Papers prefented to the House of Commons by Lord Hawkesbury, refpecting Egypt. N. B. The Proclamation of Sir Sidney Smith has not been found in any of the Public Offices. No. I. Secret Order to Vice-admiral Lord Keith; dated 15th December 1799. By the Commiffioners for executing the Office of Lord High Admiral of Great Britain and Ireland, &c. W HEREAS the Right Honourable Lord Grenville, one of his Majefty's principal Secretaries of State, has acquainted us by his letter of this day's date, that a dispatch has been received from Lord Elgin, his Majefty's Ambaffador at Conftantinople, ftating that the commander of the French army in Egypt had made proposals to the Turkish government, offering to evacuate that country, upon condition of being fuffered to return unmolefted to France; that the Turkish government appeared difpofed to acquiefce in this offer, and that application had been made to his Lordship, requesting him to grant paffports for this purpose: and whereas, in confequence of this information, Lord Grenville has fignified to us his Majefty's commands, that inftructions fhould be given to the commander in chief of his Majefty's fleet in the Mediterranean, enjoining him not to confent, on any account, to the return of the French army to France, or to their capitulating in any other manner, than jointly to the allied powers, whofe forces are employed against them, or upon any other terms than that of giving up their arms, and furrendering as prifoners of war to the allied forces fo employed; your Lordship is hereby required and directed, in pursuance of his Majefty's commands as above fignified, to govern yourself accordingly, and on no account to confent to the return of the French army in Egypt to France, or to their capitulating, excepting on the conditions above fpecified. In cafe of the furrender of the army on those terms, your Lordfhip is on no account to admit of the return to France of the officers, or any part of the army, on an engagement not to ferve until exchanged; the fallacy of all fuch engagements, and the bad faith with which they have been obferved by the enemy, having been proved by repeated inftances, particularly in the cafe of the feamen taken in the battle of the Nile, and afterwards landed in Egypt; but in any fuch capitulation, to take care that a ftipulation be made for the actual detention of the officers and men, as prisoners of war, in fome part of the territories of the allied powers, until they fhall be exchanged; that the veffels of every defcription, belonging to the enemy, in the port of Alexandria, thall alfo be furrendered, and be divided amongst the allies, in proportion to the naval force which each of them may have employed at that time in the the blockade of Alexandria, or in any other operations against the enemy. If it should so happen, that his Majesty's ambassador at Conftantinople thould have granted paffports before his Majefty's pleasure in this refpect can have been fignified to him, your Lordthip is in fuch cafe to direct the commanders of his Majefty's fhips of war under your orders, who may fall in with any veffels having on board any of the enemy's troops, and being furnished with fuch paffports, to declare to the commanding officer of fuch troops, that the faid paffports are of no validity, not being given, as the laws of war require, by perfons having any authority for that purpofe; but that in this cafe they fhould not exercife any other act of hoftility against fuch fhips, or the troops therein embarked, than what may be neceffary in order to compel the veffel to return with the troops to Alexandria. Your Lordship is to communicate thefe determinations by a flag of truce, with as little delay as poffible, to the French army in Egypt; unless you, or the officer employed by you for that purpose, shall have certain information that the whole negotiation has been broken off, and that there is no longer any queftion of such separate and unauthorized capitulation. Given under our hands, the 15th December 1799. Right Hon. Lord Keith, K. B. Vice-admiral of the Red, &c. &c. c. Mediterranean. By command of their Lordships, EVAN NEPEAN. No. 2. SPENCER. Secret Order to Vice-admiral Lord Keith; dated 28th March 1800. By the Commiffioners for executing the Office of Lord High Admiral of Great Britain and Ireland, &c. THE Right Honourable Lord Grenville, one of his Majefty's principal Secretaries of State, having, in his letter of this day's date, acquainted us, that in confequence of the information contained in the difpatches lately received from your Lordship, the Earl of Elgin, and Sir Sidney Smith, relative to the capitulation of the French army in Egypt, his Majesty had been pleased to fignify his commands, that inftructions fhould be tranfmitted to your Lordfhip, expreffing his Majefty's difapprobation of the terms entered into by the faid capitulation, thofe terms appearing to his Majefty to be more advantageous to the enemy than their fituation entitled them to expect, and being likely to prejudice the interefts of the allies, by restoring to the French government the fervices of a confiderable and difciplined body of troops; that befides this objection to 2 to the terms, his Majefty does not confider Captain Sir Sidney Smith as having been authorized either to enter into or to fanction any fuch agreement in his Majefty's name, that officer having had no fpecial authority for that purpose, and the cafe not being one in which the Captain commanding his Majesty's thips on the coast of Egypt, ought to have taken upon himself to enter into an agreement of this nature, without the fanction of his commanding officer; but that, as the General commanding the enemy's troops appears to have treated him as a perfon whom he bonâ fide conceived to poffefs fuch authority, and as a part of the treaty was immediately to be executed by the enemy, fo that by annulling this tranfaction (in as far as his Majefty's officer was a party thereto) the enemy could not be replaced in the fame fituation in which he before ftood, his Majefty, from a fcrupulous regard to the public faith, has judged it proper that his officers fhould abftain from any act inconfiftent with the engagements to which Captain Sir Sidney Smith has erroneously given the fanction of his Majesty's name. And whereas Lord Grenville has at the fame time acquainted us, that with this view he shall tranfmit to the Earl of Elgin his Majefty's commands to fettle with the Porte, the form of a paffport to be given in the name of his Majesty, not as a party to the capitulation, but as an ally to the Porte; and that it is his Majefty's farther pleafure the faid paffports, as well as thofe which may have been in the interval (however informally) granted