of a treaty upon
that sole foundation was a thing of course. The enemy did not think it
worthy of a discussion, as in truth it was not; and immediately, as
usual, they began, in the most opprobrious and most insolent manner, to
question our sincerity and good faith: whereas, in truth, there was no
one symptom wanting of openness and fair dealing. What could be more
fair than to lay open to an enemy all that you wished to obtain, and the
price you meant to pay for it, and to desire him to imitate your
ingenuous proceeding, and in the same manner to open his honest heart to
you? Here was no want of fair dealing, but there was too evidently a
fault of another kind: there was much weakness,--there was an eager and
impotent desire of associating with this unsocial power, and of
attempting the connection by any means, however manifestly feeble and
ineffectual. The event was committed to chance,--that is, to such a
manifestation of the desire of France for peace as would induce the
Directory to forget the advantages they had in the system of barter.
Accordingly, the general desire for such a peace was triumphantly
reported from the moment that Lord Malmesbury had set his foot on shore
at Calais.

It has been said that the Directory was compelled against its will to
accept the basis of barter (as if that had tended to accelerate the work
of pacification!) by the voice of all France. Had this been the case,
the Directors would have continued to listen to that voice to which it
seems they were so obedient: they would have proceeded with the
negotiation upon that basis. But the fact is, that they instantly broke
up the negotiation, as soon as they had obliged our ambassador to
violate all the principles of treaty, and weakly, rashly, and
unguardedly to expose, without any counter proposition, the whole of our
project with regard to ourselves and our allies, and without holding out
the smallest hope that they would admit the smallest part of our
pretensions.

When they had thus drawn from us all that they could draw out, they
expelled Lord Malmesbury, and they appealed, for the propriety of their
conduct, to that very France which we thought proper to suppose had
driven them to this fine concession: and I do not find that in either
division of the family of thieves, the younger branch, or the elder, or
in any other body whatsoever, there was any indignation excited, or any
tumult raised, or anything like the virulence of oppositi