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Decree of the FRENCH GOVERNMENT, regulating the size of the BOATS, and the age and number of MEN, to be employed in the FISHERIES.-Dated Antwerp, I Thermidor, An. II.

The Government of the Republic decrees:That an embargo be laid on all fishing boats, above the burthen of seven tons; the boats under seven tons alone shall continue to fish. The crews of the boats that are permitted to fish shall consist only of seamen who have reached the age which is exempted from the maritime conscription, or of young persons under the age of 15. The boats that are permitted to fish shall not go more than a league from the coast All the seamen who devote themselves to fishing, shall receive passes, describing the route by which they are to travel, and take them to the military posts of the Republic, where they shall be employed, and paid according to their rank in the service.-The Minister of the Marine is charged with the execution of this decree. (Signed) BUONAPARTÉ. H. B. MARET, Sec.

Decree of the FRENCH GOVERNMENT, prohiliting the exportation of UNDRESSED LEATHER. Dated intwerp, ad Thermidor, An. 11.

The Government of the Republic decrees:That from the date of the publication of the present decree, the exportation of tanned leather, undressed, shall be prohibited.-The Minister of the Interior, and the Minister of Finance, are charged with the execution of this decree. SUONAPARTE.

(Signed)

H. B. MARET, Sec.

DOMESTIC OFFICIAL PAPERS. CIRCULAR LETTER from the RT. HON. C. YORKE, to the LORDS LIEUTENANT of Counties, respecting the ARMS for the VOLUNTEERS.-Dated Whitehall, August 30, 1803.

I have the honour to inform your Grace, that directions have been given to the Board of Ordnance to issue, immediately on your Grace's application, such a proportion of arms in the first instance as, including those already delivered or retained in the county of will amount

to one

of its quota of Volunteers, (calculating their establishment at six times the number of the original militia), should your Grace find, upon investigation, that so large a number is actually necessary for the effective strength of such Volunteers, after making allowance for the quantity of arms which the respective corps may have provided, or may be disposed to provide for themselves. I must request that your Grace will furnish me, without delay, with an accurate return of the number and description of the arms which have been so retained, delivered, provided, or intended to be provided, specifying in whose hands they now are; and that, in making your demand for arms, you will be careful to distinguish what proportion is necessary for the supply of cavalry and artillery; sabres and pistols being appropriated for the use of the former, and pikes for the latter.I am also to inform your Grace, that pikes, sufficient to arm the whole number of men serving in the different Volunteer Corps of Artillery, will be delivered on your Grace's application, and specification of the number required; and that a further supply of the same nature may be had to the full extent of the wants of any other corps which may have been or shall hereafter be formed, for whose use this weapon may be pre

ferred. Your Grace will have the goodness to point out to the Board of Ordnance, with precision, to what places and into whose charge these arms shall be delivered; and it is particularly requested that your Grace will take such precautions as may be necessary in communicating with the general officer commanding in the district, to insure that proper care is taken of them till delivered to the respective corps; and that the commander of each corps is duly made responsible for their safe custody, proper distribution, and accurate re-delivery when called upon for that purpose by regular authority.--When I shall be favoured by your Grace with accurate returns of the amount and description of the whole Volunteer force in the county of, I flatter myself that I shall be enabled in due time to direct a further issue for the use of such corps or companies as may remain unprovided. It is, however, considered to be highly desirable that the several bodies of Volunteers should, in the present moment, be encouraged, under proper precautions, to supply themselves. I have the honour to be, my Lord, your Grace's most obedient humble Servant, (Signed) C. YORKE. The

Lieutenant of the

County of

Circular Letter from the RT. HON. C. YORKE, to the LORDS LIEUTENANT of COUNTIES, respecting the ESTABLISHMENT of VOLUNTEER CORPS.-Dated Whitehall, August 30, 1803.

