WELLINGTON DUKE OF: (1769-1852) Anglo-Irish Field Marshal & British Prime Minister 1828-30, 1834. An excellent, long A.L.S., Wellington, seven pages, 4to, Stratfield Saye, 8th April 1828, to Mr. Grant, marked Confidential. Wellington states that he had wanted to consult the Treaty of Vienna before replying to his correspondent, but does not have a copy of it at Stratfield Saye, and therefore writes from his memory only, ‘As well as I can recollect the words and spirit of the Treaty of Vienna the King of the Netherlands has no right any more than the King of Prussia, or any other Sovereign on the banks of the Rhine to…[prevent]…foreign built vessels or foreigners from navigating that River’ and further writing ‘I don’t believe the King of the Netherlands and all the Sovereigns on the Rhine have a right to lay a particular duty upon any particular commodity for its passage up or down the River, or its transit through their respective territories…’ although advising ‘This is as well as I recollect the spirit as well as the letter of the Treaty. But upon this point you had better consult somebody more capable of giving an opinion than I can be; such as….the Lord Chancellor’. Wellington further adds ‘I don’t know whether you have read the papers which you have sent to me; but I confess that I cannot find any objection on the part of the Prussian Govt…on the contrary I should say that the two parties had now agreed upon every point; and that the King of the Netherlands had now a right to claim the cooperation and support of the King of Prussia in the commission…However I may be mistaken’ and continues ‘This question of the navigation of the Rhine is a very delicate one. The King of the Netherlands is very sore about it; and I know that the Emperor of Russia is disposed to favour…the strict performance of the conditions imposed upon him by the Treaty of Vienna; and I believe this to be the reason why the King of Prussia appears to be so little difficult’. Wellington remarks that Baron Bulow should come to them confidentially, explaining ‘The first thing for us to do is to be quite certain that we are right; and that we cannot be excluded from the navigation of the Rhine. Let us then look at the whole of the proposed regulations; and see which are inconsistent with the principles of the Treaty; and are important to us. Having this information we shall know what our case is; and shall be better able to judge than I am at present what we ought to do’, further offering advise to his correspondent on what to tell Bulow and concluding ‘I have no objection to the employment of Mr. Addington in a more advanced state of this business. But whatever we may do at the Court of the Netherlands should be through the Ambassador’. A letter of fine content. The final page is lightly mounted at the head to a page removed from an album. Some light age wear and a couple of very neat splits at a few folds, not affecting the text or signature. About VG

The Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by held in Vienna from September 1814 to June 1815. The objective of the Congress was to provide a long-term peace for Europe by settling critical issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. The goal was not simply to restore old boundaries, but to resize the main powers so they could balance each other off and remain at peace. France lost all its recent conquests, while Prussia, Austria and Russia made major territorial gains. Prussia added smaller German states in the west, Austria gained Venice and much of northern Italy. Russia gained parts of Poland. The new kingdom of the Netherlands had been created just months before, and included formerly Austrian territory that in 1830 became Belgium. One of the main provisions in the final act was the freedom of navigation being guaranteed for many rivers,notably the Rhine, as discussed in the present letter, and the Danube.

Heinrich Freiherr von Bulow (1792-1846) Prussian Statesman and Diplomat. Ambassador to London from 1827, Bulow was trusted by many British statesman, as demonstrated in Wellington's letter.