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bad been suffered to live out their assigned period; but manifest causes for anticipation had existed in some instances, and in others, a year only had been retrenched from their term of existence; but the present parliament had nineteen months to run before its legal expiration. It was, therefore, to the general surprise, that by a proclamation issued from the Prince Regent, on Sept. 29, a dissolution of parliament was declared, with the announcement of writs for a new one returnable on the 24th of November next. As no public reason has been given for this step, conjecture has been left to imagine the most probable. It might be thought that the pledge given by the House of Commons of an early cattention to the catholic claims, concurred in by a majority which seemed to augur a prevailing disposition to grant them, suggested to those who were adverse to the measure this effectual means of defeating it; but the ministers themselves differed on this topic; not to add, that such a change of sentiment in the Prince Regent is scarcely conceivable, as should induce him to give his sanction to a project for overthrowing attempts which he once undoubtedly favoured. Whatever were the immediate motives for ministers in advising this measure, it certainly displayed a confidence in their poEpularity with the nation at large, or, at least, in the powers in their hands for procuring such a return bof representatives as would rather augment than diminish their influ

of the late parliaments, indeed, of course, occupied with all the bustle of a general election; but the shortness of the notice, joined to the circumstances of the time, seems to have abridged the usual proportion of contests, especially in the counties. For the same reason, few of those riots were heard of which have so often disgraced this period of popular licence. As far as the temper of the nation can be judged by the return of representatives, the cause of opposition had at least gained no ground by the events of the year. In the metropolis, and the towns of Bristol and Liverpool, the candidates in that interest underwent a defeat. The case of the latter great commercial port was extremely remarkable. Though it had been peculiarly a sufferer from the operation of the orders in council, which had ruined its American trade, the election went in favour of one who, when a member of administration, had taken a great share in promoting those or ders, to the rejection of the person who had been the principal instrument of their repeal-so little confidence can be placed even in men's apparent interests, when opposed by their political prejudices! It is true, the system of carrying on almost the only foreign commerce › left in this country, that by licences, has a direct tendency to augment the influence of government: over the mercantile interest; while the manufacturers in many branches are equally subjected to the same influence by means of contracts. The monied interest in the metropolis has always been notoriously at the disposal of every existing administration.

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CHAPTER XV.

Naval Affairs; Capture of La Corcyre-Of La Pomona and a Store Ship-Loss of the Manilla and Laurel-Capture of the MerinosOf the Rivoli-Of a Flotilla off Dieppe-Destruction of two French Frigates and a Brig near l'Orient-Of a Danish Squadron near Mardoe-Convoy brought out of Languillia-Another attempt at the same Place-The Attack Brig taken by the Danes.

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HE attention of the French emperor has, during this year, been so much engaged by his continental projects, that the mighty preparations he seemed to be making in the past year for contending with Great Britain on the ocean, produced no sensible addition to the power and enterprise of his navy, which for the most part lay quiet in port, and offered very few opportunities to the British commanders stationed in the European seas of gratifying that ardour for distinguishing themselves in their country's service by which they are so honourably characterized.

An account arrived at the admiralty, in February, of the capture, on November 19, by the Eagle, Captain Rowley, of the French frigate La Corcyre, pierced for 40 guns, but mounting only twentysix eighteen pounders on the maindeck, and two six-pounders on the quarter-deck. She had a complement of 170 seamen, and 130 soldiers, was laden with wheat and military stores, and was bound from Trieste to Corfu. She had two companions, which escaped during the chace, that began off Fano, and terminated near Brin

disi. The action was short, as, indeed, the inequality of force would have rendered a protracted resistance only a fruitless waste of lives. No one was hurt on board the Eagle.

