Star.
London, England, 1818-10-26 00:00:00

soem nicA.

On Wednesday the Scamander frigate, Captain
W. Etxmar, C.B. arrived at Portsmouth from the
Leeward Islands, after a passage of twenty-three days
from Barbadoes, to be paid off, having served her
stated period. She left Admiral Haevev, in the
Antelope, 50, Captain G. SAYER (2), at Trinidad,
whence he irtended to sail after the hurricanes had'
ceased, about the 16th of October, (or Barbadoes.
The Childers, Captain WESTROPP' hid. left the sta-
tion for England. The Scamander brought dispatches
from Lord COMBERMER E. The accounts she brings
of the Patriotic cause on the Spanish Main are deci-
dedly favourable on that side. The last operations
wele attended with the capture of Guira and all the
shipping there, by the naval force under the Patriot
Admiral 131tros and General BERMUDEZ. It appears,
though the proceedings of our squadron are regu-
lated by the most rigid principles of neutrality, our
merchants have far greater reason to complain of the
lawless capricious conduct of the Spanish Royalist
Officers, as they are called, than they have of any of
those numerous mixed individuals who have espoused
the Independent cause. Having recently captured
four of our merchant vessels, carried them into Guira,
and refused to give them up, Captain ELLIOT was
dispatched thither in the Scamander, by Admiral
TIA It VEY, to demand restitution of the vessels, or a
compensation for their loss: if refused, he was to re-
sort to force. The Governor gave a peremptory re-
fusal to his demands; and therefore Captain ELLIOTT
immediately cleared the Scamander for action, beat
to quarters, and hoisted the signal for action at the
main. The seamen were delighted with the prospect
before them ; but previous to the completion of the
preparations, Admiral BRION, who had arrived with
his force, with the intention of attacking the place,
proposed to Captain ELLIOTT to suspend his opera-
tions until he had made the attack ; and if he should
prove successful, he would engage to deliver up the
four British vessels to Captain Etttorr. This was
agreed to, and Admiral BRION and General Beemo-
DEZ commenced their operations at four o'clock in
the afternoon of the 24th of August. Knowing from
experience the dastardly character of their advert
nary, they landed about seventy men and boys in the
woods near the fort, which force they contrived should
be magnified by report in the place to five hundred
men. These few men commenced by firing off their
pieces with the utmost rapidity, and making the most
frightful hallooing noise, whilst the squadron kept
up a vigorous bombardment of the fort., Very soon
the Spaniards took, fright, about 350 in number, and
deserted the place with the utmost precipitancy.—
BRION took possession of the vessels, including nine
gun-boats, and General BERMUDEZ entered the town,
and secured all the property. BRION delivered up the
four English merchuntmen, as he had agreed. His
force consisted of the Victoria, of 28 guns, two brigs,
two schooners, and eight gun-boats. There are a
great number of English Officers employed in the In-
dependent cause, who, if they fall into the hands of
the Spaniards, are treated with the most savage
cruelty. Captain ELLIOTT was shocked at the sight
of an instance of their atrocity on the person of an
English Surgeon, who bad been fornlerly in the Bri-
tish army, whose body he saw lying on the beach at
Guira, stabbed in all parts, and his head nearly- se-
vered from his body. He had been taken pt44oster
in one of Barcee'sNessels previous to the attack on
the place, whilst on hi‘ passage to join the Indepen-
dent troops. Just previous to the Scamander's sail-
ingi about fourteen Lieutenants of the British Navy'
lett the Independent service, and shipped themselves
in a brig, to return home: they could not obtain the
pay that was due to them. During the zealous ser-
vices of the Scamander, in protecting the trade of
this country when improperly interrupted, or pre-
venting the principles of it from violation, she seized
and condemned ten vessels of various descriptions for
breaches of the Navigation Laws. One, an Ameri-
can-built vessel, manned chiefly by Americans, her
cargo the property of citizens of the United States,
and her register a false one: another was discovered
importing sugar and other produce of South America
into one of our islands::nnother was fiom England,
laden with gunpowder and ammunition, articles pro-
hibited from exportation: and several French vessels,
employed in smuggling silks, brandy, and various
articles of French manufacture, from Martinique and
Guadeloupe into our islands. No condemnation of
either vessel or cargo took place, but wherein the
case was proved to have been in manifest violation of
known or proclaimed laws: one or two, not strictly
of this description, were with great liberality restored
again to the owners.—Many transactions tend to chew
that the authority of the Mother Country has little
influence in Spanish America, even among those who
have been constituted to administer her laws : they
are more swayed by selfishness and caprice. The
following case is spoken of a, a most shameless in-
stance of this description, and which must become
the subject of sharp remonstrance with the Spanish
Government. The British brig Eclipse, with a mas-
,ter and nineteen men, and having on board about five
thousand dollars, was seized at Samna, in the island
of St. Domingo, by the Custom-house Authorities
there in the pay of the Spanish Government, was im-
mediately condemned as Insurgent property, and the
proceeds forthwith distributed, though it was offered
to be proved that the vessel and property belonged
to merchants at Barbadoes, who had entered into a
contract to supply the British troops and ships with
oxen, and that it was in the execution of this duty
that the vessel had come to Samaria, for the purpose
of purchasing cattle. So soon as Admiral II Alt LY
and Lord Costeensteire heard of this infraction of!
the Law of Nations, the Scamander was dispatched
to Samana to demand the vessel and property. The
vessel was 'found totally useless, the money she had
on board had been distributed, the crew had been
thrown into a dungeon, and three of them had there
died of a fever. The Governor of the place acknow-
ledged the error of the Judge ; but he said the public
treasury did not contain a single dollar, and there-
fore he could not offer any satisfaction.

A letter from Copenhagen, dated October 13, says,
" A new treaty of Commerce has been concluded be-
tween this Court and Prussia, which was ratified last
week. The Russian ship Suwarrow, Captain Bonte-
tide, anchored jn our Roads yesterday. it comes
from the Russian worth Ames lean colony of Kodjack,
and returned home by way of Lima and Rio Janeiro."