174 
fon in favour of the army expected under 
General Abercrombie. 
HOLLAND. 
At Helvoetfluys, and in the Texel, the 
ymoft active preparations are carrying on 
to get a Dutch fleet ready for fea, to be 
commanded by Admiral De Winter, and 
deftined, according to fome opinions, to 
join the combined Spanifh and French 
force at Brelt ; or, as others fay, to co- 
operate with the fleets of Ruffia, Sweden, 
and Denmark. 
PORTUGAL. 
This country ftands in great danger of 
falling under the controul of France. A 
large agmy was preparing in the neigbour- 
hood of Bourdeaux, defined to march 
through Spain, for the invafion of the Por- 
tuguefe dominions ; and about the middle 
of January, according to intelligence from 
Madrid, the Marquis de Caftel Franco, 
Major of the Spanith King’s BodyGuards, 
was to fet off for Lifbon upon an extraor- 
dinary miffion, the objectof which is al- 
ledsed to be, to demand of Portugal whe- 
ther fhe chofe to enter into an alliance 
with Spain and France; or, whether fhe 
preferred remaining in alliance with Great 
Britain? Inthe firft cafe, fhe was to order 
the Englifh and emigrant troops to eva- 
cuate the Portuguele territories; in the 
fecond, fhe was to be informed that war 
would be immediately declared againft 
ber. 
RUSSIA, SWEDEN, AND DENMARK. 
It appears now certain that the Conven- 
tion of the Neutral Powers was figned on 
the 16th of January by the Minifters of 
Rufia, Denmark, and Sweden, and that 
Pruffia had fince acceded to it under cer- 
tain conditions. ‘The Danifh Minifter, in 
anfwer to a note tranfmitted to him by 
Mr. Drummond, the Englifh Envoy, (de- 
manding a full explanation of the nature, 
obje&, and extent of the confederacy) 
ftates, that Denmark ‘‘not knowing that 
any of the powers engaged in the negotia- 
tion (at Peterfburgh) had made a declara- 
tion, er adopted meafures yelative to its 
object, atwhich Great Britain might take 
offence or umbrage,; cannot, without ul- 
terior explanation, reply to that part of 
Mr. Drummond’s note, ‘* that the nego- 
tiation has no other object than the re- 
newal of the engagements which, in the 
years 1780 and 17$1, were contracted by 
the fame powers, (Ruffia, Pruffia, Sweden, 
and Denmark) for the fafety of their na- 
vigation.”” The beft comment upon this 
treaty is perhaps that of Mr. Grey, on the 
2d of February, in the Britih Houfe of 
Commons, whe “¢ He had: looked 
fn Lod 
yu 
we*y > 
Stateof Public Affairs in February, 1801. 
(March g, 
into thofe authors who treat of the law of 
nations and alfo, into many of the trea- 
ties of Europe, and he was fo far from dif- 
covering any right to interrupt the courfe 
of neutral veffels, that he found that the 
direét contrary principle was often acted 
upon in the courfe of the laft century. In 
the year 1740, the King of Pruffia de- 
clared that free bottoms made free goods. 
The fame principle was acted upon by the 
Dutch in the year 1762. How are we 
then to account for the conduét of his Ma- 
jefty’s Minifters in not including Pruffia 
in the hoftility which they wage againtt 
the armed neutrality >—They will not at- 
tack Pruffia, becaufe fhe is ftrong; but 
they will attack Sweden and Denmark,be- 
caufe they are weak.” 
The Emperor of Ruffia having thought 
proper to pubdlith in the Gazette of St. 
Peterfburgh, as the motive for the viola~ 
tion of the rights of nations that he had 
been guilty of in the feizure of our thips, 
and the imprifonment of our feamen, 
¢¢ that a convention had been entered into 
with the Court of St. James’s, in virtue 
of which the Ruffian forces were to take 
poffeffion of Malta, fo foon as it fhould 
furrender to the combined fleet ;”° it Is 
ftated, from gooi authority, that, it is 
true a convention to cede the ifland of 
Malta to the Order of St. John of Jerufa- 
lem (of which the Emperor Paul has made 
himfelf Grand Mafter) was drawn up; but 
it was never figned on the part of this 
country. Let the Miniftters of Paul I. 
it is added, produce, if they poflefs it, any 
convention whatfoever, ratified by Great 
Britain, refpefting the fate and deftination 
of Malta before the conclufion of a gene- 
ral Peace. i 
GREAT BRITAIN. 
Since our lat publication an event ha 
occurred, which we confefs has aftonifhed. 
us, and which we believe has difappointed 
the expectation of the majority of our rea- 
ders. The event to which we allude, is 
a2 CHANGE OF MINISTRY, a circumftance 
which has given rife to a variety of ru- 
mours, none of which, however, we mutt 
add, have as yet accounted for itina fa- 
tisfactory manner. 
A difference of opinion, it is faid, has 
for fome time paft exifted in the Cabinet, 
on the fubject of Catholic Emancipation 
in Ireland ; the delay of the King’s Speech 
on the opening the Seffion, took place, it 
is added, in confequence of this difference 
of opinion. 
favour of the meafure; and it is ftated, 
that the Marquis Cornwallis and Lord 
Caftlereagh had principally fucceeded in 
effecting 
Mr. Pitt was decidedly in’ 
