ships belonging to the East India company, and three transports containing a body of troops, arrived off the Dutch island of Amboyna, the capital of the Molucca islands, and the principal settlement of the Dutch in this quarter. On the same afternoon the troops were landed and possession taken, without resistance, of this important island and its dependencies. In the treasury were found 81,112 rix-dollars, and in the warehouses 515,940 lbs. weight of cloves.

On the 5th of March, the rear-admiral and squadron got under way, and made sail for the Banda or Nutmeg islands. On the 7th, in the evening, the expedition arrived off Great-Banda, or Banda-Neira, and on the 8th, early in the afternoon, the troops, along with a detachment of marines from the squadron, were disembarked on the north side of the island, under cover of the Orpheus frigate, and Harling armed East India ship ; between which ships and two batteries of two guns each, some firing was interchanged. The batteries, however, were soon silenced, and the troops took possession of them. All further hostility ceased ; and on the same evening the settlement of Fort-Nassau on Banda-Neira, with that and all the other islands, its dependencies surrendered to the British arms, upon nearly the same terms as had been granted at Amboyna. In the treasury at Banda-Neira were found 66,675 rix-dollars, and in the warehouses 84,777 lbs. of nutmegs, 19,587 lbs. of mace, exclusive of a great quantity of valuable merchandise and other stores.

In a military point of view, captures effected like those of Amboyna and Banda, can excite very little interest ; and their principal political importance is of a negative character, resting on the loss of property sustained by the despoiled enemy. We must, however, except the enrichment of the captors. That is a positive, although an individual advantage ; and we believe that the five captains of the navy, present at the surrender of Amboyna and Banda, received each about £15,000 sterling. Aware, from our researches, that Captain Benjamin William Page, of the 18-gun ship-sloop Hobart, owing to his local experience, had been employed by Rear-admiral Rainier to lead the squadron through the straits of Malacca, Sincapore, and Banca, we had hoped that an officer who had been so instrumental to the success of the expedition, would also have been one of the fortunate sharers of the prize-money that flowed from it. We find, however, that on the capture, towards the end of January, of the Dutch brig of war Haerlem, with important despatches, the Hobart was sent back by Rear-admiral Rainier, with those despatches, to Madras and Bengal, and that Captain Page, being necessarily absent at the time of surrender, was not allowed by his brother-captains to participate in the fruits of the conquest.

Misled as to the amount of the British naval force at the

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