The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser. — London, England, 1803-05-16 00:00:00

40 r 41F Z ° - IC t • • i~ i~ N% N.rri LON DO N, MONDAY, MAY 14:11 , 14 hand a Bill, the otjca of which was to prori,L_ fru the more ettYClaal trial accessaries in the caw...! of wilfully sinking and destroying ships, in or,ler defraud the trader% titers, and hie other never try purposes. As the Law now stood, the insirumerit or person, whether captain or not, who actually committed the fad, was l'able to be tried Lfore the high Court of Atimir.lty ; but it was row kncvn that there etisted great doubts as to the tribunal before which the accessaries on shore, who had rlanned and contrived the plan of such atrocious frauds, could be brought to trial. In a . recent instance the captain or instrument, who actu ally was the cause of the ship's sinking, had been tried and convicted, and had bmce suffered the law ; but it was found, that a fit tribunal to try the acces sari's, whose criminality was the most aggravated, as they had on shore coolly plahned the fraud, had not been pointed out by any existing statute. They had received his Majesty's pardon ; and therefore immediately neon their being let loose on the pub lic, he had thought it his duty, vs ith the advice and concurrence of the Judges, to prepare a Bill drawn for the purpose of amending the law as it stood, and supplying its deficiency in this particular. Ills Bill also comprehended anotlkr objed, and it was this: Hitherto, although persons guilty of murder on the high seas were liable to be tried and capitally pu nished, those guilty of manslaughter were not. This Bill went to apply a remedy to that defea also, by enatling, that persons guilty of manslaughter on the high seas should also be liable to be tried on short•. His I cricliip presented the Bill, and it was read a first time, al,d ordered to be lead a second time on Monday. THEATRE-ROY/a, DRURT-LANE. TO MORROW EVENING will lu• pert . ..ruled tli.• Comedy of THE MARRIAGE PROMIsE. Tbs. Clunk:ler. by Mr C. Dent! , .., Mr. Daley., Sir. Dow ton, Mr H o llingi*oult, Mr. Battu . ..Nur, Jun. Mr PAluu.r, Sir. 7 4 ,e, Mr. Mr. l'uner, Mr. Fans. MN. Powell, MY. Mirairn, M4,1,1.)44.4, Mr*. Spailo, Mrs. Junl.ol. I'o which will tv. I.ODOISKA. THEATR E-R0 C 0 ,"ENT-G,IR DEN: Tins KV ENIN:. will be pre , ent , l ..t New Comedy cwiled JO! IN M . ; Or, AN F.Ni;LISIIM -01'4 EIRE-S11)E. . The Frincipal CloAracteN by Mr. Lewis Mr. Murray, Mr. FAweeti, Mr. Julinstinie, Mr. IL Johleacin, Mr. K aisch.el, Mr. Fnu..re, Mr. Xi/Ad:, , 1 1 4,.• 11. Mfg. MO Mr*. JObt*lnn. With al.yrio.l T.) which will b a.l.k 1 , 4 new Ntip.rwl k..ttertaititneot, (dkl THE FAIR FLICIITIVES. /An mdt will perforrittl on 'FltutsdAy ain't &Auntie!. THEATRE-ROT.iL, "Lir mARK El'. The PUBLIC are mo-t rcsreffully informal that 'IrIIS THEATRE WILL OPEN THIS EVENING. with NO PRELUDE! In,' ELLISTON and Ntr. WALDRON To cum-It/de with a PROLOGUE by Mr. ELLISTON. After winch a Comedy, in Faye Acts, called THE JEW. Sir Stvhen Wiliam, Mr CHAPMAN, (Front the Theatre, Worcester); Frederick, Mr. If. KELLY, (From the Theatre, Poi ; Charles RatclitTe, Mr. I. PALMER ; Sauniters, Mr. BARTLEY ; Shera, Mr. ELLIS - IV ; Jahel, Mr. MATHEWS, (From the Theatre-Rntal fork.) Mr.. Ratcliffe, !Ars. CLEL AND, t Fioni the Theatre, Plymouth.) Pk= Ratclige, Mr.. GIBBS; Mrs. Goodison, Mrs. WARD, (From the Theatr R (131, York.) Dorcas. Mrs. KEYS, (From the Ifliestr...-Royal, Weymcuth.) To which will he arklud. THE AGREEABLE SURPRISE. Lino., Mr mATnEws. LAMA, Mrs. ATKINS, m (To the Thiastre-Rin Ai, Ctelellt.GArdell). Mrs. Cheshire, Mrs. WARD ; Cow-lip, Mr.. tal;BS. Tri-morrow, Lovers with other Entertahime•ite. Ot Wechkeaday, Mr. Bli, et, irons the •Flieatre-R.isal, With, will snake his first 'appearance, in tliz Character of Sir John Lai tad, in the First Part of King I lenry the fourth. TO CORRESPONDENTS. Tht• letter to Mr. Fox is not fit 14 insertion. M 4 aces Aeß«tus shall appear the first open day. Titovoirrs tr,on the Purist It tt es are also dela) until an opportunity ehall offer for hoif•rtion. . The Art.ele up In DISCOUNT and Usual,' will be returned to X. Y. The EDITOR ifinilliged to OLD Nice, ands:tall be happy to bra- from hint coml. THE BRITISH PRESS. Pope, trepidation, and anxiety, prevailed in an extraordinary degree, on Saturday, in the City. Lord Wits rwoRTH'S delay at Paris was considered as favourable to r . , 7e, and the