fested. As one of the means for redress, it was resolved that an humble and dutiful address be presented to the Prince Regent, as soon as the restrictions on his authority should cease, upon the subject of the late invasion of their right to petition, and the insult offered to the Irish Catholics. By another resolution, the general committee of Catholies in Ireland was to be requested to assemble in Dublin on the 28th of February ensuing. The meeting closed with a vote of cordial thanks to Lord Fingal for his services. In this state the affairs of the Irish Catholics stood at the close of the year. The public tranquillity had been little disturbed in England, notwithstanding the pressure of the times, during the greatest part of the year; but before its termination, a series of disorders broke out which soon put on a serious aspect, and have been the prelude of a riotous and mischievous disposition in a large tract of the manufacturing districts, the effects

of which still continue to be the occasion of much trouble and alarm. Their commencement was in the neighbourhood of Nottingham, the hosiers of which town having been obliged, from the decrease of demand for their manufactures, to discharge many of their workmen, much distress necessarily ensued, for want of employment. This was enhanced by the new application of a certain wide frame in the weaving of stockings, whereby a considerable saving of manual labour was produced, and a consequent further diminution of hands. On November the 10th, a number of weavers assembling near Notting

ham, began forcibly to enter houses in which were frames of this kind, and destroy them. On the 11th they appeared before the house of a manufacturer at Bullwell, which was barricaded by the owner, who had also armed his men in its defence. On attempting to break in, the mob was fired at, and one person killed. This roused them to fury, and in increased numbers they renewed their attack, made an entry, the family having escaped to save their lives, and burnt every thing in the house. This act seemed a signal for more extensive outrages, which spread over the circumjacent towns and villages. Though the obnoxious frames were the chief object of their hostility, they began to declare enmity with millers, corndealers, and all whom they supposed instrumental in raising the price of provisions. The magistrates at length found it necessary to call in the aid of the military, but before any number of them could be collected, much further mischief was done. And after a sufficient force was stationed at Nottingham to suppress any open violations of the peace in that vicinity, the destruction of frames still continued, as it could be easily effected by small parties, which finished their business, and dispersed before notice was given of their assembling. Their proceedings appeared to be directed by a spirit of system that rendered them the more dangerous. The rioters assumed the name of Luddites, and acted under the authority of an imaginary Captain Ludd, which name seems to have signified not one

individual, but a secret committee of management. The spirit of tumult spread into the neighbouring counties of Derby and Leicester, in the manufacturing parts of which many frames were destroyed during the month of December, though Nottingham

shire still continued the principal scene of mischief, and an advance of pay to the workmen had not the desired effect of restoring order. Through the course of this year, however, the evil was confined to the districts of the hosiery manufacture.

HILE the land forces of

bordieu, a man of distinguished

ing laurels in the well-fought fields of the Peninsula, its navy, finding no adequate antagonist in the whole range of ocean, was reduced to such minor exploits as occasion presented, in which, however, it sufficiently manifested the superiority of its discipline and enterprise.

One of the most brilliant of these actions was the defeat of a combined French and Italian squadron off the Isle of Lissa, on the Dalmatian coast, by an English squadron under the command of Capt. Hoste, acting as commodore. The enemy's force, consisting of five frigates and six smaller armed vessels, sailed from Ancona, on the 13th, with 500 troops on board for the purpose of fortifying and garrisoning the Isle of Lissa. They were descried, on March 13th, lying to off the north part of the Island, by the English squadron of four frigates, the Amphion, Active, Cerberus, and Volage. The rench commodore, Mons. Du

riority of his force, bore down in two divisions under full sail to attack the English, which was formed in one close line to receive him. The action commenced at nine A. M. when the French commodore, failing in his attempt to break the English line, endeavoured to round the van ship, and thus place the English between two fires; but was so roughly handled in the attempt, that his ship became unmanageable, and went on shore on the rocks of Lissa. The action was still maintained with great fury, till two more of the enemy's ships struck. The remainder to windward then endeavoured to make off, but being pursued as well as the crippled state of the English would permit, the sternmost was compelled to surrender. Two of the frigates crowded sail for the port of Lessina, and the small craft dispersed in various directions, The result cf this very gallant action, in which the superior skill and steadiness of the English

was, that the French Commodore's ship, La Favorite, of 44 guns, was burnt, himself being killed in the engagement; the Corona of 44, and the Bellona of 32, were taken; the Flora of 44, after having struck her colours and ceased firing, taking advantage of the impossibility of being occupied during the heat of the action, according to the common, but dishonourable, practice of French ships, stole away and escaped, Captain Hoste in vain afterwards claiming her as a lawful prize. The surviving crew and troops of La Favorite were obliged to surrender at Lissa after the action. The loss of the English on this occasion amounted, in officers and seamen, to 50 killed and 150 wounded.

