The Sun.
London, England, 1812-12-21 00:00:00

EXTRACT OF A LETTER FROM NOASHINGTON.

The late Unfortunate affair at Queenstown
has made a deep impression On the public mind,
"The-loss, though not acknOwledged in our Jour-
nals,'to be more than 600. i is believed to have
amounted, in the whole; to 2000 men. Many
persons who were advocates of war, as thinking it
might raise the courage of our population, and be
productive of national 'glory, begin to reflect
and are nOW ready enough to aciinowledge, that
the organization of our military force, precludes
the hope. Canada, say they, is not likely to be
wrested from the British with our present means.
:Eden the Auiorai and the other GOvernment Jour-
nals, admit, That all the depinYinents of the army
ar..! badly organized ; that the Ordnance and Coin-
missariat Departments are in a wretched condi-
tion, and the remedy they propose is, that a num-
ber of active, enlightened, anil influential citizens
Shall be appointed in every State to regulate all
4ihititary'matteri. Amore absurd scheme was ne..

. . . ,
v A 'et beard of • but while they gravely tell us not
.
COOF',Ie -vis by assurances; that
atter is lave been . bv.the Brit
as the '?,•,...nans were by Charles Xii. :! we, like
them, tdiail acquire military dis'ciplin
e,and in our
turn be tanitht to conquer: .
The itut% is, that ma.ny.Of our citizens «'-ere
51,2 • .
educed tot.-..itdur the_ war, from a belief that the
C; ittadas m'Teuldliaveh.'::.! an easy conquest, and as
the possession O:t.Ao.se iiovitices, are necessary to
round Our-tenitories, and secure the submission
of patriotisni preiiaiied.dver the scru-
ples of conscience.
" The late 'attack 4.irA.infide bv Glen: Van Rains-
saltier, hi 'Consequence:6f intelligence from a
deserter; that Gen Brock had gmi westward with
the greater part of,h is force to;repel Gen. fiarrisop's
attempt at Detroit., Tri is is LieMr ed to 'have been
a ruse de guerre of the BritiSh he cer-
tainly was menaced in that quarter; feired
otherwise these 0:9 distinct attacks might be
sat the 'tine, when rine, front flip in-
feriority of his force, 'must necessarily, li,ticc Pre-
vailed.

" Gen. Van Ranssolaer, who commanded the
troops assembled at Niagam, has resigned. He
is said to have been-disgusted with the cowardice
and insubordination of his,men. Brigadier'Ge-
neral Smith, Inspector-General, has been appoint-
ed by tiene:al Dearborn, to succeed him, Rans-
saiaer passed through Albany.
ColooeL Ranssalaer, of the New York
Militia, who led a column, and received 4 wounds
(two in 'one thigh), at Queenstown, is likely to
recover."

EXTRACT OP A'I4OTI-frn LETTER FROM WASHINGTON:

" The season will not be permitted to close
without another attempt to retrieve the honour of
the American arms. 'We learn by letters from Al-
bany, that the army under Gen. Dearborn is ad.
vancing, and that 'the troops on 'the East.and West
side of Lake Champlain, have for some weeks past
been filing towardS the camp, to effect a junction.
I am assured from an officer, that the utmost
stiength of this army does not exceed 12,000 men,
though report has: exaggerated it to three times
that number. To aid the attack .on Upper Cana-
da, it is said, that Gen. Harrison will advance
against Detroit, and. invade that province a second
time. God grant that he may meet with better
cuccess.Thab Gent hull. He is invested with un-
usual powers,lis Governor of all the forces on the
NN;:stern and north-western frontier ; so that you
see we profit. by dear-bought experience.
" I foal-, however, we cannot depend sufficiently
on the discipline of our military ;- the following
relation, which is well attested, will explain my
detachment of 250-men, of Col.
Thy's regiment, was lately sent by Gen. Harrison
to burn Some Indian villages. On. the march they
fell in with 0. strong part/ of savages, with whom
they skirmished. Major Cotton, who Wa3 the su-
perior commanding officer of the detachment, was
in the centre ; Capt. Hamilton 'on the right, and
Capt. Root on the left,,. After the engagement tad
lasted about half an our, the Indians gave way.
Major Cotton, Suspecting This was an artifice of
the enemy, to draw his men • into an ambuscade,
sounded a retreat ; in opposition to which Cap-
tains Ilitmiitoil and Root ordered a charge. The
cemsiimeace was; that; cue half of the men retired.
with the Vajor, while the remaining half followed
the two Captains. It is scarcely necessary to add
that these last were all cut off and scalped by the
Indians"

Letters have been lately received by some offi-
cers of the German Legion, in Ipswich, from
their friends on-the Continent. which state, that
Jerome BUONAPARTE, the King of Westphalia,
has sent all his valuable and movable property
from Cassel to France'.

A letter by the vessel from Ostend, a few days
since, says, that in consequence of the prevalence
.of a report that BOONAPARTE' had been shot by
one of his ' Officers; ,the Chief Magistrate sent
round the ToWn Crier, to proclaim to the inha-
bitants, that after the public notice then given,
should any person dare to propagate reports rela-
tive to the state of the Emperor and the army,
therwould be iiinnediately sent to the gullies.—
Every house at Ostend had billeted on it from 4
to 6 new-raised Conscripts.
Letters from Bourdeaux; Coblentz, Maestricht,
Nancy, and Chalotis-upon-Marne, state, that the
remaining Conscripts of the year 1815 have been
called out:to join the corps to which they were
attached. Many of these young men are 'not more
than sixteen or seventeen years of age.
Disturbances broke out last month at St. Gall,
which' lasted seven days. The foreign Journals
attribute their origin to the distress of the Corn-
munes, ' which induced some of the citizens to
come to a resolution to part with estates, the pub-
lic property, and which was opposed by others.
The Pari§.Journals notice a Matrimonial Agen-
cy
Office, Which has been opened by M.Villiaume,
lip 'that city. -Th'e 'persona, charms, fortune, and
'pretensionsf .of ' the candidates for the Hymeneal
state,„..aLe, regittered,. M. Villiaume, in reply to
the epigrams and pt&gSaAtrie§ of the Parisian wits,
announdet 206 marriages, the fruits of his labour,
within t..,W0 years. • 4 .
01tpu,RGH
~ CAusE:•7-The' Court of '.Session
have begun to hear -Counsel bn the important
cause `respeeting the Roxburgh fens. Both'
DieisiOns -sat together in the. first chamber, on
Tuesday, upon this great queStion, which in its
cOnscquences involves a great deal of property in
Scotland, • '

• Wednesday morning,` as the watchman was go-
ing his routid,..he Was called to the house of Mrs.
Priest, in Fishergate, Docaster, baker, who stated
that her bsed-room had been entered by two men
in smock-frocks, and that whilst-one of them stood
over her with a knife, threatening to cut her
tirrOat if she- gave alann, the other obtained her
keys; and took from a drawer upwards of on? hun-
dred pounds in notes, with which they had got
clear off.

We lately ndticed the melancholy circumstance
of the death of young Mr. Anson, owing to the
bursting of a gun, on board the Bacchante frigate.
It will be some consolation tO those who have re-
lations On board this ship to learn, that notwith-
standing the danger of so dreadful an explosion,
no other accident occurred upon this unfortunate
occasion except the much lamented. one above-
stated. •