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commissioners to the French general, whose first proposal was promptly rejected. A convention was then entered into, by which a total surrender of the country was agreed to by the commissioners. The French general is to make what changes in the government, and levy what contributions he may think proper; the authority of the regency is suspended; the French cavalry is to be remounted, and the army to be paid and clothed at the expense of the electorate; the artillery, to the amount of 1000 pieces, the arms, to the number of 100,000 stands, with the whole of the magazines, are to be delivered up to the enemy; all funds have been sequestrated, and the effects belonging to the king of England are placed entirely at the disposal of the invaders: the Hanoverian troops are to retire behind the Elbe, and not to bear arms against France during the present

war.

JULY.

4. During the thunder storm on Saturday last, a ball of fire fell upon a public-house near Perry's Stairs, Wapping, which in an instant set fire to it and the house adjoining. They were both burned in several places; the wires and bells were all melted, as also the leads on the roof. The inhabitants had time enough to make their escape. The lightning set fire to a carpenter's shop in Gravellane, Southwark. The shavings and other combustibles were instantly in a blaze, but were happily soon extinguished by the endeavours of two men who were at work when the accident happened.

The act for making the new military levy having received the royal

assent, the army about to be raised has now officially obtained the denomination which has been before given it in parliament, being call ed, in orders from the public offices of yesterday's date, The Royal Army of Reserve. Stores and accoutrements are preparing for it with great speed. There will be 2000 sergeants and 800 drummers.

9. An accident happened on this day, which, for a time, threatened the destruction of that magnificent and venerable structure Westminster-abbey. About two o'clock the square tower, in the centre of the cross aisles, over that part of the choir which is between the pulpit and the altar, was discovered to be in flames: this part of the roof, which is flat, supported by braces of timber and plaister, most curiously gilt, was in a short time in a blaze. From the great height, it was impossible to carry water speedily to it: to obviate this difficulty, the soldiers and volunteers ranged themselves from the Abbey to the water-side, and a number of buckets were procured, which they filled, and handed from one to another, and afterwards raised to the top by means of ropes. The fall of the melted lead, and of the half-burned timber, was most tremendous, and would soon have laid the whole choir in ashes, but for the exertions of the engines, which arrived in time to play upon and extinguish the burning wood as it fell; and we are happy to state that the organ and the choir, between it and the pulpit, and the monuments in general, have escaped with very little damage.— It was currently reported among the populace, that the Abbey had been wilfully set fire to by some French incendiary; but the fact was, it was attributable to that

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carelessness which generally produces such accidents: Some plumbers in the employ of Mr. Jones, of Tothill-street, having a fire lighted in their portable furnace, on the top of the square tower, for heating their solder to repair the leads of the roof, carelessly went to dinner at one o'clock, without leaving a proper person to attend the fire, and before their return the conflagration had commenced. It is to the elevation of the square roof alone that the building is indebted for its preservation; for had the fire extended to the long-vaulted galleries, which run beneath the roof from east to west, and are principally composed of timber, no human power could have preserved the edifice from destruction.

18. This afternoon, between the hours of five and seven o'clock, P. Duparion, esq. put an end to his life by shooting himself with a pistol, the ball of which entered his upper lip, passed through the centre of the head, and lodged in the cieling of the room. For the last four years his apartments had not been cleaned, nor any person allowed to enter them but his daughters, two or three times, merely as visitors.--The coroner's inquest sat on the body, and brought in a verdict-Lunacy:

The following is a copy of the letter which Mr. Forbes, consul of the United States of America, in Hamburgh, sent to the captains of his nation, on receiving notice of the blockade of the Elbe:

Sir, Hamburgh, July 11. The blockade of the Elbe by the English has been officially announced to the government of this city. In so serious a crisis as the present, it is of consequence to the interest of your owners most strictly

to observe, not only the laws as they have been acknowledged by the respective nations, but also those laws as they have been laid down by the principal maritime powers. I therefore advise you not to take any more goods on board, to procure the best certificates that what you have already loaded has been shipped and loaded before the blockade of the Elbe was known, and to hasten your departure as much as possible. I am, &c.

JOHN M. FORBES.

