A FRENCH SQUADRON SAILS UP THE ENGLISH CHANNEL.

Count Saxe was appointed by the French king commander of the troops designed for this expedition, which amounted to fifteen thousand men. They began their march to Picardy, and a great number of vessels was assembled for their embarkation at Dunkirk, Calais, and Boulogne. It was determined that they should be landed in Kent, under convoy of a strong squadron equipped at Brest, and commanded by monsieur de Roquefeuille, an officer of experience and capacity. The chevalier de St. George is said to have required the personal service of the duke of Ormond, who excused himself on account of his advanced age; be that as it will, prince Charles departed from Rome about the end of December, in the disguise of a Spanish courier, attended by one servant only, and furnished with passports by cardinal Aquaviva. He travelled through Tuscany to Genoa, from whence he proceeded to Savona, where he embarked for Antibes, and prosecuting his journey to Paris, was indulged with a private audience of the French king; then he set out incognito for the coast of Picardy. The British ministry being apprized of his arrival in France, at once comprehended the destination of the armaments prepared at Brest and Boulogne. Mr. Thompson, the English resident at Paris, received orders to make a remonstrance to the French ministry, on the violation of those treaties by which the pretender to the crown of Great Britain was excluded from the territories of France. But he was given to understand, that his most christian, majesty would not explain himself on that subject, until the king of England should have given satisfaction on the repeated complaints which had been made to him, touching the infractions of those very treaties which had been so often violated by his orders. In the month of January, M. de Roquefeuille sailed from Brest, directing his course up the English channel, with twenty ships of war. They were immediately discovered by an English cruiser, which ran into Plymouth; and the intelligence was conveyed by land to the board of admiralty. Sir John Norris was forthwith ordered to take the command of the squadron at Spithead, with which he sailed round to the Downs, where he was joined by some ships of the line from Chatham, and then he found himself at the head of a squadron considerably stronger than that of the enemy.