The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1803-05-31 00:00:00

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THEATRE-ROYAL, EATALI:ZZET.
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ME _BRITISH PRESS.

LON DON,
TUESDAY, MAY 31.

We yesterday stated the extraordinary resolution
taken by the FIRST CONSUL for detaining all the
English in France as prisoners of war. The follow.
ing is said to be the substance of the C:nsular &cm:
issued for that purpose.

" Every Biit'sthsulalea (of an age not under eighteeh, nor
exceeding sixty) who is at present to France, slial! Imme-
diately be constituted Prisoner of War, to an for such Ci-
tizens of the RepubLe as shall have bren awl made
Prisoners by the Vessel or Satijcas of his Britaatiic Mujooty,
riot to a Decliirittlon of Wat."

We cannot. voneh for the precise terms of the de-
cree, but there can be no doubt as to its objea.—
It is also said that all British property in France is
ordered to be confiscated without e..'en the exception
of the effeas and furniture of Lord Wm r worrn.
Our ship letters, now become one of the most inter-
csLing articles, strongly corroborate this report.—
The Ataland packet, Captain HASIMoND, which
sailed a few days ago under a/gig of truce from Do-
ver to Calais, returned on Saturday with dispatches
from Mr. TALnoi, who is detained prisoner at Ca-
Id:, in contempt of the sacred character with which
he was clothed as Secretary to the English Am-
bassador. Of the same policy which has been ex-
tended to Holland, Mr. W osr arr, the messenger,
who arrived from the Hague on Monday with dis-
patches, brings the follov-ing details. He states that
Sir ROURRT LIST UN, our Envoy, has been made a
prisoner of war, and put into confinement in the Grille
Prison. Mr. WAGST A FF and Mr. EAST set off from
the Hague together for England; but having reason
to suspect that their sailing from Helvoetsluys might
be objeCted to, they agreed that Mr. EAST should go
before, and leave Mr. WA:ISTM behind with the
dispatches; and should the latter find that the for-
mer had been detained, he might adopt the best
method he could for leaving the country. 'When
Mr. EAST readied Helvoetsluys, he found that the
two English packets, which had been waiting there
for some timc,had been detained,and the Captains and
the crews made prisoners. As soon as it was known
that he was an English messenger, he was also sent to
the grille prison. Mr. We G.F.r rr, who was apprised
of what had passed, made the best of his way to Schev e-
Rag. wli ere he procured an open boat, and ai rived safe
with his dispatches in England. Capt. Diets:e of
the King's packet, and several other English, were
also taken into custody. The cause assigned for
this ferocious measure is the commencement
of hostilities by England, without any formal
declaration of war. This, however, is a vain
pretext that will not bear examination. We have
been unfortunately too often at war with France
to afford her an excuse for not remembering 'tlie
form in which we commence it. We commented
it, in the present instance, in the usual form, by
a Proclamation for issuing Letters of Mark and
Reprisal against the Vessels, Property, and Subjeds
of the French Republic. This was language, one
would suppose, too decisive to be mistaken by the
FIRST CoNsut of France, who so far from insisting
upon any technical terms, in which alone it might
be conveyed, had recently maintained, that he should
consider the refusal of the English Government to
surrender Malta, as a "Declaration of War." Were
this cruel and inhospitable proceeding calculated to
answer any beneficial purpose,the end would be some
justification of the means. In every part of the world,
however, it must operate to the disadvantage of the
Ft its r Coast; t., both in relation to his charatier and
his views. In England it must excite terror and dis-
gust. In every civilized state of Europe it will be
comidered a proof of a narrow and little mind.
Unable, therefore, to account for it upon any princi-
ple of rational policy, some persons ascribe it to in-
sanity. 'I his, however, is rot the fa& The corres-
pondence lately laid before Parliament shows, that
the Fi est. Comet is subjen to furious bursts op
passion, but we do not believe they have yet settled
into systematic madness. But the ferociousness of
the measure is not its worst quality. It has been
marked by the most unprincipled fraud and deceit.
It was natural that the English, who had resorted
to France for health, plicasure, or for the sake of eco-
nomy, should, upon the first announcement of
the differences between this country and France,
take the alarm, and prepare to return home. We
stetted sonic weeks back, that no pains were spared
on the part of the French Government, to divert
them from their purpose. The English families
settled at Boulogne, and all the other towns upon
the omit, were assured, that they had nothing to
fear ; that even in the event of war, they had only

