Declaration issued by the Pruffian Contmandant on his entering Ritze buitel. B government of this place, as well as all other inhabitants and ftrangers arriving here, with all their rights, legal relations, affairs, bainess, and property, wherever it may be requifite; but principally commerce and navigation, which shall not in the least be injured or restrained, but, on the contrary, better secured and preserved in their tranquil and undisturbed course, without, however, making the least alteration in the constitution and public measures of the place; on the other hand, every perfon must behave in a peaceable, quiet, and proper manner to the king's troops under my command; otherwile he will have to afcribe to himself the disagreeable consequences which will inevitably arife from a contrary behaviour. (Signed) Wedell, Colonel and commander of the royal Pruflian regiment of infantry, von Schladen. Y the express supreme command of his majesty the king of Pruffia, Frederick William III. my most gracious master, it is hereby made known, that the march of the troops intrusted to my command, forming a part of the combined army of observation, employed in the protec tion of the neutrality of the north of Germany, and the temporary occupation of the bailiwic of Ritzebuttel, and the village of Cuxhaven, by these troops, has been caused by a misunderstanding which had happened with respect to a Pruffian ship. Though after several fruitless requests and amicable attempts had been made, this misunderstanding is now happily done away, yet as the marching of troops, rendered necessary by the inefficacy of these requests and amicable attempts in the beginning, had once been ordered, and already commenced, hiş majesty must have deemed it the more expedient to let it be continued, for the purpose of occupying the bailiwic of Ritzbuttel, to prevent fimilar events, and henceforth to watch himself over the maintenance of the nentrality, and over the security (agreeably to the principles of neutrality) of this place fo important for all states fituated within the line of demarcation. This is the fole object of the arrival of the troops intrusted to my command. As their commanding officer, I shall therefore be particularly folicitous in maintaining public tranquillity and security, especially with respect to relations of neutrality; and in vigorously protecting the civil branches of the Hamburgh arife to the Ruffian commerce, to IN Ruffian Edict. : N consequence of the order of his excellency chevalier Popofi, major-general commandant at Riga, of the 28th instant (August), it is hereby made known to your honourable senate, that his imperial majesty, after having received the account of the violent behaviour of the English against Denmark, and also that one of their fleets had paffed the Sound, by which, the paffage being blocked up, may have great influence on the whole trade of the Baltic feas, he has been pleafed to order, that, for the security against any difadvantage that may long HAVE this moment received a letter from M. count Raftopschin, in which his excellency mentions, that his imperial majesty, our Notice published in the Petersburgh gracious monarch, has been pleased Gazette of the 10th of September. S EVERAL political circumstances inducing his majesty the emperor to think that a rupture of the friendship with England may ensue, an army, confifting of five corps, is, on this account, to be collected, by his majesty's fupreme command, under the orders of the general of cavalry von der Pahlen, viz. near Goldingen, under the command of general baron Springporten, of four regiments of horse, fix of infantry, four battalions, and 45 field-pieces; near Lemsel, under the command of the general of cavalry, prince Alexander of Wirtemberg, three regiments and five squadrons of horse, and fix regiments and four battalions of foot; near Rumfer, under his imperial highness the grand duke Czarevitsch Conftantine Pavlovitsch, four regiments of horse, fix regiments and four battalions of foot, and 45 pieces of artillery; near Coporie, under the grand duke and successor to the throne, to take off the embargo on English ships, and on the property of Englismmen in Ruffia. Refusal of the Emperor of Russia to receive an Ambassador from the Emperor of Germany. (From the Petersburgh Gazette of October 15.) A CCORDING to advices re ceived from the privy counfellor, M. de Kalistchew, it has been made known that the emperor of Germany intended to send an extraordinary embasly to the court of his imperial majesty, to offer excules for what happened at Ancona; and for this purpose he had named the prince of Auersperg, a lieutenantgeneral of the armies, and knight of the golden fleece, as his ambaffador. It has not, however, pleased his imperial majefty either to accept the embally or the ambaffador, particularly in the person of the prince of Auersperg, who during the journey of her imperial highness the grand grand duchess Alexandra Pavlovna, allowed himself to offer her several indignities (grofiertés). His majesty orders that no answer shall be returned to this notification. Subflance of the Declaration of the Emperor of Russia relative to an armed Neutrality by Sea. THAT on mounting his throne he found his states involved in a war, provoked by a great nation; which had fallen into dissolution; that conceiving the coalition a mere measure of preservation, this motive induced him to join it; that he did not at that time think it necessary to adopt the system of an armed neutrality on fea for the protection of commerce, not doubting but that the fincerity of his allies, and their reciprocal interests, would be fufficient to secure the flag of the northern powers from insult. But that being disappointed in this expectation by the perfidious enterprises of a great power, which had fought to enchain the liberty of the feas by capturing Danish convoys, the independence of the maritime powers of the North appeared to him to be openly menaced. He consequently confiders it a measure of neceffity to have recourse to an armed neutrality, the fuccess of which was acknowledged in the time of the Ame rican war. Extract from the Petersburgh Court we HEREAS have learned W that the island of Malta, Jately in poffeffion of the French, has been furrendered to the English troops; but as it is yet uncertain Order of the Emperor of Ruffia lay- T on Petersburgh, Nov. 18 and 23. HE crews of two English ships in the harbour of Narva, the arrival of a military force to put them under arreft, in confequence of the embargo laid on them, having made resistance, fired pistols, and forced a Ruffian failor into the water, and afterwards weighed anchor, and failed away; his imperial majesty has been pleased to order that the remainder of the vessels in that harbour shall be burned. His imperial majefy having received from his chamberlain, Italinskoi, at Palermo, an account of the taking of Malta, has been pleased to direct that the following note shall be transmitted to all the diplomatic corps residing at his court by the minifter prefiding in the college for foreign affairs, count Rostoptschia, and the vice chancellor, count Panin: "His majesty, the emperor of all the Ruffias, having received the circumstantial account of the fur render. 