The Sun.
London, England, 1807-09-02 00:00:00

'MERIC4IV PAPERS.

• .
NEW YORK, YULE are informed that
The Corporation of this city yesierday direeted their
Committee, lately appointed, to confer with the
Secretary at War, to call on Coionet WILLIAMS, and
request him to‘ furnish, with all possible dispatch, a
plan for fortifying the Narrows, with an estimate-
()film probable expence. •
-A' Letter from Norfolk; dated July E.' t,
The British Frigate Cleopatra has joined the Tri-
umph and Leopard, now anchored in Lynhaven Bay;
and as Commodore DOUGLAS has sailed, it is the
general opinion that he is bound for Halifax, to visit
his -Admiral, who is• not the mildest Man in the
world '- and that, perhaps ,in a few days, we. may
have' the whole of .Admiral BERKELEY'S squadron
in our waters,"—With pleasure we learn, that Ge-
neral MATHEws has issued orders countermand-
in.- the return of the Richmond and Petersburg in-
fatrjr.l .
Jut gig.—lt is stated in a Petersburg Paper of
July 2pd, that the British Commanders were great-
ly incensed at the capture oftheie Qtlicers and sea-
men-; that they had taken. five
,American citizens
from a', coasting vessel ; and that the Commodore of
thesquadron declared he would capture every Ame
rican vessel going out or in, until the British pri-
sorters were restored.

LETTER FROM AN OFFICER IN, THE VIRGINIA DE-
TACHMENT, DATED PORTSMoUTII, JULY 17..

" On Thesday.morning, Mr. R. LEE, one of Ge-
neral MATHEWS'S Aids, and Mr. Aucuaa;:of .Nor-
folk, visited the British Squadron in Lynhaven Bay,
for the purpose of delivering the dispatches' from
Mr. ERSKINE, which Mr. ARCHER bad just brought
from Washington. These dispatches simply adViked
Commodore DOUGLAS to retire froth the 'territorial
jurisdiction of th 6 United States. Mr. ERSKIN,E had
no other authority ; for the British Squadron on the
American station are not at all responsible to the Bri-
tish Minister in the -United States, except. in cer-
tain conditional cases, hut are generally under the
controul of the Admiral, wit° is stationed at Halifax,
Where Mr. 'ERSKINE could only advise, Admiral
BertoE.By could command. Mr. LEE was recehed
in a Most cavalier and indecorons style. The Com-
modore expressed his contemptuous astonishment at
Mr: Lai's visit. lle asked him whether he was ig-
norant: that the President's Proclamation forbade
all intercourse between American citizens and the
British Ships ? and how could he think of flying iu
the face of those laws, by paying him the honour of
a visit ? As soon as Mr. Lek bad delivered the dis,
patches, a signal• was given to the other vessels, and
their Captains immediately repaired to the Commo-
dore's Ship. You are already incensed enough at
the outrageous condu& of the British, and I have no
inclination to make your blood indignantly boil, by
a :full description of the conversation which ensued.
One or two anecdotes will be sufficient to shew you
the spirit of the whole. The Humphreys,
tauntingly asked Major LEE, whether he was not
afraid of. being inteoted by keeping company with a
murderer and an assassin, such as be himself had
been represented to be ? They inquired abou't the
tate of the British Consul and his Lady, and inso-
lently demanded, whether the mob of Norfolk had
hung them or thrown them into prison ?• They
called the Corresponding Committee, of Norfolk a
mob, they called General MATHEWS the leader of
that mob ; they said they were at least-entitled-to-
an official copy of the President's Proclamation, un-
der the seal of the Secretary of State ; and they ex-
pressly denied the authority of the British Minister
lo interfere on the present occasion. Every one of
those Captains was, insolent and insulting in the ex-
treme, except Sir THOMAS HARDY, Captain the
Triumph, the celebrated friend' and companion of
Lord NELSON. He is said to have in his cabin the
very whop which that great man" breathed hiS last
‘c The preceding facts. are calculated to convince
you, if yon need any additional proofs, that we have
:nothing to expe& from this squadron but insults and
outrage."—(liichtvond Inquirer.)
JuLr 30.—Five Gun-boats, from Conne&icub
Rivet, have arrived at this port.
Capt., DAVY, of the Coromandel, bas favoured us
with a file of late Calcutta Papers: The only article
we perceive in them at all interesting to this country,
is an Order Of the
,Governor-General in Council,;
granting permiision to neutral vessels, particularly
AMerican, to import grain, .under the licence of
the British Government. This Order was occaio'ned
by a o.6iejty of grain, in consequence of the failure
,'
of the 'periodical rains. Neutral vessels, availing.
themselves of this permission, Must have cargoes 'of
grain exclusively, and the permission is extended to
the .1 Ist. of. December, 1807, Set eral American
vessels were, in couSequente, engaged in Rice
voyages.

