15th Dec. Joint Note. Exclusion of Members of Royal Families 340. 1863. 27th Feb. Additional Boundary Convention between France and 341..... 20th Mar. Greek Decree. Cessation of British Protectorate over PAGE 1525 1528 Ionian Islands. (Athens.) 1530 12th May Treaty between Belgium and Netherlands. Scheldt Toll. (Hague.). .... 1532 .... 16th May Protocol between Great Britain, France, and Russia. 344. 27th May Protocol between Great Britain, France, and Russia. 345..... 5th June Protocol between Great Britain, France, Russia, and Denmark. Greek Succession. Annexation of Ionian Islands to Greece. (London.).. ... ... .... ... ... .... 346. 26th June Protocol between Great Britain, France, and Russia. Guarantee of Greek Independence. Ionian Islands. Greek Loan. (London.) 347..... 13th July Treaty between Great Britain, &c., and Denmark. Danish Succession to the Throne of Greece. Ionian Islands. (London.) 348. .... 16th July Treaty between Great Britain, &c., and Belgium. Redemption of the Scheldt Toll. (Brussels.) 349. 16th July Protocol between Great Britain, &c., and Belgium. De. claration of Netherlands of 15th July, 1863. Scheldt Toll. (Brussels.) 350..... 1st Aug. Protocol between Great Britain, Austria, &c. (5 Powers). 1544 1545 1550 1557 1559 1561 .... 352. .... 3rd Aug. Protocol between Great Britain, France, Russia, and Den mark. King of the Hellenes. (London.) 1563 ..... 353. 13th Oct. Protocol between Great Britain, France, Russia, and Den- 354..... 19th Oct. Decision of Assembly of Ionian States in favour of Union 355. 14th Nov. Treaty between Great Britain, Austria, &c. (5 Powers.) Ionian Islands. Treaty of 5th November, 1815, annulled. (London.) .. 356..... Nov. Correspondence between Great Britain and France. Proposed Congress for Preservation of Peace of Europe 1575 ERRATA. VOL. II. Page 819, heading, line 3, for Straits of Constantinople and Bosphorus, read Dardanelles and Bosphorus. 869) Art. 21, for present heading read Amnesty. 936, heading to page, for Moldavia and Wallachia read Asiatic Boundary. 937, line 2, after Moldavia and Wallachia read Asiatic Boundary. 1012, note, for 1018, read 1021. ,, 1051, Art. V, Sect. I, for "Lucca to Modena," read "Modena to 1327 1327 top line for 19th Aug., read May—Aug. ,, 1383, line 2, for as high read as far as the height of. ,, 1393, last line but 3, for as high read as far as the height of. 1451, Austria omitted from Title. ,, 1467, Art. XVI, for 188 and 100 read 50,000 and 1.800. [War. Russia and Turkey.] No. 138.-DECLARATION of War by Russia against Turkey. St. Petersburgh, 14th April, 1828. (Translation as laid before Parliament.*) ALL the wishes of Russia to remain at Peace with a neighbouring Nation have proved vain. Notwithstanding her great patience, and the most costly sacrifices, she has been obliged to confide to arms the defence of her rights in the Levant, and to impress on the Ottoman Porte respect for existing Treaties. She will therefore develope the motives, at once imperative and just, which impose on her the melancholy necessity of such a resolution. Sixteen years have elapsed since the Peace of Bucharest ;† and for the same period we have seen the Porte act contrary to the stipulations of that Treaty, evade its promises, or indefinitely delay the fulfilment of them. The irrefragable proofs which the Imperial Cabinet will adduce of this infatuated hostile tendency of the policy of the Divan, are but too numerous. On more than one occasion, particularly in 1821, the Porte assumed with respect to Russia, a character of open provocation and hostility. For these three months past, it has again assumed this character, by formal acts and measures which are notorious to all Europe. On the same day that the Ministers of the 3 Powers, united by a disinterested engagement in the cause of Religion and of suffering humanity, expressed at their departure from Constantinople an ardent wish that Peace might be preserved,―on the same day when they pointed out the easy means of attaining that object, and when the Porte in the same manner protested its pacific dispositions; on that very day the Porte called upon all nations professing the Mahometan faith to take up arms against Russia, denouncing her as the implacable enemy of Islamism, accusing her of a design to overthrow the Ottoman Empire; and finally, announcing its resolution to negotiate for the sole purpose of preparing for War, and its determination never to fulfil some of the essential Articles of the Treaty of Ackermann 1826, No. 131), which it declared, at the same time, that it concluded with no other design than that of breaking it. The For French Version, see "State Papers," vol. xv, p. 656. +(9th May, 1812). See Appendix. 25th September, 7th October, [War. Russia and Turkey.] Porte well knew that by so doing, it would also violate all preceding Treaties, the renewal of which was expressly stipulated by that of Ackermann; but it had already taken its resolution and determined its line of conduct. are Scarcely had the Sultan thus spoken to the vassals of his Crown, when the privileges of the Russian flag were violated, the ships covered by it were detained, their cargoes sequestrated, their Commanders obliged to dispose of them at prices arbitrarily fixed, the amount of an incomplete and tardy payment reduced to onehalf; and even the subjects of His Imperial Majesty were soon after compelled either to descend into the class of Rayas, or to leave in a body the dominions of the Ottoman Porte. Meanwhile the Bosphorus is closed, the trade of the Black Sea fettered, the Russian towns, whose existence depends upon that trade, in imminent danger of ruin, and the southern provinces of the Emperor's dominions lose the only channel for the exportation of their produce, and the only maritime communication which, by promoting the exchange of their commodities, could render their labour productive, and promote industry and prosperity. Even the boundaries of Turkey did not limit the action of these hostile sentiments. At the same time that they broke forth at Constantinople, General Paskewitch, after the conclusion of a glorious campaign, was negotiating a Peace with Persia, the conditions of which were already accepted by the Court of Teheran. On a sudden, he was surprised at delays which succeeded to the eagerness which had hitherto been shown for the conclusion of a Convention, which had been already approved by both parties in all its particulars. These delays were followed by exceptions to the terms of the Treaty, and these exceptions by warlike demonstrations; and the conduct of the neighbouring Pachas who hastily took up arms, on the one hand, and on the other, authentic information and positive confessions, revealed to us the secret of the promise of a diversion, which was to force new efforts upon us. Thus the Turkish Government in its Proclamations announced its intention of breaking its Treaties with Russia, while it already set them at nought by its actions: thus it taught Russia to expect war at no remote period; it had in fact already begun it against her subjects and her commerce. Where war was just extinguished, it tried to rekindle it. Russia will not dwell on the motives which render it imperative upon her to refuse to tolerate such evidently hostile actions, |