1 render of Malta, by which it is fully confirmed that the English generals, notwithstanding repeated representations of his imperial majefty's minifter, and the minifters of the king of the Two Sicilies, have taken poffeffion of Valetta and the island of Malta in the name of the king of Great Britain, and hoifted the English flag alone; his majesty fees with just displeasure fuch a breach of good faith, and has refolved that the embargo laid on all the English vessels in the Ruffian harbours shall not be taken off till the conditions of the convention Concluded in the year 1798 shall be punctually fulfilled." Proclamation of his Imperial Majesty, Emperor of all the Ruffias, ac. &c. W HEREAS it has been reprefented by many fubjects of Ruffia, that large fums of money are due to them from English merchants refident in Ruffia, and that payment of fuch debts cannot be obtained; his imperial majesty's college of commerce at St. Peterfburgh, by virtue of powers vested in them for the purpose of promoting an adjustment and liquidation of the debts due to the Ruflian merchants from the English merchants, have ordained an especial commiffion, or board of commiffioners, for managing English property, and they direct the faid board to be constituted, and their operations and proceedings to be guided by the following regulations: I. It shall confift of two Ruffian, two English, and two merchants of other nations, all of whom shall be men of known good character, and the English shalt be chofen or felected by the English merchants, to whom shall be added one of the members of the imperial college of commerce in St. Petersburgh. II. All matters that come under their cognizance shall be adjusted conformably to the accustomed rules and established usage in trade; they are to decide among themselves, by a majority of votes, upon matters under discussion; but in cafe of any points involving the interests of the Ruffian commerce, the opinion of his imperial majesty's counsellor of the college of commerce is to fapersede the majority of votes, fubject, however, to the concurrence of the college of commerce. III. Every British merchant re fident in Ruffia, without excepting fuch as have fubfcribed themfelves viptors, shall deliver to the commiffioners, in writing, a statement of all the balances of accounts in their books, and a schedule of effects and goods in their poffeffion; and they shall, when required, deliver to the commiffioners their books of accompts out of their accompting-houses. to IV. Every Ruffian subject, who has any claim or demand upon an Englishman, of whatever nature or kind it may be, or who is indebted to a British subject, shall tranfmit an account of the particulars of fuch debts or claims, within four months from the date of the commiffioners, the publication of this ordinance in thereof, the commissioners are not the newspapers, and in default to take cognizance of any claims after that period. V. The commifioners are to difpose of all English effects now fe questered, and to receive all balances lances of accounts, and to bring the whole into one general mass. VI. The Ruffian subjects shall receive out of the fund of the English property, (collected as before directed,) after admiffion of the vali dity and juftness of the claims, an equal dividend upon their refpective demands, and full fatisfaction. VII. In cafe the fund of English property does not prove adequate to the demands of the Ruffian creditors, or that there shall remain a furplus, then the result shall be communicated to the college of conimerce at St. Petersburgh. fusal given by the government of Hamburgh to cause a vessel to be released, which, taken by one of the ships of war of his Britannic majesty, had been compelled, in order to avoid the dangers of the sea, to enter that port, he thought it his duty to demand an audience of his excellency count Haugwitz, minifter of state and of the cabinet, for the purpose of obtaining information with respect to that affair. He received from his excellency the aflurance that the intentions of his Prussian majesty were in no view hoftile or contrary to the interests of Great Britain; but that the occupation of Cuxhaven had for its principal object the maintenance of the authority of his Pruffian majesty, in his character of chief and protector of the neutrality of the north of Germany, and that it was conducted with the confent of the city of Hamburgh itself. Lord Carysfort not being exactly acquainted with the circumstances under which the vessel in question found itself, deferred to another occafion the observations which he might have wished to submit to his excellency. He has now grounds to believe that, laden with contraband goods, it was captured by one of his Britannic majesty's ships as Note from Lord Carysfort to Count it was entering into the Texel; that Haugwitz. VIII.. The commiffioners shall not be accountable or responsible for their decifions, nor shall there be any appeal from their determinations, either by petition or in any other way, on any account what ever. IX. To defray the expense and management of the board of commiffioners, and for the falary of their clerks and agents, both debtors and creditors shall allow them one-half per cent. upon the amount of the respective sums brought under their confideration. St. Petersburgh, Nov. 17, 1800. is to say, into a port belonging to the enemies of his majesty; and that it was restored as foon as the officer who had the charge of it could be informed of the orders of his fuperiors. With respect to the occupation of the town of Cuxhaven by the Pruffian troops, which must have been founded on particular conventions between his Pruffian majesty and the fenate of Hamburgh, he does |