morning commenced with a more general expeetation of an amicable ter mination of the present disputes with France than had been entertained for several preceding days. The Three per Cent. Consols opened at (iii, wi:h a very promising appearance, and before twelve o'Llock had risen to 6.51, for money, and (i 5! for account ; a price considerably above the average of the last four or five weeks. Between twelve and one, however, a report was circulated that a French Messenger had just arrived with peremptory instruc tions to General Asps bss, to leave London imme diately : several circumstances tended to confirm this report, and accelerate the depression of the Funds. No fewer than ten expresses from France arrived in the course of the morning, some contain ing orders for the sale of Stock, and others for the purchase of various articles of merchandize, parti cularly sugar, which was in great demand by the F renc h houses, at ao advanced price of two or three s hillings per cwt. The French Agents also, upon whose information much reliance has been placed, sold largely of stock in theeaily part of the Upoa this report of General Amu itzus.:l's orders to return, thOs strengthened, tilt Funds fell suddenly to t:2l, but they were gradually recovering until two, when the following letter, of which this is a copy, was received by the LORD MAYOR. "rvr 60k n• D o wning-4rect, May 14, IRO3. " I think it sight to Ilsr no time informing your Lord " ship, that Lisut, the Nl::s.esiger, i.s joist arrivA from Paris .4:th dilimehes from Lord Wm ITWOR rot, by which it ap " pear. that L•ml WolTworris hrd received his pa4tports, " ar.l soak on the point of leaving Paris when the Mcasanur " critic away usi Thursday evening. " 1 laec the honour to be, 44 m y Lord, your " ay. dkr:tit and hussiLlz :ert ant, " II kW!. LSBURY." " The !it'd Hon. the 1.0, D NI sync." Mr. taste left Paris at nine o'clock on Thursday evening, on his way from St. Petersburgh, with dis patches, and was only detained in his route by Lord Wto it wok EH, so long as was necessary for his Lordship to prepare :he communication which is the foundation of the above letter. The LORD MAYOR in person carried it to Lloyd's and the Stock Ex change, where he read it to his fellow-citizens. — For the purpose of immediate and more general publicity, copies of it were also posted up upon the Mansion Howie, and sent round to the principal Coffee-houses. 'I he result of this information was an immediate depression of the funds to GU, and for a few minutes to rl, from which last price, however, Ciey shifted, and continued at alxrut 61: for the rest of the day. A few private bargains were done, we understand, at a late hour, for (it:. At no time ef the day were the funds below 61, which, consideriag that a very large quantity of stock was , old out, proves that the public were by no means panic struck by the unfavourable intelligence an nounced in Lord Hawetsecev's Letter. —The first impression made upon the funds by this communication appears to have been reduced in some degree by retie:lion. The circumstance of Lord WHITWORTH'S having received his passports', it was argued, announced nothing new ; and as to his being on the point of leaving Paris, that was said not to be half so strong as the assurance that had been lately given of his having actually set out on Wed nesday se'enight. The communication was also considered pacific, for this farther reason, as a pos sibility still remained that Lord WHITWORTH might be detained at Paris, and the negotiation be yet brought to a favourable conclusion. This inference probably produced the rise in the after-part of the day from 61 to 61;, but we do not think it warranted, in its full extent, by the premises. In the first place,. the French passports are only made out for a limited time. The passports therefore alluded to in Lord HAW KESBI: av's Letter cannot allude to those which Lord Witorwoirrit originally demanded, at the time a fresh proposition was made to him by the French Government, but to new passports, and as such import, on the part of his Lordship, a recent determination to quit Paris, and that could cnly be in consequence of the last orders, and, as they arc universally considered, the final orders of his Court. It was also reported on Saturday that the Messenger represented his Lordship us in the :k't of setting out, and that he had preceded him merely as an avant Courier to announce his arrival in the several towns through which :re was to pass, and to bespeak relays of horses.