polacca sailing in ballast from Marseilles to Sicily. From her Spencer learned that there were two vessels fitting out at Gergenti for Genoa, well-manned and armed. Spenser gave Mr. Andrew Towill, Renards master, permission to take 15 men in the captured polacca to seek them out. After 16 days, Towill encountered the two vessels. He chased them for six hours and fired muskets at them before they struck. The two vessels were polaccas, each armed with six guns, 16 muskets, and a chest of small arms, and having a crew of 18 men. The merchantmen suffered one man killed and three wounded before they surrendered. Their crews were Genoese and the vessels were carrying sulphur, gum, and almonds. Towill succeeded in getting all three polaccas safely back to Malta, where the court condemned them as legal prizes containing French goods. July saw Crafty off the coast of Calabria. , under the command of Sir William Hoste, had supported British troops in the Battle of Maida. Hoste then sailed to Messina. There General Broderick asked Hoste to support the British and Neapolitan attack on Reggio. Reggio surrendered on 10 July; two days later Crafty, two Neapolitan gunboats, and three armed boats from joined Amphion. A few days later a detachment of troops from the 78th Regiment of Foot under Lieutenant-Colonel M'Leod, joined them as well. On 25 July, Hoste's squadron sailed for Cape Cotrone (probably Capo Rizzuto). They arrived in time to anchor the next day by the river Tacina (Fiume Tacina) and fire on a column of French troops marching from Catanzaro to Cotrone, forcing the French inland. Cotrone surrendered on 30 July. In October 1806 Ball sent Spencer to negotiate with the Dey of Algiers for the release of some Maltese whom the Algerians had enslaved before Malta became a British possession. As Spencer was about to leave, his mission unsuccessful, the Dey, expressing his wish to be friendly with Britain, released 30 men and two ladies who had been slaves for more than 15 years. He also requested that a British frigate come to take his ambassador to Constantinople. On Spencer's return, the Government of Malta presented him with a piece of plate valued at 100 guineas. At a later date, Spencer received a second piece of plate, this one worth 40 guineas, in appreciation of his efforts to protect Malta's trade. On 2 January 1807 Spencer was