The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1805-07-30 00:00:00

BRIT.ISII PRESS.

LONDON,
TUESDAY. J,, .y 50.

The following extraa turn the log-book of the
Fair .Imrr•cee, soured at Liverpool, W4S transmitted
to town yesterday.
valet from the westward,
steering E S E.and r S. at 10 a. az. heard the report ,if
a inn to leevra-d. 'v .:ft A. a repeated firing took place,
which was kept .• a! 'Tone; by the reports of the
ead•ton it annc.i.e.! t • t iar off, but being very thick wea.
ther we could not see them. Thu day ends with a heavy gale
at W. Lit 39.:3, N —These )14 howl begin with a continua-
tion oftlie heavy ga:.. At halt past site a. la. brought her to gl
foresail and clue rtefeil fare and main top,ails, the b-fore men.
Coned firing ceas,l tint until 4 p. ra. the weather praying very
thick and hazy, diaappuiuted• ear hopes and expetheims a
seeing

Some persons considered this notice from the log-
book of the Fair American, as important news, jus-
tifying a confident belief of an stel;on between Lord
Netson and the combined fleet. It is possible that
the firing alluded to ray have proceeded from an
engagement between the two fleets, but we do not
think ourselves warranted in rating the news higher.
We are sorry to -ay that experience does not allow
tts to give implicit credit to the information of Ame-
rican ves;eli.—lt is confidently reported that Lord
Netsoe has been misled by ;i:cb intelligence in his
resent ehace, and indeed we scarcely ever read an
idle rumour in an American newspaper that is not
given upon the authority of some American ship.- -
If then the most circumstantial and positive account
(rem such source ought to he received with cau-
tion, much credit cannot be due where the re-
port is vag le, loose, and unsatisfactory.—All these
objections apply to the above extraCi.—The atmo-
sphere is represented as very thick, and the firing not
far off.—We may easily conceive, under such cir-
cumstances, is hat a tremendous roar must have as-
sailed the ears of the Captain, had it proceeded
from an engagement between the two fleets. We
believe he could not mistake, whether it was the
firing of two vessels or two fleets, and yet no opinion
is expressed upon this subjeet. The longitude was
also material. in any disquisition of this kind ; but
the extra& only mentions the latitude. Had we
both data, they certainly would have gone a great
way in ascertaining the point; lint the omission of the
longitude leaves us, indeed, with a very lame case.
The Cerise: passed the Combined Fleet on the z 0 .h
of June, in lat. 33, long. 53. If the firing heatd
by the Fair Amerieen on the 2Gth, proceeded from
as engagement between the two fl:ets on the 2Gth,
it would follow, that they made only six degrees of
ISt. in six days, or at the rate of GO miles a day.
Lord NELSON'S fleet we know sailed remarkably ;
and therefore we must presume, from his making
so little latitude in that time, that the fleets in that
interval shaped their course Eastward, and would
probably have been about long. .50, or one-
third of the distance between N.:w-York and
Irance. Now, had an engagement taken place so
near home, on the 2tith of June, it is not a little ex-
traordinary that Government should not have re-
ceived dispatches from Lnrd NELSON before this
time. We received New-York Papers to the 29th
of June, on Thursday last, and Charlestown Papers
to the 20th, by the Otte:pia, on Wednesday. Surely
then, a frigate dispatched by Lord NILSON on the
2fith, would have performed two-thirds of the voy-
age in the same time in which the Fair American and
the (Maria performed the whole, having the benefit
of the same weather and wind. Upon looking into
the Liverpool Papers, we find two vessels of the
name of the Fair American arrived there last week,
one from New-York, and the other from New Or-
leans. The extra& quoted is probably from the
log-book of the former. They arc both noticed in
the Liverpool Paper of Saturday. The Fair
.1~4444 from New Orleans arrived on Tuesday ;
the other probably on Thursday or Friday.—
This is another circumstance which must encrease
cnr surprise at the absence of any account from
Lord Netsoa, if an anion was fought in lat. 59. on
the 26th. We must, however, observe, that the
2Gth was about the time in which we calculated

upon Lord Net som's overtaking the enemy, and
this, combined with the latitude, are all the grounds
for supposing that the firing heard by the American
proce•ded from his fleet.

The Prim-es Augu.fa packer, Capt. THOMPSON,'
is .arrived at Falmouth from Jamaica, which place
she left on the 10th June. Ott the 14th June, she
spoke, nff the east end of Jamaica, His MAJEST v's
alory .Snate, which stated, that the combined fleet
Lad sailed from Martinique on the 31st May, with
18 sail of the line, frigates, &c. in all 2S sail of
square rigged vessels, and that they were gone on

