The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1855-07-10 00:00:00

HORRIBLE TRAGEDY AT SEA

ABOUT eight o'clock on Friday morning the brig Her
Majesty arrived at Queenstown, and cast anchor opposite the
barracks. Shortly after her arrival rumours began to spread
of a most dreadful tragedy having been enacted on board, and
these were confirmed by the fact of a seaman, badly wounded,
having been borne to the hospital. Her Majesty is a brig of
221 tons, belonging to Mr. John Rickenson, of Whitby, and
sailed from Salonica, a Mediterranean port, about the
beginning of May, with a cargo of Indian corn, consigned to
London, and bound to Queenstown for orders. Including the
captain, Wm. Wright, of Whitby, and the mate, Samuel Cole,
the crew amounted in all to about nine. Amongst the crew
was James Veale, a native of Ireland, who had been very
badly conducted on the voyage, and against whom the captain
had several entries in the log-book. On the 28th of Juno,
while in lat. 44 deg. N., long. 14 deg. 46 min. W. the captain
came on deck about midnight, and found that Veale was not,
as he should have been, on deck, it being his watch. He found
him lying asleep in the galley, and he got a bucket of water,
and threw it over him. Veale awoke in a rage, and started
up. The captain walked towards the cabin, and Veale ran
round, at the other side of the mast, drew out a large case
knife, and stabbed him in several places. The man at the
wheel, George Bald, a native of Fifeshire, observing the
transaction, called out to another man, "take the wheel till
Igo and call the mate." Veale hearing this, ran down the
companion and got into the state-room of the mate, and
stabbed him three several times, exclaiming " there, there."
The mate struggled faintly with him, but had only strength
to extricate himselt from his berth, and crawl up the com-
panion, when he fell upon the deck. While the murderer
was engaged upon the attack of the mate, Bald, an old man,
went down the companion and into the state-room of the cap-
tain to look for fire-arms. While they were there, they shut the
state-room door, and only barely in time, for Veale, after com-
pleting his terrible work in the cabin of the mate, rushed
over, and drove the knife through the panel of the door they
had shut, in an *Wort to break it in. Foiled in his design
here, he went again upon deck, and it is supposed while
passing he threw overboard the bodies of the mate and cap-
tain, as they were never seen again. He then went forward
to the forecastle, where two men were sleeping, and stabbed
them both savagely, killing one of them, the cook, Samuel
Weekes, and inflicted upon the other, George Bald, the man
who was taken to the hospital, no less than six wounds. In
the meantime, the two men in the captain's state-room re-
mained in a dreadful state of alarm and anxiety, until, at
length, hearing everything silent, George Bald stole up the
companion with a pair of loaded pistols, which he had got in
the state-room of the captain. As he got near the head of
the companion, his head being in a bent posture, he was
met by Veale, returning from his work of blood in the fore-
castle, and received two stabs, one in the back and one in
the shoulder. He fell down the ladder. and one of the pistols
went off in the fall. Bald got into the state-room and secured
himself there, and remained there for some time preparing a
musket. After a little he heard the noise as if scuttling the
vessel, which Veale was attempting with an axe, and he came
up with a musket which he fired at Veal, and wounded him
in the leg. This, in all probability, saved the vessel, as there
were found afterwards in the deck and in the side of the vessel,
holes from about eight inches to a foot square. Veale then
retreated to the forecastle, and Bald then came after him and
secured the scuttle. He then, it is said, broke the bull's eye,
and fired another shot at Veale, but this did not hit him.
While Veale was below Bald and the other man hoisted signals
of distress, which were answered by the Isabella, of Liverpool,
bound for Bristol, and the mate, James C. Howe, and two
men came on board. Howe went to the forecastle, and Veale
called out from within, begging of Howe to shoot him. Howe
replied that he would do no such thing; that he would bring
him to justice. He then went back on board his own vessel
to procure more assistance, and, on his return, the whole body
went forward to the forecastle. Tbey then waited for a while,
but on looking down through the bull's eye, they saw his legs
hanging down. They opened the hatch and went down, and
found that he had ended his misdeeds by suicide. He was
taken out, and it was then ascertained that the shot fired by
Bald from the head of the companion had taken effect on him.
The body, and that of the cook, who lived twenty-four hours
after he received his wound, were thrown overboard; While
this transaction was taking place a nephew of the owner, a
little boy, who was on board, got into the fore-top, and so
escaped uninjured.

