ceeded to join the guards, covered by its own flank companies, and by a piquet of the guards."-His lord. ship proceeds to state, that no troops of the enemy appeared, and that there was no concourse of inhabitants. People of all ranks in the city, in the villages, and on the public road, were extremely civil. Had any disturbance been intended, or had any been accidentally excited, the embarkation would have been equally secure from insult, the place selected being open and level, and out of the range of fire from the crown battery or citadel, but commanded by his majesty's light ships of war. The brow, or stage itself, from which the troops embarked, was judiciously and inge niously contrived by sir Home Popham, to answer equally the purposes of embarkation and defence. A small vessel, a praam, and a floating battery, were fastened successively to each other on the beach; the two first being planked over, and the last beyond them having several guns of large calibre prepared for action in an oblique direction, and manned by seamen. The flat-boats drew up on the two sides of the praam, and the gun. boats, which also received troops, were placed behind the floating bat. tery, so that, as soon as the brigade of artillery was embarked, the troops marched to their boats, and the whole put off to their respective ships; after which the floating battery and praam were destroyed.

Copy of a Letter from Admiral Gambier, to the Hon. W. W. Pole, dated on-board is Majesty's Ship the Prince of Wales, off CopenhaEen, the 20th October, 1807.

SIR,

I have the honour to acquaint you, for the information of the lords commissioners of the Admiralty, that the whole of the Danish fleet being equipped (except two unser. viccable ships of the line, and two frigates, which have been destroy. ed), and the arsenal cleared of the stores, the army has been re-embarked; and that I shall proceed with the first favourable wind to carry into execution the instructions I have received from the lord viscount Castlereagh. Having so far accomplished the service on which I have been employed, I feel it my duty to state the great activity, energy, and zeal, which have been shewn by vice-admiral Stanhope and rear-admiral sir Sam. Hood, in superintending the equip ment of the Danish ships, and the embarkation of the stores from the arsenal; nor has the same spirit been less manifest in the captains, officers, seamen, and marines, who have all executed their respective parts in the general exertion with a promptitude and alacrity, which have not only entitled them to my warmest thanks and praise, but will, I doubt not, when the aggregate result of their labour is considered, obtain for them the approbation of their sovereign, and the applause of the nation. In the space of six weeks, sixteen sail of the line, nine frigates, fourteen sloops of war, and smaller vessels, beside gun-boats, have been fitted for sea, and all the large ships laden with masts, spars, timber, and other stores, from the arsenal, from whence also 92 cargoes have been shipped on-board transports, and other vessels chartered for the purpose, the sum of

whose

whose burthen exceeds 20,000 tons. A considerable number of masts and spars have been put on-board the Leyden and Inflexible, which were well adapted for this purpose, and some valuable stores on-board his majesty's ships; nor can I forbear to remark, that such was the emulation among the several ships of the fleet to which the Danish ships were respectively attached for equipment, that within nine days 14 sail of the line were brought out of the harbour, although several of them un derwent, in our hands, considerable repairs. Of the three ships on the stocks, two have been taken to pieces, and the useful part of their timber brought away; and the third, being in a considerable state of for wardness, was sawed in various parts, and suffered to fall over. On a review of the whole, I think it may be asserted, without derogating from the merit of any former service, that the characteristic activity of British officers, seamen, and marines, was never more zealously exerted than on this occasion; but I must not omit, at the same time, to inform their lordships, that a very considerable proportion of the labour of the arsenal has been performed with equal zeal and energy by large working parties from the army, whose exertions entitle them to the same praise.

I beg leave to express the great satisfaction I have felt from the zealous and attentive services of rearadmiral Essington, to whom the general superintendance of the nume rous transports, and the re-embar. kation of the army, with all its artillery and stores, had been committed. I embrace this opportunity to make a particular acknowledg.

ment of the very able and judicious dispositions which rear- admiral Keats has made from time to time of the force under his command, for guarding the Belt; and the vigilant attention which his whole squadron have paid to this impor tant branch of the service. Sir Home Popham has not ceased to manifest his usual zeal and ability in the assistance he has rendered mo in the various services of the fleet; and I should not do justice to the diligent attention and arduous endeavours of captain Mackenzie to fulfil the civil duties of the arsenal, which were committed to his ma nagement and superintendance, if I do not, on this occasion, express my warm approbation of his exer. tions; and I beg leave to recom. mend him to their lordships' favour. able notice. I have the honour to transmit herewith a list of the Danish ships and vessels which have been brought away, and of those destroyed. The account of the stores shipped from the arsenal shall also be sent as soon as the se veral returns can be collected and arranged.

I have the honour to be, &c.
J. GAMBIER,

N. B. The list of the Danish ships found at Copenhagen has been already published. Two ships of the line and two frigates have been destroyed.

Whitehall, Nov. 3.--The king has been pleased to grant the dignities of baron and viscount of the united kingdom of Great-Britain and Ireland, unto the right hon. William baron Cathcart, knight of the most ancient order of the thistle, and lieutenant-general of his majesty's

forces,

alliance could justly require; but that a single step beyond the line of modified hostility, thus most re. luctantly consented to, must necessarily lead to the extremity of actual war.

