wilmington gazette r'jl.u.vf ix published wrekly b allmand hall tuesday august 13 1805 a 452 from the charleston courier i-i p tu tw i d t u n itions w : » i l .- at war with each other nay there have been instances ol the persons claiming the rights and enjoy ing the privih ges ol american citizens be ing concerned al one and the same lime in french and english privateers which were committing depredations on the american commerce it is to expose the ill effects of such usurpation ofthe privileges of citizen ship that we now assume tins language while this infamous practice exposes tlie property oi the fair american merchant whu trades on his own boitomi ii is next to impos sible for our government to check ihe evil because it is an extremely delicate point for a collector to question the veracity of a merchant who is taking i solemn oath ultho he may have strong suspici ins there are no doubt many insiauce of innocent proper ty captured and while we lament the fact we should look to this nefarious practice of covering property as the principal source from whence thai evil arises since it is ex ire iic'lv difllcull for the officers ol belligerent p overs t.i discriminate in cases winch al though widely different are cloaked with an appearance of similarity vve have noi for gotten the hue and cry that was ruised u lew years since about the capture ol the ship mount vernon by a french privateer if et she has proven to be british property an i tlie mutter was hushed up it grieves it to ll ml the depredations on our commerce so injurious to honest american merchants but we feel no regret for the losses of ihosa who are or ll ive n guilty of llie above trau d ilcnt practices let their political prole sum be what they may we only tuiiieiu lhat they are not the only sufferers farmer's rkgis i tfit custom-house in this city on the nineteenth j day of april one thousand seven hundred and ninety-nine in the name nf william j muir william boyd and neol m'neal ; un j der which rcglstei she sailed until the'ele i venth day of may one thousand eight hun dred and two at which time the said william ; mulr and v illiam boyd sold out the win ic ol their interest in said ship t lhe ,, lid • neil m'neal | n whose name n new rt , n*r wnsgranted on the day last mentioned and undei which register she has sailed ever since ( top of the kead nine inchct ; round each ; it'.a i chven fnches at d three quarter ? i round the brealt twenty two iucltes . and i the length irom head to loot w.i iwen ! ty-one and a quarter inches it was alive a little hefon it waj bmught forth lyewiierry difrricl june 22 18 5 new-york julyar the licentiousness of ihe press which has so often and sincerely been i imented by eve ry real friend to hi country was never more fully exemplified than by the following pub lication published in the first instance in a paper called the farm r's register printed at l insiiigbiii'gh in the ulate of new york and afterwards copied into the baltimore evening few accompanied wilh the following remarks 1 the sch'r diana from currhcoa we learn that a british squadron under com man.ioi capt murray iu franchise frigaie one other frigate two lerigs aud four schot ti ers were bluckading curracoa i and four days previous to the diana's sidling iluy made a desocni upon carraccas-bav to the windward of the islund landed 180 men can nonaded the fort and in the evening were repulsed and beat off leaving behind three prisoners an ly pound cannonade snd . -> muskets the iroops re-embarked and went tothe leeward where they landed their sick and wounded amounting to 0 men wc are iuii hi r informed that the wh le ic ward part of the island from ihe west end within .'.-) miles of ihe town had 8um ncl't-rttl to ihe british which they had burnt and de stroyed mr robert caen had been tines ted by ihe dutch government upon suspit ion of his corresponding with the ileitis -.-, e further learn that ii was the tleierniintition ol ihe governorof curracoa not to surrender the town lo the british hut rather to bury bin sell in the ruins fro.m the baltimore bvenino post given under our hands at the custom house aforesaid this 30th day of july eigh teen hundred und five j mf.s simons collector of the customs iho's waring sen tfaval officer we hope the following remarks from the " farmer's register will be read with much attention they contain some truths of which the charleston courier we hope is ignorant ii not the virulence displayed by ii on account of the capture of the two friends is criminal in ihe highest degree we are authorised io say that the vessel was not american — that ihe eliza and the two friends both belonged to a house in london of