The Sun. — London, England, 1862-03-27 00:00:00

r ~ ~~ 2R.E M.ERRMIAC AND 2HE MONITOR. ' The following is from an officer of the Cum berland : "The Cumberland and the Congress were at anchor at some distance from each other at New port's News—about 300 yards apart. This was on Saturday. At about half-part 11 a.m. the rebel steamer Merrimac came in sight, and we were all on the alert, watching her movements. There was not very much surprise expressed, as she had been expected for some days. The men were beat to quarters almost immediately, and every prepara tion made for active resistance. The captain of the frigate, Coin. Radford, was not on board, being then, occupied on a court of inquiry on board the R,Janoke. In his absence the command was essurned by First-Lieut. George U. Morris, executive officer. -As soon as the Merrimac got within a mile of the Cumberland we opened fire upon her from our 10- inch pivot guns and our rifled cannon. Some of the shots struck her, and others passed or fell short. 'She paid no attention whatever to our firing until she got near the Congress, when she fired into her. The Congress immediately returned the compliment by discharging a whole broadside, followed by an other. She continued on her course, still firing at the Congress, but seeming not to care much for her, and on coming much nearer passed her, and made direct for the Cumberland under a full head of steam. On approaching sufficiently near she fired one shot at us, which killed five men, and cut away our main. rigging, hammock netting, &c. The Cum berland at once replied by firing into her most vigorously. The Merrimac then drew off for a short distance, rounded to, and ran into us, striking us on the port bow, backing off again, and firing into us. - We continued all the while pouring shot and shell against her from our 9-inch guns and 10-inch pivots without producing any effect on her whatever. The Cumberland now began to sink. The iron monster had only run into us once, and still we knew that there was no chance at all of saving the vessel. Al though in. this dangerous and momently sinking conditima, the men and officers nobly stood their grour.d., The Merrimac continued all this while fir ing occasional shots into us, killing four or five men at every shot. The cockpit was soon filled with wounded men, and poor fellows maimed for life were scattered over the upper gun and berth decks. Still our men continued working and fighting their guns in the most gallant manner. Our forward magazine was soon filled with the water which was rushing into the ship, so that it became en tirely useless. The best order, under the circum stances, prevailed, but the cries of the wounded - were dreadful. At one time a shell burst through the sick bay or hospital, killing four men who were on the sick list and unable to report for duty. At last the water rushed into the gun deck ports, and it was seen that the ship would not float much longer. She was now all down by the head and going fast to the bottom. The boats were there lore ordered oat, and with difficulty brought along side. It was, however, almost impossible for the men to get from the gun deck to the spar deck, but some of them climbed into the rigging, and others sprang overboard As the ship was settling out of sight. Everybody was naturally endeavouring to reach the boats ; some N or 60 men were seen float ing and swimming about, catching at spars. The rule now was every one for himself. Quite a number were crushed by the after pivot gun, which rolled about in a dangerous manner. " The Merrimac, seeing she had finished np the Cumberland, than drew off finally, and returned to the Congress, firing at her as she approached. The two other rebel steamers, the Jamestown and York town, were now seen coming down the James river, and soon after opened fire on the fort and on the ships. The Congress had been fighting gallantly all the while, but now having had about 100 men killed, and being at the same time so riddled with shot that she was rapidly sinking, was taken in tow by the gunboat Zouave, but the firing still continuing she hoisted the white flag and surrendered. A Con federate steamer then went alongside and took off the officers as prisoners, allowing the men to leave in their boats. Lieut. Smith, who commanded the Congress, was killed, with a number of other officers and. men. Only officers were made prisoners. " The officers of the Cumberland suffered consi derably. Among those killed was the chaplain, J. L. Lenhart, who used to reside on Staten Island. He was not heard of after the fight, and is therefore supposed to have been drowned. Master's Mate 1 John M. Harrington, of Boston, had his head shot off. All the poor fellows who were wounded went down with the ship, as they were totally unable to help themselves. " The fight between the Monitor, or Ericsson bat tery, and the Merrimac was very exciting. The former vessel was in no way injured, but there is no doubt that the Merrimac had two or three holes put into her port side. " The men on the Cumberland (all who were un able to help themselves owing to their terrible wounds) sank before any effort could be made to get them off. But the good old frigate went down with the Union flag flying, as no man on board would haul it down, officers and men declaring that they would go down before they would surrender. On the same night the flag was nailed to the fore topmast, which remained above water after she sank, by some sailors who left specially to do so, and is still floating there in defiance of the rebels. " During the whole engagement between the Cumberland Rnd the Merrimac there was but one man seen on the latter vessel. He came out of her hatch, and as soon as he was seen a shot was fired at him, which cut him completely in two, sending his head flying in one direction and his legs andl part of his body in another. When the Cumberland I was going down the men on board cheered lustily, as they also did when the rebel flag and flagstaff were shot away from on board the Merrimac. There were no cheers or shouts on board the Merrimac, 'which it may be stated is a screw steamer, com pletely covered. The other two secesh steamers had rench flags flying, which could be plainly seen at a great distance ; but nobody could give any rea son for this. To all appearance there were 10 guEs on board the Merrimac, four on each side, and one each at her bow and stern. They seemed to be 9- inch or 10 .inch guns, although one or two might have been larger. She began to fire at about half past 1 o'clock, but we could only occasionally see the men who wore working the guns. They were behind their ports, and we could only get a glimpse at them on the recoil of their pieces. Several attempts were made to pick them off with rifle shots, but with what success cannot now be ascertained. Every shot fired by the Merrimac went through our ship, but we could make no impression at all upon her, although we gave her over 20 broadsides of solid shot and shell from our 9-inch and 10-inch guns. " Our offi cers b e h ave d very b rave l y a ll th roug h the action, losing everything they had, end escap• n g 'alY with their lives and the clothing they had on at th e time. " The e uraileri , The steam", .4nd sank in water ab ou t 54ft d ee p. Whilden saved a great number of those who fellealo e into the water and were clinging to bits of spar ae wood. Th e engagement lasted for about two heui s her until the Cumberland finally went down with " It must be ment ion e d that the Congress was not destroyed by tho rebels, bat by two Union sailors who were sent on board for th at a a Purpose—it is sup posed by order of General anan e la . ,, Ono of the crew of the Cumberland makes the following statement : " Camp Butler , Newport'_ last s Newt ' , March 9. " At last I have new s to write to pm. letter from on board the Cumberland, as well y that have preceded it from this point, must as all been devoid of