My Lord,-A great number of letters having been transferred to this office from the war department, and many having since been received by this office from the Lieutenants of Counties, respecting offers of Volunteer Corps, or Companies, which, from the extreme pressure of business, there has not been yet time thoroughly to examine and consider; and being at the same time solicitous to prevent any anxiety or dissatisfaction which might arise among the persons whose zeal and loyalty have induced them to come forward upon the present occasion; I have the honour to acquaint your Lordship, that his Majesty is graciously disposed to accept all the offers which have been recommended by your Lordship, provided the total number of rank and file to be raised under them, toge her with that of the corps and companies heretofore accepted and established, does not in the whole exceed the propo tion of the County, as limited by Lord Hobart's Letter of the 18th instant, and that such ofers do not militate against the regulations of the Defence Act, and the general rules which it has been, or may be found expedient to adopt.-As soon as I shall be enabled to examine, with more particularity, the offers which have been transmitted by your Lordship, I shall have the honour of communicating his Majesty's special directions on the subject. In the mean time, I cannot omit this opportunity of informing your Lordship, that it is clearly to be understood that, under the genuine construction and meaning of the late Acts of Parliament, all Volunteer Corps and Companies to be accepted subsequent to their passing, should be formed with reference to the general militia system. It follows, that no company ought to consist of less than sixty privates, and that no body of infantry can be considered as a corps which consists of less than three such companies; and that all smaller assemblages of Volunteers, under the above-mentioned Acts, within any county, parish, or district, shall be thrown into Independent Companies of not less than

sixty, nor more than one hundred and twenty privates. The establishment of Field and Company Officers, as well as of serjeants, corporals, and drummers, is to be fixed by the same rule. In the yeomanry cavalry, however, a different arrangement will continue to prevail; single troops may be accepted as corps, not being less than forty rank and file, though it is much to be wished that in all cases they should be carried, if possible, to sixty or eighty effectives per troop; and that two or more troops, wherever local circumstances will permit, should be joined together for the purposes of discipline, and interior arrangements.i take leave to make it my earnest request to your Lordship, that you will favour me, at your earliest convenience, with an exact return of the different corps heretofore accepted, or which are now trans mitted for consideration, or which you may hereafter think proper to recommend for acceptance, specifying the particulars of their establishment according to a form which you will receive herewith. I cannot sufficiently impress upon you the necessity of furnishing me with this document, with the least possible delay, as great embarrassment is found to arise from a want of sufficient precision upon these points.--Should it have happened that the number of persons who have offered themselves, up to this period, to serve in Volunteer Corps or Companies, has exceeded the proportion limited, in the first instance, by Lord Hobart's Circular Letter of the 18th inst. for the county of

-, and should your Lordship be of opinion, that it would contribute to the satisfaction of those who might by such limitation be prevented from manifesting their zeal for the pubfic service, I have the honour to inform your Lordship, that there will be no objection to a certain number of such persons, properly selected, being attached to the accepted and established corps, as supernumeraries, in such proportion per troop or company as shall be hereafter fixed upon.

-It is, however, important, that it should be clearly understood, that no expense is to be in curred by the Public on account of the arms, pay, or cloathing of such supernumeraries: and that they will not be considered as entitled to any exemptions from the militia or other ballots.I think it proper to take this opportunity of communicating his Majesty's commands to your Lordship, that measures should be taken without delay in communication with the General Officer commanding in the district, for fixing upon such general place or places of assembly, for the different Volunteer Corps and established Companies of men within the county of -, as may be deemed most expedient in case of invasion, or the appearance of the enemy in force upon the coast;

and I am further commanded by his Majesty to desire your Lordship, in communication with the General of the district, to distribute such provisional orders to such Volunteer Corps and established Companies of men as aforesaid, with respect to their assembling together and moving upon the general places of assembly, so to be fixed upon in the events above alluded to, as the nature of the case may appear to require.Your Lordship will likewise be pleased, in communication also with the General Officer commanding, to make such arrangements, if not already done, respecting beacons, aud other indications of alarm as may be thought necessary withia the county of —, either with a view to the conveyance of intelligence upon points merely local, or in connexion with the other neighbouring coun

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ORDERS relative to the BLOCKADE of HAVRE DE GRACE, and the OTHER PORTS at the Moura of the SEINE. Dated 6th September, 1803.

By the Commissioners for executing the Office of Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom of Great-Britain and Ireland, &c.

