Admiralty-office, Aug. 9. Copy of a letter from the right honourable the earl of St. Vincent, K. B. admiral and commander in chief of his majesty's fleet employed in the Channel, Soundings, &c. to William Marsden, esq.; dated on board his majesty's ship the Hibernia, off Ushant, the 5th instant. Sir, I have great pleasure in transmitting the accompanying letter from captain Keats, with its inclosure from captain R. D. Oliver of his majesty's ship the Mars, whose perseverance and judgment enabled him to capture a fine French frigate in the face of her three consorts of equal force. I beg leave to acquaint you, that I continued in pursuit of four of the enemy's frigates the night of the 27th instant; although I lost sight of them, as also of the squadron under your command soon after it was dark, except the Africa, which we saw until about eleven o'clock, on the lee-quarter, when she was observed to burn some false fires. We steered about a point free the whole night, with a light in the stern, standing to the southward, and carried a press of sail; I was induced so to do from observing the course the enemy's squadron was steering when first seen, and judging that it would increase their difficulty of getting to leeward of us: it had that effect most fully, for at daylight yesterday morning they were discovered precisely on the same bearing as on the previous evening, though at a greater distance, except their sternMost ship, which we appeared to be gaining on: this induced the French commodore to tack with his three headmost ships, and join her, and form in line of battle on the larboard tack-I thought, and hoped, with a determination to try the fortune of war, which was what every one on board the Mars most anxiously wished: but after making some signals, about three in the afternoon he made off with three frigates; the other continued her course under an extraordinary press of sail; and finding she was the only one we had gained on during a chase of 150 miles, and the day far spent, I still kept after her till six o'clock, when, in the midst of a violent squall of wind and hail, we were ranging upon her lee-quarter, after the first shot she struck her colours, just at the moment our broadside was ready to open upon her. She proved to be La Rhin, a very fine French frigate of 44 guns, 18-pounders, on the main deck, and 518 men; only four years old, commanded commanded by captain Chesneau : the squadron was commanded by monsieur Lamarre Lareillerie, in the Hortense, with the Hermione and Themis frigates, on their return from Porto Rico. Soon after the Rhin had surrendered, on the squall clearing away, the other three frigates were seen standing to the south-east; and I regret that the weather, which has yet prevented our removing more than one-third of the prisoners, made it impracticable for me to pursue them further. I cannot conclude without expressing my admiration of the conduct of every officer and man in this ship during a chase of twenty-four hours, against so superior a force, with very bad weather, and incessant rain; several of our sails were split, and replaced with alacrity; and, in short, had the remainder of the French squadron waited our approach, from the great zeal manifested by every person on board, I have no doubt but our efforts would have been crowned with complete success in their destruction. I have the honour to be, &c. To captain Keats, of his ma- P. S. The Rhin hove overboard in the chase six of her quarter-deck and forecastle guns, and a bower anchor. Admiralty-office, Aug. 12. Copy of a letter from captain Stiles, of his majesty's ship the Adamant, to William Marsden, esq. of the arrival of his majesty's ship I have the honour to inform you under my command, at this anchorage, with the victuallers named in the margin*, accompanied by the Spanish ship Nostra Senora de los Dolores, alias La Reparadora, of thirty guns (twelve and twentyand fifteen men, commanded by four pounders) and three hundred Stanislaus Comaud, an officer in the Spanish navy. We fell in with and captured her on the 6th instant, in lat. 30 deg. 30 min. S. and long. 15 deg. 20 min. W. She had been out a month from Monte Video, in the Rio de la Plata, and had taken nothing. I have great satisfaction in announcing the capture of this ship to you, as, rom her magnitude and force she might have done much mischief to the trade on the coast of Africa; her crew are a desperate set of French, Spaniards, Portugueze, and Americans, the principal officers French: she had authority from the viceroy to wear the colours of the king of Spain, and had a company of * Alexander and Royal Charlotte Spanish Four days before I parted with the East India convoy, 1 fell in with and captured a Spanish ship of war of thirty guns and three hundred and fifteen men; the particulars of which I beg leave to inclose in a letter No. 1. I arrived in Table Bay, with the victuallers, on the 20th of May; and having seen them in safety without anchor ing myself, I immediately proceed ed to sea on my return to St. Helena, according to their lordships' orders; but meeting with a most violent gale of wind from the N. W. and being very short of water, (having been three months from England without touching at any place, with three hundred and fifteen prisoners), both my maintopsail yards carried away, and my people very much afflicted with the scurvy, I thought myself justified in bearing up for Simon's Bay for refreshments. The French admiral Willeaumez, with six sail of the line, was in these seas about six weeks ago; his intention was to have gone to the Cape; but hearing it was in our possession he was obliged to go to Fernand de No ronne for water, and has not sinee been heard of. The Cannonnier French frigate (late his rasjesty's ship Minerve) put into False Bay about the last of May, not knowing the Cape was in our hands, and sent her boat on shore with a lieutenant, who, with his crew, are prisoners on board this ship. As there was no man of war in either Table or False Bay, and as she did not quite fetch into the proper anchorage, she got away, and it is supposed she is gone to the Isle of France, where the Piedmontese is lving blocked up by the Russel, Lord Duncan, and Psyche. I have the honour to be, &c. 15. Yesterday afternoon as Mr. Bolton, haberdasher, of Stanhopestreet, Clare Market, was travelling with his son, a fine boy, four years old, inside the Bath and Taunton double-bodied coach, in Piccadilly the door flew open, and the child fell out; the hinder wheels of the vehicle, which was loaded with from fourteen to twenty passengers, went over both the legs of the child above the ancle, and broke the bones into splinters. It was a spectacle too shocking to give a full description of; the blood flowed copiously from the wounds, and the legs seemed only to be held together by the sinews.