The Press. — London, England, 1854-01-28 00:00:00

SOW! g 811854 REFORM IN MANCHESTER. SINCE the close of the corn-law agitation the leaders of the Liberal party of the Manchester district have been in the habit of meeting together immediately previous to the sess ion of Parliament, with a view t o a rrange their policy and express their views upon the curi ent topics of the day in such a manner as to make them bear upon the deliberations of the Legis lature. In former years these gatherings attracted immense numbers of the population, and the old Free-trade Hall has, on some occasions, been filled to over fl o wing, but this year the general apathy of t h e people has extended even to Manchester, and to ooid a more conspicuons failure it was d mresolve that, instead of a large popular demonstration, the eet ing should be confined almost entirely to the prin. cipal men of the party ; and accordingly the gather ing which took place on Tuesday was held in the Albion Hotel, the large room of which is capable of holding st best only about 300 people. Even these limited capabilities were not, however, fully tested, as only about 250 persons assembled, though speeches from Cobden, Bright, Gibson, and other great leaders of the party were promised by way of attraction. Nor wee this the only sign of the general indifference. In an adjoining room a banquet of tea and cakes had been provided at the expense of the registration com mittees of the district, and the seductions of the feast proved so strong that nearly an hour elapsed beyond the prescribed time for commencing business before the select 250 could be persuaded to adjourn to the room set apart for oratory. At length, their appetites being satisfied, they proceeded to the large room, where the appointed speakers addressed them suc cessively during some hours. The discourses then delivered were as long as usual and more discursive. Reform was the ostensible and leading theme, but much was said on the Turkish question, and the tone even of the professed pacificators grew occasionally warm and warlike while describing the aggressions of Russia. JUVENILE DELINQUENCY. Szvxtur. meetings and movements have taken place dining the past few days upon the important subject of juvenile crime, and the reformation of juvenile criminals. At Glasgow on Tuesday an influential assembly gathered at the summons of the Lord Provost, to consider the " great amount of juvenile destitution, ignorance, vagrancy, and crime, and to Iry upon the Government and the Legislature the necessity of adopting remedial measures" for the etre of these evils. Sir Archibald Alison, Sir James Anderson, M.P., Mr. Hastie, M.P., and many other gentlemen of standing and influence took part in the proceedings. Another meeting was held on Thursday in Liver pool, summoned by the Mayor, in compliance with a requisition to adopt measures for the abatement and reform of juvenile delinquency. At this meet ing letters were read from the Earl of Derby and Lord Stanley, expressing a cordial concurrence in its objects. Mr. Horsfall, M.P., in the course of his speech to the assembly, alluded to one instance of th e ad van t age w hi c h, w ithi n . own experience, might be held t o illustrate the Irene its to be derived from a wholesome reformatory system. The case was that of a child who had been broug ht before him ( M r. Horsfall), in his capacity of a magii trate, for stealing a watch. The boy was young, and, on inquiry, it was found his parents were respectable, well doing people. Instead of sending the boy to prison, he was returned to his father, on the latter agreeing to here him removed from his evil companions, and pro fs'', eared for. In a year or two after he (Mr. Horsfall) experienced much pleasure in having to present him with I leh" 1- Priia for good behaviour, and he was happy to say that lad had turned out an excellent young MU], sal was at the present moment employed as a teacher in one of the national schools. If such a result was to be attained in one solitary instance, did it not afford encouragement to hope for more extensive results from ben extensive preporations! Mr. Hcrrsfall proceeded to elegise the prineiple and prac ti ca l operation of the Abet. deep schools f or the reformation of juvenile Wanders, and laid be did not see why an old maxi -of-war ship, which Ind done its duty in another capacity, could be better employed than as the receptacle of a reformatory school ofA sethreiea requi si tion of res oletions in conformity with the terms were afterwards passed, as well as a Petition which the members for the borough are A l lo Pent to annual the HOAR) of Commo meeting of the ns ßirmingham Re formatory Institution , held on Tuesday, it was stated that Mr. Jonah Mason, ' of the firm of Elkington and af listen ,ooo , i and had made an offer of a muni fi cent donation a subscription of 1001 . per annum, for e e ti z la?cl support of a girls' reformatory estab ',re. las Burdett C ou tt s an d M r . W. Ch ance alto each offered the sum of 100 guineas to wursle, th e same spe c ifi c o bj ec t. A g i r l s ' re f ormatory school is, therefore, to be erected as soon as possible. The Somersetshir , e grand jury at the last quarter sessions h e ld in Melts drew up a petition on the 844.4 of juvenile crime, strongly advocating the as tublishment of penal reformatory schools for the trel4l4 ent and slos""CatiOLl Of yonthful criminals. The THE 1311,ESS. petition, of which the chairman, Mr. W. Miles, M.P., promised