The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser. — London, England, 1803-04-12 00:00:00

r ,*# lotir - " -- r°^ 46 -••••• • • 7 .... . LAI ' 4 . OREIGN 114,7 ELLIGENCE. face 111 riaNcH PV Ens. RERNZ, MAN.CII The day lwf yr, yesterday has been one of tarot and alarm to us. Some time singe a kind of agita von ferment was observed anarng the troops, for which, thtir pay being, in arrrar, WAS &tined to he CA , W, in the prat_xt. The was the day tised by the arta-ps for the settlement to take place. Measures offretaution were adopted by the Go verment. The first battalion of the 4.2 ti, which was to have departed en that day, received orders remain ; and three companies of the battalion, M ad, winch bad just arrived from the Italian Can tons, were posted near the gate of Soleurc. The ..!tith, about half-past seven in the evening, the Sa is, Command.mt of the place received Win-- 'nation, that the soldiers were in a state of insur rectian in the barracks, and that many of them had a:ready forced the barriers. He repaired immedi ately to the Chief de Brigade of the hth regiment of French Chassenrs, and induced him to order out patrols-. of Cavalry, to Arrest such Swiss slithers as were found in the streets and public houses. At ten o'clock the Commandant received further in fo rmatioa, that the Helvetic soldiers had fired on the hench patroles across th, barriers of the bar racks, and had wounded several soldiers. At three quarters past ten the Helvetic hussars joined the two insurgent battalions, and sounded a charge. Im mediately the greater part of these battalir.iis rushed out with their arms. shouting and beating the Ge sevsk as they advanced ; they proceeded with an in tention to seize the arsenal, ani to force the gates of A rhimr7 and Fribourg; but finding those parts well secured they retreated. At eleven o'clock the Generate was beat on all sides, and the French tr ran to the alarm post,. The Insurgents s !Itig tnessiscises surrounded, retired within their b ir:acks. I hey were afterwards paid, and order was le-est ihii-heel. On the lith, at five in the mnrning, all the Gar. ri.on Wat ordered under arms, and ,t Council of %Vat was held. Two hussars, a grenadier of the second battalion, and eigia artillenas were examined. At half after eleven the grenadier, who it was affirmed threatened to strike General Vanderweid, was Cnn• 4.10111. ed to die, and was immediately shut. The r ..mpeter who s• anded the charge, was also con demred to die, hut the Council of Revision com muted the sentinice to 14 years imprisonment in irons; a brigadier of hussars was sentenced to ten ran in irons. The eigta anilltrists agaiast whom the citargcs were different, were sentenced to accum rmy their corps in a state of arrestation. At two o'clock in the afternoon, the Helvetic troops depart ed for Murat, and at present the greatest tranquil lity reigns in the city. - - PARTS, APRIL 7. in virtue of an agreement entered into betwixt the ['owes% interested in the re-establishment of the Order of Mina, And consented to on the part of his Dritanuic Nlajesty, on the sth of June M.:, the Domination of the Grand Nlaster was given up to hi. t hairless the Pore, on the presentation of the Priors of the Order. The Holy lather and the I riurs acceded to this arrangement. !n consequence of this his Loliness, on the 9th of iebruary, nominated ;NL de lhonlasy, Grand Nlas ter of the Ordtr, who accepted the appointment. '1 he new Grand Mane; j,tdged it expedient to mid to Malta Commandcr NI. Busy, whom he Appointed his Lieutenant; with full powers suitable t., that rank. M. Busy Arrived in the island on the 9th Ventose (1-ebreary ; the following letters v iii show wliatc was the result of his mission. ltirtlt Ot TILL LOMMANi)Lit 'Wilt, TO THE M:SISTEI Or LN4LAND ♦I MALTA. " "11{, 41 1 had the honour this morning to explain to y‘sur Extellency the 0hji...1 of the mission which his Highness the Clrand Maser of the Order of St. John of Jerusa:an commissioned me to execute at Malta. .4 To this explanation your Excellency answered that no orders Ltd been received for the evacuation of isl chi by the English garrison, and you gave me to understand, that the Grand Master weuld do %tell not to take up his resideace there for some time. After raeeting on the answer of your Ex cellency, 1 hree thought that it is not only tuisatis faa..ry, but that it required acme farther explana. tion. 4 , As the answer of your Excellency seemed to involve a refusal to give up the island of Malta to the Order of St. John of Jet usalem, conformably to the tenth article of the Treaty of Amiens, and as such a violation of that treaty of peace might be attended with the most important consequences, consequences fatal indeed to the repose of Europe& I cannot rest contented with the verbal answer which your Excellency has thought proper to give me ; and I should be