It was the intention of the commander of the said United States’ ship-of-war, to have entered the bay of Turan; but having been driven from thence, after repeated attempts, by adverse winds and currents, he has been compelled at length to enter this port. As contrary winds and currents now prevail, it is rendered impossible for the envoy to proceed to Turan bay. The undersigned must, therefore, await your Majesty’s answer here. Dated on board the United States’ ship Peacock, in Vung-lam roads, province of Fooyan, Cochin-China, the seventh day of January, A. D. 1833, the fifty-seventh year of Independence. (Signed) EDMUND ROBERTS Not being well acquainted with the Cochin-Chinese forms, the letter was simply folded up in paper and sealed, being enclosed in vellum, and addressed-- TO HIS MAJESTY, The King of Cochin-China, &c., &c., &c. The two deputies had made considerable parade, opposite the low and dirty hut, in which they were waiting to receive the despatch. There was a party of soldiers, with pikes fixed in the sand, at regular distances; three elephants, with small riding-boxes on their backs; palanquins, or travelling conveyances, of the kind used in the country; and several ponies. The village generally has a dirty and miserable appearance. There are a few neat little brick and wood houses, with tiled roofs; the rest are all of mat, or the kind of leaf called _attap_, little better than mere sheds. After the despatch had been received by them, with a promise that it should be forwarded immediately, several questions were asked respecting the roads, the conveniences for travelling, and accommodations between this and Hué. Answers were elicited from them with considerable trouble. One of them, who admitted that he had twice followed the road, saying that he had forgot all about it. They seemed desirous to give as bad an idea as possible of the road, as though they considered it not quite impossible for the ship to go further north, and thus to relieve them of all trouble and responsibility. The road, they said, was big with numerous dangers and difficulties; few stopping-places or accommodations, and those few bad. The conveyance for baggage, cumbrous, being on men’s shoulders. Houses were, however, numerous on the road, and provisions abundant. Their answers respecting provisions and their prices were unsatisfactory; nor could they be induced to make any arrangements for the natives to bring things off to the ship. Every thing appears much dearer here than we expected to find it; even rice and sugar, which we supposed the chief productions, are not much cultivated in this neighbourhood. But the country around seems well fitted to afford abundance of cheap provisions, did commerce hold out any inducement to produce more than is needed for personal use. They stated the number of inhabitants in Vung-lam to be about three thousand, and rather less in each of the other places.