The National Register. — London, England, 1808-04-25 00:00:00

APRIL 95. The master of the Satyr, just arrived from rt. Doniis q ,• gives a very different account of the situation of Chris tophe, than that which appeared in the London papers. si 'thin these few days. states it to be the general opinion there that Petion will gain his point, having the greater part of the island under his coiikoul, wherea Christophe is confined to one particular part. And the ad vantages gained lately by his vessels, arc not likely to be of any serious consequence to his adversary. The Satyr has a letter of marque, and appears a very tine ship. The attention of the public haS lately been called to a judgtnent pronounced in the Prize Court of Bombay, Sir . JAME/ MACKINTOSH. An American vessel, trading fron. Providence to the colonies of Mauritius, Batavia, and Al a - had been`captured by virtue of his Majesty's iustrut - Lions of 1803, which direct the seizure of every neutral vessel trading directly between the colonies of the enemy aad the neutral country to which -stich vessel may belong. Sir J. MACKINTOSH pronounced a judgment of restitution. The captors, he said, were justified in detaining this vessel, Because in so doing they were acting in obedience to the nisiructimis. But though the officers in his Majesty's service were hound to obey these instructions, he did not conceive himself, tithing as a Judge of prize in a Court who•e decisions were to be regulated by the law of nations, as bound and concluded by them. " Ile believed, indeed, that he was the first and only Judge who had ventured to pronounce such a doctrine. to every prize court, *very country, by all writers on the subject, and all administra tors of the law, the instructions of the Sovereign were regarded as a lax to the Judge. But he considered the Law of Nations a. , paramount to such instructions; and the King, as having in at id a right to dispense with such law, but not a right to extend it. As far, therefore, as apy of his Majesty's instructions were a le ;acatiou of the law of nations in favour of neutrals, he should consider himself bound by teem; but if he saw in such instruc tions any attempt to extend the law to the prejudice of neutrals, he should not obey them ; but regulate his decisions according the known and recognized law of nations. In the present case, after great deliberation, and minute inquiry, be felt hitmet hound to say, that neither Batavia nor Manilla were such colo nies as to render any trading thereto, by neutral cations in time of war, illegal. It is nt:t their being called colonies that will reader stn a a trading unlawful, notwithstanding the letter of the instructions of tbo.l ; something farther is uccessars , tuni that is. that the trade to and is ith these coluilies was prohibited to such Neutrals in time of peace. Now, we are far from mentioning, it as matter of reproach to Sir J. MACINTOSII, that on a question of the law of ;la pions, he has differed from the statesmen of this country, whose notions on such s:•Sjects are a little lax; but we Cannot help thinking, that it is the first duty of a Judge to übey the instructions 6f his Sovereign's laws, and, if such übe4,tietice be discordant from hill own ideas of right, he !veins to have no option .but to resign his office. A vessel is arrived at Dublin from Cadiz, which place she left the 28th of March, in consequence of a report that an embargo vi•dulti he laid, o ships in that port in the course of tharday. The. Captain States, that the laSt ad vic..'s Grum Madrid, of the 4th of the same month, pur ported, that froni 40 fa 50,000 French - soldiers were al. ready in the neighbourhood of that city ; that there lis.d been disturbances and tumultuous meetings of live people. The Prince of the Peace, he states, had been insulted I.y the.populace. and had withdrawn himself ; but tranquillity bad been restored, without very serious events having taken place. The gate of this intelligence is much earlier than that of the reported insurrection in Madrid, of whici; au contirmatibn has yet reached us. . • An English merchant is arrived in town, who left Lisbon about seventeen days ago. He made his.eseape on board hr C. Cott on ' s fl ee t, h av i ng previously . obtained his pass port as a Spaniard. He has bronghtf• the. Price. Current ivith hitn, both as to inercliandize and provisions. Bread aud ;;our; indeed, appear, from it to he as scarce as lc ;.s repretientedt %it intitton and beef are only about 4d. per potiad and itigreattieUtp as hit all gulls of Ncgetahles. . 1 . THE NATIONAL REGISTER. 267 -oiee classes of the inhabitants sutler distress, thoic espe cially who depended on the Conrt for their subsistence. and who have lost their employment in consequence of its emigration. The French. we are informed, with their characteristic activity, have proceeded in making groat improvements in the city ; more, indeed, than have beet ado for many years before. The Governor has ordered .t.e cleansing, and now pa..ring of most of the streets whit* were before in %cry bad conoition. Other changes, how. ever, have been ofa less grateful nature, and proceed frons motives more doubtful. General Junot has ordered that the images should be melted down. A deputation of Friars waited on the General to procure a respite for a very large and favourite saint, which they begged leave to remove and preserve. His answer was—•" If the statue is of wood, vou may throw it into the Tagus; if brass, von may break it ; but if it is silver, or gold, you must bring it to mei and will melt it." Our squadron in the Adriatic has experienced much kind ness from the inhabitants of the Seven Islands, who have expressed their dcsire to co-operate with a British force iu the expulsion of the French, who are nut in sufficient num bers to sustaiii th:rnselves against a very moderate British force. At Corfu they have only ;ift.;.on !intited men, at Zante only ttie hundred, and fifty at Aphalonis. This lat ter Island would be an acquisition of great %a I tic to us, as we night keep it with 500 men. The inhabitants, who have 110 vessels, are particularly attached to the English. 'it'd by no means partial to the French. We have been informed that Christophe, one of the En-, perors of Hayti, has appointed M. Peltier, the quondam Ediitor of L'Ambigu, to be his Imperial Ambassador at. the Court of London, with a salary of three thousand a year. It is added, that the first remittance has already 1 4een received by his new Excellency in coffee. If this story be true, will our Government accept him ? Capt. Goodall, Admiral of Hayti, is arrived in London. and states, that the object of the expedition of which he had the command, was to destroy yetion's privateers, anti to protect the British trade from insult, under the opera tion of this decree. This object was effected by the de struction of Petioles vessels in the manner already stated. B. H. Kennedy, Esq. Deputy Commissary General, is appointed for the expedition to Sweden, who was out on the late expedition to the Baltic. _ _ It is said that the voyage of the Duke of Orleans for the Mediterranean, has in view an important political object. The Queen of Etruria, it was reported, ssas to marry Lucien Bonaparte. They were then to govern Portugal jointly. Luck-a may perhaps now be less obstinate than soire.years since ; and he may possibly be less averse now to a divorce than when he incurred the resentment of his brother by his attachment to his plebeian wife. The body of the late Mr. Paull was removed from his house in Charles-street, at six o'clock on Thursday morning. and interred in St. James's-church-yard. The funeral was ver ► private, and the body was deposited on the western side of the church-yard. It is said, that Mr. Paull lost 1600'. at the gaming table, on the night previous to his committing the rash act of suicide ; 500/. of which was lent to him by a Marquis. The will of Mr. Paull has been found sealed up, and addressed to Mr. Wollesley, of Shropshire, who was one of his most particular friends. On the day after the suicide, four sealed packets from India were delivered at his house. It is supposed they contain pearls to a con siderable amount. A new Harlequinacle and the Classic Story of Jason and .ITedea, brilliantly illustrated with dresses and scenery, is ,iow performing with bursts of applause, at the New Ace— tre, iu Catherine-street, Strand. The Proprietors have undertaken the task with considerable spirit, and have ren dered the Theatre (he most commodious place within the Liberties. The dresses are designed by Mr. Johnston, me. etanist, late of the Theatre-Royal, Drury-Lane ; the mil !4;1! by Mr. Omni. We sincerely hope their ondeQuurs weet siith r ; it rt