The Press.
London, England, 1854-02-04 00:00:00

THE PRESS.

some time in November, and not afterwards ; they were
then found to be correct ; when he found himself at Lam•
bay he supposed that the compasses were in error, for he
found them in the course of the day to be about two points
astray ; Le had three compasses, each of which varied from
the other, whereby he could not decide which was right, or
which was wrong."
On Monday evening the inquest terminated with
the following verdict:—

"We find that the deceased persons were drowned by
the sinking of the Tayleur off Lambay Island, on Saturday,
the 21st day of January, 1854, and that this deplorable ac-
cident ccca•-red in consequence of the highly culpable
neglect of the owners in permitting the vessel to leave
port without her compasses being properly adjusted, or a
sufficient trial having taken place to learn whether she was
under the control of her helm or not; and we find that
Captain Noble did not take sufficient precaution to ensure
the safety of the vessel, by sounding, after he found that
his compasses were in error; but we consider, from the time
the vessel came in sight of laud, he acted with coolness
and courage, and used every exertion in his power to save
the lives of the passengers, not having left the ship until
she was completely under water. We are of opinion that
the authorities should insist on some precautions being
adopted, and the same number of men required in emi-
grant ships as are required in vessels chartered by the
Government for the purposes of emigration or the convey-
ance ef the Government stores."

THE ENGLISH FRIGATE AT SEBASTOPOL.
THE Retribution, when sent to Sebastopol with the
notification to Prince Menschikoff of the entrance of
the fleets into the Black Sea, arrived before break of
day off the entrance of that port, and the fog being
very thick was in the very centre of the port before
she was discovered from any of the batteries. On
the fog clearing away all the forts fired guns with
blank cartridge, in order to stop her advancing fur-
ther. Having arrived as far as he wished the captain
immediately came to an anchor. The Retribution
was very soon after boarded by a Russian officer, who
told the commander of the frigate that he had en-
tered further than was allowed, and signified to him
that he must return. Captain Drummond replied
that.he had come on a special mission to deliver
some despatches to the superior authorities. The
RusSian officer said that he could not even listen to
that explanation until the vessel had quitted the in-
terior of the port, and had retired beyond the reach
of the cannon, and that the captain must immediately
give orders to get under way, or the regulations
would compel the forts to sink him. The rules
respecting quarantine were appealed to by the Rus-
sian officer, and made the pretext of this requisition.
Captain Drinsunowl said that he should be sorry to
infringe established regulation-, and gave orders to
get under way. This was, however, a work of some
time, for the anchor held designedly so fast that it
s-as very difficult to start it. When at last under
way, the Retribution, going at a slow rate, ran
along the whole of the fortifications, and again came
to anchor at the spot which had been pointed out to
her captain. The vessel was in all two hours in the
port ; and, with the aid of telescopes and photo-
grapic instruments, so many observations and views
were taken, that very nearly everything is now known
that the Russians have been trying to keep secret for
fifty years. When there, a Russian officer came on
board to inform himself of the object of the arrival
of the vessel, and said that the admiral and the
governor were both absent, but that there would be
plenty of time for them to be informed of his arrival
before the English frigate had performed her quaran-
tine. This Captain Drummond refused to accede to,
saying that his mission was confined to delivering
his despatches, which he did in exchange for a receipt,
and soon after left it to rejoin the combined fleets at
Sinope. This is the first time that a foreign vessel
of war has been able to enter the port of Sebastopol,
and there is every reason to believe that the English
officers not only carefully examined all the fortifica-
tions of the place, but also took a plan of them.
There were only five or six line-of-battle ships in the
port, most of them disarmed. Sebastopol is very
strong, much more so than report gives. The people
of the Retribution say that they observed more than
2(X) guns on them at one time. A French officer who
went in her asserts that Cherbourg is very strong,
but that Sebastopol was equal to three if not four
Cherbourgs.

GUNS FOR TURKEY.
TO THE EDITOR OF "THE PRESS."
Sir,—Knowing, from recent personal observation,
the great want of guns experienced by the brave
inhabitants of Asiatic Turkey, and the " antiquated
imbecility " of most of the firearms they do possess,
I beg leave to suggest, through the medium of your
columns, that some of the thousand stand of flint
muskets shelved as useless in our arsenals be sent
as a present to the gallant subjects of the Sultan.
These guns, though no longer fit for an English
regiment, are infinitely superior to the miserable
weapons now in the hands of the Turkish patriots.
Yours, &c., IL S. S.

