite a son egard. C'est dans cette vxie que la presente note a ete remise k M. le Charge d'Affaires. Inclosure C in Mr. Adair's No. XI. Copy of a Note from the Charge d'Affaires of France at the Ottoman Court to His Excellency the Reis Efendi, dated Constantinople, Jan. 17th, 1809. The French Charge d'Affaires to the Reis Efendi. Le Soussigne Auditeur au Conseil d'Etat, Charge d'Affaires de S. M. I'Empereur des Frangois, Roi d'ltaUe, et protecteur de la Confederation du Rhin, pr^s la Porte Ottomane, a lu avec beaucoup de chagrin le contenu de la Note officieUe qui lui a ete remise par la Sublime Porte le 28 de ZUkaade, pour lui an noncer le retabUssement de la paix entre la SubUme Porte et I'Angleterre. Les evenemens qui se sont passes en Europe depuis plusieurs annees, et les com munications du Soussigne avec les Ministres, ont dii assez leur faire connaitre que dans le systeme actuel de I'Europe, un Etat qui contracte amitie avec I'Angle terre rompt par ce fait m^me toute amitie avec la France. Le Soussigne, dont le premier devoir est de resserrei* les Uens qui unissent la Sublime Porte et la France^ n'a done pu apprendre sans une vive douleur K 3 134 correspondence. un acte de la Sublime Porte aussi oppose k I'objet de sa mission. La Sublime Porte a porte atteinte d'une manifere bien sensible a son ancienne union avec la France. Mais ce qui aggrave singulierement ses torts et qui leur donne un caractere qu'il sera desormais bien difficile d'effacer, c'est que par cette funeste decision EUe a vioie des promesses solenneUes souvent reiterees. La Porte n'a pas seulement blesse I'amitie de la France — EUe, a manque de foi a un grand et puissant Souverain ; EUe I'a offense, et le Soussigne, accoutume par sentiment et par devoir k faire les voeux les plus sinceres et les plus ardents pour la prosperite de la SubUme Porte, ne prevoit pas sans fremir les resultats deplorables que doit avoir cette offense, faite a un prince qui n'a jamais laisse une injure impunie et que le soin de sa propre gloire oblige a venger les outrages d'une maniere eclatante. La Sublime Porte atteste dans sa Note son amitie pour la France, et EUe apporte pour preuve de cette amitie I'affaire meme de I'Angleterre. EUe affirme qu'EUe n'a continue sa guerre avec I'Angleterre, (guerre selon Elle desastreuse pour I'Empire,) qu'EUe n'a renvoye le premier negociateur Anglois, qu'EUe n'a trompe pendant trois mois celui-ci que par egard pour la France, et pour entretenir son amitie avec EUe. Mais comment la Sublime Porte ne voit-EUe pas que si EUe a fait des sacrifices si grands, selon sa Note, seulement pour entretenir I'amitie de la France, il a faUu qu'EUe fut convaincue que ces sacrifices etoient necessaires pour que I'amitie subsist^t, et qu'ainsi, au moment ou ces pretendus sacrifices cessent, I'amitie est detruite ? C'est done a tort que CORRESPONDENCE . 135 la Sublime Porte reclame cette amitie precisement au moment qu'EUe vient de I'aneantir. La SubUme Porte reconnoit qu'EUe avoit donne k la France la promesse de ne point faire avant Elle la paix avec I'Angleterre, puisque dans sa Note Elle s'appuye, pour rompre cette promesse, sur ce qu'EUe a attendu vainement jusqu'ici la compensation qu'EUe avoit Ueu d'esperer de la France. Mais une semblable excuse est miserable. Car en supposant que la France eut promis cette compensation dont parle la Sublime Porte, rien n'a prouve jusqu'a present que cette com pensation ne sera pas donnee. Les choses en sont maintenant a cet egard dans le meme etat qu'elles etoient lorsque la guerre de la Porte avec I'Angleterre a commence. Des troupes etrangeres occupoient plu sieurs proAdnces Ottomanes ; elles les occupent encore a la verite, mais rien n'a ete statue sur le sort des provinces, et rien n'indique que cette compensation ait ete refusee. Ainsi dans le cas m^me oil il auroit ete donne entre les deux etats des promesses reci proques, il est evident que la Porte romproit sa pro messe tandis que la France n'a point rompu la sienne. Mais U est ridicule, lorsqu'il s'agit de la destinee des Empires, de s' appuyer sur des chicanes puerUes ; et la Sublime Porte, au lieu de chercher de fausses ex cuses, et de mauvaises raisons pour I'encourager a faire une faute qui peut la precipiter dans des mal- heurs incalculables, auroit du s'eiever a de grandes idees. Elle auroit du voir que I'Empereur NapoMon est un homme extraordinaire envoye par la Providence pour changer la face de I'Europe, et la deUvrer du joug maritime de I'Angleterre. EUe auroit du sentir K 4 136 CORRESPONDENCE.^ la sublimite du systeme de I'Empereur qui consiste k exclure les Anglois du Continent pour les forcer a rendre au Continent les droits qu'U a aussi bien qu'eux a la naAdgation des Mers, EUe auroit du se rappeler que pour I'etabUssement de ce systeme les bataiUes memorables d'AusterUtz, de Jena, de Fried- land ont ete Uvrees, et que pour le m^me objet I'Empereur a plante de sa propre main ses aigles victorieuses dans Vienne, dans Berlin, et jusque sur les frontieres de la Russie ; que pour s'etre opposes a ce systeme plusieurs etats ont perdu leurs plus beUes provinces, et plusieurs Souverains leur couronne. Elle auroit d4 considerer que I'Espagne est dans ce moment ravagee pour s'etre detachee de ce systeme que I'Europe demande, et qui est conservateur de sa Uberte; enfin EUe auroit dh sentir que ce systeme est etabU au prix du sang precieux des Frangois, et qu'ainsi tout etat qui le rompt et qui s'en detache doit etre considere comme I'ennemi mortel et declare de la France. La Porte auroit du ne pas oubUer qu'EUe a de puissants et de redoutables ennemis ; que ces ennemis peuvent profiter de I'etat de desordre et de foiblesse oil se trouve I'Empire pour y faire une invasion et en prendre possession ; que jusqu'^ present Us n'ont ete retenus que par I'amitie de la France pour la Porte ; qu'ainsi cette amitie devoit etre precieusement conservee ; que I'Empereur ne demandoit pour I'entre- tenir et pour garantir la Porte contre cette invasion et cette prise de possession (ainsi que le Soussigne I'a declare a la SubUme Porte) que la continuation de la guerre entre la Porte et I'Angleterre ; que du moment oil I'obstacle pose par I'amitie de I'Empereur CORRESPONDENCE . 137 pour les Turcs sera leve, rien ne sauroit plus defendre les Turcs contre leurs ennemis, et que meme il est possible que le ressentiment de I'Empereur, et le besoin de venger sa dignite outragee, le portent a se joindre k ces ennemis. Quel secours donnera alors I'Angleterre a la SubUme Porte ? C'est en vain que la Porte pretend justifier sa de fection par sa foiblesse et par la force des Anglois. Les Anglois n'ont que des vaisseaux, lesquels ne peuvent rien contre la Terre-ferme. Quelques viUes peuvent souffrir ; mais ne vaut-il pas mieux s'exposer a un mal partiel, qu'a des maux qui peuvent accabler k la fois tout I'Empire ? Le Dannemarc a ete attaque par I'Angleterre a cause de son amitie pour la France : ses AdUes, ses ports ont souffert ; mais au lieu de se soumettre k I'Angleterre, U lui fait depuis lors une guerre active ; et cependant le Dannemarc est un etat dont le territoire est dix fois moindre que celui de I'Empire Ottoman. Pourquoi montre-t-il plus de force et de fermete dans ses promesses ? D'aiUeurs I'excuse tiree de la foiblesse n'est rien aux yeux d'un grand Prince comme I'Empereur, qui ne veut que des amis forts et fermes dans leur systeme. II faut k I'Empereur des allies surs, et qui ne I'ex- posent point par une defection imprevue a voir de- ranger les vastes plans qu'il medite. L'Empereur qui forme et soutient un immense Empire, qui se voit conduit pas a pas par un genie superieur, et favorise par le ciel dans toutes ses entreprises, peut-il souffrir patiemment qu'un acte miserable de foiblesse trouble ses grands desseins ? Je soumets a la Sublime Porte ces reflexions im- portantes pour EUe. J'ai toujours eu pour le nom 138 CORRESPONDENCE. Musulman un zMe veritable, et je dois convenir que les Ministres m'ont toujours rendu la justice de le reconnoitre, Je leur ai dit toujours la verite, et la verite toute entiere, Je I'ai du faire plus que jamais dans une occasion aussi decisive pour le salut de I'etat, Si la Sublime Porte a quelque amour pour ses interets, EUe doit rompre sans deiai avec I'Angleterre. EUe peut le faire maintenant sans danger, et le parti contraire I'expose a de grands desastres. Avant de terminer cette Note le Soussigne relevera une erreur qui est contenue dans ceUe de la SubUme Porte, II est dit que S, E, le General Sebastiani avoit lui-meme conseiUe a la SubUme Porte en di- verses occasions de faire la paix avec I'Angleterre, Cet ambassadeur est trop edaire et s'est montre tou jours trop attache aux interets de la Sublime Porte pour avoir pu lui conseiller de prendre un parti aussi dangereux pour EUe. Le Soussigne a eu connois sance de toutes les Notes que S. E. le General Sebas tiani a remises a la Sublime Porte pendant le cours de sa mission ; il a assiste a toutes les conferences qu'il a cues avec le Ministere, et il peut certifier que jamais un conseU aussi pernicieux et aussi contraire a la prosperite de I'Empire Ottoman n'a ete donne par lui k la Sublime Porte. Le Soussigne renouveUe a Son ExceUence le Reis Efendi les assurances de sa haute consideration. (Signe) Faij Latour Maubourg. CORRESPONDENCE. 139 Inclosure D in Mr. Adair's No. XI. Copy of a Note from the Charge d'Affaires of France at the Sublitne Porte to His Excellency the Reis Efendi, dated January 19th, 1809. The French ChargS d'Affaires to the Reis Efendi. Le Soussigne, Auditeur au Conseil d'Etat, Charge d'Affaires de S. M. I'Empereur des Frangois, Roi d'ltalie, et Protecteur de la Confederation du Rhin, pr^s la Porte Ottomane, en repondant a la Note par laqueUe S. E. le Reis Efendi lui a fait connoitre le retablissement de la paix entre la Sublime Porte et I'Angleterre a omis de parler d'un objet qui est con tenu dans cette Note, parceque cet objet a paru au Soussigne etre assez important pour faire le sujet d'une note particuli^re. S. E. le Reis Efendi paroit supposer dans la dite Note que la conduite tenue par la Sublime Porte depuis quatre mois k regard de I'Angleterre a ete concertee entre la Sublime Porte et le Soussigne, et approuvee par lui. D'oii il suivroit que le Soussigne a veqvL des long-tems connaissance par la S. P. elle- meme de son rapprochement avec I'Angleterre, et y a prete les mains ; supposition qui ferait injure aux sentimens connus du Soussigne, et qui seroit bien opposee a I'attachement qu'il a sans cesse temoigne a la S. P., et au zele qu'U a montre pour la gloire et la prosperite de I'Empire Ottoman. II est necessaire d'etablir ici les faits dans toute leur verite. Lorsque les Anglois parurent aux Dardanelles de mandant k negocier avec la Sublime Porte, S. E. le Reis 140 CORRESPONDENCE. Efendi, GaUb Efendi, observa au Soussigne que la situa tion deplorable dans laquelle se trouvoit I'Empire le mettoit hors d'etat de supporter les edats qu'un refua brusque pourroit occasionner, que la Capitale surtout divisee en plusieurs factions courroit les plus grands dangers k I'apparition d'une flotte ennemie. S. E. le Reis Efendi rappela au Soussigne que lors de I'arrivee de M. Paget, la douceur mise dans les refus avoit epargne k la S. P. les maux qu' Elle craignoit, et que dans cette occasion la Porte avoit su concilier son avantage et la surete de sa Capitale avec son attachement au systeme de la France, et I'execution des promesses faites k sa Majeste I'Empereur des Frangois. S. E. le Reis Efendi dedara au Soussigne que la S. P. etoit dans I'intention d'agir cette fois comme la premiere, et U renouveUa la promesse si souvent reiteree que la S. P. ne se detacheroit jamais du sys teme de la France et ne feroit point avant elle la paix avec I'Angleterre. Le Soussigne preAdt d^s lors que cette affaire aUoit fetre traitee avec lenteur, et il annonga a la S. P. les dangers auxquels EUe s'exposoit. II lui dedara que le seul moyen de s' assurer une prosperite soUde et durable, etoit de montrer un veritable attachement au systeme de la France, et une grande fermete dans I'execution des promesses faites a I'Empereur. Le Soussigne approuva sans doute le parti que vouloit prendre la S. P. de choisir parmi les differentes ma- ni^res de refuser et d'econduire I'agent Anglois, celle qui pourroit le mieux convenir aux interets de I'Empire. Le Soussigne etoit trop veritablement (et par devoir et par affection) attache a la gloire de sa Hautesse pour ne pas en agir ainsi. Mais U re- CORRESPONDENCE. 141 presenta, non pas une seule fois, mais toutes les fois qu'il eut I'honneur de conferer avec les Ministres, combien le plan dilatoire qu'ils paroissent vouloir adopter etoit periUeux et oppose a la dignite de la S. P. Le Soussigne fit voir aux Ministres quel in convenient il y avoit k jeter dans I'esprit de I'Em pereur des soupgons sur la fideiite de la S. P. dans un tems ou ce prince, Ue avec I'Empereur de Russie par une etroite amitie, pouvoit defendre aupres de lui d'une maniere efficace les interets de I'Empire Otto man ou bien les abandonner. En un mot le Soussigne montra aux Ministres qu'une conduite franche et ferme pouvoit seule lui convenir, et que tout retarde- ment dans cette affaire lui deviendroit funeste. Le Soussigne atteste ici a I'appui de ces faits les proto cols des conferences qu'il a cues avec les Ministres depuis cette epoque, les Notes qu'il a remises a la Porte depuis le meme tems, et le temoignage m^me des Ministres. Le Soussigne, frappe des dangers dans lesquels la S. P. alloit se precipiter, n'etoit pas meme touche des raisons tirees de I'etat de trouble et de desordre dans lequel se trouvoit I'Empire. Le Soussigne voyoit bien que cette situation difficile mettoit la Porte dans I'obligation de conserver avec plus de soin que jamais I'appui et la puissante amitie de S. M. I'Empereur des Frangois. Le Soussigne, considerant que la S. P. etoit dans une de ces circonstances deiicates qui de- cident ordinairement, selon le tour qu'elles prennent, de la prosperite ou de la ruine des Empires, et anime par un zfele ardent pour la gloire de sa Hautesse, se permit de parler a la Sublime Porte avec une Uberte et une franchise qui ne peuvent se trouver jamais que 142 CORRESPONDENCE. dans une amitie veritable. Le Soussigne ne craignit pas de dire que si la Sublime Porte etoit portee par la crainte a retenir les Anglois, cette conduite etoit un acte indigne de foiblesse ; que la foiblesse ne soute- noit point les Empires, mais bien la vigueur et la force, et qu'il etoit sur qu'un etat arrive au point de manquer de foi a ses amis pour flechir devant ses ennemis, n'eut jamais pu reprendre ensuite ce degre de gloire et de splendour qui convient a la grandeur du nom Musulman, et ou la France a toujours desire qu'U s'eiev&.t. Le Soussigne, qui a ete entraine par son zele pour le salut de I'Empire jusqu'a des observations aussi hardies et aussi deiicates, a done ete bien loin d'ap- prouver aucune esp^ce de rapprochement entre la Sublime Porte et I'Angleterre. Durant les derniers mois qui se sont ecouMs, le Soussigne, voyant que la Sublime Porte etoit entrainee dans un abyme profond par une fatalite malheureuse, ou plut6t par les intrigues detestables de quelques hommes traitres a leur Souverain et indignes de vivre, il s'est permis plusieurs fois de parler a L. L. E. E. les Ministres, et de leur depeindre I'enormite des dangers dans lesquels ils alloient faire tomber leur pays, avec beaucoup de force et d'energie. Le Sous signe se flatte que les Ministres (et notamment S. E. le Reis Efendi), pour lesquels il est plein de respect et d'attachement, n'auront vn dans les expressions du Soussigne que les effets de son zele. Ce zde pour les Musulmans, avec lequel le Soussigne a travaiUe de tous ses efforts pour les empecher de faire la plus grande faute qu'ils puissent commettre, n'est point eteint, quoiqu'il n'ait point eu le' succes que le Sous- CORRESPONDENCE . 143 signe desiroit. Le Soussigne va s'employer tout entier k prevenir les resultats funestes que doit avoir cette faute commise, de m^me qu'il I'a employe, avant qu'elle le fut, a faire connoitre a la Sublime Porte quels devoient etre ces resultats. Le Soussigne fait les voeux les plus sinceres pour que S. M. I'Empereur des Frangois, son auguste Souverain, se rappellant dans cette occasion I'ancienne amitie que la France a toujours cue pour I'Empire Ottoman, lui pardonne, en faveur de cette amitie, 1' offense grave qu'il vient d'en recevoir, et accey)te les excuses de la S. P. Le Soussigne declare ici qu'U a plaide de tout son pou voir aupres de son Souverain la cause de la Sublime Porte, et qu'il a cru dans cette occasion, comme dans toutes les autres, ne devoir employer son Minist^re qu'a affoiblir les griefs et a entretenir I'amitie des deux pays. Le Soussigne a I'honneur, &c. (Signe) Faij Latour Maubourg. No. XII. Four Inclosures. By Captain Stewart. To the Right Honourable George Canning. Pera, March igth, 1809- Sir, I HAD the honour of receiving your despatches Nos. 11 and 12 on the 23d ult. In anxious expectation of the powers you announce an intention of sending out to me to conclude a treaty of triple alliance between Great Britain, Austria, and the Porte, I now proceed to lay before you what has 144 CORRESPONDENCE. already been done towards that object since I had the honour of writing to you last ; by which you wiU also perceive the nature of the difficulties which retard it for the present. You will have seen by my letter to Count Stadion inclosed in my No. 11., that I had already endeavoured to lay a foundation for entering into communications with the Court of Vienna on the expediency of form ing a defensive alliance, including Sweden, grounded on the mysterious nature of the subsisting relations between Russia and France. My conferences at the Dardanelles, as my despatches from thence wiU have informed you, had prepared the Turkish Government for the discussion of such a proposition ; and although, for obvious reasons, I have hitherto deemed it expedient to abstain from bringing the matter forward in any direct shape, every step I have taken since my arrival has been with a view to that object. The Ottoman ministers, as far as I can judge, are weU inclined to this measure in its principle. If, however, they can obtain peace from Russia without it, much wiU remain to be overcome before they wUl be induced to accede to a system, the sure consequence of which must be war with France. The peace Avith Russia is what now occupies them solely, and until that shall be settled on a fair and solid basis, or until all hope of an accommodation shall be at an end, I can have but little expectation of making any material progress towards the establishment of a system which would connect the Porte so closely with Great Britain. The course therefore which I have taken, and which until the arrival of information from Jassy I find it CORRESPONDENCE. 145 most expedient to persevere in, is that of endeavour ing to convince this Government, first, that they are guilty of a most fatal error in persuading themselves that Russia wiU restore the provinces Avhich she oc cupies ; and secondly, that if the Porte should cede them by treaty there will be an end of the Ottoman Empire in Europe. The expectation of obtaining the restitution of their provinces appears to be founded on the mission of a Russian officer, sent by Prince Prosorousky in No vember, with an invitation to negociate directly, and independently of the mediation of France. Nothing can be more unsatisfactory than the conclusion draAvn from this circumstance by the Turks, especially when it is known that at Erfurt Bonaparte abandoned them to their fate. The puryDOse of aU my representations, which I omit no opportunity of bringing before the Ministers, is to convince them that if they expect the recovery of MoldaAda and Walachia, or if they wish to induce Russia to come into any tolerable terms Avith respect to Servia, they must make the most Adgorous demon strations, and immediately assemble an army on the Danube. I have pointed out to them (although one would scarcely think it necessary), that if they are seriously determined not to cede the territories in question, the war Avith Russia must begin afresh, and consequently that they will be looking for allies to support it. These allies can only be Great Britain and Austria ; but how can they expect assistance from either unless they first put themselves in a situ ation to profit by it ? Could Great Britain trust a fleet in the Black Sea without security for its return ? VOL. I. L 146 CORRESPONDENCE. and what security is there that the Russians wiU not be in possession of the castles on the Bosphorus, un less a Turkish army be in readiness to prevent their passage over the Danube ? With regard to any as sistance from Austria, they must consider that it can only be afforded them in the event of Russia attacking that Power in concert with France; and even then that her OAvn territories must be her principal care. In pressing these considerations, I have most strongly recommended, that if they find themselves unequal to crossing the Danube and acting offensively against Russia in Walachia, they should immediately make an attack on the Crimea. With regard to the negociations about to be opened at Jassy, I have had some conferences with Vaahid Efendi, who is the only person I can trust, or even see without ceremony, and who appears to be much consulted by the Government. In one of our earUest interAdews, after conversing with him on the probable effect of the English peace upon the negociations with Russia, and after inquiring^ what instructions had been given to GaUb Efendi (the Ottoman Plenipoten tiary) with regard to the light in which he was to represent it, and the use he was to make of it, I pro posed to him, in order to strengthen the hands of their negociator, that I should deUver in two notes to the Porte, the first of which should contain general expressions of a wish for peace between the Porte and Russia, and the second a strong exhortation not to permit Russia to establish herself on the Danube. The use to be made of these notes was, that they should be transmitted to Galib Efendi, to be produced by him at the conferences according as he might find CORRESPONDENCE. 147 Russia disposed to give way, or to insist upon the great point of the boundary of the Danube. In order to make them agree better with the pur pose for which they Avere intended, as weU as with a view to the principles on which my future proceedings must be guided, the first of these notes was dated the 28th of January, two days after my arrival here, and the second on the 22d of February, shortly after my receiAdng from Malta his Majesty's declaration of the 15th of December. This proposal has been taken into consideration by the Ottoman Government, and on mature deliberation agreed to. I accordingly prepared the two papers in closed (A, B), which, after haAdng been delivered in to the Sultan, and, as I am informed, much approved by him, were forwarded to Galib Efendi. The substance of these papers wiU necessarily form the basis of any future proposal which may be made to this Govern ment to become a member of a general alliance. The measures of which I have here given you an account were communicated fuUy to the Austrian Minister. From the extreme deUcacy of his situation, however, and the necessity there is that Austria should avoid all suspicion of being concerned in en couraging the Turks to resist, the Internuncio can afford me no other aid than that of showing me his instructions. With a Adew to these circumstances of Austria I took upon myself to address the inclosed letter to Prince Prosorousky (C), and I sent a duplicate of it to Count Stadion, inclosed in a letter of which I also transmit the copy (D). Since I received his Majesty's declaration, which of course I consider in the light of an instruction for my conduct, I can no longer hope for any direct success I. 2 148 CORRESPONDENCE. from overtures of this nature, nor would it be proper without your orders to repeat them. Yet as my letters from Vienna do not speak in absolute despair on the subject of Russia, and as at aU events the Austrian Cabinet, by transmitting this overture to Prince Swartzenberg, wiU have the merit of en deavouring to relieve Russia from her embarrass ments, I saw no reason to hesitate in taking a step which might afford a chance, however distant, of being useful, and which I already find has proved highly gratifying to the Porte. This system of concUiation and menace on my part I find to be perfectly conformable to the views of the Court of Vienna, and consequently that it is the method most calculated to promote the project of an aUiance in that quarter. Long before this despatch can reach England you wiU have received the pro posals of Austria and a specification of her views. The general nature of those views ****** *M, ^ .At .iU 4^ ^ ^k 'K' "^ "n" 'w "Tc -IP •JF The impossibUity (as I should suppose) of com plying with the first and most prominent demand wiU reduce, probably, the chances of alUance for the present to the simple hope of restoring our diplomatic relations with the Court of Vienna. In * * * letter to me it is expressly stated *^b ^1^ ^^ ^^ .2^ ^t mil* .1^ w 'Tv ^c 'Tt' ¦JT w ^ Tr But the force of events wUl leave Austria no choice upon this subject. In the mean time I have written to apprise * * * -^yj^a^ j .yy^s in daily expecta tion of receiving both powers and instructions which would enable me to speak distinctly to all the points of his communication. I did not omit acquainting him that previously to CORRESPONDENCE. 149 all other engagements the state of peace between Great Britain and Austria must be restored. When your instructions arrive I shall see whether it be intended by his Majesty's Government that these relations should be restored by a formal treaty ; but in order to save much valuable time, I have apprised Count Stadion of the difference of opinion on this sub ject, which appears to subsist between his Majesty's Ministers and himself, Avith regard to the precise relation in which our two countries now stand to wards each other. I know that at Vienna it is not admitted that we are at war; consequently, they would not at first see the necessity of a formal instru ment to restore peace. Acting on this persuasion, the Austrian Government might neglect to furnish their Plenipotentiary (supposing one to be sent to treat with me at Constantinople) Avith the proper powers, and consequently all the time required to obtain them would be lost. This inconvenience will, I trust, now be obviated. On the whole, I think it will appear that this business of alliance can only be brought about in one of the three foUowing cases : — first, if Russia should directly take part vrith France against Austria, con tinuing the war against Turkey ; secondly, if Russia should make peace with Turkey, restoring the yaro- vinces, and remaining perfectly neuter in the im pending contest ; thirdly, if Russia should return again to her true poUcy and join us. This last case I look upon to be quite desperate. I confine myself therefore to the two first. Despatches from Prince Swartzenberg were ex pected to arrive at Vienna about the end of February. From these it was supposed that Austria would knoAv L 3 150 CORRESPONDENCE. what she had to depend upon from the Emperor Alexander. If his determination should be to join France, the hopes of a triple aUiance AviU rest entirely on our being able to prevent the Turkish peace. If the second case should happen, I think an aUiance may also be brought about, but then this case cannot itself be produced except through the operation of fear on the mind of the Emperor Alexander. Of the probability of either preventing the con clusion of a disadvantageous peace by the Turks, or of persuading them to act with vigour, in order to force Russia into restitution and neutraUty, I can form no judgment before the arrival of the report of the first conferences at Jassy. But in any event it appears to me of the utmost importance that I should be enabled to support the language of my second note. Count Stadion's letter to me is decisive with regard to the cession of the proAdnces. With Russia so close on her eastern frontier Austria can make no effort to the west, and the only method of securing her on that side (if peace be not restored on the terms we wish) wiU be by carrying on the war in such a manner as to occupy Russia seriously on her own frontiers. It; is this consideration which makes me recommend so strenuously an attack on the Crimea. I have Avritten fully and confidentiaUy to Lord Collingwood upon this point, by Captain Stewart, of the Sea-Horse, who is upon the eve of his departure to join him. In my letter I have reminded his Lordship of our conversation at Cadiz, and of the opinion he then expressed on discussing with me that article of CORRESPONDENCE. 1 5 1 my instructions which related to an expedition to the Black Sea. I took the liberty of representing to his Lordship that at that period the great change in the affairs of Europe, which is bringing us again into communication AAdth Austria, was not in immediate contemplation ; and that consequently the danger he apprehended from a sudden change of system in Turkey, or from the occupation of the forts of the Bosphorus before a British squadron could return from the Black Sea, was no longer to be apprehended, or was not of a nature to counterbalance the immense advantages in the present state of continental affairs of keeping Russia in alarm for her own possessions. I then strongly recommended to his Lordship to con sent to the demand of naval co-operation in the Black Sea if the Turks should require it, and if his means would permit it. I have also requested Captain Stewart to inform his Lordship of various matters respecting our situation which I cannot prudently commit to payjer. Captain Stewart, who has seen the Castles both of the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles, is de cidedly of opinion to venture a squadron in the Black Sea. I really think the menace of attacking Sebastopolis would materiaUy assist the conclusion of the Russian peace on fair terms, and secure her neutrality ; consequently that this great obstacle to the triple alUance on the side of Austria would be done away. I have the honour to be, &c. L 4 152 CORRESPONDENCE. Inclosure A in Mr. Adair's No. Xll. Mr. Adair to the Reis Efendi. Pera, ce 28 Janvier, I8O9. Monsieur, La paix venant d'etre heureusement retabUe entre nos deux Empires, je saisis avec empressement l'occa sion de sa signature pour donner a la SubUme Porte Ottomane les premieres preuves de cette amitie que la Grande Bretagne n'a cesse de nourrir envers EUe, La guerre que la Sublime Porte soutient encore contre la Russie n'a aucune relation avec la grande querelle qui se vide entre I'Angleterre et la France ni dans son origine ni dans son but ; et S. M, I'Em pereur de Russie ayant nomme des Plenipotentiaires pour traiter de la paix avec la SubUme Porte, paroit avoir fourni une preuve de ses dispositions amicales envers Elle. Le retour de la paix entre ces deux Puissances seroit du meUleur augure pour tous les peuples. Bannie, presque, du monde Chretien, c'est dans les etats Ottomans qu'EUe cherche a se fixer la pre miere, et c'est de \k sans doute, que le Souverain Dis- pensateur de tous les biens a voulu qu'elle s'etende sur le reste de I'univers, Effectivement il paroit que I'Empereur de Russie, du meme moment ou, s'affranchissant de la mediation Frangoise, U a nomme des Plenipotentiaires pour traiter directement avec la Porte, a adresse aussi des propositions amicales au Roi, mon maitre. Si les propositions de sa Majeste Imperiale ne ren- ferment que le sujet du differend entre I'Angleterre et CORRESPONDENCE. 1 53 la Russie, cette paix sera bient6t faite. La Porte et la Russie s'accorderont de meme s'il ne s'agit au congres de Jassy que du sujet original de leur quereUe. D'apres ce principe, en attendant I'ouverture d'un congres general pour regler les affaires compUquees des autres Puissances actueUement en guerre, il paroit tout simple que la conclusion immediate de la paix entre la Porte et la Russie seroit un bonheur commun et un objet pour le succes duquel, malgre tant de sujets de diAdsion, tout le monde devroit se trouver d'accord. C'est afin de preter la main a une ceuvre si salutaire que je m'adresse maintenant a V. E. Ses lumieres sans doute lui presenteront les moyens de tirer parti de tout ce que le renouvellement des anciennes rela tions entre I'Angleterre et la Sublime Porte pourroit y offrir d'avantageux. J'aune a croire que I'inter- vention de I'Angleterre, non pas pour s'immiscer dans vos negociations sans y ^tre appeiee, mais par I'interet sincere qu'il est toujours permis de temoigner pour le salut et le bonheur d'une Puissance amie, ne seroit point deplacee a cette occasion, car quoique les evene mens extraordinaires de nos tems aient mis I'Angle terre et la Russie en etat de guerre I'une avec I'autre, rien de ce qui pourroit contribuer au renouveUement de I'amitie entre des peuples faits pour s'estimer a tant de titres, ne peut ^tre indifferent pour aucun des deux. Penetre de cette verite et pleinement muni des sen timens et des vues de ma Cour, j 'autorise votre Excel lence a communiquer aux Plenipotentiaires Russes que quelque puisse etre le fruit de I'ouverture paci- fique que I'Empereur de Russie, conjointement avec 154 CORRESPONDENCE. la France, Adent de faire auprfes du Roi mon maitre, la conclusion de la paix entre la Porte et la Russie sera dans tous les tems un obstacle considerable de moins a la paix entre Elle et V Angleterre, et presentera meme des moyens de I'acheminer que les AT^ais amis des deux Empires sauront toujours mettre k profit. Je saisis cette occasion, &c. (Signe) Robert Adair. Inclosure B in Mr. Adair's No. XII. Mr. Adair to the Reis Efendi. Le Soussigne, Plenipotentiaire de sa Majeste Bri tannique, a I'honneur de communiquer k S. E. le Reis Efendi la declaration du Roi, son maitre, au sujet de I'ouverture pacifique que I'Empereur de Russie et le chef du Gouvernement Frangois ont adressee a sa Majeste au mois d'Octobre dernier. La SubUme Porte y verra avec peine que la Cour de Russie, abandonnant la cause la plus faite pour toucher une ^me genereuse, paroit se prater aux vues du chef Frangois pour la subjugation de I'Espagne. Tout en gemissant sur un tel malheur pour la jus tice, la morale, et I'humanite, le Soussigne ne laisse pas de former les m^mes voeux qu'U a dej^ enonces pour qu'une paix honorable et soUde puisse se con clure entre la Sublime Porte et la Russie. Cependant, il ne peut se dispenser de representor a S. E. le Reis Efendi d'une maniere franche et amicale (telle que le renouvellement des anciennes relations entre les deux Empires semble autoriser) combien la conduite de la Russie a cette occasion doit aug- correspondence. 155 menter le danger auquel la Sublime Porte s'exposera en permettant a cette Puissance de s'etabUr sur le Danube, et surtout dans la Servie, soit par une paci fication qui lui cederoit les provinces Umitrophes de cette fleuve, soit en la laissant plus long-tems dans I'occupation paisible de ces provinces. Le Soussigne croit aussi devoir observer a la Su blime Porte qu'en opposant une resistance ferme et vigoureuseatoute pretention d'aggrandissement pared, la SubUme Porte se mettra dans le cas de profiter d'une maniere effective des bonnes dispositions du Roi a son egard, et par une sage combinaison de leurs moyens, de porter des coups dedsifs a I'ennemi com mun des deux Empires. Le Soussigne saisit cette occasion, &c. (Signe) Robert Adair. Pera, ce 22 Fevrier, I8O9. Inclosure C in Mr. Adair's No. XIl. Mr. Adair to Prince Prosorousky. 28 1 Pera, ce ^c }• Janvier, 1809- Monsieur le Feld Marechal, Quoique I'etat d'eloignement oii se trouvent mal- heureusement nos deux Cours ne permette aucune correspondance entre les employes respectifs des Souverains nos maitres, les circonstances tout-a-fait nouvelles ou nous nous trouvons par rapport a la guerre qui dure encore entre la Russie et la Porte semblent autoriser la communication que je prends la Uberte d'adresser maintenant k votre ExceUence. 156 correspondence. II seroit inutile de rappeler k V. E. les causes qui ont amene cette guerre. EUe salt que 1' Angleterre y est entree comme I'alUee de la Russie. L' Angleterre de m^me ne se seroit jamais pretee a des negociations separees avec la Porte (comme il a ete prouve par la conduite de son Plenipotentiaire en I'an 1807) sans la malheureuse separation d'interets que la paix de Tilsit avoit produite entre Elle et la Russie. La rupture plus facheuse encore qui s'ensuivit, rendit cette separation complette. L' Angleterre ainsi n'ayant plus rien a dem^ler avec la Porte, et le Roi mon maitre m'ayant muni de pleins pouvoirs a cet effet, j'ai conclu un traite de paix avec Elle le 5 Janvier. Cependant, M. le Feld Marechal, je ne puis ni oublier I'origine de cette guerre dans laquelle nous sommes entres sous les memes auspices, ni perdre la douce habitude de regarder la Russie comme essentieUe ment I'amie de I'Angleterre, au point de negliger une occasion qui m'est si naturellement presentee d' offrir a V. E. non pas I'intervention de ma Cour dans vos negociations avec la Porte (oil je suis loin de vouloir m'immiscer sans y etre appeie), mais tous les bons offices, tout ce que 1' expression des voeux sinceres du Roi mon maitre pour voir se retablir, d'une maniere solide, la paix entre la Russie et la Porte, pourroient avoir d' efficace auprfes de la Cour Ottomane. C'est avec d' autant plus d' empressement. Monsieur, que je vous fais cette offre, que j'ai connoissance d'une demarche pacifique que S. M. Imperiale, votre auguste Souve rain, vient de faire conjointement avec le chef du gou vernement Frangois aupres du Roi mon maitre. Quelque puisse etre Tissue de cette ouverture, je ne balancerai pas d'assurer V. E. que la conclusion de CORRESPONDENCE. 157 la paix entre la Russie et la Porte sera dans tous les tems un obstacle de moins a la paix entre la Russie et I'Angleterre, et par consequent a cette paix qui seule peut assurer le vrai repos de I'univers. Je prie V. E. d'agreer les assurances de la conside ration tr^s distinguee avec laquelle J'ai I'honneur d'etre, &c. &c. (Signe) Robert Adair. Inclosure D in Mr. Adair's No. XII. Mr. Adair to Count Stadion. Pera, le 18 Fevrier, I8O9. Monsieur le Comte, Quoique les relations diplomatiques aient cesse entre nos deux Cours, la position tout-a-fait nouveUe oil se trouvent I'Angleterre et la Russie par rapport a la guerre Turque, et I'interet general des etats qui avoisinent k la Porte et a la Russie de voir cesser cette guerre semblent justifier la demarche que je viens de hasarder en vous envoyant la lettre ci- incluse, adressee au Feld Marechal Prince de Proso rousky. Ayant appris ici que S. E. Monsieur le Feld Marechal n'etoit plus charge des negociations a Jassy, j'ai pris le parti de vous I'envoyer, M. le Comte, avec priere d'en faire parvenir le sens au Cabinet de St. Petersbourg. Apres 1' avoir lue, votre Excellence verra les raisons qui paroissent excepter ce cas de la rigueur des regies diplomatiques, et laisser les Cours 158 CORRESPONDENCE. d'Angleterre, de Vienne, et de St. Petersbourg, libres d'agir selon les principes d'une convenance evidente et redproque. La paix Turque interesse la Russie au plus haut point. EUe ne peut vous ^tre indif- ferente; et quoique je connoisse tout le prix de la diversion que la puissance Ottomane, reunie a la n6tre, peut operer en notre faveur dans le cas ou la guerre continueroit entre nous et la Russie, I'interet general d'une paix qui conservera et assurera une existence independante a I'Empire Ottoman I'emporte sur toute consideration de cette nature. Avec bien des excuses. Monsieur le Comte, de la Uberte que je prends en vous ecrivant, je vous prie d'agreer les assurances de la consideration tr^s dis tinguee avec laqueUe J'ai I'honneur d'etre, &c. &c. (Signe) Robert Adair. No. XIII. Two Inclosures. To the Right Honourable George Canning. Pera, March I9. I8O9. [This despatch merely inclosed the copy of a de claration on the part of the Porte, dated Feb. 18. 1809, announcing its neutrality in the war between France and England and its intention not to suffer any act of hostUity to be committed between these Powers within three miles of its harbours and coast, and the copy of a note from Mr. Adair to the Reis CORRESPONDENCE. 159 Efendi dated Feb. 26th, acknowledging the receipt of this declaration, and expressing his satisfaction at seeing the Porte determined to enforce the rights of its sovereignty.] No. XIV. * One Inclosure. By Captain Stewart. To the Right Honourable George Canning. Pera, March igth, I8O9. Sir, I HAVE the honour to inform you, that notwith standing the secret intrigues of the French, assisted by the inclosed note of the charge d'affaires, the Ottoman Government has granted to me every atten tion and distinction hitherto enjoyed by his Majesty's ambassadors at this Court. On the 14th instant in the character of H. M.'s Plenipotentiary I had a pubUc audience of H. I. M. Sultan Mahmoud the Second. This ceremony was attended with the usual formaUties practised here on similar occasions ; the manner in which I was received by H. I. M. was highly flattering, as it afforded a testimony of his friendship for the King my master, and of the esteem entertained by the Turkish Go vernment for the English nation. In the speech which I delivered according to custom to H. I. M., I confined myself to congratulations upon the re- establishment of peace between the two countries, and to assurances of the never-ceasing regard of England for the welfare of the Ottoman Porte. H. I. M. was * This despatch was written by Mr. Stratford Canning. — Ji. A. 1 60 CORRESPONDENCE. graciously pleased to return an answer with his own mouth, in which he expressed his satisfaction at the return of peace, and his sense of the constant friend ship testified by Great Britain towards his empire. Before I retired from his presence, his Imperial Majesty was pleased to add in a second speech the personal compUment of declaring his acknowledge ment of the services which he was pleased to say I had rendered to him. I have the honour to be, &c. Inclosure in Mr. Adair's No. XIV. Note presented by the Charge d'Affaires of France to the Dragoman of the Porte, translated from the Turkish. (No date.) Le charge d'affaires a entendu que l'on a accorde au Ministre d'Angleterre la faveur de se rendre offi cieUement a la SubUme Porte, et apres cela de se pre senter au pied du tr6ne de S. M. Imperiale. De pareUles faveurs n'ont ete accordees qu'aux Ministres charges de presenter une lettre de creance, et conformement a I'ancienne coutume de I'Empire Ottoman, il n'est arrive dans aucun tems, que ceux qui ne sont pas porteurs d'une lettre de creance soient presentes a la SubUme Porte, et surtout admis a la presence de sa Majeste Imperiale. Or le Ministre d'Angleterre n'ayant point de papiers officiels a presenter, une conduite si etrange et un accueil si flatteur provient de la grande estime et consideration, et de I'extr^me amitie de la Sublime Porte pour les Anglois. En effet, si l'on accueillera CORRESPONDENCE. 