deficient in confidence to the Grand Master, as well as in the dignity and duty suited to the charaaer with which he has invested me, it I did not invite you, Minister Plenipotentiary, clearly to explain, in distina form, the motives of so unapt ted a refusal. i have therefore the honour to remind your Ex cellency, that conformably to the fourth paragraph of the untli article of the Treaty of Amiens, the tortes of his Britannic Majesty were to evacuate the isiand and its dependencies within the space of three niocths after the ratifications were exchanged, or tallier, if pissible -6' Th.A. period has long since expired. The treaty adds, that the A lord shall be given up to the Order In tee present owe, provided that tax Greed Matter or Lit Calatatnatia, te.. 1 1 . s authorized azeorifing le the statute, II for firtler. thaseld be 14 the laid island to talc testes ue tt. awl the twits to le furtmehel by kis &anus 11.-jsay rii.auth..ty .are irml. 4. , Thew troops have lung since arrive/; there remain% old? one .ondiciini to be fulfilled, which was therein:re tit tlst (;rend Master, or his corn rnonaries. ta'e ease 'lieu. I have the honour to osm.erve to your I.aell 'sty, that by my arrival in cm. mat ..-ondii,its.l is fulfilled. His August k. -Owner cat Grind Master, has ix:en pleased to 01* ilia Andsa..saJoe and N•Liaister Plenipo r) tr4 , l-0 , 21.4r. en his same re trail of; follows o r ..frai.de, ciao) lad., atm! eutsart with tie Foghth axe' Preseeb f a iempienl art, slnd a..ah (swims 1.0,Te tb triPrefelleisi Ey the Ma d. di/ :P r A nd", „g o . 1, Cc /be rell4"14 10 4 rfitrii. tit 11141 to, sad partite ,evowerore r,laget to the ethers - of i 1 C,, der to the 111.144, ated dbe rsv . 4:lMatioes 41 ihr &c, : Au l a ate malt ut. the lull I ,os‘er ) with which l all LONDON, TUESDAY, Aram It!. The Monitevr of the ith instant, received yester day, announces that the Evriltotts of RUSSIA and GEILSIANY, have long since guaranteed the inde pendence of Malta; and that P t; ss; A, which was the only neceisary power that had not given a positive an,wer, has, under the present circumstances, also consented to guarantee the independence of that island. The paragraph containing this intelligence is at the end of a letter from Berlin, dated the I Z,VJ of March, from which however it is separated by a hue. We are theretOre at a loss to decide, ~.....:. whither it ts an original French article, er the :op• of a Prascian document. In either cafe it is evi dently sent into the world as official, and indeed the rise of the French funds, as also the circumstance of its appearing on the 7th, the day after the return from Lerjin, speal strongly in suniert its truth and authenticity. This disclosure cannot fail to excite much surprize, Russia having been univer sally considered the poser with whom the difficulty rested. It Is ill also be the source of great satisfac tion to those who narrow our dispute with France to the mere surrender of Malta, conformable with the stipulations of the treaty of Amiens. —In this number we do not, however, reckon ourselves. Russia is independent of France. She is in terested in the independence of Malta, and able to maintain that independence. Russia, therefore, is an effectual substantial guarantee. Of all the Powers of Europe, Prussia is, on the contrary, the F least interested on the question. She is, besides, a Power over whom France must always have great influence, and Great Britain little or none. That Ministers should therefore risk a renewal of the war ; that they should risk the slightest imputa tion upon the honour of the country, for the mere purpose of procuring for the Order such a guaran tee as Prussia, is not a very probable case. We do believe, however, that in the retenticni of the Island, Ministers had an ulterior object, and w nether that object was to influence subsisting negotiations, or as a measure *of precaution, Ministers had a fair and just ground to delay the surrender until every condi tion however minute was fulfilled. The question is, however, now brought to issue upon a specific point. The tith clause of the 10th article of the Treaty states, that the " independence of the isles of Malta, of Gozo, and Comino, as well as the present arrangement, shall be placed under the protection and guarantee of France, Great Bri tain, .Austria, Spain, Russia, and Prussia." — The objedion on which we relied being now done away by the undertaking of all these Powers, the retention of the Island, if it is to continue, must be , placed upon a new foundation. Hitherto we have withheld it as a matter of ri,;* ht. From any thing that appears in the case, we du not see how it ran be withheld any longer but as matter of expediercy. Malta now stands upon the same footing as the Cape and Goree. It can only be retained as a measure of precaution in the prospect of an imme diate rupture with