Star. — London, England, 1809-09-30 00:00:00

OTAIIEITE:. EXTRACT 07 A LETTER, DATED SYDNEY, NEW SOUTH WALES, JULY 17, 1808. Arrived the Mercury colonial schooner, Thomas Reiby master, from Otaheite, with a cargo of pork, the whole in high preservation. She sailed from hence the 10th of December last, in company with the King George ; went together to the Bay of Islands, for refreshments, and separated the 3d ofJa nuary, in latitude 33. 20. ; the King George bound for the Fejees ; on the 24th of February she came to anchor in the bay of Matavai ; and, having com pleted her cargo among the islands, in two months, on the 25th of April took her departure from Ulitea ; on her return to Port Jackson, made Norfolk Island the Ist of June, and left the 6th. She found the Ame rican ship Amethyst, Captain Smith, at the islands ; from which she fortunately received a supply of salt —that which she had taken from hence having sunk a full third part from its original quantity ; which, but for the circumstance of her obtaining an acciden tal supply, must have been productive of serious dis appointment to the owners. We are sorry to learn, that Capt. Smith had lost several of his people among the islands, who deserted his ship from an inclination of living among the natives ; to whose friendly dis position towards the English Mr. Reiby was particu larly indebted for the accomplishment of his object in so short a period. 'Mr. R. did not at first see King Pomarree, for whom he took from hence 2 gold time keeper, sent.hither to be revoked ; and which he was, of necessity, obliged to deliver to his mother. The 'Mercury was hove down at Ulitea ; and, upon this occasion, Was mottled, as the chiefs affirmed, to the very tree, which had, upon the like occasion, been made choice of by Capt. Cook, for heaving down the Resolution ; and to bring to recollection the more strongly that great circumnavigator's visit to those islands, a chief, named Malec, produced a medal lion of his Majesty, which his father had received as a present from Capt. Cook ; which, after some soli citation, he at length gave to Mr. Reiby; the re versed side representing two ships, encircled by the words—" Resolution and Adventure, stncrLxxit."— This medal is considerably larger than a crown piece, and Was originally gilt ; but which, from the length of time, being 86 years; is now nearly worn off. By the order of Laboor t the head chief at Ulitea, a st re-house, 100 feet in length, and 50 in breadth, was built far the reception of the Mercury's stores, the building of which was completed in a day and a half; so numerous were the workmen. Upon leaving the island, the vessel stood towards Manjeei, an island to the south-west of Ulitea, the people of which seem perfect strangers toevery race of people but their own. In their dress and colour they differ little from the Friendly Islanders, but owing, pet haps, to tie: total want of intercourse with civilized visit , rs, their manners are ferocious, as their aspects are fin bidding. These people are said to be much above the ordinary size, robust, and very mus cular. On the Mercury's approach, fifty or sixty ca. noes went out to meet her, each canoe having only -one man in it, armed. with a long spear and several short ones: As soolltiOe came to, which was about two miles from the shore, they went along-side, and entreated the hands to get nearer, which, together with ,their repeated efforts to decoy them into their canoes, produced a suspicion of their views, and, in consequence. the schooner's people got ready to de fend themselves in case of attack. Their numbers prodigiously increasing, every pre caution was used to prevent any from getting on board; they appeared to have no kind of knowledge of fire arms, which they saw without emotion. They demanded every moveable they saw on deck, and were understood, as their language differed,little, if at all, fr m that of the Otatans. The pigs on board they insisted upon having, frequently praised the size of the Mercury, and requested. to know whose canoe she was ? But at length becoming. impatient, a number grappled with the bowsprit rigging, and endeavoured to pull her in towards the shi xi., while others were endeavouring, by main strength, to pull the bolts from the sides, for the sake of the iron, with the value of which metal they were doubtless made acquainted by Captain Cook. As they had not any articles for barter, and the Mercury had not expended the whole of her trade, Mr. Reiby offered to purchase some of their spear:, as they were ingeniously carved; bat none of them would they upon any account part-with . ; at length they began • vehemently to threaten the people on boa r d, if the, continued to object to going on shore ; many had spears in their hands; and one, who had taken a 1 ng spear up; with much seeming composure, while spe king. to a seaman in the main chains, o f th e name of David Clarke, instead of offering it for bar ter, as was expected to be his intention, made a sud den ;binge at the belly of Clarke, who received the spear through his right band,' and into the 'elk groin, about an inch. The unfortunate mao fell upon re ceiving the wound, and was with difficulty got In.