264 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. 



tions of lord Minto. The inha- 

 bitants were to preserve their re- 

 ligion and laws, and all private 

 property was to be respected. 

 General Abercrombie observes, 

 that what had hitherto been con- 

 sidered as the grand obstacle to an 

 attack on the Isle of France, was 

 the diflSculty of finding a proper 

 place for the debarkation of a 

 considerable nuntiber of troops, the 

 whole coast beingsurrounded with 

 breakers ; and the supposed im- 

 possibility of finding anchorage for 

 a fleet of transports. But these 

 difficulties were, at length, sur- 

 mounted. By the indefatigable 

 labours of commodore Rowley, 

 seconded by other naval officers, 

 engineers, and pilots, afit place for 

 anchorage was discovered, and an 

 opening in the surf sufficient to 

 admit the passage of three ships 

 abreast. The Isle of France, which 

 was by far the most important, 

 was the last of the possessions that 

 remained to France, in or between 

 the Cape of Good Hope and India. 

 A British garrison was placed in 

 the Mauritius, for it had now 

 recovered its ancient name, of 

 5,000 men. 



The two restored East Indiamen, 

 the Ceylon and Windhnm, were 

 sent to England : the first with a 

 cargo from the Isle of Bourbon ; 

 the second with one from the Isle 

 of France. They arrived safely in 

 an English port, about the middle 

 of April 1811 ; together with the 

 five French frigates, the Astrea, 

 the Bellona, the Venus, the Mi- 

 nerva, and the Victor. A packet 

 boat, with dispatches from Buona- 

 parte to the governor of the Isle of 

 France was decoy2d, by the hoist- 

 ing of French colours, as soon 

 as the vessel came in sight, into 



Port Louis. It appeared, among 

 other particulars, from the dis- 

 patches, that the governor-gene- 

 ral de Caen was recalled, and that 

 three frigates were to set sail from 

 France within fifteen days after 

 the departure of the packet-boat, 

 with reinforcements for the de- 

 fence of the island. All the French 

 prisoners were sent to Morlaix, in 

 vessels freighted for the purpose. 

 We cannotrefrain from noticing 

 here an incident of no importance 

 in the scale of politics or war, but 

 fitted to command attention : an 

 act of the most stupid, as well as 

 savage ferocity and tiiirst of blood, 

 overtaken with the most speedy, 

 condign, and complete punish- 

 ment. When captain Harris, of 

 his majest3''s frigate the sir Francis 

 Drake, was cruising in the end of 

 Dec. off the coast of Java, where 

 he took a Dutch corvette, he came 

 within sight, and was but at a 

 small distance from eight Malay 

 vessels, called proas. Captain Har- 

 ris sent a party to visit them, and 

 let them know, that if they were 

 armed, it was the English com- 

 mander's orders to take them, or 

 destroy them ; but that, if they 

 were engaged only in peaceable 

 commerce, they should not be mo- 

 lested. The Malays made not the 

 least opposition or objection to the 

 visit;but, onthe contrary, engaged 

 four of the English sailors who 

 had come on board one of the 

 proas, to go down with them into 

 the cabin, where they instantly 

 massacred them, cut them in piece?, 

 and hung up their bleeding re- 

 mains among their cordage. Cap- 

 tain Harris, under the emotions 

 excited by so treacherous and 

 horrid a murder, wore the frigate 

 nearer the shore, and poured his 