161 la demande de ce Ministre d'etre presente au tr6ne de sa Hautesse, ce seroit une preuve de I'union et liaison etroites de la Sublime Porte avec I'Angleterre ; on prie de demander cette affaire a S. E. le Reis Efendi. Aprfes qu'on a fait part que I'Empire Ottoman, contre son gre, a ete force de faire la paix avec I'Angleterre, le charge d'affaires est peine et afflige d' entendre k present des procedes propres a causer des soupgons a la France. Quoiqu'il en soit, etant necessaire que la France en soit aussi informee, et qu'apres avoir eu connois sance de I'intention et pensee de la Sublime Porte a cet egard, Elle r^gle sa conduite en consequence ; si le Ministre d'Angleterre aura la permission de se rendre a la SubUme Porte, comme de se presenter au tr6ne Imperial avant I'arrivee de la ratification, cette affaire sera ecrite et annoncee a I'Empereur de France de la part du charge d'affaires, et elle sera expliquee et exposee comme une circonstance sur laquelle on doit mesurer la sincerite et I'amitie de la Sublime Porte envers la France. No, XV. Two Inclosures. By Captain Stewart. Ea!tract, Pera, March 25 th, I8O9. Sir, I HAD scarcely finished my last despatch when I was informed of the sudden arrival of a Russian officer with a letter from Prince Prosorousky, com mander-in-chief of the Russian forces in Moldavia, to the Grand Vizier. The purport of this letter was to inform the Otto- VOL. I. M 162 CORRESPONDENCE. man Government that, by the express commands of his Sovereign, written with his own hand, he had to declare the armistice between the two armies at an end, in consequence of the admission of an English Plenipotentiary at Constantinople. He had further to announce the immediate resumption of hostiUties, also that no negociations for peace would be entered upon, unless the English Plenipotentiary were sent away. Forty-eight hours were granted to the Turkish Go vernment to resolve what course it would foUow. The bearer of this demand was soon given to understand that he might take the forty-eight hours to repose himself from the fatigues of his journey, but that he would derive no other benefit from his mission. In effect the Ottoman Government sent to inform me without delay of this requisition, and to consult with me on the answer to be returned to it. There was not the slightest hesitation as to its rejection ; and their consulting with me was rather in testimony of their confidence, than from any doubt Avith regard to the conduct which became them, or with any view of bargaining for their refusal. A grand Divan was held accordingly at the Mufti's on the 23rd, where the inclosed answer to the Rus sian demand (to which I have the honour to add a copy of Prince Prosorousky's letter) was unanimously agreed to. On receiving this notification the Russian officer quitted Constantinople to return to the army. Hos tilities therefore may be daily expected. In this situation the Sultan seems to have taken the resolution of calling forth all the resources of his Empire, and of directing them with energy against CORRESPONDENCE. 163 the common enemy. Proper measures are taken to assemble their army, and the Sultan aUows it to be rumoured that he will put himself at its head. As Captain Stewart was on the eve of his depar ture when the Russian officer arrived here, I sug gested the propriety of their consulting vdth him on the naval operations of the ensuing summer, and of combining them with those of Lord Collingwood. I also resumed the question of an attack on the Crimea. A meeting with the principal Ministers took place, accordingly, yesterday. Here it was resolved upon to attack Sebastopolis, and in short to carry on offensive operations vigorously against Russia in the Black Sea, provided a British naval force would co operate in them. ***** I agreed to transmit this requisition to his Majesty's Government, and to recommend most strongly a com pliance with it. I have communicated the whole to Lord Collingwood, and have added the same recom mendation to his Lordship if the state of his squadron AviU admit of his detaching that force. The manly good faith of the Turks would indeed deserve our assisting them in this manner, even if it were not called for by general views of policy, and the very critical situation of Austria. Without the slightest hesitation or reserve, therefore, I humbly presmne to press it on the consideration of his Ma jesty's Government with my most clear opinion in favour of its adoption. It remains for me now to offer you some observa tions on this proceeding of the Emperor Alexander. Your information from other sources will enable you to judge how far they may be well founded. M 2 164 CORRESPONDENCE. On considering the Emperor's letter, I cannot but think the whole to be the work of France. The pe remptory nature of the demand would make it appear to have been dictated under a sudden impression of resentment ; yet the fact not merely of the negociation, but of the actual signature of the English peace, must have been known at St. Petersburg nearly three weeks before the letter was sent off ; for as the officer Avho was the bearer of it to Prince Prosorousky was but seven days on his journey from thence, and after- Avards but eleven days in bringing its contents to Constantinople, it must have been written about the 2nd instant. Now the peace was known at Jassy on the 31st of January, and the usual course of the post from thence to St. Petersburg is ten days. The pro bability therefore is that the Emperor Alexander, who knew of the whole progress of the English nego ciation, troubled himself very little about its success until Caulincourt represented to him — first, that suf fering an English Minister to reside at any Court on the Continent until the peace, was contrary to the fundamental principle of his alliance Avith France ; and secondly, that such residence might encourage the Turks to resist the execution of the yslans agreed upon at Erfurt, concerning their territories. If this speculation be correct, I think an advantage is presented to us which, more perhaps than any other circumstance, may be made use of to produce a misun derstanding between Russia and France. The French Minister neither intends to quit this place, nor expects orders to quit it, notwithstanding my admission to an audience, and notwithstanding the subordinate cha racter in which his country is obliged to appear at the Porte. Here, then, the allies are at variance ; and CORRESPONDENCE. 1 65 at variance on a fundamental point in their agree ment which most particularly concerns Russia. The Emperor Alexander, faithful to his promise, breaks off in limine a negociation from which he had reason to hope an advantageous result, expressly because an English Plenipotentiary is at Constantinople. His ally submits to the affront. He makes no common cause vdth his confederate. He allows me quietly to go on, fortifying the Turks in their determination not to cede the proAdnces, and thus doing Russia all the mischief in my power. How can the Emperor Alexander account for this ? How, except that Bona parte is playing a double part Avith regard to this very question, and that while I confine myself to measures hostile to Russia, he sees nothing offensive in my continuing here — nothing at least worth quarrel ling about with the Turks. I submit these reflections to your better judgment. They have been already communicated at Vienna, from whence means will be found of making use of them at St. Petersburg. I have the honour to be, &c. Inclosure A in Mr. Adair's No. XV. Copie d'une Note du Prince Prosorousky a la Sublime Porte, en date de Jassy, le 22 Fevrier, 1809. Prince Prosorousky to the Porte. Le Soussigne, General Feld Marechal de S. M. I'Empereur de toutes les Russies et commandant en chef de son armee en Moldavie, Valachie, Bessarabie, M 3 166 correspondence; et le long des rives du Niester, a I'honneur d'informer la Sublime Porte Ottomane qu'U vient de recevoir de son auguste souverain une lettre autographe, portant en propres termes que " L'observation de I'armistice qui a jusqu'a present existe avec la Porte Ottomane etoit fondee sur les principes de moderation que S. M. I. avoit adoptes des le commencement, qu'EUe a constamment suivis, et d'aprfes lesquels Elle desiroit de le voir termine par la paix." " Qu'au milieu de ce rapprochement qui tendoit a ce but salutaire la Porte Ottomane vient de changer de conduite, que tandis qu'EUe se disposoit a traiter de la paix avec S. M. 1. Elle a admis aupres d'EUe le Plenipotentiaire Anglois, et renonce ainsi par le fait aux intentions qu'EUe manifestoit par des paroles." " Que S. M. I. considere cette conduite comme une rupture totale et une cessation de I'armistice." " Qu'en consequence S. M. I. charge le Soussigne d'expedier immediatement apr^s la reception de cette lettre un officier a Constantinople, et de declarer au Ministfere Ottoman en son nom et d'apres son ordre precis, qu'EUe considere 1' admission du Plenipotentiaire Anglois comme une rupture totale de I'armistice." " Que d^s lors quand meme les Plenipotentiaires Ottomans arriveroient au lieu destine pour le Congrfes, aucune proposition de paix ne sera ni faite ni ecoutee, si le Ministre Anglois n'est point econduit, et I'officier expedie par le Soussigne renvoye au bout de deux jours avec une reponse qui satisfasse parfaitement k cette demande." " Que ce terme de deux jours est de toute rigueur, et enfin que si I'officier ne rcAdent dans une espace de tems suffisant pour son retour, ou qu'il revienne sans correspondence . 167 une reponse pleinement satisfaisante, le Soussigne a I'ordre de commencer les hostUites." La Sublime Porte peut juger d'apres le contenu de cet ordre quel juste sentiment de surprise et d' emotion a du eprouver S. M. I. en apprenant la nouveUe in- attendue de I'admission du Ministre Britannique. EUe saura sans doute calculer toutes les suites de la determination que cette nouveUe dicte necessairement k S. M. I., et le Soussigne espfere qu'EUe voudra les prevenir par une reponse prompte, decisive, et en tierement conforme aux desirs de son auguste Souve rain. II saisit cette occasion, &c. &c. Inclosure B in Mr. Adair's No. XV. RSponse de la Sublime Porte a la Note du Prince Pro sorousky, remise a I'Emissaire Russe le 2S Mars, 1809. La SubUme Porte vient de recevoir la lettre que vous lui avez adressee par un officier expres, portant que si le Plenipotentiaire Britannique arrive dernierement k Constantinople n'est point econduit, les hostilites re- commenceront entre la Sublime Porte et la Russie, et exprimant que vous avez regu un ordre sur cela de la part de S. M. I'Empereur. La teneur et le sens de cette lettre sont parvenus k notre connoissance amicale. Quand la Russie par un effet des circonstances du tems a commence les hostUites en occupant les pro vinces et forteresses Ottomanes sans qu'il eut existe en effet aucun sujet d'inimitie entre Elle et la Sublime M 4 168 CORRESPONDENCE. Porte, I'Angleterre ne s'est portee k nous declarer la guerre, que dans la simple idee d'agir de concert avec la Cour de Russie en ce tems. Mais apres la paix de Tilsit, la Cour Britannique se pr^tant a ce que la raison suggeroit, et la Sublime Porte penchant tou jours du c6te de la conciliation et de la justice ; un Plenipotentiaire Anglois arriva en effet au detroit de la Mer Blanche avec I'offre de renouveUer I'ancienne amitie entre les deux Cours. La Sublime Porte considerant alors que la dispo sition de I'Angleterre a retablir I'amitie comme ci- dessus, pourroit devenir un moyen preparatoire a la paix generale, et au retablissement de la tranquillite et repos de tous les peuples ; et une depeche portee par un officier expres, ayant paru de la part de V. E. dans I'interval meme ou l'on etoit en negociation de paix avec le Plenipotentiaire Britannique au detroit sus-dit, indiquant que votre commission precedente avoit ete renouveUee de la part de S. M. I'Empereur, et yDropo- sant la nomination et envoi des Plenipotentiaires Ottomans pour le retablissement de la paix, ce qui confirmoit les conjectures et les vues de notre gou vernement — la Sublime Porte n'hesita point de nommer S. E. Galib Efendi, Reis Efendi actuel, son premier Plenipotentiaire, et de le faire partir avec d'autres Efendis, personnes egalement distinguees de ses coUegues, pour le lieu destine. Outre la persuasion ou l'on est que S. M. I'Em pereur de Russie (comme sa dignite et sa haute renommee I'exigent) ne sauroit contravenir a ses promesses et conventions, et outre que c'est une chose claire et connue par tout le monde, qu'une recon- ciUation entre les deux Cours, en envisageant la position desagreable que le destin a fait naitre entre CORRESPONDENCE. 169 EUes comme non avenue, seroit une mesure salutaire k I'une et k I'autre partie ; il y a maintenant cinq ou six mois depuis que la negociation fut commencee avec I'Angleterre de la manidre ci-dessus; il y a quelques mois dejk que la paix meme a ete conclue, et presque un an depuis que le Plenipotentiaire Britannique a quitte Londres, et jusqu'a ce moment, cependant, on n'a rien entendu du cote de la Cour de Russie sur ce sujet, ni en bien ni en mal; et comme apres les con ferences d'Erfurt des ouvertures de paix ont ete faites a I'Angleterre par la Russie et la France, Ton ne voit pas comment il peut exister aucun sujet de critique contre la Sublime Porte k regard de sa paix avec la premiere. Tandis done que par des Notes qui ont ete donnees a qui il appartenoit, tout le monde a eu connoissance sur quel pied et de quelle maniere la Sublime Porte avoit fait sa paix avec la Grande Bretagne — c'est a dire que I'arrangement conclu avec Elle ne consistoit que du retablissement pure et simple de I'ancienne amitie sans un traite d'alliance ; et tandis qu'il etoit de toute possibilite par I'arrivee de L. L. E. E. les Plenipotentiaires Ottomans en ces jours, de leur faire des questions et avoir des reponses s'il le falloit d'eux- memes, I'apparition d'une lettre de cette espece adressee a la Sublime Porte n'a pu que nous causer de la surprise ; ce qui ne doit echapper a la penetra tion de V. E. elle-m^me. Au surplus la position de la Sublime Porte k regard de continuer une guerre maritime avec I'Angleterre n'etant point a comparer avec celle des autres puis sances, des provinces et forteresses appartenantes a I'Empire Ottoman de plein droit etant actueUement occupees par vos troupes ; une long interval s'etant 170 CORRESPONDENCE, ecouie depuis que la paix avec I'Angleterre a ete heureusement et salutairement conclu et arrangee ; et etant connu k I'univers entier que la SubUme et puis sante Porte Ottomane n'a dans aucun tems recuie de ses engagemens, mais qu'EUe est exacte a maintenir ses Traites avec les puissances et nations avec les- queUes Elle est en paix, die ne congoit par conse quent aucun sens du parti qu'on lui propose main- tenant — celui de se desister de sa dite paix ; et comme ces propos memes se presentent sous une voUe d'am- biguite et de sens obscure dans votre lettre, la Sub lime Porte remet a la prudence et aux lumieres de sa digne personne de dissoudre et developper ces points en conferant avec nos Plenipotentiaires sur le Ueu m^me d'une maniere conforme aux interets des deux Cours, et analogue aux loix de la moderation, et de I'equite. C'est pour cela que la presente depeche est ecrite et vous est envoyee par le retour de I'officier ci-dessus mentionne. A sa reception (Dieu plaisant) on remet a votre moderation et a votre perspicacite de faire ce que la prudence et la sagesse exigent. No. XVI. To the Right Hon. George Canning. Pera, March 28th, I8O9. Sir, I HAVE the honour of acknowledging the receipt of your despatches to No. 14. inclusive by Mr. Meyer, iind of the fuU powers for concluding peace with CORRESPONDENCE. 171 Austria, with which his Majesty has been graciously pleased to honour me. Permit me io express my grateful thanks to his Majesty for this additional and distinguished mark of his confidence, I have the honour to be, &c. No. XVII. Three Inclosures. To the Right Honourable George Canning. Pera, April 12th, I8O9. Sir, I HAVE the honour of inclosing you a notification (A) which has been made to me by the Ottoman Go vernment, by which it has prohibited all intercourse with Russia by sea and by land. This measure is the result of the change of system in the Ottoman councils, produced by the unwarrant able pretensions of the Court of St. Petersburgh, and of the conviction with which the Turks are at length impressed of the necessity of Adgorous offensive oper ations. That the measure wiU prove in some degree pre judicial to English commerce is certainly not to be denied ; but the advantages upon a larger scale which our cause wiU derive from it are so manifest that I conceive myself fully justified in having advised and enforced it. If Great Britain possessed the DardaneUes there can be no doubt that she would issue a simUar de- 172 CORRESPONDENCE, claration ;, and after the language and principles adopted of late years by France and the Powers acting under her influence, I confess that it appeared to me of no small importance to mark the renewal of our Continental intercourse by associating to our system a Power so considerable by its means, and so important by its situation, as Turkey, The direct mischief which it will produce to the enemy is considerable, and must be severely felt. The remainder of the foreign commerce of Russia must be totally extinguished. Her exports from Odessa and the Crimea exceed greatly her imports; and of her imports the two most considerable articles are sulphur and oil, of both of Avhich it will distress her extremely to be deprived. The article of export most useful to the Turks and to ourselves is corn ; but Avith the least degree of in dustry, which their own necessities will teach them, they may obtain enough of this necessary article from Syria, Egypt, and various other parts of their exten sive dominions. Indeed, nothing can speak more strongly in favour of this measure than the information received from Odessa, where orders had arrived from St. Peters burgh to keep the trade open for neutral flags, not withstanding any rupture of the armistice. The French Minister, in his remonstrances to the Porte against it, has departed a little from his usual style of menace and invective ; but he asserts it to be a direct breach of treaty, and insists on its revocation in favour of the French flag. I have the honour of inclosing you two notes (B, C) which he has presented on the occasion. They have produced no effect. _ I have met with no support, nor did I expect it in CORRESPONDENCE. 173 this business, from the Internuncio. But I have taken care to explain to him my share in the measure, so as to obviate any misunderstanding which might affect our future communications. Indeed, he is fully convinced of its necessity, and that there can be no such effectual diversion for Austria as that of giving the most serious aspect possible to the war between Russia and the Porte. I have the honour to be, &c. Inclosure A in Mr. Adair's No. XVII. Notification from the Porte to Mr. Adair. The Court of Russia having heretofore, in a manner contrary to existing Treaties, seized an opportunity of marching upon the Ottoman territories by surprise, and of invading in a Uke manner the forts and pro vinces of this Empire, at a time when the Sublime Porte had suffered no omission or infringement what ever to occur in the observance of the stipulations and engagements contracted in her favour, the war became consequently inevitable ; and the respective armies were on the point of coming to action, when Russia, showing a disposition towards adopting an equitable and pacific conduct, demanded an armistice, on the ground of restoring the provinces and fortresses which were arbitrarily occupied by her, and of settUng the affair of the peace within a short period. The Sublime Porte, being desirous to adhere, on the other hand, to her uniform and favourite system of avoiding the effusion of blood, and ever AviUing to pursue her maxim of contributing to the attainment of such a salutary end as the general ease and security 174 CORRESPONDENCE . of mankind, an armistice was accordingly concluded and agreed upon between the two parties. At the time of the breaking out of the war with Russia as above, in order to put an effectual stop to the navigation to and from the Russian ports in the Black Sea, and to cut off every intercourse and re lation between that country and the Ottoman states, a resolution was taken to shut up the passage of that Sea ; and this circumstance was notified and stated to the Ministers of foreign Courts at amity with us, by official notes which were delivered to them at the time. This measure therefore continued in force tiU the time when a suspension of hostilities had been agreed upon. But, considering that an armistice is a time of conciliation and peace, licence was given to the mer chantmen belonging to Powers in amity Avith this empire to navigate in the above Sea, according to the rights and privUeges which had been granted them in time past respecting that navigation. In the present instance, however, Russia, foUoAving again a mode of conduct inconsistent with the rules and maxims which belong to independent Govern ments, has not only announced that her troops are going to recommence hostilities, but they have ac tually marched and attacked the Ottoman territory anew ; although (thanks be to the Almighty) they have again gone back in consequence of a defeat they have met with on the side of Islabozy and Guirgiova. In this situation it becomes highly necessary to prevent all merchant ships from going and coming to and from Russia to the Ottoman States, and to cut off every communication and intercourse with that country both by sea and by land, by shutting up the CORRESPONDENCE. 175 above channel ; — at the same time that this measure is to have a provisional operation, and to last only tUl such time as no inconvenience may appear to accrue from granting such permission hereafter, when aU ships belonging to friendly Powers will again be allowed to navigate that Sea, and to carry on their trade as in former times. Orders being sent therefore to the officers of the Imperial navy, and the commander at the above straits, to use every attention and care to the same being kept shut, and that this measure may also be made knoAvn on the part of our friends the foreign Ministers to those to whom it may appertain, this present official note has been drawn up, and is sent to our esteemed friend his Excellency the Plenipoten tiary of Great Britain. 25 Saafer, 1224, i. e. 10 AprU, 1809. Inclosure B in Mr. Adair's No. XVII. French Note. Copy of a Note from the Charge d'Affaires of France to the Reis Efendi, dated Constantinople, April 9th, 1809. Votre ExceUence a dit aujourd'hui k M. Fran- chini. Dragoman de I'Ambassade de France, que la sruerre etant au moment de se rallumer entre I'Em- pire Ottoman et la Russie, la Sublime Porte songeoit a fermer le Bosphore et k en interdire le passage aux batimens de commerce. Dans cette circonstance, et tandis qu'un objet de cette importance n'est point encore decide et s'agite dans les conseUs du Ministere, je crois devoir rappeler 176 CORRESPONDENCE . a V. E. que le point principal du dernier Traite fait a Paris entre la France et la Turquie etablit d'une maniere formeUe et irrevocable la libre navigation des b&,timens de commerce Frangois de la Mer Blanche dans la Mer Noire; que dans ce Traite la Sublime Porte ne s'est reservee pour aucun cas la faculte d'interdire ou m^me de suspendre momen- tanement cette navigation ; de sorte que la Sublime Porte en I'interrompant porteroit atteinte au Traite qui fait la base de I'amitie des deux Empires. J'abandonne ces observations a la prudence des Ministres ; j'ai cru devoir les faire, afin d'eviter, s'il se peut, des evenemens funestes. J'ajouterai k ceci une autre observation. Je sais que des vaisseaux qui communiquent entre deux pays en guerre I'un contre I'autre doivent s'abstenir de porter de I'un k I'autre certains objets connus sous le nom de contrebande de guerre. C'est pourquoi ayant appris que des capitaines Franjois partant de Constantinople pour Odessa avoient pris k bord une certaine quantite de souffre, qui est au nombre de ces objets, je les ai contraints de le debarquer et de le laisser k Constantinople. Jamais aucune infraction aux Traites et aux usages etabUs par le droit des gens ne pourra etre reprochee a la France. J'ai I'honneur de renouveUer, &c. &c. (Signe) Faij Latour Maubourg. Inclosure C in Mr. Adair's No. XVI I. French Note. Copy of a Note from the Charge d'Affaires of France to the Reis Efendi. (No date.) Le Soussigne, Auditeur au ConseU d'Etat, Charge d'Affaires de S. M. I'Empereur des Francois, Roi CORRESPONDENCE. 177 d'ltalie, Protectedr de la Confederation du Rhin, pr^s la Sublime Porte, a regu la Note du 10 AvrU, que la Su blime Porte lui a adressee pour le prevenir qu'EUe avoit juge a-propos d'interdire aux batimens de com merce I'entree et la navigation de la Mer Noire. Le Soussigne, en lisant les articles du Traite conclu a Paris entre la France et la Sublime Porte signe le 6"^ Messidor I'an 10 (24 Safer-al-hair), et dont la copie est ci-jointe, trouve dans 1' article 2. de ce Traite que la Sublime Porte consent a ce que les vaisseaux de commerce Frangois jouissent a I'avenir et sans aucune contestation du droit d'entrer et de naviguer librement dans la Mer Noire. Le Soussigne remarque que dans le reste du Traite la Sublime Porte ne s'est reservee dans aucun cas la faculte d'oter aux navires Frangois ou meme de suspendre a leur egard cette navigation. Le Soussigne voit en consequence dans la cloture de la Mer Noire un acte qui detruit ce Traite. Le Soussigne pense qu'une erreur ou un mal- entendu aura donne lieu a I'envoi de la Note que la Sublime Porte lui a remise et a laquelle il repond ; car s'il n'en etoit pas ainsi, et si la Sublime Porte avoit redlement I'intention de fermer la Mer Noire, il en resulteroit qu'EUe veut aneantir le Traite qui I'unit a la France, chose que le Soussigne ne peut admettre. Le Soussigne croit que la Sublime Porte n'est point dans le dessein de se priver volontairement de I'amitie de la France ; et quand cela seroit, ce qu'a Dieu ne plaise, ne conviendroit-il pas mieux a la franchise de la Sublime Porte de declarer nettement qu'EUe veut rompre avec la France que d'amener cette rupture par mille voies detournees. L'Empereur des Frangois est un grand et puissant monarque. II n'a jusqu'ici donne a la SubUme VOL. I. N 178 CORRESPONDENCE. Porte que des marques d'attachement et d'amitie. Le Soussigne suppUe la Sublime Porte, et cela pour la gloire de I'Empire Ottoman, de prendre ce dernier point en grande consideration. Le Soussigne supplie la Sublime Porte aussi de considerer que I'Empereur des Frangois ne souffrira point qu'il soit enleve a ses sujets un droit qui leur est assure par les Traites. Le Soussigne prie egalement la Sublime Porte de vouloir bien lui donner par ecrit a regard de cette Note de plus amples explications. Le Soussigne a I'honneur de renouveller a son ExceUence le Reis Efendi les assurances de sa haute consideration. (Signe) Faij Latour Maubourg. No. XVI il To the Right Hon. George Canning. Pera, April 18th, I8O9. Sir, The menaces of Russia have at length roused the spirit of this nation, and the greatest activity prevails in all its military departments. Troops are marching in considerable numbers towards the Danube, and the fleet is equipping Avith the utmost diUgence. The Russians commenced hostilities on the 5 th instant. It is not, known whether they waited the return of the officer despatched by Prince Proso rousky, and who left Constantinople only on the 24th of March. The official accounts received here state the enemy correspondence. 179 to have been defeated in an attempt to surprise Guir giova with the loss of 2,000 kiUed and prisoners ; and subsequent advices mention another advantage gained by the Ottoman forces near Silistria. I have the honour to be, &c. No. XIX. To the Right Hon. George Camming. Pera, April 18th, I8O9. Sir, Since the rejection of the Emperor of Russia's de mand, of which I had the honour of sending you an account in my No. 15., and the consequent renewal. of the war on the Danube, I have received various and most urgent applications from the Ottoman Government for pecuniary assistance from his Ma jesty. In our conferences at the Dardanelles, I had suc ceeded in convincing the Ottoman Plenipotentiary that it would be fruitless to apply to his Majesty for subsidies. I could not make him understand, how ever, the nature of the difficulties which rendered the proposal for a loan nearly as objectionable. To this point accordingly my attention has again been caUed ; and I have received such representations both of the spirit with which the Government is ani mated, and of the necessities under which it labours, as to induce me, with great deference, to submit to his Majesty's Ministers the question whether there be any practicable method by Avhich Great Britain could sustain this spirit and relieve these necessities. N 2 180 CORRESPONDENCE. In addition to the state of disorder to which years, it may be said centuries, of maladministration have reduced their finances, the loss which the Government has recently sustained by the insurrection in which the Grand Vizier Mustapha lost his Ufe, is most severe. What is worse, it falls on that department where the utmost energy must be displayed if this Empire is to be saved. Almost all the tents belong ing to the army, all the baggage, and an immense quantity of stores, proAdsions, and magazines, were destroyed in the late fires at Constantinople. These financial difficulties impede the progress of every effort which the Ottoman Government is dis posed to make, and which the people are uncommonly eager to second, to carry the war into the enemy's country. The enthusiasm by which the whole mass of the population of this Empire is animated, is stated to me to exceed any thing known in the memory of modern times. On the other hand, the pecuniary distress is at least equal in proportion. The Ottoman Government does not apply to me on this occasion in the tone which has too frequently been adopted by other States, by declaring that unless Great Britain shall assist them, they shaU be reduced to make cessions of territory, and other sacrifices, to obtain peace ; they assure me that they mean to carry on the war to extremity whether we assist them or not ; but they also point out to me the impossibility of carrying it on upon the only scale that can either insure them ultimate success, or enable them to render it an effectual diversion for Austria, unless «ome method can be devised for remedying the evil of which they feel so strongly the pressure at the present moment. CORRESPONDENCE. 181 In the different conversations which I have had on this subject with the Plenipotentiary Vaahid Efendi (and I have had many, but have not hitherto deemed it necessary to trouble you with the detaUs of them) it has been my constant endeavour to impress upon the Government the necessity of calling out their OAvn resources, which are immense, and of establish ing rigorous reforms in the coUection of their revenue. I have found to aU appearance a serious disposition to adopt these measures ; but it has also been justly observed to me, that their wants are immediate, and that the reforms in question are not only distant in their operation, but, until the ferment occasioned by the Nizam-Dgedid shaU be thoroughly appeased, not wholly safe to institute on an extended plan. The method to which they seem chiefly to adhere is that of a loan from Great Britain; and Avith a Adew of effecting one, the Porte invited me not long since to a conference with Vaahid Efendi. In the conference which I had with him accord ingly, I assured this Minister of every disposition on the part of his Majesty to assist in reUcAdng the necessities of the Ottoman Government ; and for this purpose I stated myself to be ready to consult with him day after day, and to assist in framing any plan which should clear the question from the numerous difficulties with which it was encumbei-ed. A loan from the merchants of England I convinced him was out of the question ; a loan from the Government I thought equally so, but I would not refuse to trans mit any proposal for one which might be accompanied with a specification of sufficient security for the pay ment of the interest, and the gradual extinction of the capital. N 3 182 CORRESPONDENCE. The particulars of their proposal, and of the secu rity they offer, will be the subject of a future despatch. Vaahid Efendi was not prepared with any details, but he stated generaUy that it was intended to pro pose that the Mufti, the Ulemas, and the whole body of their law should join in an act pledging the reve nues appropriated to the maintenance of their religion, for the repayment of the sura borrowed. In consenting to transmit any plan of which this security is to be the basis, you will easily perceive that I have been actuated solely by a desire to prove to the Turks my readiness to enter into the state of their necessities. Such is the composition of the Turkish character that a refusal to listen to their proposals, however chimerical, would have been con strued by them into an indifference to their situation, which I am far indeed from feeling. This conference, which had been so earnestly soli cited by the Ottoman Government, appeared to me to afford a favourable opportunity for submitting to its attention a measure of a different nature, and one through which a foundation might be laid, not only for relicAdng them from their present embarrassments, but for augmenting their natural resources, and pro curing for his Majesty's service a permanent supply of several valuable articles of consumption. It is well known that the different dominions of this vast empire produce oak timber in abundance, likewise copper and hemp. This latter article is not so valuable as the Russian hemp ; but in case of ne cessity may become a very serviceable commodity. The copper used in the Turkish navy is of the finest kind ; and, as I learn, would be obtained cheaper than that used in his Majesty's dockyards. I need not CORRESPONDENCE. 183 expatiate on the importance of securing a constant supply of corn in the present, or indeed in any future prospect of our affairs in Spain, Italy, or the Medi terranean. Instead of coming to Great Britain for a loan, there fore, I stated that these resources pointed out a much shorter and simpler method of supplying their wants ; and I offered to submit to his Majesty's Government the outlines of a convention by which Great Britain might engage to advance a certain sum to the Porte, bearing interest, and consent to receive in payment, at stated periods, ship timber, copper, hemp, and corn to an equal amount. The utility of this measure to both countries will, I think, appear evident. To Great Britain, by in suring a supply of the most valuable articles of con stant consumption ; to Turkey, by showing them the extent of their own resources, and by teaching them habits of industry to call them forth. Vaahid Efendi received the communication of this offer with much apparent satisfaction. It is to be laid before the Divan ; and by the time at which I shall have another opportunity of Avriting to you I expect to receive an ansAver to it, together Avith the plan for the projected loan. Not to lose time, I am now making proper inquiries with regard to the amount of timber, corn, hemp, and copper which the Porte can actually dispose of. I have also written to Sir Alexander BaU, communi cating fully to his Excellency the nature of my y3ro- posal ; and as the Avants of the Porte are most pressing, I have sent to inquire of him how far he is actually authorised to become a purchaser for his Majesty's service of any quantity of the above articles suf- •N 4 184 CORRESPONDENCE. ficiently large to be made an object of arrangement between the two Governments.I have the honour to be, &c. No. XX. Three Inclosures. To the Right Honourable George Canning. Pera, April 23d, I8O9. Sir, Application having been made to me by the com manders of several vessels belonging to the RepubUc of the Seven Islands to take them under his Majesty's protection on their renouncing that of France, after due inquiry into the circumstances of their respective cases, and upon consultation with Mr. Dendrino, late ChanceUor of the Septinsular republic, I acceded to their request under certain conditions, of which I have the honour to inclose you a copy (A). The article by which these vessels engage to pro ceed from hence to Malta, in the first instance, ap peared to me necessary in order to guard against any fraudulent attempt to cover enemy's property under a pretence of abjuring French usurpation. At Malta their papers and the crews of the vessels vdU undergo a rigid examination, and his Excellency Sir Alexander Ball, in whose vigilance and accuracy it is needless for me to express the fullest confidence, Avill be en abled to give such further directions respecting the disposal of them as to his judgment may seem neces sary. These articles having been signed by the captains of five ships noAV lying in the harbour of Constan- CORRESPONDENCE. 185 tinople, I ordered the inclosed proclamation (B) to be made public. The Septinsular flag was then hoisted on board the ships, and the colours of France Avere hauled doAvn. The violence of the French Charge d'Affaires on this occasion has passed all bounds, and he has proceeded to acts which have been productive of the most serious discussions with the Porte. Ever since the cession of the fortresses of Corfu by Russia France has openly claimed the sovereignty of the Islands, and has asserted her claim by acts which, although never distinctly recognised by the Porte, have not been formally resisted. I had occasion very shortly after my arrival here to protest against this usurpation, and I gave fair notice to the Porte that I should exert the right of protecting the subjects of the Septinsular Republic in all such cases as appeared to me to require it. Immediately on the appearance of the proclamation above recited, Mr. Dendrino was arrested in the street by order of the French Charge d'Affaires, and con ducted prisoner to his house. Of this outrage I sent immediate notice to the Porte, and demanded redress. Satisfaction Avas pro mised me without hesitation ; and a note was instantly despatched to Mr. Latour de Maubourg by the Reis Efendi, requiring him to deliver up his prisoner. Mr. de Maubourg refused, declaring him to be a French subject. On receiving intelligence of this refusal, I thought it expedient to present without delay the note of Avhich the enclosed is a copy (C) ; and I went myself to the Reis Efendi to enforce the representations con tained in it. 186 CORRESPONDENCE. When I arrived at the Porte I found the Divan assembled, and that a determination had been taken to send the Dragoman of the Porte to Mr. de Mau bourg (a step never taken but on very extraordinary occasions) with the foUowing message : — " That it appearing to the Porte that the EngUsh Minister claimed the individual in question as being under the Enghsh protection, and that the French Minister claimed him as being under that of France ; it appearing also that the territory of the Porte had been violated by the forcible seisure of his person, the Porte demanded, in the first instance, that the man should be delivered into its custody, in order to his being interrogated by the Caimacan to which nation he belonged." In obedience to these orders the chief Dragoman went immediately to Mr. de Maubourg, who again refused to deliver up the man. The Dragoman then remonstrated with him on the consequences of in voking the two countries in war, which would in falUbly be the case if he persisted. Mr. de Maubourg still adhered to his refusal, unless the Porte would un dertake that the man should not exercise his functions of ChanceUor of the Seven Islands, and unless the ships which had hoisted the Septinsular flag should be ordered to strike their colours. The Dragoman refused to enter into any question concerning the Seven Islands, or to hear of any con ditions for the delivering up of Mr. Dendrino. Mr. de Maubourg then required a written note from the Reis Efendi to justify him towards his own govern ment in complying with the demand of the Porte. The Dragoman retired, and the same evening returned Avith a note from the Reis Efendi ; but Mr. de Maubourg CORRESPONDENCE. 187 still refused to deliver up his prisoner. Each party threatened the other to proceed to extremities. Thus stands the question at this moment. To morrow the Grand Vizier is expected at Constantino ple, and the matter will, I conclude, be referred to his decision. So long as I see this Government resolved to main tain the rights of my sovereign as well as its own dignity, I shall abstain from all interference with the course it is pursuing. This course by no means pre cludes me from insisting on a distinct personal satis faction' to myself Of this right I shall avail myself according to circumstances ; but it is needless to em barrass the Porte with a question upon it before its time. I have the honour to be, &c. Inclosure A in Mr. Adair's No. XX. This paper contained the conditions to which the Septinsular Captains subscribed. These were, 1. To proceed from hence to Malta under convoy of a British ship of war. 2. On their arrival at Malta to put themselves under the direction of Sir A. Ball. Inclosure B in Mr. Adair's No. XX. [Public declaration by which Mr. Adair granted the EngUsh protection to the Septinsular flag, and to all individuals belonging to the Seven Islands, who should present themselves before their chancellor, Mr. Dendrino.] 188 CORRESPONDENCE. Inclosure C in Mr. Adair's No. XX. Mr. Adair to the Reis Efendi. The undersigned, his Britannic Majesty's Plenipoten tiary, had the honour of representing yesterday to the Sublime Porte the atrocious Adolation of the rights of his sovereign committed by the Charge d'Affaires of France, in the seisure and imprisonment of Mr. Dendrino, a person under the special protection of the King of Great Britain. Such an act the Sublime Porte will readily believe cannot pass unnoticed by the undersigned. But before the undersigned has recourse to those measures which the nature of the proceeding both in dicates and demands, he is anxious to address himself to the Sublime Porte with that frankness which is due to the friendly relations so recently established between the two empires, and with that temper which is requisite for the preservation of the important in terests involved in this proceeding. The undersigned, therefore, has to observe to the Sublime Porte that independently of the right of personal security which he claims and demands for aU persons under the protection of the King his master, and which has been so atrociously violated in the pre sent instance, this act of the French Charge d'Affaires is a direct insult to the sovereignty of the Porte itself. The establishment of the Republic of the Seven Islands was formally recognised by the Sublime Porte by the Treaty of Peace in 1802. An embassy from that Republic Avas received at Constantinople, and admitted to exercise the functions attached by CORRESPONDENCE, ' 189 the law of nations to all representatives of Independent States. Mr. Dendrino Avas attached to that embassy, and acted for it in the character of its chancellor. No Treaty subsequent to the Treaty of Peace above recited has been made among the Powers interested in the fate of this Republic which can annul or in any degree weaken the rights possessed by Mr. Dendrino, whether as an authorised public agent of an In dependent State, or whether as an indiAddual under his Majesty's protection. Mr. Dendrino has never acknowledged himself a subject of the French Government. He has never accepted the protection of France. It is, therefore, to the Sublime Porte in the first instance, to its justice, to its friendship, to the sense of its own offended dignity, that the undersigned looks Avith confidence for the instant liberation of Mr. Den drino, and for reparation for the insult thus wantonly and without provocation offered to the King his master by his arrest. The undersigned abstains from any further observ ation for the present, and requests his Excellency to accept the assurances of his high consideration. Pera, April 20th, I8O9. Separate. No. 1. To the Right Honourable George Canning. Pera, April 23d, I8O9. Sir, The circumstance which to aU appearance has in duced the captains of the Septinsular vessels in this 1^0 correspondence: port to apply for British protection has been the mea sure adopted by this Government of shutting the Bosphorus. I have granted that protection under the conditions mentioned in my despatch of this day's date, with a view of stimulating the Septinsulars in other parts to make some effort to get possession of Cephalonia and the other Islands contiguous to Corfu ; also of Cerigo, which is now a rendezvous for French privateers, who are becoming extremely troublesome in these seas. If this can be effected, and Corfu well blockaded, the French may very probably be expelled from thence during the summer. On the importance of these Islands in the renewed state of our connections Avith this Empire, and with a view to the part which it may take in re-establishing our connections with the rest of Europe, it would be useless for me to dwell. I have the honour to be, &c. Separate. No. 2. One Inclosure. To the Right Honourable George Canning. Pera, April 23d, 1809. Sir, The circumstance to which I have alluded in my despatch of this day's date as having given me occa sion to protest against the asserted claim of France to the sovereignty of the Seven Islands, is as follows : — I had engaged one Castriot, a native of Corfu, to print occasionaUy such proclamations and other pubhc documents as might appear to me useful, with a view of counteracting the impressions produced by the correspondence. 