a person as much endeared to us by the mild virtues which adorn his private life, as by the zeal and integrity with which he had discharged his public duties. We have the honour to subscribe ourselves, My lord, &c. J. H. Cassamajor, John Kenworthy, Mungo Dick, Harry Taylor, Walter Balfour, Charles Wynox, William Linley, John Hodgson, T. B Hurdis, E.C. Greenway, Edward Wood, William Cook, H. Burnaby, Robt. Dennison, Edward Dent, S H. Greig, William Hart, George Hay, Geo. Halyburton, E. W. Stevenson, Thomas Parry, Thomas Hicky, and Alex. Woodcock, Grand Jury Room, July 10th, 1806. To the Grand Jury of Madras. Gentlemen,-I receive, with particular satisfaction this spontaneous, unlooked for assurance of the good opinion with which the grand jury of Madras is pleased to welcome my return. Affectionate in its style, your address, gentlemen, carries with it the appearance, as well as the expression of sincerity. With most of you, it has been my good fortune to have been long intimate; and I cannot be entirely without the fear, lest personal friendship, on the occasion, may have had too prevailing an influence in this declaration of a public senti ment. Adverting, indeed, to the num ber, the names, and characters of those, by whom it purports to have been made, it is true, that the very existence of such friendship may be deemed to be, in some sort, a practical standing testimony to the good qualities which it ascribes. Such an address re-united me to this settlement, by a new and animating tie; a settlement where, all things considered, I often look back with gratitude to the portion of happiness I have enjoyed in it: in which I consider myself as having but endeavoured to fulfil my duty, and shall continue to indulge my only real pride,in seeking to combine with the respect that is indispensable to high office, that esteem which is so consolatory to the man. Court House, Monday, The rains on this coast have been unusually abundant. By the swelling of the rivers, the country is materially injured; several houses with their inhabitants have been swept away. Arrived his Majesty's ships Powerful, captain Plamplin, and Rattlesnake, accompanied by their prize, the French privateer La Bellona, captain Castaing, cap. tured on the 12th instant, Report gives captain Castaing the highest character for liberality, and generous treatment to his prisoners. BOMBAY.-Occurrences for August, 1806. Arrived the American ship Erin, captain William Stepington, detained by his majesty's ship Pitt, captain Bathurst. The Erin made an extraordinary circuitous rout from America to Bombay; she sailed from Baltimore with Jerome Buonaparte, and his American wife, as passengers, landed them at Lisbon; from thence the Erin sailed to Amsterdam, thence to Dover; returned to Amsterdam, thence to Lisbon; thence to the Cape of Good Hope; thence to Batavia; thence to Mochas, in the Red sea; and was on her voyage to the isle of France, and when off Bourbon, she fell in with the above ship, and is sent here for adjudication. Arrived the French brig Experi ment, prize to his Majesty's ship Pitt; Le Vigilante, prize to his Majesty's ship Concorde; the Spanish ship Providence, laden with a valuable cargo from Manilla, prize to his Majesty ship Drake, and his Majesty ship Psyche, captain Woodridge, from a cruize off Bourbon, accompanied by three small French prizes. CEYLON.-Occurrences for August, 1806. The following government advertisement is important to our commercial readers, trading to or concerned with this island. Whereas mistakes are frequently committed by native merchants and others, relating to the customs to be observed in accepting, presenting and protesting bills of exchange, the following regulations framed upon the general opinion of the merchants of this place, are published for the information of those whom it may concern. 1st.-A bill ought to bear the names of the drawer and of the persons upon, and in favour of whom it was drawn, the time it is payable, in what specie, and of the value that has been received, either in cash or in goods, or placed on account or otherwise. 2d. The holder of a bill ought to present it for acceptance with the shortest delay possible. 3d. In case a bill is not accepted, the holder will cause the same to be presented once more by a notary public, and if no such person is in the place, the nonacceptance is to be certified by a public officer, or at least by two witnesses, who shall always be two of the principal inhabitants. 4th.When a bill is protested, or its non-acceptance certified, the holder shall immediately advise the drawer thereof, and cause the protest, and certificate obtained in lieu of it, to be noticed to him. N. B. The holders of such a bill may keep it until six or at furthest ten days after the expiration of the time it would have been due, if accepted, in order to see whether the circumstances do not change, but in that case it must be protested again for non-payment, and then returned with the second protest to his agents, who shall give timely notice thereof to the drawer, and proceed immediately against him for the recovery of his money, interest, costs, and damages. 