The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1858-02-02 00:00:00

WEYMOUTH,

_
The special service for the working classes was well
attended on Tuesday evening at st. John's church.
The Rev. C. W. Bingham, M.A., of Bingham's Mel-
combs preached, and selected for his text the words
"so Daniel was taken up out of the den and no
manner of hurt was found upon him, because he
believed in his God"—Daniel vi., 23. This evening
(Tuesday) the Rev. R. C. Magee, M.A., the popular
preacher of Octagon Chapel, Bath, will deliver a
sermon at St. Mary's church.
ACCIDENT. —Yesterday week a sad accident
happened to a man named Tomkins whilst in the
act of lifting a bag of barley on board the sloop We!.
lington, now unloading in the harbour. He suddenly
slipped off the plank, fell down the hatchway to a
considerable depth, and when taken up it was found
he had sustained a severe injury in his back.
Medical assistance was immediately obtained and he
is going on favourably.
A Young SHOT—Yesterday week a young man
named Haynes, on proceeding to Preston whilst
near Mr. Wadsworth 's field was shot by a lad from
the other side of the hedge, who was shooting small
birds. The contents struck his mouth and lodged in
the poor fellow's left arm, near the shoulder. He
was immediately taken home, Dr. Fox was called in,
and everything necessary done; but on account of
the shattered state of the arm, it is feared, in order to
save his life, the limb will have to be amputated.
BURIAL BOARD.—A meeting of the vestry took
place yesterday morning week, Mr. Pidgeon in the
chair. The outgoing members of the burial board,
the rector, the Rev. Talbot Greaves, Mr. William
Thomas, and Mr. John Henning were reappointed.
Mr. Robens, and Mr. Pidgeon were also re-ap-
pointed auditors of accounts, and the 4th of March
was fixed for the production of the same.

THE NEW FORTIFICATIONS. - The coast guard
houses at the' extreme end of the Nothe are to be
pulled down, and around this high land there will be
an immense 3 tier battery, for the reception of
62.poanders. The whole of this work is to be done,
we hear, by convicts, who will be quartered in the
barracks, guarded by,a sufficient number of military.
These works will extend as far as Newton's Cove,
and the early part of next month is mentioned as the
time when operations will be commenced.

Monday, being the day of the marriage of the
Princess Royal, most of the tradesmen of this town,
in order to testify their loyalty, closed their establish-
ments. Flags were hoisted at the houses of the
principal inhabitants and at the hotels; old King
George the Third's statue was gaily trimmed off with
the Hags of various nations. Scarcely any business
was transacted. A salute af 21 guns was fired from
the Meander frigate; the Wickham, R.C., from
Dartmouth, then lying in the roadstead; and from
the brass guns placed on our Esplanade for the occa-
sion, belonging to Colonel W. L. Freestun, M.P.
The ships in the harbour were decked off, as was
also the coast guard station on the Nothe, with all
the colours that could be disposed. In the evening
the residence of Mr. Councillor Commins, in St.
Thomas-street, was gaily trimmed off with ever-
greens, interspersed with variegated lamps, with the
words "V. F." and a large crown in the centre,
standing in bold relieE A ball was given at the
Royal Hotel Assembly Rooms in the evening at
which about 140 tradespeople attended, dancing
being kept up with great spirit to the strains of
Beale's quadrille band until the following morning.
MELANCHOLY SHIPWRECK AND LOSS OP LIFE—
On Sunday, the melancholy news reached Weymouth
of the loss of the clipper schooner Excel, of this port,
Capt. J. Read. The vessel was bound from
Guernsey to London, and while on her voyage en-
countered very heavy seas and winds, till off Calais,
where she became a total wreck. The captain and
the crew, with the exception of the mate, who was
taken from the rigging in a boat in a very ex-
hausted state, were drowned. One of the crew
named Ozzard, had been shipwrecked three time;
before, losing all that belonged to him each time.

THE ---ehe following military movements
were ordered to take pliwie'in abe South-West Dis-
trict i---A wing of the 2nd West Yovlt Militia, lately
quartered in Anglesey Barracks, Portsea, pis:vetted
td Weprionth and Portland on Friday and relieved
a detachment of the /et &Oa battalion, who left
Portland and rejoined Parkhurst, Saturday. The
Wilts Militia, now quartered at the camp at Alder-
shot, will move into garrison at Portsmatith and
occupy quarters in Anglesey barracks this day, Tues.
day. The head-quarters of the 2nd West York
Militia vacated Anglesey barracks, Portsea, and
crossed the harbour to ilaslar barracks, for occupation
on Saturday,

