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commander-in-chief of the troops of his Britannic majesty, that it is only in case he shall think proper to accede to this arrangement, and to adopt such measures as depend upon him for carrying it into execution, his Prussian majesty can possibly eugage to guarantee the security of the troops of his Britannic majesty. In case of an attack on the part of the French, it will, however, be necessary that the conduct of the whole should center in one point, and it appears natural that the oldest in rank should then assume the chief command. It would consequently devolve upon general count Kalkreuth, both for the above reason, and likewise because he,, being in the vicinity of the enemy, would be best able to judge what measures to adopt.

I repeat to your excellency the assurance of the highest consideration with which, I have the honour to be, my lord, your excel lency's, &c. (Signed)

Hardenberg.

Swedish Declaration.

From the moment his Swedish majesty had determined upon taking a part in the coalition against the usurpations of Napoleon Bonaparte, his majesty had fixed his attention upon the preservation of the electoral possessions of the king of England upon the continent, which had been evacuated by the French troops. Ready to enter them with a Swedish and Russian army, united under his orders, his majesty has tened, upon the first intelligence of the movement of a Prussian corps towards that country, to enquire into the intentions of his Prussian

majesty, and in full confidence to demand of him, whether the march of his troops had the same object as the combined army; namely, that of restoring the electorate of Hano. ver to its legitimate possessor, and in that case to concert with his Prussian majesty the joint measures to be taken. The king of Prussia from that period, evaded entering into any explanation relative to this important object, and that in a manner far from friendly. The irresolution since manifested by this sovereign, in joining the cause of the allies, could not but tend to augment his majesty's suspicions; and his majesty did not hesitate to anticipate events, in causing it to be publicly made known at a period when the intentions of the court of Prussia, with respect to the states of his Britannic majesty, could only be matter of conjecture, that the country of Lauenburg should still remain under the protection of the Swedish troops, until a convention for that purpose was concluded with the king of England. It was the sole right of this monarch only, as proprietor of the country, to de cide upon the future fate of his he reditary states: every arrangement, therefore, relative thereunto, between France and Prussia, was inadmissible.

It was, notwithstanding, upon this arrangement, that the king of Prussia, in his proclamation of January 27, which was published soon after, endeavoured to assert his right to the complete occupation of the electorate of Hanover. The reiterated protestations made by the court of Berlin on this occasion, of being induced to take this step merely to save the country from greater calamities, ought to have

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been received as a guarantee for its future independence. This lan guage, however, did not last long; instead of regarding the electorate as a depot till the return of a general peace, as his Prussian majesty had solemnly announced in the proclamation before cited, a new procla. mation, issued from Berlin, dated April 1, announced, on the contrary, the definitive union of these provinces to the Prussian monarchy; a measure which the court of Berlin pretended was founded upon the right of conquest, and a formal treaty with France.

In this state of things, the king, faithful to his engagements with his Britannic majesty, thought he could not use too much circumspection when the abandoning of the German states of his ally be came the subject of consideration, which being once delivered from the presence of the Swedish troops, soon have fallen under the power of the Prussians. His majesty, there. fore, confining himself to the protection of the countries on this side of the Elbe, on his departure from Ratzeburg, declared, that having left in this dutchy a corps of Swedes, under the orders of his aide-de. camp, general commandant, Count Lowenheilm, he should look upon any attack upon these troops, and the independance of the country, as a measure of aggression against his own states. This declaration has been repeatedly made, and particularly in the letter of Count Lowenheilm, dated April 13, to the Prus sian military commandants in Hanover, and the country of Mark. Count Lowenheilm said expressly that he had the strictest orders to defend Lauenburg against any foreign troops that should attempt to

enter it. Notwithstanding this, a detached corps passed that frontier at Marienstett, on the 23d of this month, and in spite of the brave resistance of the Swedish troops, by the superiority of their numbers, they took forcible possession of the country.

Under the present circumstances, the king could not regard this violent measure otherwise than as an act of hostility on the part of his Prussian majesty; consequently he has ordered an embargo to be laid on all the Prussian vessels in the Swedish ports.

If his majesty has so long delayed to resent the outrages committed upon him and his allies by the court of Berlin, it has arisen from his majesty's constant wish to avoid every thing that might lead to a rupture as long as possible. The intimate connection subsisting between the king of Prussia and Napoleon Bonaparte, the declared enemy of the three allied courts; the exclusion of the English commerce from the ports and rivers of the north of Germany, together with the unjust authority established in the electorate of Han over-all these were sufficient indications of the real system of his said majesty; and the attack which has just been made upon the Swedish troops in Lauenburg, has put the last seal to it.

The undersigned, specially charged by the king, his master, to treat with the accredited ministers of the two allied courts, has received his majesty's express orders to expose the above-mentioned facts, in order to enlighten the public opinion, upon the present situation of affairs between the courts of Stockholm and Berlin.

Count de Fersen, grand marshal of Sweden.

Answer

Answer of Baron Hardenbergh to the Note in the Moniteur, of March 21.

The Moniteur, of the 21st of March, No. 80, in printing a letter addressed by me, on the 22d of December, 1805, to lord Harrowby, then his Britannic majesty's minister at Berlin, has called upon me to declare, whether that letter is real or fictitious, and has accompanied this demand with several remarks.

That which renders the duties and obligations of a statesman peculiarly painful, is the frequent necessity under which he finds himself, in being compelled to observe a profound silence, at the same time when he is either misunderstood or calumniated.

However, I owe it to the king, as well as to myself, to declare that the letter in question, though altered in several essential expressions, is official, and was written by his majesty's orders. I owe this declaration to the king, because at the court of Berlin, whatever may be the usage cited by the Moniteur, the ministers dare not use the liberty of taking such steps unknown to their sovereign. I owe this declaration to myself, because I cannot remain indifferent to the supposition, that I am capable of such a failure in my duty, or that I should expose my self to his majesty's disavowal, after having acted in his name.