191 buUetins and other misrepresentations of the French. The utility of establishing a press, especially if the discussions between Austria and France should ter minate in war, is a point on which I should think there could be no question. This Castriot was under the protection of France ; but he declared himself desirous of renouncing it if he could obtain that of England. Had he been a native of any country which his Majesty by the Peace of Amiens had recognised to be within the limits of France, although 1 should not have given up the right of protecting him, I should probably have hesitated Avith regard to the propriety of exercising it just noAv. But as he was the native of a Republic whose independence had been recog nised by all the parties to the Treaty of Amiens, and as no subsequent Treaty had been entered into by his Maj esty Avhich could in any degree alter the relations then estabUshed between his Maj esty and that Republic, I thought myself bound in honour to promise the British protection to Castriot. This produced a re presentation from the French minister to the Porte, and a threat, and even an attempt to arrest the man under pretence of his being a French subject. The Porte wishing to avoid entering into the French claim of sovereignty, applied to me to find a middle course. I replied by the note of which the inclosed is a copy. Since that period Castriot has not been molested, but I have been given to understand that it is only in consideration of his being in my service. I have the honour to be, &c. 192 correspondence . Inclosure in Separate No. 2. of April 23d. Mr. Adair to the Reis Efendi. Le Soussigne, Plenipotentiaire de sa Majeste Britan nique, a re9u une communication de S. E. le Reis Efendi par la voie de M. Bibieca, premier Dragoman de la Sublime Porte, au sujet du nomme Jacob Castro, qui est au service du Soussigne. On pretend que ce Jacob Castro etant natif de Corfou, le Soussigne n'a pas le droit de lui accorder la protection Britannique. Le Soussigne insiste sur son droit absolu d'accorder la protection de son Souverain aux individus de toute nation quelconque (hors les sujets de la Sublime Porte) qui en seroient dignes, et qui la redameroient de lui. Les circonstances qui ont amene I'etabUssement de la Republique des Sept Isles, et la reconnaissance de son independance k la paix d' Amiens, sont connues de toute I'Europe': le Soussigne par consequent insiste non seulement sur son droit, mais il se fait un devoir special de proteger les sujets de cette Re publique. L'occupation casudle de Corfou par une garnison Franjoise ne change en rien la nature de cette ques tion. II n'existe aucun Traite entre sa Majeste et aucune Puissance depuis la signature du Traite d' Amiens qui change les relations subsistantes entre sa Majeste et la RepubUque des Sept Isles. Avec autant de raison la France s'arrogeroit-Elle la reconnaissance de sa pretendue souverainete sur I'Espagne, sur la Sidle, sur I'ltahe, et sur le royaume CORRESPONDENCE. 193 de Nayjles, que de celle sur Corfou, oh ses troupes ne sont entrees qu'a la suite d'un accord avec I'Empereur de Russie, dont la discussion ne serait pas ici a sa place. Mais en meme tems que le Soussigne reclame en toute sa plenitude, et insiste sur son droit de pro tection, (k I'exception seule de ce qui pourrait regarder les sujets de la Sublime Porte,) et qu'il annonce sa determination invariable de I'accorder a tous ceux qui la lui demanderont, et qui ne s'en seroient pas rendus indignes, et particuU^rement a tous ceux qui sont restes fideies k leurs sermons, et a leurs Souve rains legitimes, le Soussigne n'empechera personne de chercher la protection de teUe puissance qu'elle jugera le plus en etat de la lui accorder. Le Sous- sign^ ne reclame autre chose sinon la jouissance de ses droits, qu'il est resolu de defendre jusqu'a la derniere extremite. Le Soussigne desire vivement d'eviter a la Sublime Porte tout sujet de desagrement, mais la question dont il s'agit est d'une nature infiniment trop im portante pour permettre qu'il reste le moindre doute sur les principes qui le dirigent. II se trouve par consequent dans la necessite, en reponse k la com munication amicale de S. E. le Reis Effendi, de le prevenir qu'il ne retirera pas sa promesse faite au nomme Jacob Castro, dont cet individu sera toujours le maitre de profiter quand bon lui semblera. Le Soussigne prie, &c. &c, Pera, le 15. Mars, I8O9. VOL. I, 194 CORRESPONDENCE. No. XXL To the Right Honourable George Canning. Pera, April 26th, I8O9. Sir, I HAATE the honour to inform you that the new Grand Vizier, Jusuf Pacha, arrived at the Porte on the 23d instant, and took possession of the Govern ment on the 24th. On sending Mr. Pisani with the usual congratu lations to his Highness, I had it intimated to him that the settlement of the affair of Mr. Dendrino's arrest must precede all other business in which I could take part. As some days may yet elapse before it is termi nated, I do not think proper to detain any longer the vessel which is waiting at the DardaneUes for my dispatches. I have the honour to be, &c. No. XXII. One Inclosure. To the Right Honourable George Canning. Pera, May 8th, 1809. Sir, I HAD the honour of receiving your despatches, Nos. 1 and 2, on the 7th instant. In my dispatch. No. 20, I gave you an account of the arrest of Mr. Dendrino by order of the Charge d'Affaires of France. CORRESPONDENCE. 195 I have now the honour of informing you, that in consequence of this daring outrage, the Porte has adopted the resolution of breaking off all communi cation Avith the French Mission untU Mr. Dendrino shall be set at liberty. The notification of this resolution was made to me yesterday morning in form by the Porte through its dragoman, who was sent to me for that special purpose. I forward to you a copy of this communication in the words in which it was deUvered, and likewise of my answer to it. This measure of the Porte was adopted after a con ference Avith me, which I had demanded, in order to bring the business to a point. Fourteen days had elapsed, during which the French had been employing every artifice and intimidation to induce the Ministers, and especiaUy the new Grand Vizier, to acquiesce in the act of violence they had committed. These efforts, I had reason to perceive, were not without their effect, and to say the truth, in the distracted state of the affairs of this Government, and under the strong im pressions of alarm which the name of France still inspires, I began to fear that they would be suc cessful. It became necessary for me, therefore, to use very decisive language, and even to make the Porte sensible that the ratifications of the treaty of peace were not yet exchanged. The demand to suspend the functions of the French Minister came from me, and after a long discussion was complied Avith in the manner I have related to you. I have the honour to be, &c. o 2 196 CORRESPONDENCE. Inclosure in Mr. Adair's No. XXII. Speech of the Dragoman of the Porte to Mr. Adair. Je viens au nom de la Sublime Porte pour de mander I'etat de la sante de votre Excellence, et pour vous donner une preuve agreable de I'interet que la Sublime Porte a pris dans I'insulte commis par le Charge d'affaires de France dans I'arrestation et em- prisonnement du Sieur Dendrino. Votre ExceUence est informee en meme tems de la resolution de la Sublime Porte de couper toute com munication avec la mission Franqaise jusqu'^ ce que M. Dendrino soit mis en Uberte. Mr. Adair's Answer. Je suis trfes sensible. Monsieur, k I'attention de la Sublime Porte en m'en voyant son dragoman pour me faire part de la juste indignation dont eUe est penetree a l'occasion de I'arrestation de Monsieur Dendrino. Cet outrage inoui fait dans la capitale de Sa Majeste I'Empereur des Ottomans, a une personne sous la protection Britannique, est un attentat egal contre les droits du Roi, mon maitre, et contre la souverainete de la Sublime Porte. Aussi je ne puis qu'applaudir k la resolution qu'a prise la Sublime Portte de rompre en premier Ueu toute communication avec la mission Fran9aise, et je la remercie de cette marque de ses egards pour le Roi mon maitre. CORRESPONDENCE. 197 No. XXIII. Two Inclosures. To the Right Honourable George Canning. Pera, May 28. 1809 • Sir, When I had last the honour of Avriting to you, I had not seen the enclosed note from the French Minister to the Porte relative to Dendrino's arrest. Its contents are of considerable interest, and help me to explain some of the difficulties which I have re cently met with in the prosecution of this business. Instigated very probably by the suggestions con tained in this note, the Turkish Ministers have taken up the question on principles which by no means ac cord vdth my vicAvs in bringing it forward. They have advanced a claim of paramount sovereignty over the Seven Islands, by virtue of which they deny my right of protecting their inhabitants, and of establishing a chancery for the concerns of the Septinsular republic. This claim was first talked of on my repeating an appUcation for firmans for the sailing of the fiA^e vessels which had hoisted the republican flag. It was then given me to understand that although, for rea sons of convenience, the Ottoman Government had been silent in regard to the pretensions of France, they had never renounced their own. I was also in formed that, as the same motives which had induced the Turkish Ministers to avoid discussing this ques- . tion with France stiU subsisted, they could not sanc tion any act of mine within their territories Avhich tended to the formal re-establishment of a state of things on the lawfulness of which they had resolved not to pronounce. o 3 198 correspondence. Not choosing to involve myself in an adverse dis cussion with the Porte on this occasion, nor to take any step before Dendrino's release, the effect of which might be to unite the Turkish and the French Governments against me, I consented that the ships in question, the captains of which had agreed with me to proceed in the first instance to Malta, there to surrender themselves to the disposal of Sir Alexander BaU, should be described as EngUsh ; but the Repub lican flag having been hoisted under my sanction, I absolutely refused to permit its being hauled doAvn. Accordingly, after many difficulties and delays, the five ships sailed with their colours flying on the 14th inst. But having carried this point, I judged it most prudent to abstain for the present from hoisting the flags on board other Septinsular vessels now in the harbour. Enough had been gained for the principle ; and I was too much interested in keeping the Turks steady to the point at issue with the French Minister, and in rendering the rupture Avith him complete, to disoblige them by a repetition of acts which I found had already produced some degree of soreness in respect to myself. With this view, I had recourse to a measure which has subjected this Minister to a fresh mortification, and which his own hastiness has converted into an abdication of his public character. In spite of the notification of the suspension of his functions, he had continued to send his dragomans to the Porte, and to assert publicly that the harmony between himself and the Ottoman Government con tinued uninterrupted. His chief dragoman had even the audacity to force his way into the Grand Vizier's yjresence. His Highness it is true received him very CORRESPONDENCE. 199 iU ; but the effect produced upon the public by this intrusion, for which the dragoman does not appear to have been punished, was a belief that aU differences were amicably adjusted, and that the Porte was amusing me with empty professions. That this was far from the fact I had many satisfactory proofs. The French Minister had applied for a passport for General Gardanne, said to be on his return from Persia to France. He had twice attempted to present official notes. He had sent his secretary to the Porte to demand admission to the Reis Efendi. Every thing was refused him ; notwithstanding which, as it appeared to me that this extraordinary proceed ing of his chief dragoman caUed for some notice on my part, immediately after the saUing of the Septin sular ships I gave in the enclosed note. The Porte took twelve days to consider what step to take upon it, when, in consequence of a peremptory summons from me, they yesterday ordered the guard of honour to be withdrawn from the palace of France. This act of the Porte (in itself nothing, as the guard had been continued beyond the usual time aUowed upon the arrival of foreign Ministers) appears to have singularly affected the Charge d'affaires of France. He has thought it necessary to shut the doors of his palace, and to declare to the chief mer chants of his nation that he considered his functions at an end, I do not observe, however, that he is taking any steps to quit Constantinople. In all pro- babUity he will wait to see what passes in Germany, which will also materiaUy determine the conduct of this Government towards him. I have the honour to be, &c. o 4 200, CORRESPONDENCE. inclosure A. in No. XXIII, French Note. Copie d'une Note de M. Latour Maubourg, Charge d'affaires de France, a la Porte Ottomane, en date du 1 Mai, 1809. Le Soussigne, &c. desirant qu'U n'y existe aucun mal-entendu sur les objets qui ont ete traites dans la conference d'hier entre S, A, le Grand Vizier et lui, a le dessein d'exprimer de nouveau ses sentimens par ecrit. Le Soussigne a etabU le droit qu'il avoit de saisir et de garder le nomme Dendrino, Cet objet etant prouve dans plusieurs notes, le Soussigne n'y revien- dra plus. La Sublime Porte n'ayant point repondu k ces notes, eUe a sans doute reconnu que les raison- nemens qui y sont soutenus sont sans replique, Toutes fois S, A. le Grand Vizier a demande au Soussigne de rel^cher le nomme Dendrino, Connois- sant par les instances du Grand Vizier que S, A, attachoit un grand prix k cette condescendance, oubliant tous les precedes outrageans qui ont ete prodigues a son egard dans cette affaire, le Soussigne etoit tout pret d'acceder aux volantes de S, A. Mais comme le devoir du Soussigne s'opposoit expresse- ment k ce qu'il consentit aux demandes du Grand Vizier, il desiroit qu'on lui promit pour prix du sacri fice qu'U feroit, des assurances propres a le faire approuver par son Souverain. Le Soussigne deman doit en consequence que les griefs serieux qu'il a contre la Porte fussent applanis, qu'on promit d'em- pecher I'etabUssement d'une pretendue Chancellerie des Sept-Isles, qu'on remit aux cinq batimens Fran- CORRESPONDENCE. 201 §ois le pavUlon Frangois qu'on leur a enleve dans le port de Constantinople, que la SubUme Porte recon- nut le Charge d'affaires de la Cour d'Espagne. Non seulement on n'a voulu donner aucune assurance au Soussigne sur ces objets, mais on a refuse d'en parler. Si le Soussigne avoit ete satisfait sur ces trois points, U auroit eu pour S. A. le Grand Vizier la condescen dance qu'on recherchoit, parcequ'dle auroit assure la bonne harmonic. Mais cette condescendance n'ayant pas le but desirable, eUe ne seroit plus condescendance, elle seroit foiblesse. Le Soussigne avoit eu un autre moyen de satisfaire S. A. le Grand Vizier. Le Soussigne ne peut laisser sortir un Frangois de ses mains pour le remettre en d'autres mains, mais il pouvoit inviter tous les sujets de S. M. k quitter I'Empire Ottoman ; si la Sublime Porte avoit consenti a cette mesure le sujet de la con testation tomboit de lui-meme. Mais la SubUme Porte n'y a pas voulu consentir, et le Soussigne a re connu avec plaisir dans cette occasion les dispositions amicales de S. A. le Grand Vizier. Dans I'impossibilite d'accommoder cette affaire le Soussigne a eu la douleur bien grande de ne pouvoir condescendre au desir de S. A., et lui donner une preuve de sa haute veneration pour sa personne. Le Soussigne desirant vivement que sa conduite ne paroisse pas dirigee par le dessein d'elever des debats entre la SubUme Porte et la France, declare, ainsi qu'il I'a fait U y a 15 jours dans une note officieUe, qu'U a ordre de son Souverain de vivre en paix et en amitie avec la Sublime Porte. Le Soussigne seroit fort chagrin s'U devenoit lui- meme par ses prOcedes une occasion de discussion entre les deux Empires. Pour eviter ce malheur, il yjropose a la Sublime Porte d'ecrire a S. E. Muhibb 202. CORRESPONDENCE. Efendi, afin de reconnoitre par le canal de cet ambas-^ sadeur si le Soussigne est approuve ou blame par sa Cour. Dans 50 jours la Porte peut avoir des edair- cissemens sur cet objet, qui est fort important, surtout dans ce moment, oil une nouveUe guerre commencee contre le gre de la France va se terminer, avec I'aide de Dieu, comme les precedentes, a la gloire du nom Fran9ois. II y a des hommes interesses k brouUler la Porte avec la France ; et pour cacher leurs coiipables des seins, ils les rejettent sur le Soussigne. Mais ce n'est- pas le Soussigne qui a engage la Porte k ne pas re connoitre le Charge d'affaires du Roi d'Espagne. Ce n'est pas le Soussigne qui a concouru a I'etabUssement: d'une ChanceUerie des Sept-Isles, source de la dis cussion actuelle. Ceux qui ont fait ces choses sont des hommes traitres a I'etat et indigne du nom Mu sulman. Le Soussigne prie la Sublime Porte de considerer que la France n'a jamais voulu la guerre, qu'eUe ne la veut point, et qu'elle est toute prete a aider la Porte et k 1' appuyer aussit6t que la Porte le desirera et fera ce qui sera necessaire pour cela. Le Soussigne saisit, &c. (Signe) Faij Latour Maubourg. Inclosure B. No. XXIII. Mr. Adair to the Reis Efendi. After the conference which took place on the 4th instant between the undersigned, H. E. the Reis CORRESPONDENCE. 203 Efendi, and his colleagues, respecting the arrest of Mr. Dendrino by the French Charge d'Affaires, — after the resolution taken by the Sublime Porte, at the end of that conference, to break off all communication with the French mission until Mr. Dendrino should be re leased, — and after the subsequent solemn and official notification of that resolution made to the undersigned by the Porte through its Dragoman, the undersigned fully expected that he should be relieved from the necessity of addressing to the Sublime Porte any further representations on that subject. The undersigned, however, is well informed, that on the 8th instant, the principal Dragoman of the French Embassy was admitted to his Highness the Grand Vizier ; and that, instead of being ordered instantly to quit his presence, he remained Avith him a consider able time in close and private conference. The undersigned would readUy flatter himself that accident had given rise to this circumstance, which otherwise he would have a right to represent as a direct breach of engagement on the part of the Sub lime Porte : but how can he attribute it merely to accident, when it is notorious to the whole capital that the Charge d'Affaires of France has officially no tified to all persons under his jurisdiction, that the relations between the SubUme Porte and the French Embassy stiU remain on the usual footing of intimacy and cordiality ? A minister in the station of the Charge d'Affaires of France would not have officially announced this fact Avithout believing himself authorised so to do. The undersigned can impute no blame to that minister for an error into which he may have been led, not only by the admission of his Dragoman to the 204 CORRESPONDENCE. presence of his Highness the Grand Vizier, but by the fact, still more notorious, of his continuing to receive from the Sublime Porte those distinctions which are granted to the ministers of foreign states only during the first months of their residence at the Imperial capital. Such a circumstance would in itself be too trifling to merit the notice of the undersigned, were it not of a nature strongly to confirm the official statement of the Charge d'Affaires relative to the uninterrupted harmony and good-understanding aUeged stUl to subsist between himself and the Ottoman Govern ment, The undersigned has further to represent what fol lows : — The object of the Sublime Porte, in breaking off aU communication with the French mission, was not only to express its indignation for the insult offered to the undersigned, but likcAvise to obtain Mr, Dendrino's release. This object has not been effected; notwith standing which the Dragomans of the French mission continue under various pretexts their daily attend ance at the Sublime Porte, and thus give countenance to the reports, universally disseminated, that the Porte has abandoned its resolution of procuring Mr, Den drino's liberation, and that it submits with patience to the violation of its territory. The undersigned deeply regrets the continuance of a state of things which cannot but interrupt the har mony so recently re-estabUshed between Great Britain and the SubUme Porte, In the present situation of affairs, this interruption constitutes of itself a power ful diversion in favour of the common enemy. This diversion is caused by France, and by France alone ; CORRESPONDENCE. 205 the undersigned having in no instance, since his arri val in the Ottoman dominions, invaded the rights of France ; while on the other hand a most daring out rage has been committed by the Charge d'Affaires of that nation against the rights of the King his master. The undersigned is far from presuming to point out to the Sublime Porte the course which it would be for its dignity to follow, in order to enforce its own reso lutions ; but he cannot refrain from observing that unless the French minister shaU himself receive from the SubUme Porte a distinct communication in writing, declaratory of its determination to break off all inter course Avith the French mission until Mr, Dendrino's release, and unless a similar notification be addressed to the ministers of friendly powers resident at the Ottoman Court, no step which the Sublime Porte may have it in its contemplation to take to procure satis faction for the undersigned can prove efficacious. The undersigned requests, &c, &c. Pera, May 14. 1809. No. XXIV. Four Inclosures. To the Right Hon. George Canning. Pera, June 3. 1809. Sir, The unsettled situation of affairs in this country has induced me hitherto to defer sending you any account of the composition of the Ottoman administra tion, and consequently of Avhat may be expected from it in the present crisis. I seize a moment of apparent harmony among the several orders, to transmit to 206 CORRESPONDENCE^. you some particulars on this subject, which, if not so ample as I could Avish, contain what I can depend upon as accurate. The difficulty of persuading the Janissaries to accept Jusuf Pacha for Grand Vizier, delayed his arrival at Constantinople until the end of April. During this long period from the death of Mustapha, the Ottoman Empire may be said to be without a government. The heads of the different departments confined them selves to the detaUs of their several charges. No man would undertake the responsibility of a general mea sure. The obvious consequences ensued. Public business, in all its essential parts, was at a stand. Councils, indeed, were continually held, but Avithout leading to any result. Nothing was done to get an army, — nothing to gain the confidence of the Janissa ries, — nothing, at least, either sufficiently decisive or sufficiently honest to be successful. The obstinate refusal of that body to receive any Grand Vizier Avith out some security for his being disposed in their favour, and the difficulty of finding such security where con fidence had ceased to exist, produced a long series of jealousies and discontents, with which, until within these few days, the capital has been incessantly dis tracted. The disorders in the provinces continued with as little intermission. Government, indeed, appeared every where to be fallen into such a state of relaxa tion, as to have lost the means of acting right, even when it was supported by the public sentiment. No thing can so truly characterise both the nature and the source of these disorders as what has passed at the frontiers upon the renewal of hostiUties with Russia. I have already had the honour of informing you to CORRESPONDENCE. 207 what degree the spirit of the people was roused by the insolent demand made at the end of March by that power. Some degree of vigour seemed also to have been inspired into the ministry on that occasion. Great activity prevailed in aU the war departments. The fleet was ordered to be fitted out ; and in fact ten sail of the Une have been equipped with uncommon expedition. Troops and proAdsions were ordered to the fortresses ; and numbers of men were seen to pass the Bosphorus, day after day, taking their route for the frontiers. Unhappily, when they reached the Danube, instead of being embodied into an army to oppose the enemy, finding no leader to command them, they enlisted under one or the other of two ferocious chiefs, who, in the very sight of the Russian tents, were desolating their country with civil war. There is an Ayan of Schiumla, and a chief named Pehlivan Aga, under whose banners aU the new comers engaged, and who have already had many desperate encounters, to the unspeakable injury of the public cause. These multiplying dangers of the state, however, facilitated the negociations for the reception of Jusuf Pacha. He arrived accordingly on the 2 3rd of April, and was received by the Janissaries with every appear ance of cordiality. Immediately on his installation, the Hatti-scheriff, which I have here the honour of enclosing, was made public. The principles and views contained in this instrument announce, as we must suppose, the system on which his government is to be carried on. Accord ing to all I am able to learn respecting the personal dispositions of the Sultan, there can be no doubt of his intending to act in strict conformity with his pro fessions ; but however his subjects may feel disposed 208 CORRESPONDENCE. to rely on his indiAddual rectitude, there is nothing in the composition of his Divan which can afford much hope of those energetic measures which are imperiously called for by the public necessities. In effect, with the exception of the Reis Efendi Ghalib, whose return to his office is doubtful, and of Chelebi Efendi, who is entirely in the French interest, the councU consists of men who are not Ukely to de prive chance of the merit of saving their country. The very first act of the new Vizier's administration had nearly lost him the public confidence for ever. Soon after his arrival, a grand Divan was assembled, the object of which was to conciliate the Janissaries, in order to induce them to march to the Danube, With this intent, it was pubUcly announced as having been resolved, at that divan, that the Grand Vizier should march at their head. At the time of ihaking this notification, equivalent in its nature to a promise, there was not the most distant intention of sending the Vizier from the capital. The Janissaries were indignant at the deceit. A suspicion that some at tempt was meditated against their order, and was to be put in execution during their absence from Con stantinople, was the fruit of this iU-advised dupUcity. Murmurs and angry remonstrances, and even some acts of violence, succeeded. The alarm became ge neral ; and there was even a moment when the worst extremities were to be apprehended. These troubles are now appeased by the resolution finally taken, that the Grand Vizier shall march. On re ceiving the enclosed Hatti-scheriff (A) (written, as it is said, by the Sultan himself), his standard was erected in form. On this occasion, the solemnity of Avhich, even in the present humbled state of the Ottoman CORRESPONDENCE. 209 power, retains its full hold on the public opinion, alt animosities appear at once to have subsided. En thusiasm took its turn. The Janissaries by a special deputation declared their entire satisfaction, and their readiness to faU in Avith aU the Sultan's views. Con ditions are annexed to their compliance, but they are such as demonstrate the high state of the public spirit. They demand to be led at once to the enemy. They demand that no peace shall be listened to without the restitution of the provinces ; and, above all, that they shall be amused Avith no more armis tices. On these considerations they will march Avith the Vizier instantly to the Danube, and they pledge themselves to submit to the severest discipline, and CA^en to consent to the abolition of their order, if any outrage be committed, or any civil troubles be re? newed, in their camp. In short, there is nothing which has not been promised on both sides. Such at the moment I write, is the situation of affairs between the grand Vizier and the Janissaries. He is yet too new in his office, and too much favoured by the Sultan, to fear any intrigues either in the Seraglio or in other quarters. Of anything so loose and indeterminate as the foreign politics of the Porte I should in vain en deavour to speak with precision. The Turks, as you know, never were very desirous of Christian alliances. The common danger connected them with Great Britain and Russia in 1798 ; but after France had by her artifices dissolved that union and brought on the war of 1806, the Porte was thrown back upon her old system, and became, by our being obliged to take part in that war, more than ever dissociated from the community of Europe. Austria, indeed, was too VOL. I. P 210 CORRESPONDENCE. nearly interested in the fate of Turkey not to cul tivate her friendship with the most anxious care ; but such was the situation even of Austria, that she was compeUed to restrict herself to the common good offices of a friendly power, without venturing to look forward to any nearer connection. I was not surprised therefore to find that Austria did not enjoy at this Court the consideration due to so near and so faithful a neighbour. But in the dis tance which Turkey observed toAvards her, there Avas at least as much fear as indifference. General Sebas tiani had left such impressions of terror on the minds of the Turks, such a beUef that Bonaparte's power was irresistible, that in the midst of the distresses of the war vpith Russia, and after a fuU discovery of the designs of France both at Tilsit and at Erfiirt, they did not dare to address an overture to Austria, or even to ask an explanation of her intentions in the event of any attempt to execute the project of par tition. The absolute nullity of all the other continental Powers renders their relations with this empire of little account. Thus, at the time of signing the peace with Great Britain, the Turks stood alone, un regarded, and devoted to immediate ruin. That event again connected them with the common des tinies ; but, unfortunately, they cannot yet be made to see that to avail themselves of this last chance, they must act like Austria, and venture upon war against a Power which for the third time they have detected in contriving their destruction. For the present, therefore, the whole system of their foreign policy appears to be limited to the re newal of their relations with Great Britain. Their CORRESPONDENCE . 211 behaviour consequently under these relations wUl be the test of the principles of the Grand Vizier's foreign administration. On this subject there is much to be said. Before the Vizier arrived, the Turkish Government, in spite of the distractions of their internal state, the in cessant menaces of the French Minister, and at length the actual renewal of hostUities by Russia, made and maintained the peace Avith Great Britain. These were acts which bore at least the appearance of decision ; and for these acts, although in the main they were most consonant with their interests, I am bound to praise both their firmness and their good faith. But when I began to take steps directly affecting the interests of France, and the stability of the French mission at Constantinople, I found a material change in the conduct of the Ministers. PartiaUty towards France is by no means the motive of this conduct ; it is the terror of her power, and the ob jection, very just if well applied, to increasing the number of the pubUc enemies in the present enfeebled and distracted state of the empire. StiU, after making all due allowance for these impressions, I cannot feel AvhoUy pleased with the support they have given me in the affair of Dendrino. They promised me com plete and immediate satisfaction. They promised me the Uberation of the man. The satisfaction however which I have already obtained, such as it is, has beeft very gradual ; and as to Dendrino's Uberation, I now see no prospect of it except by forcing the gates of the French palace, a measure which the minister of a Christian Power in this country can under no cir cumstances recommend. During the first fortnight p 2 212 CORRESPONDENCE. I was given to understand that in an affair of this nature, in which a compliance with my demand might occasion a rupture with France, no one of the Mi nisters would take upon himself the responsibUity of acting, but that when the Grand Vizier arrived I should carry every point I wished. I found no such effect from his presence. On the contrary, his whole object seemed to be to temporise, to please both parties, and, indeed, to persuade nie that the point in dispute was not worth my persisting in. It was not untU ten days after his arrival, and even then not until after a most stormy discussion Avith the Mi nisters, that I could obtain a promise froni them of suspending official communications with the French mission. It was fuU three weeks afterwards, during which I was complaining incessantly that this promise was not kept, and goading them with remonstrances and demands, before his guard of honour was dis continued. It was Avith the utmost difficulty that the firmans for the sailing of the five Septinsular ships were granted to me, although I had consented to their being described as English. I mention these matters to show with what extreme reluctance this Government consented to take any steps, however due to his Majesty's dignity, which seemed liable to a hostile construction on the part of France. The as surances given me on my arrival that the French ^arty in the Divan was extinguished by the peace with England, were far from correct. It exists ; and although not in sufficient credit to enable the French Minister to goverii through it, I cannoi disguise from myself the poAver he still possesses to thwart me in the great objects I am labouring to'carry. There is however another and a A^ery material point. CORRESPONDENCE. 213 on which, aU things considered, I haVe, as far as I have gone, great reason, to be satisfied. In order to dis charge what appeared to me an important part of my duty towards his Majesty's allies, I took an opportu nity of endeavouring to re-establish their official rela^ tions with the Porte, which had been suspended during the prevalence of the French influence. The Swedish Minister had been informed that his appearance at the Porte might be discontinued. The envoy of his Sici lian Majesty had received a formal notification in writing that his functions had ceased. The situation in which I found the Spanish legation at my arrival, caUed also for my particular attention. That whole legation had quitted Constantinople, leaving a Drago man in the character of Charge d'Affaires of the usurper Joseph. Under these circumstances it be came necessary to re-establish, if possible, the two first, and to prevent the recognition, or if already recog nised to annihUate the character, of the third. With regard to the Swedish Minister the obstacle to his resumption of his diplomatic relations, was soon removed. Intending to employ his good offices in the affair of Dendrino, I had demanded a conference for him in form ; and the day for it was already fixed, when the arrival of the news of the Revolution at Stockholm induced him, Avith my fuU consent, to de cline attending it. Let me take tMs opportunity of bearing testimony to M. de PaUn's unshaken loyalty and attachment to the person of his sovereign. The case of the SicUian envoy was more difficult. The notice of the cessation of his functions is so per fectly according to all the forms of diplomatic usage, that it Avill be impossible to re-establish him without fresh credentials. These have not yet been sent. He has siniply been instructed to profit by my arrival to p 3 214 CORRESPONDENCE. put himself again in relation with the Porte. For the present, therefore, I do not see how I can assist him. With regard to Spain, I had very early been assured by the Porte that they never had acknowledged the person left by the Marquis d'Almenara in the diplo matic character of Charge d'Affaires for the usurper Joseph. But an opportunity having presented itself during the month of April, to make an advance in behalf of the lawful sovereign of Spain, in the hope that some accredited person might be sent out by the Supreme Junta, I presented the inclosed note (C) to the Reis Efendi. The contents wiU inform you as well of the occasion as of the use I endeavoured to make of it. Before I could receive an answer to the desire I ex pressed in this note, the affair of Dendrino occurred, which, as it was in itself sufficient to try the strength of the English and the French missions, induced me to suspend the prosecution of all other points. In this interval came the declaration of Austria, and the news of her first successes. Finding that these events assisted me but little in the main business, I thought it best to profit by the actual interruption, whUe it lasted, of the intercourse between the Porte and France, to press once more the business of Spain, and to obtain permission for Don Rodrigo to present the letters entrusted to his care. The inclosed second note (D) therefore, was delivered in ; and I have the satisfaction of informing you that Don Rodrigo had yesterday an audience of the Reis Efendi, at which he presented in form the letter of the Supreme Junta to the Grand Vizier. From the statement which I have here the honour of submitting to your consideration, added to the CORRESPONDENCE. 215 doubtful aspect of the war between Austria and France, you will perceive that, at this moment, the prospect of engaging the Porte, either in a general aUiance, or in any measure of common concert, is not materiaUy advanced. Events alone can bring matters to this point. These, in the renewed war with Russia, have hitherto been highly favourable to Turkey. Three times the Rus sians have been decidedly beaten on the Danube. These defeats, indeed, have been sustained in attempt ing to carry fortresses by assault, but they have never theless been complete in themselves, and attended with a very serious diminution of the Russian armies. Our intdUgence from Bucarest, from Jassy, and from Odessa, concurs in estimating their loss as Uttle short of 20,000 men. The Turks have also obtained seve ral advantages over the Servians. I should have more satisfaction in communicating this intelligence, if I could be quite sure that the pro mise made to the Janissaries would be kept, and that the pecuniary distresses of this government would not drive them into some sort of peace, than which, if it be separate from Austria, nothing can be more de structive to the common cause. What is passing in Austria must also materiaUy influence the decision of these great questions. The points connected Avith this part of the subject are too many and too various for present speculation; neither have I any facts to guide me, except the offi cial accounts of the military operations of Austria up to the 22nd of AprU. But the most material of aU things wiU be the arrival of the ratifications of the peace. Without J- 4 216 CORRESPONDENCE. these, I must fairly say, that I expect to carry no more great points against France ; and if before their arrival, Bonaparte should penetrate to Vienna, I wiU not answer for the effect which may be produced upon the dispositions of men who compose such a Govern ment as I have above described : reason, undoubtedly, ought to determine them, in proportion to the suc cesses of France, and the approximation of danger to their frontiers, to cling stUl closer to that general cause, in the success of which they can alone hope for safety, and to the only sovereign in Europe from whom they can have no fear of a separate peace ; but all I can promise is to place that reason before their eyes on every occasion, and in the strongest Ught that I am able. I have the honour to be, &e. Inclosure A in No. XXIV. Translation. Hatti-scheriff to the Grand Vizier. Vous qui .etes mon premier Ministre, aussi magni fique que la lune dans son plein, profond dans vos pensees, mon Vizier done d'une lumineuse intelligence. El Hady Jusuf Zija Pacha ! Apr^s vous avoir honore et fait grace de mon souve- rain.et heureux salut, qu'U soit notoire a votre perspica cite que les fondemens et les soutiens de la Sublime Puis sance Ottomane etant inseparables des Commandemens du Livre de Dieu (Couran), du chemin des Yrais croyans et de la nation fidde, et de la loi du divin Prophete sur lequel soit le salut de paix ; mes au- gustes ancetres que Dieu ait dans sa misericorde, se sont CORRESPONDENCE. 211 fait un boulevard inexpugnable de tous les preceptes de la loi Mahometane auxquels ils ont pr^te une en tiere soumission et deference ; en faisant tout ce qui est juste, et s'abstenant de toute action iUicite, en donnant tous leurs soins et attention a la volonte du Tres-Haut, en n'outrepassant pas les limites de la legis lation et des canons qu'ils ont opere en conformite k la sainte Loi, ils ont institue et forme les miUces de mes Sept Odjaks S'jivant I'ordre et la rhgle pour les faire combattre valeureusement dans le besoin contre les ennemis de la Foi. De la meme maniere que mes augustes ancetres se sont soumis et ont obei a la sainte Loi, de meme les Janissaires de mon Empire, les Dgebedgis, les Tobtchis, les Arabadgis, les Sipahis, les Silihdars, et autres, en se soumettant et obeissant a leurs souverains, aux Visirs, aux Se'raskers, aux Miri-Mirans, et aux officiers, ont tire avec valeur le sabre contre I'ennemi de la Foi, etendu les limites de retat, et obtenu les plus heureux succes dans les guerres et les combats : ce dont les livres et histoires rendent un temoignage manifeste. Depuis un certain tems quelques personnes per- verses gUssees dans mon Gouvernement, ont par dea vues personnelles deroge aux anciennes constitutions de mon Empire, change la loi et les canons, et unique- ment pour satisfaire k leurs passions se sont Uvres k certaines sortes d'affaires odieuses et coupables, ont embarrasse et trouble les habitans de mon Empire ; et coinme les oppressions et torts qu'eprouvoient les serviteurs de Dieu etoient sans mesure, que les Rayas se trouvoient disperses et eperdus, et que meme I'etat en etoit ebranie, il est evident que les ennemis de la Foi trouvferent l'occasion favorable pour attaquer de divers cotes les provinces de I'Empire Ottoman. 218 CORRESPONDENCE. Quoique la plupart de ceux qui ont ete la cause de ces desordres et maux pour la SubUme Porte, aient subi le ch&timent merite de leurs ceuvres, et eprouve le mal comme Us I'ont fait, cependant la semence de la malignite qu'ils ont repandues parmi les Vrais- croyans, nuisant et causant de la mesinteUigence jusqu' k ce jour, c'est un etat de choses bien surprenant et etrange de voir, qu'un individu ne se fie plus k I'autre, et qu'on ne prete pas I'oreille aux memoires remplis de plaintes qui viennent des extremites des domaines Ottomans ! Ceux qui ont jette une semblable corrup tion parmi les Vrais-croyans et ont dejk trouve leur malheur, et ceux qui encore existant, osent se con- duire contre les canons de I'Empire, que la maledic' tion de Dieu, celle des anges et de toutes les nations soit sur eux ! En consequence de ce preambule voici queUe est ma volonte Imperiale. La situation de ma SubUme Porte n'est point cachee, elle est connue a tout le monde. L'applanissement d'une affaire si difficile ne peut ^tre opere que par le Ministere d'un Visir re- ligieux, sage, edaire, et prudent. Vous etes parmi les Visirs celui qui est done d'inteUigence, d'habiUte et capacite dans les affaires, et en m^me tems d'un age avance et dans son dedin. Dans I'attente de vos services pour la reUgion et pour I'etat, je vous ai eiu et nomme mon Vicaire absolu, et Supreme Visir avec une autorite iUimitee ; et je viens d'envoyer k votre personne tres fidele par le canal de mon Bach-Icho^ hadar (premier valet de chambre) un cheval dont la marche est aussi Mgke que le Zephir. Je veux done voir ce que vous ferez. Votre conduite passee prouve une parfaite connoissance de tout ce qui a rapport aux affaires de mon Empire. D'abord vous soutien- CORRESPONDENCE. 