The Express.
London, England, 1851-07-29 00:00:00

WILMA OF THE OIARLOTTI.

The following are the particulars we have been enabled
to collect in regard to this nutortunate event, and which
may be relied on as perketly correct. The Charlotte left
Calcutta on the let instant, and was tossed about, as is
usual in this season of the year, in the Bay of Bengal. On
the whole her voyage was very tedious and troublesome.
About a week ago She encountered very bad weather; for
two days the sun was not seen, and in canrquence no ob-
servations were taken, and the captain was in great doubt
i about the latitude the ship was n. On Wednesday last,
the I Ith instant, a faint observation was taken, which in-
duced the captain to go about directly to the northward, as
AP found he had been provnou.ly mistaken is hi's Intitude.
This was along the Ilubsheesh country, 20 or 30 miles south
of Bombay. The weather was very thick and squally, and the
winds so boisterous that the ship was driven about very vio-
lently. until she was eventually in six fathoms, when the
captain deemed it advisable to conic to an anchor, giving
her a whole chain. The sea, however, setting in stronger
every minute, a second anchor was dropped with sixty
fathoms of chain, and after labouring greatly for two or
three hours the ship parted from both chains, and in con-
sequence of the heavy surf drove towards the shore until
six o'clock on the same evening, when she grounded half
a mile from the shore in a most perilous and confined Si-
tuation, the wind blowing at the time a perfect gale, and a
heavy swell running in to the shore. The captain and
crew remained on board all that night, and the follow-
ing morning at six o'clock the mate with twelve hands in
the ship's cutter tried to land. A heavy surf was running
at this time, and when the cutter had got
about half way between the ship and the shore,
the boat swamped, and one European apprentice
and a native Klaseee were drowned ; the mate
and the remainder of his party were providentially
enabled to reach the shore, partly by the aid of the oars
they had with them, and partly by swimming, but their
paation is represented as having been most perilous, and
that they were all nearly drowned. Immediately after
reaching the land at Jinjoora the mate procured writing
materials, such as were to be had in the village, and wrote
the letter which we noticed on Monday, reporting the loss
of the vessel, and applying for assistance from Bombay.
The letter was entrusted to two of the villagers, who were
promised 20 rupees as a reward if they delivered it safely,
which they did, and on a representation being made to go-
vernment on the subject, instructions were issued to the
agent at Angria's Colaba to render every assistance in his
power to the captain and crew of the Charlotte.
At noon that day, with the rising tide, the masts went
overboard, and the ship parted amidships. Five minutes
previously the captain and remainder of the crew left
her, as they taw she could not hold together long: they
proceeded ashore on a small raft which they had constructed
formed with two royal yards and broken spars, and in this
frail vessel they eventually got safely on shore, but greatly
exhausted, and nearly overcome from the force of the ele-
ments. The ship soon went to pieces ; the shore for miles
was strewed with fragments of the vessel, and the cargo, which
consisted chiefly of rice and gunny bags, valued at 60,000
rupees, the vessel also being worth a similar sum—both the
cargo and vessel were insured, but not to their full value.
The captain and mate, with the crew, principally natives,
then proceeded by foot along the coast until they reached
Angria's Colaba, where they were hospitably treated by the
agent, Mr. Jones, and sent over to Bombay, where they
arrived late on Monday night, without having been able to
save the least particle of property belonging to them ; ths
captain's loss is particularly.heavy, as he was part owner of
the vessel and cargo,
The Governor of Bombay reached Poona from the
hills on the 12th instant, the commander-in-chief
having preceded him by four days. The latter held
a levee on Monday last. There have been several
deaths of late in the Bombay army—Colonel Ogilvie,
advocate-general, died at Poona on the 1 ith. Captain
Wollcv, 14th N. 1., at Madras on the sth ; Major
Townsend at Kurraehee • Assistant-Surgeon A.
Harris in the Persian Gulf, on the 2nd ; and Lieut.
Donne, Engineers, in Poona. It is said that Major
E. Walter, 3rd Bombay Cavalry, has been purchased
out by the officers of his corps for 4,7001. Sir E.
Perry has been elected President of the Asiatic
Society in the room of Mr. Willoughby, gone home.
Major P. S. Kinner will succeed the late Colonel,
' Ogilvie as Advocate-General. Colonel Roberta will,
it 111 believed, be appointed to the command at Shola-
: pore, Colonel Cumming having left on sick leave ; in
this case Colonel Shoat, now commanding the sill
N.l at the presidency, will proceed to relieve
Roberts, to Sattara—the command of this corps tall-
tug to Major Hawkins. Captain Thornbury, secre-
tary military board, has obtained leave to the Neil-
gherries, anil intends retiring from the service—his
brother officers being about to purchase him out.
The Feroze steamer has gone to the Laceadives
' with provisions for the inhabitants, who are said to
be starving. The Liverpool brig Mary, on her way
to China, had to put in to Cochin, having lost three
officers and several of her crew after leaving Bom-
bay. There she has to remain till she can obtain
others from Bombay. Mr. E. Roberts, conservator
of forests at Surat, died there on the 3rd inst. Dr.
ICahill is about to be purchased out of the service.
A new masonic lodge has been built and consecrated
1 at Belgaum.
There is a rumour abroad that Dost Mahomed, of
Cabuol, is dead, but it wants confirmation. Lord
ilalhousie has published a complete refutation of Sir
C. .Napier's version of the Arratoon story. The
Cotumander-in-Chief of India has directed that no

pour `g ensigns or cornets shall in future be allowed
to exctango corps more than once, and then only on