-The poc child was taken to the shop of Mr. Hambridge, Piccadilly, where every assistance was afforded to alleviate its sufferings. Thursday se'night an infamous transaction took place at a publichouse called Low-bridge, on the road between Manchester and Huddersfield, about two miles from the latter place. A young woman who had not been married more than a week, proceeding on a visit to her parents, parents, called at this house to procure refreshment, where five men were drinking, without appearing to take much notice of her. Just after she had partaken of a gill of ale, she complained of sickness, and went to the door; on her return her indisposition evidently increased, and at this period she was laid on her back, while they poured ardent spirits down her throat. In this situation the young girl, who in the absence of her father had the charge of the house, with apparent humanity helped her to bed; but this was no sooner done, than she introduced into the room of the undefended stranger the fellows above noticed; from whom, aided in the proceedings by two other vile women, she was compelled to suffer a species of violence above all others the most abhorrent to the feelings of a virtuous woman. Not content with perpetrat ing the above, those wretches proceeded to amuse themselves with many indecent pranks, to the disfigurement of the young woman's person. The three men, and the three females above mentioned, are in custody. When the offenders were apprehended, and ready to be conveyed to Wakefield, the populace at Honley would have torn them to pieces, had they not been restrained by the constables. 19. Advices have been received from the Baptist Missionarics at Serampore, to Bengal, to Feb. 6, 1806. Considerable additions have been made to the church lately The number of natives baptised from January 1, 1805, to February 6, 1806, is thirty-six, making the whole number of the baptised, eighty-three persons. There are besides these many inquirers. A church has been established at Diaugepore, of eight members, over which Mr. Fernandez is ordained as their pastor. Mr. Carey expects two others to be soon constituted. A Mr. Mayhir, who lives 700 miles in the country, and has lately joined the church, with young Mr. Fernandez, have arrived at Philadelphia, on their way to Britain. The former intends to return immmediately, to attempt to introduce the gospel there; the latter is to reside some time in Britain for improvement as a misionary. The mission at Serampore have published proposals for translating the Scriptures into Shanscrit, Mahratta, Gazzerattee, Orissa, Carnatta, Telenga, Burmah, Assam, Bochar, Tibet, and Chinese. These, with the Bengalee, Hindostanee, Malay, Tamul, and Cingalese, are the whole languages in India; and the Bible being already in the five last, no part of that vast continent will be destitute of the Word of God in their own language. The college at Fort William, and the Asiatic society, patronise the undertaking; and the Bible society of London, of which lord Teignmouth is president, have voted 1000%. towards defraying its expense. The Chinese translation is begun, under the tuition of Mr. Joannes Lassar, from Canton, professor of that language, who was lately employed in correcting the official correspondence between the Portuguese at Macao and the court of Pekin. He is now resident at the Mansion-house at Serampore, and is teaching the language to three of the missionaries. Some part of the translation is already printed off, from characters cut in wood after the Chinese manner. The third and last volume of the Old Testament, in Bengalee, is at press. The Gospel of Matthew is printed in the Mahratta tongue; and and a Minute Account of the Religion, Manners, and Customs of the Hindoos, derived from the Hindoo Shasters, and personal knowledge, for which Mr. Ward has been collecting materials several years, will soon be published in one volume quarto. Mr. Marshman is about to publish the Greek and Shanscrit languages compared. 20. Yesterday Swinton, the bankrupt, late vender of "Daffy's Elixir," in Salisbury-square, underwent a final examination before the commissioners, at Guildhall. In addition to the facts which have been made public, the bankrupt acknowledged the manner in which he made the fabricated accountbook to impose on the commissioners. It was constructed by him, and Hall his servant, and three sorts of ink were used, namely, ink, ink and water, and ink and vinegar. Pens, differently formed, were also resorted to, and many of the leaves rubbed over with a German sausage, to give them a greasy, old appearance. He denied that the old leaves torn out of the cover, and destroyed by him, related to his Daffy's Elixir account, but said they contained receipts for making horse medicines, which he did not wish the world to be made acquainted with. Upon the whole of his examination his statements appeared so suspicious and fraudulent, that notwithstanding Mr. Const made several observations in his behalf, the commissioners committed him to New. gate. It did not appear that miss More, who has part of the bankrupt's accounts in her possession, could be found. Singular occurrence.-In the early part of last week, a lady took a boat on the Surrey side of Blackfriars-bridge for Old Palace-yard. The waterman requested that she would allow his wife to go along with them; to which she readily consented. About midway the woman got up, and, after a formal apology to the lady for alarming her, declared her fixed determination to drown her husband; for the purpose of accomplishing which object, she immediately began to make every possible effort to upset the boat. In the midst of her exertions, however, her foot happened to slip, she fell overboard, and never rose more! 22. A most atrocious robbery was committed on a number of gentlemen at the Stock Exchange, on the settling day, by a foreign Jew of the name of Joseph Elkin Daniels, who has for a long time been a conspicuous character in the Alley. He had deliberately contrived a scheme of plunder perfectly new, but which, by the extreme confidence which is given on the Stock Exchange, was but too practicable. He was what is denominated a bull of omnium, that is, he had employed a broker (Mr. Montefiori), to buy omnium for the account, which was on Wednesday last. He had bought all the way up to 123 premium, and the average of his purchases was as high as 10. In the morning of the settling day, he told his broker that he would take the whole of the omnium he had purchased, and pay for it, as he was sure it would rise before the next account; he was enabled, he said, to hold it, as his relations had agreed to advance the money, and take it in pawn for him. This satisfied the broker, and he received from different gentlemen 31,000Z. omnium on Daniel's draft for 16,8161. Es. on the house of Messrs. Smith, Payne and Smith, and which draft Mr. Montefiori suffer ed, |