219 drez fortement la Sainte Loi; en second Ueu vous ferez cesser la mesintelUgence qui r^gne parmi le peuple ; vous travaillerez a la tranquillite de mes Odjaks ; vous recommanderez d'apres I'ancienne cou tume chaque affaire k des personnes dont eUe est du ressort; vous reglerez ces affaires en assemblant et consultant les Ulemas, les Grands, et les anciens de I'Odjak selon le besoin ; en un mot toutes vos pensees et vos soins seront diriges k la conservation de la Religion, et de mon Empire. Je ne veux point des precedes contraires k la loi, et opposes aux anciens canons. H n'est necessaire que l'on observe les com mandemens du Seigneur Tres-Haut, que l'on s'ab- stienne de toute oeuvre illicite, et que l'on soit soumis et obeissant k la Divine Loi. S'U faut obeir aux ordres supremes, vous vous conduirez conformement k mes presentes prescriptions souveraines, vous les recom manderez fortement aux autres, et vous punirez ceux qui y contreviendront. Repousser I'ennemi de la Foi, est un des premiers devoirs qu'impose la Sainte Loi. Que le Tout-puissant rende prosperes dans ce monde et dans I'autre ceux qui se conformeront k mes sou verains ordres ; mais qu'avec son nom vengeur, U aneantisse ceux qui agiront d'une maniere contraire. Dieu vous accorde un parfait succes et bonheur dans toutes vos affaires. Le 15 Rebiub Evel, 1224. (Le 29 Avril, I8O9.) 220, CORRESPONDENCE. Inclosure C in No. XXIV. Mr. Adair to the Reis Efendi. The undersigned, his Britannic Majesty's Plenipo tentiary at the Ottoman Court, had the honour of communicating to the Sublime Porte the substance of the correspondence which lately took place between the King, his master, and the Governments of Russia and France relative to negociations for peace, Since that period a treaty of alliance has been en tered into between his Majesty and his most CathoUc M^ajesty, Ferdinand VIL, king of Spain and the Indies, ; The undersigned has now the honour of informing H. E. the Reis Efendi that together Avith the de spatches containing the above important communi cation from his Court, letters from the Government of Spain acting in the name of his Majesty, Ferdi nand VIL, have been transmitted to him. These letters are addressed to M. Joseph de Enderiz, formerly secretary to the Spanish legation at Constantinople. By virtue of the close and cordial union now sub sisting between Great Britain and Spain, the under signed, in the absence of M. Joseph de Enderiz and of aU the members of the Spanish legation, has not hesitated to open the packet and to entrust the letters contained in it, one of which is addressed to his Highness the Grand Vizier, to the care of Don Ro drigo, a faithful subject of his most Catholic Majesty, and already known to H. E. the Reis Efendi by his having filled, with distinguished ability, the office of charge d'affaires of his most Catholic Majesty at the Ottoman Court. CORRESPONDENCE. 221 In taking this step, the undersigned has acted in strict conformity with the intentions of the Spanish Government, who have addressed themselves in the first instance to the King, his master, in order to obtain, through the good offices of his Majesty, that the letters above mentioned should be communicated to the Sublime Porte with that certainty and fidelity which their importance requires. The undersigned has therefore to request that H. E; the Reis Efendi avUI name an early day at which Don Rodrigo may present himself in person to H. E., and impart toH.E. the divers urgent and weighty matters which form the subject of these letters. The undersigned requests, &c. Pera, April 1 7th, 1809- Inclosure D in No. XXIV. Mr. Adair to the Reis Efendi. The undersigned, &c. has the honour of recalling to the recollection of H. E. the Reis Efendi that on the 17th of April he informed H. E. by a written note — 1st. That the King, his master, had concluded a treaty of aUiance with his Catholic Majesty Ferdi nand VIL, king of Spain. 2dly. That a letter addressed to his Highness the Grand Vizier by the Government, of Spain, acting in the name of Ferdinand VIL, had been transmitted to the undersigned in order to its being deUvered to H. M. in the manner most suitable to the circum stances. 3dly. That the undersigned, in the absence of all 222 CORRESPONDENCE. the members of the Spanish legation, had judged it most expedient to entrust this letter, together Avith various other authentic documents, to the care of Don Joseph Rodrigo, formerly his most Catholic Majesty's Charge d'affaires at the Ottoman Court. This course appeared most adAdsable to the under signed, as he judged it of the greatest importance that the Ottoman Government should have before its eyes as early as possible a clear and true exposition of the events which had passed in Spain, a country on every account so interesting to the world, and whose friend ship, by the situation of its ports and its sea-coast, might be so peculiarly useful to the Sublime Porte. The undersigned therefore requested that H. E. the Reis Efendi would name a day at which Don Rodrigo could have the honour of presenting the letter and documents above mentioned. His Highness the Grand Vizier, being on the eve of his departure for the army (to whose efforts may God grant victory and glory !), the undersigned feels him self under the indispensable necessity of renewing on the present occasion the request contained in his note of the 17th of April. The undersigned, &c. Pera, May 31st, I8O9, No. XXV. iTo the Right Honourable George Canning. Pera, June 6th, I8O9. Sir, On the 4th instant despatches were brought me by a Spanish officer, who arrived at the Dardanelles on CORRESPONDENCE, 223 the 29th of May in a Spanish frigate, having on board Don John Havat, a person charged with a diplomatic mission from the Supreme Junta to the Ottoman Porte, The character and the mission of Don John Havat were stated to me in a letter from H, E, Sir Alexander Ball, and I received, at the same time, a letter from this gentleman himself, claiming my good offices with the Ottoman Government to procure a firman for the passage of the frigate to Constantinople, Athough thoroughly aware of the inutility of such an application, I directed Mr. Pisani to make it, but I could obtain nothing further than permission for Don John Havat, and his suite, to come up to Con stantinople, and a firman to the Pacha of the Darda nelles to facilitate his journey, and to observe towards him " aU honours and distinctions." By my preceding despatch you will see what had already been done to prepare the way for the reception of a Minister from Spain ; but I am afraid that the war in Gtermany is not sufficiently prosperous to Austria to authorise a hope of the immediate recog nition of his public character by this Government. I have the honour to be, &c. No. XXVL To the Right Honourable George Canning. Pera, June 21st, ISOp. Sir, On the 14th instant, accounts of the entry of the French into Vienna were received here without any 224 CORRESPONDENCE. advices which could enable the Austrian Internuncio to diminish the effect of this disaster on the minds of the Turkish Government. On the 17th despatches arrived from Buda, repre senting the general state of affairs up to the 16th of May in a much more favourable light than we could hope for. At the same time the Internuncio received inform ation that some Bosniak chiefs, instigated by the French in Dalmatia, had made an irruption into Croatia, where they were committing great ravages, and whither it had become necessary, in order to op pose them, to detach a considerable body of Austrians intended for the attack of Dalmatia. The next evening (June 18th), a set of ruffians wearing the French cockade, after insulting in the streets the Spanish Plenipotentiary (of whose mission and arrival I gave you an account in my last number) attacked the palace of the Internuncio, and gave occasion to a most disgracefiil scene of violence and tumult.¦ The Reis Efendi, Ghalib (whose name I have often had occasion to mention), being returned for a few days to Constantinople, I had fixed to see him on the 20th. I had much to say to him on many subjects, and these fresh occurrences gave me a fair opportunity of pressing the Government to explain itself upon its intended conduct towards France. After enumerating, therefore, the various matters of complaint I had to state against the French since my residence here, and remarking to him the friendly part I had acted towards the Turkish Government, I told Ghalib Efendi it was impossible things could go on in this manner any longer. That on signing the CORRESPONDENCE. 225 peace I had been willing to suppose it possible that at this extremity of the world an EngUsh and a French minister might live without disturbing each other. In this I had been deceived; and the intolerable conduct of the people under French protection, insti gated by their chiefs, had now brought matters to a point at which I felt myself compeUed to call upon the Ottoman government to niake its choice between the two missions. Before coming to this extremity, however, it was fit that the Ottoman ministers should explain dis tinctly what they conceived to be the nature of the peace just concluded. Was it a peace merely restoring the commercial relations between the two Empires, or was it a peace embracing political objects, and lead ing to engagements of reciprocal safety and union ? If the first, so let it be ; but then I must desire them to talk to me no more of succours, or other matters appertaining to a contract of a higher sort. If the second, I claimed the benefit of the relations which were understood by it, both in favour of his Majesty and of his allies. Now nothing could be plainer than that this irruption of the Bosniaks, if unexplained and unpunished, had put the Turks in a state of actual war with Austria. Who had done this ? The French. On the French, therefore, the chief punish ment ought to fall. I begged him also to remark another material circumstance in the information re ceived by the Internuncio. A large sum of money for the payment of the French troops in Dalmatia had actually been borrowed in the capital of Bosnia. Now whatever might be his Majesty's dispositions in favour of Turkey, whatever instructions I might receive in conformity to the secret Articles of our Treaty, how, VOL. I. Q 226 CORRESPONDENCE. I asked him, could I continue acting the part of an AUy towards the Porte, while her subjects were at tacking Austria in Croatia, furnishing the enemies of Austria with money in Bosnia, and while the Govern ment aUowed the Austrian minister's palace at Con stantinople to be insulted ? I told the Reis Efendi most distinctly, therefore, that when the ratifications arrived, my conduct would be entirely regulated by the principles which had urged me to make the above representation ; so much so, that even if the squadron for which they were so anxious were then at anchor at the Dardanelles, I could not recommend to the officer commanding it to co-operate in any expedition which might be in contemplation, while there re mained so much serious matter to be cleared up be tween the Ottoman Government and myself. I then told GhaUb Efendi that there was but one effectual remedy for these disorders, namely, the dis mission of the French minister from Constantinople. This dismission I endeavoured to couAdnce him, was equaUy caUed for by the situation of Turkey itself. Without enumerating the various causes of suspicion which France had given to the Porte both by her engagements with Russia at the peace of TiUsitt and by her subsequent conduct, I confined myself to the last act, which in itself was a declaration of war, namely, the proposal to Austria to become an accom plice in the intended partition of the Turkish terri tories. I put aU these points in the strongest light I was able, and particularly the affair of Bosnia. Ghalib Efendi understood me at a word. He ob jected, however, that the Government was not pre pared for a war with France ; that their law forbade CORRESPONDENCE. 227 their declaring war, except under a positive aggression from an enemy ; that Governments were to act for the interest of their subjects, and that under the present circumstances it was not for the interest of Turkey to declare war. He requested me to enter into their situation, and not to press them to come to a rupture with France. I answered, that the rupture was already declared by the proposals of France to Austria: that certainly every Government was to act as it thought best for the interest of its subjects ; that if the Turkish Government thought it most for its interest to wait until Bonaparte was ready with 100,000 men to attack the Empire from Dalmatia, and Russia was ready with another 100,000 to cross the Danube, I had nothing to reply, but that in that case I must claim the benefit of the same principle to observe to him, that England would not easily be made to see how it could be for her interest to be spending her money and risking her fleets for a nation so conducting itself. Much more was said on this and many other topics. In conclusion, and after mutual exhortations to frank ness, GhaUb Efendi gave me very plainly to under stand, that the motions of the Porte with respect to France would be regulated by the arrival of the rati fications and the degree of benefit which, on exchang ing them, the Porte would find she was to derive from the peace. Since this conversation, a guard of honour has been granted to the Spanish Plenipotentiary, and orders have been sent to the Pacha of Bosnia to repress the disorders on the Austrian frontiers. The Internuncio ft 2 228 CORRESPONDENCE. has also been assured that the French Consul resident at the Pacha's Court has been dismissed. Matters in other respects remain nearly the same as when I had the honour of writing to you last, ex cept that the Servians have extended themselves across Bosnia, and effected a junction with the Montene grins. This, for the present, cuts off our communi cation with Hungary. I have the honour to be, &c. No. XXVII. By the Messenger Kaye. To the Right Honourable George Canning. Pera, July 6th, 1809.- Sir, I RECEIVED yesterday by the messenger BasUico your despatches Nos. 3, 4, 5, and 6. He delivered to me at the same time his Majesty's ratification of the Treaty of Peace concluded with Turkey on the 5th of January ; and likewise my cre dentials as H. M.'s Ambassador Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Porte. I beg leave to express my humble and dutiful thanks to H. M. for this high honour and most dis tinguished mark of H. M.'s approbation of my conduct. I have the honour to be, &c. CORRESPONDENCE. 229 No. XXVIII. By the Messsenger Kaye. To the Right Honourable George Canning. Pera, July 6th. I8O9. Sir, It is with great concern that I perceive from your despatch No. 3. that my having draAvn up the Treaty with Turkey in the French language, and my having: transmitted French copies Avith the Turkish originals, has been the cause of an embarassment to his Majesty's Government in respect to the mode of presenting it for his Majesty's ratification. The circumstances under which the negotiation was carried on, and the distance from the capital at which. our conferences were held, were the causes of my con senting to use the French language in reducing the Articles to writing. No other language could have. been used for the discussions, the Dragoman of. the Turkish Plenipotentiary being absolutely ignorant of English ; and Avith regard to the signatures, he posi tively refused advising his principal to execute an in strument for the contents of which he could not him self be responsible. The impressions of terror under which men of this class perform even the most ordinary functions of their office are such as to render it impossible for any exertions of human persuasion to overcome a scruple or a doubt when once it has taken possession of their imagination. So far was it carried by this Dragoman (who is a Greek), in the present instance, that when, upon a revisal of the Articles with a view to gram matical and other errors of composition, I suggested ft 3 230 CORRESPONDENCE. some obvious corrections, I found no less resistance than if I had proposed a change in the sense of the Articles themselves. He was but little acquainted even with French, and between his ignorance, his fears, and his suspicions, I could not obtain the alter ation of a word, sometimes not even the transposition of a word, after the Article itself, to the substance of which I was obUged chiefly to attend, during discus sions not always the most temperate, had once been admitted. Even if the negociation had been carried on at Con stantinople, I should have found no Dragoman em ployed by the Porte sufficiently master of the EngUsh language to render himself responsible for affixing the signature of the Turkish Plenipotentiary to an instru ment of so much importance. With regard to my having transmitted a copy in stead of an original instrument, I confess it was an error for which I have to throw myself entirely upon the indulgence of his Majesty's Government. The error, however, is conflned to this mission. Two original instruments were, in fact, signed between the Turkish Plenipotentiary and myself. One of these instruments I thought it necessary to keep, in order to be prepared against emergencies and accidents to which the mission was Uable every day in the unset tled state of the Turkish affairs. I now perceive that it would have been better to have retained the Turk ish original, and to have sent home the one in French. I determined on the other course, conceiving that the authentic instrument on which I was to act had better be in my possession in the language which I understood. In this error I was strengthened by the consider- CORRESPONDENCE. 231 ation that his Majesty does not affix his royal signature to the same instrument which contains the names of the Plenipotentiaries, but that a treaty, when ratified, is copied into a separate book, and becomes an entirely new instrument. The treaty in its final state, there fore, being itself a copy from what is signed by the Plenipotentiaries, it appeared to me, I confess, not very material whether it were taken from the original instrument, or from a copy made from the original by myself. I take the liberty of submitting to you these obser vations by way of accounting for, but by no means defending, my mistake. I have the honour to be, &c. Separate. By the Messenger Kaye. One Inclosure. To the Right Honourable George Canning. Pera, July 6th, I8O9. Sir, Axthough it has not been in my power to obtain the recognition of Don John Havat as Plenipotentiary from his Catholic Majesty Ferdinand the Seventh, I have the satisfaction of acquainting you, that in con sequence of the enclosed note, which I presented im mediately after the conversation with Ghalib Efendi mentioned in my despatch No. 26., the Porte has sent a written and peremptory order to Mr. Duval to ab stain from aU acts tending to create a beUef that the Porte had recognised him in the capacity of Charge d'Affaires from the usurper Joseph ; and particularly ft 4 232 CORRESPONDENCE. to take down the arms of Spain from the front of his residence. The Porte has again notified to Duval, although for the first time in writing, that it neither did nor would recognise him in that or in any other public character. The official communication of this fact was made to me yesterday. It would have pleased me more if it had been made by a written note, but the Turks considered this to be too vigorous a proceeding. I have the honour to be, &c. Inclosure in Separate of July S. Mr. A. to the Reis Efendi. The undersigned, &c., by an official note presented to his ExceUency the Reis Efendi on the 17th of April, had the honour of informing the Sublime Porte that the King, his master, had concluded a Treaty of AUiance Avith his CathoUc Majesty Ferdi nand the Seventh, King of Spain and the Indies. Since that period it has come to the knowledge of the undersigned that a person of the name of Duval, a Dragoman attached to the Spanish Legation, has assumed the title and character of Charge d'Affaires to Joseph Bonaparte, who calls himself King of Spain. The'^said Duval occupies the palace belonging to the King of. Spain, and although not formaUy recog nised by the Sublime Porte, assumes the state of a Charge d'Affaires, grants passports, signs protections, performs unmolested all the functions, and enjoys all the privileges attached to members of the diplomatic body. CORRESPONDENCE. 233 The undersigned is under the necessity of protest ing, in the name of the King his master, the ally of his CathoUc Majesty, against these flagrant abuses. He reUes Avith confidence on the immediate inter ference of the Sublime Porte to put a stop to pro ceedings injurious to the dignity of his Sovereign, contrary to the laws of neutrality, and which, while they continue, cannot but interrupt the harmony so recently and so solemnly re-established between Great Britain and the Sublime Porte. The undersigned requests H. E. the Reis Efendi to accept the assurances of his high consideration. Pera, July 1st, I8O9. No. XXX. Two Inclosures. By Mr. Baker. To the Right Honourable George Canning. Pera, July 13th, I8O9. Sir, I HAVE the honour of informing you, that Mr. Den drino was, on the 4th instant, released from his con finement in the French Palace, and delivered into the custody of an officer of the Porte. The circumstances under which this release has taken place are such as to afford me a great degree of dissatisfaction. In my despatch No. 20., in which I had first the honour of mentioning this affair, I stated that the course which the Porte had engaged itself to me to pursue was that Dendrino should, in the first instance, be brought before the Grand Vizir ; that he should be 234 CORRESPONDENCE. asked to what nation he belonged ; and that according to his answer he should be delivered either to me or to the French Minister. On my observing at the time that this person was a native of Corfu, it was distinctly told me that the place of his birth would make no difference, and that the meaning of the question as to his country was, by what Power he was protected. A material part of the agreement was, that the Porte should enter into no conditions whatever with the French Minister for his release. From this period I never ceased urging the Porte to a fulfilment of its promises. On the return of Ghalib Efendi to the Porte, and his resumption of the office of Reis Efendi, the whole proceedings in this affair were stated to him, and aU the promises of satisfaction were renewed to me in the most solemn manner. It was with much surprise, therefore, that I learned that Dendrino had been released on two express con ditions: one that he should not be delivered up to me, and the other that no Chancery for the RepubUc of the Seven Islands should be estabUshed at Pera. As I had never demanded from the Porte the for mal recognition de novo of the Sept-insular Republic, the last of these conditions is nugatory so far as it may affect any general proceedings which may be in view for its re-establishment. But the first stipula tion could not be passed over in silence. I sent Mr. Pisani to the Porte, therefore, with a very strong message, claiming the performance of the promises so often repeated to me, and the immediate delivery up of Dendrino's person as a British protected subject. WhUe this business was in the course of negociation CORRESPONDENCE. 235 at the Porte, a Proclamation published by order of the French Charge d'Affaires was brought to me, by which the Republic of the Seven Islands and its Chancery was declared to be abolished and annulled. You will observe by the wording of the paper that it is also meant to be insinuated that the Porte had authorised, and was a party to the above Proclama tion. This notification, and the circumstances attending it, appeared to me so serious, that I determined on sending Mr. Stratford Canning to the Porte, to en quire how far the Proclamation had in fact been sanctioned by the Ottoman Government ; and if it had not been sanctioned, to insist on the most solemn and public disavowal of it. I instructed him to de clare that nothing would satisfy me short of the Porte sending its Dragoman to my house to disavow in its name the contents of the paper, and Ukewise all knowledge of, or participation in, its pubhcation. Mr. C. found some difficulty in executing his com mission; but with spirit and perseverance he succeeded in obtaining a promise to the above effect. I enclose an account of the proceeding which took place in consequence (A), and which was immediately communicated in the form of a circular to our Consuls and all persons concerned. The business, however, did not end here. The Porte, as you will perceive, pursuing that double poUcy for which it is so notorious, in order to make friends Avith the French Minister, consented that Dendrino should not be delivered up to me ; whUe, in order to avoid the difficulty consequent upon a refusal to deliver up an English protected subject, it has brought forward the claim of a paramount sovereignty over the Islands ; in 236 CORRESPONDENCE. consequence of which Dendrino is declared to be under its own special protection. I have long been aware of this intended claim ; but after the repeated and solemn promises of the Porte, I could little expect the assertion of it on the present occasion. Nothing, indeed, can be more grossly incon sistent than the conduct of the Ottoman Ministers. By the declaration of the Chief Dragoman in his visit to me of the 7th of May, my right to a satisfaction was distinctly and unequivocally admitted. The sole basis on which that right was , or could be rested was the seizure and imprisonment, within the territories of the Porte, of an English subject by the French Charge d'Affaires ; yet now that he is liberated from the French prison, the Government refuses to deUver him to me on the plea of his being a subject of the Porte. It is difficult to assemble more contradictions in a single proceeding. The embarrassment in which I was liable to be in volved, by contesting just now this pretension of sovereignty with the Porte, added to other consider ations, determined me to suspend the controversy for the present, which I did by the enclosed note (B). The mere re-establishment of a Sept-insular Chancery at Constantinople, independent of any embassy from the islands, and before a foot of territory belong ing to them is in our possession, would be perfectly useless as a means of furthering the re-estabUshment of the Republic itself. I have thought it better, therefore, to leave this question under the above pro test, under which I shaU always be at liberty to resume it when more favoured by events. I am induced to take this course by having now ascertained, beyond a cloiibt, that the Porte is deter- CORRESPONDENCE. 237 mined on no consideration to precipitate a rupture with France. On my side I have no means of pressing the point further, except by suspending the exchange of the ratifications ; a measure full of hazard in the present temper of the Turks, and in the very critical situation of the Austrian Monarchy. Had Lord Col lingwood given me any encouragement to expect a British squadron, to co-operate against Russia in the Black Sea, I could have adopted a stronger tone, and have even procured (possibly) the dismission of the French Minister. But his Lordship informs me that he has no ships, and by his letter I perceive that I have not convinced him of the propriety of employing a British force on that service. On the other hand, the rapid advance of the French armies, the little effect which seems to have been produced by the Archduke Charles's victory at Aspern, the occupation of Styria, Carinthia, and so many neighbouring provinces by the enemy, and the belief of their being far advanced even in Hungary, by alarming the Porte on the side of Servia, enables the French faction in the Divan again to raise its head, and to resume a considerable share of its influence over the councils of this feeble and distracted Go vernment. I can have no doubt that these causes have pro duced the recent deference shown to France in the affair of Dendrino, and, consequently, that it would not be prudent to risk our newly^-established credit by pressing any further a question, which, from the first, was unpleasant to the Turkish Government. For the present, therefore, my chief objects will be to secure the exchange of the ratifications, to keep the Turks in good humour, notwithstanding the non- 238 CORRESPONDENCE. arrival of British succours, and above aU, to prevent their listening to new overtures of peace from Russia. I have the honour, to be &c. Inclosure A. in No. XXX. Qualmente fti Giovedi passato, affissa aUe Porte della CanceUeria Francese, la Carta che segue : — " Avis. " On fait savoir qu'il a ete regie et convenu avec qui de droit, et de la maniere et dans les formes les plus authentiques, que la soi-disante Republique des Sept-Isles, que l'on avait etablie, a ete detruite et annuUee; et de plus que dorenavant et a I'avenir aucune ChanceUerie de la soi-disante Republique des Sept-Isles pourra etre etablie en quelque maniere et sous quelque forme que ce puisse etre." Quest' oggi il Dragbmanno della Porta, con espresso commando della Sublime Porta, venne al Palazzo Britannico, e fece a Sua EcceUenza I'Ambas- ciatore, la dichiarazione che segue : — " La Sublime Porte m'a charge de declarer a Votre ExceUence que I'avis affiche a la porte de la Chancellerie Fran9aise jeudi passe, que je tiens ici a la main, est faux, et a ete fait sans le consentement ou la connoissance de la Porte ; et qu'elle ne reconnoit point que la RSpublique des Sept-Isles ait ke detruite et annullee." Palazzo Britannico, al di 9 Luglio, 1809- CORRESPONDENCE. 239 Inclosure B. in No. XXX. Mr. A. to the Reis Efendi. The undersigned, &c., has received, with the deepest concern, the declaration communicated to him by H. E. the Reis Efendi, that Mr. Dendrino, the ChanceUor of the Republic of the Seven Islands, so long and so un justly detained in prison by the Charge d'Affaires of France, and whose liberation had been so repeatedly promised to the undersigned, without any conditions whatsoever, is now considered by the Ottoman Govern ment as a subject of the Sublime Porte. The independence of the RepubUc of the Seven Islands was formerly recognised by the treaty of Amiens. The SubUme Porte was a party to that treaty. His Majesty the King of Great Britain is one of the protectors and guarantees of the Republic so recognised by that treaty. No subsequent treaty has been entered into between his Majesty and the Sublime Porte to alter the nature of the relations then estabUshed between his Majesty and the Seven Islands. On the 19th of April, Mr. Dendrino demanded and received from the undersigned the protection of H. M. the King of Great Britain. This protection he has never renounced. The undersigned therefore caUs on the Sublime Porte to declare by what authority it claims the right of considering Mr. Dendrino as its subject, and by what authority he is denied his liberty ? In default of a satisfactory ansAver to this demand, the undersigned, in the name of the King his master. 240 CORRESPONDENCE. denies the sovereignty thus attempted to be asserted and exercised by the Sublime Porte. He protests against, and declares unlawful, all acts done by the Sublime Porte, in support of such assumed sove reignty, and more particularly the detention of the person of the said Dendrino, as being directly contrary to the Treaty of Peace signed with the Ottoman Government on the 5th of January, and particularly prejudicial to the friendship then happUy re-estabUshed between the two empires. The undersigned requests H. E. the Reis Efendi to accept the assurances of his high consideration. Pera, July 1 2th, I8O9. No. XXXI. Two Inclosures. By Mr. Baker. To the Right Honourable G. Canning. Pera, July 18th, I8O9. Sir, Mr. James Morier arrived here yesterday in his way to England, charged with despatches from Sir Harford Jones to his Majesty's Government. He is also the bearer of a Treaty of Peace signed between Sir H. Jones and the Persian Plenipotentiaries on the 12th of March. Not having it in my power to procure for Mr. Morier an immediate conveyance to England, I lose no time in forwarding to you a copy of the Treaty (A), together with an abstract from such of the despatches as Sir Harford left under a flying seal for my perusal (B). correspondence. 241 Sir H. Jones having testified great anxiety to know my opinion on the subject of his transactions at Tehran, I have not hesitated to assure him that I considered the peace which he has just signed with the King of Persia, by the diversion which it ap pears already to have operated in favour of Austria, to be a measure highly beneficial to the common cause of Europe. I have the honour to be, &c. Inclosure B in No. XXXI. Abstracts of Despatches from Sir H. Jones to His Majesty's Government, dated from Toehran, 1809. In a despatch of the 16th March to H. M. Minister for Foreign Affairs, Sir Harford Jones encloses the copy of a letter from him to the Governor-General of India, dated 18th February, informing H. E. that General Gardanne and suite had quitted Tgehran on the 13th instant, one day previous to the arrival of H. M. mission ; and in another despatch, of the same date. Sir H. Jones encloses a preliminary treaty of defensive aUiance, signed on the 12th instant, between himself and the Persian plenipotentiaries. Under the 16th March, he informs H. M. Minister for the Affairs of India that the terms * * «JC. Jf> Jjl, Jb J^ ^t ^t, ^ w ^ -3p ^ ^ T? These terms Sir H. Jones mentions to have been rejected until the 30th March, when the Persian plenipotentiaries agreed that they should be acted upon untU the pleasure of H. M. Government should be known, and that consequently the conclusion of VOL. I. R 242 correspondence. the definitive treaty should remain suspended until he received such communication. On the 21st April, in a despatch to H. M. Minister for the Affairs of India, Sir H. Jones encloses the copy of a letter from himself to the Governor-General of India, dated 1 3th April, in which he states that the Persian ministry, having made strong requisitions for an advance of subsidy, and the French, so long as he deferred granting their request, succeeding so weU to impress them with the idea " que les Anglais jouent la Cour de Perse," that he had found it absolutely necessary to consent to an advance of six months' subsidy. Under the 2d May, to the same minister. Sir H. Jones encloses the copy of a letter to himself from the Governor-General, dated 30th January, in which, under a conviction that Sir H. Jones could never succeed in the object of his mission, H. E. intimates to him his positive instructions to quit the court and territory of Persia, in whatever predicament his letter might find him; that in the event of his not com plying without reference or delay with the instructions conveyed in that letter, by closing his mission and retiring from Persia, it had been determined, and measures had been taken accordingly, to disavow his public character in that country, subsequent to the receipt of H. E. letter of the 31st October, 1808, and to apprise the Persian court that Sir H. Jones's powers had expired, and that no engagements he might contract would have any validity or effect. H. E. had also directed aU Sir H. Jones's future biUs to be refused in India, and those which might have been already paid drawn subsequent to the receipt of H. E. letter of 31st October to be charged to Sir H. Jones's yjersonal debt. CORRESPONDENCE. 243 In answer to this letter. Sir H. Jones informs the Governor-General, vmder the 24th AprU, that he had lost no time in communicating to the Persian ministry the orders he had received, instantly to suspend his functions of British minister, and to leave Persia; that he had deUvered them an official note, stating that he had suspended his functions accordingly, ac companied by such extracts of H. E. letter as seemed most likely to effect his dismissal. Sir H. Jones then informs H, M, Minister for the Affairs of India, that although the first idea that occurred to the Persian ministry was to detain the French Charge d'Affaires then at Tsehran, and to recal General Gardanne, yet the King of Persia, in an interview which took place soon after, informed Sir H. Jones that he had determined not to accept the declaration he had made of the resignation of his public character, that he should be treated with in creased attention and respect, that H. M. would im mediately send a person to the court of London, in quality of his Charge d'Affaires, that he would faith fully perform his part of the preliminary treaty, and that he would immediately dismiss the French Charge d'Affaires. That on the 28th foUowing, Meerza Abdul Hassan, a man of family, was appointed Persian Vakeel, i. e. Charge d'Affaires, at the Court of London, and that on the 29th the French Charge d'Affaires left Ttehran. In adverting again to the subsidy he had judged it expedient to propose, Sir H. Jones observes, it was only to express the most respectful and most conscientious conviction that its execution would be attended with great present and incalculable future advantages to the East India Company. Experience daily con- B 2 244 CORRESPONDENCE. vinced him, that, once executed, there was scarcely an object Great Britain could wish in Persia but what would be easily attained. No. XXXII. By Mr. Baker. To the Right Honourable George Canning. Pera, July 24th, I8O9. Sir, The Grand Vizir is at length on his march to the Danube. He has about 35,000 Janissaries under his command, and by the time he reaches the Danube it is supposed that his army will amount to not less than 140,000 men. Some days previous to his departure I had a full conversation with GhaUb Efendi, who accompanies the Vizir, leaAdng Vaahid Efendi (the plenipotentiary who signed the peace with me) in the situation of Reis Efendi for the time being. This interAdeW was sought by Ghalib himself. I soon found that his object in proposing it was no other than, by evincing an apparent anxiety on topics of a general interest, accompanied with protestations of attachment towards Great Britain, to appease the discontent I had manifested at the conduct of himself and his colleagues in the affair of Dendrino. Far from declining to enter upon those general topics, I was glad to prove to this minister, with whom I had had no opportunity of conversing confi dentiaUy since his arrival, the benefit which the Porte might derive from the friendship of His Ma- correspondence. 245 jesty, if, by a nearer conformity of his views with those of His Majesty's Government, and particularly by a change of system towards France, she would en deavour to deserve it. Not to distract his attention, however, by too much generality in the objects which I proposed bringing under his consideration, I confined myself to one simple point, namely, that of cautioning the Ottoman government to beware of a peace with Russia. As by good fortune no dragoman but M. Pisani was present at this conversation, I could speak much more clearly than it would have been prudent to do in the pre sence of any of the dragomans employed by the Porte, who are Greeks, many of them devoted, and all friendly to Russia. Before stating to you the nature of the arguments which I endeavoured to bring to bear on this point, I think it necessary to remark, that not only the general aspect of affairs, but some doubtful symptoms have of late awakened in me a considerable degree of anxiety, and even suspicion, with regard to the real intentions of the Porte. That Bonaparte should recommend to the Emperor Alexander to make peace with Turkey on any terms, in order to leave his aUy at Uberty to bring his whole force to act against Austria, is in the true spirit ^of his poUtics. On the other hand, he knows too weU how fully his hostile y^rojects have been developed to the Turks to make it probable that he would alarm their suspicions by proposing a second time his mediation. The course he would naturally foUoAV under these circumstances would be that of recommending to the Emperor Alexander either to make peace at once by a temporary restoration of the provinces, or simply to withdraw his troops, to trust B 3 246 correspondence. to Turkish indolence for not carrying the Avar beyond the Dneister, to establish in this manner a peace de facto, and to leave the rest to the course of events upon the destruction of the Austrian power. If he could prevail on the Emperor Alexander to adopt, and to act upon, these views, I doubt whether the Turks have sufficient foresight to avoid the snare, and stiU more, whether they would reject an offer of peace accompanied Avith the actual evacuation of Walachia and Moldavia. That the enemy has been endeavouring to prepare the way for some arrangement, or at least for fresh negotiations, which might prevent for this year the Turkish army from acting, I have undoubted inform ation. Not long ago the French Charge d'Affaires addressed a letter to Husrew Pacha, one of the leading chiefs on the Danube, who by his post has frequent opportunities of . communicating with the Russian armies, the object of which was to open a direct correspondence with him on the means of re storing peace. Husrew Pacha sent the letter to the Porte, by whose Order it was communicated to me. I have also seen a letter from Prince Prosorowsky to Baron Hubsch, the Charge d'Affaires for Denmark, by which ample proof is afforded that this agent, a devoted tool of the French, has been engaged in similar attempts. When to these circumstances I add the personal wishes and interest of Ghalib Efendi, whose situation and even whose life may answer for any bad success of the Ottoman arms, the vicAvs of Prince Morousy, his confidential dragoman and adviser, the difficulty of carrying on this war owing to its immense expense, to the poverty of the treasury, and to the still unsettled condition of the government, you will not correspondence. 247 be surprised at my apprehensions that the Turks, preferring present ease to future security, may listen to a proposal such as I have alluded to, backed by the promises, the threats, and perhaps the money of France. To prevent this peace in the relative situations of Austria and Russia had always appeared to me of the greatest possible importance ; but my means of pre venting it had hitherto been no other than argument and representation in concert with the Internuncio. If, indeed, the yaublic service had rendered it possible to send a British squadron to the Dardanelles, I should have found little difficulty in binding Turkey, as the price of its co-operation, to an agreement to make no truce with Russia Avhile she continued to threaten the Austrian frontier. The final settlement of a peace between these PoAvers I may stiU possess some means of retarding. There are too many per sonal interests connected with the restoration of the Barats for Russia readily to renounce a privilege pro ductive of so many profitable abuses ; and as by the capitulations I shall have a right to claim the same privileges which may be granted to any other nation, the Porte is already aware that if it should yield this point to Russia I shaU insist on the same concession for Great Britain, and consequently that either our capitulations must be violated, or the whole projected system of internal reforms in the administration of the Turkish commerce and revenues must be aban doned. But although this instrument, Avhich I should not fail to use in a case of emergency, might be strong enough to retard the conclusion of a treaty, I fear it would not be of sufficient efficacy to prevent an ar mistice, which, by leaving Russia free to co-operate B 4 248 CORRESPONDENCE. Avith France, would effectually counteract the only object of my present anxiety and exertions. These considerations had determined me to try once more, when the ratifications should arrive, whe ther it would be possible to impress the Turkish Go vernment with the expediency, for its own sake, of entering into some defensive engagement to which Austria might become a party. Austria, it is true, from the uncertainty which stUl appears to prevaU at that court with regard to the ultimate views of Russia, is not ready to sign such an engagement at this mo ment ; but I consider that if I could prevail on the Turks to propose it to Austria, particularly in the form suggested by your despatch, time, which at this moment is of the highest value, would be gained, and during the interval aU agreement with Russia would be suspended. I did not, consequently, neglect so favourable a moment as that of a conference of Ghalib Efendi's own seeking to point out all the advantages of such a measure by arguments derived from the present fears of this Government as well as from its hopes of future security. I represented to him that the comparative tran- quiUity which the Turks had enjoyed of late years was owing to their having Avisely deviated from those maxims of their ancestors which formerly kept them aloof from the rest of Europe, and rendered them in different spectators of the issue of wars among Chris tian states for the balance of power. They had found that those maxims, since the system and the species of wars caused by the French Revolution, were no longer safely to be persevered in, and that, notAvith- standing the total difference of manners and religion, even their own government Avas of necessity associated CORRESPONDENCE. 