The Paget Papers.

Letter from Lord Minto to the Hon. Arthur Paget (Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the King of the two Sicilies).

Source: Paget, Right Hon. Sir Augustus B. Paget, G.C.B. The Paget Papers, Diplomatic and other Correspondence of the Right Hon Sir A. Paget. G.C.B., 1794-1807, 2 Vols. Longmans, Green and Co. New York 1896. Vol 1.  Pages 296-299.

Vienna, 31st Decr, 1800.

My Dear Sir,—My last Letters of the 24th inst. will Mave prepared you for everything that is bad. On the expiration of the suspension of arms on the 24th inst. the French pass'd the Enns & push'd the Austrians back to Strengberg. The enemy continued to advance & the Austrians to retire in great disorder. In the meanwhile the Emperor's answer to the demands made by Moreau when the Arch Duke first proposed an armistice was recd by the Arch Duke. Moreau had demanded that the Tyrol should be delivered np to him, & he had also separately from Great Britain. The Emperor peremptorily rejected the first demand ; but found himself at length constrain'd to give way on the second, & he authorized the Arch-Duke to declare that the Emperor would immediately enter on a separate negotiation for peace. By this time the French were at Hemmelbach & the Austrians at St. Polton. The A. Duke immediately empower'd Genl Grum & Coll Weyrotter to treat with Genl Moreau conformably to these instructions. The result was another armistice of 30 days & 15 days notice, more ignominious & ruinous than all the preceding disgraces. I am sorry that I cannot for want of time & hands send you a copy ; but the Marquis de Gallo sends a copy to Genl Acton who will no doubt communicate it to you. The Tyrol is not given up to the enemy in direct terms, the stipulation being that it shall be occupied by the troops of neither nation ; but all the fortified points are put into the hands of the French. The inhabitants are to be disarm'd & the line of demarcation gives to the enemy immediate access to that country. The fortresses of Wurtzbourg & Braunau are deliver'd up to the French-the line of demarcation is as bad as all the rest. This Armistice does not extend to Italy, where a separate armistice must be made between Bellegarde & Brune. It is some satisfaction that the most positive orders are gone to Bellegarde to consent to no armistice which does not include Naples ; or at the least which does not establish the demarcation settled by the convention of Castiglione, with the condition that the French shall not pass the line to the Southward. It is stipulated that neither the Austrians nor the French army of the Rhine shall debouch into Italy ; but I fear there is no stipulation which prevents what the French call the Army of the Grisons (that commanded by Macdonald) from marching to reinforce Brune. The mature of the country & the season, are tha only securities against that measure. In dwelling on the unfortunate nature of this convention, it is not my intention to pronounce for or against the propriety or rather the necessity of agreeing to it. If we turn from the lamentable conditions of the armistice to the situation of the Austrian army & of its Governrnent at the moment of negotiating this armistice, we shall perhaps rather deplore than condemn what has been done. With an army inferior by half in numbers to the enemy, reduced by fatigue & hardship to a state of wretchedness which had totally deprived them of courage, & had even created a dangerous & alarming spirit of mutiny-with an army, in short, which fairly declared their determination not to fight, & which had not bodily strength left to do their duty if they had been disposed, what could the Arch Duke advise? With the Archduke, in whose presence the last hopes had been placed, declaring that it was impossible that the troops should face the enemy or make a stand even under the walls of Vienna, with the panick of this great city, the clamour of the publick, & alarrn & importunity still nearer the throne, & with such a stake as Vienna depending, I know not who would have taken upon him to advise the rejection even of these terms.
With regard to the condition in which we are principally interested, I mean the separate negotiation, I felt it impossible to remonstrate against this concession, in circumstances which render'd the Emperor's adherence to his engagements im that respect physically impossible. This court has shewn as much firmness as could be required in its fidelity to our alliance. C. Cobenzl has been perfectly steady in rejecting to the last separate negotiation, & hostihties have been resumed on that single point. The Emperor has risk'd everything, & has in the issue incurr'd the calamities which now press upon him, in his attempt to fulfill his engagements with G. Britain. I cannot yet know the sentiments of my superiors on this question, but the experience I have of their justice, candour, & generosity in their transactions with other nations convinces me that the only sentiment on this occasion will be regret, & that there wili be no diminution of cordiality & confidence between the two Courts. The result is that Austria is now treating, or on the point of treating, for a separate peace. In these circumstances it is impossible not to think with great comfort of the engagements contracted so recently by Mr. de Gallo's convention at Vienna to make common cause with Naples. The peace of Naples must be consider'd as a necessary consequence of the Emperor's, & I should presume that all our Govt would desire on that point would be the rejection of articles directly hostile to G. Britain, such as Alliance with France-exclusion of English ships from the ports of Naples & Sicily-refusal of Supplies to Malta &c.-or accession to the new doctrine concerning neutral navigation.* But in all this I speak without any authority from home, & must expressly declare that in the expression of these sentiments I am only using the privilege of a friend by hazarding a private & confidential opinion on a point on which I cannot possibly have any right to deliver an official one.
The outrages committed against England at Petersburgh† have determined our Court to act with vigour in procuring some suitable satisfaction. Lord Grenville probably informs you of the resolutions taken by his Majesty, both with regard to Russia & the rest of the Northern confederacy. They will have to choose between immediate War, & the relinquishment of their new pretensions.
Measures are taking here for improving the defence of Vienna. Strangers are still obliged to retire, & preparation is still making for the possible event of a renewal of hostilities. A Peace however is no doubt the natural expectation in the present circumstances. I shall continue to keep you inform'd & beg you to believe me ever My Dear Sir, &c.,

Minto.

* The league of the Baltic Powera in 1780 and again in 1801 protested against the abuse of the right of search, and laid down the following principles, all of which have been adopted since the Treaty of Paris, 1855 : (1) Free ships make free goods; (2) the flag is to be the cover of the cargo; (3) no paper blockades are to be recognised.
† Three hundred English vessels had been seized, and their crews dispersed in the interior of Russia ; the goods of English merchants and moneys owed to them were confiscated Nov. 22.

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