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GLEANINGS
T ROM LATE ENGLISH PAPERS
Jl •
Rome, August i.
On the 31st ult. the pope published
a proclamation, refpe&ing the pre
tended manifefto of the Christian and
royal army, addrefied to the French
nation, in which all the re&Ors and
Vicars, not appointed according to the
real canonical precepts, arefummoned
to come forth to receive their lawful
vocation, from a person calling him
felf bilhop of Agra, and one of the
pope’s apoflolic vicars.
Hisholinefs in the said proclamation
declares, that he knows nothing of
filch a call*; that there is no such per
son as bilhop of Agra in being ; and
that his pretended apostolic million is
a falfliood. His holiness charges all
the orthodox bilhops, especially those
of Lyons and Poitou, to warn their
flock agairift the aflumed authority of
the pretended prelate, and to induce
the latter to delift from his past con
dutt, that the faithful may not be
seduced into error.
FRANKFORT, September 7.
The eledlor of Saxony has pub
lilhed a mandate, by which the bur
ghers are in future to be confuicred as
fit and competent for filling those of
fices, in the state, that have hitherto
been occupied by the nobles only,
the highest lituation not excepted.
VIENNNA, September 24.
Orders were lent by our court to
the commander in chief of the armies,
to keep back no more French prison
ers than is necelfary, in order to ex
change the prifonersfrorn the combin
ed armies that are fallen into the
hands of the enemies, and to have the
others transported to Guntzlburg,
from whence they are to take flipping
on the Danube, for the Banat of Te
mafwaer. The garrilons of the sur
rendered towns, in future, are not to
take an oath not to serve for a limited
time against the combined powers, on
account of the French officers and
soldiers having broke their parole of
honour, as well as their oaths.
TREVES, September 30.
The republican general who com
manded at Bliei'caflel has deserted to
the allied army. This desertion, it
is laid, produced the defeat at Blief
call'd, and enabled the king of Prus
sia to purlue his march to St. Igbert
and Hornbeck. The Pfulfians, how
ever, did not think proper to proceed
to Saarbruck,, which is itrongly in
trenched and defended by cannon.
COLOGNE, October 1.
General count Kalkreuth, at the
head of a body of Prullians, attacked,
on the 26th ult. the French camp at
Bliefcail'el, which he carried, after a
cannonade which laded for two hours.
The French retreated towards Frau
enberg.
After the conqued of Bliefcaflel, the
French, who in linall numbers occu
pied the heighth of Warweiller, aban
doned that pod, and from thence,
and from the poll of Mittelbach, ad
-1 vanced to the heights in the neigh
bourhood of Hornbach, and to Rimf
chweller; those who occupied the
latter pod, made another attack on
the 27th, behind the Galgenberg,
where there was a brilk firing of mul
v'letry, followed by several difeharges
‘or cannon ; but about noon they re
tired to Hornbach.
On the 28th we were informed of
, the important news, that the French
, had .evacuated Hornbach, and the
camp of Schweigen ; and that they
had retreated to a league didance
from Bitfch, in such a manner that
. there is none of them on the German
y-itory.
PARIS, October 3.
The official accounts from the ar
mies are read every day in the con
vention, before the young men who
pass this capital from the different der
partments to join the armies, and who
are admitted to the honors of the fit
ting. This is done with a view to
inspire them with courage and enthu
fialm for the cause in which they are
embarked.
HAGUE, October 6.
Nothing having yet been heard of
the Swiss battalion of Hohenloe, it is
supposed they were entirely cut to
pieces or taken prisoners. We have
received the agreeable information,
that the conferences between the
Austrian general Ferraris and the
king of Prulfia, upon the plan of ope
rations to be purl'ued in future, has
terminated to the mutual fatisfaclion
of both parties, and that in conle
quence of this the entire blockade of
Landau was determined upon.
LONDON, O&ober 2.
Mr. Neckar has been arrested at
his country retirement at Coptat, by
order of the emperor. This proceed
ing is said to be in consequence of an
examination of M. Semonville’s pa
pers, which have brought many plots
and counterplots to light.
