2 ANNUAL REGISTER, 
on the coast. The Harpy and her 
cargo were luckily insured. The 
French squadron remained about 
15 days inthe river. They also 
captured and pillaged the factory at 
Bance Island. When they were 
on the point of departing, they put 
onshore about 120 British sailors, 
most of them extremely sick, who 
had been taken from different ships 
captured on the coast, and having 
destroyed or carried off all the 
company’s stores and Provisions, 
except a supply of about three 
weeks for the sailors left on shore, 
they setsailtothesouthward. The 
distresses of the colony were ex- 
tremely great on the eve of their 
departure, the season at that time 
being remarkably sickly, and ail 
the medicines having been carried 
away or destroyed, Of the sailors 
who were landed, about 80 perished 
for want of proper accommedation, 
as well as medicine and sustenance. 
The Nova Scotian settlers, how- 
ever, suffered little. “hough many 
of the company’s servants suffered 
much in their health row ill-treat- 
ment and exposure, but only two or 
three of themhavedied. The go- 
yernor and council mention, that 
their distresses had much abated 
a few weeks after the departure 
of the French squadron; that a 
vessel also had arrived from Eng. 
land, which had furnished them 
with many necessary articles, and 
that a sufficient supply of rice was 
then in the colony; that the health 
of the Company’s servants was im- 
proving ; aod that at the time when 
they were stripped of their arms and 
ammunition, and every other ne- 
cessary, no want of order had pre- 
yailed. hey were in full expecta- 
tion, that if the company should 
-send them out the proper supplies, 
1795. 
the colony would recover this mis- 
fortune. The Nova Scotian settlers 
being all on the land, which proved 
more fruitful than was expected, 
they were able to support them. _ 
selves, and they had a quantity of 
stock en their farms.. ‘the French 
squadron appears to have been pilot. 
ed and assisted by some American 
slave traders. 
A very great mob assembled 
in London road, leading from 
the Obelisk in St. George’ s fields to 
the Elephant and Castle, at New. 
ington Butts, and, havigg intima- 
tion. that a Helabes of men. were. 
infprisoned by a cee description 
of crimps, attacked the house 
‘where these persons were confined, 
demolished their windows, and re- 
leased 18 men, who were chained 
together by handcuffs and other 
iron ligaments. ‘The Borough ma- 
gistrates, on hearing of this out- 
rage, immediately sent down their 
officers; and the ating recruiting 
serjeant being taken into custody, 
he was, after a short examination, 
committed to the New Gaol. The 
circumstances which led to. the 
discovery of this imprisonment was 
that of kidnapping a pot-boy, who, 
before he wag chained down, con- 
trived to break a pane of glass~ in 
the drawing-room window (for the 
gth. , 
_house was a private one, and ele- 
gantly furnished) from whence he 
cried out © murdeg!”’? This alarm- 
ed the neighbourhood, and, as it 
had been suspected by them that 
persons were illegally confined 
there, the doors and. windows were 
scon demolished, and the prisoners 
liberated, This serjeant and his 
crew, had two women of the town 
gentgelly dressed up, for the purpose 
of inveigling young. men into the 
house, which they styled their 
lodgings, 
