engaged the latter is an officer of long service, whose merits being well known to you, renders it unnecessary for me to recommend him to your notice. JOSHUA ROWLEY. GAZETTE EXTRAORDINARY. Feb. 13. This gazette extraordinary contains an extract of a dispatch from R. T. Farquhar, esq. dated Port Louis, Isle of France, Dec. 7. Mr. F. announces that he had assumed the government of the Isle of France, by virtue of a commission from the governor-general of India, and states the inhabitants to be tranquil and well disposed. Admiral Bertie's dispatch is dated Dec. 6, and merely states that the expedition destined to act against the Isle of France had assembled at Rodriguez by the 22d Nov. with the exception of the troops from the Cape, which did not join at all: that on the 25th, the fleet, consisting of 70 sail, anchored in Grande Baye, 12 miles to windward of Port Louis, and, having disembarked the troops, artillery, &c. advanced along-shore, keeping up a constant communication. On the 2d Dec. gen. Decaen proposed a capitulation, which was signed on the following morning.The admiral warmly praises the conduct of capt. Beaver, of the Nysus; of capt. Patterson of the Hesper; lieut. B. Street manding the armed vessel Emma; and lieut. E. Lloyd, volunteer. By the capitulation, the land and sea forces, officers, subalterns, and privates, are to retain their effects and baggage-not to be considered prisoners of war-but to be conveyed at British expense, with their families, to some port in European France. Private property to be respected, and the inhabitants main. tained in their religion, customs, and laws. com The following is a list of vessels found at Port Napoleon :-Frigates: La Minerve, 52 guns; La Bellone, 48; L'Astrée and La Manchée, 44: Iphigenie and Nereide, 36; Le Victor sloop, 22; L'Entreprenant, and another brig, 22; Charlton, Ceylon, and United Kingdom, English East-Indiamen; 28 merchant vessels of various burdens, from 150 to 1000 tons; besides five gun-brigs-This ga zette concludes with two general orders, issued by major-gen. Aber cromby, acknowledging the ser vices of the 12th and 22d regiments; of the detachment of seamen commanded by capt. Montague; and of captains Beaver, Briggs, Lye, and Street. A general memorandum by admiral Bertie congratu lates the officers and crews of the squadron on the successful issue of the attack, and thanks them for their exertions. SUPPLEMENT TO THE LONDON GAZETTE EXTRAORDINARY. A dispatch, of which the following is an extract, has been received from the hon. major-gen. Abercromby by the earl of Liverpool, dated Port Louis, Isle of France, Dec. 7, 1810. [The introductory dispatch of gen. Abercromby states the surrender by capitulation of the Isle of France, on the 3d Dec. to the united force under the command of vice-adm. Bertie and himself; mentions his having placed Mr. Farquhar in charge of the government by desire of lord Minto; and refers to his aid-de-camp, capt. Hewitt, and the following dispatch, addressed to the governor-general of India, for further particulars.] To the right hon. Gilbert lord Minto, c. &c. My lord, I had the honour to (B 3) inform inform your lordship in my dispatch of the 21st ult. that, although the divisions from Bengal and the Cape of Good Hope had not arrived at the rendezvous, it had been determined that the fleet should proceed to sea on the following morning, as from the advanced season of the year, and the threat ening appearance of the weather, the ships could no longer be considered secure in their anchorage at Rodriguez; and I did myself the honour to state to your lordship, the measures which it was my intention to pursue, even if we should still be disappointed in not being joined by so large a part of the armament.-Early on the morning of the 22d, vice-admiral Bertie received a communication from capt, Broughton, of H. M. S. Illustrious, announcing his arrival off the island with the convoy from Bengal. The fleet weighed at day-light, as had been originally arranged; and in the course of that day a junction having been formed with this division, the fleet bore up for the Isle of France. The greatest obstacles opposed to an attack on this island with a considerable force, have invariably been considered to depend on the difficulty of effecting a landing, from the reefs which surround every part of the coast, and the supposed impossibility of being able to find anchorage for a fleet of transports. These difculties were fortunately removed by the indefatigable exertions of commodore Rowley, assisted by lieut. Street of the Staunch gunbrig, lieut. Blackiston of the Ma. dras engineers, and the masters of his majesty's ships Africaine and Boadicea. Every part of the leeward side of the island was minutely examined and sounded; and it was discovered that a feet might anchor in the narrow passage, formed by the small island of the Gunners' Coin and the main land; and that at this spot there were openings through the reef, which would admit several boats, to enter abreast. These obvious advantages fixed my determination, although I regretted that circum stances would not allow of the disembarkation being effected at a shorter distance from Port Louis. Owing to light and baffling winds, the fleet did not arrive in sight of the island until the 28th; and it was the morning of the following day before any of the ships came to an anchor.