The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1804-12-25 00:00:00

W.ll`

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N.4rd L IN? Lr

r" DA XWICII, DI C. 23.
The Mails of the 1 Ith, 18th, and .11st, for Hey-
li goland and Gottenburgh, are still detained here
4 by contrary winds and boisterous weather. Several
Dutch schnyts have lately arrived here from Rot-
, terdam and Katwyelc. with letters and passengers.
• A schuyt that sailed on Monday last from Kat-
iwyck, with a bag of letters, and several passengers,
i is supposed to have foundered in the late heavy
1 gales, as several vessels have arrived from that port,
g and the one in question has not been heard of since
t she sailed.
Pos7sstouTn, DEC. 23.
It
Arrived the Mrotrn, fire-ship from a cruise.
'lle Incong,ni frigate, the Commodore of the
outward-bound West India fleet, has t.hifted her
birth, no account of the wind coming round from
S.E. to E.S.E.
C DEM, DEC. 23.
I Arrived the R. 7,7 ,4T, armed ship, with a convoy
form Newcastle, which are s Illed on their respeCtive
voyages. Thv Rather remains in the Downs with
1 the ships as per last.
i . Arrived and sailed for the River, the Nato :a,
Green, from Demerara.
--....---
Fitost I.l.oYtes I.IST.
Ihas o, bre. 2.1--ragserl by the Cibr.ilt.lr, T,,zgv,
1 from Gibraltar; Mary, Taylor, from Mogartlre ; AmeltJ,
I Pau/len, from St Ander(); Neptunus, Mackcli, wil Um Au-
' rora,snow, from Valencia.

I ARRIVED.
At Fannotith—the Commerce, Bruton, frorn Newfoundland.
i At Clyde, F•111:1V. Doyle, from New York
41 At Aberdosy, Jason, Palmer, from Nr,r-Orleans.
1 At Bridtivieton„ loon, !lay, from Oporto.
At Limetirk, F..a.‘erlition, Rilllms, fm•o ditto.
lIAt Pet etshurttli. Economy, Norman, from London.
, .A t Deinara.a, Thomas. Gunnou, f run ditto.
r At Trieste. S ills, Sinclair, from ditto
At Mal,a, Swift, Kansan, from ditto ; Alert, Langley; Cora,
flrot•ot ; and the Speedwell, Findley, from Zane, hound to
Lontion.
At Venice, Anna Culla, ina. ---. from Falmonth.
At teslient, Itum:ion, KIWI, (non ditto.
I At Naps, Lion, Sainp.o.i, from Nerfourvil la.
•
• VINCEGO SLOOP OF WAR.
--.....-
0 [Tin nohlic Ilre already in I mitet of the fife at this vessel, and
4 cf the unjustißshis wrote to which her gallant Commander
has been subjected 1 the ('flowing Lstt 1. from so ttrfi,..T of
r the Vine-go pre,cvsses no•withemnding much interest.) •
i . " restWe have at 1-ngth arrived at one plae of
' (Verdun). after a fatiguing march of near 800 miles.
Captain Wright Was separated from us at Vannes,
and the men were nfter,vards taken from us at Ver-
n/mil : we were then tnn'veved to Pai4s, and lndgeet
in the Abb.') e ; as soon, luiss ever, ts it became dal k,
tonfiried seven weds, WIT of wiith re pas,rd to rat-
%we were remove) to the Temple, where we were
tarn' r.N.fin. men!.
at As, perhaps, you have nit heard the Patti, rtlars
of our being taken, I will give you a shot t account.
During our long cruise in Quibs.ron flay, see were
continually engaged with the numerous gun.boats
that pasd fom one port to another ith onvoys
bat, having nor pilot, anti they keepingw closec in shore,
we were sr:sable to do any thing decisive; we, how.
ever, took two unarmed vessels, one a schooner,
laden with flour, &c. ; and the other, a national
lugger, with tan thousand oars for the gun-bats :
iovfedniesnafelY.e were
neTEe
I destroy
last,l(ly from
the otherrs,irwaannt
n g obligedl
an,
i.
—t o
.1 The day before see were taken, ,ee drove a don!)
and a lugger ashore, near St. Gelda's. On the
I morning, at day NThr, we discovered a number of
1 vessels emninz out r•f" the bforbihan, and :t corvette

