sources, which he finds in the hearts, in the prosperity, in the loyalty, in the strength of his people; and in the as yet undiminished force of his high allies and friends, the Emperor of Russia, and King of Prussia, and to persist in this firm and intimate connection till the Emperor of the French, with that moderation which is the brightest gem in the crown of a great Monarch, consents to conditions of peace which are not purchased! by a sacrifice of the national honour and in-d dependence of a miglity state.".. to hold out his hand to peace, and amid the most brilliant victories, he would have thought and acted in the same way as under the influence of contrary occurrences. His Majesty believed that the great and happy moment of this reconciliation, and of returning happiness to his people, was not far dis tant, when the Emperor of France, on several occasions, publicly manifested corresponding dispositions, and expressed himself with precision in the same spirit to Austrian general officers, whom the fortune of war had made his prisoners.-Full of confidence in such manifestations, and animated by an earnest wish to avert the approaching danger from the capital of Vienna, so dear to his heart, and, in general, to free his good and faithful subjects from the pressure of a longer war, his Majesty sent his Lieutenant Field Marshal, the Count de Guilay, to the head quarters of the French Emperor, in the name of himself and his allies, to obtain a confirmation of these pacific dispositions, to learn the further overtures which the Emperor Napoleon might make on this occasion, and to treat for an armistice as preparatory to negociations for a general peace. But the hopes of his Majesty were not fulfilled. As the basis of an armistice, limited to a few weeks, the Emperor of France demanded, "That the allied troops should return home; that the Hungarian levies should be disbanded; and that the Duchy of Venice and the Tyrol should be previously "evacuated to the French armies."All Europe will feel the inconsistency between such demands, and the foregoing manifestations of the Emperor. His Majesty Emperor and King had, by this heart had HANOVER.-Proclamation addressed to the I George Don, Lieutenant-General in the service of his Majesty of the United King doms of Great Britain and Ireland, Commander in Chief of a corps of British troops upon the continent, hold it for mys first duty, upon my arrival in his Majesty's German States, to make known and declare hereby to the inhabitants of the Electorate of Hanover, that the principal object of the troops I have the honour to command, is to effect the evacuation of his Majesty's Ger man States, and to undertake the defence of the same, against the enemy-The well-s known discipline of the troops under my command, is to me the best assurance of their good conduct towards the subjects of their lawful Sovereign; but, contrary to my expectation, should any well-grounded com plaint be brought before me, I shall inves☛ tigate its merits with impartiality, and rethemedy the same accordingly without delayreign, is convinced, that his beloved Gers His Britannic Majesty, my gracious Sove man subjects, will receive his troops in the most friendly manner; I, therefore, in bis Majesty's name, and by his express com mand, invite all persons, whose circum stances will permit, to enter imo the mili tary service, particularly those who have previously belonged to the Hanoverian army.- I invite them, without delay," to join the British standard, where I shall ensure to them every privilege attached to his Majesty's German Legion. With our forces thus united, we shall then oppose a check to the unlawful demands of the ene fulfilled a sacred duty which his ast of November, 1905, to the Emperor Napoleon, congratulating him on his succesta delivered by General Bruce, brotherlaw of his Excellency, to the Emperor at Schoenbrunn, Nov. 15.. Sire after what you have already achieved in the career of glory, it appeared as if nothing had been left to excite admiration. These reflections, Sire, could not fail of being peculiarly my own, who have been enabled so intimately to observe and admire the magnitude of your genius; but that which your Majesty has achieved in this campaign, which was scarcely opened before it appeared to be terminated, forms a new prodigy, by the unexampled extent of the plans of it, by the rapidity of the application of the means, and by the lustre of the development. I am unable, Sire! to express the sentiments of joy, which your heroic actions have impressed on me and onmy country; perceive in them a new guaranty, that your Majesty will sustain the part of Disposer of the fate of Nations, and of the Benefactor of mankind in general, and of your Majesty's Allies in particular. My brother-in-law, General Bruce, is charged with the honour of handing this letter to your Majesty; he will be the interpreter of the sentiments of admiration, of the sincere attachment to your person, and also of my constant wish, that your Majesty, after having compelled your enemies. to accept of peace to which your Majesty will know how to set the seal of durability at length, with your illustrious family, enjoy the flattering spectacle of the restoration of the rights of nations, effected by your great actions; of the liberty of the Ocean of the blessings of mankind; of constant love, for your people; and of the gratitude of your faithful Allies.