LON 
of Mr. Ofborne. They were betrayed, apprehended, and 
carried before the Ifipei intendant of police, who difmiffed 
them on (he ground of want of (ufficient evidence; but 
they were apprehended again, and committed. The grand 
jury having found a true bill againft four of the native 
clerks, for a confpiracy to take away the life of George 
Gumming Ofborne, efq. fub-treafurer at Bombay, they 
were put on their trial on the 12th of November, and 
pleaded Not guilty. Mr. Macklin, counfel for the prole- 
cution, ftated, that a confpiracy exifted among the fer- 
vants of the treafury, and their friends in the bazar, to 
cheat the public ; and that a fyitem of peculation of enor¬ 
mous extent was to be fupporfed by murder. Several 
witneffes, native Indians, were examined, to prove that 
they had been tampered with by the native clerks in the 
treafury to procure the death of Mr. Ofborne, by conju¬ 
ration or any other means; and that 1200 rupees was to 
be the reward of f'uccefs. 
George Camming Ofborne, efq. being examined, faid, 
he is fub-treafurer; he took poffeffion in July 180.9. 
foon heard of fhe native officers, now at the bar, having 
equipages and bandfome hcufes, living in a fumptuous 
manner much beyond their fcanty pay; that the two head 
ihroffs had emerged from obfcurity to elegant houfes, Sec. 
fometimes they had ten lacs, fometimes half a million 
fterling, in their potl'eiiion. Witnefs gave notice of his 
defign to infpeft the balances ; he found them correff, 
and ever afterwards kept the keys, contrary to cuftom.— 
Other witneffes were examined, (flowing.that falfe receipts 
had been given to make an appearance of balances, Sec, 
The recorder, in his charge on this trial, remarked, 
that conjuration or incantation failing, as every European 
believed it would, the dagger and the bowl muff be re¬ 
ported to, to effeft murder. That it was remarkable the 
chief fhroffs, having only half a guinea a-week, and no 
other means of emolument, lived in great fplendour, had 
great wealth and credit. To fupport this, they vviffied to 
difpofe of Mr. Ofborne, that they might again have the 
keys of the treafury in their power. The recorder de¬ 
clared his thorough conviction of the guilt of the prifon- 
ers; and the jury, after retiring a few minutes, pronounced 
them guilty.*— At twelve o’clock at night, the recorder 
pronounced fentence as follows on the three chief crimi¬ 
nals : “This court doth order and adjudge, that you be 
imprifoned for five years in the prifon of Bombay ; that you 
be placed once a-year in the pillory, with labels deferiptive 
of your offence; that, during your imprifonment, you be 
twice publicly whipped through the bazar; that you be 
fined 10,000 rupees each, and that you be further impri¬ 
foned till you pay the fine. And, in order to exlinguifh 
at once thofe hopes of impunity that appear to have been 
fo audacioufly fpread on this occafion, the court directs 
the fheriff, that the firft pillory and whipping be inflicted 
to-morrow morning.” The punifhment was accordingly in¬ 
flicted next day, in the prefence of 20 or 30,000 fpeCtators. 
The allufion in the above fentence of the court to “ hopes 
of impunity,” was fully explained on the 23d of Novem¬ 
ber following, upon the trial of C. T. Brifcoe, efq. which 
lafted three days. He was indicted for corruptly and wil¬ 
fully confpiring, with others, to obftruCt and impede the 
courfe of juftice, by preventing the trial and convic¬ 
tion of the above conipirators to murder Mr. Ofborne. 
The jury found him guilty, but moft ftrongly recommended 
him to mercy. He was lentenced to be imprifoned in the 
gaol of Bombay for twelve months. 
While we were thus fuccef'sful in preferving tranquillity 
in both Indies, and while our land-forces were gathering 
laurels in the well-fought fields of the peninfula, our navy, 
finding no adequate antagoniif, was reduced to Inch mi¬ 
nor exploits as cccafion prefented, in which, however, 
it fufiiciently manifelted the fuperiority of its dilcipline 
and enterprife. 
The firft of thefe gallant actions which occurred in 
the order of time, was that of a rnerchan't-fhip, the 
Cumberland, Barrett mafter, from Quebec. This vef- 
Vql. XIII. No. 905. 
