Letter from the Chevalier d'Anduaga to Lerd Harrowly, dated Portland-place, Sept. 24, 1804.

MY LORD,At length I have the satisfaction of announcing to your lordship, the success which has attended the steps taken in favour of Capt. Wright. By a letter from M. Talleyrand, addressed to his Catholic Majesty's Ambassador (a copy of which I have the honour of transmitting to you), your lordship will perceive, that the French government is disposed to order Mr. Wright to be placed at the disposal of his Britannic Majesty; and, for his deliverance, only waits to learn the place where this prisoner is to be consigned. After the lively interest which is evident to have been felt by his Britannic Majesty, in the fate of this individual, I cannot but be infinitely flattered at the resolution thus taken by the French government, and I shall be no less so, as being instrumental towards the perfect conclusion of this affair.-In expressing these sentiments, I do but fulfil the wishes, and even the very orders, of the King, my mas

any nation, in which they would not be regarded as crimes, and one may, with truth, aver, that it was flagranti delicto, that Mr. Wright was captured by French mariners, then officiating as an armed force.—According to accounts, to which full credit must be given, this officer had been demanded from the English Admiralty. The lords directing this department were, of course, not ignorant of the kind of service to which he was destined. The shame attached to the premeditation and execution of a project, as atrocious and vile, as it was cowardly, remains entirely with the men who devised the plot, and, with him, who undertook to accomplish their views —I am ordered, Sir, to declare to your excellency, that his Majesty the Emperor will never suffer Mr. Wright to be exchanged. No Frenchman belonging, with whatever rank he may, to the imperial navy, can ever consent to be placed in the balance with that person, in a cartel of exchange. But, Sir, the Emperor, having at heart to do every thing which depends upon his Imperial Majesty, to mitigate the scourges of war, and willing to prove, that in his breast such a disposition preponderates over even motives of useful and just severity, has authorised me to declare, that his Imperial Majesty will

Letter from M. Talleyrand to M. Gravina the Spanish Ambassador at Paris, enclosed in the preceding letter; dated, Paris (10th Fructidor, XII.), 27th August,

1804.

SIR,I have laid before his Majesty the Emperor, the letter which you have done me the honour of communicating to me. By his order, I must recapitulate to your excellency some facts, which relate to the object of that letter. Mr. Wright was taken by our cruisers, at the very moment he was landing Jean Marie and two of his accomplices, on the coast of Britanny. Prior to this, he had already landed at three times consecutively, banditti of a similar description, who have since been brought to judgment, convicted, and punished, for having conspired against the state, and attempted the life of the First Consul. These species of acts, under whatever point of view they may otherwise be contemplated, certainly do not appertain to war. There is no age, nor

the disposal of the English government. May I beg of you, therefore, to make known to Lord Harrowby, this generous determination of his Majesty. You will see in it, Sir, the marked intention of doing what may be personally agreeable to yourself, and his Britannic Majesty's new ministry will be constrained to recognise in it, a proof of the disposition so often manifested on the part of his Imperial Majesty, to shew himself above not only those sentiments which offences in general excite, but even above those which might spring from the attempts, of which his own person has been the object. I shall, therefore, remain in expectation of learning by your means, the place which the English government wish the prisoner of state, claimed through your intervention, to be delivered over. avail myself of this opportunity of renewing to your excellency the as-surance of my most high consideration. (Signed) CHARLES MAURICE TALLEYRAND. Certified as a copy. (Signed) FRSDERIC GRAVINA. Certified as a copy. (Signed) THE CHEVALIER D'ANDUAGA. Letter from Lord Harrowly to the Chevalier d'Anduaga, dated Downing-street, Sept. 25, 1804.