-I beseech your Majesty to accept the assurance of my most profound esteem, &c. (Signed) ས although I have had the fortune to spill my blood for the honour of his Majesty's arms; yet finding myself less inconvenienced than the brave and worthy General an Chief, on whom his Majesty, with a confidence which he merits, had conferred the command of the fleet, I enter upon the painful but neces sary duty of informing your Excellency, that, our efforts, and the discharge of our duty, have not been able to avert a loss, which would be greater, if we were not firmly per suaded that nothing was left undone; and consequently, that our honour was saved. I know that, under date of the 18th iust, the General Gravina had informed your Excellency, that Admiral Villeneuve had signified to him his intention of putting to sea the the next day, and desired to know whether the Spanish squadron were ready to accom pany him? Your Excellency is not ignorant of what was the answer of the general; sa tisfied that his squadron would promptly fol low the movements of the French, and that such were the repeated orders your Excellency had communicated to him. With this information the French admiral returned onboard, and, subsequently, made the signal for getting up anchors and signals, which ' was repeated by this ship, the Principe de Asturias, and followed by the most ready ex-.. ecution for embarking the artillery and ma rines, with various others which were on shore. On the morning of the 19th, some French and Spanish ships got under weigh, in consequence of a signal made by Admiraly Villeneuve, but we were not all able to ef fect it that day, the wind having veered to the S.W. but getting round to E.S.E. they all successively got out, on the morning of the 20th.Scarcely had we cleared the mouth of the harbour when the wind shifted. to S.S.W. so strong, and with such alarming appearances, that one of the first signals made by Admiral Villeneuve, who had his flag on board the Bucentaur, was, to take in two reefs in the main-sail; the shifting of the wind necessarily occasioned a dispersion: of the fleet, till towards the evening, when; the wind again shifted, and the horizons clearing, a signal was made to form in five columns, and to unite, An advanced frigate made signals for 18 sail of the enemy in sight; and, in consequence of this intor mation, the ships were cleared, and every thing got ready for action. At three, we Most Excellent Senior, my Lord,-The tacked, and stood on for the Streights, presituation of Lieut.-General Don Frederick serving the same formation of five colum Gravina, in consequence of a ball he receiv- as before this movement; after we had car ed in his left arm, at the the close of the action ecuted it, 4 of the enemy's frigates appear of yesterday, does not permit him to informed, which were chased by order of Admiral; your Excellency of that bloody combat, and Villeneuve and to this ship, he attached by mo banhol to promotenai DATE SCHIMMELPENNINCK. FOREIGN OFFICIAL PAPERS. NAVAL VICTORY.—Spanish Official Repart of the Battle of Trafalgar. From the Madrid Gazette, Nov. 5, 1805. 100 The Chef d'Escadre Don Antonio de Escario, Major-General of the Squadron of the Ocean, has written, from the port of Cadiz, to his Excellency the Prince of Peace, under date of the 22d of Oct., as follows: ་་ a L'Aigle, Algesiras, and San Juan, ast squadron of observation, which might renforce the ships in chase; with instructions, to re-unite with the main body of the fleet before night fall; at half-past seven, a French ship advised us of L'Aigle having reconnoitred 18 enemy's ships in line of battle, and soon after we saw, at no great distance, several lights, which, doubtless, were from the enemy's frigates, interspersed between the two fleets. At nine, the English made sig nals by firing cannon; and, by the interval between the flash and repeat, they appeared to be distant about two miles. The French admiral made signal that it was necessary to form in line of battle upon the leeward ships, which was afterwards repeated by that admiral, and, in this order, the day-break of the 21st came on with the enemy in sight, in number 28 ships, among them 8 threedeckers, formed in order of battle. At seven in the morning, the enemy approached, in different columns, upon our squadron, with a direction to the centre and rear, upon which Admiral Villeneuve ordered them to tack in succession, which brought the squadron of observation, commanded by General Gravina, into the situation of rear-guard. General Gravina made to his squadron the siguals most proper to enable them to perform the various movements, which the exigency of the circumstances required, with ability and precision, and, on nearing the enemy, he ordered them to close their distances, and complete their order.