Substance of the Edict published by his Holiness, on the Reception which his Subjects ought to give to the French. HIS Holiness enumerates to them a variety of motives which ought to induce them to respect and treat the French with the utmost kindness, such as "the principles of our holy religion, the laws of nations, the interests of the people, the will of their fovereign," &c. He assures them that the cessation of hostilities is the immediate gift of God; and reminds them of the neceffity of parting with a small portion of their worldly riches for the security of the rest, and, what is of more importance, for the prefervation of the Catholic religion. He admonishes them not to listen to any perfidious infinuations tending to disturb the public peace; and declares, that whoever shall insult by words or actions, in the flightest manner, the French commissioners, their agents, or domestics, shall be punished with death, their goods confiscated, and their families pronounced infamous, as in cases of treason against the state. Those who shall by their harangues, writings, or counsels, provoke infults against the French, thall be liable to the same punishment. Such as shall be spectators or participators in proceedings of the above description, and shall not denounce the traitors before the ordinary tribunals, shall be condemned to ten years flavery in the galleys. Such informants as can establish the fact of an infult, shall receive a reward of 500 ducats on conviction of the offender. The tribunals shall proceed against persons under an accufation of this species of treason in the most summary manner allowed by the criminal jurisprudence of the country. July 15. : Manifesto, or Declaration of the Queen of Portugal, against the Republic of the United States of the Netherlands. WHEREAS the Portuguese envoy extraordinary with the Republic of the United States of the Netherlands, has, in his report of the 15th of June, tranfmitted to her majesty the copy of a letter which he received from the committee for foreign affairs of the Republic, in which has been notified to him the fixed refolution of abstaining from all political communication with him, as representative of her majesty, the Queen of Portugal, till the conclufion of a peace with the French Republic. Besides which, the faid envoy ultimately signifies in his letter, that all commercial transactions had alfo been fufpended: her majesty has therefore resolved, under the prefent circuinstances, to suspend in a like manner, on her part, all commerce with the H 2 States 1 States General of the Netherlands, to prohibit her subjects all transactions, or mercantile connections, with the subjects of the Republic, and to forbid them all navigation to the harbours of the faid states. Her Majesty has been farther pleased to ordain, that all tranfactions in the interior of her dominions with the subjects of the United Provinces be suspended; and that their capitals shall, under no pretence, be carried out of the kingdom. : The departure of all Dutch ships, which are in the harbours under the dominion of her Majesty, is also entirely stopped, because there they must remain under embargo till further orders. That this refolution may reach the knowledge of every one, and be put in force, it has been publicly posted up. The fecretary of the tribunal of Commerce, Lisbon, July 19, 1796. : THE above manifesto was revoked two days after it was issued; and the Portuguese minister, M. Pinto, transmitted a letter on the 23d of July upon the subject to the Dutch ambassador at Lifbon, citizen Geldemeester. In this letter M. Pinto declares, " that the embargo laid on the Dutch ships in the Portuguese harbour had been taken off, that her majesty the Queen of Portugal, wished for nothing more than to preserve peace and friendship with the Batavian Republic; that the hoped there subsisted no other cause of disagreement between both states, and that the Dutch government would observe reciprocity with regard to the commercial connections; and that the temporary embargo had been occafioned by the measures manifested in Holland against Portugal, and her Majefty thought it very strange that Portugal should not have been confidered like other friends of France who were at peace with the Batavian Republic." Proceedings of the Diet of Ratisbon. Ratisbon, July 7. BARON Gemminger, minifter of the Duke of Brunswick, has received orders from his fovereign to notify, conjointly *with the ambaffadors of the electors of Brandenburgh, and other German princes, to the Austrian ministers refident here, by 'a note, the measures concerted for the fafety of the northern parts of Germany. The declaration further expresses, that it is the with of his ferene highness the Duke of Brunswick, like that of .. his 1 t his Prussian Majesty and the King of Great Britain, that his Im perial Majesty will approve of, and honour with his approbation, those measures of felf-defence which are quite constitutional and relate to felf preservation; fince they correspond with the paternal and imperial sentiments of the Emperor. こ July 18. The minifter of the Elector of Saxony signified last week, that his most serene highness, his master, having fulfilled all his duties as a prince of the empire, not having confented to any feparate negociations, but had frequently, in conjunction with the majority of the Germanic princes, urged his wish for a speedy and acceptable peace to the court of Vienna, and now requested the promptest overtures for a pacification, by means of a deputation of the Empire, agreeably to the decree of the imperial diet, enacted last year. His most serene highness declared the profperity of Germany, and his co-estates, to be the fole object of his folicitude. Ratisbon, Aug. 1. THE progress of the French has induced the imperial diet suddenly to dictate a memorable advice of the empire for the acceleration of peace. On the 30th ult. an extraordinary feffion of council was held, which