A Quebec Paper of the 29th of June, says :
,‘ We learn by the arrival of Captain BeamtswoaTir,
of hi, Majesty's Frigate Crocodile, that orders had
been received by the King's Ships, on the Halifax
station, to board the American krigate now at..sea,
and take by force every British seaman that may. be
found on board her. The force of the American
Ship is said to be 52 guni. We hear that the crocp-
dile brings one hundred thousand dollars."
WASHINGTON, JULY 22.—Accounts have reach-
ed this city, dated late in June, that the Spaniards
at Mobile have seized two hundred stand of arms,
and a quantity of ammunition, belonging to the
United States, destined from New Orleans to hat.
Stoddert. This seizure was made by the Spanish
Commandant at Mobile, and after Wards approved by
the Governor-General of the Floridas.

TQ Tilt GOVERNOR, MAYOR, AND MEMBERS OP THE

CORPORATION OP NEW YORK.

, .
"'GENTLEMEN,

" Yesterchiy my desire to satisfy public curiosity at
the stated minute was as great as my never-ceasing
anxiety to see our harbours and coast, placed beyond
the power of foreign insults ; and I lament ex-
ceedingly that numbers were disappointed by the,
explosion not taking place on the lust attack. But
it .1183 given me much additional confidence in my
engines; and I hope it will be some satisfaction to
youiand the public to know, that the failure of the
first attack was occasioned by the trifling circum-
stance of the lock being placed under the torpedo,
so that when it struck, the powder fell out 61 the
pan and did not take tire. On taking the torpedoes
out of the water, where they had been for two

fontid the to kg. and.powtter iierfealy d'ry,
•
and I immediately diactivered the cause of the failure,
which I correaed by phicing a piece of quick match
in the charge which the lock contained. Thus ar-
ranged, the fire was communicated to the 70 pounds
of powder in the body of the torpedo. An explo-
, sion took place; and the brig was decomposed..
*c You .now have seen the etre& of the eitplOsion
of powder under the bottom of a vessel, and this,
. I believe, is the best and most simple mode of using
it with the-greatest effeB in marine-wars; for a right
application of one torpedo will annihilate a Ship of
the Line, nor leave a man to relate the dreadful Ca-
tastrophe. Thus; should a Ship of the Line, con-
taining five itendred men, contend with ten good
row-bcats;,each.with a torpedo and ten men, she
would risk total annihilation, while the baits, un--
der cover of the night, and quick movements, would
risk only a.few men out of one hundred.
two Ships of equal force engake,- it
be doubtful which will gain the viaory 3 frequently
100 men are killed on each side, as many wounded,
and.the Ships much injured 3 but even the vanquish-
ed 'vend will'admit of being repaired, and thus the
number of Ships of War are not diminished, but
continue to increase, and tyrannize over the rights of
neutrals and peaceable nations.' Having now clearly
demonstrated thd great effed of explosion under
water, it is easy to conceive that by-organization and
practice, the application of the torpedoes, will, like
.every Other art, progress to perfeCtion. Little diffi-
culties and errors will occur in the commencement,
as has been the case in all new inventions.; but
where "here is so little expense; to little risk, and so
much '.tn.be 'gained, it is worthy of consideration,
whether this system should not have a fair. trial.
" Gunpowder within the last 300 years has totally
changed,tbe art of war; and-all my relleaions have
led me to believe, that this application of it will in a
few years put a stop to maritime wars, and give that
liberty:on the seas which has been long anci .anxious-
ly desired by every good man, amid secure to Ame-
rica that liberty of commerce,, tranquillity and inde-
pendence, which will enable her Citizens to apply
their mental and corporal faculties to useful and hu-
mane pursuits, to the improvement. of our country, •
and the happiness of the whole people.

Gentlemen, with deference, I. submit this view of
the subje6t to you and every thinking American.—
I have the honour to be, with profound respea,
Your most obedient and very humble Servant,

ROBERT FULTON.

