Gazette Of The United States, & Philadelphia Daily Advertiser

AERIAL NAVIGATION.

From the REPUBLICAN FRANCAIS.

Citizen Campenas, Hydraulic Engineer, wrote, some months ago, the following letter to General Buonaparte—"The author desires us to publish it ; and we are of opinion that it will certainly excite much curiosity.

To Citizen Buonaparte, General in Chief of the Army of Italy.

"Citizen General,

Your glorious campaigns, directed by the new government of the French republic, have at length spread the dawn of a general peace over our continent.

The only enemy which remains for you to combat, is separated from us by the sea. Finish, in the wise manner in which you have begun, the work of a continental peace; and then command repose yourself a while among us under your laurels. You will behold with pleasure the flourishing state of the arts, which you have cherished from your infancy, and of which you are a well beloved pupil. Your multiplied conquests have recovered them from that abyss into which destructive war had plunged them.

The artist who addresses you, filled with the most lively gratitude, will erect, if the means of execution be afforded him, a vast edifice, whence, at the conclusion of his labours, there will issue an aerial vessel, capable of carrying up with you more than two hundred persons, and which may be directed to any point of the compass. I myself will be your pilot. You can thus, without any danger, hover above the fleets of enemies jealous of our happiness, and thunder against them like a new Jupiter, merely by throwing perpendicularly downwards fire brands made of a substance which will kindle only by the contact and percussion at the end of its fall, but which it will be impossible to extinguish : or perhaps you may think it more prudent to begin at once by forcing the British cabinet to capitulate, which you may easily do, as you will have it in your power to set fire to the city of London, or to any of the maritime towns of England. From the calculations I have made, I am convinced, that, with this machine, you may go from Paris to London, and return back again to Paris in twenty-four hours, without descending.

The period of this enterprize, if my humble voice can be heard, is not far distant. A single campaign would be sufficient to realize the whole of my plan. Deign, then, to promote its execution by your correspondence with the Executive Directory of the French Republic. I have not yet made any proposal to the Government, because it would require one million to carry through this project effectually, and the expenses of the war have hitherto absorbed the whole of the revenues of France.

The object I propose is, to establish, in the great ocean of the atmosphere, a general navigation, infinitely more certain and more advantageous than maritime navigation which has ever disturbed the tranquility of mankind—to restore the perfect liberty of commerce, and to give peace and happiness to all the nations of the universe, and unite them as one family. By great labor I have surmounted the multiplied obstacles which presented themselves before me; and my progressive discoveries are developed in a work which I have prepared, consisting of about 400 pages, and divided into five parts.

I have shewn my work to several learned men of this capital. The commissioners appointed to take my plan into consideration (two of whom are members of the national institute, and formerly were members of the academy) have long meditated upon my data, which they have frequently examined with the greatest attention : at last, after a long series of conversations with me, they have testified their approbation in the most unanimous and most earnest manner.

Every moment of your time, brave general, is occupied by your attention to objects that are conducive to our happiness. I cannot then, and ought not, considering the distance between us, and fearing lest my letter should fall into perfidious hands, transcribe the whole of the long report that has been made upon this subject. I shall only present you with an extract from the last part, of it.

Extract from the conclusion of the report.

In the fifth and last part of the work we find details which the author had preserved of his first experiments on Aerostation ; and we learn that this artist had hitherto experienced only disappointment ; but it is obvious that his combinations and his data carry with them all the characteristics of reason and truth.

We lastly proceeded to consider the experiments which the engineer Campenas has lately made, with a view to the construction of Aerostatic machines, and directing them to useful purposes. We are convinced with him, as we have already observed, that the larger the Aerostatic machines are made, the more easy will it be to direct them—because they will present in the air less relative resistance in proportion to the number of men they may carry, and consequently insure the progress of the direction. Indeed, if we consider the united strength of 200 against the wind, and submit the power of both to calculation, it will be seen that the force of the men will be seldom inferior to that of the wind. We are therefore convinced, that it would be highly advantageous to give citizen Campenas zealous and faithful co-operators to assist him in the construction of this machine If we consider attentively the immense treasures which maritime navigation absorbs, there is nothing extravagant in suggesting that three or four millions might be laid out, if necessary, to realize an attempt, the success of which must add to the happiness of all the nations of the globe.

Besides, such an enterprize, if completely successful, would afford a double advantage to the country. The building which citizen Campenas proposes to establish, and which may be constructed in the Champs-Elysees, would always present a monument worthy of the republic. In it all the civic festivals might be celebrated, and all ceremonies performed which require great space and of course cannot be exhibited in bad weather. This building is the Aerostatic dock ; and ports and wharfs may be multiplied in proportion as new vessels are constructed. The advantages which a navigation of this kind would infallibly produce, are so amply demonstrated in the work of citizen Campenas, that we do not hesitate to recommend the prompt execution of his plans."

P. S. In my treatise on aerostation, I propose that the capital city of such country shall have a dock for building aerial vessels and an aerostatic port having a number of wharfs, on which foreign vessels may at all times descend, and remain without danger a sufficient time to unload, make commercial exchanges, take in fresh cargoes, refit, &c. But, while these vessels are under way the smallest of which will carry more than two hundred persons, they will have no occasion to descend for the purpose of exchanging or purchasing commodities. Their powers of direction, by which they are enabled to make way against the strongest wind will serve to make them ascend or descend, or remain stationary at any height required

Two atmospheric buoys, each surmounted with a parachute to be used in case of any accident, must be placed in the two pavilions with which the two extremities of the gallery of the vessel ought to terminate, and may be let down and taken up at the pleasure of the crew, with men, provisions or articles of any kind necessary for maneuvering the vessel.

Finally, another small cylindrical buoy may be let down from the centre pavilion (for the gallery ought to have three pavilions), which would serve to receive, until a general peace, the capitulations of Fortresses, &c. belonging to our remaining enemies.

During peace this buoy might serve to give and receive intelligence, either by day or night (for it can be illuminated), upon a plan previously concerted.

My work, besides, contains all the details necessary to this kind of sailing, and an atmospheric code, the regulations of which have for their sole object the peace and the happiness of all the people of the earth.

(Signed) CAMPENAS, Hydraulic Engineer.