part of his crew, was ordered on shore to assist in manning the batteries, one of which, called the chain rock, is but a few feet above the level of the sea : the frigate, meanwhile, under the command of the second lieutenant, was moored across the entrance of the harbour, which is only 160 yards wide. Rear-admiral Richery stood close in, with a fresh breeze, but, not liking the appearance of the defence, bore away to the southward.

On the 4th of September the French squadron entered the bay of Bulls : here M. Richery plundered and set fire to the huts of the poor fishermen, and destroyed their vessels and fishing-stages. On the 5th he detached chef de division Zacharie-Jacques-Théodore Allemand, with the Duquesne and Censeur 74s and frigate Friponne, to the bay of Castles on the coast of Labrador ; while he himself, with the Victoire, Barras, Jupiter, Berwick, and Révolution 74s, and frigates Embuscade, and. Félicité, set sail for the islands of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon ; where, on his arrival, he destroyed all the buildings, vessels, and fishing-stages of the inhabitants, as he had previously done at the bay of Bulls.

Delayed by head winds and fogs, M. Allemand did not enter the bay of Castles until the 22d of September ; by which time the greater part of the vessels had departed for Europe. The French commodore then sent an officer with a flag of truce, demanding the surrender of the town. This was refused, but the approach of the squadron compelled the British commanding officer to destroy the fishing-stages. Finding this to be the case, M. Allemand stood away from the coast, and, as M. Richery had done, steered homewards. On the 5th of November, the latter, with his division, entered the port of Rochefort : and on the 15th M. Allemand, with his, was equally fortunate, in reaching Lorient. The two divisions, between them, had destroyed upwards of 100 merchant vessels, and made a great many prisoners ; part of whom were sent in a cartel to Halifax, and the remainder about 300 in number, were carried into France.

On the 15th of April Captain John Parr of the 54-gun ship Malabar, having under his orders a few frigates and transports with a detachment of troops amounting to 1200 men, commanded by Major-general John Whyte, was detached by Admiral Sir John Laforey, who, since June of the preceding year, had been reappointed the commander-in-chief on the Leeward-island station in the room of Vice-admiral Caldwell, to take possession of the Dutch settlements of Demerara, Essequibo, and Berbice, in Dutch Guayana, on the continent of South America. On the 22d of April the first two, and on the 2d of May, the last of those settlements surrendered peaceably to the British arms. A Dutch 24-gun ship, the Thetis, and a 12-gun cutter, along with several richly-laden merchant vessels, were captured at Demerara.