Downing-street, July 26.-The king has been pleased to cause it to be signified by the right honourable lord Hawkesbury, his majesty's principal secretary of state for foreign affairs, to the ministers of neutral powers residing at this court, that the necessary measures having been taken by his majesty's command for the blockade of the entrance of the river Weser, in consequence of his majesty having recently received authentic infor mation of the occupation of parts of the banks of that river by the French troops, the said river is declared to be in a state of blockade; and that from this time all the measures authorised by the law of nations, and the respective treaties between his majesty and the different neutral powers, will be adopted and executed with respect to all vessels which may attempt to violate the said blockade. Lord Hawkesbury has been further commanded by his majesty to signify to the ministers of the neutral powers, that whenever the French troops will evacuate the positions which they now occupy on the banks of the Weser, and will remove to such a distance from them as to leave the course of that

1803.]

OCCURRENCE S.

river perfectly free and secure
to the vessels of his subjects, as
well as of other nations, his ma-
jesty will immediately direct his
ships of war, which may be sta-
tioned at the mouth of the river

Weser for the purpose of block-
ading the same, to be withdrawn.
30. A dispatch has been this day
received from lieutenant-general
Grinfield, commander in chief of
his majesty's troops in the Wind-
ward and Leeward Charibbee
Islands, by the right honourable
lord Hobart, his majesty's princi-
pal secretary of state for the war
department, acquainting his lord-
ship that on the 22d of June the
fortress of Morne Fortunée was
carried by assault, and the Island
of St. Lucia captured for the Bri-
tish government.

AUGUST.

Admiralty Office.
Copy of a Letter to Lord Nelson.
Victory, off Gibraltar,
July 12.
My Lord,
I beg to acquaint your lordship
that on Saturday the 28th ult. in
lat. 45 deg. 40 min. long. 6 deg.
10 min. W. I captured the French
national frigate L'Embuscade (late
his majesty's ship Ambuscade, of
32 guns), commanded by mon-
sieur Fradin, capitaine de vaisseau,

and manned with 187 men.

The Ambuscade was from Cape
Francois bound to Rochfort, out
thirty days.

I have the honour to be, &c.
SAM. SUTTON.
(Signed)
Admiralty Office, August 9.
Copy of a Letter from Mr. Daniel
de Putron, Commander of the

(59)

private Ship of War Alarm, to
Sir Evan Nepean, Bart. dated
Guernsey, 23d July.

Sir,

I beg leave to acquaint you, for
on the 28th ult. in lat. 42 deg. 45
their lordships' information, that
min. N. and long. 11 deg. 7 min.
W. I fell in with, and after a chace
of fourteen hours, captured the
national schooner La Legere, com-
manded by monsieur Collinet, lieu-
tenant de vaisseau, and mounting
swivels, with 36 men.
2 brass four-pounders, and 14 brass
bound from Rochfort to Senegal.

She was

I have the honour to be, &c.
DANIEL DE PUTRON.

EAST-INDIES.

15. The late accounts from Bombay announce a desperate conflict to have taken place between our troops and a numerous body of Arabs, at Brodera, in Guzerat.The Arabs had agreed to surrender the place; but, pending the negotiation as to the conditions of the capitulation, by which they

were allowed to march out with all their effects, they brought a numple, and commenced a most unexber of guns to bear upon our peopected and destructive fire: our troops instantly stormed the place, traitors the punishment they meand, carrying it, inflicted on the great number of officers and men. rited. We lost in the affair a

Seringapatam, Jan. 27.-Holkar's army, comprising 50,000 cavalry and 24,000 infantry, attacked and defeated the allies in October last, when several European officers were slain on both sides, including the commandant of each party. A variety of circumstances have rendered it necessary that our goalmost vernment should be prepared, and

almost the whole of our army has been ordered for field service. Depôts of military stores, provisions, &c. were forming in all the frontier posts, and the commander in chief means to take the field in person, it is believed, to act against Holkar. The Mahratta force consists chiefly of cavalry, and without any other principle of attachment than arises from the wealth of their employers, and they constantly change sides as their interests direct.

Feb. 3.-The army has already commenced its march from hence towards the Mahratta frontiers, and the troops in the Carnatic are like wise in motion. Should we commence hostilities, it will be against Holkar.

Camp in the Mysore Country,

Feb. 11.

