There is an armament preparing with the greatest expedition at Brest, which is to be commanded by M. de Ternay, and to consist of eight or ten ships of the line and frigates, six of the line and several frigates, as it is said, (perhaps it is not yet certain nor determined exactly how many of either,) with several thousand men; all numbers are mentioned from six to ten thousand men, under the General officers de Rochambeau and Jaucourt. Whether this force is destined to the continent or the West Indies, time will discover; at present, it ought not to be known. On the other hand, I see by a paragraph in a London paper of the 16th of this month, that the Thunderer, Torbay, Ramilies, Royal Oak, Triumph, and Egmont, are ordered for the West Indies, under Captain Walsingham; the Southampton, St Albans, and Winchelsea, which were talked of to go with him, are found unfit for service, and in so bad a condition as to be ordered to be paid off. Thus the French are likely to be drawn into the American seas in sufficient force, where they have great advantages in carrying on the war. It is much to be wished, that the Spaniards could be drawn into the same field of battle, for Gibraltar must be taken in America if ever. There are some persons, however, who think that the English will avenge the French, the Spaniards, and above all the Americans, upon one another, and it is certain that parties in England are working up to a crisis. The petitions of the counties, their numerous committees of correspondence, their hints of associations, have most certainly alarmed the King and his Ministers to so great a degree, that for some time their conduct was equivocal, giving hopes at times to the people, that the Crown would favor the desired reformation in the expenditure of money. But upon the news of Rodney's successes they grew bolder, and determined to exert all the authority of the Crown to suppress the meetings of the people. Accordingly the cry of faction, sedition, and rebellion, was set up in Parliament by the majority, and the King was advised to dismiss those lieutenants of counties, who had favored the meetings of the people, advice which he has certainly taken. This is a decisive measure. It will either discourage and suppress those meetings, petitions, correspondence, and associations altogether, or it will give them greater force.