suspend hostilities, to
grant an indemnity to the King of Sardinia, to allow Britain to occupy
Lampedusa, and fully to assure "the independence of Europe," if France
retained her present frontiers. But when the Russian envoy, Markoff,
urged him to crown these proposals by allowing Britain to hold Malta
for a certain time, thereafter to be agreed upon, he firmly refused to
do so on his own initiative, for that would soil his honour: but he
would view with resignation its cession to Britain if that proved to
be the award of Alexander. Accordingly Markoff wrote to his colleague
at London, assuring him that the peace of the world was now once again
assured by the noble action of the First Consul.[260]

Were these proposals prompted by a sincere desire to assure a lasting
peace, or were they put forward as a device to gain time for the
completion of the French naval preparations? Evidently they were
completely distrusted by the British Government, and with some reason.
They were nearly identical with the terms formulated in the British
ultimatum, which Napoleon had rejected. Moreover, our Foreign Office
had by this time come to suspect Alexander. On June 23rd Lord
Hawkesbury wrote that it might be most damaging to British interests
to place Malta "at the hazard of the Czar's arbitration"; and he
informed the Russian ambassador, Count Vorontzoff, that the aim of the
French had obviously been merely to gain time, that their explanations
were loose and unsatisfactory, and their demands inadmissible, and
that Great Britain could not acknowledge the present territories of
the French Republic as permanent while Malta was placed in
arbitration. In fact, our Government feared that, when Malta had been
placed in Alexander's hands, Napoleon would lure him into oriental
adventures and renew the plans of an advance on India. Their fears
were well founded.

Napoleon's preoccupation was always for the East: on February 21st,
1803, he had charged his Minister of Marine to send arms and
ammunition to the Suliotes and Maniotes then revolting against the
Sultan; and at midsummer French agents were at Ragusa to prepare for a
landing at the mouth of the River Cattaro.[261] With Turkey rent by
revolt, Malta placed as a pledge in Russian keeping, and Alexander
drawn into the current of Napoleon's designs, what might not be
accomplished? Evidently the First Consul could expect more from this
course of events than from barren strifes with Nelson