The Express.
London, England, 1850-02-21 00:00:00

BURNING OF THE SHIP "DARTMOUTH."

The Bombay Time Op: "We glee the following
particulars of the destructions by fire of the ship Dartmouth,
just as she was ready to save port with a valuable cargo for
England—the work, as there is every reason to believe, of
incendiaries. This is now the ninth ship belonging to Beim-
bay that has been wilfully destroyed by are within these
eight yam, via., the Vansittart, Cornwallis, Adelaide,
Eleanor, Belvidere, Thomas Grenville, Futtay
Lowjee Family, end Dartmouth. Of these, the Belvidere
was burnt at Singapore, the Eleanor at Aleppee ; the ether
seven were destroyed in our harbour. The lass of property
in all thus destroyed was considerably upwards of a quarter
of a million sterling, or twenty-five lass of rupees. Yet with
this frightful amount of mischief continually being perpe-
trated, we take no steps to protect ourselves against deoger
or to affright the incendiary from his detestable pursuits.
The Ohaut Syraer combine—the savage miscreants who
execute their diabolical purposes concert measures with each
other and keep their own counsel; the law member of
council draws his ten thousand pounds year —the shipowners
sacrifice their twenties and thirties of thousands, and each
look at the others is stupid and apathetic wonderment, and
submit in stolid apathy to be victimized !
The Dartmouth was of the berth= of 733 tons, owned by
Kr. John Pennington, of Liverpool, and commanded by
Capt. W. H. Lawton, well known here as having formerly
commanded the ship Mount Stewart Elphinstone, was load.
log for London, for which port she was to have sailed about
the 15th inst., with the invalids of her Majesty's and the Hon.
Company's services. Her meets in Bombay are Messrs.
Leckie and Co. Up to 11 o'clock on Sunday night no
suspicion of the impending danger existed, and shortly after
that hour the captain, who had been walking the deck till
then, retired to rest in his own cabin. About twelve o'clock
the ooed mate was aroused from his sleep by the stifling
fumes of somethiog burning, which he discovered to proceed
from the after part of the ship, and, on raising the hatch,
found the ship was on fire. He instantly gave the alarm by
causing the fire bell to be rung, which was answered by the
other vessels in his neighbourhood, and shortly afterwards
the Hastings., commodore's flag ship, tired a gun. By this
time the alarm became general, and boats' crews were de-
spatched to the burning weed as speedily as possible. The
first t 3 render assistance was Captain Kingeombe, and a
portion of the crew of the H. Co.'s steamer Berenice, accom-
panied by Captain St. Amour, of the B. S. N. Co.'s steamer
Victoria, who did all they c mid, aided by a ship's engine
from the former vessel, to keep down the flames ; and atlone
time they so fir succeeded as to have checked the progress
of the fire ; but there being only one engine at first
available, their efforts proved ineffectual, and the con-
flagration rapidly gained head. Tim crew of the M-
isted vessel responded nobly to the calls of their captain
and officers, as is the wont of British seamen in any and
every danger or emergency that may overtake them in the
path of duty ; and an eye-witness describes their conduct
throughout the trying scenes of the nest few hours as highly
praiseworthy and characteristic of these brave fellows. There
was no contusion whatever, and orders were obeyed as cheer-
fully and deliberately as if the men were performing mere
harbour duty. Finding that it was impossible to gain upon
the fire, the captain determined, as he was berthed clue in
amongst the other shipping, to run the vessel ashore ; but at
the time it broke out a dead calm prevailed, and he had to
wait for two hours for the setting in of the land breeze, afew
puffs of which came off about 2 cm. la the mean time all
the hatches were battened down, except where it was neces-
sary to leave an opening to admit of the water being con-
veyed through the hose-pipes of the Berenice's and Medusa's
engines—an engine from the latter vessel had been sent on
board about an hour after that from the Berenice—as well
as by buckets. The latter vessel and the Medusa got their
steam up, but were too bee in doing so to render
any 'sentence. Parties of men from the steamers
Auckland and Sesestris ; from the Hastings, and the mer-
chant vessels Owen Olendower, Amide, and John Bull, were
employed in pouring down water into the atter parts of the
ship but to no purpose, and by the time the breeze was
strong enough to get weigh on the vowel the whole of the
cabins and after part of the lower deck were a burning mass,
Before this the Master• Attendant's Department arrived on
board, )headed by N. W. Oliver, Bcq., aided by Captain
Ethers)-, 1.N., Messrs. Atkinson and Lauchlan, and the
whole of the pilot establishment residing in the fort. With
their approval the burning ship was run ashore quite close to
the Apollo Bender, Weide the spot where the wreck of the
Adelaide is lying. and within 16 or 20 yards of where the
Louie* Family, since broken up, was list year towed under
similar disastrous circumstances. The Dartmouth touched
the ground about 3 o'clock A.M., and very shortly afterwards
became fixed in the position which her wreck now oc.
copies. The vessel was then scuttled, and about
half-put 4 o'clock am. the flames suddenly found vent
in consequence, and burst though the upper deck, reaching
to the mast heads, and enveloping the whole fabric in a sheet
of fire, which formed a very greed, and at the same
time most awful spectacle. The course of destruction was
now extremely rapid, and by ten o'clock a.m. there was
nothing left of this once noble vessel but a shapeless mass
of blackened and chared timbers, vomiting forth smoke and
flame in immense volumes. At five a.m. the mu' en mast
went by the board; the maintop mast at tie • and at seven
the fore-topmast fell over the bows. The main and the fore,
masts fell between eight and nine, sad shortly after noon
the bowsprit and head separated from the fore part of the
vessel and fell into the sea, thus transforming the once beau-
tiful hull into a shap.less hulk. The greatest praise is due
to every person who went to the assistance of the vessel in
her distressed condition, and none more perhaps than to
Mr. Clare, the chief mate of the John Bull, who is
spoken of by all who witnessed the catastrophe as having
exerted himself to an extraordinary degree on this occa-
sion. The captain and officers of the ship have lost
everything they possessed. The crew have been
more fortunate, however, as, from the circumstance
of :their being berthed in the fore part of the ves-
sel, they had ample time to save a good deal, If not the
whole, of their property, whereas the cabins of the officers
were destroyed by the devouring element immediately after
the fire broke out. The value of the block of the vessel,
which is insured in England, is estimated at about
7,0001., or 70,000 rupees. The cargo was composed of got-
ten, gums, ivory, coffee, and cocoanut oil (19 casks), aspen
woad, &o. &c. The cotton' alone, of which there were about
1,270 bales shipped by Messrs. W. Nicol and Co., is valued
at between 70,000 and 80,000 rupees, and the remainder of
the cargo at 47,000 rupees, or 127,000 rupees for the
whole. The total loss of the vessel and cargo toge-
ther may therefore be roughly estimated at about
1,97,00) rupees, or nearly 20,0001. The cargo was all
Insured with different insurance companies here.
The wreck is now burnt down to the water's edge, with ex-
'option of about twelve or thirteen feet of the stern, which
111 Ira yet burnt through. Many boats are along side, the
crews of which are bailing water on to the fiery mar, with
what object is not very clear, as it is quite evident that the
devastating element cannot now be subdued until nothing is
left of the cargo for it to feed upon. As many of the crews
as chose to go there, have been provided for in that admire-
able institution for seamen, the &ikon' Home • and the
officers of the 111-fated vassal have all been. hospitably re-
ceived by their brethren of the merchant service now in port.
—gazette, Jan. 8.

