Star.
London, England, 1804-10-06 00:00:00

BLOCKADING SQUADROKS.

We yelterday endeavoured to put the Public right,
repetting the unfounded rumours that have been
circulated by fume of our Contemporaries, of the
refult of the attack made on Tuesday evening on the
French flotilla at Boulogne. We thought the fads
had become fo notorious that no one could repeat,
much leis credit them, and yet we found the fame
attempt that had been made the evening before, re-
peated again yeflerddy, to import on the credulity
of the Public, and raife an unfounded expetlation,
that an official publ cation would loon confirm the
accounts that had been fo pompoufly communicated
to the Public. The following we gave verbatim from
a paper of laR night, as a fpecimen of the import-
Cons that are prattifed upon the Public :

. The attack was made by mean's of a new-invented engine of
deftrudTtion called a coffer or fmack, of which one of our cored-
pondents has fundthed us with a defeription. There were three
coffers or (marls which were cat tied in in the darknefs of the night,
and placed between the fhorc and the enemy's VCITCIL By a parti-
cular contrivance in the nature of clockwork, thefe coffers can be
nude to explode at any given time, in fix minutes or fix hours. As
Coon as they had been placed in their proper Ration, the clock-
work was let *going, and the men that towed them in, left them.
This was effeeted about :tall pail ten o'clock an Tuefday night.
The ddes were very favourable—the night unufually dark. 'fhe
expedition bad been kept fo ferret that the enemy did not enter-
Min the flighteit fufpicion. The coffer. exploded with the moil
tremendous voile ; it (mined u if a volcano had on a fuddri Mira
from (he earth. What mutt have been the effeet of loch an ex-
plofitm :iron the um 'peeling and unprevaied enemy ! They were
panic (truck: the fire caught their acne's, and teemed to have
been eoeununicated to each of them by magic. In the audit
of their contufion and terror, the fleet:him were fort in
among them ; one, from tome accident, bur(t too loon : •,n-
-either was boarded the en. my as loon as the got in ; a vaR
number of boats, with foldiers, were lien round her: they
eonfidered her a. a valuable prize; the exploded, and Lon-
dreds of the ens.-my were blown into the air: the other fire
Mips blew up immediately afterwards, and did great mifehiet—
In this fituation the enemy knew not what to do—they fired in
°volcano, and without the leaft method tw direetion The crew 4
of many of their veffels jumped into the lea, and abandonedtbeir
sips to their fate. Many of their brigs and bosti were on fire in
feveral places, in thar yards and in their rigging; others attempted
to get back into the harbour, and in the attempt did great damage
to each other." •

A longer extras of fuch nonfenfe could afford no
gratification to our Readers. %It is a tiffue of mere
invention from beginning to end. The public, we
are lure, will be better pleated to receive an account
of what really happened, though (holt of their pa-
triotic wifhes; and we are happy in havict, the mar-
to do this. The particulars detaltd by t?, mend
to whom we are indebted fol the foliowing letter,
were received from the mouth of au Officer engaged
in the attack:

SANDGATEI OCTOBEI 5.
"A military )Meer anived here this morning, who
had been a witnefs of the aq.mpt made on TuefJay
night to burn the enemy's flotilla in the Road uf Bu-
logne, the refult of which is Rated to have been qui,e
tmfuccefsful—though every thing was as favourable
as could be wifhed for inch an e derprife.

The night was extremely dark, the lea (month,
and a gentle breeze from the N.W. blew dircaly to-
wards the enemy's fqttadron, confining of so brigs,
a large praam, and 49 luggers, anchored in a line
from Portel, acrofs the entrance of the harbour, to
the Tower of Oder ; our fquadron were on their
ofual anchorage on the bank.
" At about eight o'clock, fix Hoops, fitted for the
purpofe, and filled with combullibles, were put in
motion towards the enemy ; they were conduad by
Naval Officers of tried courage and ability : having
arrived within a certain diaance, they were let on
fire, and abandoned. About half pall ten the fun
burn into flames, and Coon blew up, with a mon
tremendous explotion, as did the five other; in
fucceffion : unfortunately, however, the tide basing
made to the eanward, they did not arrive with-
in that dillance of the enemy that was expelled,
when the explorion took place, and confequen:ly the,
damage done may be eonfidcred as nothing, as when
day-light made its appearance, oaly three of the ene-
my's veffels were miffing, which might have got under
weigh during the night.
The fight is defcribed as being awfully grand aml
fublime. The enemy were foon aware of oar inten-
tion!, and a moil tremendous fire of (hot and !bells
was kept up from nine o'clock 6;1 near two, but with-
out any effea. The enemy's veffels continued at an-
chor all Wednefday evening, when a Itrong wind fit-
ting in from the seaward, which obliged cur fbips
to quit their nation, made them likewife get under
weigh, with an intention of entering the harbour the
night tide. It is the opinion of our fcamen, that any
further attempt of d_•flroying the enemy's ve;f,l by
:ire•thtps, can only be attended with great caper:cc,
and the lots of many valuable lives."

"DEAL, OrTOBFR 5.

"The eipedition agalall the enemy's flotilla at I3ou-
logn:, h.,s, we arc tarry to fay, in a ;;rest Inzafure
failed. None cf the °nicer; who were there, and
c have teen fs.veral,believe that any ferrous damage
was done to the enemy. When daylight came, their
number was found to be the fame as on the Jr.i
bcf,,re, de:piing three gun boats. 'nick it is f..,11
f... 11 may have been dar,yed, hut it is equally pro-
f,

that time of ::),nn might have gme i:ttn the
Ni v4l 111..:11 I:CTC Jrc I it pi Ic.l At ;11.
accounts wilich have appeared in ii:rne of the Len-
ch:n Jhrug tip their fhoul.k7s .01J v'ifit
they had bzen ttuelJ the eltcnt ci ore-t unly %die
have (laud; for in that thzy hay.

had hopes of being able eventually to deflroy the
whole. But as things !land, their only with is, that
the French would come out.