Our army is moving forward against Holkar, who has deposed the peshwa, aer a severe battle, in which many thousands were slain on both sides. The peshwa has taken refuge in a strong hill fort, called Bassine, near Bombay, and we are moving into the Mahratta territories, to assist him, and replace him on the throne; after which a strong subsidiary force will probably be established in Poonah, his capital. No blow has yet been struck on either side; and there is yet a probability that the aim of the marquis Wellesley may be accomplished by negotiation. If this termination is not put to the business, in about three weeks we shall cross the frontier, and our first object, I presume, will be the siege of Darwam, the strongest fortress of the enemy, and which will probably be hereafter converted by us into a depit.

Our army will consist of about 4000 European and 16,000 native troops, well equipped. Our enemy is brave, and has numbers on his side; but from the state of our army we have not a doubt of the event, if he will once let us bring him to action.

Downing-street, Aug. 15.-A dispatch was this morning received by the right honourable lord Hobart, his majesty's principal secretary of state for the war department, from lieutenant-general Grinfield, commander in chief of his majesty's troops in the Windward and Leeward Islands, announcing the capture of the Island of Tobago, by the British forces, on the 30th of June last.

24. The Italian, who was convicted a few months ago for selling indecent prints at boardingschools, &c. was pilloried yesterday from twelve to one o'clock, near St. Clement's church, in the Strand. The populace did not think fit to exercise their privilege on the occasion, and the man was taken down without any appearance of being affected by his punishmentHe is to stand in the pillory near St. Giles's church before the expi ration of his imprisonment.

26. Our Bombay army is again engaged in a most irksome and fatiguing service. The formidable chieftain Mula Row, who lately opposed the government of Guicawar, in Guzzerat, has effected his escape from Nerwaad, where he was on his parole, and has collected a numerous army in the northern mountains: his measures are connected with the pirate Eggendi, who had long infested those seas; and it is supposed, from the magnitude of his resources and force, that he is secretly supported by some powerful friends. Our

1803.]

government has reinforced all the forts in his neighbourhood, set a strong corps in motion against him, and stationed

numerous

cruisers along the Pattan coast, to prevent his receiving succours by

sea.

Goulad Sing, one of the most formidable of the insurgent chiefs in India, has overrun the entire of the Nerwa territory, seised the property of the adherents of the legitimate government, and confiscated it amongst his followers. Several strong corps have been dispatched against him, but he has either defeated them or bribed them to retire. A numerous army was, at the date of our letters, on its march against him.

County of Meath. At a special sessions of the peace, or meeting of the magistrates of said county, convened by Edward Elliot Chambers, clerk of the peace, pursuant to a requisition directed to him by the most noble the marquis of Headfort, governor of said county, Christopher A. Nicholson, and Robert Waller, esqrs., it was unanimously resolved

we

That, in consequence of a let
ter received from government, re-
commending the measure,
deem it expedient that a memo-
rial be presented to his excellency
the lord lieutenant, praying "that
the county of Meath be proclaim-
ed to be in a state of insurrection,
or in danger of being so."

a

of
persons,
Dublin, 27-Two
mean condition, and one some-
thing superior, were brought into
town to-day in custody of a party
of the military; but though these
arrests continue, the country is
perfectly quiet, and the yeomanry
on permanent pay are reducing in
the southern districts.

SEPTEMBER.

Admiralty-Office.

Copy of a letter from Vice-ad-
miral Lord Viscount Nelson, K. B.
Commander in Chief of his Majes-
ty's Ships and Vessels in the Medi-
terranean, to Sir Evan Nepean,
at Sea, June 17, 1803.
Bart. dated on board the Amphion,
Sir,

I herewith transmit to you, for
the information of the lords com-
missioners of the admiralty, a copy
of a letter from captain Mowbray,
of his majesty's ship Maidstone,
lieutenant sent in with the vessel
which was delivered to me by the
therein mentioned, on the morn-
ing of the 17th instant, as the
Amphion was getting under weigh

from Malta.

I am, &c.

NELSON & BRONTE.

His Majesty's Ship Maidstone,
June 14, 1803, 14 Leagues
W. from Isle Furo.

My lord,

I do myself the honour to inform you, that his majesty's ship under my command fell in with and captured, at six this morning, a brig, in the service of the French republic, called L'Arabe, carrying eight 4-pounders and 58 men, manded by captain Matharin Theodore Artulam: she was on her return to L'Orient from Athens.

com

I have the honour to be, &c.
R. H. MOWBRAY.

Lord viscount Nelson,
K. B. &c. Mediterranean.

Downing-street, 6.-The king has been pleased to cause it to be lord Hawkesbury, his majesty's signified, by the right honourable

principal

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