Corbet's exertions on this occasion, and have expressed my sentiments of approbation to him, his Officers, and Company. And I have also to acknowledge your watchful attention to the capture of the said Privateer, and am very much pleased with your having sent the Bittern in search of her. Your letter of the 15th ultimo, with the valuation of L'Hirondelle, has also been received; and I am very much obliged by your anticipating my wishes, as it appears she will answer the service of Malta. I am, &c., NELSON AND BRONTE. TO CAPTAIN SCHOMBERG, H. M. SHIP MADRAS. [Letter-Book.] Sir, Victory, off Toulon, 8th June, 1804. I have received your letter of the 7th April last, together with the several letters and papers therein referred to, on the subject of Lieutenant Shaw's late conduct at the Port of Girgenti, and I am very fully and most perfectly satisfied with your proceedings on the occasion, and have no hesitation in believing that the Admiralty will equally approve of Lieutenant Shaw's conduct; but as they desire that it may be left for them to determine, on receiving my report, I cannot take upon me officially to express my approbation to Lieutenant Shaw. I am, &c. NELSON AND Bronte. TO CAPTAIN CRACRAFT, H. M. SHIP ANSON. [Letter-Book.] Sir, Victory, off Toulon, 8th June, 1804. I have received your letter of the 12th ultimo, together with a copy of a letter from Captain Corbet, Commander of his Majesty's Sloop Bittern, requesting a Court-Martial on the five men named in the margin, for having deserted from the said Sloop, at Messina on the 14th April last. In answer thereto, I am to acquaint you that Captain Corbet's original letter ought to have been sent to me, and not a copy, as a Court-Martial cannot be ordered upon the latter. But I am inclined to think that Captain Corbet, from the said men's long confinement, and their late exertions in capturing L'Hirondelle, French Privateer, may be inclined to forgive them. You will, therefore, signify the purport of this letter to Captain Corbet, that if he is disposed to forgive them, I have no objections, under the present circumstances. I am, &c., NELSON AND BRONTE. TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE LORD HOBART. My Lord, [Autograph, in the Colonial Office.] Victory, off Toulon, 8th June, 1804. I have the honour to transmit, for your Lordship's information, a letter from Captain Schomberg of his Majesty's Ship Madras, together with a letter from the Bey of Tunis, and papers therein referred to; and beg to observe to your Lordship, that the disgraceful conduct of the Privateer in question calls loudly for redress, and may involve unpleasant consequences between our Country and the Bey of Tunis, who very justly demands redress, and considers that my power is not only equal to this measure, but to prevent similar conduct in these Pirates in future. I have exceedingly to lament that this line of conduct, so disgraceful to the character of the British Nation, is practised by the Gibraltar Privateers in these seas every day, as complaints are constantly laid before me from the Government of Sardinia of their nefarious conduct, which I have transmitted to the Governor of Gibraltar for his interference, as Naval Commanders have no authority whatever over those Pirates. I have the honour to be, &c., NELSON AND BRONTE. TO CAPTAIN PHILIP LAMB, RESIDENT AGENT OF TRANSPORTS, return of the Transports from Odessa, &c., that you will pay due attention to my instructions on the subject of sending them to England, provided they are not wanted for the immediate service of this Country. With respect to sending Prisoners of War, to England in Ships charged with Convoys, or in unoccupied Transports, as mentioned in your said letter, I must desire to observe, that but very few could be sent in the Ships of War; and certainly a very small number of determined Prisoners, on board of any Transport, might at pleasure, by taking advantage of the night, rise upon her Company and run away with her. It therefore strikes me as a very improper way of sending them to England, and I do not feel justified in acquiescing in it without directions from the Admiralty for that purpose. But should Sir Alexander Ball wish to have any of the Officers sent from Malta to England, in the manner before mentioned, I have no objections to your doing so, as there cannot be any consequences apprehended from two or three, under strict watchfulness, being sent in any of the Ships of War or Transports. The Senior Officer at Malta will give