" Slice my Lift the LFCPARD man of war, Rear Ad-
miral Louis, with the EURYILLUS frigate, and (everal
other fhips of war, fire-(hips, &c. have arrived here
from Dungenefs."

Difpatchesavere yellerday received from Lord NEL-
SON, which confirm the letter given in our 'aft from
Mr. MATH Isom. His Lordlhip flates, that on the
Loth July, feveral yards were manned from his fleet
and fent to attack tome veffels lying at Vendura,
about thirteen in number. They fucceeded in deftroy-
ing eleven of them, the fire from the batteries pre-
venting our gallant tars from bringing them off.
The particulars of this affair, and of the attack on
the enemy's flotilla at Boulogne, will appear in the
London Gazette this evening.

Yellerday we received accounts from Fermi up
to the 19th ult. which do nut by any means counte-
nance the ouinion of immediate holtilities with Spain.
The (hips which were fitting out in that harbour,
with great aCtivity, are laid up. They were faid to
be intended to convey troops to Bifcay, to quell an
inforration, which, as we time time (ince men-
tioned, had happened there, but counter orders had
arrived that thefe forces (bould repair thither by
land. The docks, however, are preparing at Ferrol
to receive feveral (hips expeOed from Cadiz, in or-
der to undergo a repair. We underitand alto, from
very good authority, that difconteats prevail among
the crews of the French (hips in that harbour ; and
that two Officers of the fquadron have refufed to
obey the orders of the Emperor. They were accor-
dingly put under arre( for their difubedience, and
were to be feta immediately to Paris.

FIiRIOL, SEPT. 16.-•-" The Englifh fquadron for
ionic time evidently entertained fufpicions that the
naval armammts were intended to co-operate with
the French—(of which two men of war and the
Dutch fhip atpeav,' ready to depart, having bent
their fails, and mad: feveral garconading prepara-
GM, )--4t being reported that the affairs of Bifcay
were fettled. Thcie Ships of war, however, were
ordered aglM into the arfenals, in confequence, it is
laid, of a :t.monfirance from the Britilh Charge d'Af-
fairv.. Troops were marching from all quarters to-
vi,,rds Bifcay ; and the regiments at Ferrol and Co-
runna were under orders to march by different
routs on the igth, 25th, and 28th September ; the
diitance was eflimated at eighty.fix leagues."
Ftitaoe, SEPT. 17..-.." You may rely upon this
important fad, that the two Blips of war which
were equipping with the i,-reatelt expedition, have
fuddenly been difinantled, and retired into the arfe-
nals. This change of affairs, report States, has arifen
frm the fufpicions of the Baitifh, expreffed in an
impreflive manner, to the great fear of the Spaniards,
who apprehended Come ferions and immediate ope-
rations againfl them. The men, however, have not
been difcharged, and the retaining Inch a number
ready for an emergency may be productive of ano-
ther remonflrance, when nn doubt the B;:tith Com-
manders at the mouth of Ferrol will be perfectly fa-
tisfied. The caufe given for the equipment of the
two (hips of war now mentioned, was the intention
of Government to employ them in the conveyance
of troops. &c. to Bilboa to ant in the redu'Etion of
the infurgents. But thole in the intereff of the Bri_
I tith Government entertained fufpicions of a different
nature, and therefore were nut very fcrupulous to
curers their Liniments on the necaflon. 'Fite im-
i pending form, however, l.as feen:ingly fubfided for
the moment ; and the Spaniards fay, that if England
1 forces Imailities, the fault mull be attributed to her
atm:, as the Spann Gcvet atoent is very arctic to war."

One of the cutters belonging to our fleet off Brea
obfervcd, on the z6th ult. a ronvcy of fifty French
coallers, nc.:r the port of Duoalan, nct far from
Concarncau, which it chafed, and forced to take
under the yroteetion of the batteries. The
place being very bad anchorage, and the wind fair,
this convoy failed in the night, under the efeort of
four Ertl rate gun boat:, bt:t were perceived at day
by our cotter, and purfued immediately as far
as the river of Pout d'Avea, where the French bat•
teries began to open a heavy fire, but without any
effeet. At high water, the convoy moved nearer to
the 010 re, under the firong battery of Rice, and our
cutter call anchor at the didance of a league, with
intent to cut our, during the night, fome of the
French thips, for which purple, forty of its crew
had already volunteered. Wh..m they were to fet
out on the expedition, a finall boat was obferved at
a ditlance, rowing with its oars muffled towards our
cutter. It had on board two Mermen, formerly
Chouans, known to the French pilot on board our
fnip, who came to inform us, that the Commandant
of Concarneln, fufr;.!...ng • ur intent to cut out bottle
of the merchantmen, brta put on board the outer-
mofl two of the 16th regiment of
du. line (Lae, !creel in the s icinity ; and that, betides,
one cam; any of tly ing arti!lr.ty had arrived on the
coati rioteel this cr.avoy, and :he Gunners of the
.:':tb to any rf the Gar.' Co:es had embarked
board cV'.o iLot:t merchantmen Lver tl air s of at-
tiilery, and placed is t! c midit the
Fter.J. , f,, th.,t it would be raih to make at.y
attempt ai:eiatt their!, which cattil our czuizer to
debit.

NAUTICAL thTELLIGENCr.

Duhlin
Waterford

MAILS THIS D.l

AVE DV[.

Jamaica