The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1803-05-17 00:00:00

my mind. As I ennletstarel the Message, it states had been urgel by the Diredore, that the enntsan
simply, that the dist-amino. between the English and foe building ship, of lift) tone should be stopped:
reach Governments have terminated : that Lerd iinti the ques7lon came to h. da.kied. The
Whitworth has left Paris; and that General An- leird obsetved, that the ugh& of furnishing the
dreossi has left London : that his Majesty is alai,- dnelt %nisei% with a large portion ortimber, and giv-
pointed in his espeetasioos of Pear ; and that he lug the Royal N ivy a monopoiy, migot be produteti
relies mettle gsyssi dieposition of the House and the by machos an at ye iineetigetioo Imo the subjea,
Country, for assistance.aod %orison in acme cause, and by allowing the ships hi the Company's seeviee
(a reliance which twee; can be deceived, when the tonneke at least two or three' voyages more than
jnstiee of
.the cense has been proved) against an those already granted. He hoped the House would
enemy whose ambition is stated to have involved rot depiert nom the protedion which it had ever at=
him in a war. On these maoers I cen gis Ino forded the Last-11)&3, Company, and concluded
opinion. Asiiming that to be the case, and that with tibscoving, that before the present Session w-
ills Majesty's Ministers will be enabled to prove that niiaated, he should be able to call its attention to the
to the puhlic, I am sure I am speaking the voice of . general principles of the motion.
the country—[/fear! lie r! was exclaimed J—when Sir WILLIAM PC LTENEY said, when the Bill
I say his Ala.,esty may securely rely on us, on this seas brought in, it would be highly advantageous
important and trying occasion. What I want to to investigate the same in the fullest manlier.—
ask is this, Ido not coned from the Message that Leave granted. ,
*dual orders have been given for the commence- In a Bill for preventing frivolous arrests and vex-
men; of hostilities, yet it is impossihle fir any one, :elms law-suits, a clause was introduced by Mr.
who has beard the rumours of the dae, to entertain Fitzgerald, extendinee the same to Ireland
a doom with reseetel to orders having been given for The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER
issuing Letters of Marque and Reprisal. If that is moved, that the Clergy Non-residence Bill might
the case, the Message is deficient in not conveying be postponed, in the absence of SirWilliarn Scott
that informatiori winch is so understood by the Adjourned.
country. :sir, here I should cease, lint I cannot help
remarking the shape in which the Message is made.
It does now appear that it was not necessary for Lord
Whitworth to have arrived It does appear, that a
communication might hits:;: been made before to
satisfy the mind of the country ; rt, on Friday we
were told, that because Lord Whitworth could not
arrive, there could be no proceeding. We were
told, that it was not fit the House. of Commons, the
legitimate organ cf the nation to receive informa-
tion, and es press the wishes of the people, should
sit to receive that information which was conveyed
by various other means. I have said, Ido not ob-
jed to the proceeding of the Noble Lord. I hope
he will answer the question ; and here I cannot help
lamenting, what is unprecedented in the annals of
the colliery, if these orders have issued, that we
are at this moment involved in a is ar with France,
without the House of Commons having had one
opportunity of deliberating upon the cause which
has plunged the country into such a situation."
Lord HAWK e SUM V.—.l The question put to
me by the lion. Gentleman, I can have no objec-
tion to answering. I have no difficulty in stating
that t inters have been given lb; Letters of Marque
and Reprisal. As to their not having been men-
tioned the Message, I know no other reason than
that I do not find it has ever been usual to state
them in the Message from his Majesty at the corn-
meocement of a war. As his Majesty's Govern-
ment can have no disposition to conceal the fad al-
-1 :ded to, it will, of course, be made known by pus-
chars-660n. As to what the 'knowable Gentleman
said in the latter part of his speech, that it might
net he poiner to deliver the Message from his Ma-
jesty, or any officiel commuoication, till Lord Whit-
worth arrived, I have only to observe, that it never
was asserted that would he the course; but it was
asserted, that under certain circumstances, it might
be more prudent : and 1 have no difficulty in saying,
that evems here occurred since that pet iod, which
have confirmed me in the propriety of the state-
ment I then made. The circurnoance which has
since occurred, and has induced his Majesty to send
this Message, was the certainty of Lord Whitworth
having left Paris, and of the French Ambassador
hiving left London, which puts an end to the offi-
cial channel of communication between the two
countries. The lion. Gentleman did not object to
the course I have taken : I therefore have only
risen to answer his question, with respectto the or-
ders for issuing Letters cf Moprque and Reprisal.—
There can be no oisposition in his Majesty's Minis-
ters to conceal the fad ; and if it is not stated in his
Majesty's Message, it is only because it is not
usual."
Mr. FOX--" As the Noble Lord has moved for
the discussion of his Majesty's Message on Monday
next, I hope and trust he will do every thing in
his power to expedite the papers ; and though it
may not he strilly regular, yet I hope he will lay
one part before the House, Ss soon AS it can be got
ready, and the following part the next day, in order
that no time may be lost. i he only thing that strikes
me as necessary to observe at peseta, is this; we
have not the stilled regularly before us, but surely
in the present state of the two countries, the advan-
tege of having Letters of Marque and Reprisal four or
Lye days sooner, is nothing in point of importance,
con Tared to having the question decided by the
Houseel Commons, unembarrassed by the considera-
tion of Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and the
events whit h issuing them may produce."
Mr. 'l'. GRENV ILLS—'• I rise merely to ask
a question, with a view to the information of the
e and my own itiformation. The question is,
whether the papers to be laid before the House are
of the description which it was the intention of his
Majesty's "Misters to lay before Parliament, inde-
pendent of those immediately refereng to the late
negotiation. I mean thccc which his Majesty's Mi-
nhteis stated, on the tedi of May last, it was their
intea ti. nto lay before the House. r take it for
panted, the papers are of as large and comprehen-
sive a description, as they were on that day described
to be."