CONFESSIONS of LORD JOHN RUSSELL.

TICE comments of the Daily News on Lord John Russell's
extraordinary statement in the House of Commons, on Friday,
are the more significant as proceeding from the chief Liberal
organ, and the general supporter of the noble lord's policy.
We extract two passages :
In reply to certain interrogations from Mr. Milner Gibson,
as to the accuracy of the allegations contained in Count Buol's
last despatch, the noble lord confesses that substantially those
allegations are correct. There may be verbal errors and
incidental omissions,- but in the main the Austrian Prime
Minister is perfectly warranted in his assertion, that to the
final proposition made by him for compromising the questions
involved in the third basis of settlement between Russia and
the Allies, the Plenipotentiaries of England and France at
Vienna gave their assent ; and that they undertook to urge
its adoption upon their respective governments. M. Drouyn
de Lhuys returned to Paris, laid before the Emperor the
reason which had led him to come to that conclusion, and
failing to convince him of its adequacy, deemed it his duty to
resign his place in the administration. Lord John Russell
returned to London, invited the cabinet to concur in the
opinion he had declared to Count Buol, was out-voted by his
colleagues on the sufficiency of the terms he had consented to,
and instead of retiring from office, proceeded forthwith to
defend in parliament the rejection of the offer. We own we
should have hesitated to believe any other testimony than
that. of Lord John himself on such a subject: hnt as ho bao
thought proper to place the matter on record, we have no
choice but to express our disappointment at the course he has
pursued, and our astonishment at the reasons he has set forth
as its justification.
For some time this journal stood alone in vindicating the
rectitude of his conduct, measured by the rule of personal
consistency he had himself laid down. We adhere to that
rule ; we deeply deplore that he has been induced to abandon
it. And what is the paramount consideration which the noble
lord says outweighed all others in his mind ? From a distance
he saw that the administration of Lord Palmerston was from
the outset unpopular. The authority of government appeared
to him to be shaken. He could not see any justification for
this national distrust in the constitution of the ministry under
his noble friend's auspices ; and he therefore resolved to sacri-
fice on the most momentous of questions—that of peace or
war—his individual convictions, and to become the defender
of the government through thick and thin. The most oligar-
chic and exclusive administration that the people of this gene-
ration have seen—the most recklessly jobbing and incompetent
that we can call to mind—is, according to the noble member
for London, so well worth preserving at any price, that he is
content not only to give up his own views, and to retract his
own declarations as a diplomatist, but to become its unre-
served apologist and eulogist in his place in Parliament.

