It was the policy of the French court, whilst the war lasted, to keep up appearances with the exiled family, so as to encourage the belief that it really intended to aid in its restoration. This notion was strengthened by the appointment of Lord Ogilvy and Lochiel to the command of regiments; and the fears of an invasion after Charles’s return to France are said to have delayed for a time the embarkation of the British troops for Flanders. This system of intimidation would in all probability have been persevered in had not France become tired of a war which had exhausted her treasury, destroyed her commerce, and almost annihilated her navy. The confederates were equally weary of a war in which they had reaped neither honour nor advantage, and they therefore gladly availed themselves of an offer of pacification made by France. The belligerent powers accordingly agreed to hold a congress, which was opened at Aix-la-Chapelle in March 1748.
Charles now saw that all hope of an immediate restoration was at an end, and must have perceived, from the strong desire which existed in France for peace, and the low state to which that kingdom was reduced by the war, that his interests would form no bar in the way of a general pacification.
The first public step which Charles took to mark his displeasure with the conduct of the French government, in suing for a peace, was of a very decided character. When the congress of Aix-la-Chapelle was about to assemble, he gave instructions to the Sieur Roettier to strike a medal with his head, and the inscription, “Carolus Walliæ Princeps” (Charles Prince of Wales); and on the reverse the figure Britannia and a fleet of war-vessels, with the significant motto, “Amor et Spes Britanniæ” (The Love and Hope of Britain).
When the medal appeared it created a great sensation in France, and many of the French nobility were deeply offended at the device and motto, which they regarded as an insult offered to the nation. The prince of Conti, in particular, who was accounted one of the proudest men in all France, showed his chagrin on the occasion. Meeting Charles one day in the Luxembourg Gardens, Conti observed to Charles, with an air of pleasantry, under which a sneer was observed to lurk, that the device of his medal was not just so applicable as some persons might at first suppose, as the British navy had not shown any particular friendship for him. Charles, who at once perceived the censure, immediately replied, “That is true, Prince! but I am, nevertheless, the friend of the navy against all its enemies; as I shall always look upon the glory of England as my own, and her glory is in her navy.” About the time the medal was struck Charles sat for his portrait to Tocqué, the eminent painter, which was immediately engraved by Wille, the celebrated engraver, with the title “Carolus Walliæ Princeps.”
On the 30th of April, the preliminaries of a general peace were signed by the ministers of Great Britain, France, and the United Provinces, the basis of which was a general restitution of the conquests which had been made during the war. A suspension of arms almost immediately followed the signing of the preliminaries. Charles was not aware that the preliminaries had been signed till some time after the suspension of arms, and he consoled himself with the vain hope that peace was not so near at hand as was generally supposed.[1333]
During the negotiations Charles still went to court, though not so frequently as before, and always endeavoured to avoid any personal interviews with the king; but when informed of the signing of the preliminaries, he gave up his visits entirely. His father, and the adherents of his family, expected that he would no longer remain in a kingdom which was now again to sacrifice the interests of his house; but instead of evincing any disposition to depart, he gave a decided indication of fixing himself in Paris, by hiring a splendid hotel upon the Quai de Theatin for himself and his principal friends, in order, as he said, to be near the opera, play-house, and the other places of public diversion in Paris. To show how little he regarded the proceedings at Aix-la-Chapelle, he appeared much gayer than usual, and when any person alluded, in his presence, to the congress, he seemed not to regard the matter, and waived the subject by singing or introducing some different topic of conversation.
To show, however, that he was not indifferent to his rights, Charles drew up a protest against any stipulation which might be entered into by the contracting parties, contrary to these rights, of which he sent a copy to the king of France, enclosed in a letter from himself. The Chevalier de St George, in ignorance of Charles’s protest, also published one in his own name, agreeably to a practice which he and his father, king James II., had followed, whenever any treaty with Great Britain was entered into.
After the preliminaries were signed, Louis took an early opportunity of intimating to Charles that he had renewed the engagements which he and his grandfather had formerly come under to the British government, in relation to the House of Stuart; but Charles, in his protest, entirely overlooked the stipulation which regarded his intended expulsion from the French territories. Louis probably expected that this hint would have been sufficient to induce Charles to quit France, but, as he indicated no intention to remove, the Marquis de Puyzieux, by desire of the king, sent a requisition in writing, to which he demanded an answer. Charles returned an evasive answer to M. de Puyzieux’s note the same day.
After this answer, matters appear to have remained in statu quo till October, on the 7th of which month the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle was finally concluded and signed. By this treaty the contracting parties agreed, without any limitation, to a literal insertion of the fifth article of the quadruple alliance, by which it was stipulated that neither the “Pretender,” nor any of his descendants, should be allowed to reside within the territories belonging to any of the parties to the treaty. Meanwhile Louis was looking out for a suitable asylum for Charles Edward. Knowing that the prince had declared that he would never return to Italy, he directed M. de Courteille, his envoy to the Cantons of Switzerland, to ask a residence for Charles in the city of Fribourg. The regency complied with the request, but Mr. Barnaby, the British minister to the Helvetic body, violently opposed the plan, and presented a remonstrance to the magistracy of Fribourg, couched in such terms as to draw upon him the censure of the regency.
The next person selected by Louis to act as negotiator with Charles was the Cardinal de Tencin, who was supposed to have some influence with him. The cardinal delivered the message with which he had been intrusted in the most delicate manner, and endeavoured to convince Charles, by a variety of arguments, of the regret the king felt at having been obliged to accede to the objectionable articles of the treaty. To reconcile Charles to the measure, the cardinal, it is said, hinted that the treaty might possibly be of short endurance, and that the prince might afterwards return to France with brighter prospects, but the cardinal left Charles without obtaining any satisfaction. Desirous of avoiding extremities, the king waited about two weeks in expectation that Charles would depart; but being informed that he made no preparations for his departure, he sent the Duke de Gesvres, the governor of Paris, with a message similar to that delivered by the cardinal. The duke, however, got as little satisfaction as the cardinal, and on a second interview, the prince absolutely refused to quit the country, and told the duke that there was a treaty prior to that of Aix-la-Chapelle between him and the king, from which he could not depart with honour.