so responsible; for, be assured, that the general, I may say universal, principle is no peace with Bonaparte !—or, if with him, such a peace as will put his malice and abilities into such a state of depression and weakness as to make us equally secure as if we replaced the Bourbons. By what I can find, this sentiment is really national.

The argument will be the Allies had the power to give a real, secure peace: if they do not make such a peace, either England's negociators will not have done their duty, but have been duped by the Allies or falsely estimated our interests; and the Allies will have acted insincerely towards England.

There has been a Cabinet to-day on the information sent by Lord Wellington, and I know not its result. It must, of course, act with reference to your lordship.

I write merely to say what I am persuaded will be the universal impression, when the public hears of the alliance with Switzerland, the passage of the Allies into France, and the arrangement with Murat. These will be known next mail from Lord Sligo and others who write from the armies, and those who feed the Stock Exchange. We have papers yet of late date from Paris.

I rejoice to find from Lamb's letter that the spirit of the Austrians and the Hungarians is so high. I hope it rings in M.'s ears. I think the Allies will rejoice to see Wellington's regulations for the Custom Houses of Navarre.

What delight you must have felt on reading the despatches! We were doubly delighted here that you were fortunate enough to fall in with them. It is wonderful how much the passage of the Rhine has shortened its course: some say it loses its name at Basle; all are ready to swear that it loses it upon the Moselle's junction.

I say nothing upon general points; but I must venture a few detached ideas.

Bonaparte ought to be obliged, as a proof of his sincerity and repentance, to liberate the Spanish family and the Pope

previous to any treaty. Such an amende honorable ought to be preliminary to any base. The perfidy of those transactions ought to be marked.

The Russians, &c. ought to demand the restitution of pillaged trophies and curiosities.

You ought to make him pay for the support of his prisoners, and retain a gage or hostage for the payment.

means.

I hope you will curtail the Pope's temporal dominions: an ecclesiastico-civil potentate is a monster. A civil State ought to be supported by civil means: his is supported by ecclesiastic His Ministers are not laymen, but cardinals and nuncios. He should be made to enter into a concordat with all Powers; and no Power ought to receive from the Pope, as long as he is to be a temporal Power, any Minister who is not temporal. All correspondence between the Pope and other Sovereigns should be through lay hands.

I doubt not you will impress upon the Allies the state France will be in, if the basis be drawn out into a peace.

You will recollect that last year the Consolidated Fund was deficient near £3,000,000. The present quarter is very good, and it is hoped there may be some surplus this year; and you will see by the papers sent what will be our loss by restitution of conquests.

If it were possible to break up the present system of France! -the more I look at it the more terrible does it appear: the despotism is so perfectly organized and concentred for the purposes of internal order and submission, revenue and military force so easily and rapidly managed and directed, and its instruments so animated, so ingenious, so versatile, so adventurous, so brave, that it appears to me there never existed in the world so formidable a political machine.

I own, notwithstanding the declaration as to maritime right, I should prefer a substantive article, recognising the Law of Nations as it was before the French Revolution.

I think the Crown Prince forgets that, whilst he was in

alliance with Denmark, he made a treaty to take half of her dominions, upon condition that, if she would then join with him and his Allies, he would try to indemnify her: and yet, after such a measure, he loads Denmark with indignities. We basely submitted to this policy, but surely we never thought Denmark acted perfidiously or dishonourably in not yielding to it. The moral is with Denmark-we submitted to a wrong merely in the hope of saving Europe. His propositions and those stated by Lord Aberdeen seem nearly the same: so I hope all things will be settled; but I fear he never will act fairly on the side of Holland, unless he can make a new game for himself. After the payment he gets, surely he ought not to embarrass and dictate everything, with only 20,000 Swedes, who are always kept out of fire.

I lament to find that, from an interception, General Gneisenau is in low spirits. He says his Sovereign, on account of some freedom in his conduct and honest advice, will not be reconciled to him so, seeing no prospect in the service on a peace, he means to retire on his little means, and write a history of late events. I wish you could reconcile the King of Prussia to him, or get him into the Hanoverian service. He is a great man, and would be a treasure. Pray talk to Münster about him.

I believe you did not see Thornton's last despatches: he will send them to you in duplicate; but possibly not the private letter, which is therefore sent. I cannot understand his reason for not writing fully in cipher, if he thinks it necessary. Ever most truly and obediently,

Your lordship's servant,

E. COOKE.

Memorandum relative to the Note of St. Aignan, referred to in the letter.

It is perfectly plain that St. Aignan's Note means nothing less than the extension of the French territory to the Rhine. What are the words?

"Les Puissances coalisées étoient unanimement d'accord sur la puissance et la prépondérance que la France doit conserver dans son intégrité, et en se renfermant dans ses limites naturelles, qui sont les Alpes, le Rhin, et les Pyrénées."

It is not that the territory of France ought to extend to those boundaries, but merely its power and preponderance. The arrangement to be made for France is that, however she may be able to influence any small Power within the Rhine, her influence ought to be so reduced as to prevent her extending that influence and preponderance beyond it. If this were not the true meaning, why was not the word territory expressly used?

The Earl of Aberdeen to Lord Castlereagh.

Freiburg, January 5, 1814. My dear Castlereagh-I am really most happy in the determination which you have adopted of coming to head-quarters. You will see and know more in eight-and-forty hours than we could impart to you by the despatches of many weeks. Your coming has given very general satisfaction. The Austrians are delighted, and Nesselrode appears equally glad. I hope Stewart may come with you, and then we shall soon settle all our discussions. It is quite impossible that any difference of opinion should diminish the cordiality with which I have always acted with him.

We are going on very well: but I shall be very happy to see you give some tone to the proceedings in Switzerland. I have had a deputation to-day from the canton of Soleure. All the proprietors and respectable persons desire the restoration of the ancient Government; but the persons actually in power, of the Jacobin party, having a knowledge that the Emperor of Russia is inclined to protect them, refuse to quit their offices without a wish expressed in writing from the Allied Powers. The principle of not interfering with their internal arrangements prevents this, as well as the employment of a military

force; and therefore this unfortunate difference of opinion among ourselves reduces them to the necessity of kindling a civil war, or, at least, of perpetuating a violent ferment in the country. I could at present only adhere to the system which had been adopted, expressing, at the same time, individually a wish for the removal of French influence, before the real independence of Switzerland could be established or acknowledged. I declined giving any official opinion or advice on the part of Great Britain; as any such, at the present moment, would be contrary to the system in which Austria has acquiesced.

Rose is here, and will proceed to Munich immediately. The good offices of England will be required in an arrangement about the Tyrol, which is rendered absolutely necessary. It was perfectly understood by the Bavarian Government that the Tyrol, the Vorarlberg, &c., were to be restored to Austria at a peace, in lieu of other possessions of equal value, to be ceded to Bavaria. This arrangement, which many circumstances contributed to render necessary at the time, the inhabitants cannot understand. The Austrian Government has done everything to tranquillize them, but without any permanent effect. The people have risen repeatedly, and declared that, if Austria will not have them, they will declare for France, and that anything is better than the Bavarian Government. The tranquillity of the Tyrol is so important at this moment, being the great communication with Italy, independently of the addition of 20,000 troops, and the happiness of the whole country, that something is absolutely necessary. Metternich has proposed to take possession of the Government immediately, assigning to Bavaria as a security a portion of the grand duchy of Frankfort. It is to be hoped this proposal will be agreed to.

From Murat we have the best intelligence. His accession appears certain, which gives us Bellegarde and a fine army of from seventy to eighty thousand men. I hope Neipperg will have concluded this affair, and that we may have the treaty before you arrive.