Declaration iffued by the Pruffian Commandant on his entering Ritzebultel.

B

government of this place, as well as all other inhabitants and ftrangers arriving here, with all their rights, legal relations, affairs, bufnefs, and property, wherever it may be requifite; but principally commerce and navigation, which fhall not in the least be injured or reftrained, but, on the contrary, better fecured and preferved in their tranquil and undisturbed courfe, without, however, making the least alteration in the conftitution and public measures of the place; on the other hand, every perlon must behave in a peaceable, quiet, and proper manner to the king's troops under my command; otherwile he will have to afcribe to himself the difagreeable confequences which will inevitably arife from a contrary behaviour.

(Signed) Wedell,

Colonel and commander of the royal Pruffian regiment of infantry, von Schladen.

Y the exprefs fupreme command of his majesty the king of Pruffia, Frederick William III. my moft gracious mafter, it is hereby made known, that the march of the troops intrusted to my command, forming a part of the combined army of obfervation, employed in the protec tion of the neutrality of the north of Germany, and the temporary occupation of the bailiwic of Ritzebuttel, and the village of Cuxhaven, by these troops, has been caufed by a mifunderftanding which had happened with respect to a Pruffian hip. Though after feveral fruitlefs requests and amicable attempts had been made, this mifunderflanding is now happily done away, yet as the marching of troops, rendered. neceffary by the inefficacy of these requests and amicable attempts in the beginning, had once been ordered, and already commenced, his majefty must have deemed it the more expedient to let it be continued, for the purpose of occupying the bailiwic of Ritzbuttel, to N confequence of the order of prevent fimilar events, and henceforth to watch himlelf over the maintenance of the neutrality, and over the fecurity (agreeably to the principles of neatrality) of this place fo important for all ftates fituated within the line of demarcation. This is the fole object of the arrival of the troops intrufted to my command. As their commanding officer, I fhall therefore be particularly folicitous in maintaining public tranquillity and fecurity, especially with refpect to relations of neutrality; and in vigorously protecting the civil branches of the Hamburgh

IN

Ruffian Edict.

his exceliency chevalier Popofi, major-general commandant at Riga, of the 28th inftant (Auguft), it is hereby made known to your honourable feuate, that his imperial majefty, after having received the account of the violent behaviour of the English againft Denmark, and alfo that one of their fleets had pafled the Sound, by which, the paffage being blocked up, may have great influence on the whole trade of the Baltic feas, he has been pleafed to order, that, for the fecurity against any difadvantage that may arife to the Ruffian commerce, to

long

long as the real intention of the English court fhall be unknown, there fhall be laid a fequeftration upon all property belonging to the English; and that it be observed, in the strictest manner, that none thereof be transported out of Ruffia without permiffion of his majesty; that, however, no part of the property be taken away from them, nor themfelves be difturbed in their business; according to all which, every one is to govern himself in the most particular manner. (Signed) Schwart, fecretary. Given at Riga Senate-houfe, the 29th Auguft, 1800.

grand duchefs Alexandra Pavlovna, allowed himself to offer her feveral indignities (groffiertés). His majeffy orders that no answer fhall be returned to this notification.

Subftance of the Declaration of the Emperor of Ruffia relative to an armed Neutrality by Sea.

TH

HAT on mounting his throne he found his states involved in a war, provoked by a great nation; which had fallen into diffolution; that conceiving the coalition a mere meafure of prefervation, this motive induced him to join it; that he did not at that time think it neceffary to adopt the fyftem of an armed neutrality on fea for the protection of commerce, not doubting but that the fincerity of his allies, and their reciprocal interefts, would be fufficient to fecure the flag of the northBut that ern powers from insult. being difappointed in this expectation by the perfidious enterprifes of a great power, which had fought to enchain the liberty of the feas by capturing Danish convoys, the independence of the maritime powers of the North appeared to him to be openly menaced. He confequently confiders it a measure of neceffity to have recourse to an armed neutrality, the fuccefs of which was acknowledged in the time of the American war.

Extra& from the Peterburgh Court
Gazette of the 7th of Nov. 1800.

W

HEREAS we have learned that the island of Malta, lately in poffeffion of the French, has been furrendered to the English

troops; but as it is yet uncertain
whether the agreement entered into
on the 30th of December, 1798, will
be fulfilled, according to which, this
island, after capture, is to be re-
ftored to the order of St. John of
Jerufalem, of which his majefty, the
emperor of all the Ruffias is grand-
mafter, his imperial majefty being
determined to defend his rights,
has been pleased to command that
an embargo fhall be laid on all Eng-
lifh fhips in the ports of his empire
till the above-mentioned conven-
tion fhall be fulfilled.

Order of the Emperor of Ruffia lay-
ing an Embargo on English Vef
fels. (From the Court Gazette.)

Peterburgh, Nov. 18 and 23. HE crews of two English fhips in the harbour of Narva, on the arrival of a military force to put them under arreft, in confequence of the embargo laid on them, having made refiftance, fired piftols, and forced a Ruffian failor into the water, and afterwards weighed anchor, and failed away; his imperial majefty has been pleafed to order that the remainder of the vessels in that harbour fhall be burned..

