The Sun.
London, England, 1811-02-20 00:00:00

tithD4.

The official accounts of the capture of this island
have not yet been received at the Admiralty. A
Private copy of them, however, has arrived, and
our readers may rely on the accuracy of the follow-
. jog letter :

" His Majesty's ship Caroline, ,
Banda Harbour, loth Augtt6t, IS hti.'

" StR,
" I have the honour and happiness of acquaint-
ing you with the capture of Banda Neira, the chief
of the Spice 'squids, on the g►h of August, by a
Portion of the• force under my orders, in conse-
quence of a ttiglit attack, which completely bur-
prized the eneitiy, although the approach of the
ships had been unavoidably discovered the dAy tore,

" The weather proved so unfavourahle for baat•
service on the night of the gth inst: that although
featly four hundred officers and men had been se-
itted tor this occasion, yet, on assembling under
Great Buda, at two in the following morning, I
that the state at the weather would deprive
1." of the services of some valuable men, under
Lieutenant Stephens of the Royal Marines, and the
greater part bf the detachment of the Madras En.:
P'Peati Regiment and from whom L had expected
the most steady support and 'assistance.
'`The attempt was now to be made withless
than two linedred 'men, consisting of the seamen
and marines, and about tot ty of the .Madras E,uro-
Peal' llvgiment, or our labours in the boats, h rough
d3rli squa ly eight, in the open sea, must end
in the se ere. tra.rtitieation.
" After getting under the shelter of the land,
lc" lame eiteumstances 'of the Weather wham be-
-re "Ifeeated against tis, were now,,tavourab:e to
01, and the confiderice I had in nht handful of of-
ficers and then ahout in-, lett me no tiesnation ;
and, with a degree of .ilence and firmness, that will
eDnats Ver tommano my heartfelt acknowitdgeinents; the
proceeded to the point or demarkation. A
dark cloud
an h, with rain, covered our landing, within
hundred
15Y the yards of a , battery of 10 guns, when,
promptitude and activity Of Captain Kenali,:
and Lieutettant Carew, who were ordered with
thepikranrll to the attack, the battery v.as Liken. in
the rear, and an officer and his guard matte prison-
ers) without a musket b.ting tired, although the
miens Were at their guns, will(marclies lighted
'rulti the near approach of day-light, our situation
beeaine critical; but we had, proeutr d a "Ike
K91(10 to carry,
.t to the walls of the castle 01 Bel-
and after leaving a guard over the prisoners,
Pand in charge of the battery, the rymy made a
is(' louvement round the skirts of the town, where
Te sound ot the bugle was spreading AAi in amongst,
Qlttny. ln twenty minutes, the scaliog ladderm
-c-re placed against the *ails of the outer pentagOir
th ileigiea, and the first triusquels tired were by the
*netnrs sererie, The gallantry and activity with
inch tine scaling ladders were hauled up alter tte
nutwork was tied, and placed for the attack of the
1441' work, uoder a sharp fire from the gal tison,
1,11v,1 411 Planre. 'rite enemy, alter firing !Ince
I‘l ,nand keeping /up an inelfe6uil discharge of
