The Sun.
London, England, 1806-03-19 00:00:00

MINISTity, oF

VICE-AMMIAL LINOIS TO THE MINISTER OF MARINE.
Simon's Bal., 3dCowiilementary Day, Yeax la.
" GENERA'. MISISTEIt,

" If you have received the Letters which I have
before had the honour of addressing to your Excel-
lency, you will have been informed, that, on {pit-
ting the Isle of Fratice, I determined to change the.
pian of the canipaign, from ditierent. motives, of
which Igave you an account. •
" I therefore contented- myself -%vith sending
.tct
the Captain&eneral DEcAEN, who ;was absent
from the Port, notice of the new Plan on 'which I
had determined, and I immediately. got.under weigh
on the :;44 of Prairial, fear ij,..accompanied• only by
the Belk Poule Frigate. • ' • •
• " An American Ship, which arrived at Isle of
France at the moment of my departure, informed
me that he hid been boarded the preceding even-
ing, off - Rodrigne, by the ynglish Ships the .Tre,
nzendous, of 74 guns, the G,Tallipt.q, of 50, and a
Frigate:l

‘7 I first. steered my course to. the
.Lechelles,
where I-, had bun inforwed that.sorne. of-the .Ene-
ray's Ships had Appeared, but which I did not
find. In quitting that Archipelagd, steered to the
North, proposing to eruize at the entrance of the
Red Sea. • •

" Naar Soccotra we experienced, for several days.
such violent storms and-rough seas, that our sails and
rigging snared much, Tlie Belle Poole suffered much
and being Una bleaily longer to keep 'to the rind. a§ked
permission to _go before it. I then determined to
steer-large; and • cruized at the entrance of the-Chan-
nel of the 7th of the Maldivian- Llands. I remained
there twelve days; With pretty:fine
.Weather..
passed that Clilinnel after havincr reconnoitred-the
-Malacca Islands, and I. tool my parallel of De
Gilles; '4O leagues to the Westward of this Port. I
knew that I could remain but a few days on this
cruize, on account of the currents- which.run to the
East, and of which Y daily. felt the influence, not-
withstanding all the sails which I could set.

On the 18th of Messidor,. I at-.last .espied a
Vessel ; it was an English Flag of Truce, from Bom-
bay, conveying 1.70 prisonerS to the Isle .of France.
I took 74 of them to reinforce my. crew. I learnt
the Declaration of War between Spain and England,
• and had information- that some Ships in Bombay
Roads were on the ere of departing for China, .and
that there was only a Ship of War of 50. gun.; I. was
in 'sight. of Ceylon, in the-day-time standimg to :sea,
and at night towards the land ; I forced Myself to
prolong this cruize. . .
On the 22d of Messidor, at six o'clock in the
morning, we perceived two ShipS to windward,
standing before the wind. I tacked to the North-
ward to cut them off from the land, of which we
were in sight; they kept their wind on the same
tack, fled, and made- signals which indicated, their
being Enemies.

"The Belk Priqle,-by her superiority of sailing,
first came within cannon-shot of one ylf theni, which
endeavoured to get ashore, but which was rendered
impossible by our .-respe6tive_ positions. At three
quarters past t‘Vlve The Belk.Poule made bier
strike, after some 'broadsides':
.left" the to take
possession of her, 2nd •k4i wind on the same tack,

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