here
when Burke, who by voice and pen had so long warned England to have no
peace with France, died on July 9. Here, wrote Canning, "there is but
one event, but that is an event for the world--Burke is dead". One of
the five French directors was a constitutional royalist, another,
Carnot, was inclined to that side, the other three were jacobins. A
struggle was impending between this jacobin triumvirate and the majority
in the councils. The success of Malmesbury's mission depended on its
issue. England's need of peace may be gauged by Pitt's offers of the
recognition of the French sovereignty over Belgium, Luxemburg, Savoy,
and Nice, of the cession of all her conquests from France, Spain, and
Holland, except Trinidad and the Cape, and of an exchange for Ceylon. In
the discussions of the cabinet Grenville opposed Pitt's pacific policy,
and as he found that the contents of Malmesbury's despatches became
known out of doors, and that Pitt was enabled to support his opinions by
the opinions of others, he arranged that Malmesbury's specially secret
communications should be withheld from his colleagues generally, and
they were only seen by himself, Pitt, and Canning,[277] the
under-secretary for foreign affairs. Difficulties were raised by the
French as to the royal style "King of Great Britain and France," the
restitution of, or an equivalent for, the ships taken or destroyed at
Toulon, and the retention of any conquests from the Dutch.

The negotiations were prolonged, for Malmesbury hoped that the majority
in the councils would prove stronger than the triumvirate, and the
triumvirs would not break them off before they had secured their
position. During their progress Portugal, England's sole remaining ally,
made a separate peace. A _coup d'etat_ was effected by the army on
September 4 (18th Fructidor); the royalist and moderate deputies were
condemned to transportation, two new directors were chosen, and the
jacobin, or war party, was established in power. New commissioners were
sent to Lille, and on the 14th Malmesbury was asked if he would agree to
the restitution of every conquest made from France and her allies. He
replied that that was beyond his powers, and was ordered to depart in
twenty-four hours. After this abrupt termination of Malmesbury's mission
the former friendly and confidential relations between Pitt and
Grenville were fully restored. The _coup d'etat_ baffled Pitt's efforts.
It was followed by the conclusi