The Sun.
London, England, 1850-09-13 00:00:00

APPOINTMENTS.

I WOOL

_WWII, SEPT. 12.—Midshipman—George G.
Wallace to the Portland, 50, at Devonport, flag-ship
of Rear-Admiral Moresby, for the Pacific station.
Rear-Admiral J. W. D. Dundas, C. 8., First Naval
Lord of the Admiralty, has returned from his visit to
the Continent, and resumed his official duties at the
Admiralty.

DISCOVERY OF A NEW CHANNEL

IN THE COLUMBIA RIVER.
The progress of Oregon has hitherto been materi-
ally impeded by the difficulty ships have experienced
in entering the embouchure of its great artery, the
Columbia river. The following correspondence,
which we extract from American journals just come
to hand, would seem to indicate that this difficu ty
has been surmounted by the discovery of a new
channel :-
LETTER OF rnorcssait BACHE TO MR. THURSTON.
" Coa‘t Survey•offi.:e, Washington, Aug. 14, 1850.
" Sir,—l send you with this, copies of letters
received from Lieut. Wash, A. Bartlett, U.S. Navy,
Assist. Coast Survey (in the absence of Lieutenant
Commg. McArthur), in reference to the newly-dis-
covered channel at the mouth of the Columbia river,
Oregon. The importance of this channel makes it
desirable to give a wide and immediate circulation to
the information contained in these letters, and I have
accordingly requested authority from the Treasury
department to publish them.
" Very respectfully sours, &c.,
" A D. BACHE,
"Supt. U. S. Coast Survey.
" Hon. S. R. Thurston, Delegate from
Oregon, Washington."

LETTER OF GEO. GIBBS, ESQ., DEPUTY COLLECTOR AT
ASTORIA, OREGON, TO THE COMMANDING OFFICER, &C.
"Collector's-office, Port Astoria, June 23, 1850.
" To the Commanding Officer, U.S. Surveying Schr.

Ewing.
" Sir,—As I perceive that some statements have
been made in the Californian papers, calculated to
mislead shipmasters and others, respecting the facili-
ties of entering the Columbia river, more particularly
by the 'New South Channel,' recently discovered by
Captain White, and the safety of the anchorages at
this port when entered, I beg leave to ask you, whose
official duties have particularly demanded attention to
the subject, a plain statement of the facts relating to
it. And have the honour to be, sir, your most obe-
dient servant,
(Signed) " GEORGE Grim, Dep. Col."

LETTER OF WASHINGTON A. BARTLETT, LIEUT. U.S.N.

TO GEo. GIBBS, ESQ., DEP. COLLECTOR.
" U.S.'Surveying Schr. Ewing, Mouth of
the Columbia, June 26,1850.
" Sir,--.ln reply to your inquiries as to the charac-
ter of the 'New South Channel!' into the Columbia
river, and its practical use by vessels, either by sail
or steam, as observed by the party of the U.S. coast
survey, now engaged here, I have-to state (in the ab-
sence of Lieut.-Commander McArthur, chief of the
hydrographical party) that the U.S. schooner Ewing
crossed the bar of the New South Channel, under
charge of Captain White (the discoverer of the chan-
nel), on the 19th April last, and so perfectly plain
and accessible did this new route appear, that we
could scarcely believe that we had beat into the Co-
lumbia river, or over its bar, so famous for the last
half•century for difficulty and delay as to be a place
of terror to all seamen and underwriters. Since the
date referred to, now over two months, I have witnessed
almost daily the passage of the bar of New South
Channel,' by vessels of all classes, trading into the
Columbia river, crossing at pleasure, with or without
pilots, and without danger. Since Mr. White left
duty at the bar (I hope, however, only temporarily),
five sail have crossed the bar without pilots, viz., the
brig Seguin, barques Ann Smith and Eliza, and the
United States schooner Ewing, under my direction,
twice ; so that I can state from my own knowledge
that any observing seaman can cross, in or out, over
this bar safely and certainly without an hour's delay,
after having once crossed in order to observe the
ranges, which are well defined, and certain to lead
over in good water. We have not yet sufficiently
surveyed the bar to state how much water there
is at a; stages of the tide, but the least water

