TREATIES BETWEEN FRANCE AND PRUSSIA, ETC.
Although the King of Prussia had been the first of all the coalition to assail republican France, yet, in the spring of this year, he concluded a separate treaty with its democratic rulers. This treaty was settled at Basle on the fifth of April; and by it the king ceded to France all the Prussian territory on the left bank of the Rhine, and France restored to Prussia the territories that her armies had overrun on the right bank of that river. Both the contracting parties pledged themselves not to grant a passage to the enemies of the other through their territories; and all prisoners taken respectively since the war commenced were restored. All the commercial communications and relations between France and the Prussian states were re-established by this treaty on the same footing upon which they stood before the war. At a later date, on the 17th of May, a supplementary treaty was concluded at Basle, for the purpose of establishing a line of demarcation and neutrality, in order to remove the war from all the north of Germany. One link cf the chain being thus broken, others soon snapped asunder. In the early part of this year the French met with great success over the Spanish troops, and again threatened to advance even to the gates of Madrid. Dismayed and discouraged, and, moreover, urged on by a strong French party, Godoy, the prime minister, humbly sued for peace. This was granted at the price of that part of the island of Saint Domingo which the Spaniards had possessed since the time of Columbus; and the proud monarchy of Spain with its Bourbon monarch, recognised the French republic, and engaged to a reciprocity of friendship and good understanding. As a testimony of amity to his Catholic majesty, the French government agreed to accept his mediation in favour of the King of Portugal, his relatives and allies, the King of Naples, the Infanta Duke of Parma, the King of Sardinia, and the other states of Italy; and to accept his good offices in favour of other belligerent powers that should apply to him in order to enter into negociations with the French government. This example of the kings of Prussia and Spain was followed by the Grand Duke of Tuscany; and even George III., in his quality of Elector of Hanover, though he remained the most active member of the confederacy in his capacity of King of Great Britain, ordered a treaty of peace to be signed, as far as related to the electorate, as did also the Landgrave of Hesse Cassel. Moreover, the court of Sweden, and the Protestant cantons of Switzerland, recognised the French republic, as well as its dependency the Batavian republic, that is, the United States of Holland.