of 18 long 18-pounders lay at anchor close in shore.
The Viarego was at this time becalmed in a strong
tires-way, which drifted us close on a rock, which
Tat avoided, by dropping our anther ; when the
tide slacked, having taken a poor man from a fishing
boat as a pilot, we attempted to take the Tennis pas-
sage, but from his fears or ignorance, he was of no
t: .e, and went down below. We now trusted to
chance. We were in a narrow and intricate passage,
' without an air of wind; numerous gun-boats coming
rapidly up with us : our men, who had been
uo all night, and had laboured three hours at
the oars, in a sultry morning, were (lode exhaust-
eJ ; and finding escape impossible, the Captain
en-Ave.! the ship's broaJside to be swept tn, and an
engagement was kept tip against such fearful odds,
for more than two luaus, when our firing wholly
ceased, three of the gun% being dismounted, and
the rest incumbered with lumber, from the falling
Of the he-ioms, their supporter having been shot
away. The men falling fast, the foremast nearly
shot away,' and the vessel nearly sinking, Captain
Wright was forced to hail that he had struck, just
is time to say- the lives of the few that could keep
the deck, as the ton-heats were rowing up along-
! tide, with emmeron- troop, to board. He himself
vats wounded in the thieh. early in the adion, by a
grape-shot,hut nererlefr the di.ek. We lament big sepa
ration from ns, as we would the absence of on r dearest
friends. His manners are those of a perfeft gentleman,
his abilities of the first class, and his bravery only
equalled by his generosity anu humanity. In his
denortment to his inferiors he appears in the most
amiable point of view, it being that of a kind and
benevolent father. In,!eed I have not words to ex-
press my admiration of iris charadcr.
STATE/41E14T OF 04.8 1011 Ct AND THE Ealuy.4
.4 V /NC too :—..:Ocatrotades, In-pounders, 70 effective men,
including 17 boys.
"!Navy's Eisner i—G giin•brie, first ci.os, 18.
pound, rs and one 24.poonder; from 60 to 70 men eat 11.-7
ann•boass, lugger-wged, .2 long 18.1wanider4; 441 to 50 men
;And. —4 ditto, of 'id riatiM, 1 heugy cartorsailc a mortar,
and from 50 to 40 men each —Troop., .4 the line, from San to
5110. Their anernint. v 36.4 —Total-17 vowels, Sti Ina."
guns, and from 1140 to 1490 men

" The Vinceze, from having bee■ ashore before
this, was so leaky as to require pumping almost con-
tinually."
"

An elegant hall W. 15 given on Wednesday even-
ing -by the Officers of the Brigade of Guards at
Chatham, in tt temporary building erefted for the
purpose. Nothing could exceed the grandeur of
the entertainment. A most Arrant supper, consist-
ing of all the delicacies of the season, was served
up at twelve o'clock. Ihe company separated with
seeming regret, between live and six o'clock in the
morning, highly pleased with the politeness and ur-
banity of the Office's. AU the families of distinc-
tion in that neighbourhood were present. These
balls a•e, we understand, to be continued weekly
I.iring the s.inter.

DISPUTE :rim SPAIN.

FROM THE. UNITED STATES GAZETTE.

In our consideration of the points at which Spain
may he vulnerable to our attack, I need scamly
observe that we could make no impression upon her
European or South American dominions. Visionary
as are many of our citizens in their ideas relative to
the weakness of the Spaniards, them could he none
who would advocate attempts that would only create
ridicule and laughter. Our militai y operations
could not, therefore, I presume, extend farther than
the Florida and Cuba, and possibly the romantic
views of some of our people may hay.. embraced the
conquest of Mexico, while our naval exertions must
be limited to priyateering.

..oeering.
The force which Spain has hitherto kept up in
Florida, is said to have been inconsiderable. From
Cuba and Mexico, however, where larger bodies of
troops are maiwained, reinforcements would soon
he received, amply sufficient at least to repel sudden
incursions ; and in the event of our making that
country the probable scene of salon, an efficient
army would doubtless be sent thither from Eu-
rope.
As on our side we have scarcely a shadow of a
military establishment, we should he obliged, cer-
tainly until an army could be raised and disciplined,
to rely wholly on the efforts of our western militia,
which could not, it is believed, be brought into ex-
ertion wifbont much gieater difficulty, and would,
in reality, be much less formidable than is generally
imagined.
Without referring to the constinnional objection
against sending the militia out of our territories, the
thin and scattered p pulation of the western country
precludes the possibility of our being able to raise or
maintain large bodies of troops there. In other
countries, the class of men who fill the ranks of an
army, can he spared without injury to the public, or
loss to themselves. They seldom have any pro-
perty, or the expetation of procuring any, are
without empl. yment, and are frequently too lazy
to seek for it. But in the western part of the United
States, this description of persons, if it exists at all;
is not a numerous one. 'I here, almost every indi-
vidual has some property, or the means of acquiring
it ; he has most frequently a family to provide for,
;red a firm to cultivate. Flowerer well d:sposed,
ther-:fore, he might be to take no arms for the Je-
t% r of his country, yet he will nut be inclined to
desert all his objeAs in life, fur the purpose of
effeeting a very remote, perhaps an unnecessary
eVelsest.

hhc treat distance too of those states from Flo-
rida, wh se ssesteris settlements are most powerful,
would atapose au insuperable bar to their lending
any e.TNltial assistance; and the country to the
southward of Kentucky is vet in its infancy, and
would, as has been shown in a preceding number,
require the concentration of all its energies for its
own defence.