249 with those of Christendom in the common object of self-preservation. The conviction of this truth had produced the treaty of triple aUiance in the year 1799, a connection preceded by a series of important services on the part of Great Britain, and leading to a peace which provided for and maintained the integrity of the Ottoman empire. If it be now aUeged that Russia, by the inconstancy of her politics, had proved herself an unfit member of any confederacy which should have the security of Turkey for its object, it was also to be recollected that the Turks had been the first to renounce the triple aUiance ; that they had re fused to renew it upon its expiration, and had put them selves totally under the guidance of France, the true author of aU their present embarrassment and danger. With the largest admission of the wrongs done them by Russia, therefore, the wisdom of the system itself could not be disputed ; and the only question now to be considered was, whether, as a substitute for Russia, some other Power might not be found, equally the neighbour of Turkey, equally interested against the accompUshment of the French scheme of universal dominion, and still more interested, perhaps, in the preservation of the absolute and permanent integrity of the Ottoman territories. Such a Power was Aus tria. The friendship and aUiance of Austria, there fore, cemented by that of Great Britain, and grounded upon engagements which, in process of time, might be extended to every other leading Power that could preserve its independence, became an object of the most serious importance to the Porte, and one which not only I felt it my duty to recommend as the mi nister of a friendly state, but which I had the autho- 250 CORRESPONDENCE. rity of my government to propose to their immediate consideration. Having laid down these preliminary principles, and discussed and enforced them as well as it was possible to do through the very unsatisfactory channel of in terpretation, I proceeded to point out the nature of the connection which I recommended. In pursuance of your instructions, I stated that the most obvious and the most simple method of uniting the three parties would be, that Austria should accede to the treaty of the Dardanelles. In answer to the objection that the stipulations of that treaty contained no common object in the execution of which Austria could join, I referred to the Secret Article, No. 4., which stipulates that in the event of a peace between Great Britain and Russia his Majesty will endeavour to procure a peace for the Porte, grounded upon the preservation of the integrity of the Ottoman territories ; and I stated that Austria might on these grounds be invited to accede to our treaty. I supported this proposal by expatiating on the obvious advantages which would arise to Turkey from the acceptance of it by Austria. Turkey, if she was in truth determined to have back her provinces, with security for the future enjoyment of them, would en gage herself on her side to nothing beyond a resolution already taken. The simple restitution of those pro vinces afforded no such security. It was not in the character of the Russian cabinet gratuitously to re nounce any favourite object of its ambition. If, there fore, that Power were now suddenly to adopt the language of moderation, and propose a peace grounded on the restitution of conquests so dear to her, could Turkey flatter herself that she Avould renounce them CORRESPONDENCE. 251 for ever? For what could be the motive to de termine Russia to such a sacrifice, except that, being joined in an unprincipled confederacy with France to rob Austria of her dominions, she found it convenient to relieve herself for the moment from the pressure of one of the four other wars with Persia, England, Sweden, and Austria, in which her con federate had involved her ? I here put to GhaUb Efendi the possible event of a change in the councils of Russia, and a return on her part to a just sense of her own interests as connected with those of Great Britain and Austria. There was nothing impossible in such a change on the part of Russia, neither would there be any thing in it incon sistent with her persevering in her present plans against Turkey, unless previously diverted from them by some such engagement as that under discussion. If a moment so favourable, therefore, as the present for binding Austria to such an engagement were suf fered to pass by, to what Power in Europe could Turkey address herself to prevent the final incorpo ration of the provinces in question Avith the Russian empire? Austria would be too much benefited by the aUiance of Russia to resist her in so favourite a point. Great Britain, deriAdng equal benefit from the accession of such an aUy against France, could not be expected to go beyond the letter of her present en gagements for the sake of a Power that still discovered so much tenderness towards her inveterate enemy. In this situation the Porte, to regain her provinces, would be reduced to the friendship of France — in other words, to the friendship of that very Power which had involved her in all her present difficulties, under a promise of assisting her to retake the Crimea, 252 CORRESPONDENCE. and which had prevented her getting back these very provinces when the Emperor of Russia offered to re store them. I did not fail in this place to caU the attention of Ghalib Efendi to the proposal made by France to Austria, by way of settUng aU differences, to join in the yDrofligate system of partition disclosed at Erfurt. Little as I am disposed to indulge the hope that any representations, whether of good or of evU in prospect, can produce the smallest effect on the Turkish councils, if GhaUb Efendi is to be beUeved, what passed between us at this interview may not be absolutely fruitless. He owned himself fully sensible of the danger to Turkey, which I had pointed out from a too hasty peace Avith Russia. He gave me, Ukewise, the strongest assurances that the Porte, and he himself particularly, would keep steadUy in Adew the caution I had that day given them, and that, so far as his own advice and influence might prevail, no peace should be concluded with Russia the effect of which might enable her to afford assistance to France against Austria in the present war. I tried to prevail on him to promise me the communication of any overtures towards peace which might be addressed to the Vizir ; but his answer was evasive, grounded upon his intended absence at the camp, and referring me to the government at home. He appeared to me, however, so truly impressed with a sense of the danger of listening even to the most favourable terms, that, although not relieved from my fears, I think there is little ground for immediate alarm, unless some great calamity should befal the Ottoman arms. Even then Ave may trust to Russia for not CORRESPONDENCE. 253 accompanying her success with proposals too tempt ing from their moderation. I will add, not as a satisfactory circumstance attending this interview, but merely as a proof of my neglecting no occasion to open the eyes of this go vernment to the certain ruin that awaits it by trust ing to the professions of France, that Ghalib Efendi assured me again and again that aU the Ottoman ministers were fully aware of the same dangers, and convinced that they arose from the same sources, that I had pointed out. He admitted in its fullest extent my statement contained in an abridged enu meration, of the bad faith of France towards every power not of its own immediate creation. He seemed indeed to have learned the same facts, and to be aware of the same poUcy on the part of the ruler of France, on which I had grounded my representations, and especially of the probability of his not again proposing his mediation, but rather of his advising Russia simply to withdraw her troops with a view of operating a peace de facto. StUl, however, he repeated, as on every former occasion, that the Porte had enough to do with one war, and could not think of undertaking a second. I must not conceal from you that the co-operation of Great Britain by a squadron in the Black Sea was again and again pressed upon me by Ghalib Efendi ; and indeed that he accom panied his arguments by some insinuation that Great Britain was temporising with Russia. This charge I answered by explaining to him the system we were pursuing in Persia, and the diversion already effected in that quarter; and likevdse by stating it as my firm belief that at the hour we were then conversing 254 CORRESPONDENCE. some decisive measures against Russia were in the course of execution in the Baltic. At the close of this conversation GhaUb Efendi added of his own accord that he was fuUy aware that I could not be pleased with the turn which affairs had of late been taking in the Ottoman councils ; but that I was mistaken in supposing this to be the effect of any partiality towards France. He assured me that it was solely owing to the very uncertain situa tion of Austria, and the dread every post of hearing that Bonaparte was upon their frontiers. No argu ments that I could think of were omitted to convince him how fatal might be the effect of determinations taken upon such false views of their safety ; but aU I could say on this head was fruitless. Where I ap peared most to prevaU was in my exhortations against peace or truce with Russia. He did certainly seem sensible of the little safety to be expected from either, and reiterated his assurances that nothing of the sort was in contemplation. For this, however, I trust much more to the spirit of the Janissaries than I am disposed to do to the promise of any member of the Turkish government. I have the honour to be, &c. No. XXXIII. By Mr. Baker. I'o the Right Honourable George Canning. Pera, July 28th, Sir, I HAVE the honour of informing you that yesterday I had an audience of the Caimacam, at which I pre- CORRESPONDENCE. 255 sented to his Highness the letter from his Majesty to the Grand Vizir, and likcAvise exchanged with him the ratifications of the treaty of peace concluded with Turkey on the 5th of January. Mr. Baker, my private secretary, will have the honour of delivering to you the treaty, together with the translations of the Turkish preamble and con clusion annexed to it. In obedience to your instructions I have declined exchanging the ratifications of the Secret Article. I have the honour to be, &c. No. XXXV. By Mr. Baker. To the Right Honourable George Canning. Pera, August 2nd, 1 809. Sir, I HAD yesterday the honour of an audience of the Sultan, at which I presented to him my credentials as Ambassador Extraordinary and Minister Plenipo tentiary from his Majesty. I have the honour to be, &c. No. XXXVI. By Mr. Baker. To the Right Honourable George Canning. Pera, August 5th, I8O9. Sir, I HAVE the honour of enclosing a despatch addressed to you from Sir Harford Jones, and likewise another 256 CORRESPONDENCE. from Bussora, addressed to the Secret Committee of the Court of Directors of the East India Company. The Persian plenipotentiary arrived yesterday at Scutari on his way to England, I will endeavour to forward him on his voyage under convoy of the next ship of war which may arrive at the DardaneUes. I have the honour to be, &c. No. XXXVII. By Mr. James Morier. To the Right Honourable George Canning. Pera, August 22nd, I8O9. Sir, Having heard of the arrival of his Majesty's ship Success at Smyrna, I have written this day to Cap tain Ascough, requesting him to receive the Persian envoy on board, and to give him a passage either to England or to Malta. The pubUc character of this envoy is simply that of Vakeel, although he is himself a person of high rank, and of a very distinguished famUy. Mr. James Morier, who accompanies him, wiU give you the most ample details of aU that is transact ing in Persia. I shaU confine myself, therefore, to the steps which I have taken at Constantinople, in order to render our new connection with that country beneficial to the common cause in Europe. I perceive that the King of Persia is extremely desirous of establishing a close intimacy, and even alliance, with the Ottoman Porte. Sir Harford Jones appears also to be of opinion that the concurrence of CORRESPONDENCE. 257 the Porte in these views, and particularly that the estabUshment of embassies reciprocally between the two Powers, would be the means of strengthening the peace he has recently concluded. The objections to the estabUshment of such a con nection as the King of Persia seems to have in view, strike me to be of two sorts: first, the degree to which it might counteract the general plans of the Presidency of Bengal with regard to its connection with the neighbouring Powers, by strengthening Persia too much ; secondly, the doubtful prospect of affairs in Turkey itself, for whose conduct, when France shall arrive upon her frontiers, I cannot answer. On the other hand, the importance of binding Turkey to some engagement against a separate peace with Russia appeared to me so great, and from the misfortunes of Austria had become so pressing, that I could not reject the principle of endeavouring to form some sort of concert between Turkey and Persia. After much consideration, the simplest and the safest mode of effecting such concert appeared to me to be that of a convention between the two Powers, Umited to the defence and security of their respective frontiers against Russia, with a stipulation not to lay down their arms but by common consent. This measure, therefore, I proposed some days ago to the Reis Efendi in a conference, with the detaUs of which it is unnecessary to trouble you. The proposal was declined, although with the strongest professions of friendship towards Persia, and the acknowledgment that we were aU engaged in a common cause. At the same time, however, I received a promise from the Reis Efendi, conveyed in terms so formal VOL, I, s 258 CORRESPONDENCE. and so binding, that, were it possible to trust to any professions of the Turkish Government, I should con sider the purpose for which this conference was chiefly held, to be fully answered. After repeated assurances that nothing was in agitation between Turkey and Russia tending towards peace, he en gaged to communicate to me all advances towards negociation, and likcAvise to consult with me on the acceptance or rejection of any specific proposal which might be made on either side, I must add, however, that this conference took place proAdously to the arrival of the despatches an nouncing the armistice between the Austrian and French armies, I have the honour to be, &c. No. XXXVIIl. One Inclosure. 71? the Right Hon. George Canning. Pera, August 28th, I8O9. Sir, I HAVE the honour of forwarding a letter to your address, together Avith its translation, from his Ex cellency Vaahid Efendi, who officiates at the Porte as Reis Efendi during the absence of GhaUb, A Tartar belonging to the Grand Vizier arrived yesterday from the Persian camp before Teflis, with letters addressed to his Highness directly from the Shah himself. Yussuf Pacha, the Grand Vizier, has always favoured the plan of uniting the two Powers by closer ties than subsist at present, or than indeed CORRESPONDENCE. 259 ever have subsisted between them ; and I learn that it is now the intention of this Government to enter tain the question, brought forward not many days ago, respecting the establishment of embassies between the Ottoman and Persian Courts. This Tartar brings intelligence that the Persian army has completely invested Teflis. There is every reason to expect, either that the place wUl faU into their hands, or that the siege of so important a city wUl oblige the Emperor Alexander to increase his forces in Georgia, in order to attempt every thing for its reUef. The despatches also state, that the Russian general had again proposed peace, but that the King of Persia had firmly refused it. This information has caused a considerable degree of satisfaction at Constantinople, which, however, is somewhat diminished by intdUgence received from the Grand Vizier's camp at Shiumla, stating that a Russian army of 30,000 men had crossed the Danube at a place caUed Isaezi, near Ismadof. The Grand Vizier had detached two corps of 20,000 men each to oppose them, and was himself marching to give them battle. The Grand Vizier complains greatly of the Avant of money, and overtures have again been made to me upon the subject ; but my answers are strictly in con formity Avith my instructions. The Envoy from the King of Persia to his Majesty wUl leave Scutari to-morrow for Smyrna. During his stay here I have shoAvn him every attention due to his person and to the importance of his mission. The Ottoman Government has also behaved toAvards him Avith great and proper consideration; but it is s 2 260 CORRESPONDENCE. my duty to inform you that Vaahid Efendi has tried every artifice in his power, first; to obtain from him a communication of the treaty with England ; and secondly, to dissuade him from prosecuting his voy age. I have the honour to be, &c. No. XXXVIIL To the Right Hon. George Canning. Pera, Sept. lOth, I8O9. Sir, Since I had the honour of writing to you on the 28th ult., advices have been received that the Grand Vizier has crossed the Danube, and thrown himself in the rear of the Russians, who stUl remain, to the number of 30,000, at Matchin. On the other hand, it is very generally believed that a Turkish flotilla, sent some weeks ago to the mouths of the Danube for no apparent purpose, has been destroyed. From Buda no advices have been received since the despatches announcing the armistice, dated July 28th. As those letters neither contained the Articles, nor any sort of intimation of the conditions on which it was concluded, both the Internuncio and myself are to this hour unable to give any satisfactory explan ation to the Turkish Government of an event on which they conceive the safety of the Ottoman Empire essen tially to depend. The absence of Count Stadion from Buda has been extremely detrimental to my corre spondence with Mr. Bathurst, as well as with indi viduals from whom I was in the habit of receiving information much more full and exact than that correspondence. 261 usually transmitted to the Internuncio in his official despatches. I am obliged, therefore, to supply my ignorance of the facts with the too probable conjec ture that the Emperor of Austria, notwithstanding his disapprobation of the terms of that fatal conven tion, has been forced to Usten to propositions of peace ; that he has submitted these propositions to Russia ; and that having placed himself in the hands of the Emperor Alexander, he can no longer refuse to sign such conditions as shall appear reasonable to that monarch. Reports without number, and from aU quarters,-T^ reports accredited even by the French Mission, have reached us, that a great degree of coolness has lately manifested itself in the conduct of Russia towards France. I am not unprepared to take advantage of so desirable an event ; in the mean time I cannot flat ter myself with the hope, that this supposed coolness can have any other foundation than that of some casual rencontre in Galicia, between the Russian troops sent to take possession of the Austrian provinces, and some chiefs of the Polish insurrection, who would naturaUy plead their aUiance with France, in justifi cation of rebeUion against their own sovereign. It is true that, in the beginning, of the campaign, Bona parte expressed great satisfaction at the tardiness of the march of the Russian troops. It may also be true that, he has manifested some design, or thrown out some threat, of restoring the Kingdom of Poland in the person of his brother : but I cannot bring my self to believe that he would choose the present mo ment for seriously attempting the execution of this design, or that he would bring it forward with any other view than to seU the renunciation of it to the s 3 262 CORRESPONDENCE. Emperor Alexander at a high price, and thus to dravv that Sovereign stiU deeper into his snares. I mention this speculation, because, in default of all official intdUgence, I am obUged to assume it as my rule of action in my communications Avith the Turk ish Ministers. So great are their apprehensions of an union between Austria and Russia, and so disposed have I found them, in such an event, to throw them selves into the arms of France, but I think it abso lutely necessary to discredit, by aU possible means, the belief of any serious misunderstanding between the Emperor Alexander and Bonaparte. I have the honour to be, &c. Separate. To the Right Hon. George Canning. Pera, Sept. 12th, I8O9. Sir, I HAATE the honour of enclosing you the copies of two letters I have this instant received from Sir Har ford Jones, dated 2d August. It has not been in my power to get a translation of the Persian papers in time to send them by this oppor tunity, but the substance of them I understand to be a proposition of peace from Russia, on the basis of making the Arras the boundary of the two empires ; in Avhich case, Russia shaU assist Persia to indemnify herself upon Turkey for the loss of Georgia, by taking possession of Bagdad, Bussora, Erzeroom, and other contiguous territories. I have the honour to be, &c. CORRESPONDENCE. 263 Separate. To the Right Hon. George Canning. Pera, Sept. 15th, 1809- Sir, I BEG leave to caU your attention to the situation of the English Palace at Constantinople. Almost im mediately after my arrival, I had occasion to describe to you the ruinous condition to which it had been suffered to fall by the neglect of Baron Hubsch. On the 27th of February, 1807, some Turks having a suspicion that a quantity of arms and gunpowder were concealed in the cellars, an order was obtained to search the palace, and from that time, on various occasions, it has been entered by other persons. This gave rise to a system of continued petty pilfering, by which, property to a considerable amount has gra dually disappeared, and many valuable articles have been suffered to perish, with a view, apparently, of covering the robbery of the rest. Independently of M. Hubsch's negligence in this respect, he totaUy omitted to give those orders which he knew very well to be necessary for the preservation of the buUding itself. The consequence has been, that the rains, which, during a certain period, are very violent in this coun try, and to which it had been exposed during two successive winters, have totaUy destroyed the roof, — have essentially injured some of the main timbers, — and have irreparably damaged the greater part of the furniture, particularly that destined for the state rooms. I have been repeatedly, and almost hopelessly, Adew- ing this scene of desolation, during the summer, s 4 264 CORRESPONDENCE. utterly unable to resolve what course to take respect ing the edifice itself. The first estimate of the ex pense necessary to restore it to its former state, so largely exceeded every sum of which I could ven ture to sanction the disbursement, that I renounced at once all idea of proceeding upon it. On the other hand, it was ajbsolutely necessary that some meg,sures should be taken to stop the progress of the evU, which, if it had continued one winter more, must, according to the report of aU persons employed to survey the building, have utterly completed its destruction. A second estimate was accordingly made under my directions, limited in its view to the restoration of the roof, and the putting some of the rooms in a habitable state. This estimate Avill bring doAvn the expense tp about 20,000 piastres. Various reasons induced me to put off the com^ mencement of the work, even upon this reduced scale, until the last moment ; but, as three months of favour able weather were requisite to finish the roof, I could not delay it beyond the end of August. It has accordingly been begun, under the superin tendence of M. Chabert, to whose indefatigable atten tion I am indebted, not only for the advance of the work itself, but for the most rigid economy in the ex^ penditure. It would be idle in me to give hopes, that even when what I have now undertaken is completed, no further expense will be required. The ornamental parts and the paintings, which are all destroyed by the rains, are yet to be proAdded for. The stables are not begun, nor do I think it right to begin buUding them in the present precarious aspect of affairs at the Porte. The garden too, in its present state, is one continued heap CORRESPONDENCE. 265 of rubbish, and from the loAvness of the waU by which it is surrounded, is exposed to perpetual intrusion, besides having become the receptacle of every thing offensive. I am afraid under these circumstances that a considerable additional expense must stiU be incurred, in order to render it a fit residence for his Majesty's Ambassador. I take the Uberty of requesting your further direc tions on this subject, intending, on my part, to proceed no further until I am honoured with them. I have the honour to be, &c. No. XL. By Basilico. To the Right Hon. George Canning. Pera, Sept. 24th, I8O9. Sir, I HAATE the honour of informing you that I received your despatches Nos. 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14, and one marked " separate," together with the presents destined by his Majesty for the principal members of the Ottoman Government, by the messenger Ruffe. I beg leave to express my most humble thanks to his Majesty for his gracious compliance with my re quest for leave to return to England. His Majesty having accompanied that permission with the option to make use of it or not, according to circumstances, I have thought it my duty, in the present unsettled state of affairs among the surrounding Powers, to suspend my departure from Constantinople untU the designs of the enemy respecting this Empire shall be more fully developed. 266 CORRESPONDENCE. I did not fail to communicate to the Ottoman Go vernment the strength and destination of the power ful armament which saUed from the British ports on the 29th of July. The communication was received by the Porte with the highest marks of satisfaction ; but it is my duty to inform you, that when I gave the Reis Efendi to understand that by the destruction of the naval force of the enemy in the Scheldt such re inforcements would probably be sent out to our squa drons on distant stations as might prove beneficial to the Porte, I was again most earnestly entreated to press upon his Majesty's Government the importance of sending a squadron to Constantinople in order to its co-operating with the Turkish fleet in the Black Sea. The period of such co-operation is certainly over for the present season, but it might be resumed with success and advantage towards the end of February next, should the present political circumstances of Europe undergo in the mean time no material change. I have the honour to be, &c. No. XLI. By Basilico. To the Right Hon. George Canning. Pera, Sept. 24th, 1809, Sir, On receiving the presents intended by his Majesty for the different members of the Turkish Government, as specified in the enclosure which accompanied your despatch, I delivered them to the Reis Efendi, by CORRESPONDENCE, 267 whom they Avere conveyed to the Grand Vizier, and the other officers for whom they were designed. After minute enquiries, I learned that it would be quite unusual to leave out the Reis Efendi and the Kiaya Bey in the distribution of presents, on the sig nature of a treaty of peace, I was also informed that the Caimakan, who officiates as Grand Vizier at the Porte whUe that officer is at the camp, would ex pect a similar attention, and that, indeed, he could not well be omitted without the risk of offending his dignity. By the help of a slight deviation from the mode of distribution pointed out in your despatch, for which I humbly ask forgiveness of his Majesty, and by en gaging Mr. Wilkinson to take back the dagger orna mented with diamonds Avhich Avas entrusted to me at the time of my departure from England, I have been enabled to satisfy these additional claims Avithout augmenting the expense already incurred by Govern ment on account of presents. There having been but one plenipotentiary engaged in negociating or signing the Treaty, one of the boxes, marked No, 3, could easily be spared for the Reis Efendi, The dragoman employed in the conferences being a person very inferior both in rank and expectations to the dragoman of the Porte, and he having also re ceived from me a valuable watch at the time of sign ing the Treaty, I ventured to assign one of the boxes, marked No, 4, to the Kiaya Bey, For the dragoman attached to the Plenipotentiary I purchased of Mr. Wilkinson a handsome box of the value of 5200 piastres. 268 CORRESPONDENCE. I also purchased for the Caimacan a gold watch and ornaments for 5600 piastres. There remained after this Prince Demetrius Mo rousy, the principal dragoman of the Porte, who attends the Grand Vizier in the camp, and who was not entitled to the box No. 4, that being the due of the officiating dragoman at Constantinople. As Prince Morousy is a very powerful man, and one with whom is is highly expedient to be on good terms ; and as a considerable balance in favour of Government would be obtained by the return of the dagger to Messrs. Rundell and Bridge, I judged that a present to him of a ring of the value of 4000 piastres might be spared on this occasion, and be of real service to our interests. The dagger is taken back by Mr. Wilkinson at the price paid for it by Government. He estimates its value at 36,000 piastres. This will not only defray the expense of the three additional presents above- mentioned, but more than cover the difference be tween the price of the dagger destined by his Majesty for the Sultan and that which I was under the neces sity of providing for his Highness, according to the account I had the honour to transmit to you in my dispatch No. 34. I Avill add, that this dagger could not at any time have answered the purpose for which it was put into my hands. It is hot valuable enough for the Sultan, not splendid enough for the Grand Vizier (owing to the faulty disposition of the diamonds), and too con siderable a present for an inferior subject. I have the honour to be, &c. CORRESPONDENCE. 269 No. XLII. To the Right Hon. George Canning. Pera, Sept. 24th, I8O9. Sir, I LAID before the Turkish Government a translation in Turkish of the falsification of his Majesty's Speech by the French Government. It was received with every mark of contempt for the authors of so impu dent an imposture. It wiU after this be long, I trust, before the French Mission will obtain any belief to its most accredited publications. I have caused the document to be reprinted at the English press, and shaU send it to Persia and to aU places with which we have any correspondence. I have the honour to be, &c. No. XLIIL To the Right Hon. George Canning. Pera, Sept. 24th, I8O9. Sir, I DID not faU to notify to the dragomans attached to the British Embassy the proposed augmentation of their salaries, of which the particulars are contained in your despatch No. 13, and I have the honour of transmitting to you in their name the enclosed paper, expressive of their most respectful thanks to his Ma jesty for this mark of his royal bounty. I informed them at the same time that the arrears 270 CORRESPONDENCE. of their former salaries were to be paid to them up to the day of the signature of the Treaty with the Porte, and that the new arrangement was to commence from that day. It is not merely in compliance with their earnest entreaties, but in discharge of what I really think a duty, considering the difficulties to which they were exposed and the distresses which they encountered during the late rupture, that I have consented to transmit to his Majesty's Government their humble petition, that the arrears of their salaries during the suspension of our relations Avith Turkey, may be com puted according to the rule of the new arrangement. Into the correctness of the representations which have frequently been made to me by Mr. Pisani of the circumstances attending the new plan, from its origin untU its final settlement, I am not competent to enter ; but from what I have been able to learn of the rapid and continual increase in the prices of all the necessaries of life at Pera during the war, added to the loss of some advantages which the dragomans had been used to derive from their situation before the source of them was stopped by the Treaty of Peace, I can bear ample testimony to the fact of their distress. Indeed, on my arrival here in the month of January, I found myself under the absolute necessity (as I had the honour of informing you in my private letter of the 19th of February,) of applying an imme diate remedy to it by the advance to them of a sum of 11,000 piastres, in order to keep the establishment together. I have the honour to be, &c. CORRESPONDENCE. 271 No. XLIV. To the Right Honourable George Canning. Pera, Sept. 24th, 180g. Sir, Not having received from the Reis Efendi any answer to my proposal for a convention respecting the naval stores, and many events having occurred since I made it to induce me to think it was not likely to be agreed to, I did not deem it expedient to draw up any written articles upon the subject for the con sideration of the Ottoman Government. For the same reason, I forbore troubling you Avith the detail of any plans which might eventuaUy come to no thing ; but the Porte having Avithin these few days renewed an application to me for pecuniary as sistance, I took that occasion to rcAdve the business, and I have now the satisfaction of informing you, that proper persons are employed to ascertain, first, what quantity of oak timber and hemp is actuaUy ready for deUvery ; and, secondly, what part of the Ottoman coasts it would be best to fix upon for the supply and shipping of timber, in the event of our coming to a permanent agreement. Whenever a report in any thing of a regular shape shaU be made to me of the result of these inquiries, I wiU not fail transmitting for your consideration the draft of a convention adapted to the circumstances, and grounded upon the principle stated in my former despatch. In the mean time, with the assistance of Mr. Mair, I shaU omit no opportunity Avhich may offer for making a present purchase. I shaU in a few days be able to send a sample of hemp to Mr. Frazer at Malta. I have the honour to be, &c. 272 CORRESPONDENCE. Separate. To the Right Honourable George Canning. Pera, Sept. 25th, I8O9. Sir, On receiving your separate despatch respecting the antiquities collected by Lord Elgin in the Levant, I did not fail to renew the application which I had already made privately to the Ottoman Government for permission to embark them at Athens. The pre Uminary steps towards their embarkation not having been taken under the sanction of a firman, I have met with much difficulty in forwarding his Lord ship's wishes, and even now it is very doubtful whether the object would be effected so certainly through a firman as through a private application to the Vaivode of Athens. Measures to this effect are now taking by his Lordship's agents in this country, assisted by all the support which I can give them in concert privately with the Reis Efendi. I have the honour to be, &c. No. XLV. By Basilico. To the Right Honourable George Canning. Pera, Sept. 2'7th, I8O9. Sir, Immediately after the arrival of a French courier at the beginning of last week, the Charge d'Affaires of France demanded a conference of the Porte, which. CORRESPONDENCE. 273 after various attempts on the part of the ministers to discover the object of it, was granted for yesterday. I am this moment informed that its principal object was to discover how far the Porte was incUned to adhere to its present system. This was distantly touched upon without mentioning England by name. An important revelation however was made by the French minister, namely, that it was the intention of Bonaparte to make some material changes in the state of Poland. He accompanied this communica tion with the remarkable question, — whether the Turks would not like the French for their neighbours better than the Russians ? We have long heard reports that an understanding had begun to show itself between Austria and Russia on the affairs of Poland, and that Bonaparte had dis covered views tending to re-establish that kingdom in the person of one of his brothers. One Avord from Buda would enable me to explain to the Turkish ministers as well as to his Majesty's Government the meaning of this question; but nothing has reached us from thence of a later date than the 28th of July. In addition to the above communication from the French minister, he stated to the Porte that he had received a letter from the Russian Field Marshal, (Prince Gallitzin, as I suppose,) authorising him to ask the Ottoman Government if it was AvUling to resume the negociations tending to re-establish a congress at Jassy ? The answer was, that no con gress had been established at Jassy, and that no notice could be taken of such a letter. I suspect, however, that the letter has been delivered in as an official piece. I have the honour to be, &c. VOL. I. T 274 CORRESPONDENCE. No. XLVI. To the Right Honourable George Canning. Pera, October lOth, I8O9. Sir, Soon after I had the honour of writing to you last, an important change took place among the ministers of the Porte. Vaahid Efendi, the plenipotentiary who negociated the English peace, was suddenly dis placed and ordered into exile. I am informed that he would have lost his life but for the timely inter position of Mr. Pisani, who represented with success the doubts which such an act of severity might cast on the dispositions of Turkey towards England. This change again throws me back in all my mea sures, and particularly in those which I have been pursuing relative to the convention for oak timber. The new representative of the Reis Efendi has every thing to learn, and such is the terror inspired by some recent executions, that, to save themselves from acting wrong, the ministers appear to have taken the resolution not to act at aU. The Ramazan completes the suspension of every material business. I have the honour to be, &c. Separate. To the Right Honourable George Canning. Pera, October lOth, I8O9. Sir, Among the inclosures in Sir Harford Jones's de spatches to the East India Company, which I forward CORRESPONDENCE. 275 to you this day, there is the copy of a letter addressed to him by me in answer to the communication he made me of the successful termination of his nego ciations at the Court of Persia. At the close of that letter there is an expression which I feel it my duty to explain, in order that I may not be thought to have improperly or unbe comingly made use of his Majesty's name. The circumstance is briefly as follows : — Sir Har ford Jones represented to me, that, although he had been so far successful as to conclude a treaty of peace with the King of Persia, it would still require great efforts to keep the Persian court steady to the prin ciples of that treaty untU the arrival of the ratifi cations ; that there were even doubts whether the treaty would be ratified ; that these doubts would form a fruitful ground for French and Russian in trigues during the interval, and that, under these cir cumstances, it would afford him the most essential assistance if I Avould express some opinion in favour of the peace, and likcAvise my belief, if I entertained it, that it would be approved and ratified in England. Sir Harford Jones, with this view, proposed to me to write myself to the King of Persia, and in my letter to convey to his Persian Majesty this direct assurance. I wished to consider the subject a little before adopt ing precisely the course recommended by Sir Harford Jones ; but in the mean time, and to give him what assistance I could, I wrote him the ostensible letter which forms the subject of the present explanation. I have the honour to be, &c. T 2 276 CORRESPONDENCE. No. XLIX. One Inclosure. To the Right Honourable George Canning. Pera, Nov. 6th, I8O9. Sir, I HAATE the honour of informing you that the affair of Dendrino's arrest is at length finally settled, and, considering the present circumstances of the Porte, in a manner more satisfactory than I could have expected. On receiving information from Captain Leake that the enemy had been driven from Zante and Cepha- lonnia by his Majesty's arms, and that the Sept-insular Government had been re-estabUshed in those islands, I felt myself called upon to renew the discussion of this subject of Dendrino, and again to demand his liberation on the grounds stated by me in the protest I delivered in to the Porte on the 12th of July, in closed to you in my No. 30. For this purpose I presented three notes to the Porte : one to demand his liberation in pursuance of the promise originally made to me by the Caimacan ; a second to demand his liberation as a person bearing the British patent of protection ; the third to demand categorically of the Porte whether it recognised, or not, the Sept-insular Republic. I inclose you this last, having reason to think that it materially influenced the decision of the question. I instructed M. Pisani on delivering it to make the following declaration in my name : — " That the islands of Zante and Cephalonnia having surrendered to his Majesty's arms without the assist- CORRESPONDENCE. 277 ance of any other of the Powers interested in the independence of the Sept-insular Republic, his Majesty had a right to proceed to the settlement of the go vernment of those islands Avithout consulting any foreign state. That if the Porte stiU recognised the RepubUc, her ancient claims would be attended to; — if not, not." I was not long in perceiving the embarrassment into which the Turkish ministers were throAvn by this note and the accompanying message. Many overtures were made, and various schemes for a compromise suggested, to none of which I would listen. I even refused for a long time to attend a conference ; but this was at last required of me in a manner so formal and solemn, accompanied with such apparent anxiety to adjust the business to my satisfaction, that I was obliged to consent. The result of this conference, which took place last night, and of which it wiU be enough to say, that it exactly resembled all the others I have had the mis fortune of describing to you, was, that the Turkish ministers gave way. Dendrino is now to be released in the exact form and manner which it was originaUy proposed to follow, and which from first to last I have rigorously insisted upon, that is to say, that he is to be called before the Caimakan, by whom he is to be interrogated in the presence of the English and French dragomans, to which nation he belongs ; and upon his answer, he is to be deUvered up either to me or to the French minister. This mode is, for many reasons, the most eligible that can be adopted. First, it is the completion, as nearly as possible, of the original promise ; and, se- r 3 278 CORRESPONDENCE. condly, it ^decides the question of protections against the pretensions of France ; as weU those pretensions which she sets up to the sovereignty over aU countries occupied by her arms, as those which of late years she has advanced to the exclusive right of protecting her natural-born subjects. I have the honour to be, &c. Inclosure in No. XLIX. Mr. Adair to the Reis Efendi. The undersigned, his Majesty's Ambassador Extra ordinary and Plenipotentiary at the SubUme Porte, has already had the honour of notifying to his Ex ceUency the Reis Efendi the deUverance of Zante and Cephalaunia from the occupation of France by the British arms, and the re-establishment of the Repub lican Government in those islands under the protection of his Majesty. The Ottoman Porte haAdng, by several public trea ties with Great Britain and other powers, expressly recognised the independence of the Ionian Republic, but having in various instances of late, and particu larly by its conduct towards the Sept-insular agents at Constantinople, refused to the said RepubUc the rights and privileges inseparable from a state of in dependence, the undersigned feels himself under the necessity, for the regulation of his own conduct, of demanding categorically of the Sublime Porte an ex planation of its sentiments, and a direct answer to the question, " Does the Porte now acknowledge, or does it not, the Republic of the Seven Islands ?" correspondence. 