The Sun.
London, England, 1831-06-17 00:00:00

There are now in commission, in ordinary, or on
the stocks, twelve ships of the line and seventeen
frigates (besides various smaller vessels), most of
which could be got to sea on short notice. In
general it would require a longer time, and much
greater expense to repair the vessels in ordinary
than to launch those on the stocks. The ships of
the line, although rated at 74's, ate generally larger,
seversl of them carrying from 90 to 120 guns, and
most of the new frigates are on a corresponding
scale, both as to s'ze and weight of metal. So
that, in fact, our navy is much more efficient in
these respects than would be inferred from the
number and late of the vessels composing it. The
following are the ships of the line :
Independence in ordinary at Boston.
Coloanbu. do • ••• do.

Ohio
Franklin

.do . New York.

Washington do.

.Delaware do.
North Carolina... do.
Alabama.,..., on the stocks.
Vermont.... do.
Virginia do.
Pennsylvania do.
New York.. do.

The following are the frigates :
Java in commission at Mediterranean.
Brandywine do.

Hudson do.
Guerriere do.
John Adams do.
Constitution in ordinary at Boston.
United States do,
Potomac d 0.... Washington.
Macedonian do.
Congress ................. do.
Santee.. ........... .on the stocks, k Portsmouth.
Cumberland do.
Sabine do.. New York.
Savannah..... db.
Raritan
Columbia do.
St. Lawrence do.
Contracts have been made, under an act of March,
1827, for the live oak frames of five additional
ships of the line, five frigates, and five sloops of war.
In fulfilment of these contracts, deliveries have
been made at different navy yards of 321,714 cubic
feet of said timber, for which has been paid the
sum of 368,300 dollars.

The policy of the United States in building their
ships of war a size larger that; the nominal rate, has
put the naval Powers of the old world to considerable
inconvenience, who at once perceived that in case
of a war with this country, their 74's would be a
source of perpetual embarrassment and anxiety, as
they could not, single-handed, encounter a first-rate
American 74, without an almost certainty of being
captured. And so of their frigates, none of which
could stand against the first class of American
frigates. The consequence would be, that they
would either have to run away from vessels of the
same class with themselves, or submit to the still
more mortifying alternative of being captured. Fore-
seeing this, the French have- already followed our
example, to a considerable extent, and the English
are " beginning to think about it."

The late manager of the Manchester minor
theatre, Mr. NEVILLE, is now in prison and on the tread-
mill, fur his inability to pay a fine of 501., which was im-
posed upon him for allowing an Italian Opera to be
performed in that house, when no other place could be
obtained for that Purpose ! ! His family are starving.
Chester Courant.

BROTHERS LANDER.—We have been
favoured with —
with the sight of a letter from JOHN LANDER to
his brother, resident in Truro, dated Portsmouth, June 8,
announcing the safe arrival of the intrepid travellers at
that place, from whictifter we extract the following interest•
i ng
io,ba from A
particularst :— a long and tedious Voyage of
Fernando Po, by the mercy and blessing
of
fve mAboig
Almighty God we are permitted to return to our native
country. Oa the2ot
Janeiro,
f January we embarked in the
r .
feverC arn a
brokertto n
outforon board, by Rio an
Next slay a malignant
h tl a master, mates, and
a
(except the negro seamen) suffered more or
j,lsi te.ilelctrwase7 eio
our melancholy duty to commit four out of
eight individuals to the deperia,ntthoetorsetTiainder, when we left
aanddmen : . indeed one
was drowned,
liokfeidiotey. 'To
othfethsehmip,ub.aesining
amsotarete
one of the negroes fell off the riggino-
though we could hear his screams
he had fallen into the water. We were arlsoan hour after
near being
shipwrecked on the coast of Brazil, that weSnl
and
iad actually
gathered up a few thirgs to leave the vessel,attempt
landing through the surf; however, a fresh breeze rune
up in our favour, which soon carried us beyond sP
,sfoandt° our calamity,
of danger, and on the 16th of March we arrived at reach
On Sunday, .the 20th March, we embarked on boatrdiltihne.
Wiliam Harris transport ship, with Lieut SrocxwxlL'
an officer of Marines, who was our fellow passenger f
Fernando Po. We have had an extremely long passage,
owing to the prevalence of easterly winds, and arrived
here in excellent health on the Bth inst. RICIIA RD'M
Journal was lost in the Niger, but mine is preserved, which
I have been busily engaged in copying during the voyage.
We are quite surprised that no accounts have reached .home
respecting us. I have only time to say that we have been
completely successful in the object of our mission. We
traced the Niger in canoes to its termination in the Bight
&c., are
of Biafra, and the rivers Bonny, Calabar, Nun,
its different mouths, by which it disenabo.„ques itself into the
Atlantic. We were captured, plundered, and our canoe
sunk by the natives, and afterwards sold as slaves to the
master of a Liverpool brig. RICHARD enjoyed his health
extremely well, but I suffered much from illness, and have
°ten more than once on the borders of the valley of
death."--Cornwall Gazette.