My Lord

I am at length enabled to redispatch Brooks with the answer of the Empress to His Majestys prepositions and I wish with all my heart my prediction had not proved true. [Count Ostermann this morning communicated to me the purpose of the Instructions transmitted by this opportunity to Count Woronzow, and which contain nothing more than a mere reference to those lately communicated to Your Grace I which Her Imperial Majesty absolutely refuses admitting the principle of the Status quo, and consents only to accept His Majesty’s Good Offices, in as much as they may tend to procure for Her the indemnification She requires of Oczakow and its district;] Count Osterman did not neglect this opportunity of repeating all his arguments in favour of the demands of his Sovereign, and the usual complaints of the harsh and unprecedented manner in which She was dictated by the Allies. This language has been too often used, both here and by Count Woronzow, to render it necessary for me to dwell much upon it, I will only remark that the Vice Chancellor seemed to wish that I might be penetrated with the idea that the Empress never would consent to the terms so arbitrarily dictated to her. He seemed persuaded or wished to appear so, that She would rather risk the event, let it be what it would, than tarnish the glory of a long an glorious reign by so disgracefull an acquiescence; and assured me repeatedly that she was determined, at all events, to stand the consequences, assured as She was of the assistance of Providence in support of her just cause, although we had deprived her of the assistance of those who were bound to stand forth in her defence. His Excellency repeated frequently and with the greatest emphasis, that his Sovereign, I might be persuaded, would never accept of the Status quo, and that I might make use of that assurance in whatever manner I might think proper. …. It appears evidently that … the Empress would never adopt the idea of the Allies unless forced to it by absolute necessity; …. It remains to be seen what steps are to be pursued in order to rend this Sovereign more disposed to listen our friendly advice, and that means restore the general tranquility on a firm and equitable basis. … The time is at last come when it is necessary that we should take a decided and final determination. Either we must resolve to force this Country to accede to our measures and accept the Status quo such as we recommend it, or we must determine upon the modifications we are willing to allow; but in either case it must come in the shape of an Ultimatum, or we shall only furnish them with an excuse for protraction, the usual resource of this Cabinet; when we talk of violent measures it is of course understood that a Fleet must be in the Baltic as early in the spring as possible, that the King of Prussia must fulfill his engagement with the Porte and means be taken immediately to decide the King of Sweden in our favour; this last I consider, as a matter of the utmost important, not so much with respect to his Great Fleet, as to his Flotilla, which might render very essential service, and to the diversion he might cause in Finland. If the more lenient means of modification be adopted, in that case it may be expected that the Empress in consideration of the advantages She might be allowed to retain should give an equivalent to His Prussian Majesty (which equivalent however must naturally be proposed by the Court of London and not by that of Berlin) to Great Britain by any advantage which may be reasonably required in the Treaty of Commerce which would of course be again brought to the carpet. I do not however take upon myself to say the Her Imperial Majesty infatuated as She is, would even accept of such a modification, and I am more inclined to think that the appearance of a Fleet would do the business more expeditiously and more effectually. In the exhausted state to which this Country is reduced, it is not natural to suppose that the Empress will be able to withstand so formidable a combination; She must undoubtedly sink under it but not till the last extremity; in the mean time great preparations are making to resist it, considerable additions are making to the fortifications at Riga and Revel, and thirty six sail of the Line are talked of to be in readiness early in the spring. The Galley fleet is likewise to be augmented, the sole command of which is given to the Prince of Nassau with the rank of Admiral and General of the Galleys; …. I make little doubt that a steady preservation on the part of the Allies, back by a good force and the acquisition of Sweden, will at last reduce this proud spirit to a line of conduct more agreeable to good policy and to humanity….. Abandoned by her Allies, destitute of internal as well as external resources, without confidence in the persons She is obliged to employ at the head of her Fleet and Army, both of which are incapable of acting against a formidable enemy, and added to this, a strong spirit of discontent against the Government and its measures prevalent throughout the Country, how can we suppose is possible that under such circumstances pride and obstinacy can maintain their ground?...

Colonel Zuboff arrived yesterday from the Army of Prince Potemkin with the important news of the Fortress of Ismael having been carried by assault on the 22 Inst. with the loss of above 20,000 Turks killed and 11,000 taken prisoners with near 200 pieces of cannon etc. whilst the Russians pretend to have lost no more than 1500 killed and wounded; this event although unimportant in itself, yet from the prodigious and wanton waste of blood with which it has been effected, may furnish an additional motive for the zeal of those who labour to put a period to the continuance of this horrid war in which the lives of thousands are most unnecessarily sacrificed…..

I take this opportunity of transmitting to your Grace

• an authentic account of the different loans and foreign debt contracted by this Country
• a state of the forces which are to be employed in Livonia, white Russia, and the Ukraine
• a plan of the harbor of Revel and that of Baltic port, and
• the best chart which I have been able to procure of the Gulph of Finland this is in Russian characters

……

I have the honour to be

With the greatest respect

My Lord

Your Graces

Most obedient and

Most humble Servant

Charles Whitworth

His Grace the Duke of Leeds etc etc etc