from this "friend of regular government, in the sum of £1,500.--The profits, the bare profits of these agents, or, at least," social order, and our holy religion," as their allowance for agency, amounts to up- JOHN BOWLES has it, which paper is also wards of forty thousand pounds a year. worthy of the attention of that "thinking" Between three and four millions of the pub- public. lic money pass through their hands in the course of the year; and yet, all the security they give is £1,500.--The money may, perhaps, be very safe in their hands; but, what reason can there be for their not giving security for every regiment, as well as for the one, for which they do give security?The allowance for the agency to the whole of the army is little more than £80,000 a year. This house swallows up more than the half of the sum; and, surely, they ought to give proportional security. -It is said, in answer to this, that the several Colonels are responsible for the agent of their choice; and, that, if the agent fail, the public come upon the Colonel. But, Sir David Dundas, being then Commander in Chief, was asked by the Military Commissioners, whether he regarded the Colonels as being really responsible in such a case, said that he did not think that they were responsible. Now, if he, and in his then situation, could give such an opinion, I leave the reader to guess who would have to pay the piper in case of the failure of an agent.- -But, suppose the Colonels to be responsible by law, who is to be answerable for their ability? You cannot, as the saying is, get blood out of a flint stone, which is only saying, that you cannot get money from a man who has no money; and, as to the putting of a Colonel in jail, you cannot do that if he be a member of parliament; and, in cases where you can do it, the power could not be exercised without a great injury to the service, supposing the Colonel to be of any use. What, for instance, would be the mode of getting redress for the public if the agent of Sir George Prevost were to fail, and Sir George too poor to pay the debt? Would you send out a writ against him to Canada? -In short, this " responsibility" of the Colonel must, it is very clear, he merely nominal; and, it is equally clear, that the public ought to have, for the money issued for every corps, a good and real security. -Whether "the Guardians of the pub"lic purse" will think as I do is another matter, those Gentlemen and I being so very apt to differ in our opinions. MR. CHINNERY.There is a paper respecting the balance due to the public The amount of this balance exceeds eighty thousand pounds, about equal in amount to the nett produce of the Duty on Hops for three years! But, there are some particular items that I think it right to notice.--He is stated to have received and to have paid £647 15s. 10d. to a Mr. Briarly "for expenses of Merino sheep." Now, I am yet to learn, that this" public" have ever possessed any Merino sheep. I have heard of the king having some given him by the Spanish government; I have heard too of his sales of sheep; but, I never observed that any of the proceeds of those sales were carried to the credit of this famous "public;" and, I am yet to learn the reason why this same public should have been charged with any expenses relating to Merino sheep. The king gave some of these sheep away; but, I always understood, that they belonged to him, and not to the public. So that, I say again, that I can see no reason whatever for the public being saddled with this expense, especially as the king's privy purse, exclusive of all the expenses of his household, is so amply supplied by this same "public."--If I were a member of parliament, I would certainly inquire how the people came to have any thing to do with this expense.- ---The sheep were given to the king; he did what he pleased with them; he sold them or kept them or gave them away; and, therefore, if the people refrained from all inquiry into the cause or the motive of the gift, they, surely, could have nothing to do with the expense of bringing or managing the sheep.From another item it appears, that Chinnery received, from 1805 to 1807, £110,395, and for what purpose, think you? Why "To be paid to Count Munster for "THE SERVICE OF HANO"VER." Of this he still owes, £5,256. But, the main thing here is, that this great sum was issued for the service of Hanover; and, bear in mind, that it was issued from the public treasure, because, as the account states, the balance is " due to the public." -Now, we see, then, that Hanover has cost us this sum, and that very recently, too. Here is a sum equal to the nett duty on slarch for two years. -This sum is not to be supposed to have gone to our army in Hanover (if we had any troops there at the time), nor to any part of our service; to pay for it is expressly stated to have been for 66 vate money, public;" so that it must have been the money of the public, and not his own prithat was issued to Chinnery to the amount of £41,117.-I should like very much to see these matters explained. -We are often reviled for cavilling at such trifles; but, if I were to take all the sums that I think I can show to be expended unnecessarily, and set them against the nett proceeds of different heads of taxes, I should make any thinking reader stare. Great sums are made up of small sums; but, it is so on the one side as well as on the other.However, perhaps, it is hardly worth while to plague one's self about the matter, when not a few of those whom you talk to about it are, perhaps, only thinking all the while how they shall get in for a share of what you wish to save. -The Civil List, however, must come under my fingers. I cannot bring myself to let that pass unexplained. WM. COBBETT. evening, receive your reply to the present (REPLY.) His Britannic Majesty's Ship Poictiers, in the Mouth of the Delaware, March 23, 1813. "Sir,-In reply to your letter received this day, by a flag of truce, in answer to mine of the 16th inst. I have to observe, that the demand I have made upon Lewistown is, in my opinion, neither ungenerous nor wanting in that magnanimity which one nation ought to observe to another, with which it is at war. It is in my power to destroy your town, and the request I have made upon it, as the price of its security, is neither distressing nor unusual. I must, therefore, persist; and whatever sufferings may fall upon the inhabitants of Lewistown, must be attributed to yourselves by your not complying with a request so easily acquiesced in.