interest entirely, for since the eq . tare of Hatteras, with the e7eaption of the lit t l e esca pade of the rebel steamer Patrick Iff nry som e time since, the old chip has seen notilleg i n the way of semee. " Yesterday morning, about 10 o'clock, a sudden excitement was observable on board our gallant goo d vessel. For myself I was not keeping a very look-our, as 1 was not at the time detailed for that service, and sailors do not usually attend to morn than is required of them. Soon came the booming of aignitl-guns, and in a remarkably short spa c e of time the crew were called to quarters and 'prepared for action; Then I had time to look around me and THE SUN, LONDON, THURS DAY EVE NING, MARCH 27, 1862. see what it all meant. Away off in the direction of Sewall's Point were seen four or five distinct volumes of smoke, and shortly after, wi:h the aid of a small glass, I saw what appeared to me to be tho roof of a house moving along in the water, on a line nearly parallel with the rebel batteries there. This novel-looking vessel soon changed its course, however, and pointed its bows directly towards us. Our gone were all shotted, every man was at his post, and word went round the ship, 'That's the Merrimac.' This fact, however, seemed to alarm no one. " Faith in the power and efficiency, not to say impregnability, of our vessel was a peculiar charac teristic oa board the Cumberland. How well founded the idea was you will soon see. It was now about two o'clock, and another movement of sur prise was observable —another proof that sorrows come in battalions.' Another signal from the shore, close to us this time. Turning eyes up James River, we saw our quondam friend, the Patrick Henry (the old Jamestown of the New York and Richmond line), accompanied by the Yorktown, a vessel that has been her consort in her more peaceful pursuits. These last vessels, armed to the teeth, steamed down and joined the smoking, queer-looking thing below. They soon began to get uncomfortably near. We were all anxiously waiting for the command to ' give it to them.' At last an order was given, and two of our heaviest ' playthings' spoke out their compliments and sent their substantial respects to the monster, which still appeared to be making for us particularly. To our intense disgust, not to say astonishment, the two solid iron messengers, after having been so well directed as to strike our anta gonist fairly and squarely, ricocheted from her roof and disappeared in the distance beyond. On she came, without returning the compliment, and we occasionally giving her a taste of our metal, until within, I should judge, about a hundred yards of us, when she suddenly yawed around, and we had no more than time to eount five guns on her side before their contents came crashing through our bulwarks. We gave her as many as she sent, with some by way of interest, but it did not seem to affect her in the slightest. Then the Congress, which was lying further down, and the water bat tery of heavy columbiads on the Point commenced playing upon the monster in a way which must have given those on board a very good idea of a very severe hailstorm. But, bless you, the only notice she took of them was to occasionally throw a shell or two into or over the camps at the News. She entirely ignored the existence of the American fri gate Congress. " In less time than I have been writing the last ten lines our antagonist steamed round and came up - within 40 yards of us, and gave us another of these terrible broadsides. The shrieks of the wounded were heartrending to hear ; but a sailor in action has no time to think of anything but his work, and such of our guns as were not disabled still kept up their fire. But our rival now adopted different tactics. Drawing off a few hundred yards, she put on a full head of steam and came directly at us for the purpose of running us down. She struck our port side, as near as I could judge (for I was thrown completely across the deck from the force of the collision), about opposite the foremast, making a tremendous cavity below our water line. The water came rush ing in, in spite of all efforts to prevent it, and it was soon noised around that we are sinking. This rumour had hardly time to go round the ship when the monster had disengaged herself, and was again coming:at us at the top of her speed. There was no:escaping, of course, but all who were left alive and uninjured managed to seize something where with to withstand the force of the blow, On she came, striking us in the waist. The crash was terrific. The good ship careened over fearfully; men, guns, everything, were tossed about the deck promiscuously. Many were injured; and, as the rebels could see as well as we that we could do them little harm, our antagonist now directed his atten tion to the batteries on shore and the Congress. " Of course every one on our ship sought personal safety. Many of the boats had been injured, but in those left such of the wounded as could be readily got at were placed, and all who could get in or around the boats were hurried to the shore. As for me, I climbed up in the rigging, with many others, and was almost displaced from my seat when the ship gave a final lurch. At last, however, a steam tug came out from the wharf at Newport's News, and we were all picked up and carried in safety to terra firma. "Of course all was excitement and alarm on shore. Some of us assisted iq working the heavy guns of the water battery ; but the most of the de funct Cumberland's crew had had ' enough fight' for one day. Soon after we got on shore we saw the Congress hoist a white flag as a token of. sur render. Shortly after six, or between that hour and seven, the whole rebel fleet departed in the direction of Craney Island. "At about 10 o'clock last night we heard at our camp here of the arrival of the Monitor, and in the cabin in which I am writing this I can tell you the intelligence was received with three hearty cheers. During last night the Congress was burnt. Whether she was fired by the rebels or our own forces from the Point here I have not learnt. Of the fight this forenoon, between the Merrimac and the Monitor, I saw but little, hut heard enough to sa tisfy me that the antagonist of our good old ship met her match and more too. As I had lost my little glass at the sinking of the Cumberland, I had no means of seeing the interloper driven off in such excellent style by Lieutenant Worden and his brave crew." A correspondent who witnessed the second con flict gives the following full and interesting account, commencing where the Merrimac first meets the Monitor :--• "At first the rebel craft seemed nonplussed, and I hesitated, no doubt in wonderment at the queer looking machine approaching her. The Merrimac then closed the distance between her and the Mo nitor until they were within a mile of each other. Both batteries stopped. The Merrimac fired a shot at the Minnesota, to which no reply was made. The rebel craft then fired at the Monitor; the latter re plied, hitting the Merrimac near the water line. The Merrimac then commenced firing very rapidly, first from her stern gun at the Monitor, and then from her broadside guns, occasionally firing a shot at the Minnesota. The fight went on in this way for an hour or two, both vessels exchanging shot pretty freely. Sometimes the Merrimac would re tire, followed by the Ericsson, and vice versa. While the fight between the batteries was going on, one hundred solid nine-inch shot were sent up from Fortress Monroe on the steamer Rancocas to the Minnesota. At a quarter past ten o'clock the Mer rimac and Monitor had come into pretty close quarters, the former giving the latter two broadsides in succession. These were promptly replied to by the Monitor. The firing was so rapid that both craft were obscured in columns of white smoke for a moment or more. The ram part of the fort, the rigging of the vessels in port, the houses and the bend, were all covered with