The Sun.
London, England, 1806-02-15 00:00:00

LONCTSUDE",

ON the , 27th December last Mr: THOMAS
E A RNSHAW, 159, High Holborn, received the
long contested Reward of 3ocel.' ' The Cornrpissibile?s of
Longitude voted him theatove sum March the ;d and 57th,18a3. for the determination of Longitude by the superiority
of his Timekeepers; and the• Commissioners promised Mr.
Earnshaw that they would' bring a Bill int 4 Parliament,
praying, that Parliament would make. up that. stint to him
through the channel of that House, in order to convey with
it all poSSible horiotir.- But insreier -or so doing; a question
was set. up at the Beard •nainst Mr. Earnshaw, as not being
the Inventorof his Mlichine, and the Watchmakers were in.

. ,
vited to the Board, 'to oppose mt. Larinshaw on that ground.
He was called on by the Board to prOve himself to be the
Inventor, although 2s years had elapsed since his first irr;ep-
tion'of it, a length of time which, most probably, had de-
privedhim'Of giving' that proof which, at first, he could have
done.
.And, it is most material: to relate, that when Mr.

Earnshaw applied to the Board, about I. year* back, the
_Board then examined him concerning his being the I E venter,
and declared themselves satisfied on that-head, and actually
engaged Mr. Earnshaw, as the Inventor, to devote-his-time
and attention for the purpose of Determining the Longitude,
, according to Aia of "Parliament. And the Board having used
his Machines for Many years, for public be4fit, and which
the Board could have no right to do, liad he not been the In-
ventor; and, after the above circumstances, to withhold from
him. his hard.earried reward, under the iireience that he was
not the Inventor, which so many years back they did admit,
surely'cannot he Called an ad ofencouragenientto Mechanics,
which the board-of Longitude are appointed to give. The
principal part of the Watchmakers calledjo the Board
apinst Mr. Earnsliaw seemed tp have no qualms of con:
science in endeaVbiiiing to overthrow him.- -Mr. Earnshaw'
petitioned the Board to have the common privilege of an
Englishman allowed to him, that of meeting his accusers
facein trace; hitt this' was not granted; though it is well
known that when a man means to give interested evidence it.
is a very great encouragerrient to h+in indeed, if heknows that.
he is not to be confronted by the man he means to injure; and
What a damp it is to the most daring swearer when he knoWs
that the man he is anxious to oppose is to be looking him in
the face. But this advantage was not allowed to Mr: Earn-
shaw. ,His enemies experienced the full benefit of priVate
Examinations, and asserted just what they pleased, till, at
length, they convided themselves, and proved Mr. Earn-
shaw to be the Inventor, althoUgh they intended to prove the
cxitrary.
Sir toseph Banks, and Mr. Gilpin, Secretary to the Board,
used extraordinary exertions against Mr. Earnshaw, and en-
couraged tho selfish combiriation of Watchmakers against,
him; and Sir Joseph distributed a printed Protest to the Mem-
bers of the Board of Longitude against Mr-. Earrshaw's hair_
the reward. The Rev.D,r,Nlaskelyne, Astronomer Royal,
printed an Answer to Sir Joseph's Protest, in favour of Mr.
Earnshaw, in behalf of Ming:Aland the leirned, Pro-
fessors of Oxford and Cambridge, whose opinions concurred
'with his own ; which Answer entirely confuted the Protest
of Sir Joseph, arid proved Mr. Earnshaw not oily, to be the
Inventor, but likewise proved the great and decided superiority
of his Timekeepers over-those of all bther Makeis. Here,
then, the. great influence of Sir Joseph, at the head of the
malicious and-enyious Watchmakers, availed him not, any
mare thin that of harrassiitg a man, and keeping him near
three years out of his right.. What a pity it is-that,Such-in..
fluence vrarnot better- employed than in opposing an inge-
pious andindustrious individual, whom the Public appointed
him to assist,, encourage 'and reward. Mr. Eainshaw has
spent 25 years, by far the best• part of his life, to the very
great injury of his health, in labour and study, in pursuitof
an objed of no less magnitude than that. If aeving the lives
and properties of all concerned in the Maritime Atiiiirs of
this-great Commercial Country. as well as. thole, of ail the
world,' and which must bring so much wealth, benefit, and
honour to the Nation, by the determination of 'the Longi-
tude; which was before thought impossible,.and which was
diclared to be so by the Committee of the House of Com-
mons, in the following words
a "- Tlic'present Ad does indeed impose conditions so diffi-
cult, find so impossible to be surmounted, if enforced to the
full extent of which they are capable, that it is to be feared
few Artists will quit the certain gains of their profeSsion, to
enter into things so discouraging and precarious."
Sir Joseph's cendutt to Mr. Earnshaw by no means softens
the above difficulties ; and, if Mr. Earnshaw has come with-
in the pale of such supposed impossibilities, how much More
does he deserve the reward ? _ _

