My Lords Commissioners of the Admty. having been informed that a plan has been concerted by Mr. Fulton, an American resident at Paris, under the influence of the First Consul of the French Republic, for destroying the Maritime Force of this Country; I am commanded by their Lordships to send you herewith the substance of the information they have received relative thereto, that you may be apprised thereof, in order to your taking such measures as may appear to you necessary for frustrating any attempt on the part of the Enemy, connected therewith. I have the Honour to be, etc. (Signed) EVAN NEPEAN (ENCLOSURE) Mr. Fulton, an American resident at Paris, has constructed a Vessel in which he has gone down to the bottom of the Water, and has remained thereunder for the space of _seven_ Hours, at one time—that he has navigated the said Vessel, under water, at the rate of two Miles and an half per Hour; that the said sub-marine Vessel is uncommonly managable, and that the whole plan to be effected by means thereof, may be easily executed, and without much risk; That the Ships and Vessels in the port of London are liable to be destroyed with ease, and that the Channel of the River Thames may be ruined; and that it has been proved that only twentyfive pounds of weight of Gunpowder was sufficient to have dashed a Vessel to pieces off Brest, tho’ _externally_ applied. But Fulton contributed directly to the information possessed by the British Government of what he had been doing and what he had in mind. He himself states that he wrote to his old friend the Earl of Stanhope giving him “general ideas of my plans and experiments.” Stanhope became so much interested, or “alarmed,” as Fulton puts it, that he made a public speech on the matter in the House of Lords. The speech by the Earl and the confidential information secured by the Admiralty led the British authorities to open communication with Fulton and finally, though without great difficulty, to induce him to go to England. They saw that it would be better to have the ingenious American a friend on their side rather than attached to the enemy’s cause. But let Fulton tell this story in his own words as given in the manuscript that he left with Consul Lyman to be delivered to Mr. Barlow in the event of his being lost on the voyage home. This paper will be subsequently called the “Descriptions” as named by Fulton. CHAPTER V THE “DRAWINGS AND DESCRIPTIONS” Motives for inventing submarine Navigation and attack, Statement of the causes which brought me to England, reflections on the prospect of emolument held out to me by Lord Hawkesbury, and again under the Contract with Mr. Pitt and Lord Melville,