which a brother of mr boyd's is one uf the part ners — ind that her sailing under the ame rican flag is a mere cover lo a risks — these circumstances are perfectly ascer tained — and tiieri call be no d mut of her condemnation as english property the whole eiiy of charleston k.u iws mis i.i be a fact if it is denied wa will give the detail to stop ihi perpetual qutxi'v against the president and his administration winch is daily oosillg from lhal press •- fhe capture ol the ship 1 wo friends,off charleston bye french private 1 will no doubt oiler the federalists a.i opportunity which they will not let sup of pouring out their wrath and vengeance against mr jef ferson ami the while french nation with re doubled fury we le-cl us much disposed to condemn the unwarrantable capture or de tention of american ships as any man among the whole federal parly let ihe perpetrators ofthe aclbelong to whatever nation ihey may hut these sentiments will never induce us to countenance fraud or witness in silence the taking an undue advantage of the rights of citizenship by unprincipled foreigners more especially when such conduct lias a tendency to jeopardize ihe peace and safely ofour country by compromitting our neu trality and the honor ofour government fhe case before us may bo classci among many others now existing in lhc u slates calculated to produce those baneful effects there is every re.isuti u believe thai the ship two friends was fraudulently covered as a merican property — nay we will venture to say that not a timber headoi her i owned hy any citizen of the units i states and we are induced to express this opinion from a strong concurrence of circumstances which we think proper to notice at uie present time in the year jii oi*'9i capt neil m-.seal now master of the two friends comman ded the ship eliza a regular trader between lpndon n charleston although tins hip was covered by tome scotohmeninchai lesion who were naturalized her belonging to an english house iuloiidon was so notorious that nobody in charlestoneverdoubtedit ifany had doubt ed it,thefoll wing circumstance uf itself would serve to establish the fact — on her passage from charleston to london she was captu red by a french privateer and carried into bayone in france with captain m-net-.l on bpafd on her arrival ut bayoue captain m immediately abandoned her without laying a claim for her in behalf of the owners or waiting the event ofthe trial this conduct at first view would appear strange l-ut it was perfectly consistent when it is consider ed that capt m knew that the ship was eng lish property and would he proved lobe so the owners in london kn iwing that under these circumstance claiming the ship us \ merican property would be perfectly useless and only attended with loss ,.! ti me u „*| illo . ney had instructed capt m t0 abandon her immediately in case of capture accord ingly as we have already observed he left her on his arrival in france and proceeded directly to london when the same owners immediately purchased the ship twe fi ientl gave him the command of her k consigned her to their friends in charleston who cover ed her also as they hud done the eliza 1 hat house having subsequently failed one of tl.e copartners has continued to cover the tw i friends in his own name as american pro perty and she was so covered at the time of her late capture in giving the above statement we are far from being governed by any other motives than exposing to public view a practice which we fear is too extensive for the honor and safety of the american flag we have noti ced this particular cuse more on account of its magnitude than from a wish to point out the improprieties of the members of any par ticular party or their partiality to any parti cular nation we know the weight ofthe favourite maxim of mercantile men that •• there is no friendship in trade we know that this covering ol properly is not confined to english ships we have known on m m covering the property of individuals belong co wml tvicatloiv a circular letter dated s , domingo 6th mores ( pr 2(i addressed by gen 1 i-hrand to the captain general govern ors ami commandants in the french sna ni*h and dutch colonies ihe minister i icnipotentiary :,,. j ,.. |,-- 8 : llm been r . ce.ved , n this city the object of he let terappears tobu to dissipate the ifoubls and ears 1 the cidevant colonists and refute the aspei'mons cast upon the army and bo vernment by the weak and the wicked who were more active in traducing the few brave soldiers who had the courage and confi lei.ee lo email al ihe post oi danger be cause they considered their cause its lost and l the government as careless of the fate ol st