The Sun.
London, England, 1806-09-15 00:00:00

Admiralty Office, Sept. l3.

Capt. Donelly, of the Narcissus, arrived last night-at,this
Office, with a Dkpateh- from Commodore Sir H. Poham,
addtessed to W. Mdrsden, Esq..of which the lbliowing is
a Copy .
Sr tt, Narcissus, ojf Buenos. Ayres, July 6.
• •

In the letter. which I had the. honour to address
you from St. Helena, on the 30th of April, I fully
explained; for the information of my Lords Com-
missioners of the Admiralty, the motives that in-
duced Me to press,s&strongly the urgency and expe-
diency of undertaking an Expedition againsttthe
Enemy's Settlements in the Rio de la Plata. I have,
therefore, only. to give you a short detail of the pro-
ceedings of His Majesty's Squadron, previously con-
gratulating their. Lordships on His Majesty's Forces
being in full possession of Buenos Ayres, and its de-
peudeneiCs, the capital of one of the richest and
most- extensive, Provinces of South America. TO
the Commerce of Great Britain it exhibits peculiar
advantages, as well. as to the fictive industry of her
manuaturing towns-. And when I venture, in ad-
dition, to assure their Lordships of the extreme
healthiness of the climate, I trust I only hold Out a
consolation that the friends of every person em-
ployed on, this Expedition are justly entitled to, and
which I am satisfied will he equally gratifying to the
feelings of every British Subject.
As I considered it an obje& of material conse-
quenceto obtain the earliest local information in the
River,.l placed the Squadron under the direct on of

