The Sun.
London, England, 1807-08-21 00:00:00

SMITHFIELD MARKET, Avntri.-r 2r.

Thiß day's market afforded a toleratk good suppl
of ditferent kinds of Cattle ; Beef, Meitpn,
Pork, and Lamb sold at last prices, and ti`i,t trade in
general was not over brisk.—The sales in the Hay-
market were not lively ; Hay and Stinw 'fetched
better prices than Mondly's market ; Clovor coi,_
tinues, the sum,: as per last.—The under-me4tioned
prices and numbers are a coma statement
to sink the ort4l per stone Sib.
&e4s. od. to ss, od.--glutton 4s. -04. to is. M.—veal
ss. 64. to 6s. 6d.--:-Larnb 4s. od. to 45. tod.,—Purk ss, (;,d, to
7s. od. -
Beasts, loo.—Sheep and Lambs, 7500.---Calves, to,—
Pigs 3t0.,

SMITHFIELD RAY 41 AENET.
•
Hay 51., ss. to, 61. 10.--Cluverst, 94. Vd.. to 61: ros, .1.
-Straw al, Si, od, t 9 21-. 1741.; W..

LAID REPORT.

COUR!', AuGuiv 20.

NEUTRAL RIGHTS.

\vas the reas of the American Ship Friend-
a numberof French, military and mat
and men from Baltimore to Bourdeaux,
reporied iii our Paper of yesterday, and which stood
over toijudgment this day.
Learnal Judge, Sir iWm. • SCOTT, in giving
. his judgment ,this day, ctserved.that this was the
ca ,Q of a ,neutral ship, cavtured On susrticionof being
hired "as an enemy's trathpprt and the question was,
whother, at the time, she was esercising the fair and
legal tights of a neutral ship. or violating those
•otights, by lending' herself to the service of an enemy,
for the purpose of transporting per Sons of a military
character, and in the service of that enemy ? ,The

owner of this ship was a subject of the United
_ States of America, and'ille Master and Commander
. a Frenchman by •birth; but since a naturalized'
American. The. latter-was tustruled by the former
to proceed with the carge of staves; '&6. then on
board, to Baltimore, and there to take in-as many
passengers as he could for Bourd'eaux ; and froth this
it was inkrred,, by the Learned Gentlemen for the
Claimant,, "that this
,was a Mere 'mercantile trans-
, action. But the Court was bound to go Tdrtlier, and
see the nature and amotthe of this cargo, and of
what description of persons those passenger's were ;
and they ere found to be persons.of a military' and
naval charaaer,' returning ;(niost of them from St.
Domingo) to their own country, and in the service
of France, and invested' 'with that charaaer the
whole of the time, They were 'put on board by a
servant authorised by the Government of Fiance';
and a person on board invested with a command:
over the rest; oil of whoni, on their arrival at 13our-
deaux, were to present themselves before the Ma-
rine Officer of that' pike, and' wait his Orders, It
was nothing to the phrpose that these persons were
not' hi the a& of proceeding upon any particular ex-
pedition, or immediately. employed against this
country; they were not once divested of their
charaaer; and if it, was' allowed. that neutral's
carrying arms and military stores to an, enemy's parr,
was liable to condemnation, how Much more so was
`a neutral carrying the very thing which alone could
give effeEt to those arms and storefi ). but it was said,
that there was a cargo on board this liessel, and that
it was a well-known laa, that ships taken rip as
transports both in this country and France, were never
permitted to take any description of cargo whatever
on board; he admitted the fa& ; but it was an
.cult on the understanding to call' this, which amount-
ed to no more tban'hallaSt and tonnage, a cargo;
and it might • have happened, that there not being
2nyyrenth, transports convenient at' that time over
•-, which the Frenett Government might exercise an:
authority as to, the cargo, they.found it necessary to
take this ,ship open any terms 'tbej could get her.
What the express terms were, th 6 Cotirt Could not
say, there being no contras before if'; but the Court
would presume a contrast • existing between the
owner of this vessel and tbe French agent who put •
those persenq on board. The i'essels-ot the enemy •
could not carry troops in that way. Was it theta,'"
lie would ask, to be permitted to. neutrals to, step in
and fill tip the blank ? Certainly not; and whatever
might base :been- the contract between these persons,
lie was Well convinced the GoVerintient of the
United States was wholly ignorant -ofi such prat •-• •
tices, and would as strongly and is anxieUSly tion
deMn
.thern as the Governme=nt of this Country. If
this had been the case of a few. disabled officers' or
invalidttd men returning to their Own ' country to
spend the remnant of their lives in ikaceatid re•
tiremeni; it would be another , ghestiou abil the
Conti and the Government- would tiever proceed
with harshness; quite the cont,rary; • Blit these per-
soaS were aanally:inve:stect with- power "and'authe,
rity under , 016 Fr:.nch GoVernroent y and forine'di: '-
he would. call it, past of the militarylnarthe of' that .
country:' ender- all"tbe cirCUMStances,- tfrer-efore,...•
it was his
.epinion,, that, this ship was as 'Mulch' a
French traasport hi the 'service. of the 'French
. Go-.
vernment, as if she had. been built in a' French pert, '
and belonged to a Frenelv Thojudgment
of .cOndenithitiou. wai accordingly affirmed.
'l',ll,E BRIG