-At 8 minutes before 12 an English three-decker, with a flag at her main-top, penetrated our line in the centre, supported by the ships which were in her wake. The heads of the other column of the enemy did the same; one of them doubled our rear-guard, another entered between L'Aigle and San Ildefonso, and from that moment the action was confined to a furious combat between the whole of the enemy's squadron and half of ours, the greater part of the time within pistolshot. I have not the necessary information to enable me to acquaint your Excellency with the particulars of the action; neither can I, at present, say any thing of the movements of the vanguard, which, I am assured, from the commencement, supported that part of the squadron which was attacked. What I can affirm to your Excellency is, that all the ships, both French and Spanish, which were within my observation, most fully performed their duty, and that this ship, after a. horrible combat of four hours, with three or four of the enemy, with all her sails and rigging cut, without stays, without the powof making sail, her masts, and top-masts pierced through with balls, and in a most distressed condition, was opportunely assisted by the Spanish ship San Juste, and the French ship, Neptune, which occasioned the removal of the enemy from us, and equally assisted the junction of the Rayo, Montanes, Axis, and San Leandro, which were so much damaged, with some other French ships, which had no better fate.--As soon as this ship was free from opponents, orders were given to those united to support such ships as wanted support, and at night-fail, the firing having ceased on all sides, the frigate La Thumise rowed us, towards the Bay of Cadiz, isto which it was not possible to enter that night, the wind having got towards the S. S. E. strong, with showers of rain, which obliged us to anchor at a mile and a half from Rota, with the above-mentioned ships, and having considerably freshened, our main and mizen masts were carried away, notwithstanding the precautions taken for their security. It also dismasted the Leandro, which had anchored also by us. I cannot do. less than perform a duty, which to me is very pleasant, that of placing in your Excellency's view, the generous emulation with which the officers and crew of this ship strove to perform their respective duties; and I-am highly gratified in paying this tribute to those, who, by their gallant conduct in action, have done themselves so great credit. We have had forty-one killed; among them, Lieutenant de Vaihernd, Don L. P. del Lamino, and 107 badly wounded; in which number is included the Lieutenant of Volunteers, Don B. Corral, and Brigadier of Marites, Don A. Rua. I have learned that Don F. de Alcedo, of the Montanese, was killed in the action; and his Second Captain, Don A. Castano, badly wounded. Many losses of other excellent officers have doubtless been sustained throughout the fleet, as several ships were entirely dismasted; and this catastrophe. is generally accompanied with misfortunes, which are inevitable. When I an acquainted with them, I will communicate them to your Excellency. His Excellency, the Prince of Peace, has replied to Admiral Don A. Escano, under date of the 27th of October, in the following terms? I have just received from your Excellency three letters, one of the 22d, and two of the 23d inst. acquainting me, for the informa tion of his Majesty, of the action between the combined squadron, and that of the enemy, commanded by Lord Nelson, off Cadiz, in the evening and night of the 21st inst. which intelligence your Excellency has not omitted to give, notwithstanding you are considerably inconvenienced, by a wound in port, of the American ship, Two Friends, by a French privateer. This event has excited among all classes of citizens the strongest sensations, not only because the said ship was captured without any colour of pretence, within sight of land, but because she is our only regular London trader, and had on board a full supply of spring and summer the left leg, on account of his Excellency, Admiral Gravina, not being able to do it, from the wounds he received in the same action. All the three letters of your Excellency breathe a spirit of truth, animation, constancy, valour, and loyalty to the King. His Majesty is penetrated with the event, and is desirous (with me) of information of the situation of your Excellency, and that of Ad-goods." The distress and anxiety occasioned miral Gravina; expecting at the same time to be informed of the detail, and the conclusion of this glorious but unfortunate action, in order to reward merit, dry up the tears of the afflicted families, and to assist the necessitons. The disposition of the King, his noble and generous heart, will not be satisfied till he sees these cares of his paternal affection accomplished; neither shall. I, for my own part, enjoy ease, while the least Lalag remains to be done.