France, or as a security against that system of encroachment and aggrandizement, which she has uniformly pursued since the execution of the Treaty of Amiens in violation of the rights of independent states, and working a complete change in the face of Europe, and the circumstances under which that Treaty was concluded. The ilkeittur also contains the correspondence between M. DL Busy the Plenipotentiary sent by the NEW GRAND MASTER of MALTA, to demand the surrender of the island of the English Governor, Sir A trx. BALL. The former contends that all the conditions stipu lated in the Treaty of Amiens respe:ting the Island of Malta being fulfilled, it ought to he immediately given up to the GRAND 'M A5l en, and makes a formal demand for that purpose. To this demand Sir ALEXANDER BALL answers, that as some Of the Powers who were to guarantee the independence of Malta have not yet acceded to that measure, he can not consent to give up the Island until he receives spe cial instrudions from his Government for that pur pose. This is the substance of the correspondence. It is a curious article, but it has lost much of its impor tance, as the ground upon which it preceded has been done away by the subsequent consent of Prussia to become a guarantee of Malta.—lt cannot, how ever, fail to excite considerable interest ; still as it chews the spirit of the New Grand Master, who, if he be faithfully represented by his Plenipotentiary, appears to be the mere creature of the Finsi - CoNsc L. He demands the immediate surrender of the Island, and charges a moment's delay as a vio lation of the Treaty of Amiens, that may perhaps involve the most fatal consequences. This is the very language, principle, and spirit, of the French Go vernment. Had he consulted right and justice, he should have made out his title before lie demanded possession. He should have seen that every antecedent condition was fulfilled before he demanded the ulti mate execution to which that condition was a requi site plenipotentiary.•—But no. He looked to nothing but the possession, and if he could only obtain that, he cared little about its independence. That this change respecting Malta is considered pacific in France, we might fairly presume upon the great rise in the French funds. They left off on the Gth at 55. 70. But it is possible that this rise may have been chiefly occasioned by the pro posed Law to invest the Sinking Fund of the Bank of France in the 5 per cent. Consols. ; a pro position calculated of course to produce a rise in that Stock. We observe too, that the aaions of the Bank have fallen in the same proportion as the 5 per cents. have risen ; not two months ago they were above I 300 ; they are now 1120—a fall of 200. Though the French Papas afforded us no reason to suppose that affairs have assumed a less warlike aspea, private persons who have arrived from I _.---. tliase three day; It.itz, :!..4 the pecple of rtance entertain more pacific expedatims :!•4i they did, and believe that the differences between the two countries will be amicably adjusted. Permission ha, been given to import foreign coin from Fratwe, and 1c33 casks arrived from Calais yesterday. This is considered a pacific symptom. The FR ENC II AMBASSADOR was called out from dinner yesterday at the Mansion-house, to read dispatches. He was detained from the com pany Aiwa ten minutes. Ile returned to the roi.nr in high spirits, and did not leave the Mansion-Iw,-- until half-past twelve o'clock. He conversed a great deal with different people in the course of the evening, and it was universally said that he had spoken in terms favourable to the continuance of peace. General Duuoc arrived on Monday evening at the Pahree of the Thuilleries from his mission at Berlin. Ile set off immediately for Ma/mai:on, to meet the FIRST CoNsui.. In conformity with Bo , : A A art's principle, that Great Britain shall riot interfere in the affairs of the Continent, he has communicated the Ad of Media tion of the I 9 Swiss Cantons to every Power in Eu rope, except Great Britain. It appears from the .Imerican papers, received to the 3d of March, that little credit is due to the French accounts. The Cape is again threatened by a numerous force. During the absence cf Gen. koc , r.