_
rims then we slum's' find it difficult to raise the
fore,: ncces.ary for offensive operations; but if it was
raised, the mode of attack would present em-
barrassments meriting serious anJ deliberate re-
fit:o;on.

By land, any attempt against West Florida is sup-
posed to he impraelicable. We never could dream
of traversing an army, drawn from those parts of the
country which are capable of furnishing (especially
if we were assailed by Indian hostility), over the un-
healthy wilderness they must pass through, before
they could reach the enemy.
It is presumed, therefore, that the attempt would
h made by sailing down the Mississippi; but, setting
aside the expence and delay of building boats ade-
quate to transporting large bodies of in,m, and the
thtficulty of navigating them in a stream confessed-
ly dangerous, how would our troops be assured of
a safe or speedy return? The current of the Mis•is-
siopi is strong at'all seasons ; sometimes it is itresi,t-
ble, and at no time coda it he ascended but slowly
and lalyniously . Would it then be prudent to make
an attack without the means of retreat in case of di.-
aster ? Ought we not to be very um of SUCCCSII he-
lore we adopt ti:e desperate plan of providing for
Inoue but a favourable issue to our operations? A .td
is it not obvious that our brave soldiers, if defeated,
destitute of the menus of prompt assistance, or the
pruspea of immediate return, would be exposed to
inevitable cicstr udion ?

It is conjeElared indeed that an attack upon East
Florida from Georgia and South Carolina might
be deemed praCticable. Rut in these States, from
I re paucity of white inhabitants, and the danger of
internal commotion, the difficulty of raising an el-
fetirc military force would be still greater than in
the western country—and as the Settlements in East
Florida are not contemptible either for size or po-
pulation, we should probably meet with a re-
sistance Ironi the inhabitants alone, supposing them
to he without the aid of an army, more formidable,
and of longer duration than we are at present
aware of.

lipon the whole then, on the side of the Spaniards
we might calculate upoti finding a great regular
force in full pmsessiou of the country, and support-
ed by Indian alliances. While, on our part, there
would only be a disorderly militia, collefted with
great espense, trouble, arid delay, subjea to no dis-
cipline, ignorant of the country, perhaps sinking un-
der its diseases—and, what is worse than all, dire&-
cd by a government without wisdom, spirit, or plo.
bit y—tno ignorant to know our resources—ton par-
simonious to use them—and too pusillanimous to
aft with courage, promptitude, or effect. What
then ia this their most vulnerable quarter have the
Spaniards to dread ?
Cuba has also been supposed, by oar ardent
Politicians to be within our grasp.
But we have neither an army to go there, nor a
navy to transport one thither, nor the funds requi-
site for such en expedition. \lie know what im-
mense exertions were made by Great Britain in the
year f 76Z (the most flourishing period of her glory)
to effef its reduaitin, how long and •igorous was
it 4 resistance, though not in a complete state of de.
knee, and how great the loss of the conquerors.
Since that time, however, it is understood to have
been all object of peculiar case and attention.
A resp4.:ftabk force, both naval and military-, is
now always kept up there ; and while the most
powerful nations of Europe Appear to deem its
subjugation imprafticable, is not the threat of
our impression upon it too idle a gas-

cnnade to be seriously adopted by the American
people.
Splendid visions have likewise been formed by
men of sanguine temperament, with regard to an
attempt upon Mexico. But, without adverting to
the probability of defeat, if the invasion was made,
how are we to get there? Not by sea. The superi-
ority of the Spanish navy would cause the enemy to
laugh to scorn such an endeavour. And can any
reasonable man suppose, that we could penetrate the
wilds of Louisiana with an army, when we know not
even the map of the country, acid when, as I have
before shewn, we would be in a perpetual state of
alarm for the safety of our Southern and Western
Settlements?

