The Sun.
London, England, 1803-12-24 00:00:00

LONDON, DEC:EMBER 24, 1803.

A report prevailed on Thursday at Portimouth,that
the French Fleet had put to sea, and so much credit
was at,:ached"to it, tbat the► Couragerix, of 74. guns,
which had the signal flying for Convoy to the West
Indies, hauled it down, weighed, and stoodaway
to sea, as did the Isis, of so guns, the Fifigard Fri.
gate, and two Sloops of War. lt was likewise
stated, "that the'butch Fleet had come out, but this
circumstance, we think, had it taken place, would
have come:to us by a less circuitous route than that
of Portsmouth. The account of the French Fleet
'having put to Sea, may be. mete report likewise,
but the circUmstance.of all the Ships of War having
been dispatehed fromSpithead, proves that the Ad.
miral at Portsmouth thought it a report not altoge.-
ther to be disregarded. ' .

A, Dublin Mail ofte loth arrived this morning.
Sir Rung RT CALDER, with four sail of the line and
,sotne smalla vessels, had irrived,in Beerhaven yes.
`tertlay sennight.

• .Yeste'rdst. morning the DUKE of KfitiT break-
fasted with THE I R MAJESTI,ES. Soon after bre,dc.
fast Ws MA J E,STY Set off for 'rVindsor.:, his way
he stopped at Kew, to view the.new Palace. . •
'llKit MAJEsTY and the PRINCE'SSiS followed
between twcive and one..
Thc Pit INC: tss is indisposed.
•

Yesterday morning the tctt of YORK insperte,l
the .Coldstreath'itegiment of F,otat Guards, in their -
I new cloathing; in the .Bird.cage:walk.
Yesterday morning', t two - hundred men, belonging
to the Army of Reserve enlisted into the Gonda,

The Dike at AkCYLe is dangerously ill in
Semi'dna.

Yesterday the Duke and Dutehess of RP or o n left!
their house in the Stable-yard, Sr. James's, to spend
their Cltrista 110141.13,4 at Woliorn /,\,hbey, Bed.
lAdshire, wiFh a select party of friends.
All Recruiting Parties of the Royal Marines,
excepting stx from each division; are ordered to be

Yesterday o Court id Dire ors was beta at
East House, whcii the undermentioned Coin.
mAnditrs-took itaae previous Cu &patting for their
revehive tlestinaiions, viz. CRIA.Esgx IL BOND,
61 the frolmer Caole, for nombay •and China;
,THOMA 3 ROutitTSON, Of the Cirencester, for
,St.
Helena,. ritneook n,. 4nd China.
Captain JAtaza 'lwAtuAt,v. was sworn into the
command of titePerwrierance, destined to China.

Thc Court adjourned at six o'clock till Friday
next. •
Ti;" sir Yit,nhey Littbiqtaa, extra ship Harriett,
and .11,,,,rd Orilican,‘ ore; iltilyekl 'at Bengal.
Cumber/and left Fort St. George the 29th
of jurtc~
,and arrived at Polo Pinang 7(11 July.
A Letter from St,. Vincent's, dated the 19(11, of
Oftnher,' that .tl:cy had received intorma.
tion.these by a_Vessel from Barbadoet, "that a Flag
of Truce had arrived at the latter place from Mar-,
tinii lie, with a proposal te) deliver up that Island
on a pru►nise of proteCtion; but•that the offer could
.• not then be accepted. on account, of the want of
Troops, and there being no proved of any from
England.' ••
General Pt cram, after then proceedings of the
Council on ThUrsday, was taken before Lord Et..
• Litqlsoßoxfort, at his house in Bloomsbury-square,
when his Lordship admitted him .to bail. He wai
accordingly' discharged out of the custody of Mr..
Sr AR Row, the King's Messenger,. under .wht.4e
care h,td been for near fit'., myks.

General WI Litt NsoN, of the Western Army, has
received orders trnin the American Qovernment to
proeeed.to New Orleans, and take pobsession of it.
The 3oth Regiment of the Line have left Wood,
bridge Barracks, which are now oeenpiki by the
;,1 Regiment of Royal'. Lancatddre cam.
ovitt,4l,by_Lord 5r.1:41, It y .The Won,lbtidgeVo.
Nutters are in such a high state of discipline, rhat.
General Camdtits,Q N intend's, in cast: of Invasion,
that they fillottld att in the Line.
Seinnight; the 3d Division of the 26th,
Regiment posied through 13...1fa5t on their- route for
Arrnagh. The 4th Division arrived at Donagha.
tier on ThurSday:
1.35 t Saturday the Ist Regiment of Royal Edin.
burgh -Volunteers were inspeeted on Burntifteld
Links' by Lieut.-Col. A. Wtprr, late of the 36th
Regiment Of Foot, lospeittint; Field-Oil-leer appoint.
ett, for the Yeomanry and Volunteer Carpi orthe
County and
,City of Edinburgh, Notwithstanding
the day :sad the ground were bath' very unfavourA,
tile, the Corps made a remaik,dide good. appearance,
and hid the satisfselion to reotive.the-approbation
of theirdiseipline and tame of arms2.froin.'the
spetqing Field•Pilleer. The number of the Regi.
.tnent presci,t WaS 977,

