owing farewell letter, written by Mr. Foster to Sir James on
leaving Sweden, gives a more decided opinion on the state of Sweden
than has hitherto been offered. It concludes the correspondence.

The politics of Sweden have necessarily undergone a great
change. The death of the Crown Prince has completed the
disasters of the nation, and such is its present state of
weakness and discouragement, that I cannot consider the Swedes
as having any longer a shadow of independence. Their exposed
local situation, will prevent their taking any offensive
measures of hostility against us; the futility of any effort of
the sort prevents its being exacted from them by Buonaparte;
but I have recommended strongly to the merchants here, who have
British property, to place it under neutral cover, and by no
means to expose themselves in any way through a want of proper
precaution. I have had the satisfaction to find they have
attended to my advice.

Give me leave, sir, to repeat my best thanks for the
communications you continued to honour me with during my
residence in Sweden, and to assure you that I am, with great
regard and esteem,

Sir, &c. &c.
A. Foster.

To his Excellency Admiral Sir James Saumarez.

Some false reports having been circulated that the cruisers under the
orders of Sir James had captured several Swedish ships bound to
England and other ports, from which the English flag was not excluded,
the Right Hon. Charles Yorke, then first Lord of the Admiralty, wrote
a private letter to Sir James accompanying the modification of the
order already alluded to, and directing that any captures made under
its operation might be restored. To which communication Sir James made
the following reply:

Victory, 20th June 1810.

SIR,

I have this morning received the honour of your letter on the
subject of the trade of Sweden, in which you are pleased to
observe that the Marquess of Wellesley had communicated to you
that he had received information that some of the ships under
my orders have detained and captured some ships from a Swedish
port destined to the port of London, to which I beg leave to
state that the information must have been incorrect, the
detention or capture of any vessel of that description being
contrary to the orders I have given to the cruisers on this