The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1805-01-31 00:00:00

TIIE BRITISH PRESS

LONIN)
THURSDAY, J4hu•itir 31.

We have received accounts from Dover, which
state, that a very heavy cannonading was heard ,
there, during the greater part of Tuesday. As the
wind hlew very strong from the South-East, it is
supposed that the firing proceeded from our squad-
ron off Boulogne, that may have fallen in with some
of the enemy's vessels, coming from the Eastward,
drives by the gale from the French coast. This sup-
position has been partly confirmed, as one of our
gun-brigs passed Dover, on Tuesday evening, about
four o'clock, for tee Downs, having in company one
of the enemy's gun.luggers, with the loss of her
foremast. The firing had not ceased at six o'clock on
Tuesday night.

We are concerned to state, that Hee MAJESi V
was taken ill on Tuesday night, after her return
from the Play, at Covent Garden Theatre. Her
MaJury's complaint, we understand, is an attack
of the rheumatism, brought on by the present damp
and aid weather. Notice of this event was commu-
nicated, at an early !mar, to the LORDCHAM sae I. AIN;
accompanied with an expression of apprehensions, that
Hey MAJZI TY would not be able to attend the
Drawing Room, announced in the Ge:eite for this
day at St. James's. His Lordship accordingly sent
off notices to the Foreign Ministers, and the principal
Nobility and Gentry that are understood to consti-
tute the Court circle, apprising them of Her MA-
Jassy's indisposition, and that the drawing-room

was necessarily postponed until some future day.—
llis lt,iyal Highness the Prince of WA L ES, with that
sense of filial duty and afFelion which so eminently
distinguish his charafter, paid a visit to his Royal
Mother, at the QUERN'S House, at three o'clock,
where he remained until five, when he returned to
Carleton House. So many attempts are now mak-
ing to disturb the tranquillity, that does and ought
to prevail in our political world, at a crisis when its
very existence is threatened h" an implacable foe, we
fe't it peculiarly incumbent upon us to ascertain the

real C3ll-,e of the post pout:swat of the DrAwing-room,
and of the long visit by the Prince of WA LES
at thy Qussti's H.,te,e. 'I he name of His Royal
Highaess has been associated of late, by party

writers, with political speculations ; and, as this
was his first visit to the Qv EVA's House, after a vci
long absence, we were not without apreitension
that ignorance, or party•spirit, might give it that
colour, and conucti it with the present :moored,

chatigis in the Cabinet. Upon this last subjla, we
have oily to L.bselve, that, in our honest, com-
plete, and positive disavowal of being a party
Print, nothing could be more foreign from out
thoughts than to prof:ss neutrality. The wisest
lawgiver of antiquity punished with death every
than who stood neuter in a sedition, presuming that
he must be a bad man who could be indifferent to
the interests of his country. We have always felt
the truth of this sentiment, but party zeal and mis-
representation have not, until the present moment,
risen to a suffitient height to call it into anion. The
common danger has, for some time past, kept po-
litical partisans within bonnds. %Ve have seen ja-
cobins and treasury clerks, scribblers of all ranks,
characters, and degrees, joining in one common cry
upon the subject of the threatened invasion. But
now, when the danger is as gieat as ever it was, these
very men, become familiar with their fears, appear
to have broken loose, and struggling with all their
old passions and prejudices, to create internal dis-
cord and confusion. The Ministerial Papers, not
content with attacking their common foe, are falling
foul of each other. One is for Mr. PITT, another
is for Lord Sit:010111'u, another is for both, and a
fourth is for all, as if it were a sort of Welch main,
where every one is hitting every one that comes in
his way ; and yet Mr. Prur and Lord Stostotrrst
are alike Members of the same AL:ministration,

which these prints have promised to uphold and
defend. In this contemptible struggle THE Bel r usii
Pacts will never take a part. It will be neutral to
all parties, and attached to truth alone. Its vigi-
lance shall increase with the growing miscondut
of its contemporaries, and it will take care that the

honesty of the public mind shall not be abused
by those scri►blers, who, in the pursuit of selfish
and sordid objeCts, care not how much they dis-
turb, pervert, and distrait it. When we shall
have silenced this contemptible warfare, or, to
speak more correCtly, dissolved this false brother-
hood, by a fair exposure of its ends, its objets, and
its means, we shall then congratulate ourselves as
the friends of all parties, and consequently, the
aftive friends of our country.

This day His MAJESTY will hold a Privy Coun-
cil at the Queues House.
A Court of Direftors was yesterday held at the
East India House, when Captain G toIGI WOOD
was sworn into the command of the Charlton, in the
room of Captain WaLLADVIce resigned, and took
leave of the Court previous to departing for Madras
and Bengal. Captain James Moats° was also
sworn into the command of the Comet, stationed for
Madras direft. The Court adjourned at six o'clock
till Wednesday nest.
An Especial Court of Common Council will he
held at Guildhall to-morrow, for the purpose of
elefting a Junior Clerk of the Court of Requests, in
the room off•wes Sr everts, deceased, and to con-
sider the Bye Laws, for regulating the Port of
London.

The Commerce, of Appledore (a transport), from
Plymouth for Limerick, was totally lost on the 27th
December last, in Galway Bay.
The Commerce, Ewackstone, from the South Seas
for Liverpool, is lost on the coast of Patagonia ;
crew saved.
His MAJESTY'S ship Hindustan, of 50 guns, ar-
rived on Tuesday, at Yarmouth, to join the North
sea squadron. The Russian and English Messen-
gers, detained there by contrary winds, embarked
same day on board the Griffin cutter, and were ac-
companied by the. Hawke cutter.
A letter from Greenock, of the 20th, says
"The Royal George cutter returned to Cumbraes, on
Thursday, with a confirmation of the news I sent
you that day, that the ship of war was the Brilliant
frigate. My statement is quite correlt. The gentle-
man who originally sent the accounts of her being
there, was Mr. M.Douoas., of I.unga, and not
Laing.
" The Tuurterelle frigate was obliged, owing to
contrary winds, to put into Rothesay Bay, after she
was recalled by Captain BearsoN, which she left
yesterday morning ; but it falling calm, Captain
Lee and the Sharpshooters were landed at Wemyss
Bay, and they marched into town about five yester-
day evening."
An American Paper of the 23d last, contains an
article, stating, that the Emperor BnnAPAATe had
been proclaimed its Martinique, and the Constituted
Authorities had taken the oaths of allegiance to th&r
new master. The troops were drawn up in the pub-
lic square, when the EMPEROR was laimed ;
hot one of the battalions, instead of " Lice the
Emperor !" cried " Long, the Republic I"
Government have contraned for a depot for
20,000 stand of arms, to be ereffed on the Glouces-
ter-road without Lawford's Gate.
The preparations for the intended Expedition are
carrying on with great aiivity. It was at first in-
tended that it should have sailed before this time.
A great many transports are assembled at Cowes
and Spithead; the cavalry are in the Isle of
the infantry at Spithead ; the former will embat I
at Southampton Water, the infantry at Portsmouth.
It was generally believed, that Portugal WAS the
destination of the expedition; hut, since Gener.:
Moo' a's return. who is stated to have delivered
s his opinion, that, though the country might
defended, it would require a very large body
troops, Ministers are sal to have abandoned the
idea. Sum: of the transports are engaged not
go beyond a certain latitude; others are engage
gn wherever it shall be deemed proper to send thent.
to o oloti of the expedition is very properly kept'
csfound secret. From the large quantity of c
valry to be embarked, it is not likely that it is going
a•Tainst the Cape of Good Hope. It is more probable
from this circumstance, that it is destined to some
part of the Continent.