DON. 285 
fel arrived in the Downs on Sunday night the 13th of 
January, under a jury foremuft and bowfprit, having 
pitched her bowfprit and foremaft away in a heavy gale 
of wind off the banks of Newfoundland. Front feven till 
eight o’clock on that morning, fhe was attacked by four 
French lugger-privateers, between Dover and Folkestone, 
the firft of which hailed.to know if lie wanted a pilot; ' 
Capt. B. having fufpicion of her, replied in the negative ; 
immediately after, another privateer ordered him to lay 
back his-mainyard, and the whole of them commenced a 
fire of mufketry, and two of them ran alongside and 
boarded ; previous to which captain B. had ordered all the 
Blip’s crew into the cabin, they being armed with their 
boarding-pikes. As foon as about twenty men got on¬ 
board, the captain ordered the fliip to be filtered off from 
the privateers, leaving.the Frenchmen no retreat; and, on 
the fhip being boarded, the privateers ceafed firing; then 
the (hip’s company ruffied forward,.arid cleared the deck ; 
the greateft part of the boarders being killed, and the re¬ 
mainder jumping overboard. Immediately after, another 
of the privateers came alongfide, anil told the captain 
they would give no quarter. On hearing this, the (hip’s 
company cheered them ; and they were boarded, and cleared 
in like manner. This was repeated three times afterwards, 
with the like fuccefs on the part of the (hip’s crew. Im¬ 
mediately after this, captain Barret difeharged three of 
liis carronades, loaded with round and canifter (hot; the 
firft was feen to carry away the mainmafl of one of the priva¬ 
teers, and the fee ond carried away the bowfprit of another, 
and it was fuppe fed deftroyed many of the men, as they 
were heard to cry out, and the (hots were heard to (trike 
the veffei. They then made off, and the Cumberland 
proceeded for the Downs. Mr. Coward, chief mate of 
the Cumberland, was wounded in the (boulder; and one 
man died of his wounds. The lofs on the part of the 
enemy was fuppofed to be about fixty. Capt. B. killed 
three himfelf, one of which he was 0^ liged to put his 
foot on to extricate his pike. This is fuppofed to be the 
moft gallant defence made by any merchant-fliip during 
the war; as her crew confifted only of 26 men, and thole 
of the privateers, according~to the prifoners’ ftatement, 
amounted to 270 men. The lords of the admiralty, as 
a mark of their fatisfaftion at the gallantry exhibited on 
this occafion, granted each of the crew of the Cumberland 
a protection from the imprefs for the fpace of three years. 
The next bold exploit we (hall notice, was the defeat 
of a combined French and Italian (quadron off the Ille 
of Iiiffa,. on the Dalmatian coaft, by an Englifh (quadron 
under the command of Capt. Hofte, adting as commodore. 
The enemy’s force, confiding of five frigates and fix 
fmaller armed veffels, failed from Ancona, with 500 troops 
on-board, for the purpofe of fortifying and garrifoning 
the Hie of Liffa. They were delcried, on the 13th of 
March, lying-to off the north-point of tlie Bland, by the 
Englifii fquadron of four frigates, the Amphion, Active, 
Cerberus, and Volage. The French commodore, Monf. 
Dubordieu, a man of diftinguiftied courage, confiding in 
the fuperiority of his force, bore down in two divilions 
under full fail to attack the Englifii, which was formed 
in one clofe line to receive him. The action commenced 
at nine A. M. when the French commodore, falling in 
his attempt to break the Englifh line, endeavoured to 
round the van-f.iip, and thus place the Englifii between 
two fires; but was lo roughly handled in the attempt, that 
liis fhip became unmanageable, and went on-(bore on the 
rocks of Liffa. The action was (fill maintained with great 
fury, till two more of the enemy’s (hips (truck. The 
remainder to windward then endeavoured to make off; 
but, being purified as well as the crippled (late of the En¬ 
glifii would permit, the ft e ram oft was compelled to. fur- 
render. Two of the frigates crowded fail for the port of 
Leffiria, and the fmall craft difperfed in various directions. 
The refult of this very gallant action, in which the fupe- 
rior (kill and fteadi'neis of the Englifh marine was ftrik- 
ingly exemplified, was, that the French commodore’s (hip, 
3 Y U 
