The New Hampshire Gazette

CADIZ. April 30.

On the 14th arrived an officer of our land forces, taken by the English on his return from the West Indies, and lately landed at Gibraltar. He left Campeachy in a register ship, and touch'd at the Havannah, from which they took their departure, after receiving some important dispatches from the commodore of the fleet there. The register ship being taken by an English frigate, they carried her into one of the Azores islands, in order to secure her cargo, which amounted to the value of 60,000 piastres. This officer they brought in the frigate to Gibraltar, and sent him ashore opposite our camp, without suffering him to enter that fortress. He informs us, that the register ship was taken by a fraud, the English frigate having fired a gun to bring to, while he had French colours flying. One of the officers came on board the Spaniard, where, before he declared what he was, asked a thousand questions concerning the number and strength of our Ships at the Havannah, and was very inquisitive to know whether there were any dispatches on board for the court. Being told there was none, he took off the mask, and bid our people to surrender, as the frigate they saw was English, and war was declared against Spain; which as soon as the officer above mentioned heard, he threw the dispatches overboard. The Englishman who saw him do it, without being able to hinder him, gave him a thousand abusive names, and threatened to hang him. The Spaniard said, he had done nothing contrary to the laws of arms, which the English had infringed, by firing a gun under French colours. The same officer informs, that the Zeno register ship was arrived from Carthagena at the Havannah, where she had landed 600,000 Dollars; that two ships of war were gone to Porto Bello, to take on board the Viceroy of Peru, who was returning to Europe by way of the Havannah; that two other men of war were gone to La Vera Cruz; and that there still remained at the Havannah, 14 ships of the line, and three frigates.