to take charge and present it with his full concurrence to the House of Commons, set forth the following conclusions : " That a great amount of juvenile destitution, ignorance, vagrancy, and crime, has long existed in this county, for which no adequate remedy has yet been provided. " That sound policy requires that this county should immediately adopt mesanres to remedy the evil. "That a great portion of the criminal children of this county, especially those convicted of first offences, appear rather to require systematic education, care, and indus trial occupation, than mere punishment. " That the common gaols and houses of correction do not generally provide suitable means for the educational or corrective treatment of young children, who ought, when guilty of crime, to be treated in a manner different from the ordinary punishment of adult criminals. " That penal reformatory establishments ought to be founded and supported entirely at the public cost, and to be under the care and inspection of Government. " That reformatory schools should be established for the education and correction of children convicted of minor offences, to be founded and supported partially by local rates, and partially by contributions from the State ; and that power should be given to the Government to contract with the managers of reformatory schools, founded and supported by voluntary contributions, for the care and maintenance of such children within such institutions." THE " THETIS " AND ADMIRAL DUNDAS. H.M.S. " Timis " arrived at Portsmouth on the 19th from the South Pacific, after a cruise which has extended from the beginning of October, 1850. Her term of service being nearly completed, the Thetis would in the natural course of things have been paid off, instead of which, however, it has been determined that the crew should be paid " down," and retained in the navy. Some weeks have, however, been allowed them for a run on shore after their long absence. This resolve of the authorities was com• municated to the men by Rear-Admiral Dundas in person, who went on board the Thetis, and, having ordered all hands to be piped on deck, thus ad dressed them : " My men, I have come down, by request of the Board of Admiralty, to make known to you that we are on the eve of a war, and that war with Russia. My object, therefore, in addressing you by desire of their lordships, is to prepare you for such event ; and I am sure you will receive this an nouncement as becomes Englishmen and British sailors. It is my duty to inform you that the country cannot dis pense with your services, however hard it may appear after your having been away for so long a period ; yet the exigeneies of the service must be paramount to all other considerations. Instead, therefore, of your being paid off, you will all be paid down. You shall have a few weeks' run, after which I feel assured that you will act as British seamen ever have done in defence of their country. I trust you will receive this communication in its right and proper light, and I make this known to you thus early to prevent any feelings of disappointment. I have earnestly to hope that the evil may yet pass away, but we must be prepared for any and every emergency. 'Pipe down.'" The admiral shortly after returned on board the Fire Queen, and came into harbour. The comple ment of the Thetis consists of 360 men, in the highest state of efficiency and discipline. DREADFUL SHIPWRECK- THREE HUNDRED LIVES LOST. THE accounts of a frightful catastrophe, resulting in the loss of a splendid emigrant ship, accompanied by the sacrifice of nearly 350 human beings, reached Dublin on Monday morning. The calamity occurred upon a rock, near the entrance to Dublin Bay, in the course of Saturday afternoon, the ill-fated vessel being the Tayleur emigrant-ship, bound from Liver pool to Melbourne. The Tayleur sailed from the Mersey at noon on Thursday week, with a fine south east wind, in tow of the steam-tug Victory, and was left by that steamer at seven o'clock in the evening about six miles E.S.E. of the Skerries, and with every prospect of having a favourable run down Channel. There was a change of wind, however, during the night of Thursday, and on Friday the wind was W.S.W. and S.W., and very little progress was made. About noon on Saturday land was sighted, distance three or four miles, but it was some time before it was ascertained what part of the coast the ship was on, and she rapidly drifted on to what afterwards proved to be a rock known by the name of the " Nose of Lambsy Island," near Dublin Bay. After first striking she went broadside on to the rock, filled with water, and slid off and sank, leaving only the tops of her masts visible above water. The following details are given in a narrative of the acci dent furnished by Mr. F. Kemp, one of the surviving passengers:— "The Taykur left Liverpool on Thursday, at noon, in tow of the steamer Victory, with a fine breeze from S.E. An went on well until about noon on Saturday. At that time one of my fellow-passengers came running into my cabin, and said that there was land on the lee bow. went on deck, and saw the land distinctly, which appeared to me to be only about three-quarters of a mile distant. Flora the progress the ship was making towards the land I sow there was no hope of escape, and I prepared myself for the wont, The wind was Nulling kola frvnt S.W., - the ship being under reefed topsails. As soon as it was known to the passengers that the land was so close