by Sir Sidney Smith, are to be refpected by his Majefty's officers; but that although, from the confideration above mentioned, his Majesty does not think proper to obftruct the execution of this treaty by the Porte in the manner therein ftipulated, he does not feel himself bound to authorize his officers to take any active part in it, or to furnish any convoy or tranfports for its execution, or to take any other fhare in carrying it into effect; yet, if any application fhould be made to your Lordship for liberty to fend carte! thips from France to Egypt, for the tranfport of the army under the capitulation, your Lordfhip is to grant fuch paffports accordingly, under fuch reftrictions and precautions as you may judge neceffary, according to circumstances to prevent this liberty being abused to any other purpofe, we do, in purfuance of his Majesty's commands as above fignified, hereby require and direct your Lordfhip to govern yourself accordingly, and to give the neceffary orders in confequence to the commanders of his Majefty's fhips and veffels under your command, taking care at the fame time to apprize Captain Sir Sidney Smith, of his Majefty's pleafure on the fubject of his proceedings herein; and in cafe your Lordship should see any ground to apprehend any intention on the part of the Turks, or of the Ruffians, to prevent the execution of the capitulation, or to commit any act of hoftility against the French army, either before or after its embarkation, we do farther direct your Lordship, in fuch cafe, to use your utmost endeavours to perfuade them to all fuch measures as may be most confiftent with the faithful obfervance of the engagement contracted with the enemy. Given under our hands, the 28th March 1800. To the Right Honourable Lord Keith, K. B. By command of their Lordships, No. 4. SPENCER. Convention for the Evacuation of Egypt, concluded between Citizens Deffaix, General of Divifion, and Pouffielque, Adminiftrator-general of Finance, Plenipotentiaries on the Part of the General in Chief Kleber; and their Excellencies Moustafa Rejchid Effendy Tefterdar, and Mouftafa Raffiche Effendy Rainful Kiuttab, Minifters Plenipotentiary on the Part of his Highness the Supreme Vizier. THE French army in Egypt, wishing to give a proof of its defire to stop the effufion of blood, and to terminate the unhappy difference which has arifen between the French republic and the Sublime Porte, confents to vacuate Egypt agreeably to the terms of the prefent convention, hoping that this conceffion may lead to the general pacification of Europe. Article I. The French army will withdraw itself, with arms, baggage, and effects, to Alexandria, Rofetta, and Aboukir, in order to be there embarked and fent to France, as well in its own fhips as in those it may be neceffary for the Sublime Porte to furnith for this purpofe; and in order that thefe fhips may be the more fpeedily prepared, it is agreed, that one month after the ratification of the prefent convention, a commiffary with a fuite of fifty perfons fhall be fent on the part of the Sublime Port to the caftle of Alexandria. II. There shall be an armistice in Egypt during three months, counting from the date of fignature of the prefent convention; and in cafe of the truce expiring before the faid fhips to be furnished by the Sublime Porte fhall be ready, the truce fhall be prolonged until the embarkation be completely effected. It is understood, that all poffible means fhall be employed to prevent the tranquillity of the army and inhabitants, who are the objects of this truce, from being disturbed. III. The tranfportation of the French army fhall take place conformably to the regulations of the commiffaries named for that purpofe by the Sublime Porte, and by the General in Chief Kleber; and if at the embarkation any difcuffion fhould arise upon this fubject between the commillaries, another fhall be named by Commodore Commodore Sir Sidney Smith, who fhall decide the difference according to the maritime regulations of England. IV. The forts of Cathie and Salahié fhall be delivered up by the French troops on the eighth day, or at fartheft on the tenth day after the ratification of the prefent convention. The town of Manfoura shall be evacuated on the fifteenth day; Damietta and Belbeys on the twenticth day; Suez fhall be evacuated fix days previous to the evacuation of Cairo; the other places fituated on the eastern bank of the Nile, fhall be evacuated on the tenth day; the Delta fhall be evacuated fifteen days after the evacuation of Cairo; the western bank of the Nile and its dependencies fhail remain in the hands of the French until the evacuation of Cairo ; and moreover, as thefe places are to be occupied by the French army until the troops fhall have retired from Upper Egypt, the faid wettern bank and its dependencies need not be evacuated till the expiration of the truce, if it fhould be impoffible to evacuate them fooner. The places evacuated by the army fhall be delivered to the Sublime Porte in the state they are now in. V. The town of Cairo fhall be evacuated in the space of forty days, if it be poffible, and at the fartheft in forty-five days, counting from the day of the ratification of the prefent Convention. VI. It is exprefsly agreed, that the Sublime Porte fhall take fpecial care that the French troops from the different places on the western bank of the Nile, who fhall retire with arms and baggage towards their head quarters, fhall not be disturbed or molested during their march, in their perfons, their property,, or their honour, either by the inhabitants of Egypt, or by the troops of the Imperial Ottoman army. VII. In confequence of the above article, and to prevent all diffenfion or hoftilities, measures fhall be taken to keep the Turkish troops always at a fufficient diftance from the French troops. VIII. As foon as the prefent convention fhall be ratified, all the Turks, and people of other nations, without diftinction, who are fubjects of the Sublime Porte, and are imprifoned or detained in France, or that are in the power of the French in Egypt, fhall be fet at liberty; and reciprocally all Frenchmen detained or imprifoned in the towns and ports of the Ottoman empire, as well as all perfons of whatever nation they be, who are attached to the French legations and confulfhips, thall be alfo set at liberty. IX. The reftitution of the property and poffeffions of the inha bitants and fubjects on both fides, or the reimbursement of their 'value to the proprietors, fhall commence immediately after the evacuation of Egypt, and fhall be fettled at Conftantinople, by commiffaries named refpectively for that object. X. No inhabitant of Egypt, of whatever religion he may be, hall |