The Express.
London, England, 1852-01-15 00:00:00

Mr. Allen, foreman of engineers at Mesas. Sea-
ward and Capers, who fitted the machinery of 'the
Amazon, and was sent out for the purpose of superintend-
ing its working, has made a statement, from which we take
the following extracts :
" I undressed for bed, but had not been there ten minutes
before I heard a voice cry ' Fire ! fire !' twice, very dis-
tinctly. I jumped out of bed, hastily dragged on my tee,.
sem, and ran up the fore companion on to the main deck,
when I saw flames issuing up the fore stoke-hole hatch-
way, as if they were coming from the engineers' store-room
on the etarboard fore boiler. I then ran alt towards the
engine-room, end saw two or three hands at Downton's
pump, and then went with others to pull down the fire-
buckets. 1 turned round to go towards the flee, when
the dews and smoke came rushing along between decks,
forcing every one to make their escape to the spar deck. I
did not see a drop of water thrown on the fire. I then saw
the second and fourth engineers clearing hay between the
hatches, and every one, passengers and crew, curbing up
through the after companion on to the quarter deck, many
of whom were in a state of nudity. When I saw the state
the ship was so, and knowing the capabilities of the pump,
I was vrtain there was no chance of sawing the vessel. 1
then, with others, flew to the nearest boat, to the paddle-
box on the starboard side. Mr. Roberts came and said,
I ' Leave the boats alone, don't lower.' I and others
however,,
demisted fee • few minute.. All Made,
however, rushed 'to the boats, Mr. Roberts calling
out for the females to be placed in them first.
Mrs. Maclennen and child were then placed in the boat,
when several others jumped in. I and the fourth engi-
neer followed with the others. Word was then given to lower
the boat. We endeavoured to du so, but could not on
account of the cranes, which we did not know were there.
We knocked away the hooks, ' housed' up, and cleared
the cranes. Word was again given to lower, and when it
was down about two feet, the atter blocks would not leave,
on account of a half hitch being in the after tackle. The
People who had hold of the after tackle lowered away, but a
sea struck her, unhooked her fore tackle, and left her
swinging perpendicularly, some falling into the sea, others
clinging on. I was towards the head of the boat, and Mrs.
Maclennen seized hold of my leg as I was trying to regain the :
deck, and said ' For God's sake don't leave me.' She held her
babe in her arms, clinging on to the thwarts. I said, ' Rang
on till we right the host.' 1 and William Stone, the fourth
engineer, regaiued the deck, and called two or three to our
assistance, but, through their excitement, could not get them
to pull together, to get the half-hitch out. I then ran over
on the larboard side to see if there was any chance of escape
from that quarter. Tho last boat was just launched into
the water with people in it. I then returned to the same
boat, when I and Stone, and some others, made a last effort
to get the boat off, the flames being close upon us. By the
assistance of William Berryman, who went down to the
water and cleared the fall, we lowered the beat into the
water. I then jumped into the gig, which a few minutes
before I had seen stove by the cranes in attempting to lower
her, and from her, I can hardly tell how, I got into the
host below followed by Stone, John Lamont, Mr. (Bennie
(pamenge4, and one or two others, when a sea tieing throw
, our boat under the gig, which was still lashed, nearly cap-
' siring us several times. I called out to cut away the rope
and let her go. It war done, and we went rapidly astern,
the ship having way upon her, notwithstanding the engines
had stopped. To our surprise we found Mrs. Maclennen
and her child lying in the bottom of the boat. The poor lady
hail nothing but her night-dress on. Finding the boat ra-
pidly tilling, and on looking for the cause, we discovered the
plugs were left out. With sonic waste, Stone and another
blocked up the holes. M regards the origin of the fire, my
firm belief is, that it broke out in the starboard fore store-
room, which contained a large quantity of tallow, oil, and
turpentine. One of the firemen told me that he was wait-
ing to go down on watch. The storekeeper and the boiler-
maker passed into the above room about three-quarters
of an hour before the Are broke out, with a lamp. The
last time I saw the captain he was on the quarter deck,
with a bucket in hie hand, almost frantic, calling on Mr.
Roberts to put out the fire; and I consider the only chance
ho had of escape was by the gig, which, when we loft, was
stove in, as before stated, but, perhaps, not to such an ex-
tent as to be quite useless."
Miss Smith, whose conduct was of the most heroic cha-
racter, and cannot be too highly commended, has also made
a statement of the particulars of the escape effected by her
and ail other persons, in the second boat picked up by the
Gertruida. By the melancholy lots of the ship, Miss Smith
has lost her all; and on the mayor paying her a visit at the
hotel where she is staying, he requested the town clerk to
hand her a alt.'s.° for ten guise., from the fund being
raised, for temporary purposes.
It has been ascertained already that there are about 20
widows and about 40 fatherless children in Southampton
who hove been rendered so by the burning of the Amazon.
Letters containing subscriptions towards the fund for the
relief of the sufferers, through the destruction of the Ama-
zon, have been received by the Mayor of Southampton,
Captain Barton, the Royal Mail Company's Southampton
superintendent, and other members of the fund committee,
from the Duchess of Gloucester, Ladies Peel and Lambert,
Lord Colville, and a great number of other persons.

The Humboldt, which sailed from Southampton yester-
day, carried out a letter, addremed by Mr. J. lt. Croskey,
the American consul at Southampton, to the Mayor of New
York, proposing that a subscription should be originated in
the United States for the benefit of the widows and orphans
of those lost on board the Amazon.

RIFLE CLUBS.