The priuce regent, however, suffered himself for a moment to forget that, in the present state of Europe, no country could be permit. ted to be an enemy to England with impunity, and that however much his majesty might be disposed to make allowance for the deficiency of the means possessed by Portugal of resistance to the power of France, neither his own dignity, nor the interests of his people, would permit his majesty to accept that excuse for a compliance with the full extent of her unprincipled demands. On the 8th instant, his royal highness was induced to sign an order for the detention of the few British subjects, and of the inconsiderable portion of British property, which yet remained at Lisbon. On the publication of this order, I caused the arms of England to be removed from the gates of my residence, demanded my passports, presented a final re. monstrance against the recent conduct of the court of Lisbon, and proceeded to the squadron commanded by sir Sidney Smith, which arrived off the coast of Portugal some days after I had received my passports; and which I joined on the 17th instant.

I immediately suggested to sir Sidney Smith the expediency of establishing the most rigorous blockade at the mouth of the Tagus; and I had the high satisfaction of afterwards finding, that I had thus anticipated the intentions of his majesty; your dispatches (which I received by the messenger Sylvester,

on the 23d) directing me to autho. rize that measure, in case the Por. tuguese government should pass the bounds which his majesty had thought fit to set to his forbearance, and attempt to take any farther step injurious to the honour or interest of Great Britain.

Those dispatches were drawn up under the idea that I was still resi dent at Lisbon; and though I did not receive them until I had actually taken my departure from that court, still, upon a careful consideration of the tenor of your instructions, I thought that it would be right to act as if that case had not occurred.

resolved, therefore, to proceed forthwith to ascertain the effect produced by the blockade of Lisbon, and to propose to the Portuguese government, as the only condition upon which that blockade could cease, the alternative (stated by you) either of surrendering the fleet to his majesty, or of immediate. ly employing it to remove the prince regcut and his family to the Brazis. I took upon myself this responsib lity in renewing negociations after my public functions had actually ceased; convinced that although it was the fixed determination of hu majesty not to suffer the fleet of Portugal to fall into the possession of his enemies, still his majesty's first object continued to be the ap plication of that fleet to the origi nal purpose of saving the royal fa mily of Braganza from the tyranny of France.

I accordingly requested an an dience of the prince regent, toge ther with due assurances of protec tection and security; and upon r ceiving his royal highness's answer, I proceeded to Lisbon on the 27th, in his majesty's ship Confiance.

bearing

bearing a flag of truce. I had im. mediately most interesting commu. nications with the court of Lisbon, the particulars of which shall be more fully detailed in a future dispatch. It suffices to mention in this place, that the prince regent wisely directed all his apprehensions to a French army, and all his hopes to 40 English fleet; that he received the most explicit assurances from me that his majesty would gene. rously overlook those acts of unwilling and momentary hostility to which his royal highness's consent had been extorted; and that I pro. ised to his royal highness, on the faith of my sovereign, that the Bri. tish squadron before the Tagus should be employed to protect his retreat from Lisbon, and his voyage to the Brazils.

A decree was published yester. day in which the prince regent announced his intention of retiring to the city of Rio de Janeiro until the conclusion of a general peace, and of appointing a regency to transact the administration of go. vernment at Lisbon, during his roy. al highness's absence from Europe. This morning the Portuguese fleet left the Tagus. I had the honour to accompany the prince in his passage over the Bar. The fleet consisted of eight sail of the line, four large frigates, several armed brige, sloops, and corvettes, and a number of Brazil ships, amounting, I believe, to about thirty-six sail in all. They passed through the British squadron, and his majesty's ships red a salute of twenty-one guns, which was returned with an equal number. A more interesting specta

cle than that afforded by the junction of the two fleets has been rarely beheld.

Oa quitting the prince regent's ship, I repaired on-board the Hi. bernia, but returned immediately, accompanied by sir Sidney Smith, whom I presented to the prince, and who was received by his royal highness with the most marked and gracious condescension.

I have the honour to enclose lists & of the ships of war which were known to have left Lisbon this morning, and which were in sight a few hours ago. There remain at Lisbon four ships of the line, and the same number of frigates, but only one of each sort is serviceable.

I have thought it expedient to lose no time in communicating to his majesty's government the im. portant intelligence contained in this dispatch. I have therefore to apologise for the hasty and imper. fect manner in which it is written. I have the honour to be, &c. STRANGFORD.

Admiralty Office, Dec. 21. Dispatches, of which the following are Extracts and Copies, were received at this Office on Saturday last, by Captain Yeo, of his Ma. jesty's sloop the Confiance, from Rear-Admiral Sir William Sidney Smith, addressed to the hon. William Wellesley Pole. His Majesty's ship Hibernin, 22 leagues west of the Tagus, Dec. 1,1807.

SIR,

missioners