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tc, cot dua tlleulselves peaceably., and their persons:
and propatr should be proteeted. These hopes
were held out to the last moment. Even after the de.
parture of Lord %I'm z ks OR TH, MoTAL LEY RA ND pctt.
sonally assured Lord Y Alt x our tt, and several English
of distinCtion, now prisoners in France, that there
was not the slightest ground for apprehension. The
conduCt of the FIRST CONSUL is, therefore, not only
ferocious and vindietive, but treacherous and base.

_ -
h unites the qualities of the Tiger and the Fox, and
must render him an objea of detestation to the civi-
lized world.

_Yesterday we received New York Papers to the
Ist instant, but they contain little intelligence of any
importance. Letters from Port Republicain, re-
ceived at Philadelphia on the ¶sth last, represent
the political condition of that place as considerably
ameliorated. The arrival of 4,000 troops, and the
establishment of General ROCHAMBEACS head-
quarters there, together with the receipt of a large
sum of specie, had greatly relieved the depression
which was daily increasing. It was however ap-
prehended, that unless additional reinfl.rcements
speedily arrived, the whole of the present crop of
Coffee would be lost in the plantation, in conse-
quence of the want of hands.

Late on Sunday night Meson and Dots ALMON,
the Messengers, were sent with dispatches to his
MAlrsry at Windsor.
Yesterday morning., soon after breakfast, his MA..
JE,T R., attended by Generals GAR 111 and HA it-
couar, and Major I)Lsaaow•, took an airing on
horseback through Eton and beyond Salt Hill, where
his Majesty mu the third division of the Stafford-
shire Militia, commanded by Col. SNEYD, on their
march from High Wycombe to Windsor. The di-
vision halted and saluted his MAJESTY, they then
continued their march to Windsor, headed by his
MAJESTY, with their excellent band playing. There
were upwards of 1100 of the men.
His NIA.) LST v afterwards rode in the Great Park.
The Royal family are expe4ted in town this day.
A rumour is in circulation, that the present. Mi-
nisters are to be joined by Earl MOIR A and Mr.
TIERNEY.

Not fewer than 100 English are confined at Calais,
hv order of the Film. Cosst:L. In the ilurnber are
Sir JAmcs CRAWFORD and Mr. Coam, R N.

Yesterday morning, at five o'clock, the first batta-
lion of the second regiment of Guards, marched
from St. James's Park to Woolwich and Deptford.
General Sir DAVID Durmas arrived on Sunday
at Chatham, where he inspe&ed some of the regi-
ments of Militia, which are going to f.rm a camp
in Last Kent.