sailors, soldiers, and civilians. When the rapid firing alluded to took place these spectators were singularly silent, as if doubtful as to the result. Their impatience was soon removed by full figure of the Monitor, with the Stars and Stripes flying at her stern, steaming around the Merrimac, moving with the ease of a duck on the water. The distance between the vessels was 40 feet. In this circuit the Monitor's guns were not idle, as she fired shot after shot into her antagonist, two of which, it is alleged, penetrated the Merrimac's sides. " At 11 a.m. the Minnesota opened fire, and as sisted the Monitor in engaging the Merrimac. She fired 9 inch solid shot with good accuracy, but with Ipparently little effect. The Merrimac returned Pled',s, firing shell, one of v-hich struck and ex alZlsitalc,ie..ll, o e h iler . O;the gunboat Dragon, which . was off. -By this unfortunate sailor, w as se . endeavouring to get her nfortunate affair Joseph M'Donald, the battle raged ti er , 11°t ' al Y scalded. For the next hour the between the Merrimac on the rebel side and e Union _ vessels, the Monitor, Minnesota, and Whitehall, result. fr equently, i_pte ti vsatlitehre mark for the I '''' ; :1 1 r ;f 11 13 .;-n1 ;i rr'l v : f l ' it n eh f l‘e f i l l e i:llint i‘ e(rs o ° t ft t il' i r t? i r la ?a l The Merrimac mt.tle t•everal, attempts to run at full s h t l t e l lo W :t. it h best no particular Monitor, to attack and run down the Minnesota. All these attempts were parried, as it were, by the Monitor. In one of these attempts by the Merri- mac she ran her plough or ram with full force I against the side of the Monitor, but it only had the eff eg oc rw. tof careening,rherebe reblatterel boats y Yorktown vessel ktow n and Patricki n the slightest d Henry kept a safe distance from the Monitor. The former vessel, at the beginning of the fight, had the temerity to come within respectable range of the Monitor. The latter fired one shot at her, entering her pilot-house, carrying it away, and no doubt killing a number of rebels. She retired out of range. 6 , The fight raged hotly on both sides, the oppos ing batteries moving round each other with the skill, ease, and dexterity of expert pugilists. The Merrimac, though the strongest, did not move with the dexterity of her antagonist ; hence the Monitor had the advantage of choice of position. At a quarter before 12 o'clock, noon, Lieut. Hepburn, the signal officer on the ramparts at Fortress Monroe, reported to General Wool that the Monitor had pierced the sides of the Merrimac, and in a few minutes the latter was in full retreat, heading for Sewall's Point, and chased for a few minutes by the Monitor. The Merrimac has evidently suffered to some extent, and it was thought at one time that she was sinking. After she got safely under the guns of the rebel battery at Sewall's-point she stopped and signalled for help from her consorts, who were beating a retreat. Subsequently two tugboats or gunboats went alongside and took her in tow, and proceeded to Norfolk. This ended the engagemen4." A correspondent of the New York Tribune de scribes a visit to the Monitor after the engagement : " I visited the Monitor to-day. Two shots of the enemy struck her on the edge, above the surface, and tore up a few inches of the deck plating, and penetrating about half the diameter of the ball, affording a complete illustration of her impregna bility. As the worst the enemy, with the most powerful guns afloat, could do, the fact settles all questions on that point. The shots referred to are as mere scratches on a pugilist after his antagonist has done his best for four hours to knock him down. On her tower, where the Merrimac's shots struck square and with full force, there are three or four in dentations not exceeding three inches in depth. Her deck is blazed in several places where shot struck and glanced off. The wheel-house has several similar indentations, though not as deep. These are all the marks the Monitor bears as the result of the action. The officers and men declare that they are perfectly willing to take her anywhere for all that the enemy's guns can do, no matter with what skill they may be served. " The Merrimac undertook to run the Monitor down, and ran bows on, her prow projecting over her deck. The shock that cut the Cumberland and Congress down made an indentation scarcely per ceptible, and produced no extraordinary effect. In this attitude the two ships exchanged shots, the mouths of their guns being but a few yards distant, and it was here that the Merrimac was penetrated, though the Monitor was scarcely scratched. It was doubtless the intention of the enemy to board her, and some of the Merrimac's men actually jumped aboard of her. But there was no opening or place of entrance to be found, nor were there any men to be seen. At this moment the tower began to re vp oelrveed, bandack, n a e d k, th pt and nd o ports the to Merrimac err open, im a e a an r d e w t h e off,men a pr s b e ab m i ;- confounded at the results of her hasty visit." The Baltimore American contains the following interesting account, from an eye-witness : "The dulness of Old Point was startled at one o'clock on Saturday by the announcement that a mysterious vessel, supposed to be the Merrimac, looking like a submerged house with the roof only visible above water, was running down from Nor folk by the channel in front of Sewell's Point bat teries. Signal guns were immediately fired by the Cumberland and Congress to notify the Minnesota, St. Lawrence, and Roanoke of approaching danger, and all was excitement in and about Fortress Mon roe. The monster steadily approached, and there was nothing protruding above the water but a flag staff flying the rebel flag, and a short smoke stack, She moved along slowly until she passed Sewell's Point, and, turning into the channel leading to Newport News, steered direct for the Federal frigates Cumberland and Congress, whi c h were lying at the mouth of James River. As soon as the Merrimac came within range of the Cumberland the latter opened on her with her heavy guns, but the balls struck and glanced off, having no more effect on her than peas from a popgun. The ports of the Merrimac were all closed, and she moved on in silence, but with a full head of steam. In the meantime as the Merrimac was approaching the two frigates on one side, the rebel iron-clad steamers Yorktown and Jamestown came down the James River and engaged our frigates on the other side. The batteries at Newport News also opened on the Jamestown and the Yorktown, and did all in their power to assist the Cumberland and the Congress, which, being sailing vessels, were at the mercy of the approaching steamers. The Merrimac, in the meantime, kept steadily on her course and slowly approached the Cumberland, when she and the Congress;at the distance of 100 yards, rained full broadsides on the iron-clad monster. The shot, how ever, took no effect, glancing upwards, and flying off, having only the effect of checking her progress for the moment. After receiving the first broadside of the two frigates the Merrimac ran on to the Cumberland, striking her about midships, and literally laying open her side. She then drew off, fired a broadside into the disabled ship, and again dashed against her with her iron-clad prow, and, knocking in her side, left her to sink, while she moved off to engage the Congress, which lay about a quarter of a mile distant. The Congress had in the meantime kept up a sharp engagement with the Yorktown and Jamestown, and having no regular crew on board of her, and seeing the hope lessness of resisting the iron-clad monster, at once struck her colours. The crew had been discharged several days since, and three companies of the naval brigade had been put on board temporarily until she could be relieved by the St. Lawrence, which was to have gone up on Monday to take her posi tion as one of the blockading vessels off James river. On the Congress