52,10ng. 43, 33. a fleet of SO sail steering to the
eastward, supposed by Capt. Tuosirsou to be the
! homeward bound Leeward Island fleet : a hijate
from the beet chased the packet for a short time. It
is probable that the 30 ships seen by the packet
were the Combined Fleet. Captain luuld
not, however, have any suspicion of the Liml, .e,
he had been informed, the enemy had gone to the
Brazils. The number nearly corresponds v.ith t::.it
of the enemy, eighteen sail of the lib, and ten Gi
gates and sloops. It may he ohjeaed, that havi!.!
been on the 2Jth in lat. SS, long. y :mist
have made more way than lat. -It, ling. 45, by
the 12th July. It is not, lio.vever, impro:),Able
hut that they might have steered a ii. Vloll‘ course
for some days after the 20th, to elude Lord Ni
SON. If the ships seen n❑ the 12th were then
aaually the Combined Fleet, we fear that they
have succeeded in the objet of th it movement, and
Lord NE' SW.: has misted them ; for, if he followed
in the right course, he must, from his superior sail-
ing, have overtaken them before the 1211 instant.
We should ,tope, however, that they hare only
avoided Scylla to fall into Charybdis. The Voite,
ELLIS, an open boat from the fleet, off BreA, ar-
rived at Scilly on the 2,1,1 instant, reports that the
whole of the fleet, except three frigates and two
brigs, had gone to the westward, under a heavy
press of sril. in consequence of dispatches from
Plymouth. We stated last week that Admiral
Coaswattis had made that movement, in expecta-
tion of intercepting the enemy, on their return to
Europe. The dispatches alluded to were pro-
bably those that were sent out after the arrival
of the Curren r. There are several letters dated
the 19th, from Lord Netsom's fleet. One of
them states, that, by the account of an Amerie
can vessel, his Lordship ss•as not more than sixty
leagues distant from the enemy ; and that the latter
had no ships with them answering the description of
the Antigua convoy. It isprobeble, therefore, that they
sent them into an American port, or to Martinique.
Another letter of the 19th of June from an Of-
ficer in Lord Netsou's fleet states, that he was four
days sail behind them: while at Lisbon a rumour was
in circulation, before the last packet sailed. of 13
French sail of the enemy's line having got through
the Streights.--We do not believe the rumour.

The Volcano, which is arrived in the Downs, fell
in a Inv days ago with fifty sail of the enemy's flo-
tilla, bound to Boulogne. She drove them into
Dunkirk.

It was reported yeAerday that a reconciliation
has talcen place between Viscount Sr nmourn and
Mr. Pirr, and that Mr. Vaasa r a sr will in conse-
quence go to Ireland.

We hive received some sets of Foreign Papers.
but none of a later date thin the 19th. We have
made some extracts from them, which will be found

entertaining.

Government, it k said, entertain no doubt with
respect to the recal of M. Novozi Lzosr, and be-
lieve that he has actually set out on his return to
Petersburgh.
The Polly and Befsty, .--, lions Virginia for
Bermuda; and the Cyrus, from ditto for Ja-
maica, are captured by a Spanish privateer, and
carried into St. Augustine. '
The Arcade, DALE, for London, sprang a leak
in Montego Bay (Jamaica), when nearly fall, and
will be obliged to unload to repair.
The limeison lan American), from New-York, for
Naples, is captured by a Spanish privateer, tarried
into Cadiz, and condemned.

A neutral ship from Martinique, we under-
stand,reports that the French had only 69 sick upon
their arrival at Fort Royal.
Among the numerous conjectures upon the course
of the Combined Fleet, it has been suggeqed that
they may have followed a course North about
(round the North of Scotland}, to get into the North
Sea, and join the Texel Beet. Should they succeed
in effecting this, we have no force in that (loaner
that could offer any effedual resistance to their
passing the Straits of Dover and bringing out their
flotilla from Calais and Boulogne, to attempt the
long threatened invasion.
On Saturday last Lieut. HARTLEY, of the Navy.
and Mr. C. WILLIAMS, Assistant Surgeon of the
lospital, went into the house of Mr. BAKER. grocer,
at Portsea, and challenged Mr. Coorra, who was on
a visit to M. BAKER, to fight a duel. They were
both taken before a magistrate for the outrage, and
bound over to keep the peace.
The commercial advantages of Portsmouth will
be much increased by the late privilege granted to
it, of warehousing and bonding foreign goods. A
number of storehouses are to be built, contiguous to
the Town Quay.

An Extract of a Letter from Bombay, dated
the 19th of December, 1804, says : —.4 By
Dow which arrived here from Maculla yester-
day, information has been received that a ship had
arrived there, about six weeks ago, under English
colours, whose cargo appears to consist of rice,
bales of English cloth, Bengal silk, and piece goods,
and without an European oa board ; such a cargo
having caused suspicion, the Sheick took possession
of the ship, and put the whole crew into confinement;
in consequence of which, it is said, they confessed
4 offic and to have
irst landed,
ye been the
here think
Calcutta, bound

P•
4
4

••• IL 11 SAig, tney conres
an riper/41er, to the Bra:ill. The Saile received having murdered the captain and officers, and to h
this intelligence from Captain Mu ooz, of His MA- carried off the ship; but at what port they-first lend
Javres ship Illenebe, who was proceeding to JA-
sit chnanv ed
on -utt ieradr tfro„rmtlhaicsudteseriepmt description, we here t ehre been
make with this information. The Prinre,r Aeffeste this vessel must be the Alert, from Calcutta. bat
packet afterwerds sew on the t2th inst. in let 40, hither, rad long Missing."