The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-06-28 00:00:00

THE WRECK OF THE MALABAR.

THRILLING SCENE.

sfe6ef,rctiT,voildent of the Times, no doubt going
out fd *rite tLz eOiliteinipoirary history of the war in
China, was amongst tkiAi," Ohnerig(cts wrecked in the
Malabar, at Point de Gale a' letter to that
journal, gives a graphic account of thei 6.'iritnl7,- scene

He says :
.Abou'. half-past two o'clock the Malabar's commander,
Captain Grainger, goes to his cabin for a change of
clotliet Re is baldly there when, suddenly and with-
, out a donkrieg Mier; comes a terrific squall from the
north-east. It sweep' aeibtff the bay, and strikes the
' Ikialahar on her
„licit side, atisiq fief to heel corn-
pletel7 over. The mooring haWser stlElp, and she
swings round iiedd fel Coinpietefy reversing her
her former position. Theß 6nies' d shock- which shakes
the vessel from stem to stern ; a getout; *hick brings
the saloon skylight crashing into the cairns. Again]
again, again, and lamp after lamp is shivered to pieces.
We on the reef, and the rocks are smashing in
our plates one iL mrather, Captain Grainger is on
the bridge—the engineer dt Lis rest, but the steam is
not up, and the ship crashes and ctlin'cl?c!s° with every
swell. The pumps are sounded, and give three ic'ef and
a half water in the after compartment. Five minutes
later and five feet are announced. Our position is most
critical, trY. hat alongside,—not one of the ship's
boats ready for lathrellntr: efore us is the bay with
its roaring swell; dt 401 yards distance,
the fort, With the sea dashing o%f hie tett:6
jut into the *ate'', and breaking ffcerVenclotts
spray 44i/I'st the riaripet wall. The wind
still keeps frortf twe itortli if it does not shift, but a
few minutes and all wlll Ne ester. Hold on by the
anchor—let it drag but six feet arid fte'elitie compart-

ment will be smashed to pieces. Let these beavy
engines descend with all their weight on these pointed
rocks, and our vessel must split in two. A double
danger flith ewaits us. We shall be blown into
the air by collapse of the boilers, or down we shall
go among the sharks and file tredters. The anchor
holds. The squall abates, the wind gofs back to
the south. She swings clear of the reef. Net
now commences a new peril. The after compartments
are Piling fast, and she is visibly settling by the stern.
The water rust ee icto the tunnel and indicates seven
feet in the hold. Unless etehin be got up, down she
must go, stern first, in a very few IV itit4tesi A panic
seizes some—happily but a few—of the passengele: A
rush is made to the boats. If they be launched, the
Lascar crew will refuse to work, and in the general
rush they will be sunk or stove in. Quietly seated on the
poop, Lord Elgin is conversing with his usual tranquility.
Baron Giros Vohlyseeonda his colleague. He is cool and
collected as though Waititigot the lfrnilevards, and Eng-
land and France were never more worthilytepreeented than
by their two ambassadors, who set an example to elery
one. The panic is but of short duration. The cowards are
shamed by the quiet courage of the chiefs. And now the
steam is up, the chief engineer having poured gallons
of oil on the coals to quicken their action. A rumour is
spread that thetaptgih is going out to sea. In truth,' that
was his first idea. The vessel is provided with powerful
gips, Which can' only be Worked when' Me,ehgines are
going. fliefe is no idoni in the harbour to steam
ahead, and the captain ifiists he can keep her afloat
outside with the pumps, and so ffri,fe ship' rind cargo.
All hope is soon destroyed by the fearful rapidity with
which the water rises. The chief engineer rushes on
de6l!--:" In the name of God, captain, don't proceed
to sea ;we are d ti:naking state. Beach her at once."
After great peril, the ship is' ?afely run aground, tak-
ing the sand stern first. The wrifef proceeds :
During the whole scene, midst the wildest excitenieiltf
the ladies behave most nobly. No shriek is heard, and,
though a few tears are shed, there is neither confu-
sion nor dismay. To get them into the boats is no
easy rriatter; but happily it is concluded without
accident, one boat receifing them on the starboard,
another on the port quarter. Push off', land them
quickly, and return to the ship. But here die too
men on the starboard gangway attempting to
escape in the women's boat, which is full enough
already. The officer on duty pushes them back, but
they afe net td be repulsed. They slip past him, and
leap—the first for the steer:, there he tumbles among
the ladies and nearly capsizes the boat; the second for
the bow, which he misses, and takes a header tight
into the water. There I should have left him, hut
the sailors are more compassionate, and haul him
in, quite drenched, and half killed with fright.
Neither of these men is English or French—the
first Is an A.nierican skipper, the second a Dutch
engineer. Jrrici now togs arrive from the shore, and
the Governor's barge is anieft th'ent Put Lord Elgin
will not quit the vessel until evefy pnesedger is sated.
One after another he sees them over the aide, of
length steps into the barge with Baron Gros, the
attaches of the two Embassies, and the writer of this
letter.