THE ENGLISH GOLD CROP.
Soma time since we gave an account of a new gold-crushing
machine, the invention of Mr. Berdan, an American, and
which, by an easy process, and at an almost nominal cost,
quantities of gold can be profitably extracted from the ore
that has hitherto remained either wholly unsuspected, or
left untouched through the assumed impossibility of ob-
taining them, except at an outlay far beyond their value.
In fact, it was believed that unless the proportion of gold
or any auriferous ore exceeded 10oz. per ton there could be
no profit from its extraction. Berdan's machine, however,
seems to have overset these assumptions. A ton of ore
can by its means be crushed and forced to surrender the
golden grains it may hold at a cost of a few shillings ; and
the value of a quantum of the precious metal though
amounting to only a fraction of an ounce to the 20cwt. of
crude ore is sufficient not only to repay expenses, but leave
*tempting margin of profit. It appears moreover that the
aggregate mass of mineral existing in England, which is
rich in gold to far above the minimum point of profitable
working, is enormous in quantity and various in charac-
ter. The consequences to trade and industry, the increase
which this home supply may ihrnish to the cirsulatioti
the influence it may have on private fortunes, and the 4-,
mulus it will offer to milling adventure, can as yet be but
faintly appreciated. As a matter of course, however, the
first symptoms that have become developed have taken the
shape of speculation, which but for accidental circum-
stances, and the general distrust arising from political un-
certainties, might have even already have expanded into a
mania. As it is, much excitement has
.arisen in the cir-
cles where schemes are dealt in and joint-stock companies
get formed and launched upon the public market. Since
the first notice of Berdan's crushing-machine appeared in
the Paa:ss, mining adventurers of all descriptions have
thronged the works in the City-road where the machine is
set up, bringing with them samples of ores to be teated.
The same plan has been adopted iu some cases by the
proprietors of foreign mines, and the total number of ex-
penments performed is now 674, which are said to hay°
resulted in orders being given for seventy-six machines.
Out of these experiments, a large majority of which were
upon materials presenting no visible trace of gold, b4O are
alleged to have yielded that metal, and in two cases out
of three in quantities that would pay for working. Indeed,
the most common rate seems to be about tot. of gold
to the ton ; and, as the expense of working is only a few
shillings per ton, the prospects are dazzling. These,
however, are moderate results, compared with some that
are obtained in special instances; and, although 16 or 17 or.
per ton recently constituted %he maximum, the wonders
of a lead-mine in North Wales have lately been pro-
claimed, the ore of which has given '217 ounces of gold per ton
from picked specimens, and something very extraordinary
even from the inferior ones. The consequence of all this
is a multitude of daily advertisements of mines that were
never before heard of, giving " the results of experiments
made with Mr. Berdan's machine," and there is every
prospect that the rage will go on increasing. The de-
pressed state of the money market prevents the movement
being turned to such account as would otherwise be the
case, but still from individual to individual its fame is
quietly spreading, and, as the belief in the soundness of the
results increases, so should the public grow cautious, in
order to avoid being duped by those cunning individuals
who never fail to attach themselves to every new commer-
cial movement or industrial adventure, with the sole inten-
tion of turning the general credulity to their individual pro-
fit. Against the efficiency of the machine itself, or theood
faith of Mr. Berdan, no evidence has yet been publicly
brought in any quarter; but it must be borne in mind that
he knows nothing of the origin of the ores brought to him.
A hundredweight of stuff from Australia or California
could be divided among a set of schemers who might found
upon it a reputation for half a dozen mines; and when it
is known that, according to a recent statement made by
Mr. Hargreaves, at Sydney, a person who has since re-
turned here openly remarked, on purchasing a small quan-
tity of auriferous earth, that he intended to make his for-
tune with it in England, there can be no degree of suspi-
cion that is not warranted. At the same time the pre-
sumption that some of the reported results lately obtained
are perfectly genuine is very strong. Even this, however,
instead of causing the public to grasp eagerly at shares,
should render them cautions, if not indifferent. Those who
possess ore in abundance, yielding 2oz. of gold per ton,
under a machine which costs only 6001., and which can
Brush many tons a day at an almost nominal expense, can
scarcely, if they believe their own stories, desire to sell
their shares to persons less informed of their value. The
transaction would be the same as if a man cognisant of the
worth of a sovereign were to sell it to a purehasas who
from ignorance would give only 10s. for the coin.

THE CORRESPONDENTS 01, THE LONDON JOUISNALS IN
PARIS complain heavily of the strictness observed withre-
gard to their telegraphic despathhes. The branch office in
the Rue Richelieu will not receive any soceounts unless
copied from the Moniteur, but refers the bearer to the
Minister of the Interior, where, although every courtesy
and attention are shown, much delay is occasioned. ntis
circumspection, it is pleaded, might well be owed with
regard to London journals, which serve no other interests
than those of the public.
A TEBRIBLE EARTHQUAKE took place at Finana, in Al-
meria, in Spain, on the 13th of January. Between two and
three o'clock in the morning, Miring complete darkness,
and while every one was asleep, the soil was suddenly
shaken and turned over by a series of violent shocks follow-
ing each other in rapid succession, and scoompanied by a
prolonged noise resembling the rolling of thunder,. sad fol-
lowed by numerous fissures. It crumbled down the great-
est part of the Akszaba (an ancient castle of the Moors),
broke houses to pieces, and sawed large chasms in snarly
all the streets.. Eight persons were afterwards dugout in a
terrible state of mutilation.

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