— , A general disposidon of flack was now manifested, and sclf-delence became a "duty : two musketoons were immediately discharged among the foremost ; • and we are not sorry to observe, that the whole con tents of one r ere lodged in the body of Clarke's un proel ,Iced ilant. Their consternation at the noise they beard may easily be conjectured t they staid not to examine the cause of the explosion, but, taking to their paddles, in a fez minutes reached the shore, where an immense number were assembled; and the Mercury took leave of this little inhospitable island, . which is in about 21. 38. S. and 158. 20. E. long. It is much to he lamented, that even the Friendly Islanders should still retain their cruel custom of sa crificing human beings to their superstitions. On this subject we copy the follooing extract from a journal on board the Mercury :•••-. 6 10th of March, at two, p. m. saw the natives at Hubaine murder a man, as a sacrifice, and hang him up in a ba s ket, i n a range with four others, who had suffered the same fate.- 12th of March, saw a canoe take in the murdered bo dies at Hubaine, to be conveyed to Ulitea,, a distance of eight or ten leagues, there to be buried in their grand morai, or place of worship?' On the 14th of March, 40 or 50 ms s , with 20 to menii. each, arrived from other parts of Hu baine, to the lay, at which the Chief Omai commands, to hold a cot.ultation on the subject of the Bolabo lams refusing pay their y ear ly tribute, which w as gamily paid in swine ; and whi c h refusal, it was sup posed, would be productive of an i mme di ate war. - • ....1.-..,..,-......ti - The dismasted brig mentioned last Sunday to be in sight off the Heads, proved to be the Bon Cidadedo, from Pulo Penang, the 3d of March, in ballast for the Fejees, to procure a cargo of sandal wood. She was dismasted six weeks ago, on her passage thither; since which, the Captain, Mr. Demaria (formerly master of the Buffalo), died of an old complaint ; and the Chief Mate, the only remaining European on board, died after she was boarded on Sunday last, by the Endeavour. The above vessel was towed in by his Majesty's colonial schooner Estramina, the supplies taken by which were truly acceptable, as the brig had been beating about this coast for upwards of a month, in a dismasted and a distressed state. Til VEN 1 N .s.l'Alt. LONDON. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 30. PRICE OF STOCKS THIS DAY AT ONE O'CLOGIE: S per Cent. Cons. for money 64—for acc. 681 prena. Omnium prem.—ache. Bills, 6s. lgs. pre. Our Readers have already been informed of the arrival of Lord GRENVILLE in town. His Lordship had yesterday an audience of his Royal Highness the PRINCE of WALES. He had also conferences with Lord HOLLAND, Mr. TIERNEY, and all the Gentle men in town who formed the Administration when his Lordship was last in power. His Lordship had also communications with the remaining Members of the present Cabinet. The result of these conferences cannot be known with certainty till those interested shall have come to some determination on the subject—or rather till etiquette shall permit a disclosure to be made; but, judging from circumstances known, the general im pression seems to be, that Lord GRENVILLE and his friends will not coalesce with the present Ministers. The letter sent by Mr. PERCEVAL to Lords GREN VILLE and GREY, had tor its object to invite these . Noble Lords to give their aid in forming with the pre sent Ministers an efficient administration. So far it was written as a personal communication from Mr. PERCEVAL, or at least might be so conceived. But it concluded with an expression that " Mr. PERCEVAL had his Majesty's command to make the same com munication to Earl GREY, and vice vow." The one Noble Lord, interpreting the message as coming from the KING, conceived himself bound from proper respect to his Sovereign, to hasten immedi ately to town : the other, as properly, gave his opi nion by letter, upon what he conceived to be an offer of co-operation, made only by the CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER. This, we believe, will be found to be the true cause of the different conduct adopted by the Noble Lords ; there can, however, we presume, be but little doubt, that Lord GREY will be in town. shortly. The note which Lord GRENVILLE dispatched from his seat in Cornwall, in answer to the intimation transmitted by Mr. PEncEvAL, and which was re ceived on Thursday morning, was nearly as follows: " His Lordship achnowledsed the receipt of the letter, and un derstanding it to be an official communication of his NIAJCSTY'S command s, declared his readiness, as in duty bound, immediately to attend in London. " But his Lordship desired to defer all discussion .f the sub jects noticed until after his arrival in town." At an early hour yesterday morning Lord GREN. mix informed Mr. PERCRVAL of his