Mr. Earnshaw, as soon as business permits, mill-publish
the whole account, from the first invention of his plan, and
how he has been robbed of it by the Watchmakers, who haVe
passed it on ,t he world as their own for many years, by which
they have obtained great profit and honour, and avnicled'those
failures in their business which they had before experienced,
although' the greater number of his opposers were only sellers.
of Timekeepers, not makers, as they never made one in their
Jives, and this was acknowledged by. one of his principal op-
ponents at the Board of Longitude.
It is very plain then that Mr. Earnshaw's cause must be
very stroaa aid clear indeed, to .get the better ()fan antago-
nist so high and mighty as Sir Joseph is, aided and assisted by
the keen malice and envy of the Watchmakers, who declared
to the Board, that rewarding Mr. Earnshaw would be injur-
ing-them. • By this declaration they provedaliernselyes to be
interested in his overthrow, and certainly not fair evidence to
be examined against him. And can it for a moment be jus-
tified, that a man who renders such great and universal bene-
fit to Navigation as Mr. Earnshaw has done, is not to have
the reward allotted to him by the Nation, because it will set
hint above the pirates and bungling imitators of his work'—
, F9tninon sense and common justice forbid it !
Mr. Earnshaw feels the most lively gratitude to every
Member of the Board of Longitude who asserted his right to
the reward, alai is convinced that .Sir Joseph Banks was the
only Member against him.. But when Mr. Earnshaw recol-
leets that during the long struggle he has had with Sir lo
saph, three changes have taken-place in the very high depart,
meat of the First Lord of the Admiralty, viz. Lord St. Vin-
cent, Lord Mehrille, and Lord Barham; -the patronage of
these Noblemen, and also of the Astronomer Royal, the
Learned Protesseas of Oxford and Cambridge, and many
rather Gentlemen of soPerior khowledge to Sir Joseph re-
aPedling the Longitude, he feels it as a very great compensa-
tion for the misfortune of falling under Sir Joseph's displea-
sure_ If the world ask a reason why Sir Joseph has taken
So adiVe a pail against Mr. Earnshaw and the whole, sense
of the Board of Longitude; Sir Joseph must explain this My-
awry himself. But if he doea.not, Mr. Earnshaw promises
to do it for him, in which the world may see, that the inde-
pendent spirit of an Englishman, and the full confidence of
tnetiog with strict justice in this Country, is not lost-- if
the Public will coolly consider that Mr. .Earnshaw has de-
toted his life to the laudable pu'rpose of saving'lives and pro-
4ierties, they will riot hesitate to pass the most honourable
judgment on him. And he begs leave to state, that the loSa
of His Majesty's Ship Apollo, with the very valuable West
India Convoy, wrecked on the Coast of Portugal, was owing
to the Captain's not knowing' the longitude;- and if one of
the most inferior of Mr. Earnshaw's Timekeepers had been
on board the• Apollo,' that loss had not happened, and the
misery entailed on many families by the loss of so many lives
had nut been known. A`nd if only one Ship shoold be saved
in, the course olio° .years by the • uae of Mr. Earnshaw's
Timekeepers, surely .the
.sum. of 30°01-voted him by the
Board of Lonaitude is nothing in proportion to the advan.
Ine arising- to the Nation. .'•
At No. i ma, high Holborn, 'maybe -seen the rates of going•
of alr. Eariisha w's Timekeepers, tried by authority under
the present Act of Parliaments; and likewise may be seen
more 'than Ice, Certificates -of the going of hiS Timekeepers
from the first Noblemen, Admirals, Captains, and Nautical
Men, in Wis. country ; and the wandering Sailor may there
have Timekeeprs that will point out to him the right way
through his watery career, and bring him safe to his wished-
. .
tbe port.. •

