great pagoda. After keeping up the fire pretty brifkly for fome time, the enemy posted under cover of the dingey began to give way, and retreat to the fmail pagoda, where they could be more effectually covered from our fire: on this the boats pathed on for the dingey and a gallivat, with an intention of deftroying them: the enemy, perceiving this movement, affembled in large bodies at the great pagoda and the town, and marched directly for the dingey, which encouraged the retiring party to rally again. Obferving their force fo very fuperior, and the impoffibility of any further effectual attempt on either the din gey or gallivat, which were lying clofe in with and covered by the guns at the great pagoda, it was judged moft prudent to retreat, the enemy having alfo now opened a fire upon the boats from a large gun at the pagoda; and the reinforcement at the dingey had alfo renewed their fire, which was fmartly returned by the boats until clear of the creek. It is with pleasure we learn that no cafualties happened on our fide during this conflict, though feveral fhot ftruck the Princefs Royal's boat. It is fuppofed the enemy must have fuffered feverely, as they were obferved carrying away what was fuppofed to be their killed and wounded, from the party stationed at the dingey, towards the fmall pagoda. Though the attempt to deftroy the veffels in the creek was not attended with the wished-for fuccefs, yet the fervice was conducted by our boats with a fpirit and activity that reflects the highest honour on the officers and men employed on this occafion. The town of Goomtee furrounds Jaigat pagoda: the creek is finall, and very fhallow; it lies in latitude verfation between Lieut. Convers and the Rajah of Geomtee, he acknowledged the ketch lying at Oacka, but that the bullocks had been fold, and the monev, as ufual, divided amongst the captors. Where the Princess Augufta was at anchor, they could fee, from her main-top, the maft-heads of a ketch, and feveral boats in Roffan creek, which is commanded by a fort on each fide the entrance. Little doubt feems to be entertained that the ketch had been captured by the Goomtee people we understand they have upwards of forty cruffers, one a decked veffel, carrying eight carriage guns. Any veffel vifiting Goomtee ought to be provided with an anchor chain, as the bottom is very rocky. JUNE. CALCUTTA, June 1, 1799. . On Thurfday afternoon, the 23d ultimo, a fevere thunder-ftorm was experienced at Barackpore and Se. rampore. The wind was fo violent for ten minutes, that the flagftaffs at both places were broken: the bungalows fuffered very much in their roofs; and the windows of feveral giving way, admitted a torrent of rain, mingled with hail, to the no fmall annoyance of the inhabitants, and deftruction of furni ture: many pillars in the verandahs were cracked, and fome thrown down. The river exhibited a scene of equal diftrefs: many boats were overfet; and fuch of the crews as could not fwim, or were unable to fecure a place on the wrecks, perished. Â Danish fnow went down at her anchors: only the top-mafts and yards remained above wateron which the crew were clinging, and looking earnestly for relief to the fhore, from whence no one durft + B 3 ventur venture off to their aid-till the Rev. Mr. Fruchtenicht, a Danish miffionary, fprung into a boat, and, by the offer of reward, feafonably reinforced with menaces and a vigorous application of his cane, prevailed on the Mangy and Dan. dies to carry him to the wreck, and carry the trembling wretches to the fhore. The hurricane, fo dreadful in its effects, fortunately was confined within very narrow bounds. At Calcutta, the gathering of a few clouds, and the rolling of diftant thunder, gave merely fome flight indications of a north-wefter, which foon vanished; and neither at Chandernagore, Chinfurah, nor even at Pultah, was the gale felt with any degree of violence. On Thursday the 30th ult. about four o'clock in the afternoon, one of the prefs-houfes at the Honourable Company's powder manufac. tory near Pultah blew up. In the fpace of a few feconds the fire communicated to three corning-houfes, one breaking-house, and two fifting and feparating-houfes: the toof of of one of the pilon mills was a good deal fhattered by the con. culion, but no other part of the works injured. About eight or ten natives, employed in the works, were unfortunately killed by this accident. The quantity of powder exploded is computed at 244 barrels and 56 pounds, or 24,436lbs. Several houfes in the village of Ifhapore were in a blaze a few minutes after the accident. Nothing has yet heen difcovered that can lead to the caufe of this explofion. It was heard and a tremor of the ground felt in Calcutta, occafioning, during that and the following day, various meteorological conjectures. An unfortunate accident happen. ed a few nights ago on board the extra thip the Exeter: The gunner of that velfe! having, by mittake for brandy, drank off, in the dark, a large draught of fpirits of turpentine, was found dead the next morning. A woman, named Mary Antony, was convicted, on the 14th inft. at the half yearly feffion of Oyer and Terminer, of the murder of William Wray, a private in his Majefty's 76th regiment, by stab ing him in the left breaft with a knife. She was ordered