The Sun.
London, England, 1814-12-26 00:00:00

NAVAL NE%VS.

FALMOUT',
,DEC, 23.—Arlived yesterday his
Majesty's ship Hope, with several vessels from
Portsmouth, to join the Swiftsure and Araxis.
Also arrived to-day the Governor Milne,WlLsoN,
from Plymouth for Jamaica. Passed doWn Chan-
nel 12 sail, under .convoy of two men of war.—
At day-light yesterday morning a brig was disco-
vered at anchor between Pendennis Castle and

Helford harbour, apparently riding hard, wind
blowing a strong gale at S. E. At 1 1 A. M. the
brig made a signal of distress, when the pilots for
St. Mauve's went off, took out the crew, and
brought them safe on shore. She proved to be

the Neptune, nuns, front Loudon for Liverpool,
in ballast. At 3 P. M. the Captain. returned to
the ship, taking- with him some people from the
shore, and succeeded in weighing anchor, and
bringing her safe into St. Mawe's.—Wind

HAftwicti, bEc. *24, Arrived the 13eaufoy
packet, with a .mail from Cuxhaven. Also ar-
rived several ships from Harlingen, &c. some with,
wheat, others ‘yith butter and cheese. Also ar-
rived two or three ships with `timber • from the
North_;—all the deals, &c. on deck have. been
washed overboard. Some ships have lost anchors
and cables, and others have split their sails.--
Wind E.

PORTSMOUTH, DEC. 25.—Went out of harbour
his Majesty's ships Boyne and Cornwallis. Sailed
his Majesty's ship Tamer for Plymouth. We ex-
- pect his Majesty's ship Niger-with the trade for
the Cape, East Indies, &c. will sail in the morn-
ing.—The Clorinde issues sailing instructions to
Spain, Portugal, and the Mediterranean.—The
first convoy for Bermuda, for the season, will sail
under- charge of the Montague, 74 guns, Captain
P. fisywooD.—Wind E.
PLYMOUTH, DEC. 24.—Arrived the Achates_
sloop of war front a cruize ; Penelope and Argo
frigates from the Dowils. Sailed the Meander
frigate, Aniarnnthe and Bermuda stoops of war,
with the fleet honed to Spain, Portugal, and the:
Mediterranean ; and the Foxhound sloop of warp
With the ships hound to Ports in the Bay. A 1..-
rived several ships from the. North, and a few
from France. Sailed several sail, to join the
Ulysses frigate at Falmouth, bound to Africa.—
Wind E. S. E.
CHICHESTER, DEC. 24.---411 e new invented flat-
bottom schooner built at Little Hampton, in this
county, sailed from thence to Dieppe on Mon-
day last, in seven hours, being at the rate of 15
knots 'an hour, and returned from Dieppe to Lit-'
tle Ilampton in little more than ten hours. She
is provided with an _ elastic Ice-board formed of
dried hides, whiCh gives her considerable wea-
therly power.

. A British Officer on the American station; in a
Letter to a friend, states as follows :—" Ameri-
can pilot vessels for towing torpedoeS have been
invented in New York, for the purpose of impel-
ling through the water the internal torpedoes in--
tended to blow up the British line-4-battle ships.
• A winch inside'this vessel turns two wheels on the
outside, anti which are placed on the larboard
side. These wheels inipel both the pilot vessel
and the-torpedo attached to it, at the rate of four
miles per hour. ‘Vitiiin the vessel are 12 men.-r-
The bottom of the vessel is not much. unlike that
Of a boat,' hut its ton is arched. The seantling are
those a ship of 100 tons ; the planks are of inch
and half-stulf, anti these being eased over with iron
plates of half an inch thickness, al.e not to be in-
pied by shot. On the (-op there is a scuttle for the:
crew-to enter, and this opening is also the look-
out where a sentinel is constantly placed. Two
air.-holes forward and abaft, give sufficient air
to the cc'etv. The, vessel draws six feet water,
but one foot only is to be -seen above the water,.
and this being painted,of a dingy white., is not
pereeiVable. Tice torpedo is of course attached
to the stern of this vessel, ropes leading to it
front two ring,boits in the after-part.. The tor- •
pedo is filled with powder and combustible mat-
ter, and in its. inside there is a gun-lock, to which
is fastened 'a string, which ' leads to the scuttle of
the pilot vessel. Having towed this infevnal ma-
chine close to the vessel which it is intended to
fire, this string is pulled; the moment the torpedo
tonehes'her, and the pilot.vessel altering her course
by means of a -rudder attached to her; goes off in
the general confusion.

tiext convoy for the Niresi.lndies is at)-
pointed to sail on the 28th of Jannary.--Admiral
RoLLEs goes out then to take the command at
Jamaica.

The letters from Quebec of the 10th state, that
a telegraph communication had been. received
there of the approach of the-Cork fleet. Some
fears were entertained that it would not get safe
into port, on account of the high wind. Several
ships bad arrived from the Clyde; but many were
missing.

On Wednesday a requisition was made to Ports-
mouth Dock-yard for fifty shipwrights, who may
be disposed to transfer their services to Halifax,
at the rate of 7s. per day, And (or quarters
provided) 151. per annum, for house reut.---An
order has arrived to allow fifty shipwrights from
Plymouth Yard to volunteer for Halifax, and to
-be ready at a very short notice.
It-is conjectured. from the preparations making
at Heligoland, that that island will be
.appointed
the rendezvous, fpr his Majesty's ships on that
station during the winter. Moorings are about
to be laid down at the month of the Elbe, oppo-
site Straade ; a new 'light-house is, by the exer-
•ticns of the Governor. of Ritzbuttle, erected at
Cuxhaven, and every other procaution taken to
give all possible facilities to shipping on that coast
at this dangerous season.

A contagious fever prevailed at Cracow, in Po-
land, from the 12th of October to the 20th No-
vember, ishich carried off 260 people. It was
carried to that• city by some soldiers, who had
lately returned from France. A Dr. GARiKAN, -a
Polish practitiober, compares it to the fever which
prevailed in the military hospitals during
,the late
war in Germany.