the necessary direction for their being received and victualled at two-thirds allowance during their passage. I am, &c., NELSON AND BRONTE. TO WILLIAM MARSDEN, ESQ., ADMIRALTY. [Letter-Book.] Sir, Victory, off Toulon, 8th June, 1804. I herewith transmit you an extract of a letter from Captain Philip Lamb, Resident Agent for Transports, &c., at Malta, together with an extract of my letter of this date, in answer thereto, which you will please to lay before the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, for their consideration; and acquaint their Lordships, that although the Agent for Transports at Gibraltar is in the habit of sending Prisoners of War from thence to England, in the manner mentioned in the extract of Captain Lamb's said letter, yet I conceive there is a wide difference; for before any plan could be devised by the Prisoners for the purpose of running away with the Transport they might be on board of, the Convoy from Gibraltar is in the ocean; but from Malta to Gibraltar the case is different, and the frequent calms, and uncertain changes of weather in those seas, would afford an opportunity for bad intentions. Their Lordships will, therefore, give such directions on this subject as may appear to them proper. I am, &c., NELSON AND Bronte. TO CAPTAIN WILLIAM EDWARD CRACRAFT, H.M. SHIP ANSON. [Letter-Book.] Sir, Victory, off Toulon, 8th June, 1804. I have received your letters of the 13th, 14th, and 15th ultimo, acquainting me with your arrival at Malta, after having made a circuit of the Adriatic, that you left at Corfu three Russian Frigates, and that a much larger force was expected at that place. I am sorry to find that the Arrow is in so defective a state, and very much surprised that a vessel of her description cannot be repaired at Malta; surely the Master Shipwright cannot have weighed his report maturely. I shall, however, send him an order to take her into hand, and repair her defects. I hope the Anson's being docked at Constantinople, as communicated in your said letter, will not be attended with any heavy expense. The arrangement you have made with the Sloops named in the margin' will, I trust, sufficiently protect our Trade from the Enemy's Privateers, and prevent them from making any movement with Troops till your return. Your letter of the 15th ultimo, enclosing a list of three Vessels detained by the Jalouse, has also been received, with the State and Condition of that Sloop. I am, &c., NELSON AND BRONTE. 'Arrow, Bittern, Morgiana, Jalouse. TO NATHANIEL TAYLOR, ESQ., NAVAL OFFICER, MALTA. [Letter-Book.] Sir, Victory, off Toulon, 8th June, 1804. I have received your letter of the 17th ultimo, acquainting me that as there was very little rope for sale in the Island of Malta, you had written to the proprietor of the Syracuse manufactory, to know on what terms he will make rope, and at the same time requested him to send ten ton of, from five to threeinch, to be forwarded to the Fleet, in order to judge if its quality will answer. In answer to which, I approve of your having ordered the cordage from Syracuse; and request you will furnish me with the particulars of the purchase, and the terms upon which the said Proprietor of the Manufactory will agree to supply any future demand for rope, which the exigency of the Service may render necessary. The sails, &c. sent on board the Narcissus and Thisbe, have been received, as acknowledged by the Captain of the Fleet, and also Mr. Leard's letter, with an account of the cordage sent from Fiume. On the subject of the appointment of two Foremen to the Master Shipwright and Master Attendant, I must desire to refer you to my letter of the 7th October, 1803, and to acquaint you that I should deem it excessively improper to make any addition or alteration whatever in the establishment of his Majesty's Yard at Malta, as the Navy Board must be perfectly aware of the propriety of their appointment; and therefore you must make your application to them on the present, and on all future occasions. I am, &c., NELSON AND BRONTE. TO SIR JOHN ACTON, BART., NAPLES.2 [From Clarke and M‘Arthur, vol. ii. p. 369.] [About June 8th, 1804.] The following observations naturally arise from looking at Europe at this moment. The restoration of a Monarchy in Though not mentioned in Mr. Elliot's correspondence with Lord Nelson, the following letter from the Queen of Naples (apparently) to Sir John Acton, would show that a report prevailed at Naples, towards the end of May 1804, that Nelson VOL. VI. F |