The Westbury Vtitunteert received their Colours
Tuesd4y Libt 370W11, from GCC)I4,GE
DAUBRNY, Esq.
On S;4turday last thz'litooVein-Forest
67 in number, eloathed and armed at the exiit:riee,
and commandeil ;he Rev. inim %Viotti, 1:)_
s cit.d on the Atnor-Share by Lielge(l4.t:CVlol:4:j
P;tn,LE Wito i)loltStli to e.xpless
bation of their good alpearanee amt the eieelMcc,
of their arms,

Iv' if V. 4 L MEW S,

PoarsmouTH, Dtc. 2.3.—Arrived the Merckry
igate from a Cruize.

i strong repOrt prevailed here yesterday, that
the French Fleet had put to sea, and also the Dutch,
which has occasioned the Cortrageux Man of Wilr
to haul down the Signal for the %Vest India Fleet,
and-proceed to sea, as have the following; viz. the
Isis, of so guns, Fisgard Frigate, Curlew and
Spt y Slobps of War.

DIAL, DEC. 23.-=-Arrived La Prevvante, from
the Mediterranean,;' Tb:rbe, and Lord Nelson Armed
Ship from the Nine.; Immortality, from a Cruize off
Boulogne ; Leda, from a :CrUize off Dieppe; and
Maumee, from Dungeness. ' •.
Sailed the Raismable on a Cruize off the Texel.
In the Downs—Monarch, Utrecht, Immortalit6 ,La Pre.
vDyante, Thisbe, Euryatus, Leda', Champion, Squirrel, Lark,
Autumn, Pets:us, Zebra, Sulphur, Archer Gun-brig, and
Lord NelsOn Armed Ship. •

LIVERPOOL; DEC. i 9.•--'Elie Britannia, -;
from Ipswich Le) this Port, was stranded on the
9th instant, ten mileb to the westward of Water.
tord, and uncertain whether she will be got off or
not.

By a letter. from. Captain MAY, of the Tamer,
.of
this Port, dated on the Coast, the Bth of September,
we learn, that when he arrived at the mouth Of-the
River Congo, the i 4th of August, he was-informed
by the Captain of the ,Bedford, of Londoni that the
French Frigate La Braave was there, with a Brig
that was assisting „to slave her; Captain MAY
wishirg to takt.ber by surprize, detained the Cap-
tain the' Brig, who bad come on board in a
Baat his detention alarmed the Captain of La
Bran''', who immediately cut her cables anti
stood to sea, followed 'by the natty,. who after- a
Chace of six hours and a smart t ngogement, eaptUr-
ed her, without any loss, having 'only one man
wounded in the:um with a musket ball. La. Braave.
is 836 tons [turd*, had 731 Slaves, and a consi-
derable quantity of goods on board, she bad lour
Men killed and several wounded in-the aflion. Capt.
Alnr'expe' aed to be in,Barba*oes with his prize
.-early. in. December-

‘Ol
Orders have been received at Edinburgh, to fit
nut immediately all such vessels -as are capable of
being converted into' gun..boat..
•' We are happy to understand, that the Minx
Pun-Brig has not 'sustained so •much damage as was
t first staled. On the contrary, she is now at
Dover .Pier, and will soon,proceed up the River to
be rrpaired.

