Another Letter from the Duc de Choifeul to Mr. Pitt, of the 4th of May, 1761.

I

HAVE received 'the paffport of the King of Great Britain, which your Excellency did me the honour to fend for M. Buffy, in quality of Minifter of the King my Mafter; and I fend you in return his Majefty's passport for Mr. Stanley, whom his Britannick Majefty has been pleased to appoint in order to come to this court in the fame capacity. I think it my duty, on this occafion, Sir, to make fome obfervations which feem to me neceffary to warrant the execution of the commiffions of those two Minifters.

1. The King thinks that his Britannick Majefty will judge it convenient that the two Minifters fhould be charged with full power from the refpective courts, to use upon occafion.

2. That the two Minifters fhould each of them have letters of credence from the Kings their Mafters, which they shall deliver to the Secretaries of State only; that is to fay, in France, to the Minister and Secretary of State for the department of Foreign affairs; and in England, to the Minister and Secretary of State for the Southern department.

3. As his Majesty's intention is, that the English Minifter shall enjoy the fame privilege in France as if the two courts were in the midft of peace, as well with regard to the common intercourfe of life, as in maintaining a correfpondence with the court of England and the other courts of Europe, and laftly, for the difpatch of his couriers, and with refpect to all the prerogatives and franchifes in general incident to his character; his Majesty relies, that M. Buffy will abfolutely enjoy the fame rights, prerogatives, franchifes, and liberties, at London; it being understood, nevertheless, that when one or the other are about to dispatch their couriers to their own or any other court, they fhall be obliged to require a paffport from the Secretary of State in that department, which fhall not be refused to them, any more than the neceffary

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veffel to tranfport their couriers from France to England, and from England to France.

4. We defire to know when Mr. Stanley will be ready to leave London in order to repair to Calais, in order to direct M. Buffy's journey, fo that he may repair to Calais at the fame time to be transported to England in the fame veffel which brings Mr. Stanley over, if that is agreeable to the court of Great Britain: if not, the King will keep a veffel in the port of Calais, which fhall tranfport M. Buffy to England; in which cafe it will be proper to know what kind of véffel his Britannick Majefty will chufe to bring Mr. Stanley to Calais.

I believe your Excellency will find thefe obfervations proper, and that you will fend me your anfwer as foon as poffible.

Mr. Pitt's Answer to the Duke de Choifeul, of the 11th of May, 1761.

SIR,

THE

HE King my Mafter has learnt, with real fatisfaction, by the letter which your Excellency did me the honour to write of the 4th of this month, that the fentiments of the Moft Chriftian King are conformable to those of his Majefty with respect to the mutual dispatch of the Minifters from the two courts.

I hope your Excellency will be perfuaded, that I have a lively fenfe of the value of thofe obliging fentiments with which you have been pleased to honour me, and that, confcious as I am of your fuperior qualities, which have engaged the approbation of every court, I perceive in its full extent how flattering a circumftance it would have been for me to have had the honour of treating perfonally with your Excellency upon fo interefting an object, and to have shared with you, in point of zeal for the profperous conduct of the peace, the fatisfaction of co-operating more immediately to give the people affurance of the effects of the falutary difpofitions of the Kings our Masters. Ifhall, nevertheless, take real pleasure, upon all occafions, to pay the respect due to Mr. Buffy's character, as well as to his merit; and I can affure you, Sir, that the happiness which that Minifter has had of being ufed to tranfact business with your Excellency, is an addi

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tional circumftance which cannot but intereft me extremely in his behalf.

I am purfuaded, that Mr. Stanley, who is defcended froin an illustrious family, and who entertains noble fentiments, will ufe all his endeavours to merit the honour of your Excellency's esteem, and he wishes to be recommended to your favour.

You will fee, Sir, by my private letter, the reflections which have occurred in relation to the precautionary arrangements which your Excellency propofed to fetttle, and I hope that no farther impediments will remain on this fubject.

I have the honour to be, &c.

Signed

W. PITT,

Another Letter from Mr. Pitt to the Duke de Choifeul, of the 11th of May, 1761.

I

SIR,

HAVE received the three paffports which your Excellency has done me the honour to tranfmit for Mr. Stanley, in quality of Minister from the King my Mafter, and I, in return, tranfmit to you a fecond, which his Majesty has granted for the veffel which the Moft Christian King fhall think proper to order for transporting M. Buffy into England; and I annex the order to the officers of the cuftoms, for the free importation of the effects and baggage of the faid Minifter.