I had in crossmg with the Ewing yestirday
(vviih two careful leadsmen) was sixteen feet at
half-'ide (flood), running in on s straight range
of Pillar- hill tree (a vv.). remarkable landmark)
just shut on over point Adam. till I deepened
to five fathoms, inside the Point: of Breakers
(on the north side of channel), and hauled up for the
Bescons,' 011 S tnd Island (wind N.V. # N) havirg
from six and seven to nine fathoms up to Sand Island
Beacon, two miles inside the bar. Time from the
live fathoms outside to Sand Island Beacon, twenty
minutes. A vessel goes out from the anchorage at
Saud Island into open ocean in from thirty to fifty
minutes. There is abundant room for any vessel to
work in or out, with the wind from any point of the
compsss, and as the tide ebbs fair through the Channel
in the best water, it greatly facilitates both ingress
and egress. Tne ranges for turning Clatrop-spit are
(by my own verification) Point Ellice,' with
' Pillar-hill' just shut in behind it, and Point Adams
in one with the highest pass' of the mountains in
the Esst C., in eight fathoms. A vessel passes
clear, either in coming in or going out. As that
leading psss' has no name, I propose to distinguish
it as the Ewing-peak.' We have built a beacon on
Sand Island, on which is a white flag, 80 feet above
the island, and 85 feet above the high-water mark.
Around the base of the flag-staff is a block-house,
35 feet high and fifteen feet square ; it can be seen
plainly, in good weather, twelve miles at sea. By
bringing the beacon-flag directly under the centre of
the highest peak westward of Chinook-point, and
Point Adams just open south of Pillar-hill-tree, a
vessel will be in 121 fathoms, in a fair way to the bar,
with bar range on, viz, Point Adams and Pillar-bill.
And the usual wind from north-west, or anywhere on
the western board is fair for crossing. Vessels cross
the bar of the New Channel under all steering sails,
or heat up the channel, as the case may be. It is not
necessary to tack ship on the bar, in any wind. A
sailing vessel can run to sea from Sand Island, or
cotne in, in less time than she can run to Baker's-bay,
after which (if in Baker's-bay) she must take her
chance for wind and tide to get to sea. The anchor-
ages at Astoria, Sandy-point (east end of Clatrop-
beach), and Sand Island are god, with abundant
room for getting under weigh at any stage of the tide.
As soon as practicable I will designate all the points
of range for which the new beacon on Sand Island
can be made available. It is a superior position for a
beacon light.

" Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
" Wm. A. BARTLETT, Lieut. U. S. N.,
Assistant U. S. Coast Survey.
" To Geo. Gibbs, Esq , Dep. CA. Port of Astoria."

LETTER OF LIEUT. W. A. BARTLETT, 17.9. N., TO

PROFESSOR BACHE.

" U.S. Surveying Schr. E wing, Mouth of
Columbia River, June 26, 1850.

" Sir,—l have the honour to enclose you a copy of
a letter, which, in the absence of Lieut.-Coming.
McArthur, I have this day addressed to George Gibbs,
Esq., deputy collector for the district of Oregon, on
the navigation of the bar of the Colombia. I am
happy to add, that Mr. White, the highly efficient
pilot of the bar, has this morning resumed his station
here with pilot-boat Mary Taylor, and that I have
been able to arrange to conduct the soundings of the
bar and approaches on board that vessel. This will
greatly facilitate the work, and I think we see a clear
prospect of completing the work in three or four
months. I think it will be gratifying to the com-
mercial interests of the United States to know that
the bar of the Columbia (oue of the noblest rivers in
the world) has been stripped of all its terrors.
" Very truly yours_,_
(Signed) "W. A. B&ItTLETT, Lieut. U.S.N.,
Assistant Coast Survey.
" Prof. A. D. Bache, Supt. U.S. Coast Survey."

THE FRANKLIN EXPEDITION OF

SDI JOHN ROSS.
The secretary of the Hudson's Bay Company has
receiver the following letter from Sir John Ross,
giving an account of the progress of his expedition in
search of Sir John Franklin. It will be recollected
the expedition sailed from Scotland on the 23d of
May last:—
"Felix Discovery Vessel, Holsteinborg,
June, 1850.

"My dear Sir,—l leave this with the Danish resi-
dt•nt at Holsteinborg, merely to say that we have
safely arrived here, atter a fair passage, and although
we experienced two heavy gales, we sustained no
damage, while we had ample proof of both the Felix
and the Mary being excellent seaboats es well us good
sailers—in shr,rt, they are both everything we could
desire. As I do not expect that this will reach you
till October, as it will go by the Danish Government
vtssel that. leaves this in September, I shall not send my
accounts, vouchers, &c., being in hopes that I shall
overtake the transport Emma Eugenia at Whalefish
Islands, or at least some homeward-bound vessel that
will reach England before that time. My object in
coming here was to obtain a Danish interpreter who
understands the Esquimaux language, and before I
close this I shall be able to say if I have succeeded.
We overtook the Danish Government brig Titus, 31