(I,aetry, for ten or. tilteen minutes, fled in all
,11etbuns_, and tkiraugli the gateway, leaving the
Commandant, and ten others, dead. and
Zito (affects and thirty prisanera in our hands. CIPI
r
A ah, Lieutenant's Carew, Allen, Pratt,
.‘Vatlfer,
1.11,7 Lyons, Of the navy, Lieutenant Yeats, and en-
All,ll (a volunteer), of the Madras service,
t[e 4nlong the foremosi in the escalade; and m
lanks are due to Captain Lieutenant Nixon of they
adms.Euronean Regiment; for the steady and of-
vn ott-like Conduct with which . he directed the co-
ne party intrusted to his charge, and to Liente-
-144 brown and Drake' of that regtinent, attached
"' the Igarines.
ti" With such examples, our brave felloWs swept
t„le r.,atni)ai ts like a whirlwind ; and, in addition
me providential circumstance of ' :he set vice
le,lng performed with scarcely a hurt or wound, 'I, !'ilve flue liatiNfitoiuti of reporting, that there was no instatice ol irregularity arising from success.
upclhe
do
f o day, now beaming on the British flag,.
vere,t to 43 the fort of Nassau, acrd the sea'
at at our feet, and • the enemy at their guns,
at
posts. I dispatched Captain Kemal
I.l*llll a Hag' of truce to the Governor, requiring tire
:Oinntediate surrender of Nassau, and with a pro-
ise of protection for private property. 14e the Detch tiag Was hoisted in Nassauand the
tea batteries opened a' fire on the Caroline (followed
/7 the Piek*llliiide"fltiti BSracout4) theta approach-
It the harbour. naving selected a detachment to
/4,'t,hfe Relgita, the remainder, with their scaling
4:(4deft, were ordered tor the immediate storm of
vpaa,",l,l,ll* But Capt.. Kenai!. had returned with the
submission. id the Governor, and I Wakhl,-
.",e, to semi a s, coed flag, stating rise 'deierini-
, :14ttott to storm Nassatt that instant, and lay the
itt asheit, ;if .the col'unrs' were not immesh-
talklY This threat, and a Well placed *hot
ttelgica, conipleiely commands all the
1"1"tipal del :net tutu nee of their sea-batteries,
po,liketl an immediate and unqualified submission,
t+utl we found utast lveit in possession of the two
4 ( and several batteries, mounting one/ hundred
11d twenty pieces Lit cannon; and defended by
tutlitla seven kindred disci I.iiie troops, beaidea the
p
pThe ships had been left with so few men to
age them, that I had merely dire4ted Captain
able to lead into any anchorage
that he might be.
te to obtain, to make a diversion in our favour;
trrt they were worked against 'all the unfavourable
rovetinuttances of a dark and squally night, in a mar.
channel, with the moat determined persever-
-30,,
,317, and with that degree of zeal that I expeet.
a„lrato an officer of my own rank, whose heart
,4"f" "and had always been with me on every point
Puglia service.
cro_ Captain Kenah, who led the storming party,
41_7.4.0 a series of valuable services during two
thuttut,i,s difficult and intricate navigation, through
stiore4al tern seas, by his bravery and a6tivity on
Tho colours of Forts Nagle° and-Belgica, will
Vii your to your Excellency by Lieutenant John
t,
* -Dfl s served nine years in this country
utsh anti a large portion Of that tittle as