domingo fhe circular contains a long extract irom a letter of the french minister dkcres 1 gen fkrrand recei ved by admiral mlssikssy it f.,,|e c,c lopes the paternal care of the emperor for tlie colonists his intention lo preserve the island and his entire approbation ofthe iudi cious conduct of gen fleam m 0 and ibe sol diers under his command while complaint made.nihe following terms of th 0s c w ho lu've laded infidelity and zeal i had flattered myself say the minis t that the rest ofthe army of st domin go in the island of cuba would have gone to santo domingo i and 1 have lea e.l will regret that bin ihe smallest pari have re turned to the post of honor and danger i his conduct justly reprehensible in the generals and officers who notwithstanding your call have abandoned the defence of the halt of hie colony confided to them marks in a ore honourable manner the dcvotmlness ot the troops and the general who have not despu.c.d m preserve 1 ,„ ihe french l m p«e and his majesty justly appreciates thu new proof oi he ecu age and their subjoined to the letter of the minister is a r.b in his own hand writing he says 1 he hrmness of your conduct general owards enemies cxteriour and interiour and by these i mean the knaves vou are send ing away or shall send away and i invite you to use ihe greatest latitude in this respect : the honour that you have acquired by your deportment in the half of the island gives you such particular claims to ihe favour ofthe n.pe.or as a , c agreeable to me to present to inm ' at the city of st domingo cen ferrand was preparing lo defend himself from an ex pected attack from dessalines ihe liiack em peror commercially interesting the following regulationsofthe intendant generalofthe island of.cuba has been oblig ingly translated and handed to u by a gen tleman to whom the public ban been free quently indebted for his useful communica tions the original has been left in our pos session in about iwo months time we shall probably s.-e it announced fiom the consul general at philadelphia " slonion dun 1.aka:i routuun intcndant general of this island hail de termined in a decree of ihe 28th june last that the regulations pointed out in the ma nifest or ordinrnce of the sib feb anterior for the genend administration ol the reve nues ofthe marine for the commerce ol neu trals receive the following addition the consul or vice-consols ofthe neu tral ports from whence expeditions are made and in tiie case of their being no consuls resilient therein the persons authorised by the minister plenipotentiary ol his majesty hall certify to the accounts or invoices with the expression 0 f the particular port of the island to which they are directed with an individual relation of the number weight measure quality anil value ofthe kinds and effects comprehended in the cargo under the intelligence or knowledge thut whatso ever shall he discovered lhat was not included in the invoice will be confiscated without any indulgence thf truth is that the ship eliza was in the year 1796 boujjht by the then house of muir & boyd in charleston for the sum of 3,50 )|. sterling as then sole property and in tended for a regular london trader ;' that she afterwards made iwo voyages consigned to the house of caldcletigh lioyd & co merch ants in london the friend and correspon dents of muir k boyd that on her third voyage from charleston lo london being ar med to protect her irom lhc aggressions of the french republic she was on the 5th ju ly 1798 after an action of an hour and a half captured hy the french privateer l'heureux decide of bourdeanx and the captain and some ol his passengers carried in the priva teer to passage and thence lo st sebastians where capt m'neal eluding theguatdseto ver him made his escape to madrid and from thence proceeded to lisbon at ihe time of her capture the said ship kliza being tne sole and bona fide property of muir 8e boyd was insured as such and lhc insurance so recovered the hocks of muir sc boyd and the ac counts rendered by caldclcugh boyd st co support these facts uud are open to the exa mination and criticism of every honest man that in consequence ofthe capture of ihe ship i'.li/.i « disappointment arising to the views of the house in charleston as to their having a vessel regularly established in the london hade after the safe arrival of captain m'neal in london the december following his being taken the ship two friend's being offered lors.de was purchased by their correspondents on the joint account of muir t boyd and capt m'neal ; the former hold ing three-fourths and the latter one fourth in said vessel thai in the year 1803 when ihe said house of muir j boyd stopped pay