Star.
London, England, 1818-09-23 00:00:00

DISTRIBUTION OF PRI7E-MOSEY.

Splrian, for the Eller., Beate, Pastigllone, and Fair Ameri-
can, on SAtt,rely next, at 12, Cement's Inn; recalled Tuesdays
and Tnur.days.

A distressing accident happened at Woolwich, on
Monday : John Hinton, bellman, was employed to
go down a privy for a purse that had been dropped,
but had scarcely descended when he was suffocated
by the stench. The alarm being given, two seamen,
belonging to the Ranwtso, vessel of war, of the
names of Brown and Hynes, who were passieg at the
time, went promptly down to the poor mans relief;
but not having taken any greater precaution than
himself, they both unfortunately shared the same fate.

. .
. We have the pleasure to state, that the Bon Ac-
cord, of Aberdeen. has brought dispat.kes from our
North-West Expedition—the last, in all probability,
which will be received this year, as our ships were
going beyond the track of all the trading and fishing
vessels, hich till then had accompanied their course.'
Strange as it may appear, the approach of winter,
which begins eery early in those high latitudes, seems
to have increased, instead of-shutting out every hope
of success. In a private letter from Captain Ross,
dated August 1, in lat. 75. 48. N. long. 61. 30. W.
he says—" I have but a few moments to tell you, that
we have now every prospect of success—the ice is
clearing away fast, and the wind is at N. E. Our
variation observed on the ice, 88. 13. We have killed
a whale, and laid in a stock of blubber for our win
ter fuel."—The letters received from other persons, 1
under his command, are of the same date, and equally
promising. They state, that the ice was clearing
away, and that their prospect of success was improv-
ing. ing. The most extraordinary phenomenon of the va.
nation of the compass had gore on. increasing ;—it
was 88s 13. on the ice---,.we say on the ice, for on
board ship, owing to some peculiar influence, not yet
ascertained, it was much more. The former letters,
of which we have already given extracts, mention,
that on board ship the variation was at one time 95
degrees, that is, the needle pointed, instead of North,'
to the Southward of West. This difference between'
the real variation and an apparent variation on board
ship was first observed by Captain g: LINDEiti, but it
was supposed to be an accidental peculiarity in his
ship: it is now clear that it belongs to all ships, and
vanes in all, and there would be little doubt that it
should be attributed to the influence of the iron about
the vessel, except for a curious fact which we under-
stand has been ascertained ; namely, that the com-
passes called insulated compasses, which are placed
in boxes of iron, and which are uninfluenced by ex-
ternal iron, when brought near to them, are affected
by the ship variation in the same degree as the com-
mon compass.—This, which is now called the devia-
tion, has been found to be much greater as the expe-
riments go Northward. This is accounted for from
the circumstance of the dip of the needle diminishing
what is usually called its polarity, and allowing it,
therefore, to be more easily affected by the local in-
fluence of the ship.

A letter from Ceylon, dated March the 7th, says,
A report has reached us, that his Majesty's Go-
vernment in England were about to erect Columbo
into an Archdcaconry, and to place Ceylon under
the spiritual jurisdiction of the Bishop of Calcutta.
A union and consistency will thus be given to the
English church throughout the British dominion;.
There are, we believe, several congregations of Pro-
testants at Columbo, and other parts of the island of
Ceylon, which have much increased of late years,
under the protection and encouragement of the pre-
sent Governor ; and the accounts we have seen lead
us to think, that the most beneficial effects are likely
to result from the ordination of native priests, the
mesas for which will be now regularly afforded."