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In the same sea, off Lissa, a very severe action was fought between three English and three French frigates, which did credit to the bravery and conduct of both parties, though success, as usual, remained to the English. The. French squadron having been descried to the south of Lissa on No-. vember 28, the ships Alceste, Active, and Unité were warped out of the harbour of St. George, and on the morning of the 29th came in sight of the enemy off the island of Augusta. The French commo-dore formed in line, and for a short time stood towards his anta gonists; but finding the English. bearing upon him in close line under full sail, he bore away to the N.W. His rear ship separating, Captain Murray Maxwell, the British commodore, detached the Unité after her, and himself, in the Alceste, commenced action with the other two. On passing the rearmost to get at the commo

dore,

dore, a shot bringing down his main-topmast, he dropt a little astern, on which triumphant shouts of Vive l'empereur resounded from the French ships. Captain Gordon, however, in the Active, pushed on, and brought the sternmost to close action; whilst the French commodore, shortening sail, fairly engaged the Alceste. After a warm conflict of two hours and twenty minutes, the French commodore, in the Pauline, thought proper to bear away to the westward, the crippled state of the Alceste not suffering Captain Maxwell to pursue him. The other ship then struck, and proved to be the Pomone of 44 guns, and 322 men, commanded by Captain Rosamel, whose skill and courage are very honourably recorded by the victor. He had fifty men killed and wounded; his antagonist, the Active, had thirty-two, among whom were Captain Gordon, who lost a leg, and his first lieutenant, who had an arm carried away. In the mean time, Captain Chamberlayne in the Unité had overtaken his chase, which struck after a trifling resistance, and to his mortification proved to be only a store ship of twenty-six guns and 100 men, named La Persanne. The Active was sent with the prizes and prisoners to Malta, and the two others were immediately refitted for service.

In addition to the naval losses by shipwreck at the close of the last year, that of the Manilla frigate of thirty-six guns, Captain Joyce, was reported by Admiral Winter, commander of the Dutch Texel fleet, as occurring near the end of January: This ship having struck on the Haak sand in a dreadful gale

on the evening of the 28th, made signals of distress, upon which some fishing boats were sent out to her relief. These were obliged to return without being able to reach her; but on the next day, the weather becoming more moderate, they approached her, when the chief pilot risked his life by venturing upon the shallows and sunken rocks, and the English having made a raft of empty barrels, he was enabled to bring off thirtyfive of them. During the 30th and 31st all the rest of the crew were brought safe to land, whence they were marched as prisoners to Amsterdam; the whole loss from the wreck appearing to have amounted only to six men. The ship went entirely to pieces. On this occasion, the exertions of the Dutch to preserve the lives of the sufferers were highly meritorious.

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About the same time the Lau

Captain S. C. Rowley, a fine new frigate, was lost in Quiberon bay. This ship, with two other frigates, had been ordered to pursue three French frigates which had escaped from the Loire; and on the morning of January 31, they weighed anchor, and made sail through the passage Taigneuse. It blew hard, and the weather be came hazy; when the Laurel struck upon a sunken rock, and had a large hole made in her bottom. She was backed off, and the men continued pumping, till the vessel was reported to be sinking, when the cable was cut, and she was run ashore on a reef of rocks, about a mile from the French coast. In this situation, a heavy fire being opened upon her from the enemy's batteries, a flag of truce was hoisted. The firing was, however, con

tinued,

tinued, till three boats, with about 70 men and 4 officers, were sent on shore from the ship, who delivered themselves up as prisoners. The French are then said, with an inhumanity which appears to have been merely gratuitous, to have refused permission for the boats to return for the remainder of the crew, who would have been their prisoners; and they must all have perished, had not Captain Somerville, against the remonstrance of his pilot, gallantly worked his ship up among the rocks, brought her to anchor, and taken the men off the wreck, after they had been upon it in a very perilous situation for several hours. The French fired on the boats till they were out of reach,

A letter from Captain Taylor, of the Apollo, to Vice-admiral PelJew, dated Feb. 14, mentions, that on the preceding day, on rounding Cape Corse, he fell in with a French frigate-built store-ship and a corvette. On closing with them, the former vessel struck, and proved to be the Merinos, commanded by M. Honoré Coardonan, captain of a frigate, and a member of the legion of honour, the ship quite new, of 850 tons, pierced for 36 guns, but carrying only twenty 8-pounders, with 126 men. She was bound to Sagona for timber. The Apollo suffered no loss, though exposed for four hours to batteries on shore. The corvette made her escape with the assistance of boats from the shore.

