Europe and Napoleo?i 50 1 those who would maintain an eternal war upon the conti- nent. He trusts that the French armies which have crossed the Rhine have done so for the last time, and that the peo- ple of Germany will no longer witness, except in the annals of the past, the horrible pictures of disorder, devastation, and slaughter which war invariably brings with it. His Majesty declared that he would never extend the limits of France beyond the Rhine and he has been faith- ful to his promise. At present his sole desire is so to employ the means which Providence has confided to him as to free the seas, restore the liberty of commerce, and thus assure the peace and happiness of the world. Ratisbon, August i, 1S06. Bacher. After the Treaty of Pressburg and the formation of the Confederation of the Rhine there was really nothing for the emperor to do except to lay down — which he did with some relief — the imperial crown which had belonged to his house with few intermissions since the times of Rudolf of Hapsburg. We, Francis the Second, by the grace of God Roman emperor 435. The elect, ever august, hereditary emperor of Austria, etc., king abdication of Germany, Hungary, Bohemia, Croatia, Dalmatia, Sla- ° t e ast J - o . Roman vonia, Galicia, Lodomeria, and Jerusalem; archduke of emperor Austria, etc. (August 6, 1806). Since the Peace of Pressburg all our care and attention has been directed towards the scrupulous fulfillment of all engagements contracted bv the said treatv, as well as the preservation of peace, so essential to the happiness of our subjects, and the strengthening in every way of the friendly relations which have been happily reestablished. We could but await the outcome of events in order to determine whether the important changes in the German empire re- sulting from the terms of the peace would allow us to fulfill the weighty duties which, in view of the conditions of our election, devolve upon us as the head of the empire.