The right hon. Lord Hobart, one of his Majesty's principal secretaries of state, having acquainted us, by his letter of this day's date, that the King had judged it expedient for the defence of his dominions, and the protection of his Majesty's subjects, to establish the most rigorous blockade at the entrance of the port of Havrede-Grace, and the other ports of the river Seine, and that the same should be maintained and enforced in the strictest manner according to the usages of war acknowledged and allowed in similar cases; and that his Majesty had further caused it to be notified to the ministers of the neutral powers, that the navigation thereof is, and is to be considered as being in a state of blockade, and that all the measures authorised by the laws of nations, and the respective treaties between his Majesty and the different neutral powers, will be adopted and executed with respect to vessels attempting to violate the said blockade after such notice and his lordship having at the same time signified to us, his Majesty's pleasure, that orders should be given for establishing the most complete and rigorous blockade at the entrance of the said ports of Havre and the other ports of the river Seine; and that instructions should be given to the commanders of his Majesty's squadrons and ships of war, and particularly the officer commanding his Majesty's squadron at Guernsey and Jersey, to order the senior officer employed in the said blockade, and all other his Majesty's cruizers, to stop all neutral vessels destined to the said ports, and if they shall appear to be ignorant of the existence of the blockade, and have no enemy's property on board, then only to turn them away, apprizing them that the said ports are in a state of the most complete and rigorous blockade, and writing a notice to that effect upon one or more of the principal ship papers; but if any neutral vessel, which shall appear to have been so warned, or to be otherwise informed of the existence of the blockade, or to have sailed from her last clearing port after it may be reasonably supposed that the notification before-mentioned might have been made public there, shall yet be found attempting or intending to enter either of the said ports, such vessel shall be seized and sent into a port in England for legal adjudication. And in respect to neutral vessels coming out of the port of Havrede-Grace, or the other ports of the river Seine, any such vessel having any goods on board appearing to have been laden after knowledge of the blockade, shall in like manner be seized and sent in for legal adjudication; but that neutral vessels coming out of the said ports in ballast (except such as shall before have entered in breach of the blockade,) or having only goods on board laden before the knowledge of the blockade, shall be suffered to pass (except there be just grounds of detention,) with a similar notice and warning to be written upon the papers, prohibiting such

vessel from again attempting to enter the Seine during the existence of the blockade, and also stating the reason for their permitting her to pass; you are, in pursuance of his Majesty's pleasure signified to us as above-mentioned, hereby required and directed to govern yourself accordingly.

Given under our hands, the 6th of Sept. 1903. Το (Signed) &c. &c. The respective Flag Officers, Captains, Commanders, and Commanding Officers of his Majesty's Ships and Vessels.

INTELLIGENCE.

FOREIGN.-Abdul Wachab, who has, for some time past, been in possession of Mecca, has laid close siege to Medina. The Pashas of Damascus and Bagdad have both received orders to oppose him, and the former is making preparation for that purpose, but the latter is so completely occupied with the defence of his frontiers that he is unable to join in the attack.--The real cause of the late incursion of Passwan Oglou into Wallachia, was to supply a deficiency in his military chest, and having obtained the necessary sum from the Hospodar, he retired. The new organization of the Gallicias is completed, and the government definitively fixed at Lemberg. The authorities which were established at Cracow have been dissolved: several of the mem. bers will be continued at Lemberg, and the others will be pensioned. The operation of the new system will commence on the 15th of October.--On the 25th of May, the General Landamman of Swisserland wrote to the King of Prussia, to acquaint him of the change which had taken place in the government of that country. On the 17th of July he received, through the medium of M. De Montmolin, President of the Council of State at Neufchatel, his Majesty's answer," congratulating Swisserland "on the establishment of a definitive con"stitution, which guarantees its indepen"dence and secures its tranquillity;" and, at the same time, " assuring them of his "constant eagerness to give them proof of "his friendship." This letter was dated on the 22d of June, and was read in the Diet on the 8th of August.--The French Government has decreed that no neutral vessel which has either cleared out from, or has touched at any English port, shall enter any of the ports of the Republic; and that no flags of truce or packets from England shall be admitted into the ports between Brest and the Scheldt. They have also placed an embargo on all fishing boats of above seven tons burden, and directed that even those under that size shall fish at

a short distance from shore, and that their crews shall be composed only of those who are not subject to the maritime conscrip tion. Decrees have been passed for constructing and repairing roads, for forming and widening canals between the Aa and the Scheldt, for raising the embankments and sinking the beds of those rivers; for cleansing, deepening, and improving the ports of Gravelines, Dunkirk, and Ostend. The Rhine, the Meuse, and the Scheldt are to be connected by a canal, and there is to be another between Rheims and the sea. Nine docks for ships of the line, and three for frigates are to be constructed at Antwerp of the former two are to be completed before the 21st September, 1804, and the rest before the 20th of December. A proportionate number of dock-yards, magazines, &c. are to be annexed to these docks, and a bason is immediately to be made at Terneuse, capable of holding twenty-five ships of the line and a proportionate number of frigates and smaller vessels. Large quantities of ship timber are ordered to be marked, and cut down without delay, and conveyed to the nearest ports, under the direction of the Minister of Marine.