Thus incapable of injuring our enemy by land,
would the efforts of our privateers Alone compel:sate
us for the evils of war ? If Spain was possessed of
a dourishing commerce, in the hands of individuals,
she certainly would, in this respea, have much to
dread from the courage, enterprise, and aCtivity of
our citizens; but while our sails are unfurled on
every sea, and our ships are exposed in every quar-
ter to depredation, it is notorious that, with the ex-
ception of her galleons, she has scarcely any thing
upon the ocean worth the trouble of seizing. These
vessels, which convoy her treasures from America
and India, are powerful ships of war, always guard-
ed by convoy, which, if danger was apprehended, of
coarse would be considerably s• rengthened. They
are, therefore, utterly beyond the reach of cruisers
—and even supposing it possible that some of them
might be captured, they would only swell the for-
tunes of particrilar privateers-men, without confer-
ing any benefit on the nation
flit last and not the least weighty objeCtion that
I shall mention to our prosecuting the war, with the
necessary vigour anti effed, would be the situation
of our finances:

At present, the whole of our national revenue is
draw. from our merchants, and, unwise as it was to
repeal the system of internal taxation, yet we all must
admit, that was it renewed, we could not derive
from it a sum by any means adequate to the exigen-
cies of war. Not only are the habits of the people
averse from dired impositions, but the scarcity of spe-
cie in many parts of the country creates peculiar dif-
ficulties in their complying with this sort of fiscal ar-
taugement. The means of operation must there-
fore still principally be derived from our commerce,
or from loans negociated in Europe. As to the first,
the burthens laid upon our trade are already suffici-
ently heavy, and, exposed as it would be by hostili-
ties, to disaster and ruin, it could little prosper un-
der new ezadions ; and, as to the second, independ-
ently of the political inconveniencies attending an
increase of our debts, we should find our cre !it,
and the capacity of borrowing, very seriously im-
paired by the hazard we should be rashly encoun-
tering. In Holland and England it could not be
forgotten, that a former war reduced us to a state of
bankruptcy, and, as the prosped of our peace and
security has been the principal inducement with fo-
reigners to trust their property among us, if that
inducement was removed, we should rind very little
disposition on their parts, to continue to invest their
fortunes iu our funds.

AX AMERICAN.

COIL EXCHANGE, Dee. 21
Rest COll6, in the Pool, per Chaldron See 01
Deliveied to Ilouvekeepers at 704. 04.
Sunderland, per Chaldron Ste. 0.1.
Delivered to Housekeepers at CAI 0 1

COUNTRY MARKETS.

Divizes, Dsc. 20.—Wheat 725. to 99i. Barley 43s to 4i
Ors 275. to JO,. Bran. to .8.

STANFORD, DEC 14—Wheat 81s. to 100 s. Barley 40s.
to 445. 61. Oats 225. 6d. to 245. Beans 445. to 410.
I.thicus.B,Dsc. 14 —Wheat 804. to 100 s. Barley 434 to
4fls. Oats 14s to 31s. Beans 445. t 50s. per. qusrter.
F.. 624 White Peas 14. ,
GAIN‘l,lkOl'oN, Dsc. 18 ss—Whaat 84s. to 901. Barley 44..
to 48s. Oats iSs. Ii 264. Beans 425. to 621. per qu.atrr
Rye As. to 68s.
Lours+, Day. 19 —Wheat 725. tos4s. Old Os. to M. Bat-
lry 364. to 425. Rye Os. to Os. Oats 8.4. to 60s. WARS Xis.
Id. to Os Coder. Os.

Chose 44444 Dec 13 —Wheat $4l. to 345. Fine Os. Rye
911 s. to YBs. Beans 16.. ttil2os per load. Oats724s. to des.
per quarter. Barley 414. to 464. per quarter.
11,,rrtudosis, Dec. 19 —Wheat 85.. to 935. Barley 40s.
Id to 4.54. LLas•-:.ii Beans 445. to 48s.
Suzewsarav—.trerage price or Wheat on Saturday sea.
night, 12s Id. Harley 6s. per bushel of 3$ quarts. Oats 6s.
per customary measure of Si quarts.
tinist are our market nil Saturday se'nnight, th, are.
rate price of Crain, Winchester measure, w.s 4b follows:
Wheat 9.. 90. Barley Ss. 10d. Oats 55.11 d.
iiasirse mu... Wheat 9s. 64 (Ists3s. 94d.
Stec:v.olr —.Wheat 9s. Bid. Beans 6.. 101 d. Oatmeal
311 91d.
%V•etetet.o, Dec. 14.—Our marketcontinites to be spar-
ingly supplies! with Wheat of superfine quality, the sal: of
which may be noted dull at last week's prices, and inferior sun.
tit ito demand at prices quoterl. ()suture a good supply, aid
at Is. per quarter lower than last week. Barley as well as Malt,
is also soluethaqi lower, say 1.. per quarter.