-I acknowledge. my obligations to your Excellency for your intelligence, and req est you to participate the same to Adanical Gravina. The subsequent advices received or this ever, reach to the 25th, and state, that on the 23d. Admiral Escano soiled again, with the French- and Spanish ships which had entered the preceding night, in order to assist the crippled ships which might appear in sight, and to attack those that had charge of them; by this means he has recovered the Spanish ships Santa Anna, and Neptune, and assisted the L'Aigle, Algesiras, and Bucentaur French ships, notwithstanding his experiencing a strong gule from S.S.E. which broke loose and drove on shore near Santa Pancha Maria, the Asis and Neptune on the night of the 23d. Brigadier Don C. De Valdes, commander of the Neptune, is badly wounded, having received three bullets in the action; as is also Lieut. General Don J. M. De Alava, who has returned to Cadiz, in his ship the Santa Anna. The English have also experienced considerable misfortunes in this engagement, in which, according to advices from Gibraltar, Lord Nelson, and several officers of distinguished merit, were killed. AMERICA AND FRANCE-Memorial of cartain American Merchants to Mr. Madison, Secretary of State in America, relative to the Conduct of the French Cruizers with regard to American Ships. The Memorial of the President and Directors of the South Carolina Insurance Company, and of the Merchants and Others interested in the Commerce of the City of Charleston; respectfully sheweth, that your Memorialists are deeply affected by the resent capture, at the very entrance of this by these circumstances are greatly enhanced from our having been hitherto deprived of our spring supplies, and from an anticipation of the consequences justly to be appre hended from a continuance of similar outrages, should not the most prompt and effectual measures be adopted for the protection and security of our commercial interests. Your Memorialists are authorised to add (although the fact be not detailed in the Protest), that it appears from undoubted authority, that the magnitude of the prize was the sole indacement to the above-men- · tioned capture, the captors having said that they would release the Two Friends, in the event of their falling in with any other valuable prize which might be more worthy their notice. This most extraordinary capture,. in direct violation of our treaty with France (as appears by the accompanying do cuments), has already been followed by events no less alarming, our harbour being at this moment completely blockaded by three French privateers (and more are daily expected), which examine all vessels coming in and going out of this port, and either detain or release them, according as their value excites the cupidity of the cruizers.—This degrading state of our harbour has necessarily raised the premium of insurance, thus forcing additional sums from the pockets of our citizens, has advanced the price of every commodity, and created a distressing stagnation of our exports; for the Merchants, not receiving their goods from abroad, are incapacitated from purchasing the produce of the country. Among these deplorable effects of the defenceless and humiliating condition of our commerce, may be more over enumerated the immense loss of duties: those on the ship Two Friends alone being estimated by the collector at 45,000 dollars. -Your Memorialists have the best reasonsfor believing that this early success, experienced by these French privateers, will immediately allure others in swarms to our coasts and bar, to the total ruin of private mercantile con cerns, and the most fatal defalcation of the public revenue: Your Memorialists have no less ground for apprehending that British cruizers, availing themselves of the absence of domestic protection, will, under the co ourselves with a bare statement of the above grievance, superadded to so many others, not doubting that the President will take the same into consideration, and being duly impressed with the necessity of some early remedial arrangement, either of a legislative