—Many circumstances which transpired on Saturday evening and yesterday, tended to confirm the report of Lord W lu TWOII T departure from Paris, and inspire a belief that war is inevitable.—After the departure of Mr: List, t: the Messenger. from France, two packets sailed, one from Calais, and the other from Bou logne, both of which landed on Saturday at Dover. The passengers, several of them persons of great respeaability, report, that Lord WHITWOR - 1 . 11 had aEtuaily left Paris, that he slept on Friday night at Motureiul, and was to sleep on Saturday night at Boulogne. • 'Fhis account was corroborated by the relents which were propogated yesterday upon the arrival of Nr. SHAW, the Messenger. He left Calais about seven o'clock on Saturday evening, and reached town about ten o'clock yesterday morn ing. According to his report Lord WHITWORIH had left Paris at eleven o'clock on Thursday night ; previous accounts had represented hint in • that capital so late as nine, and his Lordship, if he returned by Boulogne, might be expected in town to-morrow. The lhichess of DoRSLT, it is said, did nut leave Paris previous to his Lordship's de parture, but travels along with him. These warlike rumours from the other side of the water, are farther confirmed by what took place at home on Saturday. In the morning the changes of horses for his MAa ter v's return to Windsor were as usual sent on to Cranford Bridge, and for her . MAJESTY and the Pelee esses to Hounslow. His MAJESTY'S carriage, which had been ordered upon the presumption of the early arrival of a Messen ger from France, was also in readiness ; but the ex peaed Messenger not arriving in time, the Boy s. FAstriv remained in town ; mei a groom was dispatched to Windsor to announce the change in the Royal will. Upon the arrival of Mr. Lists, at one o'clock, the contents his dispatches were laid before his Majesty. A Cabinet Council tvas afterwards held upon them, and dispatches, we understand, were, on Saturday night, and yesterday morning, sent by express to all the principal ports, ordering an embargo to be laid on all French vessels. We cannot learn whether or not the Dutch trade has been subje&ed to a like operation, but we suppose it has, as the Dutch Ambassador here makes common cause with the French, and Holland is as completely under the subjation of the Ft it ST CONSUL as the most servile department of France. The French Government, however, adheres to its sys tem of delay, and seems anxious to spin out a little more time in negotiation. On Saturday night about nine o'clock, a Messenger as ived with dispatches for General A snafu ossi. A sacond arrived yesterday mowing at five, and a third yesterday aWut one. On the arrival of the last Mess.nger, Isis Excellency was on it visit to the Portuguese Ambassador, in South Audley street ; from whence he afterwards proceeded to take an airing. The Messenger went immediately in the chaise in which he arrived in pursuit of him, and returned with his Excellency to his house in Portland-place. At five o'clock he sent off the Nlesserger who arrived at five in the morning, and went out to dinner. I its Excellency had not return ed at a late hour, and up to one o'clock this morn ing there Baas no symptom of any preparation for his departure. The French Messenger, who arrived at one o'clock yesterday, brought also letters for Lord lIA w t: ay, which, with the dispatches of Mr. San Alt, were yesterday submitted to a Cabinet Coun cil. The Council sat from three until near five o'clock. From the activity of Couriers, and sittings of Council after the negotiation was supposed to be exhausted, and all discussion closed upon the point, it was presumed, last night, that some new proposition was made by France, and several pacific reports were put into circulation. It was said that, even supposing Lord \Voir. worrn to have left Paris, the door was not closed upon peace, as his Lordship's Secretary would remain behind : and that Gen. AND It toss!, on the event of his departure, would leave behind him his Secretary, so that a direct medium of di plomatic intercourse between the two countrieswould still continue. Rumours of a contrary nature were not, however, warning. Some said that orders were received for the departure of the Ambas sador and all the commercial Consuls, and that war was to have