lany fears have been entertained for the safety
of that spirited and enterprizing,Navigator, Mr.
BLACK: After sailieg in a small Schooner named
thelifarbisger, of about Efo tons, from the Cape of
Good Hope to Port Jackson, through the Straits
that separate Van Diernan'eLand from New. Hui.
land; in. which he made many useful discoveries,
he left Nil Jackson in the Cornwallis, fi,r Bengal.
From Bengal he sailed as Master of a small trading
vessel for tkncoolen and Port Jackson in April t go 2.
As no intelligence of his arrival at Port Jackson had
reached his friends, they were fearful that he was
lost.. We are happy, however, to hear by a Gentle-
man who left Botany Bay about twelve months ago,
thilt he was then on a voyage Rods Port Jackson to
the Coast of Peru, in a vessel named •the Chance.;
but his Friends have not as yet teceived'any letters'
from himself. •
The Rese4tion, FRASER, •frODI Labrador, Is ar.
rived at StrOntneSS : she was twice brought to by a
French' Frigate, but the sea wairunning so high she
could not take possession of het.
On.Mondaymorning, the lath instant, His Ma. .
jesty's Revenue Cutter, the Melville
HtsTaY DUNDM BEATSON Commander, on a cruize
from Greenock to Dublin, was put intO Campbelton
harbour, after 'having been blown out of Dublin
Bay on .the preceding Friday night,• when she ern:,
ccitirstered a most severe g Ile of wind on the coast
of Ireland, whiCh continued till SUnday morning;
whereby lier guns, and part of her cargo of bomb.
Adis, that she was carrying Id Dublin, were obliged
to be thrown overboard, and it was with the greatest
difficulty that Me vessel was saved.
On Saturday •..the loth instant,, a large brig,
with bright sides, and b'emingly having cotton.'
stowed on her (forcer-deck, was drove into Castle
Swein Loch, in the.parish of North Knaptiale, by•
stress of weather, After firing several guns as
4ignals of distress, she ran a "considerable way up
the Loch, and eameto an anchor in a place of safety.
'The 'rople residing in the; reighbourhood weie
much alarmed with the firing, which they cOneeived`•
came' frOm. one-of-ihe-erietrirs rmulzers ;;.-tenct
this idea prevailed the Company of Volunteers,
minded by. DutiO4r4 .CA.Nrasid., Esq. 'of Rloss.
assembled with great alacrity .at. their proper post,
to oppose the landing of any men from the vessel:

Dr, Hors, second Physician at Haslar, is tip.
pointed to be first Physician at PlymouAlt Hospital,
vice Dr. Fmk, superannuated.
Dr. WRIGHT, late Physician to His Royal
Iligbness the,Duke of Sussex, is appointed to Has.
lar.

An American Gentletnan is stated to have ar-
rived in town on, Tlaursday from the Texel, who
did not. leave Amsterdam till the t 9th,„
,at which
time nothing Was,- known there with resped to, the
event stated.,ro have -happened, of the -Troops in
Holland laying down their Arms, and refusing to
proceed on the Expedition against this Cduntry.
A Letter frcvin Hamburgh states-,' that General
BIf,ATIIIE4 declared, in full Senate, and desired it
to he taken 'clown in Wrivng, " that .the
emNstj r, was detertni,ned never to make a Peace with
.England
‘(if he should nut rtucceed in conquering it)
1)-41re the KING 0i GitiAT BRITAIN4w* prOUliseli
to “•itay both the present and any' future 'loans
I,stat,ce finds necessary to raise .a.!:lrmburgh during
o,,,,„,cdpiilion pt Hangver.st . An lAcial note from'
t h.. French Minister Rh!NILARu has since. iepeaLtd
declarations

AMERICA.

