The Sun.
London, England, 1812-03-11 00:00:00

have to a Coireip-o4iient for an
accident which prevented al4 earlier insertion of am-
folio% i!ig article.

OBSERVATION'S I.:LLATiVE, TO A BREAS•WATER' AT

PLYMOUTH SOUND.

The rii4iing a Break-water to shelter Plymouth
Sound is crtiai!dy
.anuhjett of great national irn.-
Portaifce:and to insure its success (whatt-ver the plati
nuy be) is the objet of th'd -following obsevia-
tionq.

About sixty years ago, a sea officer of high rank
thought it possible to make .t Bteskwater. otf
mouth Sound; but the eXpen:e then ,aiconsidered
as too great. TO carry a dike from the M to the
Mew stone will not alone do because thls can
only afford shelter in a gale at S. E. and whichi
never lasts long, for in g.tler,, the wind
hours veers found to the S. S. W,. This driermined
the late liontirtable Admir,d, Barrington, when
Captain of the Aition, of 74 guns, in the year (772;
to anchor in that ship i t Causand By, (which he
had prevtotisjy sounded) on hi; return from a Isom-
rrier cruise of guard-ships in the Bay of Biscay; and
he was the first Captain of a ship of th- line that
ever anchored in C.wsand B -Admiral Bartmg-
ton thought four sail of the line might anchor there
in Safety, being.oiily exposed 16 a S. E:
which the reflux of the breakerprented•the ship!
riding hard; and with a storm at S.S. W. ( v WI) some,
times continues a week or more) the ships are pro,
teded by Penlee Point, round which a heavy swell
rolls, but wi; hoot occasioning any Strain on
_the ca-
bles. Thesituation of Cherbourg is different frotil
that of Plymouth; there. a greater in-draught of
water at the. Litter to flamoaze, Plymouth Harbour,
and Catwater, but nsuie in the furruer. The lnlet
at Cheibourg to she harbour is through'a narrow
channel about eighty feet wide, and Winch is almost
dry At low water. This cnatinel has a communica-
lion with a very extensive bisin or harbour excznett.-
ed out of a large plain, and affords a hack-4 wet
sufficient only Jo keep the channel to the harboiir.
free olsandy mud, but has no influence oil therciid-
sted behind the dike, because in one year there was
a fathom less water within the cove opposite isle
Pel6e than before; and this strip of sind will in-,
crease yearly, and reach the main in a S. W. * di,
rettion, and another spit of sand will run from the
cove opposite Foi t Glnerqueville in a S. E. &realm
to the main, and in time prevent large ships anchor-
ing behind the dike in the bast part of the roadsted.
The ebb and flood tides run in a line with, or paral-
lel to; the dike, and'not at right angles to it, as' rnuSt
,happen to a dike of Plymouth Sound. The dike at
CherboUrg is six hundred feet wide at the base, and
two hundred feet at t heitop; notwithstanding which,
if the flood tide had been at right angles, rushing
towards a large harbour, 'and aided -by a storm Of
wind at N. the loose stones of the dike would have
been rolled away, and have renderrd that anchorage
foul, and- which before was clear of stones. But as
both tides run in a line with the dike, the several
gales and high seas hove filled up the -interstices of
the stones with sand and mud, and have cemented
instead of injuring the dike.
What. has here been said of Cherbourg is appli-
cable to Ply mouth Sound, and which is North and
South :• a Break-Witei must therefore lie East and
West. It will hive a flood tide at right angleS
it, and a great in-draught to three harbours be-
hind it. A dike of loose stones .never stand,
unless each stone or piece of rock is equal in size tot
a cube whose side is six feet, or en equal size of cc-
Mewed masonry. If the 'plan proposed for flats
Break-water is to sink old ships filled with cement-
ed masonry, (not fastened with iron) it is excellent,
and the bust cement for that purpose , is the ground
lime of the Bristol Channel, and which can be tarp-
cured 'in any quantity at Barry Nand, and for 20.
miles to the westward, on the shore of Glamorgan-
shire.

* The coast in the charts, and also the dike, are laid down
in an East and West direction. On this supposition S.
and S. E. are used, though perhaps not exact.

The troop-ships at Spit head are ordered to be
fitted to take troops immediately.
Detachments of the 3d, 4th, gth, 36th, 45th,
71st, 74th,. 77th, and 83d Itogirnenti hate embank-
ed this meek for Portugal.
The present small Lottery is not only inviting
from the pecul'ar -novelty it possesses, but interest-
ing to every adventurer. The capital prizes are
numerous and well arranged.--Schemes' may be bad
at HORNSBY'S and Co.'s Old Established State Lot-
tery Office, 26, Curnhill, -where Tickets and Shares
are on sale —The drawing• will be on the 30th of
next Month.