279 The undersigned requests a written official answer to this note, in order that he may transmit it Avithout delay to his Government. The undersigned seizes this occasion of assuring his ExceUency the Reis Efendi of his distinguished consideration. Pera, October SOth, I8O9. No. L. One Inclosure. Mr. Adair to the Right Honourable George Canning. Pera, Nov. 6th, I8O9. Sir, Inclosed I have the honour of transmitting to you an authentic copy of a decree published by the French Government at Corfu, against M. Giovanni Dendrino, by Adrtue of which his property is confiscated, and he himself is declared an exUe from his country for ever. The case under these circumstances appearing to be fairly a case for reprisals, I hope that you will not disapprove my having written to Lord CoUingwood and Sir John Stuart most earnestly to recommend that aU French property whatever, found on any of the Ionian islands, be rendered responsible to an equal amount for such of M. Dendrino's property as may be sold under the above decree. As the Commanders in Chief in the Mediterranean may not think themselves authorised to proceed to such an extremity without further orders, and may therefore address themselves to his Majesty's Govern ment for instructions, allow me humbly, but most earnestly, to represent to you, that some signal act of T 4 280 CORRESPONDENCE. reparation is due to this unfortunate gentleman ; and that in the way of example, whether to encourage our friends or to deter our enemies, nothing can be so effectual as reprisals on the present occasion. The number of Corfiots at Pera, Smyrna, and in the other Scales, who might be induced to join us against the French, is very considerable; but the decree against Dendrino keeps them in subjection. Reprisals, in his case, would be the surest means of bringing them forward. They would have but little fear of confiscation when they saw that aU French property in the other islands, private as weU as pubUc, was set apart as a fund to indemnify them against such monstrous injustice. I have the honour to be, &c. No. LI. Mr. Adair to the Right Honourable George Canning. Pera, Nov. 12th, I8O9. Sir, At the desire of the Turkish Government, I have the honour of enclosing you two official Reports from the Grand Vizir of his successes against the Russian force which had passed the Danube and established itself at Babadag. I am afraid it wUl be found that the Russian troops stated to have been beaten at Silistria consist only of a detachment from the camp at Babadag. Jealousies and misunderstandings among the Turk ish leaders have caused the long inactiAdty of the Grand Vizir, and, it may be said, the failure of this CORRESPONDENCE . 281 campaign. The important fortress of Ismael is sup posed to have faUen into the hands of the Russians through famine. I have the honour to be, &c. No. LII. Mr. Adair to the Right Honourable George Canning. Pera, Nov. 14th, I8O9. Sir, Intelligence of the signature of peace between Austria and France has just reached me from Mr, Bathurst, Having thought it my duty to communicate to the Ottoman Government, on all occasions, such informa tion as reached me respecting the hostUe views of Bonaparte against Turkey, of which they are them selves fully aware, it wiU be needless for me to dweU on the effect produced here by this disastrous event. In the first moments of their consternation it seemed to me expedient to renew aU the professions which I had ever made to them of the steady and unalter able friendship of Great Britain so long as they kept within the Umits of a real neutraUty ; but I thought it equally necessary to warn them against a too precipitate compliance with those conditions which France was preparing to exact as the price of her precarious lenity. The chief points which I assumed as likely to form the basis of the French conditions were — 1, The dismissal of the EngUsh embassy ; 2, The recognition 282 CORRESPONDENCE. of Joseph Bonaparte ; 3, The furnishing Corfu with provisions. On the first of these points I declared that Turkey was not a power with which England could consent to remain on a footing even of mitigated hostUity, if she broke off the official communications between the two countries. On the second, I said that, independent of the direct part in the war which the Turkish Government would be taking by the recognition of Joseph Bonaparte, such an affront to his Majesty, who was in actual alUance with Ferdinand VIL, could not be submitted to by Great Britain, On the third, I mentioned that the furnishing Corfu with provisions, while the island was under blockade, would also be a total departure from the laws of neutrality, I added such arguments as naturaUy suggested themselves, from the use to be made by France of the military position of Corfu, now that she had so openly discovered her designs on Turkey, by insisting on the boundary of the Save in her treaty with Austria, Nothing can be stronger than the Reis Efendi's assurances that the Turkish Government wiU not listen to any of the above demands, should they be made by France. But you know too well the nature of such assurances to take them for more than their value. In two days their steadiness avUI be brought to some proof. Dendrino, according to their most solemn promise, given at the end of a conference with the five efficient members of the Turkish administration, is then to be given up to me. The accounts of the CORRESPONDENCE. 283 peace arrived subsequent to this engagement. I con fess I do not expect it to be fulfilled. I regret that the time fixed for the saiUng of the Confounder from Smyrna wiU not admit of my delay ing my despatches beyond this day. I have the honour to be, &c. No. LIII. Two Inclosures. By the Messenger Ruffe. To the Right Honourable George Canning. Pera, Nov. 29th, I8O9. Sir, At the conclusion of my last despatch, I intimated an opinion that the promise which the Porte had made to me to liberate Mr. Dendrino in the mode pointed out in my No. 49. would not be performed. My apprehensions were weU founded. On the 15th inst. the dragoman of the Porte came to me on the part of the Ministers to propose a new arrange ment, differing from that which had been agreed upon in the most essential point. The chief feature in this new arrangement was that the Porte should take Dendrino under its OAvn pro tection, and that I should withdraw from him the protection of Great Britain. This proposal was aUeged to be grounded on the embarrassment into which the Porte had been thrown since the conference Avith me of the 5th of November, by a renewed demand on the part of the French Charge d'Affaires, (by the express orders, as he de- 284 CORRESPONDENCE. dared, of Bonaparte,) that Dendrino should again be delivered up to him as a subject of France. My only answer to this proposal was a peremptory demand that the agreement entered into with me on the 5th should be immediately and unconditionaUy fulfiUed. In reply, the dragoman affirmed that no engage ment of any kind whatsoever existed between the Porte and myself upon the subject. After this, there could be no further doubt of the intentions of the Ottoman Ministers. The repeated proofs, therefore, which I had experienced of their duplicity, and the conviction, that, were I to submit to any fresh instance of it, the French mission would obtain an ascendency which must expose the British embassy to insults and mortifications without end, determined me to bring the question at once to an issue, and this in such a manner as should convince the Turkish Government that the peace we had granted to their solicitations would depend for its duration upon the good faith with which they main tained its principles. On receiving, therefore, from the dragoman of the Porte a positive refusal on the part of his Government to Uberate Mr. Dendrino in the form and manner agreed upon, I commissioned him to declare, that if on that day sevennight Dendrino were not set at Uberty, I should send for my passports, and quit the Residence Avithout taking leave. This message produced a fresh altercation between the Turkish Ministers and myself, which at one time assumed a character of anger, and even of hostihty, that threatened the most serious consequences. The history of this whole transaction, as explained CORRESPONDENCE. 285 in my different despatches, (from which, however, I have excluded a variety of the minuter particulars, with a view of not encumbering your attention,) will, I am persuaded, acquit me in your judgment of either unnecessarily committing his Majesty's dignity, or of rashly hazarding the continuance of our friendly relations with the Porte. If indeed it be right to consider only the situation of the Porte, and the difficulty she is under of making head even against Russia, if it be right that a British ambassador should submit to any thing for the sake of being suffered to remain here — and that but in a secondary character, taking his chance for better times — I confess that in this whole business of Den drino, both in the points Avhich regard his person, and on those which involve the general question of the right of protection, I have acted on an erroneous view of the public interest. But if it be true, on the other hand, that there is a point at which our tender ness towards the Porte, even under all her embarrass ments, ought to stop, if it be true, also, that the aban donment of the principles I have been contending for, so far from securing my situation, or enabling me to re sist further encroachments, would produce an effect directly contrary, and increase in every way the diffi culty of keeping my ground, then I trust that my long perseverance in this struggle, and the means to which I have had recourse to finish it, Avill find their justifica tion in the opinion of his Majesty's Government. The degree to which a power like Turkey, calling itself friendly, and with whose great enemy we are actually at war, may be permitted to carry its de ference to France, the friend and ally of that enemy, when such deference includes a direct breach of en- 286 CORRESPONDENCE. gagement with a British ambassador, is by no means a light consideration in the posture which the Aus trian peace has given to the public affairs. Of the efforts preparing both on the part of France and Russia to obtain the dismissal of the British embassy from Constantinople, there can be no doubt. I had received, it is true, the strongest assurances from this Government that no such propositions would ever be listened to ; but I must acknowledge, that assurances from Turkish Ministers, with whatever solemnities accompanied, if not sanctioned by written documents, have no influence Avhatsoever on my beUef. Some evidence of the dispositions of the Divan — some fact that might teach me what to trust to in a moment which it is not difficult to anticipate — it seemed to me, aU things considered, of the first consequence, under the present circumstances, to possess. In this view the termination of the discussions con cerning Dendrino has been attended with all the success I could desire ; and when I shall have stated the manner in which I now suffer this question to rest, you Avill be able to form a tolerably just opinion as to what points can be gained, and what points can not be gained, by the respective influence of Great Britain and France on the Ottoman councils. After the dragoman of the Porte had related to the Ministers the little success of the mission with which he had been charged, various councils were held, and I was not long in perceiving, and indeed in ascertain ing beyond a doubt, that the literal performance of the engagement of the 5th of November would never take place. I also was correctly informed that, if driven to extremities, the Ministers would risk a rupture with England rather than expose the Empire CORRESPONDENCE. 287 to instant invasion, which they were assured by the French Minister would be the infalUble consequence of deUvering Dendrino into my possession. I learned that their intention was not to accept my demand for passports as a declaration of war, but to appeal to his Majesty against my conduct, enumerating, in a letter to be addressed directly to his Majesty, all that the Turkish Government had done for my satisfac tion; to accompany this by an invitation to me to remain at Constantinople until his Majesty's pleasure could be known ; and, on my refusal, to deliver up Dendrino to the French. Before executing this determination, however, the Ottoman Ministers had recourse to the mediation of the Internuncio. They stated to him in the strongest terms their desire to do every thing for my satisfac tion; but added, that the objections to putting Den drino into my hands were insurmountable. They engaged that if I would consent to let them terminate this difference in their own manner, his person should be secured against the French, his liberty should be restored to him, and he should receive a handsome compensation for his past sufferings. All this they promised to accompany by any act of personal atten tion towards myself that I should think satisfactory to my own honour, and calculated to give a fresh proof of the value they set on the friendship of Great Britain. In addressing themselves to the Internuncio, the Ministers afforded me, no doubt, a great faciUty for bringing this business to an honourable adjustment. I accepted, therefore, without hesitation, the same friendly intervention. After going through the sub ject with this Minister, he agreed thoroughly with me. 288 CORRESPONDENCE. that , I could listen to no conditions respecting Den drino so long as he remained a British protected subject ; but he asked whether, if Dendrino should of his own accord first put himself under the protection of the Porte, I would be satisfied with the conditions he was authorised to propose. I answered, that if Dendrino's caUing for the pro tection of the Porte, as a stranger whose Ufe and safety were exposed to the continual persecution of his enemies, should be really an act of his own, there would be an end of the question respecting his person ; but I begged to assure the Internuncio, as I had assured Dendrino himself the day before, through Mr. Meyer, that nothing on earth would induce me either to withdraw the protection I had granted him, or allow any undue influence to be used in order to induce him to resign it. With regard to the conditions, I remarked that in neither case would I be concerned in discussing or arranging them. It would be for Dendrino to judge whether those now offered were suffidently advan tageous, or resting on grounds sufficiently secure, to induce him to exchange one protection for the other ; but that I would fairly give him my opinion, that he would not be safe against the French, unless the Porte should agree to put into my hands a Avritten engagement, declaring him at perfect Uberty, taking him under its own special protection, and rendering itself responsible for his safety, and for his pursuing his lawful occupations free from all molestation what soever. Such an engagement, provided it abstained from all assumption of sovereignty over Dendrino as a native of Corfu — provided it were addressed to me from the Porte without any previous concert or com- CORRESPONDENCE. 289 munication with the French Minister, I Avould accept and keep in deposit as a security, so far as it went, for the personal safety of Dendrino, emanating from the Porte in her quality of local sovereign; and I would receive it as a proof of the friendly dispositions of the Ottoman Government towards Great Britain. I then commissioned the Internuncio to say, that if Den drino, freely and upon due deliberation, should think this arrangement preferable to remaining in his then state of confinement, and if the Porte would transmit me a note to the effect above mentioned, in clear and unambiguous words, I would desist from my demand of passports. I desired him, however, distinctly to add, that any arrangement that could be made short of the one originally agreed upon, would not be considered by me as satisfactory ; and I also enjoined him to declare that it was my firm intention, in my answer to the pro jected note of the Porte, again to assert and to claim, in its fullest extent, the right of protecting all persons, of what country or description soever, except Ottoman subjects. The Internuncio stated all this with precision to the Reis Efendi ; and after a discussion, in which every sort of difficulty appears to have been started, in the evening of the same day which I had fixed for the demand of my passports he brought me the solemn promise of the Porte, that an engagement to the effect above mentioned, and which he himself had reduced to writing at the conference, should be put into my hands, as a security for the liberty and personal safety of Dendrino. The declaration, which together with my answer I have here the honour to enclose, was sent me accord ingly on the 25th inst. ; and Mr. Dendrino, having VOL. I. u 290 CORRESPONDENCE. readily accepted the protection of the Porte, under a promise from me that he should return to that of Great Britain whenever he might choose to claim it, I consider the affair as terminated for the present. I have only to add, that the Ministers of the Porte have expressed great obligations to me for having reUeved them from the state of embarrassment into which they were thrown by the opposite claims of the British and French embassies : and it AviU be seen, I trust, by his Majesty's Government, that although from the distressed and really difficult situation of the Porte, I have not been able to carry the point in contest exactly in the manner I had wished and been led to expect, the French have entirely faUed in estabUshing the claim they had set up, and of which the written engagement of the Porte is a direct and unequivocal disavowal. I have the honour to be, &c. Inclosure A in No. LIII. Translation of an Official Note from the Sublime Porte to H. E. the Ambassador Extraordinary and Pleni potentiary of His Britannic Majesty. In Adew to put an end to the discussion and alter cation which have taken place between the Sublime Porte and the English and French missions respecting the person of Giovanni Dendrino, a native of Corfu, the Sublime Porte, as the supreme authority of the country, and ever preferring the tranquiUity of all persons, being besides the friend of both the said Powers, in order to preserve the dignity of both par ties free from inconvenience, has taken Dendrino CORRESPONDENCE. 291 under her special protection, Avith his children and family. He shaU be perfectly free in his acts and avoca tions, conformable to law and rule. In consequence of which, this present note, expressive that the Su bUme Porte wUl not suffer him to be molested or meddled with on the part of any one, has been draAvn up, and transmitted to the most respected EngUsh Ambassador, our friend. 17th Scievval, 1224 (25th Nov. 1809). Inclosure B in No. LIII. Mr. Adair to the Reis Efendi. Le Soussigne Ambassadeur Extraordinaire et Pieni- potentiare de la Majeste Britannique prfes la Sublime Porte, a re9U la Note qui lui a ete adressee au nom de la Sublime Porte au sujet de Giovanni Dendrino, natif de Corfou. Le Soussigne se prfetera avec la plus vive satis faction a tout moyen honorable de terminer une discussion qui n'a que trop duree entre deux Puis sances que les circonstances actueUes de I'Europe invitent plus que jamais a se reunir contre leurs ennemis communs. En consequence le Soussigne remer9ie la Sublime Porte d'avoir, par un acte de son autorite souveraine, pris le Sieur Dendrino sous sa protection immediate et spedale, et de lui avoir garanti la pleine et libre jouissance de ses droits legitimes contre tout attent&t de la part de qui que ce soit. Le Soussigne accepte cet acte avec d'autant plus de satisfaction qu'U n'y voit rien qui porte atteinte ni u 2 292 CORRESPONDENCE. aux principes qu'il a enon9es dans ses notes officieUes du 15 Mars, du 20 et 29 AvrU, du 12 Juillet, et du 24 et 30 Octobre, comme formant les bases fonda- mentales de la surete des sujets de sa Majeste dans les territoires Ottomans, ni au droit qu'il a reclame, et qu'il rSclame encore, d'accorder la protection Bri tannique d qui bon lui semblera hors les sujets de la Sublime Porte. Le Soussigne prie son ExceUence le Reis Efendi d'agreer I'assurance de sa consideration tr^s dis tinguee. Pera, ce 26 Novembre, I8O9. Separate. By Ditto. To the Right Honourable George Canning. Pera, December 5th, I8O9. Sir, As I am not sure that Mr. Bathurst could prolong his residence at Bude sufficiently to obtain an account of three separate and secret articles in the treaty between Austria and France, I send them to you as they have been communicated to me, by a person in whose accuracy I have great confidence. ******** Bonaparte has declared that the Tyrol shall not return under the dominion of the House of Bavaria. He also declared on several occasions to the Austrian Plenipotentiary that he had not the most distant intention of re-establishing Poland as a kingdom. His minister at this place told the Porte the direct reverse. I have the honour to be, &c. CORRESPONDENCE. 293 No. I. By the Messenger Relffe. To Earl Bathurst, H. M. Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. Pera, December 24th, I8O9. My Lord, I HAVE the honour of acknowledging the receipt of your Lordship's despatches Nos. 1 and 2, by the mes senger Robinson. The letters of protection granted by me to the Ionian Captains were nothing more than the common patents granted to Franks who place themselves under the jurisdiction of the different foreign mi nisters at the Porte. They are given to protect the persons holding them against the vexations of the officers of the Turkish Government. They extend only to residence on shore or in port, and convey no licence to trade. The passports which I granted to enable them to proceed to Malta • were drawn up in terms corre sponding to the condition on which I consented to receive them under the British protection, and which, on a reference to my No. XX., and to its inclosure A, your Lordship wUl find to be, that they should pro ceed with their several vessels straight to Malta, under convoy of one of his Majesty's ships of war, and that on their arrival there they should surrender themselves to his ExceUency Sir Alexander BaU, to be disposed of as he might think proper. The passport also was sknply a recommendation to captains and commanders of his Majesty's ships und^er the peculiar circumstances of the case to protect these vessels on their way to Malta. I have the honour to be, &c. TJ 3 294 CORRESPONDENCE, Separate. Two Inclosures. To ditto. Pera, December 24th, 1809- My Lord, By the desire of Sir Harford Jones, I have the honour of enclosing to your Lordship the copy of his letter to me, of the 25th of October, relative to his intention of making a further advance of subsidy to the King of Persia, and expressing a wish, if I ap proved the measure, that I would support it by such arguments as might occur to me in communicating it to his Majesty's Government. As I cannot, after the fullest consideration, state my sentiments in favour of such an advance more strongly to your Lordship than I have already expressed them to Sir Harford himself, I copy and transmit to your Lordship the exact words of my letter to him on that occasion. I AviU only take the liberty of adding, what my recent acquaintance Avith Asiatic poUtics has made me invariably re mark, that if we mean to have any transactions with Mahomedan States, we must content ourselves with very slender security for the performance of their engagements. In the present state of the politics of Europe, and with a Adew to the security of India, I may be allowed I hope to express an opinion, that we must cultivate both Turkey and Persia at the risk of being deceived by both, and that we must gain these Powers at almost any price short of our honour, and of that consideration which arises from a sense that we can neither be deceived nor offended with impunity. I have the honour to be, &c. CORRESPONDENCE. 295 No. II. Six Inclosures. To Lord Bathurst. Pera, December 26th, 1809. My Lord, I HAAnE the honour of forwarding to your Lordship some despatches which I have received from Sir Harford Jones, his Majesty's Envoy at the Court of Persia. By the former despatches of that minister, your Lordship will have been apprised how anxiously the Shah of Persia appeared to Avish to encourage the best understanding between himself and the Ottoman Government, and particularly the reciprocal establish ment of embassies between his Court and that of Constantinople. This latter point had been strongly pressed by Meerza Abdul Hassan, on his arrival at Constantinople, in his way to England ; and in my No. XXXVIIl. I mentioned that there was some appearance of its being acceded to. About the middle of November the Vakeel em ployed by the Shah of Persia to transact his business at the Porte, announced to me the speedy arrival of an ambassador from his Court to the Sultan ; and he added, that as the immediate object of his nomination was to estabUsh a concert in the operations of the Persian and Turkish armies against Russia, the am bassador would afterwards, without loss of time, set out for that purpose to the camp of the Grand Vizir. My anxiety to obtain some precise information on the subject of the armistice which had recently been concluded between the Persian and the Russian armies induced me to dispense with aU ceremony concerning u 4 296 CORRESPONDENCE. visits, and to go privately to see this ambassador, whose name is Hussein Han, as soon as possible after he had reached Chalcedonia, the place appointed for his residence. When I saw him, he presented me his letters from the Persian ministers, but I found he had none from Sir Harford Jones. He accounted for this, by sup posing the despatches which announced his embassy to be still on the road. So singular an omission, however, coupled with the fact of the armistice, the origin of which is still very obscure, struck me forcibly. He repeatedly declared, indeed, that he had orders to act in all things in strict conformity to my advice. It would not have been fit for me, after such a declar ation, to be the first to testify mistrust ; but I thought proper nevertheless to confine our conversation to subjects on which my sentiments are already known. In expatiating on these, it was easy to give an air of confidence and cordiality to my communications, suffi cient to obviate any sentiment of mistrust on his part. Of the armistice he could give me no account. On the contrary, he asked for information about it from me, alleging that it had been concluded with the know ledge and under the direction of Sir Harford Jones. This by no means appears from Sir Harford's de spatches. I had here, consequently, an additional mo tive for circumspection, if not for positive mistrust. After going over many topics of general policy, he said that he was proceeding immediately to the camp, to present his credentials to the Grand Vizir; from whence he promised to inform me by letter of every thing that he might be able to effect towards esta blishing an union between Persia and Turkey ; to CORRESPONDENCE. 297 which he urged me in very strong terms to give the sanction of his Majesty's name. The rest of his conversation expressed a thorough sense of the perfidy of Bonaparte towards Persia; deep regret at her having suffered herself to be duped by him in the treaty of 1807 ; the clearest and the justest Adews of her true interest in continuing united with Great Britain ; and a strong and weU reasoned exposition of the danger to which the Mahomedan religion would be exposed if Constantinople were to fall into the hands of either Russia or France. Such were the specious appearances under which this man sought to cover the profound dupUcity of his court, of which a few days more were to bring me the fullest and the dearest proof. As his residence was on the opposite shore of the Bosphorus, I was obliged to trust wholly to the vigi lance of Mr. Pisani to superintend his proceedings. Mr. Pisani appears to have been ill served by the per sons he employed, for, five days after this interview, Hussein Han was visited, unknown to him, by one of the French emissaries lately arrived from Tehran. This visit took place on Friday the 1st instant. I heard nothing of it until Sunday the 3rd, when in formation was brought me that Hussein Han was at that moment on his way to the French Palace. On inquiring further, the circumstance of the visit of the 1st instant was disclosed to me, and then a strong suspicion entered my mind, that the Court of Persia was acting a double part towards Great Britain, that Hussein Han's journey to the Turkish camp was a mere pretence, and that, not Constantinople, but Paris, was his real destination. Firmly persuaded that treachery of some sort would 298 CORRESPONDENCE. be found at the bottom of this embassy, I lost not a moment in despatching a Tartar to Sir Harford Jones, with two letters, of which I have the honour to en close the copies. The one (marked A) your Lordship wiU perceive to be ostensible ; and as the matter of complaint there stated against Hussein Han was suffi cient of itself to authorise my asking for his recal, even admitting that he had been appointed to reside permanently at the Ottoman Court, I thought it ad visable to reserve the communication of my suspicions for my private letter (B), and to leave it entirely to Sir Harford Jones's discretion to acquaint the Shah with them or not, as he might judge proper. After despatching my Tartar, and aUoAving sufficient time to prevent his being overtaken, I sent Mr. Chabert to the Persian envoy to require some sort of explana tion of his strange behaviour, but chiefly to retard, if possible, his journey until I could receive adAdces from Sir Harford Jones. With this Adew I instructed Mr. Chabert to tell him plainly that if he ventured to pass the frontiers, I should take upon myself to Avith- hold the ratifications of the treaty with England, which must pass through my hands, until I could receive his Majesty's commands. The consequence of this step would be, that the Shah his master would lose hismoney, and hehimsdf, most probably, afterthe warn ing I then gave him, his head. I enclose Mr. Chabert's two reports of what passed at these interviews. It was my next business to discredit this agent at the Porte, and to throw difficulties in the way of his setting out upon his journey ; and for this purpose I had a special meeting with the Reis Efendi. I repre sented the danger of suffering such a person to pro ceed to the Turkish camp, where nothing else could CORRESPONDENCE . 299 be expected from him than that he would act as a spy for the French and the Russians. In stating my sense of his behaviour to myself, however, I took care to mark my thorough conviction that the Shah him self, the moment he heard of it, Avould infaUibly recal and punish him. The Reis Efendi expressed a similar sense of the necessity of preventing this man's journey to the Vizir's head quarters ; and he promised me also to find out, and acquaint me Avith the fact, whether he had or had not a secret commission for Paris. The Reis Efendi, in the course of our conversation, informed me that a Turldsh envoy was speedily about to set out for Tehran ; that the object of his mission was to discover what were the real intentions of Persia, and what was the truth respecting the armis tice. He said that the Ottoman Government was convinced of the necessity of establishing a cordial understanding between Turkey and Persia, under the sanction of Great Britain ; and he assured me that the Porte would readUy agree to make no peace separate from Persia, if it Avere possible to place any dependence on so light a people. The Porte had resolved, there fore, to send a man of their own to ascertain this very necessary point. The Reis Efendi promised me that this person, who is an Ulema of the first distinction, should be instructed to act cordially and confidentiaUy with Sir Harford Jones ; and of this he requested me to apprise Sir Harford in my first despatches. Finding him so weU disposed, I earnestly pressed that this envoy might be distinctly instructed to co-operate with Sir Harford Jones in preventing the re- estabUsh ment of the French mission at Tehran ; but as some difficulty was expressed, and a fear that the French would consider this as a breach of neutrality, I have 300 CORRESPONDENCE. since returned to the question, and urged, in writing, all those reasons which render the existence of a French mission at Tehran so dangerous to Turkey under the present relations between France and Russia, and especially after the proposals recently made by Russia, to which it is morally impossible that France should not be privy, namely, that Persia should indemnify herself on the neighbouring provinces of Turkey for the cession of Georgia to Russia. It is singular that there should have been any hesitation in agreeing to so simple a matter as a secret instruc tion to the above effect ; but such notwithstanding is the fact, and it was with the greatest difficulty that I obtained the promise. In the course of my endeavours to ascertain the truth respecting this mission of Hussein Han, and also whether my suspicions of his ulterior destination were sufficiently weU grounded to authorise my stating them more positively to Sir H. Jones, I have at length, by means of some pecuniary sacrifice, discovered the most important particular of this dark transaction. The journey to the Vizir's camp is not absolutely a pretence ; but I have ascertained beyond a doubt, as your Lordship will see by the annexed enclosures, that Hussein Han, when he left Tehran, had eventual in structions to proceed to Paris. The moment I was sure of this fact, I sent off the above letters to Sir Harford Jones ; and my Tartar being accidentally delayed until the 25th, I was enabled to add, in con sequence of a notice sent me privately by the Reis Efendi, that Hussein Han had actuaUy appUed for firmans to pass the frontiers after visiting the camp. I have been thus particular in my account of these transactions, as his Majesty's Government may deem CORRESPONDENCE. 301 the re-estabUshment of the French mission at Tehran an event of sufficient importance to caU for the issue of fresh instructions to Sir Harford Jones for his guidance under the new circumstances to which it may give rise. I have the honour to be, &c. No. III. One Inclosure. To Lord Bathurst. Pera, December 26th, I8O9. My Lord, My letter No. XLIX., to Mr. Canning, enclosed the copy of a note, in which I communicated to the Turkish Government the deliverance of Zante and Cephalonia from the enemy by his Majesty's arms, and in which I also demanded categoricaUy whether the Porte did or did not then recognise the Sept insular RepubUc. Since Dendrino's release I have been frequently requested to Avithdraw this note. I have decUned acceding to the request, for the two reasons which follow : — First, it has been declared to me officiaUy that the Ionian flag AviU not be admitted into the ports and harbours of Turkey. Some vessels from Zante and •Cephalonia having entered the ports of the Morea under Sept-insular colours, strong representations were made to me against this conduct, with an intimation that the practice must be discontinued. In the face of this positive and overt act of non-recognition, your 302 CORRESPONDENCE. Lordship avUI I trust agree with me that the note cannot be vsdthdraAvn. But secondly, when I presented this note, I had an ulterior and a very material object in view, which every day that it remains unanswered assists in pro moting. I have always been wilUng to flatter myself that his Majesty's Government would see the import ance, I may say the necessity, of our getting possession of Corfu, if we mean to defend SicUy, to retain Malta, and to oppose the projects of France on the Morea and the Greek Islands. It is clear that we never can hope to succeed in this object except with the good AvUl of the inhabitants ; and as nothing is so odious to them as the Turkish government, any change in their present situation which could in the remotest degree be thought to lead to the re-establishment of even the nominal supremacy of the Porte, would not only be rejected, but, I am convinced, resisted with the utmost energy by the Corfiots. The French, in their govern ment of the Seven Islands, have thoroughly under stood this principle ; and by insisting on all occasions upon their being considered by the Porte as French territory, and their inhabitants as natural-born French subjects, — a principle never once shaken since their occupation by France, except in the affair of Dendrino, — they have effectually secured the good wUl of the natives against the Turks. If it be meant, therefore, to make any serious effort for Corfu, we must of course hold out to the inhabitants the prospect of a better situation than that in which they stand at present. In this, indeed, there would be no difficulty ; but your Lordship may rely upon it that no prospect of superior advantages, not even the benefits of the British government itself, woiUd induce them to think the CORRESPONDENCE. 303 change worth a struggle, unless accompanied by a certainty, equal at least to the certainty they have at present, that they would be secured against the power, the influence, nay, even the very name of Turkey. The policy which the Turks have foUowed Avith regard to the Seven Islands, ever since I first stirred the question of their independence in the affair of Dendrino, and particularly their recent communication to me respecting the flag, affords us the means of com pletely satisfying the Corfiots on this point, and will also greatly facilitate any arrangements which, in concert with his Majesty, may be adopted to secure to them the complete establishment of their independ ence. Turkey can have no pretensions to interfere in such ^rangements. Turkey, as far as it depended on her, has abolished the Republic. She has done this while its territories were in the possession of his Majesty's enemies, and in order to favour that pos session. His Majesty, therefore, whenever his arms shaU have driven out those enemies, avUI in no sense be bound to respect the rights of a power by which the compact that acknowledged them has been ex pressly renounced. Under these circumstances I have thought it best not to Avithdraw a note which, whUe it remains unanswered, strengthens and perpetuates the evidence of a renunciation so material to the future security of the Republic. I cannot conclude this subject Avithout entreating your Lordship's most serious attention to the enclosed memoir, in which the importance of Corfu, in the pre sent state of the Continent of Europe, is ably and conclusively demonstrated. It was draAvn up at my request, by Mr. Meyer, whose residence on the Island 304 CORRESPONDENCE. in an official capacity has enabled him justly to esti mate its value. I have the honour to be, &c. Inclosure in No. III. France haAdng obtained possession of nearly the entire coasts of Continental Europe, is at length arrived at that stage of her war against Great Britain and the world which makes it indispensable for her to estabUsh a command at sea, if it be her poUcy either to secure or extend the power she has already acquired. She has well provided for the attainment of this important object by her proAddent seizure of Corfu. She will now lose no time in bringing into immediate activity the entire maritime resburces of Continental Europe, which, under its present cir cumstances, therefore, ought to be regarded by Great Britain as presenting only one hostile line of almost inaccessible maritime posts, in which the enemy may construct and equip in security the most powerful armaments for the accompUshment of his projected conquests. The first object therefore 'of Great Britain, in reference to the permanent interests of the Empire, should now be to occupy immediately the key-islands, among the different chains of islands lying more or less contiguous to the hostile line of Continental maritime posts. Great Britain will thus easily oppose to the enemy another line of insular posts, which, vsith her actual naval superiority, would enable her to bid defiance to the greatest efforts of her enemies to subvert her power. In the Mediterranean, among the chains of islands CORRESPONDENCE. 305 in question, that of the Ionian Islands is in aU re spects the most important. Corfu, the principal of these islands, as weU from its geographical position as physical structure, must be considered as one of those few commanding places on the globe which necessarily secure or enlarge the empire of those who possess them. Corfu is indis pensable to any power that moves in a great military sphere. Possessing an excellent and capacious arse nal, for the construction of ships of the heaviest burden, and an harbour capable of containing the naAdes of Europe, secure from any attack of enemies or injury of weather, with a double entrance at the north and south ; it has also the rare advantage of having the strongest natural fortress, commanding at the same time the harbour. The island, as to its agricultural resources, offers the means of establish ing a rich and flourishing colony, enjoying one of the finest climates. These natural advantages are so con stituted as not to be impaired by any human efforts. This island, by its position, commands absolutely the Adriatic and Ionian Seas, controls both the south of Italy and the Avestern provinces of Turkey, and is independent of them both. The British in fluence over the Pachas of the important province of Albania AviU be little more than nominal while France governs on the Save, at Cattaro, and at Corfu. The whole of the Adriatic Sea,, since the late treaty at Vienna, is become .one vast arsenal of France; com prising the ports and dockyards of Cattaro, Ragusa, Zara, Curzola, Fiume, Trieste, Venice, Ancona, Tarento, &c., possessing every facihty of mutual com munication, and abounding with the best materials VOL. I. X 306 CORRESPONDENCE. for building and equipping fleets and naval arma ments of aU sorts. The Republic of Venice owed its naval greatness to those very resources which have just been brought into the exclusive possession of the usurper of Italy. Of this immense French arsenal Corfu is the key. Yet with this key in the possession of Great Britain, that now powerful arm of the Mediterranean would be at once reduced to little more than a choked harbour. But when united with Corfu, it becomes at once capable of sending forth such armaments as Avill, in concert with the enemy's other resources at Toulon, Genoa, &c., effect the conquest of Sicily, secure the dismemberment of the Turkish provinces, and the colonisation of Egypt; control the Barbary states, command the fortunes of Greece, enable France to leave Europe in the rear of her projected conquests in the East, and eventuaUy secure to her the supremacy over the Mediterranean Sea. From the actual organisation of the power of France, Corfti is now the fulcrum on which these great and decisive movements of the enemy depend. The conviction of these truths in the minds of the weU-informed in the Mediterranean States, but more particularly of the inhabitants of Greece and the Levant Islands, obliges them, however reluctantly, to respect the power of France or to seek protection under it ; a subjection to which they will be con demned so long as Corfu, this conditio sine qud non of their real independence, remains in the firm grasp of France. The daily experience of the commercial classes and of the numerous train of their dependents, belonging to the various nations and communities in the Levant, CORRESPONDENCE. 