Nelson, though he held Malta to be useless as a base for the British fleet watching Toulon, made the memorable statement: "I consider Malta as a most important outwork to India." But a despatch from St.Petersburg, stating that the new Czar had concluded a formal treaty of alliance with the Order of St.John settled in Russia, may have convinced Addington and his colleagues that it would be better to forego all claim to Malta in order to cement the newly won friendship of Russia.

Whatever may have been their motive, British Ministers consented to cede the island to the Knights of St.John under the protection of some third Power.
The preliminaries of peace were further remarkable for three strange omissions.

They did not provide for the renewal of previous treaties of peace between the late combatants.

War is held to break all previous treaties; and by failing to require the renewal of the treaties of 1713, 1763, and 1783, it was now open to Spain and France to cement, albeit in a new form, that Family Compact which it had long been the aim of British diplomacy to dissolve: the failure to renew those earlier treaties rendered it possible for the Court of Madrid to alienate any of its colonies to France, as at that very time was being arranged with respect to Louisiana.
The second omission was equally remarkable.

No mention was made of any renewal of commercial intercourse between England and France.
Doubtless a complete settlement of this question would have been difficult.