Lord GARNER has shifted his flag to the Prince
of Wales, of 9.1 guns, Captain Cir ra an. The
Grainpu; cf 50 guns, Captain CAULFIELD, is arrived
at Jersey. Rear Admiral Sir JAMES SAUMAREZ
hoists his flag on board her, as Commander in Chief
of the ships on that station, and Captain H. DOWN-
re A N is appointed his Captain, vire CAULFIELD.
The Snipe gun-brig is ordered to be paid off at
Sheerness, and to be commissioned by her former
Commander.
The Buckingham, of 64 guns, is ordered to be got
ready a for prison ship immciiatcly.
The Captain of the AueZhinei packet, which re-
turned on Saturday afternoon from Calais, brought
over dispatches from Mr. TALBOT, informing his
Majesty's Ministers of his detention.
The Consular decree is said to have been issued
on account of our having made captures at se:t,with-
out a previous declaration of war. But this is not a
new conduit on our part.
A considerable number of troops have been re-
cently marched into Calais, or quartered along the
adjacent coast. The report was generally accredited
at Calais, that the chief command of all tie! forces
in that part of the Republic had been given to Ge-
neral Iklasste A, whose arrival from Paris was daily
expcded.
A Letter from Pert Royal, dated March the 16th,
states, that Admiral DUCKWORT kt's fleet was lying
there, and all very healthy. Mr. MuaitA v, Mid-
shipman of the Leviathan, is appointed Lieutenant
of the Stork. The Bellerophon is just arrived from a
cruize, and will sail again in a few days, as she is re-
markably healthy.
The Juno, with General Sir Tiros' as Tnioce,
arrived several days before the Amazon sailed from
Gibraltar, at which place were the Maid tone, Viao-
rieuie, and Bit:, re. Admiral DE WINTER had been
at Lisbon a few days before the Amazon arrived,
and went up the Mediterranean with four sail of
the line.
A promotion of Admirals is shortly erpeded, in-
cluding Captain STIRLING, in consequence of which
the three Colonels of Marines become vacant, which,
we understand, are to be tilled by Captain Louis,
Sir RICHARD STRACIIAN, and Sir S. SMITH.
From the moment in which the Treaty of Amiens
was signed, there was not a single feature in the
condua of the French Government, which indicat-,
ed a disposition to preserve the peace. No overture
was made for a Commercial Treaty. On the con-
trary, every impediment was assiduously opposed to
the "fair and honourable efforts of the British traders.
Their ships were seized, and their property was con-
fiscated in a time of profound peace, and that under
the operation of laws enafted during war, avow.
efly of a temporary nature, and of which the sigma-•
tnrc of peace should have been the sentence ot re-
peal.
' Let no man say, that the reign of terror is at an
end in France, or that BONAPARTE does not deserve
the charaler given him by Mr. PITT, who called
him the " Child and Champion of Jaeobinism."
Even ROBESPIERRE respeited the law of nations so
far as not to detain and imprison Ambassadors. Mr.
TA L Rol's person ought to have been sacred; but
what shall we say of the arrest' and imprisonment
of Mr. Uncle, by a Government, whose Ambassa-
dor is still in this country ? With resped to the de-
tention of all other British subjeds in Holland and
France, it is a measure which, we should think,
could only have been permitted by a people reduced
to the lowest slavery, and commanded by a despot,
who had lost his senses. We hote, however, and
indeed we are sure, that Great Britain will not imi-
tate the condud adopted by the French Govern-
ment, and forced upon the Dutell

1l oTi AT
On the 211th inst. Mr. James Thompson,uurgison
on the Staff, with his ;family, lattded at Plymouth
from a pilot boat, which took them on board off the
Start, out of the French cortette Naturaliste, of 14
guns, Captain Hamlin, from New Holland : she left
Port Jackson the icult November. 1802, arrived at
the Isle of France the 3d February, 1803, and sailed
again the 10th following: About a week previous
to her sailing from Port Jackson, the Buffalo, of 12
'inns, Lieutenant Kent, arrived there from England,
and the crew all perfealy healthy. The Investiga-
tor, of 14 guns, Capt. M. Flinders, was also on her
voyage, circumnavigating the island, and *as ex-
petted back this month ; her crew were also in per-
lea health. The colony appears to be in a most
flourishing state, and at this time grows much more
corn than is necessary for the consumption of the
settlers, and but for the distance that they are from
any market, they would annually export a consider-
dole quantity. 'I tree French ships had arrived there,
the crews of which were very much afflieted with
the scurvy. There appears a probability that the
Great Nation are about to claim an exclusive right
to this very distant country, and to disturb the peace
of this newly-established colony ; it is likely that
more will be known on this subject at no distant pe-
ro.l Mr. Thompson is charged with dispatches for
Government; and soon after he sailed, a packet
boat was sent after him, with other letters of a pub-
lic nature. The noted Barrington is not dead, as
was reported some time since, but he is in a state
of lunacy, and net expeacd to live long. The Na•
tt:raliste, on her way up channel, was not spoke by
one British cruizer. She is bound to Havre de
G race.
The Captain was informed of the war, but said he
Was proteded from molestation till he reached his
destined port.