-Every arrangement for the disembarkation having been previously made, the first division, consisting of the reserve, the gre nadier company of the 59th regt. with two 6-pounders and two howitzers, under command of majorgen. Warde, effected a landing in the Bay of Mapon, without the smallest opposition, the enemy having retired from Fort Marlastri, situated at the head of Grande Baye, and the nearest port to us which they occupied.-As soon as a sufficient part of the European force had been formed, it became neces sary to move forward, as the first five miles of the road lay through a very thick wood, which made it an object of the utmost importance not to give the enemy time to ec cupy it. Lieut..col. Smyth having been left with his brigade to cover the landing-place, with orders to follow next morning, the column marched about four o'clock, and succeeded in gaining the more open country, without any efforts having been made by the enemy to retard our progress, a few shot only having been fired by a small picquet, by which licut,-colonel Keating, lieut. Ash 1811.] Ash of his majesty's 12th regt, and few men of the advanced guard, were wounded. Having halted for a few hours during the night, the army again moved forward before daylight, with the intention of not halting till arrived before Port Louis; but the troops having become extremely exhausted, not only from the exertion which they had already made, but from having been almost totally deprived of water, of which this part of the country is destitute, I was compelled to take up a position at Moulin à Poudre, about five miles short of the town. -Early the next morning lieut, col. M'Leod, with his brigade, was detached to seize the batteries at Tombeau and Tortue, and open a communication with the fleet, as it had been previously arranged that we were to draw our supplies from these two points. The main body of the army, soon after it had moved off its ground, was attacked by a corps of the enemy, who, with several field-pieces, had taken a strong position, very favourable for attempting to make an impression on the head of the column, as it showed itself at the end of a narrow road with a thick wood on each flank. The European flank battalions, which formed the advanced guard, under the command of lieut.-colonel Campbell, of the 33d regt. and under the general direction of gen. Warde, formed with as much regularity as the bad and broken ground would admit of, charged the enemy with the greatest spirit, and compelled him to retire with the loss of his guns and many killed and wounded. This advantage was gained by the fall of lieut.-col. Campbell, a most excellent and valuable officer, as well as major O'Keefe of the 12th regt, whom I have also every reason sincerely to regret.-In the course Your lordship will perceive that being being permitted to return to their own country free from any engagement. In every other particular, we have gained all which could have been acquired, if the town had been carried by assault. [Major-gen. Abercromby then praises, in the warmest terms, the cheerfulness and patience with which the officers and men submitted to many privations, not being able to procure a sufficient supply of water for 24 hours.] POPULATION OF FRANCE. 16. The Parisian board of lon gitude has given the following statement, in round numbers, of the population of the empire, for 1811, distinguishing the inhabitants by the language they speak, and excluding the military: the French language, 27,916,000: Italian, 4,922,000; Flemish or Dutch, 4,411,000; German, 4,100,000; Lower Britany, 1,075,000.- Total inhabitants, 42,424,000. SWITZERLAND. 