As to what relates, Sir, to the obfervations which you thought yourself obliged to make to warrant the execu tion of the commiffion of thofe two Minifters, it is with great fatisfaction I affure your Excellency, that the King, in conformity with the fentiments of his Moft Chriftian Majefty, is of opinion,

1. That the two Minifters fhould be charged with ample power from the Kings their Mafters, to make ufe of as occafion fhall offer.

2. That the two Minifters ought, each of them, to have letters of credence from their Majefties, which they fhall not need to deliver but to the Secretaries, of

the refpective States, in the manner fpecified by your Excellency.

3. It is the intention of his Majefty, that M. Buffy fhould abfolutely enjoy in England the fame rights, prerogatives, franchifes, and liberties, as if the two courts were in the midst of peace, and which Mr. Stanley, in purfuance of the intention of his Moft Chriftian Majefty, is to enjoy in France; and that as to the difpatch of couriers, as well as every thing elfe which concerns the two Minifters, the tenor of the third article of obfervations relative to this head, fhall be obferved in every refpect.

As to what remains concerning the time of the departure of the faid Minifters, as alfo concerning the manner of their croffing the fea, the King is of opinion, that, in order to obviate all difficulties, Mr. Stanley and Mr. Buffy may refpectively repair to Dover and Calais, to cross the fea each of them in a veffel appertaing to their own nation, which the Kings their Mafters fhall keep ready for that purpose in the two ports aforefaid. It is in confidence of this difpofition that I am obliged to acquaint your Excellency, that the King will difpatch Mr. Stanley from London fo that he may reach Dover on the 23d of this month, unless we learn that the time so near at hand fhould be inconvenient to the court of France; and the King my Mafter relies with full confidence in M. Buffy's repairing to Calais on the aforefaid day, that the two Minifters may crofs the fea without delay, as far as the circumftances of wind and navigation will permit them. I will add to your Excellency, that Mr. Stanley will make ufe of a packet-boat from Dover, and that M. Buffy may crofs from Calais to England in whatever veffel his Moft Chriftian Majefty fhall judge convenient.

I flatter, myself that your Excellency will find that thefe arrangements will equally facilitate the method of the two Minifters repairing to their reciprocal deftinations without inconvenience.

I have the honour to be, &c.
Signed

W. PITT.

The courts in alliance with France, without oppofing this negociation with the court of London, expreffed

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great uneafinefs at the reciprocal dispatch of the two Minifters; they were encouraged, however, by the promife which the King made to them, of communicating, with the utmoft confidence a detail of the feveral objects which should be treated of, either at London or Verfailles. In the declaration made to them on the part of the King, they at once admired his Majefty's fteadiness to his engagements, and that generofity with which he determined to facrifice his perfonal interefts, in order to come to a fpeedy and firm reconciliation with England.

M. Buffy fet out for London: his inftructions were ex→ tremely fimple: the bafis of them regarded the propofition Uti Poffidetis, and he was enjoined,

1. To demand of the British Minifter, whether the King of England accepted of the periods annexed to the propofition of Statu Quo, and if his Britannick Majefty did not accept of them, what new periods he proposed to France?

2. To declare to the court of London, That the war, which the King waged against England, was entirely dif tinct from that of the Emprefs-Queen against the King of Pruffia, and that, confequently, except as to Wefel and Gueldres, which appertained to her Imperial Majesty, the King was at liberty to cause his forces to evacuate Gottingen, Heffe, and the county of Hanau, but that his Majefty made this evacuation to depend on two conditions: firft, That the court of England fhould give proper fecurity that the army commanded by Prince Ferdinard fhould be difbanded and not ferve against the King's allies. Secondly, That his Britannick Majefty would agree on fome restitution which should be judged reasonable on the part of England, as a compenfation for the French troops evacuating Gottingen, the Landgraviate of Heffe, and the county of Hanau.

Mr. Stanley arrived at Marli at the fame time that M. Buffy arrived at London. The English Minifter, at the very firft conference, declared in the name of his court, that the King his master would fupport his allies with ef ficacy and good faith, [Thefe were the terms he made ufe of.] The King's Minifter, who conferred with Mr. Stanley, answered him by a declaration equally precife

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