% BLAC, while end iged in the expedition against Miragoane, the Negroes collected in great numbers, and kept the whole of that part of the colony in a continual state of alarm. Dispatches were received froth Lord WHIT. WOR rit yesterday morning. l fispatehes were also re ceived by General Asnc.tossE Great aaivity pre. vails in the Cabinet, and the two important objeas of the Negotiation with France, and the new Mini sterial arrangements, occupy the whole time and attention of Iris MAJEsTy's Ministers. A Lisbon Mail arrived on Sunday. When the Packet sailed, it was reported that the French fleet, under the command of Admiral LINOIS, originally statcd'to be intended for the East Indies, had sailer, but that its real destination was to take possession of the Brazils. When it is recollected that the idea of a rupture between this country and France has spread a very general alarm throughout Portugal, the new destination of the French fleet may have no other foundation but what rests on the tears of the Lisbon merchants. A packet, which sailed from Dover on Wednes day, fell in with a French transport with troops on board, supposed to have come out of Dunkirk ; from which place, it is said, several transports have sailed within these few days. The Journal des Debats announces that the Spanish Government has issued orders for restoring the re lations of its American Colonies with the United States to the same footing on which they were be fore. Notwithstanding the alarming reports circulated against Ireland with the vilest motives, and for the worst purposes, that country is now in a state of pro found tranquillity. " The assizes at Wexford, the focus of the late rebellion," says a Correspondent of undoubted veracity " proved a maiden one, and I do not believe there has been any trial on any of the circuits for any crime conneEted with rebellion or insurrOton, Upon the permanence or precari ousness of this tranquillity, in the event of a war, I will not speculate. If on the one hand the loyalty of the upper and middle classes be above all suspi cion ; on the other, the poverty of the lower orders in the south and west afford an ample field for the agitator and the revolutionist." The Mail f;.br Dunkirk was, by mistake, sent to Dover along with the English Mail on Friday night ; and was on the point of being sent to Lon don, when a letter arrived from Calais stating the error. The inhabitants of Dunkirk would, no doubt, be in great alarm, in consequence of the Mail not arriving as usual ; they would not receive it sooner than Sunday night. A merchant vessel, which arrived at Yarmouth yesterday, brought intelligence, that when she left Hamburgh the Senate was debating the question, " Whether they should proteCt the city themselves, or allow the Pruss;an troops to march in for that purpose r-Our letters from Yarmouth do not men tion on what day the vessel left Hamburgh, from which we should have been inclined to believe that this is merely an erroneous statement about the Sit ' ting of the Senate respesting the Manifesto which has already made so much noi-e ; but we rather think, in consequence of a letter received from Ham burgh by the last Mail, that the Senate has some new matter before it. The people of Switzerland appear to be extremely ungrateful for the blessings which the parental kindness of the First Consul has bestowed upon them ; for they have been in a state of Insurreition evei since he restored them to tranquillity. By letters from Madrid, it appears that the Court of Spain has resolved to re-establish its relations with the United States of America, on the footing on which they stood before the war. To this de termination the spirited resolutions of the Ameri cans have, no doubt, greatly contributed. The Royal Marines at Stonehouse and Mill Bar racks, are almost all embarked on board the Men of War fitting for sea in Hamoaze. There are about 00 rank and file left at Quarters. Recruits for this valuable and national corps, mostly fine young. country lads, are marched in daily to Head-quarter , . The different detachments of Royal Marines en.- barked from Plymouth since the bustle, are allowed by every person to be the finest body of troops ever seen to embark on any service, both in appearance, health, discipline, and appointments. The libel upon his BRITANNIC RIAJZST V, which appeared at full length in the Hamburgh Papers of the 30th ult. and which was before that wisely mo dified by the Syndic and Censor of the Press, was, it is said, previously communicated to Sir GEo a or; Rt.:smut" the British Charge d' A j fairel, who is re ported to have answered, that it the Senate was forced to Consent to the insertion of such communi cations from the French Government, they mt of course do the same justice to such articles as he, GEORGE, might receive from his Government, publish them accordingly. This wretched lam) had the effeet of raising the present prices of ante from 5 to 10 per cent. as well as the prii coffee and sugar. mg R mist of :le, Sir at, and rnpocrt 1 insur- -ices of • r!!!"T • - 71r._'‘ , • I, and of which I ha ~ .e. the heeledr to 0 4 5 subjoin II v fil. • e perusal of your Excellency. for t.., ably to the tenpin- of these full power s , 411 3 •Ir•-• .of the different conditions stipulated e for . the snrrender of the the fu he ltal Tr iens aty .. of ~.. ,i..n s! by t island of Malta to the Oricr or nt. ~,,o, of Jertisa leni, I formally demand of your Excellenc: '''e execution of the fourth paragraph of the