823 
great 
was on Mifelbiirgh commanding height; and that al- 
nioll: impregnable fortrel's^ Fort Republiqiie, within ilie 
diftance of grape-Otot, enfilading the wliole harbour. 
At ^ quarter pall fix in the morning, captain Brifl)ar:e, 
in the Arethul'a, advanced with his fquadron cloCely 
drawn up into the port; a fevere and de(lru6tive can¬ 
nonade enfued ; the frigate^ lloop, and fchooners, were 
carried by boarding ; the lower forts, the citadel and 
town of Amfterdani, by llorin ; all of which, by feven 
o’clock, were in our polTellion; and at ten o’clock, the 
Britifii flag was hoifted on I'ort Republique. The 
Dutch prifoners were to be conveyed to a port in Hol¬ 
land ; and on the 5th of January the inhabitants of Cu- 
rafoa took the oath of allegiance to the king of Great 
Britain. 
While thefe fuccefsful operations were going on in 
the Well-Indies, a fecret expedition was lent out to 
Egypt. On the memorable 21 11 of March, the very 
day fix years in which the French were routed at Alex¬ 
andria, major-general Frafer, at the head of another 
Englilh army, again took polTellion of that noble city, 
in the name of his Britannic majelty. Very little refin¬ 
ance was made; and after a flight afr'alr, in which feven 
of our men were killed and ten wounded, the governor 
agreed to articles of capitulation, by which the Turk- 
ilh foldiers were to be lent to fome port in I'urkey, and 
all private property W'as protedled. Two fine Turkilh 
frigates, and a corvette, were taken in the harbour. 
The inhabitants of Alexandria appeared highly pleafed 
at the return of the Englilh, and fliewed them every ci¬ 
vility. Yet this flattering circumflance was perhaps 
the means of lulling the Englilh into a fatal fecurity. 
General Frafer, with a view to fecure provifions for 
Alexandria, ordered a corps commanded by major-ge¬ 
neral Wauchope, to attack, and obtain polfelTion of, Ro- 
fetta. General Wauchope accordingly proceeded thi¬ 
ther, with about fifteen hundred men ; and having 
taken the heights above the town, without lot's, at¬ 
tempted to enter the place, without having taken the 
necelfary precautions. Upon his entering the town, he 
was alfailedby a fevere fire from the roofs and windows of 
thehoufes; and after a lharp conflict, the Britilli troops 
were obliged to retire, with the lofs of nearly three hun¬ 
dred nien, killed and wounded. General Wauchope 
hinifeif was killed, and brigadier-general Meade wound¬ 
ed. As, however, the polTellion of Rofetta was necef- 
fary for facilitating the required I'upplies of provifions 
for Alexandria, a fecond attack was determined upon ; 
and for this purpofe, a divifion of two thoufand five 
liuiidred men, under the orders of general Stewart, was 
fent from Alexandria by general Frafer. In the mean 
time a force of Albanians had marched from Cairo to 
Rofetta. Between thefe and the Britilh divifion a bat¬ 
tle took place in the neighbourhood of that town. The 
conflitl was fanguinary, but mofl unequal. The vafl 
fuperiority of the enemy ultimately prevailed, and the 
Englilh were again forced to retire, with the additional 
lofs of upwards of one thoufand men, killed and wound¬ 
ed. Among the officers wounded were colonel M'Leod, 
major Mohr, and major Fogelfang. The rell of the 
divifion were obliged to retreat to Alexandria.—Here 
the above obfervation relative to the impolicy of waft¬ 
ing our llrength in dillant and disjoined operations, can- 
not but Itrike every thinking mind. 
To compenfate in fome meafure this misfortune, a 
fquadron under the command of fir Edward Pellew 
etfeifted the dellruction of the whole of the Dutch ma¬ 
rine in the harbour of Batavia, amounting to twcnly- 
lix velleis. The epocha of thefe events was marked by 
a change of the adminiftration in England, and the call¬ 
ing of a new parliament. 
