The result of what 1 have stated to Your Lordship is this :

I-st that Sicily is а sine qua поп оп which subject if the French

Minister recedes from his former answer, it is in vain that апу further

discussion should take place. It is clearly within his frst opinion

delivered to Your Lordship, it iS clearly also within his last description

of places which are reciprocally possessed by the two countries and

cannot in all probability be recovered by war.

If according to the hope conceived by Your Lordship this matter

should be arranged, уои тау then ореп your full powers, stating

at the same time the determination 0f this Court, not to соте to апу

fnal agreement without the consent of Russia. Уои will of course

again mention the questions of Naples and Istria. If we could obtain

either of them it would be well, but if we cannot, Уоит Lordship

wilI not state these points as conclusive reasons against agreeing оп

preliminary articles, provided such articles be considered as provisional

and subject to the approbation of Russia. In the теап time it ought

to be urged оп Му. Talleyrand that the recognitions of Russia are most

important to the French Empire and consequently that they might and

ought in policy to concede something in honour of the Russian Crown.

Possibly the restoration of king Ferdinand to the Crown of Naples

(а Prince who оп the frst breaking out of а new vvar, must be at

the foot of France), as of Dalmatia and Istria to Austria, 6r both, might

not be considered as too high а price of the recognitions in question.

With regard to the mode of а provisional agreement, two suggest

themselves to ту mind. The опе to send the agreement we shall

have entered into, either to Petersburg as to some authorized agent

0f the Emperor Alexander at Vienna, Paris or elsewhere for his appro-

bation. Tlle other to сору the precedent adopted by Lord Lansdown

and D-r Franklin in the year 1782. At that time а provisional treaty

was signed by the plenipotentiaries of Great Britain and the United

States of America, with the servation that the said treaty should not

have efect till а реасе should be agreed ироп between France and

England. Of these twb modes I should prefer the latter.

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