arrival in town in a note, of which the following is reported to be the substance : " That his Lordship took the earliest opportunity of acquaint ing Mr. Peacavni. with his arrival, and of communicating his sentiments on the subject of the intimation which he received in the country, and which he btrged might be laid, in the most dutiful manner on his part, before his MAJESTY. " in declining to unite with his Mairsex's present Mi nisters, lie was nut actuated by any motives of personal hostility, but he felt convinced, that in joining his MAJESTY'[ Councils in the present crisis, he could be of no real service to his country. " That with him it had uniformly been a chief object to soothe, rather than foment political animosities, which system he thought at this moment more particularly expedient than ever. " He therefore begged that his sentiments might be dutifully communicated to his MAJESTY, with a firm assurance that,his zeal should be unremittingly (whenever there appeared a pro spect of its being successfully) exerted in his MAJESTY'S service." Of coarse Lord GaesvlLLE's letter was laid before his MAJESTY, but it would be presumption in us to pretend to state what passed on the occasion. We have reaMti 'to believe that one powerful and insurmountable objection in the minds of the Noble Lords to-coMplY with the request that has been made to them' for advice and assistance " in extending and combining an administration," adequate to the exi-1 gencies 4 the present crisis, arises from a conviction that the country cannot be benefited by such expedi tions and projects as have for some time been citnying on. In this conviction. we believe • they will not be found • iingtilar : indeed •we can hardly doubt that those who promoted them are now pretty mach of the same mind' and confident we are that a great majority 4 the p4lk—even of those who clamoured for -inch measures, have had their eyes opened- not Only .0 the inutility, but to the mischief of peaking in such measures. Whoever may form the Administration, when once it is arranged, we have no hesitation in asserting, mast pursue a very different system from that which has been followed for many years, if they hope to make the country Enally triumph over the dangers with which it is threatened. Those who have been in the habit of reading the STAR, we are sure will not impute to us malignant motives, in stating a conviction which with us is not new, but has invariably pervaded our columns for years. We have been uniform in our sentiments . . —.—la ~:~~~ ~~ • that we ought not to waste our own brave bus limited population, in fighting the battles of the Continent.— Nay more—that to do so is to destroy and annihilate the last hopes of the very people who now groan under the oppression of the tyrant who has levelled their institutions and liberties in the dust ! Lord GRENVILLE'S interview with the PRINCE of WALES was at Carlerton House, so early as nine o'clock yesterday morning, and continued for nearly two hours. Mr. SHERIDAN had afterwards *a very long audience of his Royal Highness ; and, in the course• of the morning, the Pa►lscc also saw his Royal Brothers, the Dukes of CLARENCE and CUMBERLAND, and his Serene Highness the Duke of BauNswlcx. FRANCE AND AUSTRIA. In the STAR of Thursday we mentioned that a re port had been received by the AUCKLAND packet, from Gottenburgh, that hostilities had been renewed between Austria and France. We have now to state that the Duke of BRUNSWICK received similar ac- counts yesterday, by an Officer from the Continent. According to the statement of the Officer alluded to, the Armistice was put an end to by the Austrians ; the Prussian army, under General BLUCHER, had . marched to :0-operate with the Austrian forces, and the KING of PRUSSIA had himself set off for Peters burgh, to confer with the Emperor ALEXANDER ! This news has made a considerable impression on many ; but we must confess we are still inclined to scepticism. On the other hand it is asserted that a Paris paper has been received in town which mentions the actual signing of a Treaty of Peace between France and Austria, and that in consequence the Emperor NA. POLEON had returned to St. Cloud, and was to enter Paris in triumph on a given day, when great rejoic ings, &c. were to ordered to take place.