His imperial majefy having received from his chamberlain, Italinfkoi, at Palermo, an account of the taking of Malta, has been pleafed to direct that the following note fhall be tranfmitted to all the diplomatic corps refiding at, his court by the minifter prefiding in, the college for foreign affairs, count Roftoptfchia, and the vice chancellor, count Panin:

"His majefty, the emperor of all the Ruffias, having received the circumftantial account of the fur

render.

render of Malta, by which it is fully confirmed that the English generals, notwithstanding repeated reprefentations of his imperial majefty's minifter, and the minifters of the king of the Two Sicilies, have taken poffeffion of Valetta and the ifland of Malta in the name of the king of Great Britain, and hoified the English flag alone; his majesty fees with juft difpleature fuch a breach of good faith, and has refolved that the embargo laid on all the English veffels in the Ruffian harbours fhall not be taken off till the conditions of the convention concluded in the year 1798 fhall be punctually fulfilled."

Proclamation of his Imperial Majelly, Emperor of all the Ruffias,

&c. &c.

THEREAS it has been repre

Ruffia, that large fums of money are due to them from English merchants refident in Ruffia, and that payment of fuch debts cannot be obtained; his imperial majefly's college of commerce at St. Peterfburgh, by virtue of powers vefted in them for the purpose of promoting an adjustment and liquidation of the debts due to the Ruflian merchants from the English merchants, have ordained an efpecial commiffion, or board of commiffioners, for managing English property, and they direct the faid board to be conftituted, and their operations and proceedings to be guided by the following regulations:

I. It fhall confift of two Ruffian, two English, and two merchants of other nations, all of whom shall be

4

men of known good character, and the English fhaft be chofen or felected by the English merchants, to whom fhall be added one of the

members of the imperial college of commerce in St. Petersburgh.

II. All matters that come under their cognizance shall be adjusted conformably to the accustomed rules and effablifhed ufage in trade; they are to decide among themfelves, by a majority of votes, upon matters under difcuffion; but in cale of any points involving the interests of the Rufian commerce, the opinion of his imperial majesty's counsellor of the college of commerce is to faperfede the majority of votes, fubject, however, to the concurrence of the college of commerce.

III. Every British merchant re fident in Ruffia, without excepting fuch as have fubfcribed themfelves viitors, fhall deliver to the commiffioners, in writing, a statement of all the balances of accounts

effects and goods in their poffeffion; and they fhall, when required, deliver to the commiffioners their books of accompts out of their accompting-houses.

IV. Every Ruffian fubject, who has any claim or demand upon an Englishman, of whatever nature or kind it may be, or who is indebted to a British fubject, fhall transmit an account of the particulars of fuch debts or claims, to the commiffioners, within four months from the date of the publication of this ordinance in thereof, the commiffioners are not the newspapers, and in default to take cognizance of any claims after that period.

V. The commiffioners are to dif pofe of all English effects now fe queftered, and to receive all ba

lances

lances of accounts, and to bring the whole into one general mass.

VII. In cafe the fund of Englifh property does not prove adequate to the demands of the Ruffian creditors, or that there fhall remain a furplus, then the refult fhall be communicated to the college of commerce at St. Petersburgh.

fufal given by the government of Hamburgh to caufe a vellel to be VI. The Ruffian fubjects fhall re- released, which, taken by one of ceive out of the fund of the English the fhips of war of his Britannic property, (collected as before di- majefty, had been compelled, in rected,) after admiffion of the vali- order to avoid the dangers of the dity and juftnefs of the claims, fea, to enter that port, he thought an equal dividend upon their refit his duty to demand an audience pective demands, and full fatis- of his excellency count Haugwitz, faction. minifter of ftate and of the cabinet, for the purpofe of obtaining information with refpect to that affair. He received from his excellency the affurance that the intentions of his Pruffian majefty were in no view hoftile or contrary to the interefts of Great Britain; but that the occupation of Cuxhaven had for its principal object the maintenance of the authority of his Pruffian majefty, in his character of chief and protector of the neutrality of the north of Germany, and that it was conducted with the confent of the city of Hamburgh itfelf. Lord Carysfort not being exactly acquainted with the circumstances under which the veffel in question found itself, deferred to another occafion the obfervations which he might have wifhed to fubmit to his excellency. He has now grounds to believe that, laden with contraband goods, it was captured by one of his Britannic majefty's fhips as

VIII. The commiffioners fhall not be accountable or refponfible for their decifions, nor fhall there be any appeal from their determinations, either by petition or in any other way, on any account what

ever.

IX. To defray the expenfe and management of the board of commiffioners, and for the falary of their clerks and agents, both debtors and ereditors fhall allow them one-half per cent. upon the amount of the refpective fums brought under their confideration.

St. Petersburgh, Nov. 17, 1800.

Note from Lord Carysfort to Count it was entering into the Texel; that

Haugwitz.

Berlin, Nov. 16, 1800. HE inftant lord Carysfort, envoy extraordinary and minifter plenipotentiary of his Britannic majefty, learned that his Pruffian majefty was preparing to order a detachment of his troops to enter Cuxhaven, and that the reafon which hein public thought proper to affign for that measure, was the re

9

is to fay, into a port belonging to the enemies of his majefty; and that it was restored as foon as the officer who had the charge of it could be informed of the orders of his fuperiors.

With refpect to the occupation of the town of Cuxhaven by the Pruffian troops, which must have been founded on particular conventions between his Pruffian majefty and the fenate of Hamburgh, he does

. not