Capt. Rowley on the .27th of May, and preceded it
in the 'Narcissus for that purpose. On the Bth ult.
we anchored near, the Island of Flores ; and, after
passing Monte Video the following- day, we de-.
tarred a Portuguese Schooner, by whom the intelli- .
gence we had formerly received was generally con- ,
finned. On the tith we fell in with the Encounter
and Ocean Transports near the South-Coast of the
River ; and on the lath. we joined the Squadron..
• It was immediately determined to attack the capital ;
and no time was lost. in .removing the Marine Batta- '
lion to the Narcissus, the Encounter, and the Trans-
ports, for the purpose of proceedina. to Buenos
Ayres, while the Diadem blockaded the Port of
Monte Video, and the Raisonable and Diomede, by
way of demonstration, cruized near MaldOnado, and
other assailable points. Our progress up the River
was very much retarded by the .shoalness of the wa-
ter, adverse winds and currents, continual fogs, and
the 'great inaccuracy of the charts ; but, by the un-
remitting. and laborious exertions of the Officers and ,
men I had the honour- to command; these difficul-
ties were surmounted, and the Squadron anchored
in the afternoon of the 25th, off Point Quelmey
a Pouichin;about 12 miles from Buenos Ayres.
As it was impossible for the Narcissus to approach
the shore on account of the shoalness of the water,
the Encounter was run in so close as to take the
ground, the more effc&ually to cover the debarka-
tion of the Army in case of necessity : the whole,
however, was landed in the course of the evening
without the least Opposition ; consisting of the de-
tachment from the Cape, and that from St. Helena,
with the Marineßattalion under the orders of Capt.
King, of the Diadem, which was composed of the ,
Marines of the Squadron, augmented by the incor- •
poration of some Seamen, and- three companies of
Royal Blues, from the same source. of- enterpr*,
which had been regularly trained for that duty, and
dressed in an appropriate uniform. The Enemy
was posted at the Village of Redu6tion, which was
on an eminence about two miles from. the Beach,
with the appearance of a fine plain between the two
Armies, which however proved on the following
morning to be only a morass in a high state of ver-
dure. This in some measure checked our advance-
ment ; nor did the Enemy open his field train till
the troops were nearly in the middle of the swamp,
from whence he thought it was impossible for them
.to be extricated.
The able and excellent disposition of Gen—Beres-
ford, and the intrepidity. of his Army, very sOori -
however satisfied the Enemy, that his only safety was
in a *precipitate retreat, for we had the satisfaCtion of
seeing 'from the Ships near 4000 Span 4 Cavalry
flying in every direction, leaving 'their artillery be-
hind them, while- our troops were ascending the hilt
with* that coolness and courage which has on every
occasion marked 'the charaaer of a British Soldier,
and has been exemplified in proportiowto the dif-
ficulties and dangers by
_which he' was 'opposed.—
I have probably tresPassed on a line that does not
immediately belong to me, but I could not resist the
gratification of• relating to their Lordships what I
saw ; assuringmyself at the same time, they will be
convinced, it the Enemy had given the Squadron
an equal opportunity, I should have had the pleas-
inglduty of reporting an honourable issue to the effect'
of their eminent zeal and exertions.—On the 27th,
in the morning, we saw some firing hear the Banks
of the River Chello, but it blew so hard that it, waS,
totally impracticable to have any communication '
with the shore (hiring that day.
Early on the 28th, a Royal Salute was fired from.
the Castle of Buenos Ayres, in honour of his Ma,
jesty's Colours being hoisted in. South America, and
instantly returned by the Ships lying off the town.
—I now consider it to be a proper moment for ac-
knowledging, in terms of the sincerest gratitude, my
high sense of the zealous and animated. condu& of
every Officer and Man in the Squadron which I have
the extraordinary good fortune to command. Capt.
Rowley„ with Capt. Edmonds under his orders,
continued as long as the weather would permit an
advantageous demonstration off Maldonado.—Cali
tarn Donnelly, who did me the favour -of request,'
ing I would go up the river in the Narcissus,
and to whom, from his rank, no specific service.
could be assigned in our small scale of operations,
applied himself on every occasion where he could
promote the obje&s of the - Expedition :—and, as .
he is charged with this Dispatch, I take the liberty
of recommending him to their Lordships' protection,
under a full conviaion they will obtain, through
him,. every information:. which they, have-a right to
expect from an Officer of great intelligence and long
meritorious service. •
I consider Captain King, with the Officers of the
Marine Battalion, so completely under the report
of General Beresford that I shall only state to their
Lordships my extreme satisfaCtion on hearifig per-
sonally from the General how highly he appreciated
every part of their conduaiTarticularly the celerity
with which they transported.the artillery and troops
across the Rio Chello 'after ,the bridge was burnt by
the Enemy'. _ .
• Lieutenant Talbot, of the Encounter, manif,.sted
great zeal
,in. every instance where it was necessary
to call on him ; Lieutenant Groves, of the Diadem,
was also very active in landing the ordnance and ord-
nanc6 ifordS; and I think it highly ,proper to stale to
their -Lordships that- the Masters and Crews of the
different Transports behaved with great attention
during the whole of.this service. .
I inclose a Copy of the Terns* granted to the.in-
habitants after the capture of the City, by w,lich ,
their Lordships will see that the Coasting Vessels in
the River, supposed with their cargoes to amount to
one million and a half of dollars, were restored to
the proprietors ; for an early record to the country
of the great liberality of His Majesty's Government.
I have the honour, &T.- ,H. POPHAM.
I ,have sent Lieutenant Groves to take .possession
of Ensenaba de Baragon. a Port to the Eastward of
Buenos Ayres, where, I understand, there are two
Gun-vessels and two Merchant Ships. 'H..P.
* See Major-General Beiestord' o,apatcheS.

To the WORTHY 9nd INDEPENDENT ELECTORS
of the CITY of WESTMINSTER.

CENTLFMEN,
THE melancholy Event of Mr. Fox's Death hav-
ing inane a Vacancy in the Representation of this City,
I presuine to otter myself as a Candidate upon this occasion,
which 1 mutt ever deeply regret.
No Man can be more sensible than I am of the irreparable
loss which we have all sustained in the Death of this great
and distinguished Statesman—your own feelings will best
supply all that can be said on that subjel ; for myself,
therefore, I shall only beg you to be persuaded, that if
I should be hollowed by ,your suppor, I shall never cease

u‘ket-