The Sun.
London, England, 1824-03-15 00:00:00

E~

MONDAY, MARCH 15, 1824.

ARDROSSAN HARBOUR.

( To the Editor of the Ayr and TVigtonshire Courier.)

LONDON, 28th FEB. 1824.

Sits,—l have reason to be grateful to a gentleman for having
obligingly favoured me with a perusal of your paper of the 24th
inst., by which I have an opportunity of noticing the angry as-
sertions, unhooded personalities, and prima facie interested
feelings of your Correspondent, Mr. William Auld—a gentle-
man (I presume) with whom I am not at all disposed to enter
into controversy. By which prudent step, perhaps, he will at
once infer that I acknowledge him mysuperior in the argumen-
tum ad hominem, at least.'—if not so in marine descriptions
and disinterested motives.

I hmy reply, and not touch upon veracity or
accuracy,
in
to his friends in Airshire to elicit from
bbeu brief rlieeafy n
his answers a few questions, and thefttets I shall subsequently
state. Be is bound to the' 'nautical w.odd to, answer the former,
s
and I will hold myselranswcrable fQr tlie'foteta alluded to,
and-leave it with Mr.•Auld himself to bear me out in my ori-
ginal statement, which he has impugned, after taking twenty
three days to place his notions on a sheet of paper.
To show Mr. Auld, however, that I have no wish to take ad-
vantage of his real for Ardrtsau and its infantile owner, I have
to inform him that the logbook of H. M. sloop Driver is with-
in my reach ; and, farther, that I am well aware of the motives
which induced Lord Eglinton to prevail on her commander to
visit .Ardrossan—there, however, are not now my subject, nor
were they censurable ; for I agree with Pope and Bollinbroke,
that—

" True self-love anti social is the same."
I would farther inform Mr. Auld, that the opinion and plan
of the late celebrated engineer are at my inspection ; but I de-
clare, upon my honour, that I have seen neither of these docu-
ment. Having thus premised, 1 call upon Mr. Auld, in the
name of the nautical world, to answer me-
1. What are the soundings, and what the bottom, on running
for Ardrossan pier ?
2. Can a stranger on the coast run for it in a gale of wind by
his chart, without a pilot, and without danger ?
3. What is the true depth of water inside of the pier at low
neap tides ?

4. What is the difference between spring and neap tides at
Ardrossan pier ?
5. Is the bottom inside of the pier sandy, muddy, or rocky ?
6. As the waters of the Frith of Clyde are known to rise con-
siderably (particularly on the coast of Ayrshire) at flood, and
are checked at ebb, by the strong gales from the south and west
—did not Mr. Auld state the depth of water at the pier of Ar-
drossan, at spring tide, on one of these extraordinary jUnCLIOnS
of the elements in his favour ? _ _

7. Can a vessel drawing twelve feet water enter the pier
or harbour cf Ardrossan, with a leading wind, at all times of
tide ? _ _

.........
8. On entering the harbour of Ardrossan, was not H. N.
ship Driver many tons of water short of her compliment ?
9. When inside of the pier of Ardrossan, arc vessels safe
with hemp cables ?
10. Can Mr. Auld declare himself a disinterested writer ?
11. On the utility of Ardrossan, which I allow he has no
interests, directly or indirectly, but those of truth?
12. Is he an unprejudiced writer ?
13. Can he, like the propounder of these questions, solemnly
declare that he neither knows nor cares a fig about Lord Port-
land, Lord Eglinton, or any Lord in Christendom ?
To conclude, has he given his real name to the public ?
that is, will the Editor of the Ayrshire Courier, Ste. vouch
for the fact ? Mr. Auld is bouna to answer each and all of
these questions, without sophistry, truly and publicly—the in-
terests of more than the merchants of Saltcoats and Ardrossan
demand his answers!
As I cannot pretend to know the truth or falsehood of the
local occurrences which Mr. Auld has described, Lmust hare '
recourse to a true statement, which will serve the nautical
world as a touchstone, whereby his accuracy may be brought to
arbour." To this I reply, that
the bar of judgment- ,
Mr. Auld states,. that ' H. M. sloop Driver drew 15i feet
when the Driver'sloop has six
''otti ' ....
is provisions, stores, shot,
guns, and water on board, her
Xrdrossan, she had not one
statute draught is 14 feet 8
orfonwahirosf tdh.ose carrying nine gunsmore
liynactheersoln eAntnecriin::hirdriohsesavnishited ,
The common draught of
Fa, rnil taltrihsge'essiDttorsriie,z.see
dar—ns(llits,:s'pacst:r c
el y
feet ! Frigates, and two-deck
the bottoms of merchant ships 445, draw from 17 to 19 feet • /-
inPo, from 22 to 23 feet. seamen I need scarcely add, that
1_,,; 14s, and ladened 1200 ton India-
formed to carry cargoes, the' '-'
those of ships of war. Tes and vessels are different from
reasons are obvious—the one is
draught of ships of war. ~,t,lier for speed; hence the greater
Mr. Auld informs me that a
" merchant brig, the T.
--lennor Iv'
a, was driven into Ardrossan at
half ebb, and she drewfift„,
feet water !"—that is about the
i.
usual draught of a Kior '11) of 30 's :7!
guns ! What a bounce !
at half ebb: too ! The easel
as all ,hips fron'l/ves front Quebec, timber-ladened,
I
dicta,pres'sihme' she drew 15 feet water / that port are ; and yet, mire_
Ga.th ! • • Good Mr. Auld, tell it not its.. .....