striking her colours the James town approached and took from on board of her all the officers as prisoners, and directed the crew to leave the vessel in the boats. The vessel being thus cleared was fired by the rebels, when the Merrimac and her two iron-clad companions opened with shell and shot on the Newport News batteries. The firing was briskly returned. In the meantime the steam frigate Minnesota, having partly got up" steam, was being towed up to the relief of the two frigates, but did not get up until too late to assist them. She was followed by the frigate St. Law rence, which was taken in tow by several of the small harbour steamers. It is, however, rumoured that neither of these vessels had pilots on board of them, and after a short engagement both of them seemed to be, in the opinion of the pilots on the Point, aground. The Minnesota, either intention ally or from necessity, engaged the three steamers at aboat a mile distance with only her two bow guns. The St. Lawrence also poured in -shot from all the guns she could bring to bear, and it was the impression of the most experienced naval officers on the Point that both of them had been considerably damaged. In the meantime dark ness approached, though the moon shone out brightly, and nothing but the occasional flashing of the guns could be seen, The Merrimac was also believed to be aground, as she remained stationary at the distance of a mile from the Min nesota, making no attempt to attack or run into her. The rebel battery at Pig's Point was also enabled to join in the combined attack on the Minnesota, and several guns were fired at her from Sewell's Point as she we n t lip ; none of I he shot, how ever, struck her, but one or two of them passed over her. Pre vious to the departure of the steamer from Balti more no guns had bee n fi re d f or h a lf an h our, the last being fired from the Minnesota. Fears were, of course, entertained for the safety of the Min nesota and St. Lawrence in such an unequal contest, but if the Merrimac was really ashore she could do no harm to them. It was the intention of the Minnesota, with her picked and gallant crew, to have run into close quarters with the Merrimac, avoid her iron prow, and board her. This the Merrimac seemed not inclined to give her an oppor tunity to do, being afraid even to approach her at close quarters when aground. At 8 o'clock, when the Baltimore boat left, a fleet of iiteamtugs were being sent up to the relief of the Minnesota and St.ZLawrence, and an endeavour was to be made to draw them off from the bar on which they had grounded. The loss of life could not be ascertained and must be principally on board the Cumberland, from drowning. She received one broadside from the Merrimac, and was left sinking with all on board. She was not more than 200 yards from the shore, and it is probable that the greater portion of her crew escaped. Of those on the Congress all escaped except the Qfficers, who were taken prisoners. There was also probably some loss of life on the Min nesota and St. Lawrence, the latter vessel being commanded by Commander Purviance, of Balti more. The Merrimac was understood to be under the command of Captain Buchanan, of Charles county, Maryland, who, after he had resigned, desired to withdraw his resignation and enter the Federal service against the rebellion. " On Saturday night, after the above occurrences, Mr. Ericsson's iron-cased steamer Monitof, in command of Lieutenant Worden, arrived in Hampton Roads, and immediately went to the assistance of the Minnesota, then aground just below Newport News, in whose company she continued during the night, and was un successfully assailed the next morning by the Mer rimac, Jamestown, and Yorktown, -which had re turned to engage the Minnesota. The Monitor, whose presence there must have greatly surprised the enemy, promptly took them in hand, paying her attentions especially to the Merrimac, which, after an exciting conflict of several hours, much of the time at very close quarters, was :towed off by her consorts, aided by some tug boats, towards Nor folk. To what extent she is damaged is not known. Lieutenant Worden thinks she is seriously crippled. With the exception of Lieutenant Worden, who was injured, it is hoped not seriously, by the cement from the pilot house being driven into his eyes, no one on board the Monitor was hurt. It is reported that in the engagement of Saturday the Minnesota had about five killed and nine or ten wounded ; no officers among either. The Cumberland had her chaplain (probably) drowned, master's mate Har rington and 20 men killed, and about 130 drowned, including some 50 who were wounded. On board the Congress Acting Commander Joseph Smith (a son of Commodore Joseph Smith) was killed. Pay master Buchanan was her only officer not taken prisoner. None of the rest of her officers were killed or wounded. It is not known yet how many men she had killed or wounded. Captain Radford, the commander of the Congress, happened to be ab sen t on a court-martial, and thus escaped capture. Lieu tenant Morris (who is safe) fought the Cumberland until she sunk—which she did with her flag flying —a worthy son of a glorious:naval sire. " The following are lists of the officers, supposed to be nearly correct, w ho were on board of th e lost ships : " Officers of the Cumberland—Commander Wil Liam Padford ; Lieutenants G. U, Morris and Thomas 0. Selfridge; Surgeon Charles Martin; Paymaster Cramer Burt ; Chaplain John L. Lenhart ; First Lieutenant Marines Charles Heywood; Assistant- Surgeon Edward Kersher ; Acting-masters M. Sturvesant, William P. Randall, and William M. Kennison ; Boatswain Edward B. Bell; Gunner Eugene Mack ; Carpenter William M. Leighton ; Sailmaker David Bunce. " Officers of the Congress.—Lieutenant Com manding Joseph B. Smith ; Lieutenant Austin Pen dergrast ; Master A. De Haven Mauley ; Surgeon Edward Shippen ; Assistant-surgeon Edward 1). Payne; Paymaster M‘li. Buchanan; Acting-master Thomas Moore ; Third Lieutenant of Marines Jos. Baker; Boatswain Charles Johnson; Acting-gunner G. W. Omensetter ; Carpenter H. M. Lowry; Sail maker J. C. Herbert." The Congress was a 50-gun frigate, built in 1841, of 1,867 tons burden. The Cumberland was a sloop of 24 guns and 1,726 tons burden, and was built in 1842. The Roanoke, which declined the contest, is a first-class steam frigate of 40 guns and 3,400 tons. She was built in 1855 ; she is of the same class and rather larger than the Minnesota, which was only saved by the opportune and fortuitous ar rival of the Monitor. The latter was intended to operate against the Confederate batteries on the Potomac, and arrived at Fortress Monroe by chance just in time to render the most vital service. Her iron deck is not two feet above the water, but on going below she is found to be fitted up with as much luxury as a yacht, and to be comfortable and commodious ; all that is to be dreaded is her "turn ing turtle" in a seaway. Her construction is cam plicated and ingenious —one vessel inside another. The sides of the vessel are formed of plate iron, half an inch thick, outside of which is white oak 26 inches thick, outside of this again is rolled iron armour five inches thick. The deck is supported by heavy braced oak beams, upon which is laid plank ing seven inches thick, covered with rolled plate iron one inch thick. The turret consists of a rolled' plate iron skeleton, one inch thick, to which are rivettod two thicknesses, of one inch each, of rolled iron plates. Outside of this again are six plates of rolled iron, all firmly bolted together with nuts inside, so that if a plate is started it can be at once tightened again. The top is covered with a bomb proof roof perforated with holes. The lower part of the gun carriages consists of solid wrought iron beams. These arc planed perfectly true, and are placed parallel in the turret, both of the guns pointing in the same direction. The ports through the side of the