form you of his determination upon those points, 1749. by means of which I flatter myself you will be able to remove all groundless jealousies that the court of Versailles may have conceived thereupon. The behaviour of the Swedish court towards his Majesty, and the treatment the King's late minister, Colonel Guy Dickens, met with at Stockholm, must have necessarily been so disagreeable to his Majesty, that it cannot be wondered at that the first insinuations M. Durand made on that subject were received by the King's ministers here with an apparent coolness, especially as the person whom it is supposed the Swedish ministry intended to send hither is one who cannot possibly be looked upon as agreeable to the King, or who can be supposed on account of his former conduct to be likely to reestablish that harmony between the two nations which has been unfortunately interrupted by the late transactions at Stockholm. I have however leave to inform you, that you may (in case M. Puisieux shall take upon himself to answer for the court of Sweden's sending a proper person, and one that will be acceptable to the King, to his court) assure that minister that a proper subject will be pitched upon by his Majesty to go to Stockholm, upon their making the first step to a reconciliation. The opinion has so generally prevailed that his Majesty intended to send a squadron this summer into the Baltick, that it is not much to be wondered at that the French ministry have taken umbrage at it, especially as the additional number of 3000 sea 1749. men has been lately voted by Parliament. I have so fully explained myself to you on this head in my dispatch of the 27th of February last, that I must refer you to that for the reasons of the prevalency of this report; and I have now only to add that it his Majesty's pleasure you should inform M. Puisieux that it is not his intention to send any such squadron thither, provided his Majesty's allies are not attacked, nor any attempts made to destroy the liberties and subvert the form of the government of Sweden. The noble and unreserved manner in which the King explains himself to the most Christian King, doth doubtless deserve an equal and unlimited confidence in return, and I make no question of your finding the French court so thoroughly satisfied by the declarations you are now authorised to make to them, that all farther suspicions on their part with regard to our fomenting any future troubles in the north will vanish of course. Having now gone through every thing in your last dispatch, I have nothing to add but my assurances of being, &c. &c. BEDFORD. Sir, THE DUKE OF BEDFORD TO MR. YORKE. Whitehall, March 20. 1748-9. M. Zöhrern, the Empress Queen's minister at this court, having communicated to his Majesty's ministers by special orders from Vienna her Imperial Majesty's sentiments with regard to the present situation of affairs in the North and Germany, and his Majesty conceiving that the acquainting the court of France with these just and pacific sentiments of the Empress Queen cannot fail of being agreeable to his most Christian Majesty, as it must undoubtedly put an end to all jealousies that may have been conceived at Versailles of his Imperial Majesty's intentions, has directed me to acquaint you with the purport of M. Zöhrern's conversation with the Duke of Newcastle and myself. M. Zöhrern begun with saying, that his court would have been much more surprised at the alarm taken by France of their warlike intentions, were they not apprised who were the authors of such reports; that nothing can be more contrary to her intentions than the reports given out on her subject, that she is so far from wishing to raise new troubles, either in the North or in Germany, that she will, on the contrary, do all in her power to prevent them; that she will be ever faithful to her friends and allies, but that she has no offensive engagements with any power whatsoever. That her treaties are well known, and that she is 1749. 1749. so far from making a inystery of her sentiments, that she desires they may be known to all who wish to preserve the tranquillity of Europe, as she believes the treaties of other princes are agreeable to her own. That it seems strange to her that the court of France (considering the dismal calamities her subjects have suffered during the war, and the improbability there must be of her desiring them in new troubles) should give any credit to those reports which, by certain intrigues, are artfully propagated to her disadvantage; that she thinks what has already passed ought to convince the French court of the falsity of such ideas; that it would be very unfortunate if, upon suppositions absolutely false, measures equally false, and contrarient to the end for which it is said they are designed, should be taken; that the Empress Queen cannot reproach herself with not having sincerely reconciled herself with the Powers who formerly declared themselves her enemies; that she still persists in the same pacifick system, though she feels that, whilst credit is given to those who secretly wish her ill, this assurance may possibly fail of the effect she desires from it. That the court of Dresden is able to undeceive the court of France with regard to the Empress Queen's having no joint intention with them to dis turb the publick tranquillity, and she leaves that work to them, contenting herself in acting conformably in every respect to those sentiments which, during the negociations at Aix, Count Kaunitz had so often declared her to be inviolably attached to, Feb. 18th you 1749. |