efusal of the writ is discretionary in the
Court, or Judge applied to, and it will only be issued on a
proper case being laid before them. No such writ, it is
believed, was ever applied for in Buonaparte's case; nor, if
applied for, would it have been obtained. Where a foreigner,
in private life, is brought to England, and detained against
his will, the Court will grant the writ; but any application
of Buonaparte, or on his behalf, must have shown him to have
surrendered, and to have been then detained as a prisoner of
war. Under that character, he was not entitled to the benefit
of this writ; the Courts having refused it on the application
of individuals brought to England as prisoners of war, even
when applied for by the subject of a neutral power, who swore
to his having been compelled by force to serve the enemy, and
to have been captured in the course of that compulsory
service.

"The real transaction alluded to, is understood to have been
this: an individual being under prosecution for a libel on a
naval officer, censuring his conduct on the West India
station, when a French squadron was in those seas, pretended
that it would aid his defence to show that the French ships
were at that time in an unserviceable condition, and that
Buonaparte would be able to prove the fact. He accordingly
obtained a subpoena for him to attend as a witness on the
trial in the Court of King's Bench, and endeavoured himself,
and not by a lawyer, as at first supposed, to get on board
the Bellerophon to deliver it.

"This transaction probably gave currency to the rumours of a
Habeas Corpus having been issued, particularly as one
description of that writ is, the proceeding for bringing a
prisoner into Court to give evidence, which having given, he
is remanded to gaol.

"Had the individual in question succeeded in his attempt to
get on board the ship, and deliver the subpoena, it would
have been of no assistance either to himself or Buonaparte,
if it was at all intended to benefit the latter, as it would
not have been possible for him to obey it, there not being
any authority for Captain Maitland, who was answe