DOMESTIC.-The trials of those who were charged with being concerned in the late rebellion in Ireland still proceed; and the decisions of justice are carried into effect without disturbing the peace of the city. Several of the rebels have been found guilty, and some have been executed: one has been acquitted. Thomas Russell, who under the title of General of the Northern District, under the Provisional Government, issued a proclamation to the inhabitants of that district, was arrested on the evening of the 9th inst. He is one of the principal conspirators and his apprehension is considered as important--A proclamation for the observance of a General Fast throughout England, on the 19th of October, has been signed by his Majesty in Council.—The King has been pleased to appoint William Wass Langford, Esq. to be his Majes ty's Agent and Consul General at Tripoli.

-The King has been pleased to grant the dignity of a Baron of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to the Right Honourable George Keith, Baron Keith of Stonehaven Marischal, in the county of Kincardine, Knight of the most Honourable Order of the Bath, and Admiral of the Blue Squadron of his Majesty's Fleet, and to the heirs male of his body lawfully begotten, by the name, style, and title of Baron Keith, of Banheath, in the county of Dumbarton, and in default of such issue, the

dignity of a Baroness to Margaret Mercer Elphinstone, only daughter of the said Baron Keith, and the dignity of a Baron to the heirs male of her body lawfully begotten. ---On Saturday last, a person who called himself Cobbett, and who said he had just arrived from Guernsey, stopped in a postchaise at Salt-Hill, and while he was taking some refreshment at one of the principal inns of that place, inquired of the landlord, which was the speediest mode of obtaining an interview with his Majesty, urging as the motive of this inquiry, that he had something of great importance to communicate to him, and would only do it personally. The landlord suspecting him of some evil designs against his Majesty, imparted his suspicions to Lord Rosslyn, who had the stranger apprehended and sent to London for examination.--On Wednesday, another person, armed with a sword, attempted to force his way into the Leveeroom, at St. James', under pretence of seeing the Duke of Portland: he was, however, arrested, and after undergoing a long private examination at Bow Street, was committed to the House of Correction.— The letters which have been received by the last Jamaica mail, are silent on the subject of the conspiracy, which was said to have been discovered among the negroes in that islaud.

MILITARY.-The Danish army assembled in Holstein receives daily reinforce ments. It is supposed to consist of more than 20,000 men, and so eager is the Prince of Denmark to collect a large force on that frontier, that the garrisons of Copenhagen and Elsineur have been considerably reduced, and the military have been chiefly withdrawn from the interior of the kingdom. --The papers and letters which have recently been received from the Continent, give no information respecting the movements of the French armies, either in Italy, Hanover, or Holland, or on the coasts of France.--The following is a statement of the returns of the British army, made at the commencement of the last month :In England 10,000 Guards; 17,000 Cavalry (Regulars); 3.000 Artillery (Regulars); 46,400 Infantry (Regulars) including about 20,000 then raised for the Army of Reserve; and 49,000 Militia, exclusive of the Supplementary.-In Ireland: -34,000 Regulars, and 20,000 Militia. An unofficial paper states the regular force now in Great Britain to be nearly 100,000 men, the militia about 100,000, and the volunteers almost 800,000. The force in Ireland has also been greatly augmented, and the volunteers

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are very numerous.- -A great number of miners have been employed, for some weeks past, under the direction of an officer of the Royal Engineers, in placing the fortress of Pendennis, in Cornwall, in a state of defence; barracks are immediately to be erect ed there for 800 men, and a material addition will be made to the train. The brigade under the command of Gen. Moore, which was said to have embarked on a secret expedition, still remains encamped at Shorn Cliff, near Dover.--Gen. Dundas has just finished a minute inspection of all the works on the coast of Kent, and has expressed great satisfaction at the preparations which have been made for its defence.

Government has resolved not to accept the offers of any volunteer corps, after the number shall, in any county, amount to that at which the suspension of the General Defence Bill is authorized by law, unless such offers shall be free from all claim of exemptions, and shall occasion no expense. The volunteers exceeding that number are to be considered as supernumeraries attached to the different corps, but have no title to exemptions. Returns are to be made of all the arms which may be appropriated to the use of the volunteers, and those who cannot be supplied with muskets are to be armed with pikes.