5th.--If a bill of exchange has been accepted, the holder ought to present the same for payment as soon as it becomes due, observing that the day of acceptance and the day the time expires are not received; for example, a bill payable thirty days after sight, accepted 1st of April, is only payable on the 2d of May next. According to the Dutch custom, six days of grace or favour are granted to the holder of an accepted bill, to take the necessary steps in case the bill is not regularly paid, during which six days, or at furthest ten days, (Sundays and holidays included) included) the bill must be protested; if not, the holder looses his right on the drawer, and has no recourse but on the person who accepted the bill, which, by, the neglect of the holder, retains no more virtue than a common promissory note. N. B. All bills of exchange drawn from this island are to be made on stamped paper, bearing one per cent according to the government regulation, otherwise they are of no value By his excellency's command. (Signed) R. ARBUTHNOT, Chief Sec. to Govt. Regulation of Government.-Present his Excellency the Governor in Council, A D. 1806. REGULATION VI. The number of robberies and other offences which have of late been committed in different parts of the British settlements on this island, render it necessary that some police regulations should be immediately made-- The governor in council therefore enacts as follow: 1st.--There shall be one or more head men, called police officers, in in each of the villages within the British settlements on this island. 2d-Every police officer shall be appointed by the agent of revenue and commerce for the province to which he belongs. 3d. He shall give such security as the agent of revenue and commerce shall deem adequate, before he receives his appointment. 4th. He shall be called village vidann of the place, and his appointment shall continue during pleasure only. 5th. He shall, during the continuance of his appointment, be exempted from all other government service, except that which belongs to his office. 6th. He shall have the power of arresting, searching the houses of all such persons in his village, as are either suspected by himself or accused by others, of having committed any offence. 7th. He shall in the shortest possible time after he has arrested any person, send him to the nearest justice of the peace with an ola, mentioning the time at which the person was arrested. 8th. He shall, as soon as possible after he has searched any house, send a report to the nearest justice of the peace of all that he has done upon the occasion, and of the reasons which induced him to search the house. 9th. He shall be severely punished, if, upon an inquiry made by the justice of the peace, it should appear that he either arrested, or searched the house for the purpose of extorting money. 10th. He shall have the power of calling upon, in the name of the king, every inhabitant of his own, and of the neighbouring villages, and also upon all the neighbouring police vidanns, to aid him in the execution of his duty. 11th.-Every person who shall refuse to aid him when so called upon in the name of the king, shall be punished. 12th-He shall be allowed 10 per cent upon all stolen property which he shall discover and bring to the justice of the peace, provided that he arrests and convicts before the proper tribunal, and one of the persons, who shall have been guilty of stealing the said property. 13. No person shall exercise the trade of a silversmith, without having first given security to, and obtained a license from the agent of revenue and commerce of the province in which he resides. 14th-No person exercising the trade of a silversmith shall mend, alter, alter, or melt any silver or gold thing whatever, without first shewing it to one of the police officers of his village. 15th. No person shall either give or receive in pawn any gold or silver thing, without first shewing it to one of the police officers of his village. 