The Statesman.
London, England, 1812-02-11 00:00:00

LOSS OF THS LAUREL FRWATE.

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"g 4. viiirsbreit::::;driltfAottni7the' voira-r.lasittaofiGni,Kevi
bloct4ding foUr line-of-battle ships, in tlivee
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It,,
L'Otiettt. The Maidstone frigate was dispateliegll;.‘*
Sir Harry Neale, to order us to Quiheron /13y, whnr.
we arrived on the evening of the 30th. The neer „v.'
employed all that night in watering the Laurel. ,
nre
we had been selected as one of three frigates 4
_ roti
to pursue three French frigates that had escaped fem.
' the Loire. At eight on the morning of the
weighed, in company with the Rota and. Rhin rd.
gates, made sail through the passage Taigacuse.
difficult and arduous one at all times ; it blue, ing v 4
hard, the Rola led through the passage, the Later,'
unfortunately followed; the Rota's Pilot lost n:
marks and got bewildered, it being then extrem.i,
hazy. The Rota escaped the recks—we indoi,
tunately struck on the Govivas, a sunken rock, a;
did the Rhin, but was not damaged to the extent tilt
Laurd was, whose false keel and part of the main
L imediately fleatod alongside, and a large hole in
`her bottom. Th ! Laurel was backed off andWWot„
to an anchor, sail: furled, and all hands to the por‘,
1 In this disastrous state we continued pumping forope
I hour and a half, when it was reported the ship vat
gaining fast, and would be down in ten minutes. N
a
time was to be lost to prevent the ship sinking in tea
fathoms water, the cable was cut, and the ship run (,;.
shore on a reef of rocks, about one mile from the
1,
Ve"ench coast, in order to save the lives of the oro.
The enemy. directly commenced a heavy fire of exit
stud shell, frpm their bafteriei and field-piece;,_
In order to save the lives Of the crew. a ea, f
• 0
1 truce was hoisted. The enemy continued their lite
until we dispatched three boats, with about 70 inn
and four officers, onshore, when the fire ceased, se
1 imagine, inconsequence of our Officers remount.
i
I ing against the inhumanity of firing 'on defenceless
men ; but such was their want of feeling, midmost
for ever stamp the French name with istfam:., that they
Iwould not sutler our boats to return for the remainder
of the officers and ship's company, who must have
perished, had it not been fee the brave and indefati.
' gable Captain So,•-nerrille, who, in defiance of all
danger and against the remonstrance of his pilot,
worked his ship up among the rocks, brought her
to anchor, and took the remainder, officers tad
ship's company, off the wreck, after remaining there
several hours, with no prospect of saving our lim,
except by a raft we were then preparing, on the
Rota's boat ; on taking the remainder of the men fros
I the Laurel, the enemy commenced firing again on
the boats, until they were out of the reach 'of shot,
; At the time of my quittihg the ship, she spas entirely
under water ; the men were hanging on the weather
' bulwark for several hours before leaving the creek.
Thus was lost one of the finest, fait sailing ships his
'Majesty ever possessed, from the haziness of the sea.
they, and ignorance of the French pilots.
NAMES or eertcaus NOT PRISINEN9..—FirSt Lkeirratt
CEE•hilllghfleriyj Mr. Hodge, Master; Mr. Mercer, Parsers V.L
Crofton, H. M.; blrs,rs. Crowley, t °mock, Clayou, LIM.
bert, Eaton, and Gardner, Midshipmen ; and Mr. tlbiLalu,
Clerk.
Patsoszos.—Lieutenaitts Brom mid (sure; Mr. for*
Surgeon; Mr. t Mauer, Lent. IL M. ; Mr. Galway, liiillip.
' anala ; Messrs. Diggs, Tighe, d M'Curthy.
i

The enemy,' witboet'a
nairitimeTorce dose/Tiled
the name of a Navy, "commits the most audatiom
depredations. on British trade, in the Fight of till
very harbours in Which is sleeping lite'clnqueria;
navy of the world. For want of proOLenergy and
vigilance In the Ministry, the enemy now Ends
cruizing squadrons to sea, with as much confidepa
as he vas accustomed to do, when
,Frabcfs was abla
Aput fertbther ancient powerful fleets.
A (forresporident desires to know the reason, ally
no,Member in the House of Commons, has moved for
lie expulsion of Mr. War.su, who has been con.
vicled of larceny. Is it that, looking at its conduct
'.and composition, they feel no degradation in having
a„Msass guilty of fraud among them, or that it is no
' more criminal in a Member to sell himself to the
Devil- than to a Minister ?
FUNDING EXCIIIQUED BILLS.. -SDIOTChIy atoning
Mr.ll ASS read, at the Stock Exchange, a Letter frora
Mr. PERCETAL to the Governor and Company of the
Bank, stating, that it was his intention to fund 1.1
millions of Exchequer Mils in the Navy 5 per Cents.
.and he proposed to give for every lOW. money sub.
scribed, 1081. Navy 5 per Cents.; the interest to
commence from the sth of last month, and the MN
rest. of the Exchequer Bills to he paid up to the 9th
March. The Exchequer Bills to be funded were such
'as bore date from Ist March 1811, to 11th
I 1812. It was not his intention to raise any mores
per Cent. this Sessions, if the subscription hlied,
but he should reserve to himself a power of crviot
in Navy 5 per Cent. such sum as any deticienc) of
the 14 millions amounted to. Should the those
terms meet the sanction of Parliament, due eine
would be given of the times cf receiving the subscrip.
tion. Octthe above notice being read, ac). SF"
[Cent. fell from 931 to 93. • ' •• •