Capt. Talbot of the Victorious, senior officer of the upper part of the Adriatic, communicated on March 3d to Capt. Rowley, an account of his success in capturing a line-of-battle ship of the enemy. On Feb. 21, the Victorious, in

company with the Weazle sloop, descried a large ship with several small ones proceeding from Venice to Pola in Istria. A signal for chace was made, the enemy being in a line of battle, with two gun-boats and a brig a-head of the large ship, and two brigs astern. The Weazle, Capt. Andrews, was directed to bring the brigs astern of the commodore to action, in order to induce him to shorten sail, which had the intended effect.

At half past four in the afternoon the Victorious commenced action with the line-of-battle ship the Rivoli, of 74 guns, at the distance of half-pistol shot, neither ship having hitherto fired a gun; and the water being smooth, every shot told, and the carnage on both sides was dreadful. At five, one of the brigs engaged with the Weazel blew up, and that vessel went in chace of the rest, but was recalled by Captain Talbot, who thought that as they were in only seven fathoms water, one or the other of the great ships might get aground and want assistance. Capt. Andrew, on being recalled, placed his brig on the bow of the Rivoli, and raked her with three broadsides. That ship, for nearly two hours, had been rendered perfectly unmanageable, and had been able to keep up only a very slow fire. At nine o'clock she struck, and was taken possession of. She bore the broad pendant of Commodore Barre, the French commander in chief of the Adriatic, who displayed great skill and valour in the action. He lost 400 killed and wounded, including his captain and most of his officers, out of $62 persons with whom he entered into action. The Victorious also sustained a severe loss of men, not

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enumerated. She had at the commencement only 506 actually on board, of whom 60 were on the sick list. Of the French brig engaged with the Weazel, which blew up, only three men were saved: the Weazel did not lose a single man. Few actions in any year have afforded more convincing proof of the superiority of British .seamanship.

A spirited action on a small scale was reported in March by Mr. Harvey, commander of the sloop Rosario, off Dieppe. On the 27th of that month, in the morning, he observed an enemy's flotilla, consisting of 12 brigs and one Jugger, standing along shore, and immediately made sail, with the intention of cutting off the leewardmost. The flotilla formed into a line, and engaged the Rosario as she passed; and when she luffed up to attack the sternmost, they all bore up to support her, and endeavoured to close with the sloop. The commander, not chusing with bis small force to run the risk of being boarded, bore away to a brig in the offing, which proved to be the Griffin, Captain Trollope, and made the signal for an enemy, which was answered. He then immediately hauled his wind, and → pursuing the flotilla, which was making all sail for Dieppe, began to barass the rear, and at length dashed into the midst of them, receiving and returning their whole fire. He disabled some, and ran others on shore, before he was › joined by the Griffin, which could not come up sooner. Capt. TrolJope gallantly contributed his part; and the result was, the capturing three of the enemy, driving two on shore, and much damaging the

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others. This flotilla was proceeding from Boulogne to Cherbourg : each brig carried three long brass 24-pounders, and an eight-inch brass howitzer, with a complement of 50 men; and they were assisted by batteries on shore, keeping up a constant fire of shot and shells. The loss on board the Rosario was, however, only five wounded.

The account of a successful attempt to intercept two French frigates and a brig off l'Orient, was communicated in a letter dated May 24th, from Captain Hotham, of the Northumberland, to RearAdmiral Sir H. B. Neale. The writer states, that having, according to orders, proceeded off l'Orient with the Growler gunbrig in company, the French vessels were descried on the morning of the 22d, the N.W. point of isle Groa bearing N. from the Northumberland ten miles distant, crowding all sail to get into the port of l'Orient. Capt. Hotham's first endeavour was to cut them off to windward of the island; but not being able to effect this, he caused the Northumberland to be pushed round the S. E. end of Groa, and got to windward of the harbour's mouth before the enemy could reach it. He continued to beat to windward between Groa and the continent in order to close with them, unavoidably exposed to the fire of the batteries on each side when within their range. The enemy, after some consultation, at length bore up in a close line with every sail set, and made a bold attempt to run between the Northumberland and the shore, under cover of the numerous batteries with which it is there lined. Capt. Hotham placed his ship to meet

them

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