- -I have the honour to be, &c. J. P. BERESFORD, Commodore, and commanding H. B. M. Squadron in the Delaware." OFFICIAL PAPERS. AMERICAN WAR. (Continued from page 768.) FRENCH NAVAL WAR. Paris, April 28.-Extract from the Report of a Captain Baivit, Commander of his Majesty's frigate the Arethusa, to the Minister of Marine.-On board the Arethusa, April 19, 1813. · British Magistrate of Lewis.The respect which After describing the destruction of a few generous and magnanimous nations, even vessels, the latter proceeds to give an acwhen they are enemies, take pride in che-count of his action with the rishing towards each other, enjoins it upon me, as a duty I owe to the State over which I have the honour at this time to preside, to the Government of which this State is a member, and to the civilized world, to inquire of you whether, upon further and more mature reflection, you continue resolved to attempt the destruction of this town? I shall, probably, this frigate. I commenced the firing by a discharge of my whole broadside, which was immediately returned by the enemy. A furious engagement then took place, in which our vessels seemed to be joined by a column of smoke. We had been foul of each other for several minutes, and during an hour and a half we had not been more than a pistol shot off each other. -Mean while our fire appeared to me to surpass that of the enemy, and at the close of an hour and a half, our superiority seemed to me sufficiently certain to endeavour to board him. I hauled on the wind, but the braces and bow-lines being cut to pieces, both fore and aft, by the enemy's shot, it was not possible for me to get any closer to him. The enemy on his side made more sail. His fire, which had nearly ceased, became brisker, when he had opened our distance, and did considerable damage to our rigging. At 11 o'clock the fire ceased on both sides.We were no longer in good condition, and the enemy setting a Crowd of sail, abandoned the field of battle to us. I had nothing more at heart, than to have the necessary work done for making sail, hauling upon a wind, and pursuing our advantage. The Arethusa had suffered enormously; 20 men killed outright, had been thrown into the sea during the engagement; 88 more, grievously wounded, were down in the Surgeon's birth, and excepting the Master Carpenter, all my naval officers were killed or wounded; such men as were only slightly wounded, had not quitted their posts, or had returned to them after having their wounds dressed, and in the midst of this scene of carnage, the fourth part of the crew left wished only for recommencing the attack. -It was calm the whole night, which we passed in repairing the ship.-At break of day, the enemy was laying to the South East of us, at about a league and half distance, standing to the Southward, with all sail set, with a light breeze from the N. E.- -I then occupied myself solely with the fate of Capt. Olivier, whom I had left with his crew on the Isles de Los, for which islands I shaped my course, and got sight of them the next day, being the 9th. In the afternoon we got sight of a three-masted ship coming out from there. I judged it to be the Serra, and passed the night in standing off and on. It proved, indeed, to be that vessel; I joined her in the morning of the 10th. Capt. Olivier, with his whole crew, were on board her. He had embarked in this prize, as I had advised him, after having destroyed the remains of the Rubes, which it was impossible to get afloat again. He was making his passage for France, notwithstanding all the risks and confinement attending a long voyage, with 300 men on board a vessel of 300 tons burden, in bad condition, and exceedingly badly provisioned. This worthy and unfortunate Captain and his compa nions saw us again with inexpressible joy, which the happiness of our being useful to them, caused us to partake of in a still more lively degree.I have taken half the Rube's crew on board the Arethusa, and took the Serra in tow until we reached the latitude of Madeira. There I took on board every thing out of the vessel, and then destroyed her, as she retarded my voyage. I passed several days in cruizing off the Azore, where I fell in with two flags of truce, which were carrying the crew of the Java frigate to England. I have chased several English corvettes, but which I could not come up with.