307 as weU as to Sicily, to Naples, &c., convinces them of this predominant influence of France. Hence their indifference to change their situation, or to persevere in their opposition to France, untU this strong-hold of French power in the south of Europe be wrested from her. They are weU aware that while Corfu remains in the possession of France, there could be no sure point of communication and contact for Great Britain with Italy or Germany, in the event of any interruption of the good understanding sub sisting between Great Britain and Turkey ; the fear of which is constantly kept alive in their minds, as weU from the actual possessions as the ceaseless intrigues of the enemy to that effect Whereas, on on the other hand, if Great Britain possessed the arsenal, the port, the fortresses, and the communica tions of the Island of Corfu, they discern, with equal clearness, that the eventual territorial conquests of the enemy in Turkey, Egypt, &c., could be of no per manent benefit to his empire His trade and squadrons proceeding from his Levant possessions could never pass to his Western Empire through the channel of Malta; nor could they have any passage to his Adriatic possessions through the channel of 'Corfu. The enemy, too well convinced of the immense advantages he derives, and could derive, from this pos session, has made, and continues to make, efforts and sacrifices to maintain it, corresponding to its vast im portance. French engineering, during the last three years, has rendered the fortress of Corfu impregnable to every power in Europe but Great Britain, owing to her naval superiority. But difficult as the reduction of it assuredly is, th« X 2 308 CORRESPONDENCE. naval and mUitary forces requisite for it will, if em ployed without further delay, be comparatively small to that which must otherwise be ultimately consumed in counteracting those designs of the enemy, which will be, of necessity, in a course of gradual accom plishment, so long as France retains Corfu. Without this station in the Mediterranean, powerful reinforce ments must be sent out by Great Britain to secure Sicily and Malta ; and numerous squadrons, which, by being remote from any convenient port of refit or refreshment, must be double in number to what would otherwise be required, must be employed to cruise incessantly in the Adriatic, to cover Sicily, the Morea, &c., and to protect British commerce from the de predations of the Levant pirates, now systematicaUy encouraged by the French Government. While Corfu remains in the enemy's possession, Cephalonia cannot be considered as secure without a much stronger gar- rrison than that post would othervrise demand. It may be safely asserted, that no zealous co-operation will be afforded to Great Britain, either by the Greeks in the islands or those on the continent, until Corfu be brought under her sovereignty. For in that case, the Greek nation and the islanders perceive, that no power could then so readily and so effectuaUy confer on them the real benefits of emancipation or protec tion, as Great Britain. The late conduct of France and Russia towards the world, and the Greek nation in particular, has been of such a description as to dis pose the latter more than ever to cultivate British interests. As to the disadvantages arising from dif ference of religion, England has an obvious advantage over France, the Greek tenets approaching more to those of the Anglican than the Catholic church. CORRESPONDENCE, 309 The influence of the French over the Greeks would be reduced to nothing as to political connection by their loss of Corfu. The French would have no command ing point of contact with them, nor plausible argu ments for intrigue ; causes by which they have hitherto maintained, and stiU maintain, so considerable a por tion of their influence over the Porte. But independent of these considerations of foreign policy, the supremacy of Great Britain over the Medi terranean would be rendered complete and permanent by the possession of Corfu ; nor could it be shaken even by the faU of Sicily or Sardinia, which islands, however, by the occupation of Corfu, would be so much more strongly secured to their laAvful sove reigns. The points of Minorca, Malta, Corfu, and Cerigo., independent of the Island of Elba, would enable Great Britain to traverse effectually all the arsenals and maritime communications of the enemy. These insu lar posts are, by their nature and position, the citadels of the Mediterranean Sea. If possessed by Great Britain, as her naval sovereignty and dignity seem to demand, they will enable her to defeat, or counteract, all the enterprises of the enemy in the south and in the east of Europe ; and will afford the surest pledges for the indemnification of the immense expenditure to be incurred in the counteraction of the future hostile enterprises of France. Corfu, considered as affording a sure channel for the introduction of British merchandise into the con tinent ; as a channel of correspondence with Turkey, Ger many, and Italy ; as a dep6t of naval and military stores; as an asylum for the loyal and firm opposers of French despotism : these advantages, however im- X 3 310 CORRESPONDENCE. portant in the present state of Europe, are but of secondary consideration when compared with the ad vantage that the possession of Corfu would afford to Great Britain of stopping the progress and annuUing the effects of the actual power of France ; and of maintaining a control over the south of Europe, which nothing but her own will could compel her to limit or relinquish. It is on these grounds that it is now recommended, as an indispensable measure of British policy, that no time be lost in fitting out an expedition for the reduc tion of Corfu, the success of which is already so mate riaUy promoted by the occupation of the other Ionian islands. Such a measure would at once estabUsh the British influence throughout the Mediterranean on a durable and solid basis. Nor could the enemy venture to leave Europe in the rear of his projected conquests towards the East, on any principle of military policy, if the great resources arising from the possession of Corfu were duly turned against him by the energy of Great Britain. (Signed) William Meyer. Pera, 26th December, I8O9. No. IV. To Lord Bathurst. Pera, December 26th, I8O9, My Lord, The instructions with which your Lordship has honoured me in your No. 2. shall be punctually foi- CORRESPONDENCE . 311 lowed on every occasion to which the circumstances of the Ottoman government, and our subsisting rela tions, may render it possible to apply them. With regard to the case first supposed by your Lord ship, namely, a disposition on the part of Russia to conclude a peace on reasonable terms with the Porte, Avithout any interference on the part of France, I have no hesitation in saying, that I do not beUeve any con sideration would induce Russia to desist from the de mand of Moldavia and Walachia, under the present circumstances of Europe. With regard to negociation through the interven tion of France, it is proper that I should lay before your Lordship the actual state of affairs at the Porte, as far as I can learn them with any certainty, in order that your Lordship may judge of the probability of such an event. In every turn of events during the Austrian war, and still more since the peace, my endeavours have been directed to discover the intentions of this Govern ment with regard to Russia. In the course of my inquiries among the ministers, they always promised me that I should be consulted upon any proposition made, or to be made, by either power to the other. If I were even now to trust to assurances repeated and renewed in aU the forms which it is possible for asse veration to assume, Turkey is no less determined than ever to accept no terms from Russia short of the resti tution of her provinces on the Danube. But if appear ances do not much deceive me, I should say that nego ciations for peace, or at least some communications of a pacific tendency, are going on. How far this con jecture may be just, and how far such communica- X 4 312 CORRESPONDENCE. tions are made with the privity, or by the interven tion of France, your Lordship will judge after exa mining the fads which I have now the honour to communicate. There is not the smallest doubt that during the war with Austria the French Minister at this place endeavoured more than once to induce the Ottoman Government to admit of his intervention Avith the Russian commanders on the Danube for the renewal of conferences for peace. The means were open to him through the agents of Baron Hubsch at Buc- carest ; and when his own offers were rejected. Baron Hubsch was himself put forward on one occasion for the same purpose. Whether Bonaparte may stiU feel the same interest in effecting a peace between the Porte and Russia may be matter of doubt : in nego ciations we know that he has always an interest ; and what to the present point is certain, is, that on the 21st of November, immediately after a conference in which the French Minister communicated to the Porte the news of the peace with Austria, a son of Baron Hubsch was despatched from hence in aU haste, ostensibly to Warsaw, but, in reality, to St. Peters burgh. While I was endeavouring to discover for what purpose this person was sent, I received a letter from Lord CoUingwood in answer to one I had written to his Lordship during the summer, in which I had re commended, in strong terms, the sending a squadron to the Black Sea. In this letter his Lordship (to whom I had communicated my having written to his Majesty's Government to the same effect), under the supposition that re-inforcements might be sent out to him, together with instructions to employ them CORRESPONDENCE . 313 on that service, desired me to apply for, and to send to him the necessary firman for the passage of a squadron, in order that it might not be delayed at the Dardanelles. This letter was dated the 6th of Oc tober. I received it on the 29th of November. A diversion in the Crimea had ceased, it is true, to be an object after the Austrian peace ; but it struck me that the authority I had received from Lord CoUing wood to ask for the firman in question might be used as an instrument to force the Turks to enter into some more precise explanations with me on the sub ject of Russia. I gave Mr. Pisani his instructions, therefore, ordering him, in the first instance, simply to ask for the firman, and reserving aU further expla nations for an inter'vieAV with the Ministers. This demand of a firman greatly embarrassed the Reis Efendi. He could not indeed avoid thanking me for haAdng (as he supposed) prevailed on Lord Collingwood to send the succours ; but he said that the time for their employment was now passed, and that it was wished that no British squadron might appear at the DardaneUes. Tp try him a little further, I sent a second time to say, that although the Porte declined for the present the proffered assistance, still , I should write to Lord CoUingwood to hold a fleet in readiness to come up on the first intimation. The answer to this message was an earnest entreaty that I would abstain from making even that com munication to Lord CoUingwood, until specially re quested by the Porte so to do. The peremptory refusal of succours after the fre quent, I may say the importunate, demands for them during the summer, and which had been even re- 314 CORRESPONDENCE. newed but a few weeks before, — a refusal, the de termination to which, as your Lordship wUl perceive, was taken under the impression that a squadron was actuaUy within call, leads to many reflections. I wiU trouble your Lordship with but one, which is to the point, however, in our present inquiry. If the Porte were negociating with Russia alone, the rejection of such an instrument of negociation would be scarcely credible : it is intelUgible enough, if we suppose her to be negociating through the intervention of France. I have been informed, from a quarter on which I can rely, that during the whole of the late negociations Avith Austria, Bonaparte made it a sine qud non of peace that he should have the Save for his boundary, professedly for the purpose of dictating his own con ditions at Constantinople. In the spirit of that policy which suffers nothing to be done in Europe without his interference, it is not improbable that he should again have offered his mediation to the Porte, and after obtaining a consent which she could not refuse, that he should have made it a condition of his pre tended good offices, not only that the whole nego ciation should be left to him, but that the Porte should deprive herself of every other means of nego ciating; and, consequently, that during the discus sions she should not suffer a British squadron to come to the Dardanelles. It is certain that by such a stipulation he might be able to pretend to Russia that he was acting for her interests, while he ren dered Turkey wholly dependent upon himself for the terms of the peace. But whatever may be truth in this case, whether the Porte be negociating singly, whether she be nego- CORRESPONDENCE . 315 elating through France, or whether she be not nego ciating at all, it wiU answer, I doubt not, the general purpose of your Lordship's instructions, if I continue to place under the view of this Government those strong and striking facts which prove to demonstra tion that whether it be a year sooner or a year later, Bonaparte has doomed the Turkish empire to de struction. Among these facts, his proposals to the Emperor of Austria, both before and during the war, to join in the plan of partition projected at TiUsitt and at Erfurt, stands naturally in the first rank. To this project of partition I endeavour to make it clear to the Ministers that every movement of France, even in matters apparently indifferent and remote, is steadUy directed. When I have to complain, for instance, which is frequently the case, of a breach of neutrality, of the capture of a vessel with a cargo of British pro perty, of the equipment of privateers, or of the en couragement given to French cruisers by the Turkish governors in the islands of the Archipelago, in caUing on the Porte to repress these acts, I never cease to re present that they are encouraged by the French, not so much with a view to captures as to the chance of provoking a quarrel with England by compelUng me to order reprisals. To the same cause I trace the exertions made by the French Minister to procure the expulsion of Monsieur d'Havat, the Spanish Pleni potentiary, to prevent the recognition of the Sept insular Republic, and to engage the Porte to furnish Corfu with provisions ; and, to sum up aU in a word, by driving the Porte again into a quarrel with Great Britain, to leave her without a friend on earth, as the 316 CORRESPONDENCE. first and most necessary step towards effecting the long-meditated dismembering of her territories. I have also been furnished with an opportunity of exposing to the Porte the artifices by which France was endeavouring to separate her not only from Great Britain but from every other neighbouring power to which in the hour of calamity she might look for aid. The most groundless suspicions were now to be ex cited with regard to the intentions of the House of Austria. I had received intimation from Buda which authorised me to state to the Reis Efendi some strong facts on this subject, which I did in a Avritten paper to the following effect : — " That an instruction had been sent to the French Minister at Constan tinople to insinuate to the Ottoman Government that Austria had made a peace, which she was under no necessity of making, in order to preserve her forces for an attack on the Ottoman provinces ; that to pro cure credit and countenance to these insinuations, Bonaparte, having forced Austria to cede Croatia as far as the Save, now insisted upon receiving the ceded country clear of all encumbrances ; in other words, that Austria should drive out by force of arms those very Turkish troops (the Bosniaks) whom he himself had stimulated to invade Croatia, and against whose invasion both the Internuncio and myself had so fre quently but so ineffectually remonstrated. Thus, if Austria should use force to get back these provinces, the French at Constantinople Avould adduce it as a proof of her designs against Turkey, and if she should not use force, Bonaparte would accuse her of treachery, and make it a plea either for breaking the treaty, or for keeping a large army on the Turkish frontiers. That I did not make this communication merely with CORRESPONDENCE. 317 a view of putting the Turkish Government upon its guard, but to take the opportunity of assuring it, in the most solemn manner, that the Emperor of Austria had not in the slightest degree altered the system which he had constantly pursued with regard to Turkey; that he detested the system of partition, and had again utterly rejected the proposals made to him to faU in Avith it." After assuring the Reis Efendi of the inviolable honour and fidelity of the Emperor of Austria, I con cluded by telling him, as the representative of a Power whose interest in the preservation of Turkey could not be suspected, " that to my certain know ledge the attack on Turkey by France was only sus pended until the contest should be over in Spain ; that all their submission and deference would not retard their fate for a single hour ; and that their only hope was in resistance, and in a system of pre paration very different from any that had hitherto been adopted." I can with the utmost safety assure your Lordship that there exists not a man in the Turkish Govern ment with whom either I myself or the Internuncio have ever conversed, or whom Mr. Pisani or the Aus trian dragoman has ever seen since the peace with England, who does not declare himself thoroughly and unalterably convinced of the truth of what I have stated above as to the designs of France. The Sultan is convinced of them himself. What, then, can be the reason that nothing is done to show this convic tion ? Why is France suffered at Constantinople? The answer is in one word — Fear. France is a power that nobody trusts, but before which every body trembles. 318 CORRESPONDENCE. In this wretched state of their councUs and of their affairs, however, I have the comparative satisfaction of being able to say, that their terrors are stiU far distant from the point at which they are likely to affect the stabiUty of the English embassy. A second effort has been made to shake it within these few days ; first, by direct attack, and, secondly, by a re presentation against some part of the conduct of M. d'Havat, preparatory (as I am led to suspect) to a demand for his removal. At the earnest soUcitation of the Porte I persuaded M. d'Havat to remove what was reaUy a just subject of complaint (although on his part unintentional), namely^ the keeping open the door of his house in the manner practised by acknow ledged Ministers ; but I accompanied my interference on this occasion by a formal declaration to the Reis Efendi that I considered the cause of M. d'Havat as my own in aU that regarded the respect, hospitaUty, and protection hitherto accorded to him by the Porte ; and that if his guard were removed, which I under stood was to be the next demand, I should send back the guard appointed for myself. I would not suffer this opportunity to pass without again bringing forward my pretensions to demand the recognition of M. d'Havat as Spanish Minister, declaring that if I abstained from pressing it for the present, it was only on the understood condition that his person should be respected in every sense, and that nothing should be done to recognise the usurper Joseph. The most solemn promise was again and again reiterated to me that nothing further was in contemplation against M. d'Havat, and that no pro position for the recognition of Joseph Bonaparte would CORRESPONDENCE. 319 be acceded to by the Porte until a general peace, if he should then be in possession of Spain. But with all my persuasion of the stabiUty of our situation at Constantinople, I have not thought it right to trust either to the good faith and firmness of the Turks, or to the sense of their own interests in keeping well with England, which they are the first always to acknowledge whenever our intercourse is a little quickened on my part by complaints of their partiality towards France. Convinced of the impos sibility of acting to any effect upon this temporising spirit, I am obliged to convert it to the same ends to which it is used by the enemy. I have made them sensible, accordingly, that as I could in no instance dispense with the most exact observance of neutraUty within the Turkish seas and territories, if the rigorous enforcement of this principle were desisted from on their parts for fear of offending the French, I should be under the necessity of adopting measures, always within the reach of a Power that commands the seas, to redress the just grievances of our merchants. In giving effect to this declaration, I have been favoured by an accident, of which the various benefits that it offered were too tempting to be renounced, although neither my instructions nor the fact wiU aUow me to avail myself of them beyond a certain degree. The Gleaner, Avith your Lordship's despatches, sailed from Portsmouth on the 9th of November. Several English newspapers of about that date, re pairing, by their lucky ignorance on this occasion, the mischief too frequently produced by their knowledge on others, announced the speedy saiUng for the Dar danelles of a British fleet under the command of Sir Samuel Hood. I am unable to describe to your 320 CORRESPONDENCE. Lordship the effect which the beUef of this article produced on the Turkish Government, and particu larly on the French mission. It will be enough to say, the impression was so eminently useful to me, that I most earnestly entreat his Majesty's Govern ment to enable me to sustain a corresponding lan guage by giving it a foundation, and by sending out without delay a considerable reinforcement to Lord ColUngwood. The fact being taken for granted as weU by the Turks as the French, I was called upon for an explanation. I suffered myself to be repeatedly pressed before I would answer ; when, finding the matter to be growing serious, I sent Mr. Pisani to the Porte with the following instruction in writing, which I ordered him to translate to the Reis Efendi : — " With regard to the question of the Reis Efendi relative to the supposed destination of an EngUsh squadron for the Dardanelles, you will observe that in my despatches from H. M.'s Government I have no orders to communicate to the Porte the eventual destination of any part of the naval force which H. M. may think proper to send to the Mediterranean ; but you will at the same time tranquillise the Reis Efendi upon the subject of his alarms, by assuring him that no British squadron will come to the Dar danelles without my directions, and that I trust that the vigour and resolution of the Sublime Porte in causing its neutrality to be respected Avill render such directions AvhoUy unnecessary. " You wUl, at the same time, tell the Reis Efendi, that after the signature of the Armistice between Austria and France, and with the knowledge I pos sessed of the motive by which Bonaparte was actuated in demanding the Save for the boundary of his Italian CORRESPONDENCE. 321 territory, I had thought it advisable to recommend that a very considerable augm.entatn.on should be sent out to the fleet under Lord Collingwood." I am assured from many quarters that this commu nication has greatly assisted our interests without either offending the Porte by the seeming menace, or awakening its jealousy Avith regard to other objects. If the declaration had produced no other effect than the negative one of being received without awakening that jealousy, I should not repent having made it ; as the time is fast approaching when the attention of his Majesty's Government will inevitably be called to the situation of the Morea, of Candia, and of the islands in the Archipelago. The Turks cannot now pretend to object to any augmentation, or to be surprised at any disposition, which his Majesty may think fit to order of his naval forces in the Mediterranean, whe ther with a view to the poUtical condition of those parts of the Ottoman Empire, or to counteract that overbearing influence which Bonaparte is preparing to exercise over its capital through his projected king dom of lUyria. Your Lordship, after what I have the honour to state, vdll perceive that fortunately there is but little fear that I shaU find it necessary to recur to the in structions contained in the last paragraph of your despatch. So much the reverse, and so confident do I feel of the present strength and solidity of the peace, that it is my intention, if matters continue in the same favourable situation from this period to the end of February next, then to avail myself of his Majesty's gracious permission to return to England signified to me by your Lordship's predecessor in his No. 8., leaving Mr. Stratford Canning, Avhose abiUty, vol. I. Y 322 CORRESPONDENCE. vigilance, and competency to the performance of the duty I have had many opportunities of appreciating, in the character of his Majesty's Minister Plenipo tentiary. I have the honour to be, &c. No. V. To Lord Bathurst. Pera, December 26th, I8O9. My Lord, Although there are no present appearances which justify a belief that Russia is ready to make peace with the Turks on reasonable terms, or that she AviU convey any intimation to me that with a view to op pose the encroachments of France on the Turkish dominions she is ready to make peace Avith Great Britain, I should deem myself greatly negligent of the public interests if I had omitted any fair occasion of encouraging the Cabinet of St. Petersburg to tes tify such dispositions. The discovery of a fact so important as the exist ence of a letter from Bonaparte to the Shah of Persia containing fresh assurances of assistance against Rus sia, and an invitation to renew the Treaty of AlUance of 1807, appeared to me to afford a fair opportunity of awakening the Uttle that might remain of sensibility to his own danger in the mind of the Emperor Alex ander, or at least of discovering the extent of his unhappy infatuation. I determined therefore to make his Imperial Ma jesty acquainted with this fact the moment I could CORRESPONDENCE. 323 find a safe and unsuspected channel through which it could be communicated to him. It happened that soon after I had become acquainted with it myself, I received a letter from Buda inform ing me that the Comte de St. Julien was about to set out on an embassy to St. Petersburg, the object of which was to induce the Emperor Alexander to desist from that article in the treaty between Austria and France, which assigns him a share of Galicia ; and it appearing from the letter of my correspondent that Austria (on what grounds it is difficult to guess) had formed some hope of prevailing on that sovereign not only to desist from his pretensions, but to carry his favourable dispositions even further, it seemed to me that I should render a service to Austria by making her the instrument of discovering to H. I. M. the treacherous contrivances of his pretended friend and confederate. With this view I stated in writing to the Inter nuncio the principal facts connected Avith the mission of Hussein Han, as detailed to your Lordship in my No. 2, vrith a request that he would transmit them to his Court. I accompanied my statement with a copy of the treaty of alUance between France and Persia in I8O7. These documents were forwarded to the Court of Vienna on the 23d instant. But as 1 can by no means be sure that Comte de St. JuUen, on his arrival in Russia, wiU find mat ters in such a situation as may make it expedient for him to be the channel of communicating any intel ligence unfavourable to France, I have adopted another method of conveying the fact, simply as it is, to the Emperor. Your Lordship is aware of the business on which Y 2 324 CORRESPONDENCE. Mr. Mair is employed for the NaAr^ Board. It had not been found possible for him hitherto to make his way into Russia ; but all difficulties are now removed, and he wiU proceed to Odessa in the beginning of January. Mr. Mair is well acquainted with the Due de Richelieu, the Governor of that town. The senti ments of that distinguished French emigrant are known to be those of fideUty to Louis the XVIII. To him, therefore, I have instructed Mr. Mair to deUver a copy of the treaty of 1807, together with a brief statement of the contents of the letter from Bonaparte to the King of Persia, but with a strict injunction not to deliver them unless the Duke can answer for their reaching the hands of the Emperor himself. The double motive of attachment to the sovereign under whom he was born, and the sovereign whom he serves will, I have no doubt, prevail upon the Due de Richelieu to undertake the transmission of the above papers. I have the honour to be, &c. No. VI. To Lord Bathurst. Pera, January 8Th, 1810. My Lord, Notwithstanding the solemn assurances which I h&ve received, and continue to receive, from the Porte that there is no intention whatsoever of acknowledging the title of Joseph Bonaparte, I cannot but believe CORRESPONDENCE. 325 that if the French should unhappily obtain possession of Spain, the Turkish Government will recognize without scruple either that usurper, or any form of administration which Bonaparte may estabUsh in that country. I think it my duty therefore to request that your Lordship would signify to me his Majesty's pleasure as to the conduct I ought to adopt towards the Turkish Government, if it should render itself guilty of so flagrant a breach of neutrality. I have the honour to be, &c. No. VII. To Lord Bathurst. Pera, January lOth, 1810. My Lord, By a delay in the sailing of the Entreprenante I am enabled to forward to your Lordship, which I do Avith infinite satisfaction, fresh adAdces from Sir Har ford Jones, from the 10th to the 14th of December, received this day, by which it appears that he has again defeated the attempts of the French to re-esta blish themselves at Tehran. The value of this service, in the present posture of our affairs, cannot, in my opinion, be estimated too highly. To your Lordship it AviU appear stiU more im portant than it can even to me, from your opportu nities of knowing, in aU its detail, the degree to which a close aUiance between Persia and France would affect the immediate security of our Indian frontier. This consideration alone would, I should think, 326 CORRESPONDENCE. induce your Lordship to be of opinion that the money advanced by Sir Harford Jones is weU spent in pre venting a measure so dangerous to our power in Asia. And when I add to this consideration the advantage which the second expulsion of the French mission has given me in removing the obstacles on the side of Turkey to an understanding with Persia, in facili tating the adoption of the principle of joint war, or joint peace, by those powers, and in thus strengthen ing ourselves against France at the Porte through the ties of her Asiatic and of her religious interests, I feel persuaded that your Lordship wiU think that even the chance afforded to us of accomplishing objects so desirable, is of itself a service, which not only ought to relieve the able and meritorious officer, by whom it has been executed from all anxiety, in regard to the responsibUity in which he has involved himself, but which entitles him also to the public thanks for having incurred it. I have been enabled, by the assistance of the Reis Efendi (who in the affairs of Persia has acted hitherto with sincerity) to retard, under one pretence or another, the journey of Hussein Han. I am in hopes Avithin a fortnight from hence to obtain an answer to my letter to Sir Harford Jones, of the 4th of De cember. The conduct of the Court of Persia, on the complaint exhibited by me against Hussein Han, will be the touchstone of its sincerity ; for great as is the advantage afforded us by this second expulsion of the Sieur Joannin, I cannot persuade myself, after the circumstances which have come to my knowledge respecting Hussein Han's instructions, to receive it for more than its value, which is simply the price at which it was purchased. I have the honour to be, &c. CORRESPONDENCE, 327 No. VIIL To Lord Bathurst. Pera, January 13th, 1810. My Lord, The presents which the Sultan has been so long preparing for his Majesty, in return for those which I deUvered to his Highness, and to the different officers of his Court, in his Majesty's name, were at length put on board the Entreprenante cutter this day. They are directed to the Ottoman Charge d'Affaires, Sidki Efendi, and are accompanied by a dispatch to him, containing, as I am informed, the usual letter from the Grand Vizir to his Majesty, of which I am promised a translation. No list of these presents has yet been furnished to me. One has been promised, indeed, but I do not think it expedient to detain the cutter for it. The Porte having on this occasion thought proper to depart from the course it followed on the ex change of the treaty of alliance, although his Majesty was graciously pleased to adopt that precedent for the measure of his bounty towards the Ottoman Ministers, and having in a manner very little becom ing its dignity declined to send any present to his Majesty's under Secretaries of State, and the Clerks in the Foreign Office, I have declined accepting the present destined for myself. The packages having been put on board the cutter, Avithout passing through my hands, I have desired Lieutenant WilUams, of the Entreprenante, to ac company the messenger Ruffe with them to your Lordship's office ; and if it should not be passing T 4 328 CORRESPONDENCE. beyond the line of my duty, I should beg leave to recommend this officer to your Lordship's protection. During the time that I have been obliged, unavoid ably, to detain him, he very readily undertook, at my request, a voyage to the Island of Scio, to watch the motions of an enemy's privateer, who has been greatly distressing our trade to Smyrna and this port. I have the honour to be, &c. P. S. — It has since been intimated to me, that the determination of the Porte, respecting the presents to the gentlemen of the Foreign Office, is not finaUy taken. No IX. Two Inclosures. By the Messenger Robinson. To Lord Bathurst. Pera, February lOth, 1810. My Lord, I have great satisfaction in being able to confirm by a fresh proof the statement I had the honour of making to your Lordship in my No. 4., of the firm determination of this Government to maintain its engagements Avith Great Britain. The neutrality of the Porte having of late in many instances been violated, I felt myself under the neces sity, notAvithstanding the apparently critical situation of our affairs, to remonstrate with some warmth against the indifference with which those acts were tolerated by the Government. Two instances more flagrant than the rest compeUed me to demand satis- CORRESPONDENCE. 329 faction. The one was a case of capture within a mile of the harbour of Scio, by a French privateer called the Aigle. This prize was carried into Scio, and the goods put up pubUcly to sale. The other was an attack made in the very port of Scyra by the same privateer on an English bombard at anchor. It is needless to trouble your Lordship with the details concerning the first of these cases, which is stiU in a train of discussion ; and with regard to the latter, the question has been settled by Captain Ferguson of his Majesty's sloop Pylades, who, upon a fresh and stiU more outrageous provocation from the same pri vateer, has taken possession of him, and brought him into Smyrna. In the two enclosed notes (A, B) pre sented by me to the Porte, enough of these transac tions Avill appear for the purpose for which I now lay them before your Lordship. It happened during the course of my represent ations on these two subjects, that a large American trader, painted exactly like a frigate of twenty guns, passed the Dardanelles under his own colours, and came up to Constantinople. I cannot describe to your Lordship the degree of offence which this proceeding has given to the Turkish Government. America, having no treaty with the Porte, has no right to fre quent even the Scales under her own flag. But to pass the DardaneUes with a pennant flying at the main, and with all the parade of a ship of war, (as the Turkish report complains) Avas taken as an affront which deserved to be punished by the instant confis cation of ship and cargo. I succeeded, although not easily, in preventing this act of violence ; but I could not prevent, in the first moment of anger, the issuing an order to the pacha of the Dardanelles to stop all 330 CORRESPONDENCE. vessels of what description soever carrying arms, and to compel them to anchor at Tenedos until firmans should be sent them to pass on. This order, which from the inconvenience of the anchorage at Tenedos, its exposure to privateers, and the delays attendant upon a compliance with it, amounted almost to a prohibition to trade to Constan tinople, was fruitlessly resisted by me in the first instance ; but an event soon happened which com pelled me to add it to the other grievances of which I had to complain. An EngUsh schooner, armed Avith only four guns for her protection against pirates, was stopped by signal when she came abreast of the cas tles, and after she had obeyed it was saluted with a shot. This obliged me to bring on an explanation respect ing the order in question, and to demand a conference, Avithout which nothing effectual could be done to wards its revocation. I will not trouble Y. L. with all that passed at this conference. It wiU be sufficient to state, that I obtained what I asked, namely, a repeal of the order ; an agreement to restore the ancient regulations con cerning the passage through the Straits, and a written disavowal of the offence in firing the shot at the schooner. I am thus particular in my narrative in order to give Y. L. a tolerably just notion of the footing on which our affairs stood at this period. Our cause had been bettered, it is true, by the speech pronounced by Bonaparte to the French legislative body, but it was not strengthened by what I have now to add. An unfortunate affair, attended, it is to be feared, with the loss to the service of a very gaUant young CORRESPONDENCE. 331 man and approved officer, Lieut. Branch, of the Pylades, had happened but a few days before in the Archipelago. It appears that a large Greek polacre, mounting several guns and fuU of men, was met by the Gleaner armed ship, then under the command of Lieut. Branch, and that on an attempt to search her, resistance was made, an action commenced, in which Lieut. Branch and a seaman were severely wounded, and the polacre was captured. She was found to be laden with corn for Smyrna, where a great and alarming scarcity prevails as well as at Constantinople, and unfortunately was navigated under an express firman ; — circumstances which, although in no re spect altering the nature of the case, enabled the French agents at Smyrna to inflame the public mind to a very high pitch against the proceedings of his Majesty's navy. The French Minister now demanded a conference in his turn. He had received dispatches through Corfu, which appear to have induced him again to try at the Porte the question of a rupture with England. He began this enterprise by exhibiting, in very high phrases, his complaint for the capture at Scyra. This grievance he endeavoured to connect with the affair of the Gleaner, which he brought forward with all the aggravations of which it was susceptible, re presenting his own cause as the cause of the Porte itself. Yet, notwithstanding aU his advantages, as sisted by the real anger which I lament to say the affair has excited at the Porte, he has found it impos sible to make the sUghtest impression, or to obtain a favourable, or even a dubious answer to any one of his demands. On the contrary, I am credibly in formed that very angry as well as very resolute Ian- 332 CORRESPONDENCE. guage was used towards himself by the Turkish Ministers ; and particularly that he was himself asked for an explanation on two points which have given high and general disgust to the Government. The first of these points, as your Lordship will naturally conclude, was the speech of Bonaparte to the French legislative body. The second was the reported assemblage and incursions into the Turkish territory of various bodies of men on the side of the newly ceded Austrian proAdnces. Much angry discussion took place on these topics. The speech of Bonaparte, in which, besides his good vrishes towards the enemy of the Porte, he talks of protecting and punishing her, was reprobated in the most spirited terms by the Ottoman Ministers. On his part the French Charge d'Affaires was equally firm. He would give no explanation of the alleged incursions into the Ottoman territory. The fact was neither admitted nor denied. It was merely said that the offenders, if there were any such, could only be rebels. This expression has not been lost. The Porte has been made to remember, that the expedition to Egypt was disavowed by the French Directory, and that the blame of it was cast on the " rebel " Bonaparte. But the great subject of contention was the renewed demand that the Porte should declare against Great Britain. On this point the Ministers were again dis tinctly informed, that although the reported speech of Bonaparte were a misrepresentation, the substance of it was correct, namely, that the Porte must break absolutely with England to avert the ruin impending over its head. The supposed speedy arrival of a British squadron CORRESPONDENCE. 333 to act against Russia in the Black Sea was next brought forward. This was a measure which the French Minister declared his master would construe into a direct declaration of war, as he never would suffer his ally the Emperor of Russia to be molested by England on that side. There can be Uttle doubt that on this head the French Minister has received specific instructions. Your Lordship wUl recoUect that the general pubhc belief in England at the beginning of November was, that a squadron was coming out to the Black Sea under the command of Sir S. Hood. From the com munications in my accompanying despatch marked Secret, you wiU see how confidently the same fact was credited at St. Petersburg on the 21st of the same month, and how greatly, too, it was feared. It may well, therefore, be believed that Bonaparte has been urged to interpose with his authority at Con stantinople to save Russia from the danger to which her establishments in the Black Sea, and to which the Crimea itself, would be exposed by a judiciously con certed expedition for the destruction of the one and the recovery of the other : — a danger which receives an additional feature of seriousness from our growing relations with Persia, and from the means afforded through them of uniting that Power Avith Turkey in a system for the common defence. Comparing these circumstances with their dates ; comparing them also with those passages in the speech to the legislative body which relate to Turkey, it will appear more than probable that the French Mmister, who for some weeks had been absolutely silent, had received orders to remonstrate against the entrance of an English maritime force into the Black Sea. 334 CORRESPONDENCE. Be this as it may, his menaces were disregarded. The required breach with Great Britain was rejected with indignation. The Ministers of the conference again peremptorily declared that the Porte had taken its Une, and was resolved to stand or fall by its exist ing engagements. They were no less steady in refusing to bind them selves not to accept naval succours from Great Britain to attack Russia in the Black Sea. Here, however, I have some reason to think, that although the Porte refused to give the French Minister any satisfaction, his threat of hostility has not been ineffectual. On my pressing to know what answer had been returned to this threat, it was told me that the French Minister had been informed that no British squadron was then coming up, but that an impression had been left on his mind that one was expected in the spring. It was at the same time intimated to me, however, as if in anticipation of an expected offer on my part, that no naval aid from Great Britain was wished for. The issue of the above conference will add another to the various tokens by which his Majesty's Govern ment may judge of the relative extent of the English and the French power at the Porte. That of France, as I had the honour of observing to your Lordship in my No. 4., is grounded solely on terror. To terror I might add corruption; but this instrument, all- powerful as it may be to carry a present point, is useless for remoter puryjoses over minds which are never determined by gratitude, nor influenced by ex pectation. Yet the sentiment of terror never reached the point at which it could affect the stability of the peace with England. The conference of which I have now given an account has had the happy effect of coun- CORRESPONDENCE. 