tunnel are only large enough to permit the muzzle of the gun to be thrust through. Inside of them are wrought-iron pendulums, which close them against the enemy as soon as the gun recoils. She is armed with two of the largest Dahlgren I l guns, made to revolve by a pair of steam-engines placed beneath the deck, an d th e guns are t ra i ne d I by bearings on deck, visible through side-sights. `The turret is, in fact, one of Cowper Cole's cupo las, slightly modified. The lower vessel is of iron, ; one half inch thick, and made in the usual manner. She carries her machinery, coal, &c., aft, and for ward the officers' quarters, ammunition, and stores. The two partitions of the vessel are separated by a wrought-iron bulkhead. The officers' quarters are very roomy and handsome, and are ventilated and lighted by openings from the deck. Her machinery consists of two horizontal tubular boilers, contain ing 3,000 square feet of fire surface, and two hori zontal condensing engines of 40-inch diameter of cylinders and 22-inch stroke of piston. The pro peller is 9 feet in diameter and 16 feet stroke. It has four blades. For the better ventilation of the vessel there are two fan-blowers, drawing air down through bomb-proof gratings in the deck. Though not exactly intended for a sea vessel, she can pro ceed to sea or to any point along the coast without fears of the least injury. She carries generally three months' provisions, and is supplied with a condensing apparatus for supplying fresh water. As an evidence of the rapidity with which this vessel has been completed, we may state that her keel was laid on the 25th of October, 1861, and steam was first applied on the 31st of December in the same year. She was launched on the 30th of January last. The blowers got out of order on her voyage, and the crew suffered a little in conse quence before she arrived at Monroe. The Merrimac was for a long time supposed to be all but destroyed by the conflagration at Norfolk, when the Federal officers burnt the dockyards and vessels. She is a 40-gun steam frigate, of the same class as the Minnesota, and built in the same year. She is reported to have 12 guns, of which the broad side guns are 11-inch Dahlgrens, and the bow and stern guns 10 0 -pounder Armstrongs, but the latter part of the report must he untrue ; it is more likely that she has Blakely guns on board, as someof these pieces have been run through the blockade, and it is said--though, I think, incorrectly—that the Nashville, which got so ingeniously into Beaufort the other d ay, under the very nose of the United States' blockading ship, had some of them on board. She has been 'slued and iron-plated, with a rostrum I or beak at. the bow. Lieut. Wise, of the United States' Navy Department, who witnessed the en gagement,eomp Navy,a n y says-that with ys. t :r ehlat. sheFox,w en il' the Assistan t went aw ay o with a full head of steam, but that she appeared to him as if she Were deepening at the stern, Her consorts, the Yorktown,about 1,400 tons, and seven guns, Jamestown, 1,350 tons, six guns, are paddle wheel merchant steamers, which have been plated. They do not seem to have done much mischief. One gunboat on the Federal side was also disabled, one tug steamer was blown up by a shot in her boiler, with all her crew, and another suffered severely from a shell from the Merrimac. The New York journals will probably contain Tull details of this singular naval action, in which the Confederate commander appears not to have understood the extent to which he could have pushed his successes, by destroying the whole fleet of transports and the rest of the wooden ships at Fortress Monroe. If he has not been seriously injured by the Monitor, he can do just as he pleases, and pay us a visit At Washington if he lists. The only thing that can be done against such vessels, if they are proof against running down, is to board and take possession of their decks. Captain Buchanan was formerly head of the Navy Yard here, Mr. Lin coln, as soon as he heard of Lieutenant Norden's arrival, wounded and in pain, went to pay him a visit and to thank him for his services. I must now conclude this long but hasty letter, leaving many matters untouched. The debates in Congress are interesting—dealing with important subjects. The President's Message respecting gradual abolition has been met by a strong opposition from the De mocrats. There are signs that the Confiscation Bill will fail, or be passed with destructive modifi cations. To the great regret of the Diplomatic world, M. Mercier, the French Minister, and his wife were burnt out of their house at Georgetown on Shrove Tuesday night, losing papers, library, and even clothing. We expect a good many Bri tish officers—as many as can get leave—down here to look at the battle which is now likely to occur immediately, and several have come here already. Colonel Conolly, Major de Winton, R,A., Captain Massey, Lieutenant Stevenson, Colonel Shaw Ken nedy, &c. It is probable Colonel WethPrall will be here in a few days, and if Sir Feuwick Williams could give longer leave many others would come to witness a very remarkable sight in its way, and the largest army of volunteers ever seen in the world. It is well worth studying, both for its defects and is merits. ASSIZE INTEL LIGEIV HOME CIRCUIT.—LEwEs, March 26. :Before Mr. Justice Wightman and a Common Jury. CRISP V. CORDREY. This was a writ of inquiry to assess the damages for the unlawful detention of certain articles of wearing apparel, and a gold watch belonging to the plaintiff, by the defendant. Mr. B. Rigby appeared for the plaintiff, and Mr. Hawkins, Q.C,, Sergeant Ballantine, and Mr. Crawfurd, for the defendant. This was rather a curious case. The plaintiff in the action was a widow, and the defendant was stated to be a gentleman of considerable property residing in: this county. The parties became acquainted in the commencement of the present year, and were on very i n timate terms, but in consequence of something that came to the knowledge of the defendant, on the 11th of February he proceeded to the house of the mother of the plaintiff, and forcibly took possession of certain articles belonging to her. For this trespass the mother brought an action against the defendant, who paid 40s. into court. The cause was tried on Tuesday, and the jury gave a verdict for the de fendant. The object of the present action was to recover the value of the property that was removed upon the occasion. Mrs. Amelia Crisp, a very good-looking young woman, deposed that she was a widow , and lived with her mother in Warwick-street, Pimlico. She knew the defendant, and on the 11th of February she accompanied him and her mother to the Lyceum Theatre. During the performance the defendant went to her mother's residence and took away a portmanteau, two silk dresses, a gold watch and chain, and some articles of under clothing, and a scarlet Garibaldi jacket. (A laugh.) The portman teau was worth three guineas ; the two silk dresses, sixteen guineas; and she considered the watch and chain to be worth fifteen guineas. The defendant still had possession of all those articles. Cross-examined—She did not know exactly what the watch and chain were worth, but Mr. Cordrey gave them to her, and she knew he was a rich man, and therefore thought that he would not give her a less price than she had mentioned for such articles. (A laugh.) Mr. Hawkins—l believe you have brought an action against the defendant for " wounded feel ings P" Witness—Yes, Mr. Hawkins—Were you very unhappy then ? Witness--LI was. (Renewed laughter.) Mr. Hawkins—l believe he was your suitor, was he not ? Pray, how long did the courtship last ? Witness—l cannot say. Mr. Hawkins—Did it not begin in January and end in February ? Witness—l suppose it was about that time. Mr. Hawkins—And then, I believe, he married some one else (mentioning a name). Witness—She died, you know ; and he could not marry a dead woman. (A roar of