And now we begin to look about us, and ascertain our
loss. iicept he fey., things which were taken on shore
the previous night, all is in (lid hold, and cannot be
reached. Both Lord Elgin and Baron Gros &Ole !cost their
credentials, their instructions, and all their more impor-
tant papers. Lord Elgin's Orders of the Thistle and the
Bath lie " full fathoms five." Baron Gros is minus a very
considerable sum he took out in specie for the expenses
of his mission, and a large service of plate. Two newly
ingrtied Couples have lost their trosseaux, their
presetils, arld the &ire() reminiscences given to the
ladies before starting on t elr dirdet Journey. Rut
ono portmanteau has been saved by cad.. As- for
myself, my kit for joining the army in China would
have delighted the soul of Sir Charles Napier, and
gained the approval of Lord Clyde. It consists
of a toothbrush, comb, shirt collar, and shoehorn.
have not even saved the piece of soap. All the
reel-AA:wits and papers, letters and maps, woollens and
linens, tidiciiiicidti drid tfecieliar,lll;ve gone to the bottom.
The Malabar had on'boaed 1,086 &les trf fii9lidn, worth
nearly £300,000 ; 725 chests of opium, worts ilgwafds
of £lOO,OOO, of which 216 have been recovered from the
forehold. The remainder are aft, and cannot be reached.

The ship herself cannot be replaced for less than 160,000,
and the rest of the cargo and passengers' baggage will
swell the total to half-a-million sterling. The whole of
the bullion will most probably be recovered, but the
salhge titles Will lie vetl, considerable.

On Saturday, an English female pickpocket, tidrned
Ellen Brown, well-dressed, young, and pretty, was sen-
tenced, in Paris, to three years imprisonment for steal-
ing a purse from a lady on the Boulevards.
GOLD ix WALES.—At a meeting of the Manchester
Geological Society, on Tuesday, at the Natural History
Museum, an interesting paper upon the recent " Gold
disceetiee in, Merionethshire," was Lead by T. A. Read-
win, Esq., ko., et Otfttfdtd. Art animated
discussion ensued upon some unnsttal nloAce t t ;%,'etir-
rence in which gold was exhibited by Mr. Readwin. A
stone, weighing about ten pounde, appeared to have gob'
degreminated throughout in minute particles. The dis-
covery is extraordinary ; and if the produce prove lasting,
the value must be very considerable. The locality is a
copper mine Called "Clogau," situated in the Clogau
Mountain, about half way between Dolgelly and Bar-
niotith, tidrth df the pictttresque river Mawddach.
AN ARISTOCRATIC liAliffiß.—At &detitig df the'
Armagh Board of Guardians, on Tuesday last, ri peison
named John Gibson, a dealer, applied for admission to
the hospital, complaining of a bad limb, which required
surgical treatment. The applicant rode in a gig, which
was drawn by a donkey in good condition. The appli-
cation of Gibson having been granted, another applica-
tion was made for the admission and support of the
steed, which afforded a good cleat of amusement. The
master was then called, and, in reply to the guardians,
said he had plenty of thorn and fodder for the animal,
wheretipori Sir James Strong° recommended that the
donkey he also admitted, arid kept hi readiness, ifi Order
that its owner may ride off as soon as the doctor shall
declare him fit to be removed. This was agreed to, and
Gibson was sent to hospital, and the donkey to livery.
PROVISION/NO GARRISON TOWNS. —At the request
of the don-In-fission en the Defences of the Kingdom
application was made to the autheritics of certain garri-
son towns to know what stock of food would ordinarily
be found in hand for the subsistence of the population if
the towns were suddenly shut up. From the answer of
the mayors of Portsmouth, Plymouth, and Chatham, it
may be taken that the supply of meat and cattle is net
above a week's consumption ; and of breadstuffs. salt
provisions, and grocery, riot mere than would last from
three to five weeks, if so much.; but the mayor of Ply-
mouth adds, that with a brief notice, perhaps of a single
day, a supply of food might be collected sufficient for at
least six week's consumption, and that he had ascertained
from competent authority in the corn trade, that with a
week's notice provisions might be obtained sufficient for
three months.

ACCIDENTAL rOINONING.—A very melancholy occur-
rence, which terminated fatally, took place at 3, George's-
place, Kingstown, on Monday morning. A young man
named Kelly, an assistant guard on the Dublin and
Kingstown Railway, residing with his mother at Mer-
rion, was, it would appear, on Sunday night, at the
wedding of a girl named Byrne, the daughter of a dairy-
man who, lives in part of the house, No. 3, George's-
place. About seven o'clock on Monday morning, the
festivities having drawn to a claie, he entered the room
of a friend of his, nanied Joseph Keely, a painter, and
being tired and somewhat overcome with the effects
of drink, he lay down on the sofa and went to sleep.
Awaking about ten o'clock, he felt extremely thirsty,
and, seeing a bottle lying near the sofa, he took it up,
and, filling out half a glassful, drank it off, supposing it
to be peppermint. On examination it was found that
it contained a solution of cyanide of potassium, used by
the Keelys for photographic purposes. Dr. Ledwidge
was immediately sent for, and, arriving in three
minutes afterwards, applied the stomach pump, and
ordered mustard and water to be poured down his
throat, but all to no purpose. The case was too des-
perate for medical skill to remedy, and the unfortunate
man, after suffering the most acute agony and torture,
expired after the lapse of thee-quarter of ar!