The Wilmingtonian, and Delaware register., 1825-11-03
THE BRANDYNVINE.

THE BR tNDYWINE.
The Washington Journal, in noticing the
report that the u. S. Frigate Brandywine,
after having been but few days at Sea, was
discovered to have eight feet water in her
hold. remarks:
Without pretending to be better acquain
ted with the art of"ship building" than 9th
ers, we nevertheless venture to assert, from
our knowledge Of the characters of our Ma
val Officers generally, and particularly that
of the Commander of the Brandywine, that
the ,umour as stated cannot be true. The
pumps on board all our ships Of war are
regularly sounded cUery honr, and some
times, during a heavy wind, or gale, eperY
| haF hour; now. we are confident that Capt
| Morris is too COOL a seaman and too care
ful of his high reputation, to have neglected
this important duty. If fitwas moi neglected,
it follows that the eight feet water in her
hold'' must have accumulated zvHhW en-
hour, which could only have happened by
such a Pouring in of W tier Through the
Sides" as would have rendered utterly in
effectua the aid of "all hands" to save her
from going down before the second hoHr
had elapsed. Again, it is st tied, that "thc
oakum had washed out" Hos was it wash
4 ed outs The ship is cohhered foot above
the deep water line: could the oakum have
been "washed out" through tie cohhers 1t
is stated, too, TIA 1t $50 unseaworthy was this
vessel found that consultation was held,
whether it was or was not prudent to pro-
, ceed on the VOYAGE" A consultation with
zvhom? Are not the Captains of our Navy
, competent to decide whether their ships arc
sea- worthy; and did it ever occur that a
, Comm ander asked the advice OF his officers
whether to proceed OH his voyage or not:
The discovery of the leak is said to hav"
5 been made when she had been "our few
t DAYS at sea-" After she had been 8 days
$ at sea, and had performed t7uo.thirds of he,
voyage, Captain Morris wrote to a frient
n in this city, General La Fayette wrote t,
4 Mr.. Duponccau, and Mr.. Somervlle wrote
to his friend Mr.. Hebb. In neither of thes'
e letters is there single word about a leak
n or any other disaster. Would Captain Nor
!. ris have been so negligent of his duty AS t.
E have omitted to report so important a fact t
n the Secretary, Wonld he have thrown a
: way "thrty thousand weight of ammuni
# ton" without saying word to explain whl
:, he had wasted sa much public property
! Would La Fayctte and Mr.. Somerville have
e been silent on a matter OF such interest t.
e their friends, ard to the country?
it These reflections are such rs must occu
e to every person. But, independent of the ar
is gument to be drawn from the silence of th
:, letters to which We have referred, there j
l. a direct contradiction of it in the letter @
q Captain Morris to the Secretary Of the Ma
IS w, which says, in so many words, that the
d had "progrcssed thus far, 7vuhout any acci
4 dent"-to wit: to the 25th, of September
J. and when the voyage was more than tso
id thirds completed. We have taken til
is trouble to make these remarks in the hop
re they may relieve any anxiety which tn
id parents and friends of the numerous officer
,e on board the Brandywine might have fe
er from Welding too easy faith to most uI
founded story. The following is the lctte
he of Captain Morris:
p "Fngae Braadycine, Sept 2j, 1925, !
er Lat. 47o, Long. , 0. $
t. Il avail myself of an opportunity by
We vessel bound to Philadelphia, to inform ye
as that we have progressed thus far withot
We any accident, and that the General and til
MS Officers and Crew, generally, are in goc
DIS health. We have generally been favoure
ial with fair winds, but as they were stronl
I'M accompanied with heavy sea, and the Shi
he very deep, we have had rather wet an
nd uncomfortable passage. though the Gener
has suffered much less from sea sickne
he than he anticipated The Ship appears
m sail well, but we have not had sufficient OF
&C. portunity to ascertain her various good qua
lily tiles.
on american Literature, such as it is, begiI
ar- to be better understood than formerly
Ia England. Many Of our popular works a,
he now reprinted and circulated in that cou
ed try. Mr.. John Miller, publisher and bool
seller in New Bridge street, London, hi
recently brought out English editions of Il
ng Pilot Redwood Lionel Lincoln POT
re- sett's Mexico,' John Bull in America. ''Pe
ia, cival's Poem's,' and that interesting lit
ng tale the Travellers by the author of Re,
wood. These, we understand, have all m
with success as to be satisfactory to the pul
We Usher. Mr.. Miller deserves the CONNER
lie dation of our countrymen FOR the strong il
,r- terest he has taken in making our literatu
ST. known to the British public. He has e
,st tablished library which he calls the =
Ilv mercan Library and in which lie endca