- -On the 19th I entered St. Maloes, having only ten days' provisions left. In the course of my cruize, I have taken 15 of the enemy's vessels. I have every reason to be satisfied with the zeal and progress in instruction made by those of our conscripts, who now made their first campaign, and I cannot bestow sufficient praise on the officers, masters, and seamen of all classes of my company; they have all rivalled each other in giving proofs of their courage and devotion under all circumstances; and the ability with which I have been seconded by the officers, is superior to any eulogium I can bestow on them. NORTHERN WAR. Proclamation, issued by the Imperial General Baron Von Winzingerode. It is a usual measure with the enemies of all justice, to treat with the greatest severity all places and persons, which, on the approach of the Allied Army, by word or deed, express the sentiments with which all true Germans are inspired, whenever a change in the position of the troops brings them again into such neighbourhood. This induces me, once for all, to make the express declaration, that I shall put in force the right of retaliation in its greatest latitude, for all such violences which have been committed in the absence of the troops under his command, not only on the dishonourable German mercenaries that are in my power, but likewise for such purpose seize the next Civil Magistrate that shall render himself suspected of disaffection. Every punishment by death will unavoid ably and instantly be followed on my side by a similar proceeding; and by such mean every country will receive some compensa tion for its loss of worthies, by the diminu tion of those, who, for a base gain, betray ORDER OF THE DAY: jesty the Emperor and King, our very dear By the Empress Regent, He Paris, May 15.--Her Majesty the Empress Queen and Regent has received the following intelligence respecting the situation of the army, dated the 10th, at night: April 23.-The corps is herewith informed, that an engagement took place in the vicinity of Ottersberg and Rothersburg, between the van-guard under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Von Benkindorff and the enemy, in which the latter was defeated and put to flight, with the loss of 100 prisoners, his baggage, and several hundreds killed and wounded. By the attack of our cavalry the enemy, who was 3,000 strong, was forced to confine his movements to the high-road, and the well-di-On the 9th, Colonel Lasalle, Director rected fire of our artillery soon compelled him to make a speedy retreat.The judicious conduct of Lieutenant-Colonel Von Benkindorff, and the distinguished behaviour of Lieutenant Von Berg, of the Staff, Russmenko, of the Artillery, and Pawlow, of the Issum Regiment of Hussars, which was the principal cause of the successful issue of the battle, deserve my thanks, which I herewith return those Gentlemen. It is with peculiar satisfaction that I have received the information, that the squadrons of the Hanseatic Legion, which had a share in the engagement, have behaved themselves in a manner becoming the brave defenders of their country. (Signed) The Imperial Russian Maj.-Gen. Count Von TETTEN BORN. Hamburgh, April 23. FRENCH PAPERS. Paris, May 14.-In the name of the The Empress-Queen and Regent to M. the M. Bishop of --The victory gained on the fields of Lutzen, by his Ma of the bridge-equipage, began to replace 795] ing had from twelve to fifteen pieces of their | in the afternoon. This day (the 10th) the Emperor has marched the division of Charpentier into the new town, by the bridge of Dresden; and now, to night, the bridge being finished, the whole army is passing over to The enemy the right bank of the river. -The King of Saxony slept at Sedlitz. All the Saxon cavalry serve as appears to be retreating to the Oder. The Prince of Moskwa is at Wittenburgh; General Lauriston at Torgau ; General Regnier has resumed the command of the 7th corps, composed of the Saxon contingent, and the division Durutte.--The 4th, 6th, -We have also intercepted a number of 11th, and 12th corps will pass by the bridge of Dresden to-morrow, at break of estafettes from Berlin to Prague.-Her day. The young and old guard is around Majesty the Empress Queen and Regent has Dresden. The second division of the guard, received the following account with regard commanded by General Barrois, arrives to the situation of the army on the evening this day at Altenbourg.The King of of the 12th of May:--On the 12th, at ten in the morning the imperial guards Saxony, who has directed his course towere drawn up in battalion on the road from wards Prague, in order to be nearer his Pirna to Gross-Garten. The Emperor recapital, will repair to Dresden in the course of to-morrow. The Emperor has sent an viewed them. The King of Saxony, who escort of 500 of his guard to receive and slept the night before at Sedlitz, arrived at Two thousand of the mid-day. The two Sovereigns alighted accompany him. enemy's cavalry have been cut off from the from horseback, embraced each other, and Elbe, as well as a great quantity of bag- then entered Dresden, at the head of the gage, patrols, light troops, and Cossacks. guards, amidst the acclamations of an immense population. It formed a very fine They appear to have taken refuge in Bosight. At three o'clock the Emperor hemia. Paris, May 17.-Her Majesty the Em-reviewed the division of cavalry of General press Queen and Regent has received the following accounts with regard to the situation of the armies, on the evening of the 11th May: -The Viceroy had advanced with the 11th corps to Beschoffswerder; General Bertrand, with the 4th corps, to Koenigsbruck; the Duke of Ragusa, with the 6th corps, to Reichenbach; the Duke of Reggio, to Dresden; the young and old -The Prince of guards, to Dresden. Moskwa entered Torgau on the morning of the 11th, and took a position on the right bank, one march from that fortress. Gen. Lauriston arrived the same day at Torgau with his corps, at three in the afternoon. -The Duke of Belluno, with the 2d corps, has marched upon Wittenburg; as well as General Sebastiani's corps of cavalry. The cavalry corps commanded by General Latour-Maubourg, on the 11th, crossed by the bridge of Dresden, at three Fresia, consisting of 3,000 horse from Proclamation of the Emperor to the Army. Soldiers! I am satisfied with you. You have fulfilled my expectations. You have supplied every thing by your good-will, and by your valour. On the memorable 2d of May, you defeated and routed the Russian and Prussian army, commanded by |