16th. This regulation shall be in force in every village and town, within the British settlements on this island, excepting the towns and forts of Columbo, Jaffna, Galle, Matura, Negombo, and Trincomalee, for which places another proper regulation will be made. By order of the council, Sec. to the Council. By his excellency's command, (Signed) R. ARBUTHNOT, Chief Sec. to Govt. Regulation of Government---Present His Excellency the Governor in Council A. D. 1806. REGULATION VII. Whereas by the 30th clause of a proclamation of the late gover slavery heard by the courts of Land-Raad, that "wheresoever the decision of our said courts respectively shall be against the party alleged to be a slave, there shall be from such decision an appeal to us in our lesser court of appeal; but where the decision shall have been in favour of the person so alleged to be a slave, such decision shall be final and without any appeal, and the alleged slave shall thereupon be for ever free." And whereas great inconveniences have frequently arisen from the observance of this clause, his excellency the governor in council is hereby pleased to annul the same, and to enact that in future an appeal shall be allowed in all cases whatsoever, where the property of slaves may be concerned, from the provincial courts to the high court of appeal, provided the value of the slave is of an appealable amount. By order of the council, Sec. to the Council. nor the hon. Frederic North, bear- By his excellency's command, ing date the 22d day of January, 1801, it is enacted in all cases of (Signed) R. ARBUTHNOT, Chief Sec, to Govt. BENGAL.-Occurrences for September, 1806. Our chronicle of this month records three additional proofs of the valour and conduct of our seamen: Captain Larkins yielded to a very superior force; but not until he fought three hours and a half, and his ship was rendered unmanageable. The inhuman treatment which Captain Larkin, his officers, and crew, experienced from the French lieutenant, Moreau, will, we have no doubt, meet its due reward, if he falls into the hands of the British government. Mr. Thompson's intrepidity and humanity, entitles him to the praise of every brave and good man; and the action of the Grey Hound, and Harrier, with four of the enemy, in which three were taken, and the fourth escaped only by superior sailing, does great credit to the professional character of their respective officers and crews. Calcutta. A public and unanimous subscription has been opened here to erect a tomb over the re mains of general Smith; the sum already subscribed amounts to 2040 sicca rupees. The In complying with the request of the officers of this camp, that I should transmit to you the inclosed tokens of their esteem and regard, I equally fulfil a duty and gratify my own inclinations; and it is my cordial wish, that you may long continue to possess and enjoy, in health, honor, and prosperity, those testimonials of our real sentiments, which we trust you will do us the honor to accept. I have the honor to be, &c. in Bundelkund. Camp at Goorha, July 9, 1806. To Brigadier-Gen. Martindell, late commanding in Bundelkund. SIR,--We, the undersigned officers, of the division of the army serving in Bundelkund, have learned with real concern, the relinquishment of your command. Though the motives by which you have beep influenced in resigning so important a trust, we are confident are well founded, and every way consistent with that propriety, good sense, and disinterestedness, which have uniformly marked both your public and private conduct, nevertheless, we cannot but lament your departure, for many reasons connected with the good of the service, equally as with our individual and private satisfaction. In every circumstance and situation in which the detachment has been placed and employed, we have derived much pleasure and confidence from our persuasion of that zeal, judgment, and firmness, which has been shewn by you in executing the services entrusted to you, and which called for the exercise of that just discrimination, prompt decision, and vigour which yon displayed. Your active and unremitted attention to the ease, comfort, and discipline of the troops, and your arrangements by which the detachment was kept in a constant state of efficiency, for any service that might have been required of it, we beg leave to notice, as they tended to secure that confidence we had under your command. The extensive and accurate knowledge you have acquired of the position and relative situation of places, and of the various and complicated interests, parties, and combinations existing in this province, qualify you, in an eminent degree, for the command, where all that local knowledge, together with a great share of energy and decision are at present required to be exerted in opposing, defeating, and counteracting them; we are on this account led to consider your departure as a loss to the public service; and allow us to assure you, that we feel equal regret at the event in a private point of view, as the steady, impartial, and considerate manner in which you have exercised your authority, and the willingness you have always evinced to promote our private wishes as far as you could do so consistently with your public duty and responsibility, have justly entitled you to our private esteem as well as our public respect; in testimony of which we request you will permit us to present you with a sword and service of plate, of the value of one |