first Lieutenant 'nutlet' 14 cothtnand ; aithengh la
bouring under severe illness, he took charge of the
ship on My quitting her, and his seaman-like and
zearnisconduci in the discharge of his trust, were
most conspicuous. I beg leave most earnestly to
recommend him to your notice.
I also traii3Mit a plan of the defences of Banda
Neira, will) the position of the Dutch troops, and
our route froM the landing place to Belg:ca. The
enemy had advanced a strong corps towards the
place where Admiral Rainier's forces bad formerly.
landed, and 9 suspicion that this would be the case,
and that the roads would be destroyed, determined
me as to the point and inetbod of our attack.

" The service performed vas of such a peculiar
nature, that I tould not do justice to the met its of
my companions, without entering moo)) into detail ;
and I feel confident, that in your Excellency's diFpo-
sition to appreciate duly the merits of those under
your command, I shall find an excuse for having
taken up so murk of your time."

" His Excellency' l''lll. !)Brien Drury, Esq.
Rear Admiral of the Red, Commander in
Chiet, bc. dec."

The Isle of France is not more than 31 leagues in
circumference, about eleven in length, and seven in
breadth, baking a surface which measures 432,680
acres. It is describrd as extremely fertile, healthy,
and abounding with the must romantic scenery.—
The population of the contiguous Isles 91 France
and Bourbon is said to have been 12 1,000 in the
yen my, of whom a great proportion' are negro
slaves; end the military three consisted of boo°
Men. Rayind inf,t,ins us, that in the year i 704,
the population eel the Isle of. France was as followS
109 white peop!e, besides the troops,; 1.587 In-
dians, or free eegroes ; and 1.1,881 slaves.. Since
that period the pJeulation has probab!y very touch
increasud. The principal harbour is Port Louis,
which is -.waned in 20. 10. south lat. and 55. long.
east front Peri-. The tides ate not, very perciptible,
those of the Equinox not rising more than three
fret. The priecipuf advantage which' the Frelich
derived from this Island was, that it set veal is a
point (ken which our commerce might be sec-
ceSsfully annoyed in the India' seas. Fatal expe-
rience has proved that nothing could be better
adapted for that purpose. It served' as the place of
rendezvous for French frigates, where they could
be refitted, and where they might retire with their
1)111nd. r. It was a depot of captured prudece; and
in this view was resorted to by American traders,
who brought. that produce to, B ewe, which tfey
were unable to convey in their own uteri:ll:nitwit.:
Toe destruction of such a nest of marauders is the
principal advantage that ,we con drive twin the
'conquest. I u our 11 :rids, it is impregnable as long as
we command the seas; and perhaps may be rendered
a tuatibn of seine • importance. The Abbe Aaynal
dwells pretty
,much oti the political and commercial
advamages of this ',land to airy of the Eeropean
nations trading to Asia, and of its vast importatice
to Fri.lllCi:, pod the great, misfortune it would be,
Should site suffer in recut to tie deprived of ii.
The Islands of Banda, our late conquest, are 30 ,
leagues distant Irons Amboyna, and ate five ill num-
ber, two of which are onaillivated and almost 'un- '
inhabited ; and the other three claim the'distindion
of tieing the only islands in the world that produce
the eettneg. Bur, if we except th:s va:uable,spiee,
the islands of Banda, like all the Moluccas, ate bar.ii
rem to a dreadiel degree, What they produce in
superfluities, they want in uecessarivs. -The land
wili,not produce any hind of corn, and
.the pith of
the sago serves the natives instead of bread. This
is themily settlement in.the East Indies that can be
considered as ail Eilropeao colo:iy ; because it is the
only one while the Eutopeans are proprietors of
lands. The Dutch E,eit India •Compaey finding
that the inhabitants of Banda were - savage, cruel,
and treacherous, because they were impatient under
their yoke, iesolved to exterminate them. Their
possessions wore divided aniong .the white, people.
These white people are for the most part Creoles
or Malcontents, who have glitted'ilte service of the
Company ; men whom their laws have branded
with disgrace;,and young men of abandoned prin-
ciples, whose families want to get rid of them, re-
sort to it, so that Banda is called the Island of Cur-
reaion. • The climate is, very unhealthy. Banda,
the chief of these islands, i& 75 miles S. B, of Am-
boyna, loog,i 128 a 6 min. B. from Greenwich ;
lam. 4, .5U min. S. . The largest of them is 2U Miles
long, ..

The MAURITIUS,—The Portuguese, at their first
voyages to Inda, had disco, ered to the east of Ma-
dagascar, between 19 sod 20 degrees of latitude,
three Islands,. to which they gave the name of Mas-
carenhai, Cerni, and itudiigue, There they 'found
neither men nor,quadrupeds, and they did not at-
tempt any settlement upon either of these Islands.
The most western of them, Mascarenhas, sewed as.
a, refuge, 'about 1665, to some Frenchmen,. who
before were settled at Madagascar ; attire they
found an extent of sixty miles in length, forty-five
broad. The neaith, plenty, and freedom which
they enjoyed, brought numbers of settlers ; and in
1718 they procured all manner plants ; and in
1763, the population amounted to 4ti27 white men,
16,149 blacks ; 8702 beeves, 7405 goats, 4084
sheep, 7619 'hogs, upon an extent of 125,90 g
acres, and changed its name from Mascarenbas to
Bourbon. The produce waguthey gathered 34 much
Cassava as would teed their slaves, 1,13.5,000•64:
weight of corn ; 844, I 0016 s of rice 1_2,871),(4)01os.
of maize; and 2,535,0001b5. of coffee, which they
sold at about ad. per lb.

At the Leicester sessions a man was sentenced to
be transported for seven years, fur having two wives,
and his wife at the same tinie was sentenced to be
imprisoned for one year, for having two husbands
and at the Kett Sessions a man was sentenced to be
imprisoned two years, for having time wives,
The
,Duke of QUEENitlita KY'S Library, which
he bequeathed to Mr. Donci..A.,, appears at tit's{
sight a very tine one WI, on examination, it has
n
been found that scarcely one, set of viftiuwo pet-
feet through the whole, write taaviiar mends of
Grace having-purloined or borriAwed nuaoetitss
tutors, which 4ley Wrgot to P.ttatti! -