OBober 7.
The camp fever , which, we are
lorry to learn, now rages in the duke
of York’s army, mull render their
removal to a more healthy fituat ion
absolutely necelfary. The diftrefies
of the men are farther aggravated,
from the uncommon scarcity offtraw.
The East India company have ta
ken the very extraordinary number
of forty-leven fliips for the ensuing
season, and have ordered several of
them, with soldiers and ammunition,
to be in the Downs at lb early a pe
riod as the 19th of next November.
These two uncommon circumstances
fliew, that the Laft-Imlia dirc&or*
are at length seriously alarmed for
the fafety of their East-India pofTel
(ions which they have to this day
to completely negle&ed. The arri
val of French commilfioners at Pon
dicherry, makes it evident that the
national convention mean to pay great
attention to that important quarter.
These commilfioners having arrived
at Pondicherry tome time in April
last, muff have failed from France
tome weeks previous to the declara
tion of war. The early fending of
them confirms the report of the fail
ing of that fleet from Brest for the
East-Indies, which was seen by the
Edgar, the Bedford, and the Phaeton
frigates about the middle of March
last, and was overtaken by admiral
Gardner’s fleet, and observed by the
lphigenia , about the middle of April
following, in lat. 17, about two hun
dred miles to the westward of the
Cape Verde Islands.
This French fleet will have found
no other British naval force what
ever in India, but the Minerva fri
gate, on which commodore Cornwal
lis’s flag is hoisted.
oßober 9.
Lord Howe has made two attempts
to get down the channel; but the
contrary winds have forced him back,
and still detain him in Torbay. It
was supposed that his chief object for
getting out, was to proted our home
ward-bound convoys : These have
arrived in fafety. It is now conjec
tured in the fleet, that tome more im
portant expedition is intended.
o ßober 10.
The success of the exchequer-bill
aft hits been complete. The firft in
ftalment, being one-fourth of the
whole sum advanced, was repaid to
the exchequer even before the day
named in the aft, without the least
defalcation or loss. Thus the other
inffahnents are secured, and there is
no longer any rilk in refpeft to any
part of the money to opportunely ad
vanced to save public credit.
oßober 12.
It is apprehended that the winter
political campaign in Ireland will be
one of the moft interesting that ever
occurred- The people there a<ft with
moderation, but with finnnefs. The
thousands of manufadurers starving
about the streets are really shocking
to refled upetn. This they juffly at~
tribute to the war, against which pe
titions are preparing ih every town
and county. How these will be re
ceived totally depends on the resolu
tions of our cabinet as to the continu
ance of the war or not. But at all
events, the people exped: that the
prayers of their petitions will have the
effed of putting a flop to the further
effufion of blood.
Mr. Dundas has consented to go
into a committee of the house ot com
mons, to confider of the existing a
buses in the royal boroughs of Scot,
land. 11 is strange that what is deemed
necelfary at this period in that coun -
try, is in England pronounced almost
treasonable and libellous. Ireland has
consented alto to enquire into the ne
cefiity of a parliamentary reform ;
but here, any thing that has thefhape
of reformation is scouted by those very
men in power, whose braying for
merly in support of such a measure,
was heard from one extremity of the
three kingdoms to the other.
O Bober 13.
We understand that a magpie was
last week apprehended on a charge of
having chattered seditious w ords. It
had been trained up by a noted house
breaker, who whilst he entered the
houses, used to let it to watch, and,
in order to prevent detedion, made
it oblerve the rules of contrary, that
is, whenever any body was coming,
it was taught to cry, “ No thing.”
A certain alderman hearing it, im
mediately swore that it said — <e no
king •/’ and had it taken up, when
after a minute enquiry into its politi
cal principles, and the company it u
sually kept, it was committed for fur
ther examination. It was observed
to wag its tail several times, which
was conlidered a contempt of court.
TOULON.