It appears by an Order from ..the Lords Commis-
sioners of the Treasury, inserted in last night's Ga-
zetti, that an Aft passed in thelleign of Wm. 111.
for tht increase and preservation of timber .in the
New Forest, and .that two thousand acres of that
FOrestwere enclosed for the. growth of timber for
the publiC 'service.. As the timber becomes past
danger, from the hrowzing-of deer, &c. the enclo-
sures are thrown open, and more waste land en-
closed to keep up the continual number of 2000
enclosed acres: Agreeably with the above-mentioned
A 4, 77w Gazette gives notice, that 1,022 acres are be-
come past clanger, and are thrown open,-and an equal
quantity of waste land is to be enclosed in lieu
thereof.

THE SLEEPING BEAUTY,—The filllowing mira-
culous story has been mentioned in an iniperfea
manner in the Papers,--The following is afulier ac
count of the circumstance :—Saturday, the 15th
tilt. lt young girl, servant 'to Mrs. Wood, a Widow
lady of Cuckfield,. in,Sussexi, complained of a 'head
ache and drowsiness,w when her mistress ad v her to
takesomebalm tea, and lie down; she accordingly went
,to bed, and immediately dropped into a profound sleep;
and conti nuedsleeping,t houg hproper means were used
by the faculty to rouse him., till Sunday, the 23d ult.
(eight days), when she awoke, apparently from the
sound of the church bells, . which were then chim-
ng, and occasioned her to remark; that her yester-
day's indisposition had
.caused her to lie
,beyond her
Ordinai-y hour, as it was church time. She got up
'Without much assistance, but complained of exces-
sive thirst, appearing extremely weak. MrS. Wood
took all possible care of her, and she is now perfea
ly recovered. During the whole of this wonderful
suspension of the faculties of the mind; the flush
of health appeared on her cheeks, but their fullness
diminished considerably' after the third day,' when
her pulsation grew weaker; and her breathing could
hardly be perceived: Nd sustenance could be ad-
ministered to her, rior'was she. subje& to any eva-
cuation whatever.
On Friday evening a little -boy, five years old, be-
longing to the' Widow Dives, a pbor woman, got
upon sonic timber logs lying in the River Medway,
opposite Maidstone, unfortunately fell between two
of them, and was drowned ; the body was instantly
searched for, .hut it could not be found next
morning ; and what is very remarkable, the same
child had previously several narrow escapes froM
being "drowned, one, only a fortnight betbre its un-
fortunate exit. The Coroner's Inquest was taken
on the body, and a verdid returned Uf-4cci4ntal
Death;

The Author of " All the Talents in- Ireland." in a
Letter to Lord CASTLERRAGH, on the State of Ire-
land, just published, mentions the following curious
filet :--" I have received a political anecdote, rela-
tive to Mr. GRATTP.I and the Insurreation Bill,
which may serve to clear up the mystery hanging
over the condua of various IVlembers of Opposition,
upon the discussion on that Bill. It appears that a
sketch of the Bill was found by Sir ARTHUR WEL-
LRSLEY in the Port Folio of Mr. ELLIOTT, and by
the evidence of the hand-writing, seemed to have
been either drawn up or corrected by Mr. GRATTAN.
To-morrow morning, at eleven o'clock, the Loan
MAvort.and Sheriffs will go in state from the Man-'
sion-house -to proclaim Bartholomew Fair, in the
usual form, and in their progress Will stop at New-
gate, to partake of a cool tankard, according to an-
cieta custom.

Coau-ExcitAtioa, SatT. cf.—The supplies of
Whedi and all kind of gram are short to-day, sales
of`Wneat are fully at last prices ; Barley And Malt
.heary sale, and a trifle lower; Beans appear a rising
article ; there are no arrivals•of Oats coostways, and
the few Foreign support an advance in price:;: sales
of Flour as under tine at 60s. and tine American
365. to 40s. pen barrel,

Wheat 40 a 55s a 66s o 4 'Beans (Old) 52s a 58s od
Finn ditto . 65s a 72,S as; Tick ditto (do.) 42s a 48$ od
Rye . - Oa d'46s ad t.LitS - ajS 26S a ,p$ od
barley . . 374 a 39s od 1 Poland ditto 32$ a 33s rd
I
Malt ... -66 a a its oti „Rape Seed . - 2.31 * 28i os
White Peaza - gos a v.os od i Fine Hour -55 s a 58s ad
(hey ditto . 54$ ;IA ad ( 6.colida li • foi it SP cal