On the 924 of December the king, as well as every other person at Berlin, was ignorant that a treaty had been signed at Vienna, on the 15th, by M. le Comte Haugwitz, he having reserved every kind of information upon this subject, till he should make an oral report: and

not arriving at Berlin till the 25th of December, as it is expressed in my letter to lord Harrowby, we were quite uncertain as to the intentions of his majesty the emperor of the French; in the mean while the armies of both powers were in the field, and upon the war establishment.

M. le major-general Pfuhl was sent to the French head-quarters, and count Haugwitz was dispatched to explain himself upon the intermediary arrangement, which forms the subject of the letter to lord Harrowby, and which had been proposed by count Haugwitz. M. le Pfuhl met this minister on his way, returning to Berlin, bringing with him a definitive treaty; of course the intermediary arrangement fell to the ground. This is the whole fact, according to the strictest truth. Every impartial judge will know how to appreciate the remarks of the Moniteur. I feel myself honoured in the esteem and confidence of my sovereign and the Prussian nation. I am honoured by the senti ments of respectable foreigners, with whom I have been connected, and I have the satisfaction of reckoning some French among the number. I was not born in Prussia, but I will not yield in patriotism to any native. I have obtained my rights, as much by my services, as by transferring my patrimony, and thus becoming a proprietor. If I am not a soldier, I feel that I should not have been unworthy of the profession, if fate had destined me to defend my sovereign and his rights. the dignity, safety, and honour of the state, by force of arms. Thus much in answer to the remarks of the Moniteur. As to the rest, neither the Bulletins of the Gazettes,

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nor the remarks of their conductors, will ever be able to disgrace me.

The real copy of my letter of the 22d, to lord Harrowby is annexed. In comparing it with that inserted in the Moniteur, among other things it may be observed, that there is not any question, either of a confe. deration to be formed which may adapt itself to events; but of that want of concert adapted to circumstances; nor yet of gaining time to take measures more decisive, but only of the advantage of seeing things in a clearer point of view, which might be expected to result from the intermediary arrangement. Neither is there any thing said of a plan that I should have submitted to lord Harrowby; but the intermediary arrangement only is mentioned, which was presented to him, to prevent any thing that might have im. peded the negociations which promised the continuance of peace between Prussia and France, and which would probably have led to a general pacification.

Hardenberg.

Berlin, April 8, 1806.

Message from his Majesty to the Parliament, on Hostilities with Prussia.

G. R.

His majesty thinks it proper to acquaint the house of commons, that he has found himself under the necessity of withdrawing his minister from the court of Berlin, and of adopting provisionally measures of just retaliation against the commerce and navigation of Prussia. His majesty deeply regrets this extension and aggravation of calamities, already so VOL. XLVII.

severely felt by the nations of the continent, whose independence and prosperity he has never ceased to consider as intimately connected with those of his own people. But measures of direct hostility, deliberately adopted against him, have left him no alternative.

In a moment of confidential in. tercourse, without even the pretence of any cause of complaint, forcible possession has been taken by Prussia of his majesty's electoral dominions. Deeply as this event affected the interest of this kingdom, his majesty chose nevertheless to forbear, on this painful occasion, all recourse to the tried and affectionate attachment of his British subjects. He remonstrated, by amicable negociation, against the injury he had sustained, and rested his claim for reparation on the moderation of his conduct, on the justice of his representations, and on the common interest which Prussia herself must ultimately feel, to resist a system destructive of the security of all legitimate possession. But when, in. stead of receiving assurances conformable to this just expectation, his majesty was informed that the determination had been taken, of excluding by force the vessels and the commodities of this kingdom, from ports and countries under the lawful dominion, or forcible controul of Prussia; his majesty could no longer delay to act, without neglecting the first duty which he owes to his people. The dignity of his crown, and the interests of his subjects, equally forbid his acquiescing in this open and unprovoked aggression. He has no doubt of the full support of his parliament, in vindicating the bonour of Y y

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A messenger from Munich has just brought his majesty intelligence of the consummation of the arrangements, which the present conjuncture of affairs has induced him to enter into with France, in order to save those countrics, and especially the states of Hanover, from the misfortunes of another ruinous war, and to insure their tranquillity. As these arrangements stipulate particularly the committing of that country to the exclusive guard of the Prussian troops, and to the administration of the king, until the conclusion of a peace between England and France; his majesty could not

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delay taking the necessary mea. sures for the entry therein of a corps of his army, which will be under the orders of his excellency the general of cavalry, count Schu. lenberg Kehnert, to whom also the king has confided the administration of the country. His majesty, animated by the most lively desire to see the importance and the ur. gency of the motives which have in. duced him to take these steps, justly appreciated by his Britannic majesty and his enlightened ministers, has directed baron Jacobi to give a detailed explanation thereof at Lon

don.

It would be superfluous to point out to your attention, how urgent and indispensible, in the present state of affairs, the re-embarkation of the English troops in the north of Germany is become; since the retreat of the foreign troops is the condition upon which France has promised not to order her troops to re-enter Hanover, and since also it was upon this supposition alone that the king guaranteed their security. I presume that lord Cathcart has already received, and is upon the point of executing, the orders of his court for the return of those troops, for which transports have been waiting for some time past. I have, however, to request, sir, that you would, for the purpose of still further dispatch, write to that commander-in-chief on the subject; and, acquainting him with the present circumstances, that you would induce him to hasten, so far as depends on him, a measure, in which these circumstances, and the ap. proaching arrival of our troops, will not admit of any delay.

I request you to accept the reite

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