teuilt :lr tic:C. of the said Treaty ; and. I call upon you to give me, of, :2`-i point, a categorical answer. " I request y o a !!... accept the assurance of my high comaderation. (Signed) o .... ~ ANsWTIt 01 THE LSCLISH MINIGTER TO M. IM'SY. Slll, Ala March 2, 1803. " I have just received the letter which your Ex cellency did me the honour of writing to me yes terday ; in which letter your Excellency expresses how tar you are from being satisfied with the ver bal connnunication respeaml , the objea of your mission. Your Excellency likewisc calls upon me to set down, in writing, the reasons which induce me to refuse surrendering the government of those islands, on the arrival of hi, Eminence the Grand Master of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem. In answer, I beg leave to observe, that, as , some of the Fowers invited by Article X. of the Treaty of Amiens, to guarantee the independence of I,l;ha, have not as yet acceded to that measure, I do not hold myself authorized to give up the do '-minion of his Britannic Majesty over these islands, until I shall have received from my Court special instruaions to that dial. " Your Fr.cAhmicy observes, that I am anxious ti dissuade the Grand Master from coining to re side here: your Excellency may recollea my con versation on that subjea was to the following pur port : " On your Excellency having observed that the Grand Master expecled the immediate possession of the Goverrunent Palace in Fort Vallette, I replied, that, under the present circumstances, I could not cern* w ith the wishes of his Eminence ; for it is absolutely necessary that his Excellency General Villette and myself continue to occupy that Palace, for the dispatch of the official business belonging to our respeetive Departments. " I am moreover desirous to recall to your Excel lency's recollection, that I at the same time offered the palace of the Ec.schetta for the residence of the Grand Master, a situation which, in every respell, thought suitahle to his Eminence, until the time ar rived- for his assuming the direaion ut Government. "But as the palace of the Boschetta is not at present furnished, I took the liberty of suggesting that it might be more convenient for his Eminence to re main some time in Sicily, the more so, as his resid ing there would keep his Eminence oily a day's journey distant from this island. " Fur the rest, his Eminence may be assured that as won as I shall deem myself authorized to give up the government, 1 shall give his Eminence imme diate information of it. 6' I have the honour to be, with the highest consi deration, Sir, your Excellency's most obedient, very humble servant, (Signed) Atrx. J. BALL." Their Majesties the Emperors of Germany and Russia have long since guaranteed the independence of the Island and the Order of Malta. Prussia was the only Power which to this time had given no de cided answer to the propositions which had been made oa this subject. Under the existing circum stances, however, his Majesty the King of Prussia 'has thought it hi; duty to lose no time in guaran teeing the independence of the Island , and the Order of Malta.—Aloniterir. The French Minister at Dresden has required, in the name of his Government, that the lileetor of Saxony should forbid the French emigrants to wear the orders and insignia of the old regime. General Duroc is arrived at Paris, and imme diately on his arrival proceeded to Malmaisun to the first Consul. We are assured that the Spanish Government has sent out orders for re-establishing the relations between its American Colonies and the United State., on the same footing on which they stood before the war. THEATRE-ROTAL, DR UR rz, ANE. THIS EVENING will be presented THE CASTLE SPECTRE. Osmond, Mr. Raymond; !termld, Mr. Wmughtrm ; Percy, Mr. C. Kemble ; rather Philip, Mr. Palmer; Motley, Mr. RuA4; 11.0 , an, Mr. DoWton. A:igela, Nlrs. Yow l . To which will be. added. LOVE AND MAGIC. To-morrow, wit! be produced a New Comedy, in Fire Aets, (never performed) called The Manriage Prothite. TNEATRE-Ror.u., COVENT-GARDEN. THIS EVENING will be perfi.nned a New Comedy JOIN BULL; Or, AN ENGEISIIMAN's FIRF.-SIDE. Thy principal Charaeters by Mr. Lewi., Mr. Cooke, Mr. Fawcett, Mr. Johnstone, Mr. IL Johimon, Mr. Blanchard, Mr. Finery, Mr. Waddy„ Mrs. Gibbs Mrs. Da‘enport, and Misi Marriott. 'Flit. Prologue to be spoken by Mr. }trillium. With I.yr;cal Epit. - sgue by Mr. John.tone. Mier which will be presented, alterAt and compressed into Ono Part, THE 1)1 V ERTISEMENT, AND A MASQUERADE.. With a Newt. Overture, composed by Mr. W. Ware. Latins and Gentlemen who have not yet bs-en able to ob tain places for the new and very popular Comedy of John Bull, arc reveetfully acquainted it will be performed every night this wcek ; and on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday in the week following. TIDE BRITISH PRESS.