A Parliamentary Club has been recently formed
under the patmnage of. his Royal Highness the
Prince of WA LES. It is to consist principally of
Irish Members of either House of Parliament, with-
out any distinlion of politics or party. The Candi-
dates are admitted by ballot, and one black ball ex-
cludes. His Royal Highness the Prince of WA I. ES
has the nomination of six members, out of his
friends, who hare no scat in either House of Parlia-
ment ; with this exception, all the members are
Irish Lords or Commoners. There was a meeting
on Sunday se'nnight, on which day the Club was
formed, and dined together, the Duke of I.Ei STER
in the Chair. flie PRINCE was of the party until
near twelve o'clock, when he retired much pleased
with his new society. The Club will dine together
again on Sunday, the sth of June, when, we un-
derstand, the Chair will be taken by the Right Hon.
W. B. Possosny.

Had the Duke of Bear enronD and Lady Gconct SA
GORDON remained in France, they would have been
sent into re:;,tirky. By their determination, however,
to enter the Temple of Hymen, it is with them “ out
of the frying-pan into the fire."
Yesterday the arrival of the ship Canton, from
China, was announced at the East India House.—
She left St. Helena the sth of April.--!--The City of
London, outward-bound, arrived there on the 3d of
that month ; and the Marquis of Ely, from China,
sailed from St. Helena on the 4th ; as did the Rd-
Jey, whaler, the 25th of March.
Government have purclia,;el the Isle of Lundy
from Sir Wm. HUNT, for a Military Depot, and to
keep the French prisoners la.
The Countess of MOVNTNORR ts's Masked Ball
did not pass over so peaceally as has been represented.
A masked battery was opened at supper upon M. P.
Aso itcws, who was challenged by Sbrelegh and Darby,
to give a similar-entertainment upon the strength of
the rise of gunpowder. It did not however come
to an explosion, as Mr. ANDRE‘t S fought sky.
Dispatches were yesterday sent oft from the Secre-
tary of State's Office to Vienna.
Mails arrived yesterday from Hamburgh and
Holland. A Letter from Vienna, dated the Bth in-
stant, brought by the latter, informs us, that the
Arabian Chief, A anut WECHAB, has made himself
mater of the city of Mecca.
Soon after the Doris frigate lost her prize, the
French brig Pordain, four Frenchmen, who were
concealed, joined the others that were left on board,
and rose on the English sailors ; they discharged two
pistols, and wounded two of the seaman ; but the Bri-
tish tars were not to be easily frightened out'aof their
prize, and, though inferior in numbers, they soon
beat the Frenchmen into a sense of their inferiority.
It would seem, from the following Extra& of a
Letter, written by an officer on board the Naiad
frigate, and dated the 24th inst. off Ushant, that the
reports in circulation, respeCting the capture of the
Hazard sloop of war, by the enemy, are not entitled
to credit :

41 We have taken four prizes. The Hazard sloop
of war has been in company with us all the tirne.—
We fell in with Lord NE: SON yesterday. His flag
was then on board the Pillory. During the time
we were in with him, he shifted his flag on board
the Anphisa, and it is supposed he has gone to the
Mediterranean. Two Dutch East Indiamen have
been detained by a couple of our frigates. 'I here
were four of them together. We expect to fall in
with the other two."
The rumours which have been spread relative to
the los,; of the Pitioory, we arc happy to state, are
altogether unibunded.
On Friday se'nnight, an inquest was taken at
Thorpe, on the body of J. Farrow, who with
there others were driven on shore there in great
digress. The deceased expired of hunger soon after
he landed, but the others are likely to recover.
It appeared that they were seamen belonging to
the Pearl, which about a fortnight ago sprung a
leak as she was going from North Shields to Copen-
hagen. It was so evident that the vessel would
founder, that the deceased, and rest of the crew,
fourteen in number, left the pumps, and threw over
the boat, by which a hole was stove in her side. They,
however, all got in, and about ten minutes afterithey
saw the vessel sink. They were now left to the
mercy of the waves,. without oars, sails, or provisi-
ons ; and although they had stuffed the hole with
their jackets, the boat filled so fast, that they were
engaged night awl day in clearing it with their hata.
Oo the third diy ten of the men died of famine and
fatigue ; and those that survived were so ravenous,
that they subsisted on parts of their dead comrade!.
The unfortunate survivors had been five days in this
dreadful situation, whets the boa tdrifted ashore.