laughter.) The witness further stated that the defendant bought her the portmanteau, and gave three gui neas for it, and it was bought for the wedding tour. (Laughter.) Mr. Hawkins asked the witness whether the writ in the present action was not served upon the de fendant on Valentine's day ? She replied she believed it was. (Laughter.) Mr. Hawkins--A very pretty valentine to send to a man! (Renewed laughter.) He then asked the witness whether she was not aware that when engagements of this kind were broken off, it was customary for the lady to return the gentleman's presents ? She relied that this might be so, but in the pre sent case lie took them by force. (A laugh.) Mr. Hawkins—Well, suppose he gives them to you back again ? Witness—Well, I would rather have the money. (Laughter.) Mr. Hawkins made a very humorous speech in behalf of the defendant, and said that this was the first time he had ever been called upon to tax a milliner's bill, which was all he really had to do, for the defendant admitted having taken the arti cles, and the only question was what was their value. The defendant had no doubt acted foolishly, but the thoughts of his former love induced him to ' desire to keep these articles in remembrance of the ' object of his affection ' • and it was not until, on I 'Valentine's day, of all others in the year, he was , served with no less than four valentines of the de . scription spoken to, all arising out of this one trans action, that he found what a very unpleasant posi tion he had placed himself in. (A laugh.) The jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff— damages £4l, that being the full value claimed for the property. THE ACCIDENT AT THE CLAYTON TUNNEL The actions against the London and Brighton Railway Company, to recover compensation for injuries sustained by the fatal collision that took place in the Clayton Tunnel on the 25th of August last, and by the administrators of persons who were killed upon the occasion, were specially fixed to be taken this morning, and a special jury was empanel led for the purpose. Before the proceedings com menced an inquiry was made whether any of the gentlemen who had been called to serve on the jury was a holder of shares in the company, and one of them stated that he was, and he was asked to leave the box, and another juryman was called in his place. There were fifteen actions on the cause list, all of which had reference to the accident in question. It was stated that the company had given compensa tion in no less than two hundred cases of injury, and they were willing to take the same course in every instance where injury had been sustained , and considerable sums were paid into court in all the actions set down for trial, and it was understood that no claims w ere res i s ted except where it was considered they were exorbitant, or there were grounds for b e li ev i ng th a t th e e xt en t of the injuries sustained had been very much exaggerated. Mr. 13ovill, Q.C., th e Hon. G. Denman, Q.C,, and Mr. Hannen were instructed in all the cases on behalf of the company. The following c ounsel were retained on beh a lf o f the several plaintiffs :—Ser geant Shee, Mr. M. Chambers, Q.C., Mr. Lush, Q.C., Mr. H aw kins, Q.C., Sergeant Parry, Mr. Thompson Chitty, Mr. Garth, Mr. Honyman, Mr. r Russell, Mr. Freeman, and Mr. Ree d . first ease that was taken was that of Sways land and wif e , w ho brought a joint action to recover damages for the injuries they had sustained upon the oecision in question. The husband claimed £3,000 for himself and £5OO for his wife, and the defendants paid £7OO into court in full di sc h arg e of l the damages they had both sustained. The corn pang ad m itt e d their liability, and the only ques tion to be disposed of, therefore, was the amount of aamages the plaintiffs were entitled to. M . r. L us h, who (with M r . R usse ll an d Mr. T. Chitty) appeared for the plaintiffs, said that as the lamentable accident that was th e cause of thisin quiry was now matter of history, and the circum stances connected With it had been brought so fully before the public, it wou ld on ly b e necessary for him to allude to them very b r i e fly on %he present occasion. It appeared that on Sunday, the 25tn August last, three trains started from the Brighton station for London, ono the Ptn'tsrr,outh train which was due at Brighton about 8 C2eiG2ic:,a S:C6 , ld. excursion train which was to start about a quarter past 8, and the regular third class train which usually started about half-past 8. The Portsmouth train on this morning was very late, and this no doubt delayed the others, and eventually they all started from Brighton for their place of destination within a very short period of each other, and they all arrived in safety at the Clayton Tunnel, which was the second tunnel on the road to London. It was a regulation of the company that two trains should not be in a tunnel at the same time, and the signal-men at each end of this tunnel were required to signal when a train had passed through before another train was allowed to enter, and the acci dent no doubt arose from some unfortunate mis underetanding with regard to thy signals, or from the machinery being imperfect. As he had stated, the Portsmouth train passed into the tu;anel) and while it was there the excursion train came up, and from some cause or other it was not stopped, but proceeded into the tunnel. The signal-men, how ever, had succeeded in giving a signal of danger, the effect of which was that the driver of the ex cursion train stopped it, and was proceeding slowly to back out of the tunnel. While he was doing so the third train cathe up at full speed, and the consequence was one of the most dreadful collisions that, he believed, had ever oceurred upon this or any other railway, the result being a most disastrous loss of life, and the infliction of the most dreadful injuries upon a large Lumber of the pas sengers. The plaintiff and his wife, who were pas sengers in a 3d-class carriage by the excursion train, wer e thrown backwards and forwards in the carriage until they became insensible, and although no bones were broken the injuries they received were of the most serious character, and he believed that the plaintiff would never ontirely recover from those in juries. The defendants had thought fit to pay a sum of £7OO into court as a compensation to the plaintiff and his wife for the injuries which they admitted they had sustained through the negligence of their own servants; but he said he must confess that he was utterly at a loss to understand upon what prin ciple this amount of componaation was arrived at, and he believed that when the jury had heard the case they would be of opinion that this sum was utterly inadequate compensation for the damage and iujury the plaintiff's had sustained. The case for the plaintiff was then gone into. It appeared that he had for 27 years carried on the business of a naturalist, and stuffer of birds and ani mals, at Brighton, and was considered very skilful in his occupation, and had been employed by seve ral of the nobility, and his name had been very fa vourably mentioned in works having reference to the subject. It was represented that ever since the accident the plaintiff had been prevented from per forming his business, which it was stated brought him in a net revenue of £4OO per annum, and that there were symptoms of his brain having sustained a shock, and also that his whole nervous system was affected, and it was very doubtful whether he would ever again be able to follow his occupation as he did before. Dr, Burrows, a medical gen tleman of Brighton, Dr, Adams, one of the sur geons of the London Hospital, Dr. Travers, and Dr. Ormerod gave evidence as to the condition of the plaintiff in conformity with the above statement, and one of these gentlemen said that at times there was so much heat at the back of the plaintiff's head that it was plainly perceptible to the hand when