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1718.

VII. And whereas the Czar promises to procure to the King and the Crown of Sweden what fhall be for his Convenience in another Part, and to indemnify him entirely, his Swedifh Majefty yields to the Czar and to the Crown of Ruffia for ever, &c.

N. B. Baron Gortz has not named thofe Ceffions in the Project, referring them to the Pleasure and Decifion of the King of Sweden; but it is evident, by the Line above-mention'd, that they were to confift of Part of Carelia, all Estonia, Livonia, and Ingria,

Baron Gortz's Plan of Execution.

Whereas it is ftipulated in the Treaty with

Czar, that the Peace with Pruffia fhall be concluded in fome Manner or other; Prufia muft neceffarily be engaged in this Plan.

I. Immediately after the Conclufion of the Peace, the King of Sweden, the Czar, and the King of Pruffia, fhall endeavour to bring together as much Shipping as is neceffary for transporting forty Thousand Men, and thofe Ships fhall be in Sweden before the Winter, that they may be put in a Condition to ferve for transporting thofe Forces as foon as the Sea fhall be open.

II. In the mean Time, the Czar fhall keep in Readiness the Men of War ftipulated by the Auxiliary Treaty, to the End they may be able to join the Swedish Fleet as foon as the Sea shall be open.

III. Likewife the Czar fhall take care, that the Body of Auxiliary Forces, from twenty to twenty-five thoufand Men, defigned for Mecklenbourg, be actually there before the Arrival of the Tranfports from Sweden.

IV. When

IV. When all these Forces fhall have join'd on the other Side, the Body of Ruffians fhall march directly to the Country of Luneburg, with whom the King of Sweden fhall cause 6000 Heffians to join, and thall endeavour to get alfo fome Troops from the neighbouring Princes.

V. But the King of Sweden fhall go with his Army into Holstein and Jutland, and remain there; partly to try whether Denmark, by this Step only, may be induced to yield to Peace, and partly to be at hand to fupport the Body of Ruffians, in cafe Succours should come to the Hanoverians.

VI. The two Fleets fhall keep together all the Year, and endeavour to stop the Paffage of the Belts, to the End the Danish Troops in Holstein and Jutland may not return into Zealand, nor any be fent from thence into Holstein; and for the reft, they fhall do all that is poffible to keep the Danish Fleet shut up, and to cut off all Communication with Denmark from Abroad.

VII. In the mean Time, the Czar fhall remain with an Army of at least 60,oco Men in Poland, without declaring his true Intentions. On the contrary, under his Mediation a Treaty shall be set on Foot between the King of Sweden and King Auguftus; and that Negotiation fhall be fpun out till the Affair with Hanover and Denmark be ended. Then that of Poland fhall be jointly undertaken in Favour of Stanislaus.

VIII. As for what relates to England, the two Parties fhall take their Measures to disable the Court from engaging the Nation in any Proceedings contrary to thefe Schemes: The like shall be done with refpect to Holland.

IX. The

1718.

1718.

IX. The King of Pruffia fhall also draw together his Troops on that Side which shall be judged moft convenient for the Common Cause.

These Pieces plainly fhew, that a Defign was formed for conquering Norway. The Czar, according to thefe Plans, was obliged to affift his Swedish Majefty by Force of Arms in that Expedition; and the two contracting Parties promised to unite all their Forces against GreatBritain, if it fhould intermeddle; which feemed to have a View to the Intereft of the Pretender, and a Design of attempting an Invasion in Scotland in his Favour, after the Conqueft of Norway, which he had been fo often put in Hopes of.

The fore-mentioned Plans feem to be framed by the Muscovite Court; for it is certain that the King of Sweden was refolved to infift on the Reftitution of Livonia and Efthonia, and was very far from being willing to yield up to the Czar the important Place of Revel. But the Czar, who had a Mind to keep all his Conquefts, except Finland, caufed the faid Plans to be drawn up to his own Liking by M. Ofterman, and then gave them in Trust to Baron Gortz, in Hopes that the Confideration of the powerful Affiftance by Sea and Land, which he offered to the King of Sweden, for procuring him the Reftitution of what the other Northern Allies with-held from him, and for reftoring Stanislaus, would be enough to prevail with him to consent to the extraordinary Ceffions he demanded of him. It was known that Baron Gortz, when he left Aland to go to the King of Sweden, gave the Ruffian Plenipotentiaries to underftand, that he was

not

not without Hopes of perfwading his Swedish Majefty to accept the Plans, which he was carrying to him from the Czar.

During the Time that these Projects were in Agitation, the Czar's Refident at London continued to propofe Plans of Operations against Sweden, and to profefs his Czarish Majesty's Defire of living with the King of GreatBritain in the most strict Friendship; which Proteftations were the Cause of fending the Refident Jefferyes to Petersburgh.

He fet out from London in October: Admi ral Norris, who was ftill in the Baltick with his Squadron, had Orders to go with Mr. Jefferyes to the Czar's Court; but when the Refident arrived at Copenhagen, on the 11th of November, he found that Admiral Norris had failed with his Fleet fome Days before to return to England, which obliged him to continue his Journey alone to Petersburgh, where he did not arrive before the 15th of January, 1719.

His Inftructions were the most moderate that could be. He had Orders to make the moft obliging Return to the Advances made by the Refident Weffelowski, and to declare that, as to the Plans of Operations, they chiefly regarded the Crown of Denmark, feeing it lay most exposed, and was threaten'd on the Part of the King of Sweden with an Invasion in Norway.

However, the Refident was to intimate, that it was not easy to concert with the Czar the Operations for pufhing on the War against Sweden, at the Time when those two Powers. were actually negotiating together at Aland, and when all Europe was expecting every Moment to hear that their Peace was made.

Doubt

1718.

1718.

The Czar re

Doubtless, it must be allowed, that his Britannick Majefty could not explain himself upon the Plans of Operations, if it be confidered that he was well informed, that on the Czar's Part Concerts were demanded of him in Writing only to produce them to the Swedish Plenipotentiaries at Aland, and thereby to deter mine their Mafter to confent to a separate Peace, for which his Czarish Majefty longed fo ardently.

The Refident Jefferyes had Orders alfo, modeftly to complain of the good Reception the Jacobites ftill found at the Czar's Court, who had employed feveral of them in his Navy, and had lately confiderably augmented their Pay, for encouraging them to ftay in his Service: The Refident was likewife to complain, that the Czar's Minister at Paris had done his utmost Endeavours to divert the Regent from figning the Quadruple Alliance; when at the fame Time Prince Kurakin, in his Station, employed the moft preffing Inftances to hinder the States General from acceding to it, and was labouring to form Engagements between his Court and that of Spain.

The Czar, in the mean Time, kept exactly turns to Peters- with the King of Sweden, the Promife he had burgh. made to Baron Gortz, not to disturb his Majefty during his Expedition against Norway; and having undertaken nothing in his Sea-Campaign, returned to Petersbourgh on the 15th of September, where he found the Czarina delivered of a Princefs, who was named Natalia. His Majefty ordering his Veffels to Cronflot, and Preparations being made to lay them up and unman them, there was no Doubt made but

the

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