—We have not, however, been able to ascertain by whom this paper has been received. SPAIN AND PORTUGAL. Dispatches were received yesterday at the Foreign Ofll\•.e, from Spain. They were brought by the Cadiz packet, and are not supposed to be of importance. By the Duke of Kent packet, which brought the Spanish Gazettes, we have received private letters from Cadiz to the 14th instant. They add no ma .erial intelligence to the contents of the Seville Ga-, zettes. The Spartiate, of 74 guns, and the Cayenne sloop of war, with a fleet from Malta and Gibraltar, ar rived off Cadtz on the 13th inst. and after being joined by the vessels from that port, proceeded on the following morning for England. Intelligence had reached Cadiz of the arrival of the New Viceroy, Don Balthazar Idalgo de Cisneros, in South America. He was landed at Monte Video in July. The Spanish account proceeds as follows : " The information which had previously been re ceived, deterred Don Balthazar from proceeding im mediately to Buenos Ayres ; hut he lost no time in the commencement of a correspondence with Liniers, some time since created Count of Buenos Ayres, by the Central Junta, in which he solicited a meeting a! the Colonia del Sacramento, which Liniers at first declined, but afterwards acceded to, and at the same time resigned the command of the troops to Brigadier General Don Pablo Nieto, who accompanied Cisne ros from Spain. This officer had been previously gppointed by the Junta to the government of Monte Video ; but the troops at Buenos Ayres having evin ced a decided dislike to being placed under the com mand of the former and present Governor of Monte Video, Elio, the New Vice r oy, d e t er mi ne d on hi s con tinuance in that Government. " Liniers remained at the Colonia, and Cisneros proceeded to Buenos Ayres to take possession of tha- Government, which he did with great eclat on the ' 29th of July. Liniers followed on the sth of August, with the wife and family of the newViccroy. Cisneros was to have sent Liniers to Spain, but the latter de clined the voyage, under an impression, that his being a native of France, would in the present state of Spain preclude him the possible chance of having his conduct impartially investigated. He is to retire with his family to Mendoza. His there-amie (with her family) to whose influence much of his irregular conduct had been attributed, had proceeded to Rio de Janeiro, and an American of the name of White, supposed to be her Agent in most of her smuggling transactions, was imprisoned by Cisneros, who also dismissed the Collector of the Customs from his em ployment, and issued a proclamation, in which it , was stated, that English vessels, to be entitled to ad mission, must henceforward produce a clearance' from some Custom-house in Spain, and that in no - other way would they be allowed to trade." We have also been favoured with an extract of a' letter from Lisbon of the Isth inst. the contents of which are interesting. Treason has again been dis- covered, and among the delinquents are several most interested in the prosperity ,f the country : " LISBON, SEPT. is. f " This is the anniversary o f t h e F e li x R estauracao. Great re- l joicings of course. Our volunteers all out, and to-night the Opera House, for many months shut, will be re-opened under the pa tronage of Mr Villiers and Admiral Berkeley. It is not thought • that it will continue long open, as we have no good actors. Schar manilla is the Prima Donna. Thus you see we are amusing our selves, regardless of danger. From the anti) , we learn nothing— perhaps it Is for the hest that we are kept In perfect darkness. " It is said, that within these few days several arrests have taken place. It is said that Ratton is among the number. They are confined at the Castello Belem. Some fresh instances of treason have been brought to light. Several Judges are among the traitors. " The Portuguese Government betrayed a wish to make a bar gain by the bars of Silver lately sent from England; but in conse quence of the activity, intelligence, and perseverance of Mr. *II, (our Consul) they have been thwarted. It is now understood that they only mean to charge 21. per cent. for the expence of coinage. General Beresford is her e , b u t we k now not w h at he is doing, or ''where his army is. Our artillery crossed the Tagus yesterday and to-day, to join Lord Wellington. " We hear that on the return of the Expedition from Ant werp, 20,000 more troops will be sent to this country they will certainly protract the defence of the kingdom ; but should Austria tall their assistance can be of no avail. " A regiment of cavalry has just arrived from Irela n d (the lit Dragoon Guards), and it i s sa id many more troops ate expected. Lord Wellington Is at Badajos, and report states that ise is at, reed to panintence offenthe operations." ~~~.~ . —Awe THE ARMY. General FRAM embarked yesterday at P ert:. mouth for Gibraltar, where he is app o i nte d Secczci in Command. The ALERT cutter has arrived at Yarmouth florr. Flushing, which place she left on Wednesday even;-- r last—the sick were recovering fast, and the were daily decreasing. In Middleburgh and Flushing fortification s raising, and every preparation was making to rend -r the Island perfectly secure from any hostile attack. The Medical Report from Walcheren I.t:: week $75 men, and 5 officers—Remain in the H osp , tals 8600. Wednesday Colonel COOTS, son of General Co on , with a number of attendants, arrived at Watkins's New Crown hotel, Plymouth Dock, on his Wa y - to Penzance, where he is going for the benefit of hi s health, which is evidently much impaired. Colonel CATHCART, son of Lord CATHCART, MI.O has been very ill since his return from litUing, i s now in a fair way of recovery. General GROSVIMOR is perfectly