NEW YORK, Fes. 6.
Of public affairs at Waabiogton continue to be
melt amfased. There sppe to be a detemainatbra on
the part et a large aotar of the southern members of
=4to delay defidifm meths a matters,
11111ismill• al gamy s hag and motives
thi quieten In elm shop or other be their In
of the meonalma Hie teemeny department Reda itself, for mat
the 11•11_ iffinfloqtme bg law, unable to meet the
=slli ...OM OMBION• ths revenue, compelled to
iuto enponemare Tags uneepeetedly, and, as there is
not of alteraatiztdiseitarge item employment a large num-
he In this city 172 moons have been
dismissed by the collector of the port, and orders have
been Lased to lay up all the revenue cutters,
tone_dinbirge ihtlr crews. It happens nevertheless
UlotelVaesse business gate an as well hue
as
andll In the dismissed dick& were still at work ;
if„enionfmnos shall teach that their envies. are unneoas-
uri, w. .a. there will be no change from the present mho
don. The hours of business at the Cutemkouee ham
It:Marto been between 10 o'clock to the morning sad three is
the afternoon, Now they •re Weeded from 9 am. to 4
and this earn labour is supposed to be equivalent to
the duties to he performed by them that remain.
We have had acme strange manors from Washington
within a few days past, which are sot, however, generally
cement as yet. Ifthey were, the would attract muck at-
tention. It is nmildently assn by some persons whops*.
Mad to have direst Information on the 'abject, that Mr.
Clayton, our Beentary of Mate, and your minister, Sir
Hoary Balmy, are arranging the affairs of the two countries,
so far as they are connected, by • grand scheme of recipread
sa make.
!". -