335 teracting in a great degree even this feeling, by throw ing those of awakened anger and offended pride into the opposite scale. I trust, therefore, that the means of France to injure us have been diminished in a sunUar proportion, and that as she was not strong enough before to force the Porte hito a renewal of hostUities, she will not hereafter be able to obtain an ascendency over its councils injurious either to the interests, or to the dignity of the British embassy. It is now given out with affectation by the French and their partizans that a speedy rupture vsdth France is incAdtable. I am by no means of this opinion. UntU the affair of Spain shaU have ceased to give him toxiety, Bonaparte wiU scarcely hazard a declaration which in the first instance would lose him the port of Constantinople, the centre of his Asiatic intrigues, would expose his forces in Dalmatia to considerable hazard, and would hasten the fall of Corfu, if Corfu be seriously and steadily attacked. But to whatever period the rupture with France may be deferred, much is gained to Great Britain by the knowledge that, with her, none is to be apyare- hended. Precisely how long this may be averted no human foresight can pronounce ; yet it may not be ha zarding too much to affirm that whenever the Turks shall be driven to a choice between Great Britain and France, they wiU be more influenced by the power we may possess to succour and support the empire, than by our power to distress and dismember it. In the mean time, notwithstanding the crisis to which its affairs are apparently tending, it is not yet too late for his Majesty's Ministers to determine how far they vrill assist it in its approaching, perhaps its expiring struggle. After the decisive manner in which it has 336 CORRESPONDENCE. been declared to me that it is not the intention to ven ture a squadron in the Black Sea, I cannot again return to that subject. The question for his Majesty's Ministers now to decide is, whether they wUl afford pecuniary aid to Turkey in the war against Russia as weU as in a war against France. This topic, I am desired by the Ministers of the Porte, with increased earnestness to press upon your Lordship's attention, and to recom mend by every means in my power a comphance with their soUcitations. The distress is undoubtedly great. Our interest may suffer much by a refusal ; but how far these motives may not be counterbalanced by the public difficulties at home, is a consideration that must make me slow in recommending a measure on the expediency of which, in other circumstances, there could not be the smaUest doubt. I have the honour to be, &c. Inclosure A in No. IX. Mr. A. to the Reis Efendi. The undersigned, his Majesty's Ambassador Ex traordinary and Plenipotentiary at the Sublime Porte, has the honour of transmitting to his Excellency the Reis Efendi the inclosed copy of a letter which he has just received from the British Consul at Smyrna, announcing the audacious behaAdour of two French cruisers in the harbour of Syra. These cruisers are under the direction of one Giustiniani, the same person who fitted out the privateer lying at Scio, and against whose conduct the undersigned has repeatedly but ineffectually com plained to the Sublime Porte. CORRESPONDENCE . 337 The constant and almost daily complaints which are transmitted to the undersigned from the Archipelago, respecting the conduct of the French in those seas, where every facility is afforded them in fitting out, manning, and arming their vessels, and afterwards in disposing of their captures, compel the undersigned to state plainly to the Ottoman Government, that, if the SubUme Porte be determined to abide fairly by the neutral system which she asserts herself to have adopted, it is her duty, Avithout any further hesitation, to employ the ample means that are in her power to cause the laws of that neutrality to be maintained within her territories. It is with regret that the undersigned has to ob serve to the Ottoman Government, that the excesses committed by the French, and the constant impunity that attends them, is the natural consequence of the connivance of the Porte itself in the criminal neglect of her commanders and servants in the Archipelago. The affair of Scio furnishes so manifest a proof of the audacious demeanour of the French, and of the intolerable partiality and corruption of the Turkish governor of that island, and the dUatoriness Avith which the just complaints of the undersigned on that subject have been treated by the Porte are so opposite to what he had every right to expect, that he feels it his absolute duty noAV to declare, that, unless the Sub lime Porte shall issue an order for that governor to be forthwith displaced and banished from Scio, for his venality, and disobedience to the Imperial fir man sent on the first notification of the illegal capture of the ship Madonna Calligata, and unless she shaU cause the commission of the French privateer, her captor, to be revoked and taken from the captain, and VOL. I. z 338 CORRESPONDENCE. thus give an example of due severity as weU as a proof of her authority, and of her resolntion to main tain the neutrality of her coasts and harbours, the undersigned wUl not be answerable for the conduct of the commanders of his Majesty's ships in the Archi pelago, nor wiU he discourage those commanders from redressing the injuries sustained by British commerce, and the insults offered to the British flag, in such a manner as the maritime power of Great Britain has placed within her reach. The outrageous proceeding of the French in the island of Scyra, as above stated, affords the under signed an opportunity of giving this fair warning to the Porte ; after which he wiU leave it to the calm and deliberate judgment of her enlightened ministers to determine whether the chief object of the French in this, and in numberless other acts of the same nature of which he has had to complain, be not to embroil the Porte with Great Britain by involving the two countries in angry discussions, and whether it would not become the dignity as weU as the wisdom of the Sublime Porte to prevent that object, by a prompt and rigorous enforcement of the laws of neutrality throughout her dominions. The undersigned requests his Excellency the Reis Efendi to accept the assurance of his distinguished consideration. Pera, l6th January, 1810. Inclosure B in No. IX. Mr. A. to the Reis Efendi. The undersigned, &c. has the honour of laying be fore the Ottoman Government a statement which he CORRESPONDENCE. 339 has just received from the commander of his Majesty's sloop Pylades, together with the depositions of the boat's crew of the said English sloop, and that of an imp'artial witness and spectator, relative to one of the most flagrant and impudent infractions of neutraUty, by the crew of a French privateer, that ever was heard of among nations who live under the government of laws. The above sloop, the Pylades, was sent to protect the trade of his Majesty's subjects, and of the subjects of the Sublime Porte itself, against the swarms of privateers and pirates which infest the Archipelago. It is known that one of these pirates, called the Aigle, had the audacity, not many days ago, to attack, and endeavour to make prize of, an English vessel then lying at anchor in the port of Scyra. The said vessel, to escape capture, was compeUed to land her cargo, and to remain blocked up in the harbour, to the great loss and detriment of her OAvners. The captain of the Pylades, in execution of his duty, proceeded therefore to Scyra, to liberate such vessels as might be detained there, among others the vessel so attacked by the Aigle, and to convoy them to Smyrna. Immediately on the appearance of the Pylades the privateer landed his guns, took forcible possession of the island, in open contempt of the sovereignty of the SubUme Porte, erected batteries, and pointed his can non towards the beach. At this time he had received no provocation from the captain of the Pylades, who, not intending to come to an anchor, remained at the distance of a mile from Nevertheless, the crew of the said privateer, on per- cdving the boat of the Pylades, which had been sent z 2 340 CORRESPONDENCE, to the English vessel, with an order to the captain to put to sea, and for no other purpose, instantly, and without further notice, fired into the said boat with loaded muskets. The captain of his Majesty's sloop having been thus wantonly insulted and attacked, did what it was his duty to do under such circumstances. He drove the pirates from the battery they had erected on the shore, and took possession of the privateer. The undersigned cannot doubt that the Sublime Porte will, after this last outrage committed by the French, feel the absolute necessity of rousing itself from that indifference with which it has hitherto viewed their proceedings in the Archipelago, In the present instance these eternal enemies of all peaceful states have proceeded a step beyond their former outrages, and to a piratical violation of the neutrality of the Sublime Porte have added a daring usurpation of its sovereignty. The offender, it is true, has been punished, but the example will be of no effect unless the Sublime Porte resolve to assert her dignity, and to maintain her neu trality, seriously and with vigour. The undersigned asks but for neutrality. He asks, but for a state of things which would be advantageous to France her self, as she is the weaker power by sea, if deeper and more dangerous designs than the capture of a few merchant ships did not direct her conduct ? The truth is now glaring as the day. Bonaparte Avishes to em broil the Porte with Great Britain, and thus to leave her without a friend in the world, preparatory to his invading her territories in concert with Russia. He has at length thrown off the mask. Openly, and be fore the assembled people of France, he has yjroclaimed Correspondence. 341 his joy that the Emperor of Russia, his friend and ally, has added Walachia and Moldavia to the Russian empire. These are his own words, in his speech to the Legislative Assembly at Paris, on the 3d of Decem ber, 1809 :— " Mon ami et alUe I'Empereur de Russie a reuni k son vaste empire la Finlande, la Moldavie, et la Valachie, et un district de Galicie. Je ne suis jaloux de rien de ce qui peut arriver de bien a cet empire. Mes sentimens pour son illustre souverain sont d'accord avec ma politique." Such are the sentiments, and such the manifest views, of the French ruler. The undersigned calls on the Ottoman Government, in the name of all it holds valuable and venerable, to co-operate Avith him in dis appointing these insidious designs ; to adhere reso lutely and fairly to its neutral system ; and to show, as he is ready to show on his part, to all the nations of the universe, whether enemies or allies, whether inhabitants of Europe or of Asia, that the friendship between the Sublime Porte and Great Britain is in dissoluble. The undersigned requests his Excellency, &c. Pera, 26th January, 1810. No. X. Four Inclosures. To Lord Bathurst. Pera, February lOth, 1810. My Lord, The papers (A, B) which I have here the honour of enclosing to your Lordship relate to matters of such z 3 342 correspondence. high importance, and touch so many points of our national poUcy with regard to both Russia and Tur key, that, although some of the opinions expressed in them vary from the system apparently adopted by his Majesty's Government towards the first of these powers, especially with regard to the employment of a British squadron in the Black Sea, I feel it my duty to lay their contents before his Majesty's Ministers, with every sentiment of deference to their more accu rate information and to their more discriminating judgment. For the motives which originated this correspond ence, I must beg leave to refer Y. L. to the negotia tion at the DardaneUes. One great benefit of re storing peace between Great Britain and the Porte was the chance which it afforded of profiting by events that might arise to detach Russia from France. At a very early period, therefore, I endeavoured to lay a foundation for carrying this object into execution. Your Lordship may remark, in my correspondence of that period*, that, at my first meeting with the Otto man plenipotentiary, I intimated a readiness to be come the mediator of a peace between the Porte and Russia, if properly invited. To this suggestion I fre quently returned at our other conferences ; and soon after my arrival at Constantinople I began to take measures for giAdng it effect, by addressing the letter to Prince Prosorowsky, commander of the Russian forces on the Danube, of which a copy is enclosed in my No. XII. Prince Prosorowsky had just been nominated pleni potentiary to a congress appointed to assemble at Jassy, to treat of peace : the letter above aUuded to * Of the year I8O9. CORRESPONDENCE. 343 was put into the hands of Galib Efendi, the Turkish plenipotentiary appointed to meet him ; and another copy was sent to Count Stadion, to be made use of at St. Petersburgh as occasion might serve. But in order to have nothing untried which might afford a chance of effecting the good I had in view, I addressed about the same time the enclosed letter (C) to Count Ludolf, his Sicilian Majesty's envoy at this court, with a request that it might be communicated to his colleague the Due de Sierra Capriola, at St. Petersburgh. In opening a communication with the Due de Sierra Capriola, I had the further view, if my overture should faU of reaching the Emperor Alexander either through Prince Prosorowsky, or through the Court of Vienna, that it might by the Duke's means be made known to that great and powerful party at St. Petersburgh, who are understood to remain attached to the principles by which Great Britain and Russia had so long and so happily been united. OAving to the interruption of all correspondence by safe channels between St. Petersburgh and Constan tinople, I have remained ignorant until now of the effect of these communications. A courier despatched by the Due de Sierra Capriola to Palermo through Vienna, has at length brought the two letters to Count Ludolf, of which the material parts are now submitted to your Lordship in the enclosures referred to in my first paragraph. Whether the opinions expressed in them, and stated to be the opinions of our friends in Russia with regard to the conduct of the war, be or be not correct ; whe ther the Emperor Alexander would make peace upon the conditions presumed ; whether such a peace would z 4 344 CORRESPONDENCE. really detach him from France ; whether it would produce the next best effect, namely, to make him content with what he has got, and ready to become guarantee for the remainder of the Turkish dominions ; and whether it Avould be advisable for me to recom mend such a peace simply, and without a reference to the war with Persia, are considerations immedi ately to the purpose. The first, and most material point to be ascertained on the receipt of these letters, Avas, whether Turkey could be brought to listen to the proposal contained in them, and, above all, whether it could even be made without creating some degree of mistrust towards the proposer. It was by no means an easy matter to discover the dispositions of the Porte on this subject. A deter mination to reject with disdain all overtures towards negotiation on the basis of ceding the provinces had, it is true, been frequently and resolutely announced to me ; but it was to be considered that this had been declared when the Porte was aware that I had an ob ject in preventing a peace with Russia. There was a possibility that, in addressing myself to the ministers under a different form, they might be induced to de- vdope their real sentiments, and thus leave me a way open to advance in this business (should there be no objection to it on other grounds), without exposing either my views to doubt or my conduct to misrepre sentation. The necessity of guarding all my steps with a more than ordinary caution will fully appear to your Lord ship, when I inform you that the Turks, who never can be made to comprehend that governments must act on a balance of advantage and inconvenience, have been constantly impressed with the belief that Great CORRESPONDENCE. 345 Britain was not in earnest in the war with Russia, and that she had some latent motive of partiaUty, and even of agreement, for not putting forth her force against that power. In transmitting, therefore, to the Reis Efendi what was proper to be communicated to him of the above papers, I thought it necessary to accompany my state ment with the enclosed declaration (D), which I left to be translated by the dragoman of the Porte. I charged my own dragoman at the same time dis tinctly to inform the Reis Efendi, that the interests of Turkey being my first and only object in this transac tion, if the Porte should Avish, through me, to enter into any discussions with the parties in correspondence Avith me, I would pledge my honour to send no answer to their letters other than the answer which the Turk ish Government might dictate. I begged to be con sidered as their mere instrument and channel of com munication (if they thought fit to keep one open) un til such time as they themselves should require my advice with regard to the policy of negotiating on the basis proposed. The fairness of this offer, and the evident intention with which it was made, have obviated all mistrust with regard to my motives. My whole proceeding, indeed, has been taken as it was meant — as an attempt to reconcile two powers who were mutuaUy consuming their strength in a destructive contest, by which the common enemy of all independent states would be sure to profit in the end. This acknowledgment, which I am happy to say has been conveyed to me in such a manner as to denote an increase of confidence in the good dispositions of Great Britain, has been accom panied, however, Avith the rencAval of all their former 346 CORRESPONDENCE. declarations against negotiating on the terms proposed. This time the Reis Efendi entered more into the rea son of the case with me than he had ever done before ; nor is it possible to combat the objections to the cession of these provinces by any other arguments than such as are grounded on the want of means to recover them. To aU such arguments, however, an enumeration of the inexhaustible resources of the Ottoman Empire is the only, but the constant answer — an answer delivered in the very same breath in which I am implored to throw myself at his Majesty's feet in the name of that empire for pecuniary succour ! The resolution against surrendering the provinces, however, had been so often declared to me during the course of the late war between Austria and France, that I could not help remarking on the present occasion some variation of phrase in the repetition of it. After detaiUng the immense preparations which were making for the ensuing campaign, the Reis Efendi concluded by this remarkable expression : — That the effect of the present exertions must be tried before the ministers could dare to propose the cession to the Sultan, or the Sultan coidd dare to propose it to the people. From these declarations, repeated in aU ways and at aU times, and not to myself only but to the Internun cio, Avho by order from his court is unremittingly emyjloying himself to discover the truth, it would appear, — first, that notwithstanding the inference which might reasonably be drawn from the refusal of British naval succours, mentioned in my No. IV., no secret negotiations are actually on foot between Turkey and Russia through France. It would appear, secondly, that after another cam paign, which we may be sure will be unsuccessful, the CORRESPONDENCE. 347 Turks will be ready to Usten to peace on the terms proposed. The part to be taken by France in the mean time scarcely seems to enter into their view. As an influencing motive, it is totally rejected from the present question. It is also worthy of remark, that I have been soU- cited by aU means to keep open the correspondence from which the overture now rejected has originated. I have agreed very readily to this request. Nothing is lost by such an intercourse, and great good may re sult from it on the first sign of returning reason which may be exhibited in the Russian councils. Here it wUl strengthen our peace by another tie. The turn which these communications will naturally take, besides rendering it extremely difficult to the Porte to carry on any negotiations with Russia without the partici pation, or at least the knowledge, of His Majesty's ambassador, must lead to an habitual recurrence to his assistance and advice, than which nothing can more strengthen his hold on the Turkish government. Amidst all their oscillations, all the inconsistencies, perverseness, and double dealing of their ministers, which it would be difficult indeed to exaggerate, in whatever relates to Russia, their principle of action is uniform; and whoever can make himself master of the line of their negotiations with that power Avill assuredly guide to a great degree, if not govern, the councils of the Turkish Empire. I have the honour to be, &c. 348 correspondence. Inclosure A. No. X. " Les m^mes personnes qui se sont donne la peine avec zde et empressement de faire valoir la lettre de Monsieur Adair*, parcequ'ils sentent I'avantage infini qui resulteroit d'une paix avec la Turquie pour I'em- pire Russe, croient, que la Porte doit d'elle-meme ouvrir une negociation directe entre les deux armees, et sans que les Fran9ais le sachent, et proposer un arimstice pour traiter la paix; ces m^mes personnes disent que pour base de la negociation il faut etablir la cession de la Moldavie et la Valachie avec les forteresses de la rive gauche du Danube. Ils sont d' opinion que cette proposition pourra amener la paix entre les deux empires, parcequ' hors cette conquete (disent-ils) 1' em pereur n'en veut pas d'autre, et que tel est son desir de faire la paix avec les Turcs qu'il s'y preteroit a cette condition. " II est siir que ce desir s'est manifeste au point qu'on a remis les fetes de la paix Suedoise a I'epoque de celle qui seroit conclue avec la Turquie, et qu'on esperoit d'autant plus prochaine que le nouveau general des armees Russes, Prince Bagrathion, a mande que bientdt toutes les forteresses se seroient rendues et qu'il auroit battu le Vizir ; ce qui est si loin de se verifier qu'on a appris par les derniers rapports que I'armee Russe a retrograde, et que le plan du general etoit de repasser le Danube, craignant une diversion de la part des Turcs par Vidin en Valachie ; ce qui I'obU- geroit k recourir a la defense de cette province. Ces nouvelles ont fait la plus grande peine, et on a expedie des ordres au General Bagrathion de ne pas repasser * To Prince Prosorowsky. CORRESPONDENCE. 349 le Danube, mais de continuer la campagne d'hiver, et qu'on alloit renforcer son armee d'un corps de trente mUle hommes de I'armee Russe qui est en Pologne : mais on croit que toutes ces dispositions arriveront trop tard, et que la retraite se sera effectuee pour prendre des quartiers d'hiver, d'autant que les armees Russes sont tr^s affoiblies par les maladies. A ces craintes se joignent celles que reveille la nouveUe arrivee Mer* que le Traite d' Alliance entre V Angleterre et la Porte avait ete enfin signe, et que les vaisseaux destines a V expedition de la Mer Noire etoient nommes. Tout cela fait une grande impression, et eUe est produite par la differente maniere de penser des uns et des autres : parceque les uns craignent les demarches de Bonaparte qui pourroit conseiUer la continuation de la guerre contre la Turquie pour ob- tenir deux objets, celui d'affoiblir de plus en plus la Russie, et celui d'avoir pour lui le champ plus libre de mettre en execution ses plans sur la Grfece, 1' Albanie, et la Moree ; — les autres craignent que si les Turcs peuvent une fois battre les Russes, alors les malheurs de I'empire de Russie augmenteront au delk de ceux qui ne I'affligent deja que trop, pour etre trop docile a la volonte de Bonaparte. Toutes ces justes consi derations se font par toutes les personnes edairees en Russie excepte le petit nombre de ceux qui se con- duisent aveugiement par le systeme Fran9ais. " Ce principe pose, c'est a vous a faire les reflexions qu'un objet aussi important vous offre, et a les com biner a,vec celles de M. Adair, pour decider s'il con vient a la saine politique de I'Angleterre de conseiller a la Porte de suivre les idees que je vous ai expose ci-des- * 20th November, I8O9. 350 CORRESPONDENCE. SUS, et pour I'engager a entamer une negociation directe entre les deux armees basee sur les susdites conditions, selon I'avis des personnes distinguees et bien pensantes ; en y ajoutant I'autre condition bien importante que par cette paix entre la Russie et la Porte les deux Puissances se garantiront mutueUement leurs etats. " Si la Portre offre le sacrifice des deux principautes, elle ne perd rien du territoire Ture, et elle conserve ses forces militaires, qui lui sont si necessaires pour s'opposer aux projets de Bonaparte ; car il n'y a aucun doute que ses viies ne soient de s'emparer de I'Epire, de la Moree, et de la Gr^ce pour chasser les Turcs de I'Europe : aujourd'hui que Bonaparte s'est fait ceder par la Cour de Vienne les provinces de la Croatie, cela prouve jusqu'a I'evidence I'etendue de ses projets ambitieux. Au lieu qu'en entamant une semblable negociation avec la Russie on s'appercvra tout de suite des dispositions de cette Cour ; et si en concluant une prompte paix sur la base enoncee on verra claire- ment que la Russie ne veut pas se preter aux projets de Bonaparte contre I'Empire Ottoman, alors la Porte pourra defendre les provinces menacees par Bonaparte, et elle y trouvera d'autant plus de facUite si I'Angle terre, comme je n'en doute pas, a deja dans ces pro vinces de bons moyens pour consolider un plan de defense et de resistance. Si par contre la Russie ne se montroit pas disposee a accepter la proposition du Vizir pour une negociation directe, dans ce cas la Porte pourroit encore mieux s' entendre avec I'Angle terre pour les operations de defense. " Tous ces objets doivent etre entames par M. Adair sans perte de tems ; parceque tout le monde croit que la Cour de Vienne s'est laisse flatter de I'espoir d'avoir CORRESPONDENCE. 351 part aux depouiUes de la Turquie, quand Bonaparte chassera les Ottomans de I'Europe : comme il importe cependant a I'Angleterre que la puissance Ottomane existe, il lui sera plus facUe de la soutenir si la Porte parvient a faire sa paix avec la Russie, au moyen du sacrifice des deux provinces, qui ne lui ont donne que des embarras et ont ete une pomme de discord conti- nueUe depuis que la Russie a etendu ses conquetes sur la Mer Noire. Une teUe paix sera d'autant plus solide quand I'Angleterre pourra faire passer dans cette mer des forces maritimes qui tiendront en respect celle de la Russie, et la menaceront si elle ne fait pas eUe-m^me la paix avec cette Puissance. " II est inutUe que j'etende plus loin ces reflexions ; vous devez sentir combien tout ce que je viens d'ex- poser est utile pour notre Cour et la bonne cause ; et eUes ne peuvent echapper aux lumieres de M. Adair qui doit les employer, et profiter de son influence aupres du Divan pour lui faire adopter la conduite la plus utile, soit pour la conservation de la Turquie, que pour le systeme que I'Angleterre doit adopter actueUement, qui est de soutenir la Turquie, I'Espagne, et la SicUe ; ces trois points sont a sa portee dans la Mediterrannee, et peuvent faire esperer la meUleure reussite pour soutenir une guerre utile contre Bona parte. " Les momens sont predeux, et les operations politiques et militaires doivent se faire sans perte de tems. II faut eveiller la crainte pour faire valoir les negociations. II faut aussi que les peuples de la Grece soient persuade qu'Us seront plus heureux sous le gouvernement actuel, et en se battant pour I'Angle terre, qu'en se soumettant a la France. Aux grands maux il faut de grands remedes ; sans cela tout est 352 CORRESPONDENCE. perdu. Je prevois que vous me repondrais que cela ast deja arrivee. Je vous repond que si vous pensez ainsi vous vous trompez, parceque cette maniere de voir les choses a rendu jusqu'a present Bonaparte tout puissant ; qu'en lui resistant avec des peuples doues d'un caractere Espagnol, Ture, Italien et Grec, Bona parte ne soumettra pas aussi facilement les pays qui appartiennent a ces nations, et qu'en les soutenant et en s'opposant k ses vues, on parviendra a le battre et a consolider son independance. " Je vous prie de faire agreer k M. Adair mes com- plimens; j'esp^re tout de lui pour la reussite des plans qui lui sont confies, et qui feront le bonheur de sa patrie et des vrais et bons allies." &c. Inclosure B in No. X. " L' Influenza Francese, e le maniganze di Caulin court sono talmente radicate nel Gabinetto Russo, che non v' e speranza di ravvedimento senza forzare queUa Potenza con delle operazioni bene intese a riflettere ai casi suoi, ed accrescere con ci6 il malcon- tento deUa nazione Russa ch' e ben pensante, e tutta contraria al sistema del suo Sovrano, e di quel pochi che influiscono il Gabinetto di Russia. Le vittorie ottenute dalle armi Ottomane, devono aver' certamente prodotto qualch' effetto ; non bisogna rallentare le operazioni tanto per terra che per mare, d'unita alle forze navali Brittanniche, poiche la suoV nuova per- venuta a Pietroborgo della prossima entrata nel Mare Nero d'una squadra Inglese, ha fatto gran sensazione, e la nazione spera sentire incominciate le operazioni contro quei stabilimenti, per cosi forzare la Corte alia pace, ed indurla a rivolgere quelli armi contro il vero CORRESPONDENCE. 353 nemico del nome Russo. Certamente h ben crudele, che dei buoni e degni cittadini debbino consigUare di far del male contro il proprio paese, per far ravvedere il Gabbinetto, e togUerlo da sotto la sforza di Buona parte ; ma h altresi ben vero, che senza questi maU non si pu6 rimediare al maggiore, qual sarebbe I'in- tiera sommissione deU' Europa, se la Russia non si scuote daU' empia catena che cinge, e non si sveglia da questa sua fatale letargia. Posso assicurare V. E. che tutti li Russi sono si persuasi, che da queste operazioni contro il proprio paese ne deve derivare un bene, per I'istessa Russia, et per la buona causa, che sono furiosi contro il ministero Inglesi, che mai abbia voluto far nelBaltico delli operazioni salutari, ch' avreb- bero certamente prodotto, e che produrranno un eambia- mento di sistema. Cio e stato scritto e riscritto da diverse parti e da persone interessate alia riuscita dei piani contro 1' usurpatore generale. " Nel tempo stesso che la Porta con il suo aUeato faranno tutti li sforzi per mare e per terra, per ren- dere trattabile la Russia, I'istesse persone ben pen- santi desiderano per il ben commune, ch' Ella di continuo proponga la pace, ma con la cessione delle due proAdncie, perche senza di questa sara difficile, anzi impossibile d'indurre il Gabinetto Russo ad accet- tarla ; il quale fark nuovi sforzi, che non serviranno, che ad indeboUre le due Potenze, unico e sicuro scopo deUa Francia, per esser poi piu esposte ai colpi che le prepara Buonaparte. Ciocch^ ho I'honore di dirle, e la pura verity, ed h interessante per 1' InghUterra di conservare le forze dei due Imperi, per poterle poi riunire contro il nemico commune, ciocche ridondera in benefizio dei reaU interessi, e della buona causa. " Se la Porta non eseguisce tutto cio, e che le due VOL. I. -^ -*¦ 354 CORRESPONDENCE. Potenze facciano dei nuovi sforzi 1' una contro 1' altra, ogni successo che ne risulti, sia a favore deUa Russia, o deir istessa Porta, ed ogni azione che succeder^, saranno due battaglie guadagnate per Buonaparte contro le due Corti Imperiali. II Gabinetto Turco non deve perdere di vista la maniganze della Francia in Albania, che datano da lungo tempo, come in tutto il Levante, li suoi piani, e le minaccie nell' ultimo discorso tenuto al Corpo Legislative le 3 del passato mese, &c." Inclosure C in No. X. Mr. Adair to Count Ludolf. Pera, ce 12 Fevrier, I8O9. Monsieur, La confiance intime qui regno entre nos deux Cours, et I'interet qui les unit inseparablement, exi gent que je m'ouvre k vous au sujet d'une demarche que je viens de faire, et qui par la suite pourrait devenir utUe k sa Majeste le Roi des Deux SicUes. Entre tant de motifs de guerre et de division qui existent malheureusement dans le monde, il est doux de pouvoir se fixer sur un sujet ou toutes les Puissances doivent se trouver d'accord. La paix entre la Russie et la Porte sur des bases solides, paroit etre de cette nature. Elle interesse au plus haut point non seule ment les parties beUigerantes, mais aussi I'Angleterre, I'Autriche, et meme la France. Je ne vous cacherai pas. Monsieur, qu'en arrivant a Constantinople, guide par un zele pour le bonheur commun de tant de peuples, et agissant d'apres une discretion tres etendue que m'a laissee mon Gouvernement, j'ai notifie a la CORRESPONDENCE. 355 Porte que loin de vouloir mettre aucune entrave aux negociations qui alloient s'ouvrir k Jassy, je ne desirois que leur terminaison heureuse et qued'y pou voir preter la main. Effectivement, quel inter^t auroit I'Angleterre dans la lutte qu'EUe soutient contre la Russie, a voir finir une guerre qui coiite tant k cette Puissance, et qu'EUe peut lui rendre si dangereuse par la paix que je viens de conclure, excepte cet interet majeur de I'humanite qui est audessus de toute autre consideration, et qui meme au bout du compte se trouve toujours d'accord avec la sagesse ? Non seulement je me suis explique a ce sujet avec la Porte, mais passant par dessus toutes les formes diplomatiques, j'ai adresse une lettre dans le meme sens au Fdd-Marechal Prince de Prosorowsky. Mais afin de ne rien negliger dans une affaire de cette importance, je croi^, M. le Comte, ne pouvoir mieux faire que de vous inviter a vous unir k moi pour faire parvenir I'objet de cette communication en droiture a St, Petersbourg, M, le Due de Sierra Capriola y est encore, et quoiqu'il n'exerce plus ses fonctions de Ministre, il n'aura pas de peine a s'en servir dans les dispositions personneUes qu'on lui temoigne toujours a cette Cour, Comme ce n'est que par une suite de la fideUte de S, M, le Roi des deux SicUes k ces engagemens envers I'Angleterre que reioignement entre Elle et la Russie a eu Ueu, c'est a M, le Due que cette ouverture s'adresseroit le plus natureUement, et je ne serois pas f^che de lui fournir une occasion de rendre un serAdce essentiel a la Russie, tout en remplissant un devoir envers le Roi, son au guste maitre, Je I'autorise done a faire sentir au Cabinet de St. Petersbourg que la conclusion de la paix entre la A A 2 356 CORRESPONDENCE, Porte et la Russie sera dans tous les tems un obstacle considerable de moins k la paix entre EUe et I'Angle terre, et presentera meme des moyens de la h^ter que les vrais amis des deux Empires sauront toujours mettre k profit, J'ai I'honneur d'etre, &c. Inclosure D in No. X. Mr. Adair to the Reis Efendi. Pera, le 1 Fevrier, 1810, Il est necessaire que la Sublime Porte soit avertie que ce qui est contenu dans I'ecrit ci-joint relative ment a la Moldavie et la Valachie, ne doit aucunement ^tre considere comme une proposition faite par I'Am- bassadeur d'Angleterre, mais simplement comme I'expose des opinions de quelques individus bien pen- sans en Russie qui croient ne voir d'autre maniere de parvenir k une paix durable, L'Ambassadeur ne fait que rempUr son devoir vis-a-vis la Sublime Porte en lui communiquant tout ce qui dans sa cor respondance pourroit fournir a la Sublime Porte des renseignemens salutaires sur sa position : au reste, il lui renouveUe I'assurance de I'adhesion inviolable de son Gouvernement aux principes du 4"" article secret du Traite des Dardanelles, CORRESPONDENCE, 357 No. XL To Lord Bathurst. Pera, Feb, 12th, 1808, My Lord, I HAVE the honour of forwarding to your Lordship, by the messenger Robinson, some despatches from Sir Harford Jones of the 27th December and of the 3d January, Your Lordship wiU, I have no doubt, learn with satisfaction, that, on the receipt of my letter com plaining of the ostentatious visit of the Persian agent, Hossein Han, to the French Charge d'Affaires on the 3d of December, Sir Harford Jones immediately laid my representation before the Prince Royal of Persia, who, without a moment's hesitation, and with the strongest expression of displeasure, immediately de spatched a firman for his recal. This mandate was received by Hossein Han before his departure for the Turkish camp, which the Reis Efendi had contrived from day to day to retard. The readiness of the Prince Royal in attending to my just complaints speaks favourably, as far as it goes, for the Persian Government. It is accompanied, however, by a circumstance that has not removed my former doubts of their sincerity. With the firman from the Prince addressed to Hossein Han, and order ing him instantly to return to Tabreze, I received an intimation from the Prince's minister that it would greatly oblige H. R. H. if I would suffer this person to stay a few days longer at Constantinople to execute some commissions with which he had been charged. 358 CORRESPONDENCE, These contradictory proceedings did not please me ; stiU less a further intimation conveyed in the mini ster's letter, that it was wished he might remain until the arrival of another Persian agent, said to be charged with a permanent mission to this cayjital. My suspicions may be unjust, but I confess that all does not appear fair and even in this transaction. The plea of commissions to execute is evidently a pretence, since Hossein Han was on the eve of his departure for Paris when the letter of recal was de livered to him ; and as to his remaining to meet the other agent, what can be the object of such a pro position, except that he may communicate to that agent all the offers of France, and that he may render him the confidant of his own intrigues, and the de positary of his contrivances to serve the French cause ever since his residence at Constantinople ? If there be any foundation for my fears, subsequent events are ill calculated to remove them. Not to refuse a personal request of the Prince Royal, I con sented that this man should remain ten days to execute his supposed commissions. At the end of that period he flatly refused, and stiU continues re fusing-, to proceed upon his journey ; and this in the face of a Royal order, and after having been officially summoned by me to pay obedience to it. Having found the Ottoman Government disposed to act fairly with me in all matters relative to Persia, I have not failed to manifest a proper return of con fidence in my communications Avith the Reis Efendi concerning them. Pie has been regularly acquainted, therefore, Avith my first cause of complaint against Hossein Han, and with my demand for his recal. I CORRESPONDENCE. 359 have now made use of his authority to shorten the residence of this very dangerous agent at Constanti nople. A message has accordingly been sent to him from the Caimacan, to recommend his speedy de parture. If necessary, it will be foUowed by a stUI stronger intimation of the sentiments of the Porte. During the course of this business it seemed to me expedient to conceal from the Reis Efendi the doubts which had passed across my mind with regard to the sincerity of the Persian Court. To have imparted them would have aUenated, almost beyond redemp tion, the minds of the Turkish Ministers from a Per sian connection. I was careful, therefore, by attri buting the strange behaviour of Hossein Han solely to personal views, in which he had been encouraged by the French, to keep the line distinct between this agent and his Government. Persia thus stands ab solved for the present from all participation in his guilt ; and the Reis Efendi is satisfied, by the facts before his eyes, by the second dismission of Joannin in November last, and now by the recal of Hossein Han and the annihUation of his mission, that the Persian Government is cured of its French partialities, and is become sincere and steady in its aUiance Avith Great Britain. Under this persuasion the Porte is now greatly disposed to trust herself to an engagement with Persia for carrying on the war ; and is satisfied that the relations between Great Britain and Persia will at aU times secure the fulfilment of any treaty she may herself contract with that power. An opinion so useful to our interests in every point of view I have most assiduously cultivated and encouraged. The 360 CORRESPONDENCE. result is the estabUshment of a thorough understand ing between the Porte and myself on Persian po litics. To facilitate our mutual views, the Reis Efendi has permitted my chief dragoman to open a communica tion with the Turkish Minister appointed to reside at the Court of Tehran, and whose departure has only been delayed by the embarrassments of aU kinds which occupy at this moment the attention of the Govern ment. I am fully assured that this minister will be furnished with instructions to co-operate cordiaUy Avith Sir Harford Jones in aU measures which may be judged expedient for confirming and improving our common relations ; and in particular that he wiU be ordered to use his utmost authority and influence with the Court to which he is accredited to prevent the re-admission of the French Embassy. The execution of instructions framed in this sense must necessarily lead to a close concert with his Majesty's Minister at the Court of Tsehran in any negociation which may be set on foot for a defensive alliance with Turkey. On the policy of encouraging a more extended system of connection, comparing its immediate benefits with its remoter possible evils, I am not sufficiently informed to pronounce. But I can venture to affirm, that in the actual dispositions of the Turkish Government, if a treaty with Persia, limited to the present exigency, and grounded on the simple basis of joint war or joint peace Avith Russia, could be negociated. Great Britain would become mis tress of its terms, and through them, and through the commanding situation in which she would be placed as the medium and Unk of such a connectiouj would CORRESPONDENCE. 361 add a most powerful pledge to those which she already possesses for the maintenance of her oAvn relations Avith Turkey to the last extremity. I have the. honour to be, &c. No. XII. One Inclosure. To Lord Bathurst. Pera, February 14th, 1810. My Lord, In comphance with a most earnest request from the Ottoman Government, addressed to me after many ineffectual endeavours to induce me to exchange the Secret and Separate Article of the Treaty of Peace, and representing the great and urgent distresses of their army for want of ammunition, I have been in duced to apply to General Oakes* for 5,000 quintals of gunpowder and 3,000 quintals of shot, to be sent up, if possible, without delay to Constantinople. I have the honour of enclosing a copy of my letter to General Oakes on this occasion. At the same time I have distinctly informed the Turkish Government that I could not undertake to furnish this supply as a gift, although I would readily recommend its being so considered by his Majesty's Government. I certainly have no hesitation, considering the ex treme distress of the Government for want of money, — so great as in some instances to be supported in its daily expenses by private loans, — considering also * Governor of Malta. VOL. I. B B 362 CORRESPONDENCE. the importance of keeping possession of the good will of the Turkish people by testifying a readiness to suc cour them in the hour of danger, to recommend that the supply in question be granted as an effect of his Majesty's regard, and as a proof of the interest taken by his Majesty in the preservation of the Ottoman Empire. I have the honour to be, &c. END OF THE FIRST VOLUME. London : Printed by A. Spottiswoode, New. Street- Square. 3 9002