recovered from late indisposition. Yesterday the Grenadier and Light Companies of the Coldstream Regiment mounted goard at S!. James's, for the first time since their return from South THE LATE DUEL BETWEEN MR. CANNING AND LOGO CASTLEREAGH. A full explanation of the circumstances which led to this extraordinary disagreement has been handed about in the high political circles, together with the note containing the challenge, and Mr. CANNom's answer to that note. As the whole case is but imper. fectly known to the public, we shall endeavour to describe the facts from the representation of those by whom the narrative has been read. So long since as the Easter recess, it was submitted by Mr.CANNING, and given as his opinion in a meeting of the Cabinet Council ( from which Lord CASTLEREAczi was absent), that he considered it absolutely necessary that a change should take place in the War and Co. lonial department. He assigned powerful arguments ircsupport of that opinion, and st_tgested that no one was - so fit to be the successor of Lord Cas - rcescautt as the Marquis WELLESLEY. All the Members of tJe Cabinet then present concurred with Mr. CANNING, who was perhaps the only advocate on that occasion for the immediate disclosure of these sentimms to Lord CASTLEREAGH. The others, irflutwed by a regard to his Lordship's feelings, and having the re. collection of the then recently concluded inquiry into East-India Patronage' fresh in their memory, agreed to postpone the delivery of their avowed sentiments until the . end of the Parliamentary Session. This proposition had Mr. CANNING'S unqualified approba. tion. That period arrived, and Mr. CANNING twin urged the Duke of PORTLAND to enforce the pr situ= submitted to the Cabinet. His Grace, still winced that the necessity had not been diminished, was at a loss to devise the most delicate and prudent means of conveying the sentiments pf the Cabinet to Lord CASTLEREAGH ; but after some few days CK.• sumed in deliberation, Lord CAMDEN was selected as the best calculated f .1- the disclosure. At this junc ture, however, Lord tasmertEacit and most of M.saesTy's Ministers, were so busily occupied in the constructiOn and arrangement of the Expedi tion to the Scheldt, that delay was again deemed prudent ; and no communication was made to Lord CASTLEREAGH until Mr. CANNING, on the 6th inscunt, tendered his resignation. On this occasion the Duke of PORTLAND contrived to communicate the original sentiments of Mr. CANNING, with the concurring ()pi nion of the Cabinet, to Lord CASTLEREAGII, who after a short deliberation wrote to Mr. CANNING a letter of considerable length, in which he charges him with unfair and illiberal motives, accuses him of hypocrisy, demands the accustomed satisfaction, and names the place of meeting, To this note Mr. CANNING returned a laconic answer. He laments that the information given - to his Lordship must have been derived from a very partial source; and that, had hi , : motives been fairly inquired into, it was impossible they could bear the construction so unjustly put upon them. After de. dining all further explanation, Mr. CANNING agrees to the meeting on Putney-Heath. Yesterday afternoon, at two o'clock, a Cabinet Council was held at the Foreign Office; at. which were present the LORD CHANCELLOR, Earls LIVER. TOOL, CAMDEN, CHATHAM, HARROWBY, BATIR:fiST, .and WESTMORELAND ; Lords MULGRAVE and Lab , sow. GOWER, and the CHANCELLOR of the Exuma ER. • Yesterday Sir THOMAS DYE* transacted business . at the Admiralty. The Earl of BATHURST gave a sumptuous dinner on Thursday, at his seat at Wimbledon, to the I lowing Noblemen, &c. Earl of Harrowby, Earl of Liverpool, and Earl of Westinore• la d; Lord Mulgrave, Lord Castlereagh, Lord Levison Gower, Sir Sidney Smith, the Chanceuor of the Exchequer, &c. The Lords of the Admiralty, on the representation of Sir WILLIAM Coitus, have rewarded the Rams. gate boatmen with 4.0 guineas, for their meritorious services on Tuesday last, in saving a 'boat's creg of the DIANA frigate. • During the violent hurricane on Monday Right and Tuesday morning last, the AIert,'DUNCAN, of Lynn, lying in the roads, drove from her anchors, and struck on a sand-bank, by which she sunk, and, it is (earflap will be totally lost, Fortunately the crew were saved, It is understood to be the intention of Mr. Wattoi.g to have his prosecution against Mrs. CLARKE and the NA/RIGHTS moved, by the ordin.iry process, from Hick's Hall to the Court of King's Bench. There is no instance upon record of any specula. , don so well adapted to meet the means and inclina dons of all ranks of society, as that afforded by cut Scheme of the present Stare Lottery ; for those whl require very large fortune may get Eighty Thousand Pounds, by purchasing Four Tickets of One Num ber; those who can be contented with Twenty Thou sand Pounds may obtain that sum by the purchase of Single Ticket ; and even a small share, which is within the means of the humblest individual, will gain him a little independence. • .•• 61 ) i 111 ; m tI 4