The Express.
London, England, 1866-01-18 00:00:00

THE EXPRESS, THURSDAY EVENING, JANUARY 18, 1866.

lien fleet. The London left Gravesend on the
30th of December, and met with such severe
weather in the Channel that 'he was obliged to
put into St. Helen's Roads for shelter. From St.
Helen's Roads to Plymouth she had steamed
down Channel against a whole gale of wind and
a heavy rolling sea ; and the pilot boat which
put off to take her into the Sound was capsized
land the pilot drowned. At Plymouth she arrived
on the 4th inst., and embarked an unusually
large number of passengers. At midnight,
on Friday, the sth, she left Plymouth for her
destination, with calm weather, and a light wind
ahead. All the next day she was under full steam,
11 and making steady way. On Sunday morning
Ithe wind increased and a heavy head sea got up,
and on Monday morning, it blowing a whole gale,
Captain MARTIN stopped his engines and made
the ship snug under reefed topsails, just to keep
her on her course. The gale lulling a little at
noon, the engines were again set going; next
morning the force of the wind carried away the
jibboom, foretopmast, foretopgallant mast, and
royal mast, and these spars could not be secured.
Two hours later the main royal mast was blown
clean out of the socket. Still Captain
MARTIN endeavoured to keep his ship
slowly steaming ahead. About 3 p.m. on the
Tuesday a tremendous sea carried away the port
lifeboat ; all that evening and night the sea was
running mountains high ; but the screw was still
kept moving. It was not till 4 a.m. on Wednes-
day, the 10th inst., that Captain MARTIN resolved
to put hack to Plymouth, the London being then
some 200 miles south-west of Land's End. But
it seems to have been already too late. At
half-past 10 on Wednesday night a tremen-
dous sea swept the ship, broke into the
engine-room and put out the fires. This
was the night on which the thirty vessels
were wrecked, at once, in Torbay. All
the passengers of the London worked at the
pumps, while the gale became a hurricane, and
the ship was losing all control. At length, at 10
a.m. on Thursday, Captain MARTIN called his
passengers together, and told them that they must
prepare for the worst. The ship had already sunk
as low as her main chains. One boat was lowered
and instantly swamped, but the five men in her
were dragged on board the ship. No attempt was
made to launch the other boats, but the
passengers gathered into the chief cabin, and having
been calmly assured by Captain MARTIN that there
was no hope left, they quietly joined with a
clergyman in prayer. There was no wild and
selfish terror, no screaming, no rushing to the
boats ; there was the agony of sudden partings, end
of everlasting separations of parent and child, and
husband and wife ; but with the example of Cap-
tain MARTIN. before them, all these dying men and
women were composed, and all resigned, while the
children wondered and asked why their fathers
and mothers looked so sad. Captain MARTIN
remained at his station on the poop, once
or twice only going forward, and once or twice into
the saloon to join in the devotions of the passen-
gers. At two p.m. the few men who were destined
to survive to bring the sad story home—sixteen
of the crew and three of the passengers—deter-
mined to trust themselves to the chances of the sea,
lowered away the pinnace, and launched her clear
of the ship. These men called to the Captain to
come with them, but this brave and stedfsat English
seaman declined, saying, "No, I will go down I”ith
" the passengers; but I wish you God speed, and safe
" to laud." The boat then pulled away, and five
minutes after the London, with 270 souls on hoard,
went down, and all was over. It seems that after
the pinnace came away an ineffectual attempt
was made to get the other boats out, but it wrs
too late.

All the circumstances of this terrible calamity
will, of course, prove the subject of a careful and
anxious inquiry by the Board of Trade. The first
question that will occur to landsmen will probably
be—Ought Captain MARTIN to have put back sooner
than he did ? This, indeed, is one of those
very proper and sensible questions which it is easy
to answer in one way only after the event. What-
ever may be the verdict of the Court of Inqui j,
those who knew Captain MARTIN best can
desire no other epitaph for such a seaman than
his last words to the crew of the pinnace--"N“,
" I trill go down with the passoujer3 ; but I wish
" you God speed, and safe to land."