HULL DOCK SHARES:

Dock-Office, Kingston-upon-Hull, Tan. 24, iBc6.
TO 13E SOLD By AUCTION,

At the Exchange, inKingston-upon-Hull, on Wednesday
the'ith day of March, 1806, precisely at One o'Clock, un-
cle!' the povver, of in 'Ad of Varliament passed in the 45th
year of the Reign of His present Majesty, pursuant to such
Conditions as shall be then produced; '

EST NEW SHARES in the 'Vnderf*ing, for
•making DOCKS. at KINGSTON-UPON-HULL.
Bach Share will be put up separately.
A Deposit pf tel. per Cent—in part of the Purchase-mo_
ney. will be requested immediately after 'the Sale, and the
Ternaincier in two equal payments, viz. one half on the ad
flay of une next, and the other half on the Ist day of Sep-
sember next.
The Payment of the remainder of the Purchase-money is,
for the accommodation of the Purchasers, delayed to the
above-lnentioned distant periods; but each Purchaser will
become entitled to a whole year!Dividend, .payable in Fe.
wary, 1807.
• Further particulars may be known by applying to Mr.
frost, Solicitor, or Mr. Leyctt, Clerk, to am? pock Coin.
PAU) 41 " • • • " •

, The Motion made yesterday in the Common
Council, for an Address to congratulate His MA-
JESTY on the appointment of the new Administra-
tion, occasioned a debate of considerable length, `and
was carried by a majority of 12.

. •
A variety of reports are in circulation respe&ing
• the Military and Financial Measures which the new
Ministry'. have it in contemplation to adopt. They
have, however, been so short a time in office; that
it is almost impossible they should have already di-
gested any plans upon these most itnportant subjeas.
There is, we believe, no doubt that it is intended
to propose a very great augmentation of the Troops
of the Line. The situation in which the Coun-
try is placed, by the unexpected and unfortunate.
termination_ of the Cativign on' the Continent,
undoubtedly calls tor the strongest and most decisive
measures, and for the most vigorous exertions on
the part of this Country. We are deeply impressed
With the conviaion of the necessity of the cordial
co-operation of all parties for the attainment of the
great obje& Of national security ; and it will afford
us the most sincere satisfaftion if the condu& of the
new Ministry should be such as to enable us to
. „
give them our decided 'support. In holding this
language, we are, we know, speaking the sen-
timents of all the Friends of the' late Mr. PITT:7
If it had pleased God to have. •prolonged . the
life of that Great Man, we should have relied with
implicit confidence upon his wisdonl and firmness ;
but as his death rendered the formation of a New
Administration absolutely necessary, it is a subjea
of the greatest satisfaiStion to us, and we are con-
vinced it is to the Country, that HIS MAJESTY has
been graciously pleased 'to place Lord.GRiNVILLE at
the head of it.—The services which that Noble
Lord, in conjunction with Mr. PITT/ rendered his ,
Country, when its safety, was endangered by the
open attacks of external, ancl the secret machina-
tions of domestic Enemies, can never be forgotten,
and afford the' strongest pledge with respe& to
his future condua.—We are persuaded that he will
never consent-to compromise the Dignity of, the
Country abroad, nor will -he permit any inroads to
be made Upon the Constitution at home. '

it was yesterday stated, upon the authority of a
private Letter from Glasgow, that seventeen Sail of
the West-India Fleet, which sailed from Cork un7,
der convoy of the Fisguard Frigate and the Wolve-
rine, had separated, with the Wolverine, from the,
rest of the Fleet, and that fifteen df them had been
captured by a French Squadron, supposed to be
the ene which'was chaced by Admiral DucKWORTH..
No official intelligence has been received of /this
disaster, and we are ;Arongly inc;ined to hope 'that
the keport is greatly exaggerated, if
_not wholly un-.
Founded,