This was a, queon upon the tiolatio!l ol the nr-
dcr of Council tor regulating tile ickdd,:ol the river
Elba. The Ship in, clnestien was a Dime,, bound fruM
Tonningean for St. Thomas 6, laden, with glass, gene-
ya, and ether gooli, from Alton..
On the pin of the ciii4tors it .was contended that
froptioClWpapers discovered in a secret drawe'r.in the.
bottom Of tl writing desk belonging to the supercargo
of. the .vessel,'; which contradiEted the documents pro!
sauced by the Master, an :itteniPt bad been made, to.
deir;ind the captors and .violate the blockade • for by
the papers of the "ureter, the goods appearedto have
be,en conveyed by land carriage from Altona to Ten-
ningen, whereas by the latter it was interred tha
the goods were waterborne, and .cnnscluently car.
lied in VeSi:Aii prohibited by the'OrderofCoukleil.
In the papers, found the sUpercaigo,-Qte person
seinlitr the goods from Altona was, denominated
Captaa, and front some particular expressions in
these letters, the ,Lcarned.Advocates inferred, that
the goods were Oually, waterborne, and should lie.
coodvtuned or if not, drat the claimants shopid
give fortnt.n. proof !p rate contrary.
Qn the other hand, the Learned AAVocatea for

the t,..;lsituzint dontendcd, that-there- was no evi
,
• delp:f.:v, hatever froth \' hicti tne t..:ourt could come
to the conclusion Ilvat theoe goods were waterborne.
,The title 94.4414441m,,,i applieAle as well to pet:-
sons engaged in tuercanttle transa6tions on lamb' as
those on sea, and as it t*Tequently happened that per:-
sous forwaly engaged in a seafaring life,. at another.
tune were sel,:ly engaged in mercztntile•transaaiens
on land, and 'haying once been , dubbed 'Captain,
they retained the tide al\vtly, the expressions in
the letters were eaßable of two congruaions, and
of being explained; and, in sucha case as thls, the
Court ‘voukt be inclined to tual:c the. most favoura-
ble contundion 14 Claimants of tlk' c4,scriptioti of
Owe before the Court.
Atter hearing the arguments on both sides atcon-
siderable,length; - , •
The Learned Judge observed, this was a question
arising ont'd the violation of the blockade of a

'tral port, and when the COvernment, of this Country
found. it necessary to delay or prevent the regular
course of trading of a neutral port, it Was always done.
to secure the interests of this!countiy Against the pow,
er of the enemy, and mall such cases, however harsh.
Government might he 'obliged to a& they were will-
ihg--to remit that rigour towards neutrals, as far as
their own security would admit. Itl this view he
should consider the present case. This was aDanish
ship, belongins to Danish. owners, and sailing from
a Danish port to a Danish colony:, when that -rigour
was in a great measure removed„ With what view
then could it be said't that she 'intended to pass a fraud
upon the Government of. this Country ?. or Wag the
Court bound' te put such a construetion on the ex-
pressions in those letters as insisted on by the Learn-
ed Gentleman *?. looking at the geographical situation:
of the country, and considering the probability these,
• 'goods Must in some measure be waterborne„ with-
out violating the blockade in any degree„, and con-
ceiving the appellation of Captahl as 'applicable to
persons on laud as well as at sea, he did feel that
-the:Court was bound to' put the most
_favourable
construation. upon those expressions,. and they then'
became reconcilable.. The Government of this
Country was, for a time, under the necessity of
adopting harsh measures in the blockadopf the Elbe,'
for the purpose. of checking old diminishing -the
growing influence- of France on. that part of the
Continent, which threatened and endangered our
commerce in that quarter;. but when that necesSity
was in some measure removed, that rigow was also
diminished., Taking the subject in-this light, and
considering- all the eiroutploances., he did not think
the Court bound to order blither evidence upon the
,•Case, and therefore.dire6ted that the ship should be
trestoged to the,elaimants.. •