ment the ship two fi iends immediately alter her arrival in charleston was offered tor sale when capt neil m'neal made pur chase of their interest in the said ship and paid them therefor at the rate of 18,000 dol lars that since the said sale the whole of the said ship has been as the subscriber halh always understood and religiously believes solely owned by capt neil m'neal whoon his arrival in i.omh.n addressed his vessel to the house of hopkins gray 6c clover and not to the house of caldcleugh boyd j reid as insinuated which sr.id house has always done in london the business of neil m'neal since his purchase of the ship two friends and further the subscriber doth declare that neither caldcleugh bo.d sc rei | < f london nor any other british merchant had any interest share or profit in the busi ness transacted by the late house of muir 8c i yd or by himself in charleston ; and a the subscriber inu ids u„d now solemnly pledges his word to prosecute the editors and publishers of the farmer's register and h evening post printed at baltimore for it sell tending to degrade him in the esteem ol his fellow-citizens and to subject his pro perty to every lawks depredation here frame from making any further commente nt llieir talse and malicious assertions ll me , w " v * boyd july 89 1805 statt of 11 ulh.carolina > p i j charltst n } these are to certify t all whom it may con cern j hat the american ship t wo friends ne.j m'ntal master was registered at the as to the assistance you ask it is not suitable to enter into details here ; hut do not despair lor you bre a panicu , ar ol • t ot the solitude of the government and meantime witness to th troop under your command the satisfaction of ihe etnperer in which you have an important part extract from the circular « 1 he events that have just taken place at santo domingo where dessalines with all bis ioi ces has tailcn in his designs are suf bcient to encourage those persons who de siring to come to santo domingo were pre vented only by the fear of a new evacuation 1 he protection given to commerce ou dit to draw merchants thither ; the advantages that culture oilers the cutting of wood 8cc are attractives for the late inhabitants ; and i am assured as to the course of proceeding that you would do well to second me in re-peo phngthe colony an end will be put to the misery in which many familes languish who have emigrated irom st domingo and are tattered in the neighbouring colonies 1 hey may count by applying tome upon the same protection that 1 promised them in my address of tbe 26th ventose i ah march year 1 j c communication on ihe ut inftant sally johnfton of idis dlhict was delivered of a very extraoidinary child ii refembled two female children joined together fide by j fide and had only one body it had two in ads men h and nofei j four eyes ears thighs legs and lec-t with loes in pro portion the two inner arms were | fomething fmaller than the outer one - , i te bn ail had only two nipples one at each : h '<-, and the body but one navel i here appeared to be regular paifages from each mouth down through ihe bo dy it mealurcd from where the tuck j klid head joins ihe uiouldeis to lhc havanna july 3 1s05 the hibernia capt done arrived st hus ton spoke brig telemachus on the lath inst ina short passage from leghorn and was informed that thi ( in 11 una u h»h ail arrived safe at gibraltar we learn by mr harrod supercargo of the ship llaiinali arrived at newburyport from trieste and gibraltar that llie u s sch'r enterprise capt robertson has been entirely rebuilt at venice and would be rea dy to sail im syracuse tne 10th may l'he u s frigate boston the constitution being in co captured a tripolitan cruizer and retook two neapolitan vessels her prizes and carried into malta the hannah brought dispatches for go vernment from our mediterranean squa dron fixtract from l'tidin papers to the bib cf june — received at the otl'.ceof this daze tie j london juni 5 — a p-ip'-r of ye ll nl.iy*'"7"ar times contains the lollowing article : — « 4 the cafe of mr ofborns markliam or rather of the navy ami admiralty boards will regard to that gentleman engrofies the attention of the political circles mr markliam isjor was a very few days ajjo one of the commiflioners of the navy board when this feat was offered him he left the bar and refignsd chancellorship of the see ot york and x c6mmi(fionerfitip of bankrupts i):s approving fome ol ihe tranfachons ot the navy board he axprefled himfelf with freedom and dignity at the tab e which produced a complaint to lord melville he firft lord of the admiralty to whom his colleagues reprefented as a great grievance that he had abluluitly pielu