The town of Toulon lies in a nar
row vale, having high mountains on
both Tides. There are only two
roads which lead into the town, the
one from Marseilles and the other
along the coast, on the fide of the
neighbouring islands. An army which
would approach Toulon, by the means
of these islands, is exposed to the fire
ot the ships that lie in the bay, to that
of the small forts, and particularly
from the fort of Malgue, which
commands the road up to the village
of La Valette. This fort has com
munication with the town, by means
of aftrong covered way, which facili
tates the fuccouring the town with
provitions and reinforcements. On
the road from Marseilles a marlhy
ground must he palled, which extends
to near two leagues, and is lurround
ed with high mountains. On the
foot of the mountain there is another
road, but is 1b narrow that two car
riages cannot pass each other. Two or
3CCO men placed in the pass of Oul
lioules, have it in their power to re
fill a numerous army, on account of
their protection by that polition, as
well as by the forts which are dispers
ed all along the mountains.
The arsenal of Toulon has ever
been reckoned the fined in Europe,
and the harbour is able to contain a
bove 1500 fail of ships.
People differ much in opinion,
whether Toulon will be taken by the
French republicans, or not. The
quedion depends upon another fatt ;
which is, whether the republican ar
my are in pofleflion of those hills, e s.
pecially St. Ann ’ Hill, by which Too.
lon is completely commanded. ] t
the republicans are in pofleflion 0 f
them, they will probably take the
place, the more to, as the fortificaii.
on is of no strength ; only one ditch
and a dry one too, the Ihore oil
which the town Hands being higher
than the level of the sea. Nowit
seems that the republicans are really
in pofleflion of those important hills
here mentioned. The PYench com,
milfioners fay they are so, though
that may be only a boast ; but admi.
ral Hood does not mention in any 0 f
his letters, that he has been able to
occupy those hills. In fad, his find
force was too small to allow him to
think of occupying them iri the be.
ginning; and the French army ar.
rived before he could have received
any reinforcement.
The lituation of the French repub.
lican army now before Toulon, has
been compared to that of the allied
army who besieged that town in the
year 1 707, and who mifearried ; hut
the allied army lay under important
disadvantages, under which, it mull
be confefled, the pre ent French ar
my do not lie. The whole country
behind the allied army was hoftileto
them, so that they toon wanted pro
visions ; but the present republican
army are aflifted by the country be
hind. In the second place, an army
was sent from Alsace and Brifgaw,
through a march of four hundred
miles, who farther disturbed the al
lied army, and finally compelled
them to raise the siege; but there is
no probability of an army coming
from the land fide to disturb the re.
publican army- M. De Voltaire ad
mits, that if the allies had used a lit
tie more dispatch, had a&ed with due.
precaution, and had better concert
ed their operations together, they
would have taken the place. To
which add, that the allies were hin
dered by the numerous garrison that
was then in Toulon, from occupying
the important pest of St. Ann's TTih.
The fate of Toulon is, upon the
whole, a very problematic question.
It appears by lord Mulgrave’s last
dispatch, that on the 16th of last
month, no reinforcement had yet ar
rived to the small British and Spanifti
force in Toulon. It alto plainly ap.
pears now, from the direct expreilions
in the dispatch, that the republicans
were in pofleflion of the hill: the
British and Spanish force are even ex
pressly said, in that dispatch, to have
conflantly remained on the defenjive, in
order to avoid- being fatigued, instead of
having attempted to occupy the hills;
which defenfive state was no doubt
owing to the lmallnefs of their num
ber. If no capital reinforcement,
such as nine or ten thousand rnen,
have arrived at Toulon, previous to
the 27th or 28th of last month, we
must exped to hear, that admiral
Hood and admiral Gravina have been
forced to evacuate the place.
The fortifications of Toulon are of
no strength ; only one dry ditch. The
reaton is, that if those who defend
the place, are masters of the hills, the
fortification is strong enough ; bqt if
those who attack the place are masters
of the Hills, especially of St. Ann’s
Hill, no fortification against them can
be strong; it was therefore useless
to fortify the town more than it is.