OUR CONTEMPORARIFS.
(THIS DAY.)

of steteegroship; or rendered say appreciable service to
the country, is thus to be placed over the heads of many
men of preyed adminiagrative capacity, and who have la.
boured lee( and zealously in office for the public good—not
only is a great injustise done to them, but by thus discou-
raging men who have by hard libou• od devotion to their
official duties earned any promotion that might be open—
an incalculable injury is done to the public.
The Tile,yrapli regrets to hear that Mr. Layard has re-
signed his place in the government sa Under-Secretary of
State for Foreign Aire;re. Lord Russell, we believe, ex-
pressed his reluctance to accept the tendered resignation,
and it was proposed to make the honourable gentlem►n a
member of the Privy Council ; bat the proffered distinction
was declined. Mr. Layard retsina office until his successor
shall be appointed.
The Sfar praises the Scotch reformer.; at Dundee and
Edinburgh for the good Sense they have shown in sinking
the differences between the various sections of the reform
party, and uniting to support the bill which Lord Russell is
expected to propose. His lordship can only fail to obtain a
majority by the existence of unwise dissersiors.

bat only to spread the burden over a series of years, the
Telegraph sees no reason why government should not grant
them • loan.
The Star remarks that dramatic critics must be careful
in future how they deal with actors who may mot in their
opinion be letter-perfect in the parts they have to play.
The critic of au evening palm, writing about Mr.
Emery's performanos in • piece called the Watch
Cry said that the words of the pert were
spoken by the prompter. Mr. Emery thought this
• libel upon him, and brought an action against the
publisher of the paper for damages. The action was
tried ; and for the defence, Mr. l'algrave Simpson, the
adapter of the piece, mid he did not recognise what he had
written in the words uttered by Mr. Emery. He added
further that Mr. Feohter himself did not know his part.
The jury found for the plaintiff, with five gu'neas damages.

Ebe Court.

OSBORNE. JAN. 17.

Prince Christian of Sleswig-Holstein arrived yes-
terday evening from Dover, and dined with her Majesty and
the Royal Family.
The Prince is attended by the Coant de Rantran.
Colonel the Hon. A. Harding. also attended his Serene
Highness from Dover.

A Committee of the Lords of the Privy Council for the
Affairs of Jersey sat yesterday at the Council Chamber,
Whitehall. The Lords present were the Lord President,
the Lord Chancellor, Lord Chelmsford, the Right Hon. Sir
George Grey, and the Right Hon. H. A. Bruce.
A deputation from Aklershott, consisting of Mr. H. Allen
(Chairman), Dr. Barker, Mr. White, sen., Mr. Churchyard,
Mr. Harmer, Mr. Wooloott, Mr. Sears, Mr. Wilson, Mr.
Walbrook, and Mr. Osborn, had an interview with Earl
de Grey, at the War-office, yesterday, in reference to the new
canteen system. The deputation was introduced by Mr.
Beach, M.P., and Mr. Sclater-Booth, M.P.
Despatches were received yesterday at the Colonial-office
from the Governor of Malts.

Her Majesty the Queen, their Royal Highnesses
the Prince and Princess of Wales, and their Royal Highnesses
the Duchess of Cambridge and the Princess vary of Cam-
bridge have consented to patronise the grand concert to take
place at St. James's-hall on the 13th February next, in aid
of the funds of University College Hospital. On this occa.
lion Gounod's new sacred drama " Tobias " will be per-
formed, for the first time in any country, under the direc-
tion of Mr. Benedict and the members of his choral society-
Summonses have been issued for a Cabinet
Council for to-morrow afternoon, at 2 o'clock, at Earl
Russell's official residence, in Downing-street.

His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge will
return to town to-morrow from visiting General Hall at his
seat near Newmarket.

The Marquis and Marchioness of Exeter wall
entertain a succession of distioeshed v;sitors at Burghley
House, Northamptonshire, during next week.
The Earl of Lonedale will come to town the week
after next from the Isle of Wight. The noble earl is greatly
improved in herith.

We (Post) understand that the christening of the
infant daughter of the Right Hon. Sir Robert end Lady
Emily Peel w;'l take place next week.
A meeting of gentlemen connected with the
mercantile marine was held at the London Tavern yester-
day. M•. Crawford, M.P., presided. A good des' of die-
satisfaction has been created, it seems, by the recent act of
the Board of Trade in setting aside the finding of the court
of inquiry into the loss of the Duncan Dunbar. Resolutions
were passed at the meeting yesterday coademnatmf of this
action of the board, and 'a favour of substituting a jury of
nautical men for the two assessors who now assist the
magistrates in these inquiries. Mr. Torrens, M.P., and
Mr. Ayrton, M.P., were present and tc ik part in the pro-
ceedings.

The two young officers of the Ist battalion 22nd
Regiment, Lieutenant Swinney and Adjutant Hammersley,
who were sentenced to three months' Imprisonment at
Malta, on the 11th of December, for assaulting the police,
have beau liberated by the a ;ling governor, General Rid-
ley ; a petition eijaed by the inhabitants of three cities,
and soliciting the pa don of the two offi‘wre, lt•viig been
presented to him 1-. at week.