THEATRE-ROr.4L. DR UR 7-. LANE.

TH:S EVENING will be rin eie Conarrly of

TI-It MARRIAGE PROMISE.

•
CharVier4l4 Mr C. Kernb'e, Mr. l)w yr, Mr. Dow-
tnn, Mr. I Ig•lliniowortli. J,:u. Mr P.O.,:mr, Mr
P-,7e, Mr Mr Purser. Mr rt.in. Mn
MLA Mellon, Mrs. M,tirtocks, Mrs. Sparks, Mrs. Jordan.
To whiril w II be- arltlA,

LODOIGK A.
On Satunta,', `posirivey for rh-11., tune this Season) the
Travdy of Pts.trro. W.th the W"widtor, Dap.

BY COMNIAND OF TIIEIR MAJESTIES.
THEATRE.ROTAL, 11,11"3111RKET.
TIT'S EVENING will he ”resenterl
NO PRELUDE!
Br Mr. ELLISTON sod Mr. W ALORON. Tn c
with A PROLOGI.TF.! by Mr. ELLISTON.
After which a Comedy called
THE JEW.
Sir Stephen Bertram, Mr. CFL‘PM AN,
Irrislarick, Mr IT. KE1.1.1%
Charlia Ratcliffe, Mr. I. PII.IIER,
Saw...leis, Mr. 11.1 R rLFY,
Mr. ELLINTON,
Jahel, Mr. NI %THEWS,
Mrs, Itstcliffe, Mr, CLEL %NI%
RaHitre, Mrs. GIP.P.S,
!sirs. Goodison, Mrs. WARD,
Doris Mrs. KEYS.
To which (bs Commai.d) will be ads!
THE AGREEABLE SURPRISE.
Lingo, Mr NIATHEIVS.
Laura, Mrs. TWINS,
Mrs. Caeshire, Mrs. W.ARD,
Cowslip, Mrs. GI AIS.
To-morrow, 'Mr. Rlisset, from the Theatre-Royal, Bath,
Fill make lois first a ...esrance, in 'lt:. Charact of Sir John
FaFtiq, in tb-: First Part of King Ite.nry the Foortn. With
the Spoird Little Pickle, by Mrs. Jo:nison, lase Mrs.
Carter); being her first slyest:um,: un this, sail fourth on any
Stage.

THE BRITISH PR .ASS.

LONDON,
TUESDAY, MAY IT.