Near the close of April, intelligence having been received by Capt. Barrie, of the Pomone frigate, that some large French ships had put into the bay of Sagone in Corsica, he stood into the bay, in company with the Unité frigate and the Scout sloop, with an intention of taking a tower and battery which guarded it, by surprise. Finding the enemy, however, prepared, he abandoned that plan, and on the morning of May 1st, caused the ships to be towed in, and commenced an attack on the French vessels, which lay with their broadsides to the sea-ward, under the protection of the tower and battery. After a severe cannonade of an hour and half, the two larger French ships, La Giraffe and La Nournie, were observed to be on fire; and the flames communicating to the third, a merchantman, they all blew up, and the tower and battery were destroyed by

success was attended with but a moderate loss to the assailants. The French ships were laden with ship timber, and were of the burdens of 1100, 900, and 500 tons.

The capture of a whole flotilla, on the coast of Calabria, by an English frigate and a sloop, deserves recording, on account of the masterly manner in which it was effected, though the trifling resistance encountered on the occasion gave but little scope for the display of the habitual courage of British seamen. Capt. Napier, of the Thames, in a dispatch, dated July 21st, relates that being informed by Captain Clifford, of the Cephalus, of a convoy of 22 sail which he had compelled to take shelter in Porto del Infreschi, as they were attempting to proceed round Cape Palmura for Naples, the two ships made sail for that port, where they arrived at five in that evening. They directly steered in, and anchored; and having soon silenced a line of gun-boats, moored across for the protection of the merchantmen, they landed a body of marines, which gained possession of a tower and 80 men of its garrison, though the adjacent hills were lined with musqueteers. The boats at the same time took possession of the whole convoy; all of which were alongside, and the ships under weigh, in less than two hours, without a man killed, and only five wounded. The capture consisted of eleven French gun-boats, one armed felucca, fourteen merchant vessels and four rafts of large spars for the Neapolitan navy.

On Oct. 11th, his Majesty's fri

gate, Imperieuse, the Hon. Capt. Duncan, commander, attacked three of the enemy's gun boats, carrying each an 18 pounder and 32 men, moored under the walls of a strong fort near Positano, in the gulf of Salerno. The enemy were soon driven from their guns, and one of the gun-boats was sunk, by the fire of the Imperieuse, which, however, was unable to dislodge the men from their shelter in the fort. A party of marines and seamen, under the command of Lieutenants Travers and Pipon, was therefore landed, which gallantly forced its way into the bat tery, though defended by treble the number, and put them to flight, leaving 30 men behind them. The guns were then thrown over the cliff, the magazines destroyed, and the two remaining gun-boats were brought off with a very trifling loss on the side of the vic

tors.

A brilliant exploit of the army and navy combined took place at the latter end of the same month, on the coast of Naples. Two hundred and fifty soldiers of the 62d regiment, commanded by Major Darley, were disembarked from the Thames and Imperieuse frigates, with 50 marines under Lieut. Pipon, in the face of 900 of the enemy posted at Palinura, whom they attacked with fixed bayonets, and drove from their position. They then destroyed the enemy's batteries and cannon, and three gun-boats; captured six more with 20 merchantmen, and after staying two days on shore, re-embarked and returned with their prizes to Melazzo.

The capture and destruction of an entire convoy, in the Adriatic, VOL. LIII.

is related by Capt. Gordon of the Active, in a dispatch, dated off Ragosniza, July 27th. He states, that upon anchoring there he detached the boats of his ship, with the small-arm men and marines, under the command of Lieut. Hen derson, to attack an enemy's convoy which had run above the island on which the town of Ragosniza stands, and had taken shelter in a creek on the main. As the entrance was narrow, and protected by three gun-boats, the lieutenant landed his armed men to take possession of a hill which appeared to command the creek, leaving orders with the boats to push for the gun boats the moment a signal should be made from the hill. The attack thus concerted was executed with so much spirit and precision, that the enemy was presently put to flight, leaving a number of killed and wounded; and the whole convoy was seized, of which, 18 vessels with the gun. boats were brought away, and 10 were burnt. They were chiefly laden with grain for the garrison of Ragusa, and were defended on shore by 300 armed men, who, however, were so panic struck, that the whole loss sustained by the assailants was four men wounded in the boats.

On Aug. 3d, the boats of the squadron lying off Heligoland, performed a gallant exploit by boarding, under a tremendous fire, and capturing, four of the enemy's gun-boats at the Isle of Nordeney, on the Danish coast, which were drawn up in line, and prepared to receive them. The British loss on this occasion was four killed, and fourteen wounded.

On the 19th of the same month, [H]