~~

dinserkax Pa
cbleil
gsiiv.vee,nare p rteoceAi veined:
Though
Irrs to the tgth of November M.. iii:
t
..-........--,. ,
gh the Convention by which Louisiana islo 1,
both Houses of the Liecgaihslaa4 ,f
,
surneec,eiivtehdatiligei
vsaenneti
, :,
a deal
, good of warm discussion. Many of those who - ' Y
have considered the Convention highly favourable to
the United States, have allowed that it is With them
adm , btful question, how far Franc France was authorized to
make the conveyance of the territory of Louisiana ;:'
risecin 1)t
of ..:. :47
to a third power. They do not .find in the mode
an which it was transferred to the French Govern.,
ment, any stipulation by which the ht ast Como!,
could dispute of it without the consent of the
Spanish , Government. It ' has nor appeared to
them sufficient to refer to vague assertions of the
existence of this power. They rwish to hare
Oficial specific documents on the subject. In the
liouse of Representatives a motion was made on the
;24th of October, the °Welt of which was to call on
the President to produce die documents which autho-
rized the purchase of Louisiana by the United States,
and established their subsequent right to its peace-
able possession, _ without any opposition on the part
of the Spniilt Government. The motion gave rise
to. a very spirited debate, 10 the course of which
it was pretty clearly proved, . ihat France had no
distinct right to enter into the Convention;. that
the consent of Spain had not even been asked. ani.
that the whole bargain lit'Oeeerleti no a presumed
title. These argoments were however over.rultai
.and the execution of a Convention, ob%lotr•dy.a •
the highest advantage. to America, was vpposteil
„without': very scrupulous regard to the- fret a
one of the coorraCting..parties to coact it. One
important ;amendment was,. however, introduced in.
to the Bill, founded, on the Convention, lit the
.course of theDebares, It was determined that no,. •
money sl !
ant& tintier‘the terms of the. Convention,'
be considered as payable till actual occupation had
`been ,blitaioed. It. is cleai,, from various articles
,in there Papers,- that the Spanish Governor, of New
:Orleans had _received no official commands to sur-
render
the Provinee. The Freneli Charge d'Affaires
had. nude satte very warm, but,- in the • first in•
stance, inefTettual remonstrances,
The Bill
.for altering the mode of olening 111
President and Vice-President; has passed into a law;
the tegulatios,which it .establishes, iiresimple but
not unimporant. When the number of votes t<il alt;
President is equal, the five highest on the list ate 1CO:
be selected, and -the final choice is to rest will' Yee
House of Representatives. On the other hao4s t.l
final choice for Vice-President is, tunler similar cir.
stances, to rest with the Senate. In ihis last cas,
the choice is to be limited to one of the tWo hilihe"
on the. list. - -
About the beginning of November, a MesSaget_
was communicated, by the President to the 1-louse of
Representatives, on the subject of the Piracy of the
Vessels of:the Moors in the' Mediterranean, The
Message ivati referred to a Slea Committee, and it
Nt-.;s evr,tictl that a spiritCd lteitltotion, expressive
of the determination of the ilepresernatives try sup.
port, the Government in resenting these injuries,
would be the result of their inquiries, The Ame-
ricans are highly indignant.4t the unprovoked out.
rages of the natbetry rowers, No'eoTtion will be
prevent their repetition in noure, and to
spared to inev 11 as thc s4tety, of the
secure the honour„ as we,
American Viiig„,
r'm rtancoc
at
These Papers contain no other nevis 0. 1 ,
From St.'Dotningo we And nothing eithePronew
intetesting. .
we are hap
The fever at New-Yotk, happy to bpd.
has totally disappeared and in all the -other Dist
trial of the United States where it had broke CV)
its ravages have totally coml. . ~ .
......... ,
The Ship Row, has arriveci at c,orlsA In At dart
from Philadelphia, and 'we have great sotibketion its
stating, that the malignant distemper by which that
city-had been for some time afilieled, had entirely
subsided' previetts to her depalture; her cargo col,
silts of stavesonly, and every persno on board is its
perfed health; she is nevertheless oodiA. stri4 VP:,
Tontine,
•
:113c follow in letter, in
.cortoboration 0f t hit
.
2aboVe, has been received from P. 13ottii.,, Esq. B'4
13s1+Anitto MA) ikVel Consul at fiti.hidelOiiat'W,
• 'the Mayor of Cork :
.
61 5,,, "Pbil4dripkia, tfo. 4, 403.
'have theshonout to inform you, that the eal.h of thlt
.Cityis now pertedly restored. 'ha malignanth earth whit
lately OrevaileJ here, yielded, as the disease constantly has,to..4:
Ties tit frost, sad bus roarer disappeared tot. many
. oar l'.._`l.serci-
xile mortslity of the pr:s4tit year has been trifling, co.np, ,
with that of any tomer rear in which this dreadtul ettiamity.
ho existed, and the disease was for the ttiost• part conhoed to
those streets which, ate contiguous to the rivet DclaWate."

Fire Beacons have been eitabUshed at thteh followg
ing }dace!, in the Weitern Distria, on e firio
of which the Forces are to assemble at the places
of:ter4czvoui

CORNWALL.
Nendennit, • itertiburrow, near St. A.usrlC%
4.:h4iet "6111 nraY, St. Malan, Castle Veer, neir
Cailingron.
" fowcY• ,
near Penzance. ' Kitt Hill, near
Goktviiin Hills, near Het. Nadderbery Top, • near. Lis-
.
kra
torte. ut.
near lielford. Maker Heights, n
Roteratg, ear Ply-,
Sr- 4frai near Truro. mouth, • !
D EVO N.
ll' Yhriclge, on the Race-ground. ltaddon Top, near- -Thorver-'
S
tanbnrough ~. Heights,
Mir tn.
Nlorlogh. W ithyocorn be Hit I, Woodbury, ~
We,terlatut Beacon near Tor. Portutor Common.
near lioniton.
nest.
Link Haldon, near Teign..

mciuth
SC)htriltSE'r,
aStiene Roche, miles from Burrow Chapel, Mir Bur.
ta;
Taunton. rowbridge.

It is understood' to be the intention of Ministersi
immediately after the recess, to propose that ta-pro..
vision should be granted from the Irish' Elehequer
for the support of the • Roman Catholic Clergy of
that country. Such a measure was said t he
in contemplatiO of the former Administraliot., A
was among' the promises made to the higher orders
of the Catnolic body at the period of the Union.
days since, a young man at Conisbro',
Itutting with a cart loaded with, cow, mounted she
ad, and fell fast asleep ; the horses *turned over a
dangerous
and` the
~by. whith 'they were heat
kill d, and the cart and u.:foctunate driver dashed
,to pieces,