The Sun.
London, England, 1804-02-17 00:00:00

itt Honour it i 5. Anti as honour to a Soldier is
dearer than his Interest, or even his Life, so ought
a Volunteer's. Were a Volunteer permitted to re-
sign at pleasure, the most trifling dissatisfanion or
disgust might make Mil quit. tie might throw
down his arms, when most wanted ; nay, some bad
nizrn might enrol themselve, at first to learn the use
of arms, for the worst purposes, and that accom-
plished, quit the Corps. To meet all these
dill uf-
ties will require much consideration. To bind a
Volunteer for a term of years, is .with many im-
possible. A servant in any capacity can he bound
no longer than his continuance in •the same
place. If he changes his master, he may change
his ' parish, county, or country. Att house-
holder may change his residence, and gl to an_
other Distrid, too far off to attend drill--
a man in trade. may be obliged to go from home ;
in all these cases, surely a Volunteer ought to he
permitted to resign. To compel him to remain
would be oppression. But if a Volunteer be taught
that it is his duty to subMit to mart.al I.IIV at all
times when under arms, on any military duty, or
even when summoned to it by his Officer, and
especially from the very instant when an actual
Invasion takes place, or when an Enemy is upon
the Coast, and that at that period no resignation
can be accepted, nor can he then leave the Corps,
without being guilty of desertion, and liable to
punishment as such, perhaps such regulation
might answer the purpose. There is really no
hardship in this,. and probably nothing more, than
,what every Volunteer thinks his duty : but the
mode wants consideration, and too great care can-
not be taken in explaining these obligations, and in
pointing out the necessity of complying With them,
for their own sakes, as well as for the advantage of
the Country, and the cause in which. they are en-
gaged. No doubt this will be done, as the irnpo-
bey of compulsory measures anti sumptuary laws
under the present circumstances (to say no worse.of
them), must be evident to every thinking man.
At first Volunteers chose their own Officers, and
it was very natural for men, under their circum.
stances, to name-the persons under whom, they chose
to serve. Some Corps still chose their own Offs.
cers to succeed to vacancies, but I believe very few.
The Commandant in general tecomMends, as is the
praCtice of the whole Army. But as Volunteers
are but partially governed by military laws, and as
the good understanding between Officers arid Men
is a great bond of lotion conneding them as co-as.
sociarts in the same hcnourable cause, it is most
certainly of the (ton tsteconsequence to a Command-
ing Officer of Volunteers, to his Corps, and even to
his Country, to recommend none to be Officers,
but such as he knows will be agreeable to the
Corps ; and if he
.has prudence, forbearance, and
temper, and pay some attention to the feelings, or
even to the prejudices of his Corps, he will very soon
find that he may do what he pleases : 'without these,
no man should at tempt to be an Officer of Volunteers;
let him lead-,--but not attempt to drive.

PEYROUSE.—From The Mercantile Advert. er, of
New-York, Dec- a9.—The certainty of tlse fate of
the two ships, under the diredion of M. PEYROUSE,
will girve relief to the public mind, though see must-
ever deplore the melancholy event which deprived
the world of the services of that truly eminent com-
mander. .By several gentlemen, lately from the •
Isle of France, it is reported, that a Danish ship,
in her passage to China in the eastern route, took
from an uninhabited island an officer and four or five
men belonging.
to the ships commanded by M. err-
.
aotisE, who were so emaciated and worn.dowu for
want of food, that they survived only.a few days ;
and that papers, containing the history of their ship-
wreck, and particulars of getting on shore among
the natives, &c. were in .posiession of the Govern-
ment of the Isle of France.
The tale related by the unfortunate officer and
men to the Danes on board the ship before they feed,
is, as nearly as we can learn,. as follows :—the ships
left Port Jackson, and, after sailing some tirw., were
unfortunately. driven among the rocks, and ship-
wrecked
; the principal part of the ciffcers and crews
landed in safety, and preserved great part of the
stores, &c. They found the natives numerous, and
• apparently hospitable ; after remaining- some time
on the most peaceable terms with thern, it was deter-
mined to build a small vessel from parts of the wreck,
and the stately trees abounding in their neighbour-
hood, and to seek out some European settlement,
whence they could procure a passage to their own
country. In the prosecution of this hopeful scheme,
they cut down several trees to commence the busi.
iess; not thinking it of any consequence to the na-
ives, they did not fOrmally ask leave of them to
ase their timber ; the savages, however, most un-
luckily conceiving their rights invaded, became in.
stantly alarmed, and all their former friendly inter-
course immediately ceased. It was not long before
they became pert-011y hostile, and, watching an op-
portunity when the French were off their guard
(which was unhappily sometimes -the case from ne-
cessity, but too frequently from want of discipline)
they fell upon them from all quarters in a very nu-
merous body, when a most horrible massacre ensued.
The voyage of M. PEYIOUSE had been brought up
within a few days to This fatal period, and had been
deposited in a safe place known to all the officers ;
the officer who had escaped thus.far in the cruel bu.
siness, flew to the spot, snatched the papers, fled to
one of the boats, where he was joined by four or five
men, and instantly put to sea, leaving his unhappy
countrymen in the merciless hands of the savages,
whom they supposed were very soon overpowered
and butchered by their_ treacherous friends. Happy .
to find themselves out of the reach of one danger,
they continued braving others until they fell in with
an island, where they landed (and here probably lost
their boat.) On 'this island they remained some
months, perhaps many suffering extremely from the
want of food and raiment, until Providence broughi
the Danish 'Olio to their relief, which took. them off
in a wretClied situation, worn down by hunger and
thirst to skeletons.
Notwithstanding every at ten.
them which humanity could dictate or
titendernesswas
spad
suggest, they survived only time enough
to relate their woeful tale.