The Statesman.
London, England, 1809-06-23 00:00:00

I 1115.51'

prisoners of war, on the Meek lorstolt of,
the Forest of Dartaiour...ntiteatrun oalceiated ail
Imes tomtits gigoin, horror, and despeltio the'
Ibreasts of the unhappy prisoisers.:as it bag been
to swell the full.oharged pockets of this worthy
" Undertsuiers," as they are, ia'asy ogilaties, not
a little Intlicready resealed, of this digital tecep. i
taele.---Hcre a ',ember of gefortuumair captives,
languish out their miserable days is an immense
pile of buildings, surrounded by a lofty gralliwbleh
bounds the prdspect en all sides. The severity of
the bleak, damp, and inhospitable diode of
Dartmoor is too well knows to aced deserip.
tion...and its eats on the Nations' a more-
genial sky may easily be imagiiied.....lt is al.,
ready discovered that the eentiaele wbo pee
their distasees on the external circuniferegoe of
the wall that surrounds the beanbag, are parti.
cularly subject to severe catarrhs mid . rheumatic
alfectioas ; and in addition to the severity of the
climate ou the elevations of Dartmoor, she twee-
lar form of the buildieg, which has ao injudici-
ously been adopted, afar& so shelter la what're/
direction the wiud nay blow. This ineonveiviesee
with respect to the health of the troops stationed
at the depot oil Dartmoor, has already been felt
in a degree sulleient to excite attention ; and as the
dept itself is eatable of containing 9000 prison.
ere, unless they can keep each other warm by their
eunibers--their health will sot be greatly ins.
proved by a rueideomi is the gloomy pile oic Dart.
moor. It is but jostles to add, that the prisoners
who are already there, about 1800 in setsohary iris
well fed. The daily allowance of each man is—
Bread, telb.
Beef, ;10.
Barle_y, 3 Vices. eve days in the week.
ash Fie' lib*/ iwo days is thirweek.
Potatoes, Ha. S
Motet is, however, the only drink, and of
clothes, messy of them are nearly destitute ; and,
what is to be greatly lamented, those who are the
least to be commiserated, arc in this, as well As
in every other respect, the best of. The poor
fellows who are captured in the peaceful pursuit of
commerce on board merchantmen, are all wretch.
wily clothed, many of them almost, and some of
them litiTally, (with the except:oil of a blaiiket
skewered round them) naked, while the desperadoes
who have been captured in privateers, e motley
body, collected from almost eveyy country in Eu-
rope, are comfortably clothed, and have ample
means of obtaining s variety of supplementary
comforts, amongst which not the least is beery
which it would well become the humanity of lug.
lishmets, nho once knew the comfort Of th.i
whotesoine liquor, and who are even yet strongly
attached to the villaiNotis coini•osition, so f tee.
tiously hut villainously now called beer, to sub.
stitnte for that most i.bilis.upliic, but I fear
fur seamen, unconstitutional buyersge, udder.
In a word, Sir, the principles tit policy, huesa.
oily, and justice call upiiii us to alleviate, by every
possible. .owns nut a nconsibteut witii public
safety, the situation of the iminerous and un-
fortunater captives who have fallen into our hauls.
Every eye lino* turned towards the Continent of
Europe—intently fixed wile anxious hope and ex.
pectatient of the fall of BE/SAT/Se/74 the tyrant of
Europe, the vigour of wituse pester I have more
than once experieneed, and whose quintile ch.i.
ratter and principles I detest. Jam not, liowever,,
so ideriaied as to serrender nsijudgment, and take
leave of my senses, for the sake of blackening the
character of this ilictividual I abhor, and fur whose
dowafat I would hold my life as cheap as any man
in England. I hare suffered imprisonment iii
Irraace-4 know what it is—mid I could veuture
,to assert from that knowledge alone, that per-
, Mairal/I to breathe the pure air, under a condition
of totpiorsond, would be embraced even by
our men Coustryneen, whose prejudices are SO
Munch strooger than those of the Germans, with
rapture. Rut from authority on which I can per.
fectly rely, I can assert, that the employment of the
Austrian prisoners, instead of being viewed by them
as a measure of harshness, oppression, or cruelty,
has rendered Bonaparte e.rtremely popular with
those wily mess whose cruel slavery is se sense-
lessly besaikd by the thuughtleas and prejudiced
part of this country, of which, I am sorry to
say, that class forms, in my opinion,. a very
great majority. And, Sir, there is another
fact which yet remains to be made known :
This crud permission of Bonaparte, for his Ger.
man prisoners of war to gu at large.-.resume the
labours to which they were accustomed before the
war with Germany broke out...receive the wai,es
of such labour....be comfortably fed, clothed, and
ledged-.-and comparatively to enjoy liberty, has
bad a two-fold effect, wicii it was intended tespro.
daces...the numbers of the German prisoners
who, in consequence of what they, pour silly
souls, mistaketslyfed to be kind treutmenti have
entered into the French ar, ay , are already greater
than they were even after the battles of Auto-.
I tits and Jena. Ido hope that the British Go-
"eminent will have the good sense and candour to
imitate the polity even of an individual so justly
1 hatted by every friend of liberty, as must be Bu.
i
leper's. And in this hope I, subscribe, with
many apologies, for requesting the insertion of
*hat will occupy so cosesielreable a space of your
liberal, sandiest and independent Paper.
Your friend,

S. G.

Yesterday afternoon as the carriage of Mrs. Jo-
litie, of liargaret-strixt, was passing along the
New-road, near Gleneesteryilace, at a brisk rate,
the coachman WAS thrown from his box by one of
the springs giving way; the horses started olf at
speed e ith MD. Julife, two oilier Ladies, and
her sun, a youth of eighteen, in the carriage. The
horses cleared every thing until they arrived at the
Edgware-road, when the carriage was overturned
by a eorner-stone, and dragged several yards. 'flie
Ladies were fortunately only slightly cut and
bruised, but the young Gentleman broke his ancle-
boos in j uniping from the carriage to endeavour to
stop the horses.
By the last Act of Parliament, relating to the
Local Militia, the Colonels arc empowered, at all
finite, to receive volunteers into their regiments,
who are to be sworn in for four years:---these
volunteers receive no bounty ; but are, of course,
exempted from till ballots.