20. The decree for uniting the Valais, under the name of the Department of the Simplon, to the French empire, has been productive of much bloodshed. The inhabi tants, who enjoyed peculiar privi. leges, and who relied on the faith of former engagements, expressed great dissatisfaction on its being communicated to them; and requested permission of gen. count Cæsar Berthier, the emperor's commis. sary, to suspend its execution until they should send a deputation to Paris. Berthier told them, that his orders were peremptory, and that he dared not disobey. The decree was accordingly carried into execution. On the 3d Dec. intelligence was transmitted from Paris, that the deputies had been put under arrest. The populace immediately collected at Sion, before the resi dence of Berthier, who, finding it impossible to divert their indigna. tion, desired the troops to charge and disperse them. Before this order, however, could be effected, he was brought to the ground by a stone; and the troops, in attempt. ing to punish this insult, were repulsed by the populace, with a loss of 20 killed and wounded on both sides. CORRESPONDENCE OF LORD FRENCH AND MR. POLE. In consequence of its being distinctly understood at the Catholic meeting, held in the Committeerooms in Chapel-street on Satur day the 23d of February, that it was the wish of secretary Pole to see lord French, and any num ber of Catholic gentlemen, sir Edward Bellew, bart. Messrs. O'Connell, Keogh, Murphy, and M'Donnell, were approved of as the persons to accompany lord French. In the evening of the 23d, alderwith the two following notes, man Darley waited on lord French which he delivered in person: (Signed)"FREDERICK DARLEY. "To the right hon. lord French." "Dublin Castle, Feb. 23. "My lord,-In consequence of a communication from alderman Darley, I beg leave to state to your lordship, that I had intended sailing for England to-morrow evening; but that, if your lordship or any other of the Catholic gentle. men wish to see me, I shall postpone my intended journey till Monday 3 night, if it should be inconvenient and I did express the readiness for your lordship or your friends to call upon me to-morrow.-I have the honour to be, my lord, with great respect, your most obedient humble servant, "W. W. POLE. (Signed) "To the right hon. lord French." Alderman Darley requested of lord French a written answer to Mr. Pole, which his lordship stated he could not with propriety comply with, until he had conferred with the gentlemen who had been appointed to accompany him. On the departure of alderman Darley, lord French made immediate communication to the secretary, Mr. Hay, of the foregoing notes, with a request that the gentlemen appointed might be called together to meet lord French the next morning; and in consequence a meeting took place at one o'clock on Sunday, and the following was thence dispatched to Mr. Secretary Pole: "Dominick-street, Feb. 24. "Sir, I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your note of yesterday, stating, that in consequence of a communication with alderman Darley, though you had intended sailing for England this morning, yet if I, or any of the Catholic gentlemen, wished to see you, you would postpone the intended journey until Monday night, if it should be inconvenient to me or my friends to call upon you this day. I beg leave to return you thanks for the politeness of your communication. "I have submitted your note to the gentlemen who were appointed to accompany me on waiting on you, and I am desired respectfully to inform you, that we understood 'distinctly' from alderman Darley, that it was your wish' to see me and some other Catholic gentlenien; which pervades the gentlemen who composed the meeting of yester day, to afford you, sir, and every member of the government, any explanation you may require. "For this purpose I am ready to wait on you, with the gentleman alluded to, at three o'clock this day, in case it should be your wish to see us. "I have the honour to be, sir, with great respect, your most obedient humble servant, (Signed) "FRENCH. "To the right hon secretary Pole." "Dublin Castle, Feb. 24, halfpast two P. M. "My lord,-I have this moment the honour of receiving your note, in reply to mine, which was yes. terday delivered to your lordship by alderman Darley. Idid myself the honour of writing yesterday to your lordship, in consequence of having been informed by alderman Darley that you had stated, that if I had ex pressed a wish to see you, you would have had much pleasure in calling on me. In answer to this notification I desired alderman Darley to inform your lordship that I had nothing to communicate to you, but that, if your lordship or any of the Catholic gentlemen had any desire to see me, I would at all times be happy to receive you, Alderman Darley, in reply to this message, brought me word that your lord, ship and some Catholic gentlemen would call on me on Monday, if I wished to see them. "Feeling that I had from the first expressed that I could have no wish to give your lordship the trouble of calling upon me, but at the same time wishing to render it impossible that any inaccuracy in the delivering of the verbal messages, |