NAVAL.-The Capitan Pacha, with part of the fleet destined for Egypt, set sail from Constantinople on the 24th of June last; and the Turkish High Admiral followed, two days after, with the rest. The whole armament consists of 1 ship of 120 guns, 6 of 74, and 8 frigates; and has on board a considerable number of troops. Ten frigates are now equipping at Woolwich and Deptford, for the defence of the Thames, and are, when completed to be put under the direction of the Corporation of the Trinity House.- On the 11th inst. Capt. Burke, in the Sea Gull, after a chase of five hours, engaged the Lord Nelson, English East-India ship: the contest continued several hours, with great obstinacy, but Sir Edward Pellew's squadron heaving in sight, the Lord Nelson struck. She had been boarded and captured, thirteen days before, by the French ship Bellona, of 36 guns and 320 men. On board the Sea Gull 2 seamen were killed, and the First Lieut 7 seamen, and 1 marine were wounded. The engagement between the Bellona and the Lord Nelson continued an hour and fifteen minutes, during which time five were killed and 31 wounded on board the Lord Nelson. Various decrees have been issued by the French Government,

directing the building of gun-vessels and flat-bottomed boats in the different ports of the Republic: 2 frigates and 12 gun-boats are also to be built by order and at the expense of the Italian Republic, in the ports of France, and are to be at the disposal of the First Consul, during the war. 4,462 conscripts have been placed under the direction of the Minister of Marine, to be employed as labourers in the ports and maritime arsenals. Admiral Bruix who at present cominands at Boulogne, is appointed Grand Admiral of the National Flotilla, now preparing to act against England. The late numbers of the Moniteur give an account of the several English vessels, which have been taken at different times and carried into the ports of the Republic.

SUMMARY OF POLITICS. RUSSIA AND MALTA-It was stated, in the preceding sheet, p. 380, that the mediation of Russia bad terminated in a proposition, on the part of that power, to have, herself, the possession of Malta, for ten years; and, that this proposition had been rejected by his Majesty's ministers. It has frequently been asserted, that Russia wished to have Malta; and some pretty good reasons, why she should not be permitted to have it, were advanced in Mr. Cobbet's Letters on the Preliminaries of Peace; * but now, perhaps, it will not be unseasonable to state them a little in detail, and to introduce such others as have been suggested by time and additional information. The attention of the court of Russia has, for a long time, been turned towards the southern provinces of that vast empire, where the soil is excellent; where the climate is favourable to every production even of the countries the most favoured by nature in Europe; and where all the great rivers, which penetrate deep into the heart of the empire, either fall into the Black Sea, or may, by the means of short canals, be made, at a very small expense, to join others that do run that course. The most important articles of Russian produce grow nearer to these rivers, and to the coast of the Black Sea, than to the Baltic; few of the Black Sea ports are frozen up in winter, as are those of the Baltic; and, in the former the Russians may have a nursery of sailors, from a mercantile marine, and, at all times, man the Imperial fleet. These opinions, long since adopted at St. Petersburgh, have led the Court of Russia to turn its

See Letters on the Peace, new edition, p. 42.

attention towards the Crimea, and the southern provinces, infinitely more fertile than the Crimea itsel.; and, the result has been, a fixed persuasion, that the natural channel for the trade of Russia, is the Black Sea, and not the Baltic, a persuasion in which every person well-informed upon the subject seems to anticipate.-- Peter L had not that command of the Black Sea which the present emperor has: he judged rightly in making the best use he could of the Baltic, and his relative situation required the collection of his force in the north. Things are now changed. But, it is no less certain that even Peter I. had in view to prepare the way for driving the Turks out of Europe and for emancipating the Greeks. Without, however, going so far back; the Empress Catharine had actually put her hand to the work; and there is good reason to believe, that she intended to remove the court to those southern parts of her empire. On the banks of the Boristhenes, near the cataracts, she had begun to build a most magnificent city, and named it Catherinoslau (i. e. Catherine's Glory.) The palaces, the colleges for the departments of government, the university, &c. were all on a colossal scale, and in the purest stile of Grecian architecture. Cherson was built at a vast expense, and on one of its gates inscribed "The road to "Constantinople; " but it was found that the air was unwholesome, and that the channels between the islands at the mouth of the river were too shallow, immediately sprung up another new city, Nicolaef, on the point at the junction of the Bog and the Ingulitz. Taganrog, on the sea of Asoph, is become an important city.-All the sea port towns of the Crimea are repaired; on the mouth of the Niester, a city is built, which carries on a considerable trade, and a harbour is formed by the erection of a mole or pier: it is named Odessa. In short, every port or town is improyed by whatever can tend to make it convenient and advantageous to trade and mercantile navigation The imperial fleet is stationed at Sebastopole in the Crimea, which is a large, safe, and beautiful harbour, and arsenals, decks, &c. are erected there. Millions of acres of a soil, more rich than any other in Europe, lie uncultivated, not as in America covered with woods, but with the most luxuriant grass and clover, which would fatten innumerable herds and flocks, and which require only the plough, without any kind of manure whatever, to produce most abundant crops of corn. These lands will, by the new

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