been actually proclaimed on Saturday in France. We are not able to decide between these opposite reports, but we do think .hat the pacific rest upon a better foundation. By I pacific we mean those reports uhich tend to in spire a hope that a decided rupture of the negoti ation is not near at hand. His Majesty's Message, it is well known, came by surprize upon the FIRST CONSUL. He was entirely unprepared for the blow. Procrastination of course became the sole policy which he could pursue. Every day some rich mer chantman, that in the event of a war would have fallen into the hands of our gallant tars, arrives safely in the ports of France, of Spain, and Holland. Every hour of delay, until all his interests are se cured, his plans laid, and his means matured, is a vierfory won by the FIRST CONsLL. Ihe spirit of France, it is also well known, is not yet wound up to a war height. The body of the people of. France are anxious for peace; nor is there a friend of Bo- AI'A wr E who does not think war would place him in a most perilous sitnation. The disposition of the principal Powers of Europe also does not seem to be friendly to his views. The Emperor of GER MANY regards him with an angry eye, and the Emperor of Russia is assembling a large army ostensibly against Sweden, but universally believed to be in fa6t called forth by his jealousy of the FIRST CONSUL, and as a restraint upon his ambitious pro jeas. Prussia, alone wedded to France by a Cold and avaricious policy, is anxious to remain neuter, in which situation she may be .:hle to supply her friend with naval stores. The navy of France is also in a very reduced state. Wit', the exception of six men of war building at Toulon, the French have little more than a few sloops and frigates in the Mediterranean. They reckon fifteen sail of the hoe at Brest, many of them, however, not fit for sea ; but then they have a strong fleet in the Dutch ports We mean strong in com parison with • the French naval force in other quarters; for the Firtsv Cossu t. himself, in one of his conversation; with Lord WI;ITWORTH, ad mitted that it would take ten years to enable the fleet of France to cope with that of England. With all these unfavourable circumstances, it is, notwith- standing, supposed that he is d, termined upon a ructure, and that he only waits the favourable mo ment to strike the blow. Tha: L ow, it is feared, will be first made against P. I t i dal, and under that idea it is conjured our Goverrment have taken measures to occupy the Bra;ils, and so far disap point his projeas. The question of War, accord ng t( report, has been submitted to a Council by the Ft a T CoNsot.. lie may probably wish to associate come of his Se , mates, or Legislative Bodies, in the responsibility of the resolution, whether it be tor Peace or War ? .. EMI The artifice, however, if meant as a sa*Ziion fUr .confhiet, is a shallow invention. he States of Eu rope would consider the determination of such a Council as they would the ver,:idt of a pada jury. Yesterday we received Paris papers to the 13th. Those cf the I'.lth confirm the report of the FutsT CoNsut. having received a fall from an open car t iae..,e in the garden of St. Cloud, but it does not ap pear to have been attended with any serious conse quences. The French five per cents. were on tho lth at 55.?.0. They appear to be dv.:l;iiing gradu ally. There are rot wanting persons who, under the idea that a communication could have been made on Saturday, censure Ministers for the adjournment . of both Houses of Parliame:lt till this day. This supposition, grounded upon Lord HAwKr.ssus v's letter to the Loan Nl...vote, is not a fair one. The matter disclosed was not of the decisive nature promised to Parliament, and which alz.ne could be the subjet of the Royal Message. It appears to have been communicated to the Lotto MA vote, mercy to protect the market from fraud, imposition, and false reports. The Prince of \VALEs and Duke of Cumr:r*:- LAN D, visited their MAJESrus yesterday mornin7, at the Queen's House. About half past three, Mr. AnniNoros waited on his MA.II:3TV, and had a long conference. Yesterday the Hon. and Hey. Mr. Srorrorto performed Divine Service before their MAJLs - rss.s and PR INCES.,Es at the Queen's-House. The Gazette of Saturday night containel an Or der in Council for prohibiting for two months, from the 11th inst. the exportation of naval stores; and another of the same date, for