held at some distance, as though it was near a fire, and according to the evidence of the plaintiff, this heat was accompanied by intense pain. The wife of the plaintiff did not appear to have received injuries of so material a character, but it was proved that she sustained a very severe blow on the knee pan, which prevented her from putting her foot to the ground for several weeks, and that she also sustained a greal deal of pain and inconvenience in consequence of this un fortunate accident. Mr. Bovill, in the course of a most able speech to the jury on behalf of the company, said this was the first time the gentlemen of the county had been troubled with an inquiry arising out of this unfor tunate accident ; and they had observed that the directors had not put any of the parties to unneces sary expense and inconvenience by denying their liability, but had admitted that they were liable for the negligence of their servants, and had expressed their readiness to give fair and reasonable compen sation to every person who had really been injured by this unfortunate affair, as they already had done in a great number of cases. He then said it was al most unnecessary for him to remind the jury that, in every case where injury was sustained by a rail way accident, when a claim was made for compen sation, the amount of the injury was always very much exaggerated, and it became the duty of the directors to take care that exorbitant sums were not paid when the parties had not received injuries to anything like the extent that were represented, and he contended that in the present case the sum of £7OO was ample for the damage that had been done, as in all probability in the course of a few months plaintiff and his wife would be perfectly recovered. Three medical gentlemen were examined as wit nesses for the company,and theystated their opinion to be that neither the plaintiff or his wife had sus tained permanent injury, and that they would ulti mately entirely recover. Mr. Justice Wightman having summed up, the jury retired to deliberate upon their verdict. In about an hour they returned into court and gave a verdict for £l,OOO, being £3OO in addition to the sum paid into court. Another case of the same description was then proceeded with. Serjeant Shee and Mr. B. Rigby appeared for the plaintiff. The defendants paid £4OO into court. It appeareddn this case that the plaintiff was a young man, a pianoforte tuner, and he stated his earnings to be £2 10s. per week in winter, and £2 ss. in summer, besides which he earned money privately by tuning instruments. He alleged that by the collision he received injuries to the head, which affected his sight, and he also at times suffered severe pain in the back. In addition to this he stated that upon some occasions he was seized with giddiness, and would almost fall down insensible while walking in the street. The defence in this case was pretty much the same as in the last, and the cause was not brought to a conclusion until a late hour. It was under stood that several of the other actions had been settled. CROWN COURT. (Before Lord Chief Justice Erle.) ChTahrlees gLraegngde,jutrhye ißgnriogruedtonthestabtiiloina.mgaaTtsetr,Br. for manslaughter, arising out of the Clayton Tuunel accident. In the course of the morning the defendant sur rendered, in order that the different inquisitions taken by the coroner, charging him with the same offence, might be disposed of. The Hon. G. Denman, Q.C., who was specially retained for the defence, addressed his lordship, and said he understood that in this case his learned friend Mr. Hake was instructed to prosecute, and he was desirous to know what course he intended to take with reference to the matter. Mr. Hake said that as the grand jury had ignered the bill of indictment after a full consideration of all the facts, he felt that he ought not to proceed with the case upon the inquisitions taken by the coroner, and he should, therefore, with his lord ship's sanction, withdraw from offering any evidence in support of those inquisitions. The learned Judge intimated that it was his opinion that this was the proper course to be taken. Verdicts of not guilty were then' formally taken in all the cases, twenty-two in number, and the defendant was ordered to be discharged. Richard Gates, 58, a post-office letter carrier, was charged with stealing a letter containing five £lO Bank of England notes, and Sarah Gates, alias Gander, 54, was charged with receiving the pro perty, knowing it to have been stolen. Mr. Hurrell and Mr. 0. Pollock conducted the prosecution on behalf of the Post-office authorities; the prisoners were defend ed b y Mr. Merrifield. It appeared that in the month of October last, a l e tt e r, containing five £ lO Bank of .England notes, was posted in Lond on b y the morning mail to be delivered to a lady, name . d Hobden, t Brighton. It was proved that this letter arr a ived safe at 13r i g htcn, and in du i e course cameinto the hands of the male prisoner, who was one of the letter carriers there, to be delivered; but it never came to hand, and nothing was heard of the letter or its contents some time afterwards, when it was discovered that ale female prisoner, who passed as the w if e o f her companion, but who, it appeared, merely co habited with him, had changed four of the missing notes at the shops of different tradesmen in Brighton. Both prisoners were convicted, and the man was sen t enc ed to four years penal servitude, and the woman to 18 months' Imprisonment and hard labour. MIDI AND CIRCUIT.—WARwicK, March 26. CIVIL SIDE. (Before the Right Ron, Lord Chief Justice Cock burn.) KENNEDY V. BROWN AND WIFE.-TIIE SWINFEN CASE, Mr: Kennedy opened — ids own case, and stated that he sought t o r ecover from defendants the sum of £20,000 as remuneration due to him for prosecut ing the defendants' claim to the Swinfen estates. The defendant had since married, and she and her husband now put four pleas on record, one of which stated that no such settlement was agreed upon, that: they had paid for boryices, and that ho had acted illegally in acting as attorney ants' advo cate, and that he had been gu ilty of illegal maintenance. He (Mr. Kennedy) would enlaa ;,hide cep wee a ease that must be establiehe.d by evidence, and not by a speech, and he would deal very shortly with the opening. He sought to recover 120,000 for services which he had rare dered, and rendered under the most extraordinary' circumstances. For those services the female defen dant had herself promised the amount named to him, and had signed a deed for that amount. The service he had done the defendant was to restore her to large estates, known as the Swinfen Estates, and to that cause he had devoted some of the most valu able years of his life, meeting- with all kinds of ob stacles and opposition, making many enemies, and at the same time sacrificing the most valuable pro spects of his life. During the firma he was conduct ing the case the defendant made the most liberal offers and promises, declaring that e'he would be a sister to him, and that she would nsa should consnete him for all he suffered in her cause , and tlieel" He be. H share her good fortune Whateve r it mi g ht . never made any ungenerous or illegal ail: he with her. He only mad e such a bar g ain as 12;s ser vices entitled him to. After 1859, when the decree, was made that established her in possession of her property, she agreed that he was entitled to this remuneration, and soon after that she executed a deed at his request, giving him a reversion in the' estate. This deed was at first intended to be secu rity for the sum proposed, but at her request it was put into the form of an absolute gift, and sbe de clared at a later period that she regarded it beyond a question as an acwal gift. They had not on the defendant's side pleaded the deed as an answer to the charge, and they sought now to take from hint the money by sayin that the deed was not a