they all crowded on deck, and caused such confusion that the crew were prevented from obeying any orders that might have been conveyed to them by the officers. Both anehors were let go, but either the cables broke or the heavy sea caused them to drag, for they did not stay the progress of the ship, and she soon struck. After striking she turned broadside on to the rock, and many of the passengers jumped on shore. She remained in this position only a few minutes, when she slid of, filled rapidly, and went down stern foremost, with the tops of her masts visible above water. The survivors were mustered and counted, and it was found that there were about 260 saved. The captain and first and third mates are saved. The second mate and surgeon, and his lady and child, perished. Only three women and two children were saved. The captain was the last man who left the vessel that was saved." According to the Freeman's Journal, the vessel, having been driven out of her course, was making a long tack for the purpose of avoiding the land, when it was suddenly discovered that she was close upon it, and, in fact, struck a very few minutes afterwards. The Freeman adds : lit is impossible to describe the dreadful scene of terror, conffision, and despair that ensued. The passengers rushed on deck, anti, as it was evident that the vessel must soon go to pieces, desperate efforts were made to reach the land. We are unable to say whether the boats were used for the purpose, or with what effect ; bat it is stated that a rope was run from the vessel to the shore and made fast there. To this a large number of the unfortunate passengers clung with the hope of reaching land, but while they were endeavouring to do so the vessel gave a sudden lurch, by which they were almost every one precipitated into the sea, then fearfully beating upon the rocks, and deprived of the means and the hope of escape. The greater part of them thus perished. Out of the entire number on board, about 960 succeeded in making the island ; so that more than three hundred wretched suffer ers perished within sight, and almost within reach, of land. Intelligence of the dreadffil calamity having been conveyed to Dublin, the Prince steamer, Captain Lead, was des patched to Lambay, to take off the survivors, who were without food, and expos ed to the danger of perishing fr o m cold, hanger, and e xhaustion." One seaman who had mounted to the top of a mast which remained above water lashed himself there in a sail, and was rescued by the crew of a coast-guard boat fourteen hours afterwards. From the report of the Government emigration agents it appears that the Taylesir cleared front the Mersey with the following number on board :—Pas sengers: steerage, 488 ; cabin, 16 : crew, officers, &:c., 70 : total, 574. Five " stowa wa y s " were discovered after the steam tug left, which would make the total number of people on board 579. The number saved is set down at 282, which leaves 292 to be accounted for. The Tayleur was a new ship of 2,?00 tons register, and was commanded by Captain Noble, a gentleman of great experience and ability. She was considered one of the finest specimens of naval architecture ever produced in this country. She had a full cargo of merchandise. WRECK OF AN AMERICAN STEAMER. A DISASTROUS wreck, accompanied by the loss of a splendid steamer, and from 200 to :100 persons, bad excited much sympathy in New York when the last mail was despatched. The vessel was the San Fran • cisco, a new steamer, chartered by the United States Government to convey troops to California. She sailed from New York on Dec. 21st, with eight companies of artillerymen on board, and was seen five days after wards in a completely disabled condition by the Maria Freeman, but that vessel could not render any assistance, as the San Francisco drifted out of sight during a heavy gale. Upon receipt of this news at Washington the Secretary of the Navy was applied to for aid ; but there was not a Govern ment vessel in any port fit for immediate service. The Secretary-at• War then ordered a merchant steamer to be chartered at once to go in search of the wreck. Several revenue cutters were also despatched on the same errand. Before any of these vessels could ftilill their mission the San Francisco had dis appeared ; but fortunately three passing ships, one of which was British, had previously fallen in with the still floating wreck and rescued all the survivors among the passengers and crew. The following narrative of the disaster has been drawn up from their information : "The Government of the United States chartered the San Francisco to convey eight companies of artillery to California, where they were intended to be stationed. Those companies consisted, including officer', of 514 man, with whom there were about 200 women and chil dren, making, with the crew of the steamer, altogether about 750 persona. The an b'rancisco sailed on the 21st of December, and enjoyed favourable weather at the com mencement of the voyage ; but, during a severe gale which she encountered on the 23rd, the piston of the pump broke, and the engines were disabled. The next day the upper saloon, promenade-deck, and about fifty feet of spar o k iii were carried away, and an the ship's boats were swept immediately after. The vessel had also sprung a lOW, and the utmost =Mims of all beads on board were mos& sexy to keep her afloat. This state of things eantanniti up tv the Roth, when t barcittc Kilby, from New Orlesum to him.