allowing vessels em ployed in the African trade to take on board car. riage-guns, swivels, &c. for their defence against as enemy. On Saturday night Mr. MAJOR, the Messenger, was sent with dispatches to Portsmouth. Yesterday about three o'clock, Mr. WAC;Si APE was sent ex press to the Earl of LINI.R POOL, at his country house. _ . _ _ _ _ Our Correspondent at Deal, under date of Satur day evening, mentions the arrival of the Ambus cade frigate, from Admiral TnoitNnoitocca's squadron, which he left cruising off Goree. Letters from Portsmouth received yesterday state, that the Woodford, for China, was the only arrival at that port in the course of Saturday; the Prevoy ante went into harbour ; and that the Amphion was lying in re.:diness to carry Lord NELSON to the Me diterranean. Orders were, on Saturday, sent from the Admi ralty to Admiral Coax WALLIs, for the sailing of his squadron from Torbay. Russia, Austria, and Prussia, have severally de clared their intentions to preserve the stridest neu trality in the coming war. Prussia has denied tl.e assertion made in most of the Foreign Journals, that she meditated the occupation of Hanover, and the shutting up of the Elbe and Weser against the commerce of England, his Majesty declaring that he will preserve the free navigation of those rivers, and maintain the independence and neutrality of Hanover. Communication to this effect was re. ccived by the Regency or. the '26th ult. and dis patched to London. Letters received by the Paris mail, on Saturday, assert. that in the event of a war with England, the French Government had made arrangements for taking possession of Genoa, Leghorn, and all the Neapolitan harboum Upwards of 100,000 men are marching to Italy, and are to form two camps in Piedmont and Lombardy. The King of ETRURIA is to furnish a given force, to be at the disposal of France. The Emperor of Ru , si in reply to the letters addressed to him by the CHIEF CUNSL L, and con veyed to Petersburgh b y the Chief rf Brigade Co BERT, on the subject of the difference with England, has declared that, should a war result from it, he will exert his whole influence and power to preserve the neutrality of the Ntath. The recent arma ments in the Russian dominions, although pro fessedly against Sweden, are supposed to have been made with this view, the more especially as the na val equipments are still continued, notwithstanding the adjustment with the Court of Stockholm. It is certain that both Russia and Prussia refused to uarantee the independence of Malta. The recent condud Of BONAPARTE to the Empe ror of GERMANY has been in the highest - degree in sulting and humiliating ;—in speaking to the Impe rial Minister at Paris, on the subject of the delay in the Ratification of the Conclusum, observed, that the impotency of Austria being known to all Eu rope, this reluctance on part of his MAJESTY tet confirm a measure which lie could not avert, only rendered his weakness the more manifest, and his folly the more ridiculous : but he should beware how he trifled with the French Nation, lest, in ex ading the penalty of the offence, the Sovereignty of Austria should be annihilated." Amongst other means used by BONAPARTE to intimidate the Em peror, and accelerate the Ratification, the French troops in the Brisgau were reinforced, and ordered to remain in possession of that country until the Ra tification was announced. The animated panoramic pidure of the Shipping in Leith Road:, and the City of Edinburgh, now ex hibiting in Spring Gardens, seems daify to rise in 'the estimation of the public. The Painter has stu died from nature, and his piaiire is a masterpiece. The effed of light and shade upon the water is far beyond any thing we have' ever seen ; the prosped is grand, animating, and impressive. The sweetly romantic environs the Scotch metropolis are too well known to require any comment : the Artist could not have chosen a better sullied. The Lilliputian triumvirate, Masten BLACK MORE and Goooiscs, and Miss H. LETTIN, at the Royal Circus, are the astonishment of each observer. litacitstoaa, as Lounger LighOnger, bears a strong resemblance to the Bond-street non-entities. The hornpipe of Master GOODINGS is well danced, and he gives the broad sword exercise with the precision Of an old soldier. Miss H. LE yr is, as the infant Prince, in the Serious Spectacle, and Queen Mae, in the Comic Pantwnitne, receives the highest applause. r