STATE PAPERS.
193
eoterprizes of his enemies, feel the burden of the war.
Thefe are fads notorious to the whole empire : his majefty hath too good an opinion of the pe- netracion of his high co-eftates, to doubt of their perceiving the impo'-tance of them, and lavmg to heart what the merit he has ac- quired with the empire might have required, and ftill requires j and therefore his majefty expects that the dyet will, by way o( advice, propofe to his imperial majefty, to annul his moft inconfiitent mandates, and not only take the molt eifeftual meafures to protetl ttie electorate and the countries of his majefty, and thofe of Brunf- wick Wolfenbuttel, HelTe Cafiel, and Lippe Schauraberg, and pro- curethem a proper indemnification; but alfo give orders for thofe pro- ceedings againft the emprefs queen, as archdutchefs of Auftria, the eleftor palatine, and the Duke of "Wirtemberg, which her majefty, without being required to do it, puts in force againft his Britannic majefty, Eleftor of Brunfwick Lunenbourg. For which end the underfigned moft humbly requefts your excellencies to alk immediate- ly neceffary inftrudtions from your principals.
Can it be faid, that this was approving of a convention, and demanding an explanation fo im- portant, and fo contrary to its true meaning ? His majefty the King of Denmark had too great regard for the king, to think it juft 10 engage him to fubfcribe to that, as a confequence of the treaty figned at Clofter-feven. If Marfhal PJchelieu did not mean by his pretended words of honour, the afTurance not to begin hofti- lities before the rupture of the
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negotiation, we own we know not what he meant, at leaft that is. the fenfe in which we have ever underJlood thofe expreffions, and in which ♦e have executed the convention. The French mi- nistry know very well, that the chief point is to determine how long the obligation of the treaty ought to fublift, according to the views of the contrafting parties. Hence, fay they, it is evident, that the expreffion of final re- conciliation is made ufe of iti Article HI. only to denote that Bremen and Verden were to remain in the hands of the French till that final reconcili- ation Ihould happen. This is the fame thing as if it had beea ftipulated, that theFrench fhould remain in pofTeffion of that country till a peace. That the Duke of Cumberland knew very well that his moft Chriftian ma- jefty had formerly refufed to treat with him about a neutra- lity for Hanover; that he had therefore left out the condition of a feparate reconciliation, fear- ing that his propcfal might have caufed the convention to be re- jefted, which he had fo much intereft and honour to obtain. That it is plain, from the pre- amble to the convention, that the intention of it was to hinder the countries of Bremen and Ver- den from being any longer the theatre of the war.' His royal highnefs the Duke cf Cumberland, fo far from be- ing convinced of the impoffibility cf obtaining a feparate accommo- dation for the king, knew tha: the court of Vienna had pro- mifed her utmoft efforts to bring it about, and had even, for that pur- pofe, fent a courier ;g Verfaille$ O to
