The Press.
London, England, 1853-08-27 00:00:00

Actibtats nnD Offtntts.

LOSS OF THREE EMIGRANT VESSELS.
Three serious catastrophes are reported in the
latest intelligence from Australia. Two emigrant
ships have been lost by fire, and one by wreck. The
wreck was the worst and only fatal calamity. It oc-
curred to the steamer Monumental City, of 1,0(X)
tons burden, bound from the United States, with a
large number of passengers. She had nearly com-
pleted her voyage, having arrived safely at Melbourne,
where many of the emigrants landed. From that
port the unlucky steamer departed for Port Phillip,
with pleasant weather, and every prospect of an easy
passage. The captain, however, seems to have
hugged the shore too closely, as the vessel, while
steaming at twelve knots an hour, during the night
went upon a formidable reef of rocks near Malaquetta
Bay :
A scene of the most painful consternation ensued. As the
morning advanced, a terrible gale sprung up, and the heavy
bumping of the ship on the reef soon caused her to make consi-
derable water. The engine tires were extinguished, and the pros-
pect of all was most alarming. The boats were lowered, but one
after another was either dashed to pieces or drifted away. A
hawser was at last attached to a rnjecting rock, and by means of
it fifty-four souls were rescued from a watery grave, though many
were washed off and perished in the sea. Then came the last
acetic of all. The billows were running momitailis high, and
breaking over the ship, the tlnnrter•dcek wits separated hula the
fore-deck. then another sea split the forecastle, and nothing re-
mained of the Monumental City but the floating timber which co-
vered the water. Those who were saved were locking intently on
the group clustered on the wreck, when it suddenly disappeared
in a few seconds, with its living burden of men, women, and
children, who were seen for a moment strugging among the
breakers, and then lost for ever. Scarcely a vestige remained,
and, out of eighty-six souls who sailed from Melbourne, fifty-four
only reached the land, while thirty-two unfortunatt ly perished.
The survivors obtained a supply of provisions on the island en
whirl they had been thrown. In the course of a few day- the
mainland was readied, when the authorities took charge of them.
The loss of the Monumental City will exceed 30,000/.

AUGUST 27, 1853.

The burnt ships were the Mahomet Shah, from Lon-
don to New Zealand, and the Engli'h barque Win-
chester,_ bound home from Melbourne. In the first
case the crew and passengers, amounting to nearly
one hundred, were rescued by the Helen, which lay
near their vessel during two days and nights, while
they were occupied in combatting the fire, which had
broken out by spontaneous combustion, and finally
overcame all their efforts. The rescued individuals,
as well as the crew of the Helen, suffered severely af-
terwards from the scarcity of provisions and water,
the number being so much increased and the voyage
unusually protracted. Before obtaining fresh sup-
plies they were reduced to a scanty ration and half a
pint of water a-piece per day. The Winchester car-
ried no passengers, but when the fire broke out in
her store-room the men took to the boats at once,
under an apprehension, it is said, that a large quan-
tity of gunpowder was on board. The barque was
totally burnt, but, notwithstanding this cowardly de-
sertion by their crew, the captain and °dicers were
happily rescued.

A SERIOUS STEAM-BOAT CoussioN occurred in the
Tyne on Monday. The Sir John Ensthope, a heavy
screw collier, ran into a passenger steamer named the
William, bound from Newcastle, at the entrance to
Shields harbour. The William was struck just abaft
the funnel, and almost immediately sunk, throwing
all her passengers, men, women, and children, into
the water. A frightful scene of confusion and panic
occurred, but, owing to the prompt succour afforded,
it is supposed that no lives were lost, as no one was
ascertained to be missing. Several passengers were,
however, much cut and bruised by the shock, and
Renwick, the steersman, had his thigh broken.
AN ACCIDENT occurred on Wednesday to an excur-
sion train from Leeds, proceeding by the Lincoln-
shire and Yorkshire line, to one of the watering-places
on the coast near Fleetwood. At the junction of the
Lancashire and Yorkshire line with the London and
North-Western, at Euxton, near Preston, it ran into
a luggage train, and a smash ensued, which had the
effect of blocking up both lines of railway for some
hours, but no serious injury was sustained by any of

the passengers.
IN A FIT OF REVENGE one Patrick Sullivan struck
down and kicked an officer in the Customs, named
Gampton, so brutally that the unfortunate man died
a few hours afterwards from injuries on the brain.
Gampton, it seems, had seized some articles which a
friend of the aggressor was attempting to smuggle.
On a post-mortem examination a large shot was found
imbedded in the skull of the deceased officer, just
above the forehead, which was stated to have been
lodged there twenty years previously, during a scuttle
while he was on coast-guard service. A verdict of
" Manslaughter" has been returned against the man
Sullivan.
A RUFFIAN named Mobbs, a jobbing wino-cooper
by trade, and residing in Goodman's-yard, Minories,
murdered his wife on Wednesday evening, and then
sought to reconcile the deed with justice by attempt
ing to destroy himself. The murder was committed
in the most brutal manner, the wretch cutting the
throat of the woman, whom it appears he had long
ill-used. His subsequent attempt upon his own
throat with the same knife was unsuccessful, and
there are hopes of his recovery. His act seems to
have been premeditated, as he was seen on the same
morning sharpening the table-knife he employed in
perpetrating it. He had four children, who have
grown up in a state of utter neglect and wretchedness,
and who are now consigned to workhouse guardian-