Brigadier-General Nelson, respecting whose
movements there has been considerable specul►tion during
the Jut few weeks, aged for Jamaica yesterday in the La
Plat .

WRECKS ON THE COASTS OP THE UNITED
KINGDOM.

This morning an abstract was published of the
retr-ne made to the Lords Committee of the Privy Council
for Trade, of wrecks and casualties on and near the coasts
of the United Kingdom in the year 1864. The number of
wrecks and casualties from all causes on the masts of the
United Kingdom and in the surrounding seas reported in
1864 is 1,390. The number reported in 1863 was 1,664.
The annual average number of casualties during the five
years ended 1858 was 1,118 ; and during the five years
ended 1863, 1,488. The corrected annual average of the
ten years from 1855 to 1864 inclusive is 1,343. The num-
ber reported in :864 is therefore below the ►verage of the
preceding five years, but above the corrected average of the
last ten years. The general average number of casu►ities
reported will probably increase from year to year, owing
to the increase in the number of ships frequenting our
casts and adjoining etas, whilst the particular
number for guy one year will be increased or
diminished accoreieg to the prevalence or absence
of gales of remarkable violence and duration.
The number of ships lost or damaged in the 1,390 casual-
ties reported in 1864 is 1,741, representing • tonnage of
upwards of 350,000 tons. The number of ships reported is
in excess of the number of casuplties reported, because in
cases of collision two or more whips are involved in one
casualty. Of these 1,741 aim, 1,434 are known to have
been ships belonging to Great Britain and its dependencies,
with British certificates of registry, and 246 to have been
foreign ships. Of the remaining GI ships the country and
employment are unknown. Of the British ships ISO were
employed in British ..suiting trade, and 454 were employ ed in
the (over sea) foreign and home trade ; and of the foreign
ships 13 were employed in the British coasting trade. Of the
total number of casualties (1,390) reported in 1864, 351
were collisions, and 1,039 were east/shim other than col-
lision.. Of these 1,039 casualties, 386 resulted in total
losses, and 653 in partial damage more or less serious. It
is specially worthy of remark that the whole number of
casualties other than collisions reported, in 1864, is less
than the number reported in any year since 1858. The
annual average for nine years is for total losses 440, and for
partial losses 605, es against this the numbers for 1864 are
for total losses 38G, and for partial losses 653. Of the 386
total loom from causes other than collision, 163 only were
caused by stress of weather, 89 were caused by inattention,
carelessness, or neglect, 39 arose from defects in the ship or
in her equipments (and of the 39, no lass than 25 appear to
have foundered from unseaworthiness), and the remainder
from various other causes. Of the 653 partial losses other
than collision, 29'J were caused by stream of weather, 148
arose from carelessness, 53 from defects in the ship or her
equipments, and the remainder frem various causes. The
total number of ships reported to have foundered or to
have been lost on our coasts from unseaworthinees in nine
years is 385 ; and the number of casualties caused through
unseaworthy ships, cnsound gear, Ice., and resulting in
partial damage in the same time is 538. In the six years
ended 1864 casu►lties to comparatively new ships bear a
very high proportion to the whole number of casualties.
757 casualties happened to newly new ships, and
1,441 to ships from three ti seven years of age.
The state of ratennees and want of repair of some of the
ships above 20 years often calls for remark. Even at the
age of 25 to 30 it sometimes happens that a ship is so rotten
as to fall to pieces immediately on touching the ground,
without giving the crew the slightest chance of getting
out their boats. In one case, an old ship, • foreigner,
which went to pieces as soon as abe touched the ground, it
was found that her seams had been payed with clay and
red ochre to keep the water out. The number lost from
shipwreck on or near the coasts of the United Kingdom in
1864 is less than the number lost in any year since 1855.
The number of lives lost on the coasts of the Irish Sea
daring the six years is more than double the number lost
on any other part of the coasts, although during the past
year (1864) the number on the east coast of England is
very slightly in excess of the number lost on the coasts of
the Irish Channel. 720 casualties happened when the force
of the wind did not exceed a strong breeze, in which the
ship could carry single reefs and top gallant calla, sad 514
only happened with the wind from a strong gas to a
hurricane.

LATEST INTELLIGENCE.

(lIIMITER'S TELEGRAMS.)
THE MILITARY REVOLT IN SPAIN.
MADRID, JAN. 17, EVENING.

. .
Official intelligence received here announces that
yesterday the insurgents, under General Prim, left
llava, and arrived at Zalamca, a small village on
the frontiers of Portugal. The royal troops were
taking many prisoners notwithstanding the forced
marches made by the insurgents.