The Sun.
London, England, 1801-01-16 00:00:00

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FRENCH C;()VEit.NNIENT RELATI.Vg; TQ
PRISONERS OF WAR.

potiphifdircon out-Paper Tatertia.o '
XX
,N.UMB VIII' •
7arcion, h .111,9
._rwmaire, esr rent
Republic, 39th a laba, 18'44.
. ,
THE CONIMISSAItif OF THE. FitVNCH ItAti:BLIC
IN TO THE COMNllsslol4iii OE
TRANhIOitT OFEkE.

c'errrt.Eiiiep, .
I lave liad the. honour of maleing.variout fl
presqvations to you relative to the insufficiency
of the ration allowed by the British Government
to the Yreneh Prisom:nt, :whom the fortune of
War has thrown into your hands. The fatal efs•
fens of this diminution. of Food ~are already but
too sensibly felt ' • I have now before me it Litt of
those who have died, and I perceive that the
number* is, almost four times'greater than that of
last year at the same period ; for, during the
course of one. month only, the nuMber of deaths
amounted to one. hundred and ten) While tliey
did not exceed -twenty during the same month of.
the greeeding year But this Cainpaiiion; how.
ever afflifling it may appear, is only the' first
outline of the, piatire. I snail he obliged to lay
before you in a. few months", unless the Most et.
fedual means ate. s•pee'dity adopted,' in' order" to
prevent the consequences which post -otherwise
result from the wretched situaribn,of the Prison_
ers.• Indeed, it'is impoistbie• to' look* -ar ' the
at te of the difFirent dep;,,ts; without being con.
vinced of the fate which infallibly awaits them.
My Letters from Liverpool •state, 46 That the
number of deaths, 'during the present month, has
greatly, exceeded that of former periods, :even •
when the dept contained double the number of
Prisoners. This sudden mortality, which corn.
ineneedat the close of last month, is she conse.
quence of the .first approach of cold weather : all,
without a single exception, have, perished from de-
bility. The same,fate awaits many more of thesa
unforttinate beings, alvaLly lialfmarved from
want of proper food, and obliged to sleep upon a
damp Ravernent, or .a few handfuls of rotten
srvitw, ,-Efutger, or their own imprudence, has
deprived theta ,of their, cloaths; and now, the
effett of the cold weather obliges them to part
with a share of their scanty subsistence to procure
eloathit9i. In one word, their only hope is a
chary in their situation, or death."

The Accounts from Porcchester are not less
alartniez. " The Prisoners are reduoed to a ,
stare 0rd4341111 meagreness. A -great number
of them have the' appearance of walking akele.
tons. One has been found dead in his hammock ;
another fell out of his from mere debility, and
was killed by the fall. The greater.part of those
sent 'to the Hospital die in .a short time ; others,
as Soon as they are received there. In short,
there is. every appearance that the severe season
on which we are now entering, will destroy more
ti,m,otig.half of these uefortunate men."
"It would be aselest..to 'state 'the' his en.
dared by the Prisoners here, (writes my Cor.
.vespendent
.at Nornun Cross) ; many of them
hafitee, by their own imprudence or .misconcluel,
the fete which awaits them all, if things remain
in the state they now arc. Hunger compels
lbem.to !sell every abing,they .peebe.ss, and in 56
'4l'4 theY.Onlyadit to their own avietehidneis.
Many are literally utikea. Amongst those, who
*by theirfortitude and goedlecindtrft hive avoided
these excesses,' are t&be preceiVed the 'Melandholy
and slow, lint 'certain effeets -of a' 'tali ned-tOnsil.
lotion ; and if 'an in mediate remedy is not. up.
'plied, a --cruel . death- Must soon terminate' their
sufferingi4" •
These details, Gentlemen; areaccompaoied by
bitter lefleOione which; I • forbear to repeat.• I
shall also pass over in silence the,•accounte, re,
eeived. from the other depAti,- which would only
-bean repetition of what you have just
read. The ration issued to the. Prisoners. proved
insufficient eoen- during the, fine weather. On
this point I appeal to persons, who have, seen the
prisons.; and experience is a. seflicient proof ot rt.
Vrged.by the most pressing wanes, the Prisoners
have employed their small resources in making
up the deficiency of the ration. Those who were
Without pecuniary marts sold evert their eh:lathing.,
They are now naked and enfeebled by ,privitions
•of every kind. The keen air of winter will
sharpen the cravings of, hunger, and they must
-soon experience the severity of the cold weather
without possessing the means of defending them.
selves %unit it.
Such is the situation of French Prisoners in ,
England. In 'France, on the contrary, the Hng_
lish, the Russians, and the Austrians, who have
fallen into our hands, not only receive a whole.
some and plentiful subsistence, but are clothed at
the expenee of. the Republic, and enjoy a degree
of liberty which the French 'Ptisoncrs ,are not
allowed in this Country. At every period of
the War, a great number of Prisoners have had
permission to leave the depbts, to caul on diffe-
rent trades, and to . earn by the fruits of their
labour even more than would have provided them
with a efirtifortable,sopport.
Whatever may be the intentions of- thellritish
.Government with respea to the Frenchmen now
groaning in irops, 1 request, in the,name of Hu,
inanity and the sacred Law of Nadeau, that you
will by before that Government this- piiiete of
their situation. It cannot fall to of set. eery
feeling mind. It has alreadtemaile,an imprefiaion
ems you, Gentlemen, andeyou
.have ordered a
great number of Invalids to be scat dune;. The
',Agents entrusted with the charge of selating
the Prisoners falling 'under, this deseriptioo -have.
discharged their:duty in the most humane Ammer,
:raid owe to .you, its well .44 to them, 'my grate
ful thanks for their oandult on this Asian,,
I cannot concludetbie Letter without replying
to two 'objetlione which-. May appear, at Rest
sight to palliate the difference Of streatment ex