SIR,I have the honour to acknow ledge the receipt of your letter of yesterday,

and to assure you, that his Majesty's government entertain a just sense of the liberality and generosity, with which his Catholic Majesty has been pleased to interpose his good offices, in favour of Captain Wright, and of the very obliging manner in which you and M. Gravina have complied with the request contained in my former note to you upon this subject.As the French government has consented to liberate that officer from his present confinement, and to allow him to return to this country, I do not think proper to make any observations upon the contents of M. Talleyrand's note to Admiral Gravina. I have, therefore, to request that you, Sir, will be pleased to communicate, through M. de Gravina, to the French government, in consequence of the wish they have intimated, to know the place to which Captain Wright should be sent; that it is the desire of his Majesty's government, that he should be sent to Dover in a flag of truce; or, if there is any objection to that mode of liberating him, that he may be allowed to quit the territories of France, for the purpose of proceeding to Embden, or any other neutral port or place. I have the honour to be, &c. (Signed) HARROWBY,

BATAVIAN FLOTILLA-Vice-Admiral Verheuil's detailed Report of the Engagements of the 17th and 18th July, addressed to his Majesty Napoleon I. Emperor of the French and King of Italy. Dated Ambleteuse, July 26th, 1805.

(Concluded from p. 381)

These results of the combats, as obstinate as unequal, are all in our favour, since we have not lost a single armed boat; and although the enemy had at least 900 cannon directed against us, and that we hadonly 180 on our 21 gun-boats and our three praams, they were not able to stop us a single moment on our passage, nor even to derange our order of battle. Although there were several boats much damaged, there was only one that quitted the line, and that only as she was about to sink. I ought again to do justice to the officers who commanded in this last affair, and I have the honour to name them here, in order to make them known to your Imperial and Royal Majesty ; they are, for the 3 praams, M. M. Čoren, Mestdagh, and Cloupet; and for the 21 gun-boats, M. M. Van der Læf, Bolken, Metma, Schotman, Waardenburg, Ribbing, Van der Hart, Hinxt, Van der Pels, Reigig, Tuchs, Victor, Gerhards, Scis, Caspers, Lutkens, Van Berensten, Bodel, Morrel, Olyve, and Ossewarde, jun. They all merit the greatest praise, as well for their promptitude in executing my orders, as their exactness in

answering my signals, and the valour with which they sustained the combats; so that one gun-boat fired 245 times with her battery of two 24 lb. cannons. The officers of the 11 gun-boats which were obliged to go into Calais, are M. M. Bezenier, Sail, Houlkoper, Reins, Van Ginkel, Berghuis, [Memeling, Dillie, De Visscher, Henimes, and Hoogdaleen; they also merit my praise.Without permitting myself to estimate the damage that may have been sustained by the enemy, every thing leads me to presume that they have suffered more than ourselves, if it be considered that the great bodies of their ships offer a point made more certain of being hit than our small vessels, so little clevated above the surface of the water.-I ought to render the justice that is due to the two English Rear-Admirals who were engaged in the action; they made every effort to destroy us; their order of battle was well preserved, and some of their vessels shewed an audacity seldom to be met with; the obstinacy with which they fought us is worthy of having been opposed to the united arms of your Imperial and Royal Majesty and the Batavian Republic. My good fortune in having on board the brave Marshal of the Empire, Davenot, has afforded me the highest satisfaction, since he was aur eye-witness of the ardour with which the crews and garrisons rivalled each other; and I dare flatter myself that your Imperial and Royal Majesty will see in this affair a new proof of the ardour of all the Batavians for the glorious cause which they are called upon to support.

I commend myself to the high protegtion of your Imperial and Royal Majesty; and I have the honour to be, with the most profound respect, and the most inviolable devotion, Sire, your Imperial and Royai Majesty's most humble and most obedient servant, VERHUIL, Vice-Admiral and Com-mander in Chief of the Batavian flotilla.

FOREIGN OFFICIAL PAPERS. BATAVIAN LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY.

Speech of the Grand Pensionary, Rutger Jan Schimmelpenninck, at the Opening of the Legislative Assembly, on the 3d of September, 1805. From the Batavian Official Gazette.