The die is now cast indeed, and war appears to
be ineritahle. Last night a Message was brought
down to both Houses of Parliament, from his M
JEST Y, stating the rupture of the negotiation with
France, the recal of Lord WTI I TWOR T H, and the de.
parture of General AND a tosst. From the wording
of the Message, some entertained a hope that it fell
something short of a declaration of war. The an-
swer, however, given by Lord I IAWKESSURV in the
House of Commons,to a question from Mr. Gass, has
removed any doubt that could be entertained upon
the subjea. His Lordship stated, that Letters of
Marque and Reprisal have been actually issued. We
are, therefore, now at war -with France, and may
every moment expea to hear of hostile operations.
A report to that elle& was in circulation so early as
yesterday evening. An express, it was said, had
been received at the Admiralty Office, from Dover,
stating that an English 74 and two frigates were,
upon the preceding night, Sin Chace of three
French frigates between the ;lorth ForAand and
Dungcuness, supposed to have slipped out of Dun-
kirk to join the fleet at Brest. The seventy-
four is said to be the Leviathan, and the frigates
are presumed to be the Penelope, and the Sirat.—
The account was brought into the Downs by an
English collier, which stated that the Leviathan
had got between the French frigates and their own
coast, and was gaining fast upon them when the
collier lost sight of her. War being decided upon,
all reports and speculations upon the subjea can in•
terest us only as matters of curiosity. Hopes it seems,
of a pacific termination, of the dispute between this
Country and France, were again entertained in the
City yesterday morning. Although it was gene-
rally understood that Lord WHIT WORTH had left
Paris, positive assurances were given, and sanguine
hopes were entertained that he would spend some
time upon his journey to afford the Fl RST CONSWR an
opportunity of renewing the negotiation. It was even
asserted, that his Lordship had returned to Paris, at,
the express desire of 130 N APARTZ. Amidst these
reports, the Funds opened at an advance upon Sa-
turday's prices, and purchases of three per cent.
Ctmsols, were made at 62i and C2l.—As soon,
however, as it was ascertained that General As-
Damen had left London, they fell to 60i, It and
at the close of the market to 601. At that time no
hope of peace remained, as it was well known also
that his MAVIS/ Y Message to PATlLiinent was in

Lord NAWKESBURY--40 I have ro difficulty
in informing the lion. Gentleman and the House,
that the papers to be delivered are not confined to
the inimesliate objet of the negotiation which has
just terminated, hut will embrace all the material
discussions, from the Treaty of Amiens to the Fe-
sent motnent.."
The question was then put and carried in the
affirmative.
Lord CASTLERF.AGII moved for leave to
bring in a Bill for amending an Aft made in the
39th of his present Majesty's reign, for regulating
the.Shiring. Interest of the Yatst•lndLi Company.
His Lordship stated, there was's() part of the East-
India Company's concerns the reqvured regulation
somuch as their Shipping lutenist. According to the
present system of contraaiag fsyr their ships, none
mesa taken up to pcdown more than six voyages,
which were not sufficient to render the vessels so
employed incapable of further service ; the conse-
quence tberefele was, that they were sold to mer-
chants and others, who were adverse to the interest
of the India Company, or broken up. by which a
quAntiry of useful timber Was constantly lost, that
might be worked up in his Majesty's Navy. The
slips built fur the Company's service of :200 tons
bursitis, required nearly as much timber to build
them es air frigates, and those of SOO tons were
equal to
tin‘4 ofd At this tinw it %saw neces-
Loy that Le hatiNuaded, runt it

,

....,.