SETPwEEcIir AND LOSS OF LIFE AT CALAIS.
"An eye witness" writes as follows to the Times:
have seen the enceittrit of this shipwreck in your
journal of the 25th ult., but as it is in seine respects
defective, and yet is of so much importance, I hope the
statement of an eye witness will not be out of place.
Be it understood I wish to cast no reflection upon the
French authorities, beyond that of utter want of means
and proper sppliaisces to meet the case of a shipwreck
on this portion of tlie toast. On Wednesday last it blew
a very strong gale from the north-east, and about 7
o'clock in the morning
a schooner of 250 tons, named
the Excel, of Weymouth, laden with Fortlansl. stone,
was seen approaching the harbour in evident distress.
As she catne nearer, the waves running high, and the
wind tempestuous, it was soon perceived she must drift
on the shore. Unfortunately it was nearly low water,
and thus she was prevented entering the harbour. Many
persons soon assembled on the shore ready to render any
assistance in their power. By the telescope it was per-
ceived she had six men on board, and at 8 o'clock she
struck about 500 yards from the pier-head. You may
well imagine the excitement was intense, and the cry
was raised "The lifeboat! the lifeboat !" The poor
fellows could be seen on board by the naked eye, sonic
in the rigging and others holding to different parts of the
vessel. One lifeboat—very old, and utterly unfit for
the purpose—was launched and manned about 9 o'clock,
quite in time to save all the lives, and which, with a
proper lifeboat, could easily have been accomplished.
The crew were a mixture of English and French, and
whatever may have been the cause their efforts were
failures. A second attempt WM made with a like result;
but in this latter case it was evident no serious exertion
was intended to be made. Thus matters went on until
about 12, when a larger lifeboat was launched from the
east side of the pier, the wreck being on the left side,
and this crew was composed also of English and French.
At this time it was seen that four men in the sehocrner,
previously exhausted by pumping the vesael when in mid-
channel, were swept o and rowned. Still the crew
started in the boat to assist the survivors yet remaining,
ff d
and all honour be given to the gallant efforts they made.
The force of the wind and violence of the waves, how-
ever, carried her past the wreck and the boat could
render no assistance. When they returned, one of the
crew was asked the cause of the failure, and his reply
was, "Why, Sir, she's 30 years' old, and more like a
jolly boat than a lifeboat, and when she filled it took 20
minutes to bale her. With an English lifeboat all the
men would have been saved hours ago." In the harbour
were two steamers—one the London boat, and the other
Her Majesty's steamboat Fire Queen. This latter
steamer got up her steam in order to tow out the lifeboat,
but I am told that all the authorities expressed so doubt-
ful an opinion of the lifeboat's capacity that the captain
felt he might sacrifice more lives by proceeding to sea, and
this step was abandoned. About 8 o'clock the South'
Eastern steam-boat, hence to Dover, was to start, and
the captain offered to tow out the boat, with the volun-
teers on board his vessel, and then if circumstance per-
mitted, to ship them off near the wreck, so that they
might drift down windward. Certainly the strength of
the lifeboat thus was tested; for no sooner did she leave
the harbour than she parted in two, and was afterwards
in small pieces drifted on the shore. The South-Eastern
boat, however, made several ineffectual attempts to
reach the wreck, but at last was obliged to proceed on
her passage to Dover. None now expected any lives
would be saved, but the Consul and others remained on
the shore nearly the whole night. At 11 o'clock pin.
some volunteers offered to make another attempt in the
boat belonging to a London steamer, the Triton, which
had been kindly placed at the disposal of the authorities
for that purpose. The crew were English, and before
they started they earnestly asked for a " grapnel,"
arbt
autdiblenil
:dyd remainfth nneandicorhdwoe.
which was promised, but never forthcoming. In fact,
although there purports to be a " humane society" here,
receptacle
roveha: care—the
cntak,gpr,but
on
unwo taegrapnel,boats
:npfeortrete, ahirsr
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having lost five oars, they again returned unsuccessful.
At this time one of the two men in the rigging fell,
perhaps dead, and if not was soon drowned. When day-
light broke it was seen that one poor fellow yet clung to
the rigging, and two further attempts were determined
on, one by the French mail boat, and the other by the
Triton's at, which had so nearly succeeded on the
previous night. The French boat (but not from want of
strenuous effort) failed, and all hope then was centered
in the Englieh boat. After a long and gallant struggle
they reached the wreck and succeeded in bringing to the
shore the sole survivor of the schooner, who had been in
the rigging for 26 hours. For some hours the man was in
great danger from exhaustion, but he at last rallied, and
Iv now doing well. My object in writing this letter is to
call your attention, and through your columns that of
the official Government, to the seriously defective ar-
rangements at Calais with respect to lifeboats, &c. Re-
member the some fate might have befallen any of the
august personages so lately passing hence to England—
for what inure could have been done with the means at
hand—both lifeboats improper for the duty, and one
even leaky. What would be said, moreover, if any such
accident happened daily to one of the three steamers
daily visiting this port, and such event is by no means
impossible? At Boulogne the lifeboats and crew are ef-
fective, proper, and always kept in good order, and if they
had been at Calais all lives could have been saved. 'I
am sure the Emperor, if it be brought to his notice, will
not leave this port the worst supplied in all his dominions
in apparatus to assist those who unhappily may be ship-
wrecked on its shores. I need hardly add that a
subscription has been willingly raised, both by French
and English, as a slight reward to the brave fellows who
risked their own lives in the effort to save their fellow'
creatures, but in justice to the French sailors I should
mention that they have declined to accept any share,—
looking no doubt, to the medal they may receive from
their own Government. I trust, however, that such
reward may also consist of a good lifeboat, and in ar-
rangements for a properly organized crew.
furnished,tssth
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