for execu tion on the 17th. A native was alfo convicted of the wilful murder of his wife, and ordered for execution at the fame time. On Monday evening the 17th inftant, Mary Antony, a native Portugueze, and Ram Dial, a Hindu bricklayer, were executed, purfuant to their fentence. The prifoners were drawn on an open cart to the place of execution at the head of the Loll Bazar, which they reached at five o'clock. Both were greatly affected. The wo man prefented the appearance of extreme grief; Her long dishevelled hair covered her face and bofom; fhe was overwhelmed in tears, and conftant convulfive fobbings bereaved her of the power of vocal utterance. The Hindu was much agitated; but, as the moment of execution approached, he became more compofed, and appeared to meet his fate with calm relignation, The Rev. Dr. Mackinnon humanely attended the woman. After a very few minutes fpent in devotion, the cart was driven away, and the cri minals paffed into eternity. A coffin had been prepared for the corpfe of the Chriftian. The bodies, after hanging the ufual time, were cut down, and carried away on the cart for interment, according to the forms of religion to which they refpectively belonged. An immenfe concourfe of natives, of all deferiptions, affembled to witness the melancholy fcene. A A regular dawk communication is now established between Madras and Seringapatam; and the letters are conveyed in the courfe of two or three days. The following detail, refpecting the meritorious conduct of the Coorga Rajah, is taken from the Bombay Courier of the 18th ul timo-Hearing that Meer Mahomed Ally, an officer of Tippoo, with 200 Carnatics, were ftationed in the Pettah of Buntwall, he immediately marched a party to attack them, who killed forty of them, compelling the reft to take refuge in a neighbouring pagoda. The Coorugs, being unable to make any impreffion on the pagoda, went in purfuit of fome hundred head of bullocks, which induced the Aumildar of Buntwall to make an ef fort to fave them; with which view, he, and a principal officer of the Kaffibbeh, collected 300 Nairs and Moplas, who attacked the Coorugs, but were worfted after a fevere confit, leaving half their number dead on the field, with very little lofs on the Rajah's fide the in. habitants of Buntwall then deferted the Pettah, and the complete pil. lage of it enfued; after which the Coorugs retired to Purkumbeh, in their own district of Puttoor.Shehab-ud-Deen, Aumil of Mangalore, taking the alarm at this incurfion, determined to revenge it; and in a few days affembled a body of Moplahs and Carnatics, to the number of 3000 men, who marched early on the morning of the 12th altimo against the Coorugs at Pur. kumbeh, who at that time did not exceed 800. They had received intimation of the enemy's approach, and made the beft difpofition for meeting them, by forming them. felves into two bodies of 400 each, ander two officers named Kulliant Beddena and Boopo, who waited the very near approach of the enemy, and, after a fingle difcharge of their fire-arms, rufhed impetuously on them with their war-knives, difperfing them almoft inftantly. The lofs of Tippoo's people is ftared at 300, and 200 wounded carried off to Mangalore. Shehab-ud. Deen is faid not to have been in the action himfelf, the troops being under the immediate command of his nephew, Nawneth Sadree: one palankeen, four horfes, a great quantity of fwords and mufquets, and fome ammunition, fell into the hands of the Coorugs, whofe lofs, it is ftated, did not exceed 30 in kill. ed and wounded: it is added, that Kulliant Beddena is among latter. the A letter from the Cape, dated Feb. 22, fays, "a few days ago the Dedalus frigate, of 32 guns, (one of Commodore Blanket's fquadron), brought in here the La Prudente French privateer, formerly national frigate, with 400 men on board, which he took upon the Bank; out only twenty days, and had taken only one American from China, The French had 47 killed, and 14 wounded. His Majefty's fhip the Brave, which failed from Madras on the 20th ult. to convoy the Sarah Chriftina, fell in with and captured a Spanish brig on the day follow. ing, and fent her to Madras, where the arrived on the 22d, The Abercrombie, Captain Clark, from Coringa to this port, was un fortunately loft a few days ago on her entrance into the river. Soine time after taking her pilot en board, fhe got aground comiderably to the eastward of the ufual channel, The weather being very urfavour. able, and there appearing no pofiibility of faving the fhip, the Cap+ B 4 tain, officers, and feveral of the laf cars, embarked on board the fhip's boat, in which they reached town on the 19th inftant. The lafcars who were left on board, broke open chefts and other packages, and loaded themfelves with fuch articles of value as were moft easily portable, with which they committed themselves to a raft, to the number of 50 or 60, and pushed off from the fhip whether they gained the fhore, is not yet afcertained; but from the prevalence of the foutherly winds, it is probable they have got fafely to land. The Abercrombie was a very fine large fhip, of 800 tons burthen. She had on board a cargo of falt. water, and tying an empty wet bladder to the mouth of it, it was found, after fhaking a long time, that no air was difengaged. It