Ncxt comes " The Royal Unicorn collier brig of New-
also fifteen feet of this collier under water. She lets go her
castle ;" and, according to
anchor, runs over it like Air. Auld's measurement, there is
I 74 mooring in Cawsand Bay,
without once scratching
gale ;—when moderate, she starts for Dublin, drawing
fif fe teen et water, her bottom on it, and rides out the
and never stops at the Pigeon-house,
but runs fifteen feet in the mud off Rings End ! The
Merry Don of Dover was nothing to this Newcastle col-
lier of Mr. Auld's ! From his bouncing, lam disposed to
imagine he has read her history—if he has not, let me tell
him she once took in coals through her stern-ports at
Newcastle, and at the same time discharged them out of
her bow-ports at Yarmouth. On another occasion, when
running into the Downs, the fly of her ensign swept ten
thousand sheep off Calais cliffs !—but Mr. Auld's Newcastle
collier, and the Merry Don of Dover, are in his phrase cc invi-
dious comparisons !" To be serious, however, and to use his
own words, " this person subscribing himself" Wm. Auld, has,
after some bouncing, and a lofty flight, descended to his proper
element by introducing into Ardrossan the proper sort of ves-
sels for the said harbour, namely, the revenue-cruizere and the
6() ton Portpatrick packets Until Mr. Auld puts the com-
mercial and nautical portion of the community in possession of
answers to my questions, which will bear the test of scrutiny,
I shall take my leave of Mr. Auld, assuring him, that I have
an henestly-acquired, and an ecclesiastical right to subscribe
myself— H. CAMPBELL.

WINCHESTER, MARCH judicious irri
provement is now carrying into effect, by order of the Com-
missioners of the Stockbridge Road. That part of Swan-
lane which communicates with the Andover and Stockbridge
roads, will be extended to a width of thirty-five feet, and put
in a substantial state of repair. This will greatly facili-
tate the ingress of heavily laden wagons and other vehicles into
this city, which, instead of passing through the West Gate,
will find a much easier access by way of Swan-lane, where-
by they will avoid.a steep hill, and also a rugged descent.—
A society, which has for its benevolent object the reformation
of juvenile offenders, has just been established at Guildford.
Lord Middleton has consented to become patron, and J.
Manges, Esq., Treasurer.

NEWPORT, MARCH 12.--Among the numerous
victims to the measles in this town and neighbourhood, we
are sorry to notice the death of two in one family, and on two
successive days, viz.. Wednesday and Thursday—Julia Har-
riet, and Leopold Henry, daughter and son of Joseph Pfeil,
Esq., late of Windsor, but now of Newport ; the former was
14 months, and the latter four year's and a half old.,—Also the
whole of the family of a labouring man, near Champion, in
this island. They were five in number, and were all carried
off by a fever which succeeded the measles. It is not a little
remarkable that a nurse child, in the same family, passed
through the same disorder at the same time, and is doing very
well.

A few nights sinCe, the house of CHARLES
CALVERT, Esq., M. P., at Whitton, near Hounslow, was
stripped of a ton weight of lead. A cart was known to have
passed through Isleworth turnpike about two o'clock in the
morning, in which the lead was supposed to be conveyed. This
is the second robbery of Mr. CALVERT'S house within a few
months ; in the first he lost a valuable time-keeper, and other
articles.