HIGH AND MIGHTY LORDS, --I have considered it necessary to call you together out of the usual course of your meeting, to propose sone measures, the speedy adoption of which appears to me to be of importance for the interest of the state. A number of regolations, which have been drawn up in pursuance of taxes already decred, shall be laid before your high ahtinesses for your deliberation. In framing these regulations,

they are placed, ready to make every unavoidable sacrifice for maintaining their cha racter among nations, and therefore unanimously resolved to sustain the power of their government. High and mighty lords, I take leave of your meeting with an earnest prayer, that the proceedings of your high mightinesses may be calculated for the benefit of the country, and that they may be. crowned with the blessing of the Almighty.

DOMESTIC OFFICIAL PAPERS. DUKE OF GLOUCESTER.From the London Gazette.

This

Whitehall, August 25, 1805. evening, about half-past eight o'clock, de parted this life, at Gloucester House, after a long illness, his Royal Highness William Henry Duke of Gloucester, to the great grief of their Majesties and the Royal Family.

Lord Chamberlain's Office, August 27, 1805. Orders for the court's going into mourning on Sunday the 1st of September for his late Royal Highness the Duke of Gloucester, his Majesty's brother, viz.The ladies to wear black silk, plain muslin, or long lawn, crape, or love hoods, black silk shoes, black glazed gloves, and black paper fans. -Undress, black or dark grey unwatered tabbies.The gentlemen to wear black cloth without buttons on the sleeves or pockets, plain muslin or long lawn cravats and weepers, black swords and buckles.Undress, dark grey frocks. The Earl Marshal's Order for a General Mourning for his late Royal Highness William Henry Duke of Gloucester.

my principal object has been to assure, on the one hand, the due distribution aud collection of the taxes imposed by your high mightinesses; and, on the other hand, to. take care that the people should be secured against all unnecessary embarrassments and vexations, in order that the contributions may be discharged with as little trouble and pressure as possible. Your high mightinesses must feel how nearly these measures are connected with the improvement of the finances; and that reflection will be alone sufficient to convince you of the great importance which belongs to their consideration. The wisdom, zeal, and anxiety for the welfare of the country, which distinguished the councils of your high mightinesses in your former sitting, affords me a pledge that the affairs which on this occasion shall be submitted to your high deliberation will also receive that serious consideration which their importance demands.—I could have wished, high and mighty lords, to have been able, at the critical period of the present meeting, to open to your high mightinesses a prospect from which you might have derived a well founded hope of peace; but gloomy as the political horizon may at this moment appear, we have, however, no reason to despair of a happy change, and perhaps a more solid peace will soon yield us an acceptable repaFation for the present delay. Such a peace we certainly may promise ourselves from the Godlike protection of the great genius of our mighty ally; and doubtless it will be most agreeable to your high mightinesses, in so critical a period as the present, to hear from me, that during the whole of my administration I have constantly received from that illustrious ally reiterated proofs of regard and friendship, and the most solemn assurances of good-will towards the republic. This is an union of sentiment and interests which I shall ever endeavour to chewish and maintain by an unchangeable fidelity to our engagements.-With respect to the internal situation of the republic, it appears to me, high and mighty lords, that under the present circumstances we have every reason to be satisfied. The new order of affairs has, within a very short period, acquired that consolidation, and commanded that respect, which, in the ordinary course of human transactions, can only be expected to result from long established institutions. The government receives from all parts of the republic proofs of esteem and co-operation, and is thereby equally honoured and Supported in the arduous task it has to perform. Our country now exhibits the granp spectacle of a wise and brave people, fully sensible of the difficult position in which

In pursuance of his Majesty's commands, these are to give notice, that it is expected that, upon the present occasion of the death of his late Royal Highness William Henry Duke of Gloucester, all persons do put themselves into decent mourning; the said mourning to begin on Sunday 1st the day of September.August 27, 1805.NORFOLK, Earl Marshal.