gift. No complaint was made until Ocate 1861, and then she not only broke her other prcu:ises to plaintiffs but she sought to take back from hie' her own gift. She wrote a letter to him to give the deed up on the ground that be had obtained it by fraud. In the rage of the moment, for her conduct nearly drat ,- e him out of his mind, ho resolved to publish the whole facts of the case in a pamphlet, and to show her conduct to the whole world. That pamphlet was to have been called " The Serpent of Swinfen," but by the advice of his solicitors and friends he was brought to a calmer tone of mind. This woman sent to him her solicitor, Mr. Collis, a highly respectable gentle man, and Mr. Collis showed him (plaintiff) a letter in which charges were made against him by the fe male defendant, and Mr. Collis offered him £lO,OO O if he would give up the deed, and he refused, not only because it was not what be was fairly entitled to, but because he would make no surrender of his legitimate claim after what she had done. He had determined to vindicate his rights. His position was peculiar, and if the deed was void he would not have been paid for his services. If he had taken no steps to vindicate himself it might have been said that he admitted the charge of fraud, and at his death there would have been nothing to protect his children against the allegations made by t he defendants, and he did not know at that time how far he was safe fected by the marriage settlement made at the mar riage of defendant with Mr. Brown. He would have been content had they left him the deed. It now ap peared that that marriage settlement was a gross infringement on his rights, and instead of carrying out what that deed contained they charged him with these indictable offences. They sought, when they" found he was determined to go to trial, to move the venue to London, which would have postponed the trial for some months. They did not succeed, and then they filed a bill iu equity, and in filing this bill they wade affidavits totally differingfrom the female defendant's letter of November. The letter said " she did not know what she was doing when she signed that deed, and that it was a black transaction, and so Mr. Collis and the attesting witnesses thought." The affidavit alleged that the deed was given for another purpose, and was to be returned; that the female defendant frequently asked him for it, and that he refused to give it up ; and it accused him further with deliberately trying to get a will is 1859, making the most ungenerous use of the infle• ence which he had obtained as her counsel. There was one most remarkable thing in the affair. 101 the persons who had made terms to him had made everi effort to keep things from the public gaze, and the only person who was really anxious to have a the* rough public inquiry was himself. There was an; other circumstance stranger still, to which he woul d call the attention of the jury. if he was guilty et, what the defendant had charged him w ith she had been perfectly aware of it for several years, and he. would show the jury, not only by his evidence. lA,' by her own letters, that he and the de fendant had continued to be on terms of intimate friendship frote that time to October last. He had no desire to more than to vindicate his character and assert his rights, and if the defendants would withdra w their pleas and put on- the record the deed, or if they Pre: ferred it pay the present value of the deed, he we ,„ le accept it for the purpose of avoiding public scand' llt He had no fear that any human being would believe any of the things brought against him, and he would prove to the satisfaction of the jury that what the female defendant had sworn to the affidavit in Chancery was a mass of untruth, and he would call before them Mr. Collis. He did not know what they would say, because the deed was not executed in his (plaintiff's) presence ; but he would only re; peat that he never heard a complaint about the deco either from the female defendant or from her trus tees under the deed, Messrs. Collis and Hewitt. They were honourable men, and he had no doubt they would report to the jury what was done with regard to him (plaintiff). The female defian dant first of all said she did not know what she was do ing, and then she said that plaintif f held the deed as security, and when he received £2,000 he Was to give it up. Plaintiff was never asked for the deed , and he would prove that he had performed the ser" vice for which it was given, and the jury would see that in a fair commercial point of view the charged was not unreasonable. Having referenc e to some seven years afterwards, £20,000 paid to hill; now would not be worth more than £6,000 paid then would have been, and the jury would see that he would be no great gainer by the bargain if he got the money, when they had heard the evidence. if he could only have known what would happen he would not for 120,000 have to undergo what he had already undergone in this case. [Mr. Kennedy was under examination when the court adjourned.] ----..••••••■•• FORBIGN MAIL PACKET L 181: MAILS DUE. Aup'cralia and Mauritiu;;;;SouiCaMpton. April 18. via Marseilles April 13 ' Brazil and Cape Verds, by British packet. April G. Cape of Good Hope, Ascension, and St. Helena April 1. China, Penang, and Singapore, via Southampton April 4* via Marseilles April 4. Falkland Island , : April 6 ' Gibraltar, via Southampton .. Mar. 2S. India (Calcutta), and Ceylon, via Southampton April 11. via Marseilles Mar. 29 , India (Bombay), via Southampton Mar. : 4 ' via Marseilles April 4. Lisbon Malta, Egypt, and Aden, via Southampton Mar. 2 " via Marseilles Mar. 29. Newfoundland Oporto and Vigo U. S. and British N. America, by Brit. packet., Mar. 21. by U.S. packet by C W.C. of Africa, Madeira, A pr il 10. and Tene an riff a packet e dian AprilM 21u6:. Bahamas, via New York Mexico ....Mar. 31 . All parts and British West Indies, in o c l l un ud i i b n i. gaChili, Peru, i Mar. 3 1 . California, WASTE PAPER.--The waste paper of the Govern' ment offices, which is collected and sold by the Stationerr office, produced above £7,000 last year, and is expected to bring nearly tho same sum this year. This is indepondee of the " blue books" printed, but not sold, which, after the lapse of a certain time, are disposed of as waste paper by Mr. Hansard. BIRTIIS. BYIIAIII.—On the 24th inst., at Ealing, Mrs, Geo. 8y 118133P of a son. DAWSON.—On the 21st inst., at Nice;Mrs. Massy Dawsa li t of a daughter. PEAMERTON.—On the 24th inst., at 4, Cleveland-terrac e ' Hyde -park, the wife of Charlas Pemberton, E s q., of 0. - - - son. ' &MITI:MON.—On the 25th inst., at Bodicote Grange/ 11°9X I3anbury, Oxfordshire, the wife of Bernhard Sautuelsol9 Esq., of a daughter. MARRIAGES. KElR—BALront.—On the 25th inst., at St. Mary's, Baal/ S. Keir, Esq., of Burnside, Elgin, and late of Kandy' Ceylon, to Katherine Sarah, widow of the late George O. Balfour, Esq., of Hescome. VTSE—VYSE— On the 20th inst., at Christ Church, Luta'', Beds., Faulkener Vyse, third son of T. A. Vyse, Esq.) Roupell-park, Streatham, to Clara, second daughter of the late Richard Vyse, Esq., of Luton. DEATHS. BAxics.—On tho 24th inst., at Bolougue-sur-Mer, ITarrioty widow of it T. 0. Banks. CoorEß.—On the 24th inst., at Honloy-on-Thames, Philip B. Cooper, Esq., aped SO EWART.—On the 22d inst., at. Cads, Robert Ewart, Esq./ of Allershaw, Dumfriesshire. FOWNES.—On tho 26th inst., at Battersohnenry Fewness Esq., aged 71. LINNEY.—On the 26th inst., at Bucklaud-crescent, Belize . park, James A, Linney, Esq., aged 39. - STEWAnT.—At 9, C a nning - Placo, South Kensington, Good C. Stewart, Esq. Ile 23,aglNeldor6n7i.ngton-road, S gent's-park, t i c r O a rilk Evan • Lorsrilox: Printed and Published by JOHN CHAPLIN' o f No. 112, Strand, Printer, at TILE Stiii Office, No. 11z: Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, in the CountY °I • Xiddloexi—l'lztiociay, Marc, 27, 1602, a' , CC 1i ti (1,