The Allied Powers do not wage war against France, but against the preponderance that has been so loudly proclaimed; that preponderance, which for the misfortune of Europe and France, the Emperor Napoleon has too long exercised beyond the limits of his empire. Victory led the Allied forces to the Rhine. The first step taken by their Imperial and Royal Majesties was to offer peace to his Majesty the Emperor of the French. These conditions are based on the independence of the French empire, as well as on the independence of the other states of Europe. The views of the Powers are just in their principle, generous and liberal in their application, satisfactory to all, and honorable to each. The Allied Sovereigns wish that France should be great, powerful, and happy. The Allied Powers guarantee to the French empire an extent of territory which France never possessed during the reigns of its kings. But the Allied Powers themselves also wish to be free, happy, and tranquil. They wish for a state of peace which, by a wise distribution of power and a just equilibrium, will henceforth protect the nations of Europe from the numerous calamities under which they have groaned for the last twenty years. The Allied Powers will not lay down arms until they have attained this great and salutary result, the noble object of their efforts.