was opened by the electoral directory of Mentz with the following intimation: Several embaflies having expressed a wish that the prefent urgent concerns of the war be taken into confideration, agreeably to the instructions which they received, and that ways and means be confulted for putting a speedy end to this war, the directory of Mentz would not be wanting to give an opportunity for delibe ration. : All the envoys, without waiting any farther instructions from their courts and constituents, voted, and almost every vote was for the acceleration of peace. The archducal, Austrian, and electoral Bohemian vote, deviated, however, in several respects from the other votes, and was to the following purport: Vote of the Emperor as Archduke of Austria and Elector of Bohemia. The present difasters of the war have chiefly arifen, because the well meant admonitions of his majefty, the Roman Emperor, to make common and well-connected preparations of defence in due feafon, have not been fufficiently attended to; nor have the most recent conclufa, after the first fruitless overtures for peace, as yet been put in force, all which has enabled the enemy to turn every favourable incident to promote their progress, supported by their numbers. A firm and fincere union of all the states to preserve the Germanic constitution, is therefore the only efficient remedy to bring the enemy to more equitable sentiments, and to a similar readiness to make peace, and from that conftitutional concord alone the accomplishment of a fo much defired general, equitable, and just peace, can be with confidence expected. That his majesty the Roman Emperor wishes nothing more than to put an end to the burdens of this heavy war, his Majesty has already proved. His Majesty's wisdom merits likewise the most perfect confidence that no resource of obtaining a fuitable peace shall be left untried, and no favourable opportunity for it neglected. The following advice of the empire, respecting a speedy overture for peace, was drawn up on the 30th ult. and immediately sent to Vienna. Advice of the Empire. The present situation of Germany having been taken into confideration, and formerly debated upon, all the three colleges of the empire have deemed and refolved: That the wish repeatedly manifested of terminating the ruinous war, which is still prosecuting, by means of an acceptable peace with France, be again laid before his Imperial Majesty, with the most respectful confidence in his Majesty's paternal care for the empire, and that his Majesty be most urgently and serioufly requested, agreeably to the advice of the empire already given with regard to that object, to accelerate it in his wisdom, by those means and overtures which are the most proper, and to realize the speedy negociation by adding the deputation of the empire in the peace to be thus concluded. Besides this advice of the empire, it was also refolved to send the envoys of Wurtemberg, Bamberg, and Wurtsburg, Barons Seckendorff and Gross, as deputies to the French generals. They left this place on Saturday night, the Count de Bernstorff, belonging to the Prussian legation, having preceded them thither, at the request of the Pruffian, Swedish, Danish, and Heffian embaffies. As far as we know those two deputies are charged to obtain of the French generals neutrality, and safety of persons and property, as well for the diet of the empire, its archives and officers, as for the imperial city of Ratisbon, and its inhabitants. In the conference on Thursday last some envoys declared, that if a neutrality could not be obtained, it would be best to adjourn the diet. The majority of the envoys would not however agree to this, but proposed other measures of security, upon which they conferred with the principal imperial commission, as likewife with the city, whose magiftrates were charged to issue an order for all the French emigrants to quit it. WE Ratisbon, August 6. WE have not yet learnt what success the deputations of the diet to the French generals has met with. All we know of it is, that the French general of division, Klein, has assured the Prufsian counsellor of legation, Count Bernstorf, that the deputies will be fuccessful in their negociations. Should they not be able to obtain a complete neutrality for the diet and our city, the deputies are instructed to negociate for passports for the ambassadors on their way to and from this city, for their archives and servants, as well as for the security of the inhabitants and their property. Ratisbon, August 7. THE deputation which the envoys at the diet, for the fake of their individual as well as the general safety, and on account of the neutrality of the diet, had fent to General Jourdan, seems not to have had the good effect we expected from it, because both the deputies, Messrs. Von Seckendorf and Gross, are returned already. General Jourdan seems unwilling to take, this business wholly upon himself, and is faid to have referred it to the directory at Paris, where the court of Berlin will probably intercede in behalf of the diet. Mean time the French draw nearer to this city. Summons to the Commandant of Mantua from the General Staff. Head-Quarters, Castiglione, 4th Thermidor, July 22. The General of Division, Chief of the Staff, to the Lieutenant-General of the Troops of the Emperor, commanding in Mantua. Marmizolio, 30th Mesfidor, July 18. THE general in chief of the army of Italy charges me, Sir, to write to you, that, attacked on all fides, you are not in a state long to defend the city of Mantua; that an ill-timed obstinacy would wholly ruin that unfortunate city; that the laws of war imperiously prescribe the furrender of the city; and that if, contrary to his expectations, you shall make a long resistance, you will be responsible for the blood which you will uselessly shed, for the destruction and misfortunes of that noble city; and which will force him to treat you with all the rigours of war. (Signed) BERTHIER. Reply |