f

pr4aration. With respeit tu Lord trot Tworrit's •
motions, it appears that the delay in rcc,:iving the
dual answer of the French Government was 042C/-
sin:led by the accident which Vet, the riftsr CUST
SL La on Monday se'nuight. Lord Wurrwoarit re-
ceived the Minister's dis Patch by Mr. 8/Ler..TETI
at one o'clock on that day, and intended to have de-
livered our final answer in the afternoon, but having
had intelligence of the Ft lasi. CoNser.'s fall, he de-
layed presenting it till next day at noon. lie accom-
panied the delivery of it with the' demand of a final
decision in thirty-six hours, announcing that his orders
weretm quit Paris at the end of that pet iod. On
Wednesday evening his Lordship received a note
from the Minister for Foreign Affairs, stating that
the Cuter CONSUL meant to refer the whole business
to the Council of State. The Council sat from
I hur.sclay morning till late in the afternoon, when
the determination of the French Government
was made known to our Ambassador, who, in
consequence of it, dispatched a Meisenger to
London at nine on Thursday evening, : n I sat off
himself a!)out eleven. He breakfasted at Chantilly
on Friday morning, and dined and slept at Breteutl.
He had previ ,usly sent—off Mr. SILVLSTER, the
Messenger, to announce his departure from Paris.
About two o'clock yesterday Mr. Sirvesr en ar-
rived in town, and delivered his dispatches ; and
Mr. HeNTrt, sen. was sent clf with an answer to
his Lordship, who, accord:ng to report, was to re-
main at Calais until his arrival. Mr. Iluti•rett set
off at half-past four o'clock from Lord lloenaT's
Office, in Downing-street, and a report was imme-
diately raised that he was sent after General AN•
DrsEoss!, with a proposition to induce his Excellency
to delay his return This,• however, was an idle
speculation. The Message sent to Lord Warr-
WORTH was for the purpose of announcing to
him that his Lordship's dispatches had been
submitted to a Privy Council, at which War
was finally decided upon. We noticed yes-
terday, that even in the event of the return
of the respeaive Ambassadors, their Secretaries
would be left behind for a few days. Our state-
ment we find to be correct. Lord Witerwoarit's
Secretary remains at .l'aris, and Mr. Puicra Lis, the
Secretary of General ANoneossi, remains in Lon-
don. The door, however, is not therefore the less
closed against Peace. The stay of the Secretaries
is necessary for the purpose of arranging domestic
concerns, and winding up the business of the em-
bassies. Mr Poltra Lis yesterday granted upwards
of 100 passports for France.

The renewal of the war between this country
and France, has proved of essential service to
America. Private letters from Paris state, that
the American Minister, Mr. MONROE, has com-
pletely succeeded in the objed of his mission,
and that within these three (lays the. French
Government ha: ceded to the cirfre, jean: the palm i..n
of Louisiana. The Americans, we hope, arc not so
weak and so besotted as not to know to whom they
are indebted for this boon. 'I hey must know that
they owe it to England, by whose spirit and energy
at this try ing,moment it has been extorted from the
anxiety and fears of France. It is further stated
upon the same respeaable authority, that a sum of
6000 dollars, due from France to individuals of the
United states, to obtain the payment of which was
one of Mr. Mosaoi's principal objeas, has been
given up by the latter, the American Minister hav-
ing consented that the Government of the United
States shall take' That debt upon itself.

Yesterday morning we received Paris Papers of
Friday last. The Monisreur takes•not the slightest
notice of the Negotiation, or of Lord Wit 1 T wo glues
departure. Some of the other papers mention that
our final answer was delivered to the French Go-
vernment on uel,lay. The Gazelle de France con-
firms wnat we have already stated, that our Am-
bassador had orders to leave Paris in '36 hours
afterwards, in case our terms were not accepted.
It is said, that the FIRST CONSUL, when he re-
ceived our final dispatch, asserted, that he found
some contradiaot y demands in k. He added, that
he would not give an immediate reply, but would
take some time to consider of it. The Gazette de
• France says, that Lord 'WHITWORTH left Paris at
a quarter after ten on Thursday night.
It appears by accounts from Petersburgh, inserted
in the Paris Tapers, that the points in dispute be-
tween Sweden and Russia have not been adjusted.
A Petersburgh article, of the pith of April, says,
" Our hopes of peace have vanished; and our troops
begin their march on the I Eith." But what can
Sweden effea single handed ? She must submit to
whatever terms Russia chuses to impose upon her.
The French Funds have fallen to 52 3-1 oths.
The discussions with France having ended in war,
a change, or more properly a modification, of Admi-
nistration, will immediately take place.
The attendance in both Houses of Parliament
yesterday evening, particularly in the House of
Commons, was very full. In the House of Peers
the Prince d Waits Silt upon the Woolsack with
the Lord Cnnyeal.i.en.

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