the West-Indies. his grace lost no time in referring them to the consideration of his majesty's advocategeneral; and I am now directed to transmit to you, for lord Hawkesbury's information, a copy of his report thereupon, together with a copy of a letter which the duke has written upon the subject to the lords commissioners of the admiralty. I am, &c. (Signed) J. KING. Letter from the Duke of Portland to the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty. 1801. Whitehall, May 27, My Lords, I transmit to your lordships herewith, for your information, an extract of a letter from Mr. Thornton, his majesty's chargé d'affaires in America, to lord Grenville, with copies of its inclosures relative to the capture of American vessels trading to the Spanish ports, together with a copy of the report of his majesty's advocate-general, to whom, by the king's command, the papers in question have been referred. I have, at the same time, the honour to signify to your lordships his majesty's pleasure, that you should direct the judges of our colonial viceadmiralty courts to follow and he guided in their decisions in cases relating to the trade carried on be tween a neutral and belligerent nation, by the rules and principles established in the high court of admiralty, and laid down in the inclosed report of his majesty's advocate-general. And, the better to enforce an uniform and strict adherence to those principles, I am further to signify to you the king's commands, I am honoured with your grace's letter of the 29th instant, transmitting to me several papers which have been communicated to your grace by lord Hawkesbury, from his majesty's chargé d'affaires in America, with a direction to take them into consideration, and to report to your grace, for his majesty's information, my opinion, whether, in consequence of what is contained in the extract of Mr. Thornton's letter to lord Grenville, especially that part of it which states a principle to have been lately adopted in the courts of viceadmiralty at Jamaica and Providence, that no commerce would be permitted between a belligerent and neutral nation, in the vessels of the latter, but such as had been authorised previously to the commencement of hostilities," it would be advisable to make any or what communications to the vice-admiralty courts at Jamaica and the Bahamas for their guidance and direction. 66 In obedience to your grace's commands, I have considered the papers referred to me; and I have the honour to report, that the prin ciple stated to have been lately adopted in the courts of vice-admiralty at Jamaica and Providence is directly in opposition to the decisions daily passing in the high court of admiralty and the court of appeals. It has been held by the tribunals of this country, that neutrals cannot be admitted by the enemy, under the pressure of war, to carry on his colonial trade, from which in time of peace they were wholly excluded. But this principle may be, and has been, on accouut of special circumstances during the present hostilities, to a certain degree, relaxed. His majesty's instructions, of January 1798, only order that vessels shall be brought in for legal adjudication which are coming directly from the enemy's colonies to Europe, and not being bound to England, or a port of their own country. A trade, be tween the neutral country and the enemy's colonies is now clearly per mitted. Colonial produce, actually imported into the neutral country, may also be re-exported from thence to any other place, even to the mother country of that colony of which it is the produce. His ma jesty's existing instructions are therefore the rule by which at present the judges of the vice-admiralty courts ought to govern themselves; and I humbly apprehend that it would be advisable to convey to the courts referred to a direction to that effect; as the application of the more extended principle upon which they are represented to act may be produc tive, not only of much injustice, but of great public inconvenience. I have the honour to be, &c. (Signed) J. NICHOLL. PRICES of STOCK for the Year 1801. N. P. The higheft and loweft Prices of each STOCK in the course of any Month are put down in that Month. 1801. Bank 3p.Ct. 3 pct.14p.ct. 5p.ct.jsp.ct. Long | Short India India S Sca; Oid New Exche j Stock. red. conf. conf. Navy. 797 Ann. Ann Stock. Bonds. Stock Ann. Ann. Omm. quer Bitta. 162 62 Jan. 63 80 91 97 18 54 205 63 149 55 54 73 86 87 17 5 187 5 pr. 62 621 pr. 571 dif. 2 pr 94 61 17 50 85 3dif. 86 54 17 20 832 571 8857 17 150 554 75% 89 90 17 184 5 612 55 5517 87 54 17 583 751 96291 21 50 75 51841 2 563 551 86 3 88 55 17 8 o 97 Apr. 170 601/21 159 574 943 925 175 5 $ 2 192 6531 59 8 8 0 97 201 67 59% 6017 10 92 58 1991 15 12 0 87 8 8 0 98 90 571 97 2034 1663 60 603 78 954 94 18 663/2 202 5 193 6 584 1212 93 603 16 O O 86 8 O O 5815 15 C 85 Sept. 168 61 60 81 96 97 181 1954 177 58 81 93 97 18 53 9 60 16 OO 191 6 574 85 8611 1772 683 20 9 85 94 984 Nov. 1994 67 68 85 100 99% 197 5 215/1⁄2 187 66 67 83 99 97 Dec. 188 67 69 85 100 98, 1863663 67: 833 99 973 7፤ 98 59 16 I ลล 21 22 21 |