MR. LAING is reported to have gone to Austria for the
purpose of arranging the concession of the Hungarian rail-
ways to a company.
TnE Turkish Loan of £5,000,000 is about to be brought
out under the united guarantee of the English and French
Governments, which has just been accorded.
THE steamships Hydaspes and Glasgow arrived at Mar-
seillles on Saturday, with advices from Constantinople to the
28th, but none from the Crimea.
A destructive fire happened on Saturday afternoon in the
store-houses of the London and Brighton Railway Company,
at the Bricklayers' Arms Station, whereby a large building,
hay, corn, straw, and other goods, were destroyed.
On Saturday morning, between four and five o'clock, a most
extensive fire broke out on the premises of Messrs. Daniel
and John Watney, distillers, Wandsworth, Surrey. The
damage already done must, at a moderate estimate, amount
to upwards of £40,000 sterling.
AN ACTION was tried last week against the London Dock
Company, by the proprietor of the wine purchased at "rum-
mage" sales, which was so mysteriously transmuted into good
sound port. The company denied that the wine claimed by
the plaintiff was his property, and paid £25 into court, to cover
the value of the casks. The jury found that that sum was
sufficient, and a verdict passed in their favour.
AMONGST the insolvents who applied for protection last
week was a man who had been baptized "Eliza." He was a
Dutchman, and the reason assigned for the fact was that he
was named after a sister who had died. In England (he had
been trading as a cheesemonger in the London-road) he found
it convenient to call himself "Edward Smith."
A Curious SCENE recently took place at St. George's
Church, Barnsley. A couple of Messrs. Taylor's factory opera-
tives presented themselves in their working attire, wishful to
be united in the bonds of matrimony. The several attendants,
all of whom work at the same place, all went in their shirt
sleeves or similar dishabille, and the ceremony having been
performed, they returned to their work, ha"ving only been
absent a few minutes.

THE SCOTTISH NEWSPAPERS.—At the present moment
Scotland seems likely to be overrun by a torrent of journalism
directed by various groups of impulsive individuals, who have
evidently become impressed with the notion that "the chief
end of man" upon earth is to print, distribute, and read news-
papers. There will be a dozen daily papers in Glasgow and
Edinburgh, with as many more in the distance, to appear as
soon as credit can be found for types, machinery, and paper
with which to make a start. Every Scotch printing-office is
in a state of effervescence, and compositors, pressmen, and ma-
chine men find themselves objects of solicitude and importance
such as they never expected to realise.
THE bankrupts Paul, Strahan, and Bates were again brought
up at Bow-street, on Wednesday, when the only additional
evidence was a letter from Sir J. Paul, authorising his attor-
ney to raise the sum of £27,000 on certain securities. The
money was lent by Messrs. Overend and Gurney. The case
was again adjourned. The prisoners appeared to feel deeply
the degrading position in which they were placed, and Mr.
Strahan trembled violently the whole time he was in the
dock. The position of the prisoners was perhaps rendered
more degrading by the appearance of an artist, engaged for
one of the illustrated papers, who was busily engaged in
sketching their portraits.
THE BRIGANDS AT SMYRNA.—After passing a week with
twelve brigands of Smyrna, Dr. Macraith has been released on
payment of £460 ransom. After a series of negotiations, a
spot was fixed for receiving the ransom, and setting him at
liberty. This took place at a small farmhouse, about eight
miles distant from Smyrna. The Pasha has since been roused
up to offer £lOO for Simon's (the chief brigand) head, and
£3O for the heads of any members of his band. One thing our
countryman has obtained for his £460, and that is a scrap of
paper signed by Simon and Moro, which will carry him harm-
less through all the banditti of Asia Minor. When this bri-
gand seized Dr. Macraith, they took a donkey from* Turk, on
which they placed their prisoner, and afterwards' shot its
owner for following them.
DISCOVERY OF THE BODY OF BALEAT, THE SWISS
GlllDE.—Jaques Balmat, the celebrated guide of Chamouni,
who was lost in the ascent of Mont Blanc about 20 years ago,
while acting as guide to some travellers, was found a few days
ago, according to the Gazette de Lausanne, in the broken-up
ice which forms the arch (mite) of Aveyron. To the astonish-
ment of persons passing that way, the body of a man was dis-
covered, the. upper portion being still buried in its frozen
tomb. A number of persons were promptly summoned to the
spot, and, after cautious efforts with pickaxes and other instru-
ments, they succeeded in disengaging the remains of the old
and popular guide, Jaques Balmat, in a state of the most per-
fect preservation. The body was immediately conveyed to
Chamouni, where it received every mark of honour and respect.
Jaques Balmat acquired some celebrity by being one of the
guides to M. Saussure, the natura.llol, in the year 1780.