ship.
A MELANCHOLY CATASTROPHE occurred off Islay
on the 16th instant. A fishing lugger, containing
five men and a woman, with a cargo of sheep and
fish, bound for the coast of Ireland, was compelled
to put back in consequence of a gale, when the boat
struck upon a small rock close to the Ithins of Islay
Lighthouse, and instantly sank. Two men and one
woman, natives of Ireland, were drowned. The
other three were saved.
THREE SEAMEN belonging to a Greenland whaler
were alleged to have been left on the ice, where
they perished, by the culpable negligence of the
captain. His name is W. Birch, late master of the
ship Germanica, and the proceeding having been
investigated by the Hull magistrates, and evidence
heard, they committed him to prison on a charge of
manslaughter.
A DARING BURGLARY was committed last week at
Lord Denman's seat, Stoney Middleton, Derbyshire,
where property and cash of the value of more than
500/. was stolen. Amongst the articles VMS the
massive gold box presented by the corporation of
London, and containing the freedom of the city, a
pair of gold candlesticks, which had been presented
to his lordship by her Majesty, and a gold box worth
1001., containing the coronation medals of George
IV., William IV., and Queen Victoria. The sup-
posed burglar has been detected since while offering
6 'me of the purloined articles in pledge, and is now
m custody. Most of the property has also been re-
covered.

THE PRESS.

FOR ILL-TREATINO. Ills WIFE AND FAMILY, and
neglecting to support them, a Manchester shoemaker
named John Egan was brought before the police-court
in that city on Thursday. The charge was laid under
the new act. Two local inspectors received informa-
tion on Wednesday night that the prisoner had
turned his wife out of doors, anti after beating his
children unmercifully had locked them in and left
them to starve. The officers broke into the house,
and found two children there in a most pitiable state ,
lying on the floor, without either bedding or cover-
ing. There was not a particle of food in the house,
and the children had tasted nothing during the day.
One of them was twelve, and the other, a girl, rive
years of age. They were taken to the workhouse,
where they were properly attended to, and shortly
afterwards the prisoner was seen rolling about the
streets in a state of intoxication, and was taken into
custody:—
A woman who lives next door to the prisoner said the latter
had subjected his family to constant ill-treatment. About three
weeks ago he was drunk and beatitm his wife, who Red into wit-
nesa's house; and on Monday evening, he was beating the eldest
child about the face.
The' prisoner's wife said her husband was able to earn from 20a.
to 235. per week, but had scarcely done any work for the last
four months. Ile would sit down and work for about two hours
occasionally, and then go away to the polthe.leittse. Ile had
Ill-
treated her very 1111101, MO gave her Ann. etas on the head the
night before the last child was NMI. Of lute he had beets in the
habit of !exiting her out of doors, and she was obliged to play a
sort of hide and seek with hint to escape his violence.
The prisoner's tlOll, whose appearance prownted a shocking
combination of emaciation and bruises, was in court. On the
Keyhole; morning his father had kicked I • in One face, from
which the loss of sight in one eye seemed inevitable. The Se-
cond child, a girl, had born placed in a basket instead of a chair
until its spine had grown shockingly deformed. The w hole
family were. 14 sad picture of neglect and misery. (hoe of the
Husband's modes of torturing his wife was to twist an instru-
ment in the long hair of her head, and drug her about the house
by it.
The prisoner pretended that he was preventod from work-
ing bocause his wife went away front home for a nertnight
at a time, and he could not get ou unless she were there to band
his shoes for him.
He was sentenced to hard labour for six calendar
months. Meantime the family will be taken care
of iu the workhouse. •
A FIRE broke out in Liverpool on Wednesday
night on the premises of Messrs. James and Robert
Leck, wood hoop-manufacturers, Leel-street, Liver-
pool, and, before it could be extinguished, destroyed
two manufactories which adjoined each other, and a
portion of a warehouse where drugs were stored.
The damage sustained has been considerable. The
premises destroyed were not insured.
A FATAL AcetnEwr occurred on the Hull and
Bridlington Railway on Monday las., by which one
person was killed, two severely hurt, and twenty or
thirty were bruised or shaken. The midday train
from Scarborough had just passed the Beverley sta-
tion, anti was travelling at 30 miles an hour, when a
shock was felt, and a third-class carriage got, off the
rails. The driver promptly slackened speed, but be-
fore the train could be stopped the carriage over-
act, and the following first-class carriage was also
pulled off the line, anti the whole train jammed in
confusion. On lifting up the overturned carriage, a
young woman named Margaret Ake was found dead,
and two other passengers severely hurt and insen-
sible. A great number more had received less serious
injuries. On examination it was found that the tire
of a wheel had come off, and thus thrown the car-
riage oil the rails. Verdict at the inquest, " Acci-
dental death."