or of cups; but, these are not made of lead or tin; and the gold medal ever signifies a greater degree of merit than the silver one. Yet, we must not conclude, that gain, that mere fucre, is scarcely ever thé principal cle ject of the persons endeavouring to obtain any of those prizes. We must look upon the prize merely as the mark of merit ; and the contest will, then, fairly be considered as important in proportion to the value of the prize. But, indeed, so obviously usefel are prizes for the purpose of reviving or keeping up, in its perfection, a practice like that of boxing, that Dr. Bradsley himsof proposes the adoption of "prizes at wakes "and public amusements for the encourage

work of Dr. Bradsley, in page 371. If the reader has, with an ordinary degree of attention, perused the articles here referred to, he will have perceived, that much does not remain to be said in defence of the practice of boxing, especially after the statement of incontrovertible facts, for which the public are indebted to Dr. Bradsley.As to boxing, in general; as to bo ing considered as a mode of terminating quarrels amongst the common people, Dr. Bradsley not only perfectly agrees with me, but he has, as the reader will have perceived, produced numerous and most apt and striking facts in support of his opinions. In short, he has clearly shewn, that, unless boxing is revived in those parts of England where it has most declined, cuttings and stabbings will, in a little time, become as prevalent in those parts as in any of the countries, whose manners, in this respect, we have been accustomed to regard with the greatest horror. The only question, therefore, that remains to be decided, is, how is the practice of boxing to be revived where it has declined, and, where it has not declined, to be cherished and preserved? The answer is, by making the practice respectable; and, it would be odd indeed, if it were to acquire respectability in a way different from that in which respectability is obtained to every other practice and science. Dr. Bradsley simply says, without stating his reasons, that he would have no prize-fighting, none of those contests, in which men engage for gain. But, he seems not to have considered, that gain is not the sole object, which the combatants have in view; he seems not to have recollected, that gain, of some sort or other, mixes itself, and must mix itself with all the motives that lead to eminence in any of the almost infinite pursuits of men. A desire to lessen the ills of human nature can scarcely be looked upon as the sole object of the physician's or the surgeon's studies: the divine, looking up to the mitre will hardly forget that its possession is accompanied with riches the lawyer may burn with a love of justice, but it will not be very eagerly contended, that he entirely overlooks the harvest of fees: the soldier and the sailor, I mean the officer, fights for his king and his country, for fame and glory, but does he not look forward to something in the nature of reward, to some prize, to something which is, as a matter of course, accompanied with pecuniary acquisitions? What is the mode pursued, when we want to revive or preserve any ait or science or pursuit? The giving of premiums, or prizes. Sometimes we give them in the form of medals

ment of those who excelled in sparring "with mufflers." With due deference, however, to this gentleman, I must say, that I think such a scheme would entirely fail of success. Sparring with mufflers is one thing, and boxing is another. Those who learnt the former, would not, whea they came to fight in consequence of a quar rel, think themselves bound by the laws ob served in their combats with mufflers. So right as Dr. Bradsley is as to the prin ciples, upon which the practice of boxing is founded, it is almost impossible, that, from his own mind, any sugges tion unfavourable to prize-fighting should have sprung. Men, even of great talents and, as to motives of interest, perfectly independent, are, nevertheless, frequently led to act upon the opinions of others; and, I cannot help thinking, that, to some cause of this kind, we ought to attribute the inconsistency which appears in this part of Dr. Bradsley's essay. He wishes to see boxing revived where it has declined, and preserved where it still exists in its former state; and, I think, the reader will be of opinion, that, if there is no boxing for prizes, there will be no other boxing, where the laws, the generous principles, of that combat will be cbserved. Why are horse-races established by law? Why are prizes given to the owners of winning horses? Not merely that there should be races, at such and such places, and that there should be gambling and pocketpicking and all manner of profligacy carried on for three or four days successively; but, that the breed of horses should be kept up; that there should always be some of the very best for racing, and, that there should always be a supply of good ones for general use. Men now pride themselves upon having a good horse; upon his capacity of going swift; upon his having some blood in him; and all this with reference only to the races. The proof that the same observations are