The Austrians have been successful in an attack upon Schabatz, intended as a preliminary to that of Belgrade.  In that on Dubitza, another town in the neighborhood of Belgrade, they have been repulsed, and as is suspected, with considerable loss.  It is still supposed the Russian fleet will go into the Mediterranean, though it will be much retarded by the refusal of the English government to permit its sailors to engage in the voyage.  Sweden and Denmark are arming from eight to twelve ships of the line each.  The English and Dutch treaty you will find in the Leyden gazettes of May the 9th and 13th.  That between England and Prussia is supposed to be stationary.  Monsieur de St. Priest, the ambassador from this court to the Hague, has either gone, or is on the point of going.  The Emperor of Morocco has declared war against England.  I enclose you his orders in our favor, on that occasion.  England sends a squadron to the Mediterranean for the protection of her commerce, and she is reinforcing her possessions in the two Indies.  France is expecting the arrival of an embassy from Tippoo Saib, is sending some regiments to the East Indies, and a fleet of evolution into the Atlantic.  Seven ships of the line and several frigates, sailed from Cadiz on the 22nd of April, destined to perform evolutions off the Western Islands, as the Spaniards say, but really to their American possessions, as is suspected.  Thus the several powers are by little and little, taking the position of war, without an immediate intention of waging it.  But that the present ill humor will finally end in war, is doubted by nobody.

In my letter of February the 5th, I had the honor of informing you of the discontent produced by our Arret of December the 29th, among the merchants of this country, and of the deputations from the chambers of commerce to the minister, on that subject.  The articles attacked, were the privileges on the sale of our ships, and the entrepot for codfish.  The former I knew to be valuable:  the latter I supposed not so; because during the whole of the time we have had four free ports in this kingdom, we have never used them for the smuggling of fish.  I concluded, therefore, the ports of entrepot would not be used for that purpose.  I saw that the ministers would sacrifice something to quiet the merchants, and was glad to save the valuable article relative to our ships, by abandoning the useless one for our codfish.  It was settled, therefore, in our conferences, that an Arret should be passed, abridging the former one only as to the entrepot of codfish.  I was in Holland when the Arret came out; and did not get a copy of it till yesterday.  Surprised to find that fish-oil was thereby also excluded from the entrepot, I have been to-day to make some inquiry into the cause; and from what I can learn, I conclude it must have been a mere error in the clerk who formed the Arret, and that it escaped attention on