or diplomatic nature, will recur to such as may appear most conducive to the desired end-Your Meme alists having thus exhibited but an imperfect view of their ruinous, unprotected, and degraded situation, rely with confidence on the prompt interposition of the Presiden, to obtain, by representa (in the event of the Two Friends being carried into a Spanish port), restitution of the said ship and her cargo, and to cause a stop to be put to similiar spoliations. And your Memorialists farther most earnestly solicit some immediate and effectual naval protec tion for our harbour and shores, together with such other measures as the National Councils, in their wisdom, may dcem expe dient, as well for prevention of the renewal of the outrages we have sustained, as for the permanent safety and protection of our commercial and navigating rights and interests. Charleston, South-Carolina, June, 22, 1805. lour of expelling the French, assume and occupy their ground, and either retain us in the same degraded state, harrassing our vessels by searches and detensions, or subject us to the disgraceful and mortifying obligations of gratitude, for alien succour and relief. Your Memorialists are the more alarmed at these depredations, because much valuable property is still expected this summer from other quarters than London, and considerable importations will be looked for in the fall for our winter supplies; and should there not be an early and effectual check to these aggressions; should our falltions to the Minister of France, and of Spain importations be also interrupted, the calamities of the last year, produced by the hurricane and other causes, in which this city has so largely participated, would be aggravated to such an extent as to eventuate in general ruin and these great alarms and apprehensions of your Memorialists are heightened by the well known circumstance of the cruizers which infest our shores belonging to St. Jago de Cuba and Barracoa, in which receptacles our vessels and their cargoes, with the knowledge of the government of Cuba, are instantly sold, without even the formality of a trial, or any condemnation whatever, thereby precluding every future probability of redress.-Your Memorialists avail themselves of this occasion to notice a late decision of the District Court within this State, grounded on an Act of Congress, whereby the territorial jurisdiction of the United States is limited to the short distance of three miles, or a maritime league, from the coasts or shores, which by the said Court is construed to mean three miles from the land, consequently the middle channel of our bar being more than three miles distant from the nearest land is pronounced, by judicial authority, to be without the jurisdiction of the United States! The very entrance of our harbour, in full sight of the city, where vessels are frequently obliged to anchor, while waiting for a tide, and with a Pilot on board, is, by our own Tribunals, acknowledged to be without the protection of our government. -Your Memorialists refrain from commenting on the pernicious effects of a system of policy so pregnant with dishonour and ruin to the trade and navigation of the Union at large, but more particularly to those of Charleston, from the geography of whose shores, and peculiar local situation of whose bar and horbour, every vessel in her ingress and egress, is thus subjected to search, detention or seizure. We content COPY.-Department of State, July 10, 1805. SIR, I have received your letter of the 22d ult. inclosing the Memorial of the Insurance Company of which you are President, and of the Merchants and others, interested in the commerce of Charlston.Having been before made acquainted, by the Collector of the Customs, with the circumstances of the capture of the Two Friends, I lost no time in stating it to the French Minister, who has replied, that the communication made to him respecting this affair, by the Commissary of his nation at Charleston, had enabled him to anticipate my desires, by requesting the Captains Ge neral of the Erench colonies, to all of whom he had written respecting it, to obtain satisfaction for this violation of the Convention between France and the United States.The observations contained in the Memorial respecting the local situation, and the protection necessary for the port of Charleston and the adjacent coast, have been weighed by the President, and in connezion with other information, will promote such measures as the nature of his functions, the existing laws and the public good, may be thought to admit and require.- -I have the honour to be, &c. JAMES MADISON. Printed by Cox and Baylis, No. 75. Great Queen Street, and published by R. Bagshaw, Bow Street, Corant Garden, where former Numbers may be had; sɔld also by J. Rudd, Crown and Mitre, Pall-Mall. |