would therefore appear that the water is not impregnated with any air, but that the bubbles of air are merely commen air difengaged from the water by the degree of heat. As the air, however, might be collected with a proper apparatus, its quality may be easily determined, The water has nothing peculiar in its colour, fmel, or tafte; it is not crude, or hardit diffolves fo eafily and perfectly. It contains no fulphureous princi. ple; for a piece of polished filver, when immerfed in it, contracted no ruft or dark colour. It contains no An Account of the Mineral Waters acid or alkali in a difengaged state; at Cannia. The hot-wells of Cannia are fix in number, and of different degrees of heat they all, however, evidently communicate; for the water in all of them is at an equal diftance from the furface of the ground, and a body immersed in one raifes the height of the water in the other, As the water, aifo, from all the fix wells, exhibit the fame chemical phenomena, there can be little doubt but that they all proceed from the fame fpring. Upon examining the heat of the different wells with great attention, it was found that they varied from 98 to 106 degrees of Farenheit's thermometer, nearly in proportion to their different depths. Bubbles of air feem to rife from the bottom of the different wells; and it was therefore conceived that the water might be acidulous, and impreg nated with fixed air. It was found, however, that the water did not fparkle in a glafs more than common water, nor did it turn a delicate vegetable colour red; and upon filling a large cafe-bottle with the for, upon mixing a delicate vegetable colour with it, no change ta a green or red colour was percep tible. The water does not contain' any felenite, or earthy, or alkaline matter, combined with vitriolic acid; for, upon adding a folution of mercury in nitrous acid to it, no fediment was depofited: nor does it contain any earthy matter in com. bination with marine acid, nor any copper or zinc; for, upon mixing. mineral and volatile aikalis with the water, no precipitate was formed. On mixture with a decoction of galls, the water acquired a blackish tinge, which fhews it to be flightly impregnated with iron. On a mixture with a folution of filver in nitrous acid, fome precipitate of luna cornea was produced: this fhews it to contain a very fmall portion of fea falt, but not more than the common water of Trincomalee, upon which the folution of filver had the fame effect, with this difference, that the precipitate from the hotwells was the blacket, probably from the impregnation of iron. Thefe experiments were made at the the wells, with water from the of defect of title in the plaintiffs, becaufe a forfeiture had been previoufly incurred of this eftate to the Company, under a grant made by the King of Portugal, in 1872, to one of his officers, named Lionel de Souza, and his heirs, upon feudal principies, for fervices done and expested, and afterwards renewed in the perfon of a defcendant, named Bernardo de Tavoura, with a strict condition against alienation out of the family of the grantees, unless by confent of the King or his Viceroy, and a prohibition from con. veyance to more than one perfon at a time.-Thefe reftrictions, it was alleged on the part of the Compa ny, were breached in the perfon of the laft defcendant of the family of De Souza, the original grantee, by alienation out of the family to two perfons, from whom the ancestor of the plaintiffs derived the title on The Hon. the Court of the Recorder. which they claimed, creating a forfeiture to the King of Portugal the paupers, versus THE HONOUR- donor, which accrued to the Hon. Company under his ceffion of the ifland, and the rights inherent in him, to King Charles the Second, by whom a conveyance was made to the Company in the terms of that ceffion. BOMBAY, June 1, 1799. LAW REPORT. CUNPUT AND TRIMBUCK SINOYS, ABLE COMPANY. On Tuesday the 30th April this caufe came to be heard, on an appeal from the late Mayor's Court, which had been entered, under the former charter, to the Hon. the Governor and Council as a Court of Appeals, and brought before this Court by the directions of the new charter as a depending caufe. The queftion to be decided involved an object of very great importance to the Hon. Company-no lefs than the property of a fifteenth part at leaft of the fuperficies of the island of Bombay, confifting of the lands known by the titk of the Mazagon Eftate, which were claimed by the plaintiffs under a purchafe alleged to have been made by their grand. father in the year 1736, although the Company had been in poffeffion fince the year 1758. This claim the Company refifted on the grounds When this conveyance was made by the laft defcendant of the family of Souza, he applied for the confent of the then Governor of Bombay by petition, ftating the property to be his own: and it would appear that the Company were not then apprized of the nature of the tenure, for the conveyanco was allowed; and fome years afterwards, the purchafers having become indebted to the Company, they were induced to take mortgages upon this eftate. But in the year 1758, having at tained copies of the original grants above ftated from Goa, they appiled to the Mayor's Court, fetting forth thefe grounds of title upon whic |