The offenlive operations of Great Britain have been as 
much as poffible diredted towards the lupport of our allies; 
in the profecution of which, it is pretty evident, from 
the prodigious refburces of national ftrength and treafure, 
of occafionaiaids by land, and perpetual vidtories at Tea, 
BRITAIN. 
that the interpofition-and influence of Great Britain flill 
keeps the balance of j'ower from any faial preponder¬ 
ance, and has probably been the means ot prelerving 
the four quarters of the globe from the inlatiate gialp 
of France.—For the political relations of Great Bri¬ 
tain to other countries, and the principal events ot 
peace and war, fee tite articles Engi.and, France, 
Germany, Holland, Prussia, Prussia, Tur¬ 
key, &c. 
With refpedl to the principal fourtes of the wealth 
and profperity of Great Brit.iin, as tltOfe are chiefly 
drawn from her commerce and extenfive inanutattures, 
a brief flatement of them here cannot prove unaccep¬ 
table. The W’ool-trade ought flill to be confidered 
as the grand flaple of the country. In a recent ex¬ 
amination of the principal woollen manufadlures of 
Great Britain, by a coiiimittee of the hoiife of commons, 
the quantity of wool growm in this country was elli- 
mated at 600,000 packs of aqolbs. each, whiclt, valued 
at 1 il. per pack, amount to 6,6oo,oool. and, though the 
increale of value of manufaflured wool is various, and 
depends on its quality, yet it was flated, that the total 
value of the wool manufacTture in this country amounts 
to 19,800,0001. But this calculation was formed upon 
an unul'ually high price of wool. We fliall come nearer 
the truth if we form the calculation on 500,000 packs, 
at lol. los. per pack; and thus the value at the wool 
will be 5,250,0001. and its manufactured value will be 
15,750,0001. The average value of woollen goods ex¬ 
ported for 1797, 1798, and 1799, is 6,104,21 il. which, 
as the ciiflom-houle values of goods exported are much 
below their real value, requires an addition of about 
twenty-five per cent, and thus it becomes 7,630,263!. 
The value of goods retained forborne conlumption will 
be nearly equal to that of fuch as are exported ; and, 
therefore, the whole value of the manufacture appears 
to be about 15,260,000!. and may be taken, at a me¬ 
dium, between this film and that before flated, at 
15,500,000!. Deducting 10 per cent, on the colt of 
goods, for the profits of the manufacturer, with interefl 
of his capital, there will remain 14,090,909!. for the 
cofl of materials and wages of lalour : and as the value 
of the wool is about 5,250,000!. the amount of work- 
manlhip, or the wages of all the perl'ons employed in • 
this manufacture, 158,840,9091. and the whole number 
of perfons employed, averaging their wages at eight 
fliillings each per week, does not exceed 425,043. 
The value of the leather manufacture may be flated 
at 10,500,000!. from which clediiCliMg 954,545!. for the 
profits of the capital, and 3,500,000!. for itie cofl of 
the raw hides, there will remain 6,045,455!. for the 
wages of perfons employed in it, which, allowing to 
each 251. a year at an average, makes the number em¬ 
ployed 241,818. 
The cotton manufacture was formerly inconliderable, 
in comparifon with its prelent flate. Tlie total quan¬ 
tity of cotton ivool imported into England, on a'h aver¬ 
age of five years, ending with 1705, I'N'is i , i7o,88ilbs. 
and fo late as the year 1781, it amounted to only 
5,ioi,92olbs. But this manufacture has been lo much 
extended, that before the commencement of the war the 
confiimption of cotton wool amounted to upwards of 
30,ooo,ooolbs. per annum. During the years 1796, 
i797> J799> the annual import, at an average, 
was 3o,434,ooolbs. the value of which, when mantifac- 
tiired, cannot be lefs than 9,500,000!. and if we deduCl 
from this fum 863,636!. for profits of capital, at lO per 
cent, and 3,804,250!. for cofl of the raw material at 
2S. 6d. per pound, there will remain 4,832,114!. for 
wages, which, divided at the rate of 15I. per annum for 
each perfon, on account of the number of women and 
children employed, makes the whole number 322,140 
perfons. 
The filk manufacture has of late years experienced 
little fluctuation ; the average of raw and thrown filk 
imported for tliree years preceding the 5th of January, 
17979 
