The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1867-11-26 00:00:00

_AISOTBIII 1111.111•11.11 STORY,

Rees, • fireman of -467i-a-irone,--re-:iding at Free-
mantle, mid: What I fancy is that when she struck
first she "kind of scum I* crock on the port side;
the second time it seemed to lift her, and she went
down "bump." end buml.:l three or f, or tooth
Of coups it drove her sides in, and I believe the rocks
went spat the bottom into her boilers. Swint the
water coming into the stoke-bole, I got up through the
engine.roron ladder; all that I saw was • boiler-maker
in the engine room, and he went up the ladder before
me. When I got on the top, the steampipe burst, and,
everything being covered with steam, 1 loot eight of all
that was going on. As I knew the way out as well in
the dark as in the light, I got hold of the handrail, and
crwrled ender the •team out of the door. When I got
out I (oval the forward couipanion covered with people.
The main deck people were clinging to everything they
saw. I rushed right through them on to the seer deck,
where I was arwhed off, and overboard, and the bow,
of the venial came right round to me. I clung to the
fore topsail yard. where I steeped from one o'clock in
the day until half-past eight nett morning, when I was
took off y a little punt, which picked up four
beside. me. It could only take two at • time.
I was washed naked. II saw the thief engineer,
Mr. Hooper, clinging to • skylight, end was
washed by him. He looked at me and I looked
at him, jut as men will do at such times. My
opinioe is that more were killed by the knocking about
of the wreck than being drowned. The men in the
stoke-hole had no thanes to come up. Two came up,
but they were fearfully scalded; their nun, were
Lane and Arthur Call. The things in the gale were
flying about like birds. I saw one lady clinging to her
hushemd by the after-companion. end I believe she was
picked up next morning by the doctor of the Solent.
The gale seemed to come on gradutlly, and continued
getting worse. I did not apprehend danger before it
happened, became I've often been out in roughish
weether. 1 hadn't been on deck in the wind, but below
this did not appear worse than I've been out in before.
lime good swimmer, but the next morning the sharks
were lying around us like little fish, and therefore it was
useless to think of swimming in order to get relieved
and picked up.
The despatches by the Douro set at wet all conjecture
regarding the reported calamity at Tortola, and, when
it is remembered that the island is but twenty males
distant from St. Thomas, where nothing had been
received confirming the alarming statement published •
week ago, a contradiction as to the island having been
submerged is only what might have been imparted. Such
contrthictioe of the reported submersion we have from
the captain of the Solent, which retool wee anchored
near to the town. We also learn that the Conway
which drove ashore at Tortola, bad got afloat
again. The hurricane which visited St. Thomas was
alw felt at Tortola, and from this and three
shocks of earthqothe, • number of houses were
thrown down, whereby it is believed a hundred
lives were lost. The last official report on Tortola
which has been teemed is thst whmh was transmitted to
the Colonialmffiae in May, 1866, by Bir Arthur Reinhold,
who arrived out as President of the Virgin Wanda at
the end of the year 1865. The population was estimated
at 6411, of whom scarcely • twelfth were • bites. The
cultivation of sugar, once considerable, bad been almost
abandoned ; the island was not !adapted for it. The
eingle ridge with formed the island of Tortola was
from 800 to 200011. high, with sides so steep that they
could only be cultivated in terrains supported by low
stone walls; and the cost of carrying canes to the
mill would alone make the eultivetion of inigu
unprofitable &tithe preisent ordinary prices. There were
some fertile &pole between the foot of the ridge and
the sea, but of no great intent. The industry of
the remote was being directed to cotton, of which
35,5331ba. were exported in 1865. The imports amounted
in value to £8,638; they oonetated chiefly of cattle and
small stock and cotton. The trade was conducted
almost entirely with the Danish Bleed of St.. Thomas. '
The rata of wages was 16e. Si. per month for domestic
service, Is. 31. • day for prediel wake, Is. a day for
trades. The greater part of the mil was owned by
negroes, but the land was so much subdivided among
them that the vales of earth particular parcel of land ,
was often not more then from £3 to £5. The public:
revenue was about £1.900. There hart been an old '
public debt of about £4.000, but in 1864 the colony
compounded with the creditors at 24. In the pound, pay. '
&bleb, three annual instalment.. Of Uwe. who mane any
religious profession, the great majority were Wesleyana.
Forty per cent, of the births were illegitimate, but
the indiff woos of the West Indien negro.n on the ,
subject of chastity prevented the undery sod wretched.
nee. geogrally attending upon illegitimacy in England.
There was no great shame attached to the birth of an
illegitimate child, and no temptation to conceal It; and
theie was seldom sny reluctance in the father to eon-
tribute to the support of the child. The Bluebook of
the colony for 1865 gage an unfavourable amount of
the progress of eduaation in Tort da. No children over
12 years of age were admitted into the daily schools of
the Church or the Wesleyan., l• being desired that they
should be then engaged in husbandry; but the Colonial
Secretary reported that, in last, the growing generation
was lees disposed to labour Lod more lawless than the
preceding, and that every year showed the labouring
populating to be fast failing into • state of semi-barbar.
len. There were 479 children in there daily schools,
and, nerlows, 100 in private schools, not here reckoning
the number attending hammy schools, oa a report
mule in 1861, P (*tient Longden mentiotted she( the
Wesleyan ministers r4eired to baptism illegittmate
children, and therefore thew were all baptised into the
Anglican eql• Ch.

•••
"on' New Y'riE we loam that sooordhur to lotolli-
go"co from Heramph th• harriceno had pa sod over
Item Doiniugo, canting booty lees of Life, sad great
damage to the shipping.

ROLIPWAT'S crorriterr AND PILL& —VOA Wilkih•
fain.* must be mer.deed at the present time. and the
e•rliest ...Menem of I I Math mast be immediately
sheeted, or a iillaht Mae.. may remelt in a minus
malady. Relax.d and sore tiro d, &others. quiniwy,
*nigh.. *lronic *nigh, bronchiti., and not other
pulmonary eivistmai will he relieved by rabbi's' this
rdninsent into the skin neer m preetioable to
II ase to? mi chi.?. This treatment. so simn'e and
effective. I. admir•bly adapted for the r woes.] of
di.emes &Irina infancy and yowl,. Old asthmatic
will derive mirrellous r lief from the um of
Holloway'. remndies, which have brought round m.ny
stub sufferer% and re-e•t.binkcid health atm every
other MIMS had disaU7