The Sun.
London, England, 1807-09-28 00:00:00

fili:7ting ticent:of -extreme diktresS,A in tyreat.tilel-‘
sum spares-i he valuable lives of vv111.3,e pro
perty it deStroys. Tire ruin of their homes • could;
not fait to pro.lnco in the inhabitants' of the 'town, a
,
disposition to an early. capitulation; and, -when no;
prospect presented itself of successful resistaiice.;
'such a :disposition must evidently have made a just
'i'mpression on the Garrison, and liastereinin..terwii,
nation of the siege. If such advantages have 're-
sulted from the use of the rocket ; if the-interests of
humanity have been thus effedually cpiisidied ; if
the horrors of a siege have bren Idiortetred
tig3ted ;, and if the objeCt• of the I.l„xperlition has
been -more easily and more, ,promptly•aecompli,slied
by -surely it is to 'be regtetted,_ that to the Erie,
avy. alone we are indebted fOr testimony to the
feCts of a powerful instrument, •to the 'employ-
ment of which the early attainment .of all these
great and important ends is' in so. -high a degree to
be ascribed. • • .

No One can deny, that the peculiar circtructanees
Under which the late successful attack. upon Copen,;
Itagen Was made, rendered itinfinitaly desirable that
We should, it prthicable, get-possession of the Pa-.
hish Navy without bloodshed, or,.- itt the event Of
rc,,istance, with the least etmusiou of blood. Every
thing, 'therefore, that tended to rotund the . dura-,
tion W' the siege, would surely contribute the, more
to embitter the feelings of the Dams. against this
Country ; every thing, on the contrary, Unit ,acce-
lerated. the terminaiion of hostilities, elsechilly lf.
.at the same time the lives of the brave Danes, were
spared, would soften the rigours of Wer, and lease
the'mirids! of those wliom we have unfortunately
been compelled to treat as enemies. in a state not
unfavourable. to future coneilitition. This is a very
important point, and is essentially corn-Jetted with
all those circumstances Which may possibly
tate the return of some portion of 'that ititloeuce
upon the Continent which' we formerly maintain-
ed. - That the use of Mr. CONGREVE'S rockets has
difninished the effusion of blood; Must be manifest
to every one who is not unacquainted..with.theircor-
. struCtionand !sowers ; and, as •it is equally;evident
that th'e less •the number of those whb yell during the
Siege, the more easily the ,resentment of the Danes ,
will be disarmed,' it is impossible .to, -deny this
Gentleman the merit of having; tuatetiallycontrilint-
ed both 'to the success of; trieExpediston, and to
the preservation of that temper of mind, on .the
'part of, the Danes, that may premise a lope of the
re-establishment of a friendly intercourse with the;
Catanetof Copenhagen.
on the coestruetion and• powers of the rocket,.
there has been much misconception, and, perhaps,
:still more misrt presentation. We-shall add .few
more ribservatiens, in order to corned the very erro-
'neouS ideas that have been circulated en this subject.
:Wei shall, however, strilily confine ourselves. to:that
line of ceinnetnication which: Is :limited.
„pla-;tation of What appears to be but very imperle&lr
undersl6sd ; carefullyabstaining from that minute-
rieSsef detail, of. which the knowledge should be
as little extetlded,its possible., :

The twii,e6iSeSt misconceptions in respest to the
rocket ai'e these : that it is extremelY-litniied hi its
or range.; and' that' the. cortipohition with
whichlt is filled is not or a: btifticiently combustible
. 'nature to render it au efficient :instrument. 'of de-
struelion. .A short answer will'entirely.retlove the
.force of both these.'objeetions. The.ayerage range
of the rocket is considerably under,rated: at. two,
thousand yards: Of' this thae exists not the slightest
-doubt. It is a:faal which is susceptible of confir-
mation front every one who has had att. opportunity,
,of seeing the rocket in the state • Of, perfeaton,.io,
willeh it has at hit been brought. The first oh,
rjation, therefore; Is clearly destitute of All fuun-
tifttion. •

_
With II:Ape& to the second, it is still more. easily
refuted.. Without proceeding to an explanatim,:
which is here petit t'lly unnecessary, of the compo-
nent pat ts,,or 'propertiesi of the combustatle matter
in the rocket, we simply refer to the -otletl. it has.
already prodnced at Boulogne Hod Copenhagen.: It
will be in ther recolleetion of eveyy one WllO, is lathe
habit of atten,ling to current events, that, at Bou-'
lone, an exteoiive storehouse, or. trwgzizige., ),vas:
destroyed by the fire of the. rockets which were
ac tidentall projeded in the direCtion of die town,
ithte3d of being thrown into the. baSon,-at»ongst,the
produced by theist Cofien-
hgen is still ,very impertettly known ;I'm,' if we
Shoal not receive an accurate aceount'of it from any
other (platter, the Enemy, or th&Danes, whom we.
anxitAhly :hope still to number atutifigsour .friends,
will net Oil to supply us ,witly:the.mwos. of doing
justice to those who, we are cmvinced, are Most so,
licitous to promote the interetit'and, prosperity of
their country. All that is at presentAillown,
that the rockets,.throwo into Copert(Ligcn diii con-
-4%1,-1-able "execution, and "his. :none 'is amply inf.
t to' prove upon what.an;erroneeus foundation
tt, olijet.iion has ben raised.,
• • 'l'o the 'credit of the present administration,. and
of • the last, and of the • Atintioistration
the 'last; extensivit encouraorement, has heetEgiveu
to Mr. •Cot4GRI4; atn? ,this , eticouragernet*
4123 been the, more fizateriog .to 'lists. re- !.
Betted .the mere. credit, upoan .those from whom
it W'h received, wince it wits ,derived fro'n U
timate conviilion ;)f the great, utility of fn., inven-
tion. It has .been assailed, by clinnour, by ptejlidictt,!
by professional jealousy ; but the convitAion of
each succeeding; Nlipistry romaios oophapged ;.,and';
, they are now all, justified for,t he confidencehy.hicht
they reposed 14. the geoins,,pf,,au individu4, whol
aspires to become a beuelttOorAoi,bis coutttly..