--fib said that the Canada are to be permitted to annex
themselves to the United States, and that, in consideration
thereof. we are to allow Ragland to tabs possession of Cuba
by way of payment of the Spanish debt. he United States
are to be allowed to hold Tigre Island, in the Bay of
Fowles. In the face of all this, however, we have the
despatch of Earl Grey to Lord Elgin, dated London, Jan. 9,
which shows that it is the determination of the British
government to put down the annesationists with a strong
hand.

The effect of this dispatch, It is not yet time to appreciate.
It may be, that it will at ones put down everything like
annexation, or it may drive the ultra annexationist& to such
desperation as to induce them to take up arms. Of one
thing you may be sure, that our government will not suffer
our peaceful relations with yours to be disturbed by any die.
play of sympathy upon oar frontiers. I have bairn said,
there exists an entire indifference to the fate of the Canadas
on our part, except, perhaps, in the south, where tht re
would be foucd a sturdy opposition to their coming into the
Union. The south does not desire to add any more free
states to the Union.

Our local intelligence is more than usually interesting.
You remember I alluded to the supposed appearance of
spirits in the western part of this state, who had established
• method of conversation with the living, through the
agency of some females, whose citations to the vasty deep of
another world appeared to be answered by their immediate
coming. The subject began to assume an important cha-
racter. Many people certified that they had been present
when the unearthly sounds were heard, and apparently
without any human intervention, and when, by the use of
the key of the established knock-alphabet, answers were
tTell to many interesting questions. A certain class of
wedenborgians, as well as of infidels, began to declare that
a new revelation was at hand from the other world, more
important than any we have yet had; and in order to
verify this opinion the questions addressed to the spirits
were of such • character as to lead to the formation of
• theory of the other world, not exactly such as Christians
have been in the habit of entertaining. Several laboured sad
ingenious essays in favour of the spirits made their appear-
ance in the tribune of this city. Even the London Spectator
devoted an editorial column to the subject, and asked for
further information as to these " Rappists." I am now
prepared to give it. A few days since some intelligent
gentlemen of Rochester were determiaed to investigate for
themselves. The young women alluded to were accordingly
invited to renew their intercourse with the dead. They
were planed on a table, and while there, their ankles were
tied together, and • strong ligature was passed over their
clothes around " the upper part of their legs." A gentle-
man also firmly held their feet together. The spirits
were then invoked in the usual way, but ne
knockings were heard in reply. Indeed since the
investigation has taken place, no more have been
heard at all, and at a public meeting of citizens the com-
mittee of investigation has declared the whole thing to be an
imposture, expressing also the belief that if ajury of matrons
could have been impannelled to make a more thorough exa-
mination, they would have found attached to the limbs of
these women something in the shape of bones or castanets,
from which these unnatural noises proceeded. The bubble
has burst, and the new light philoeophers have received a
disgraceful overthrow. It is certainly a curious circum-
stance, that such follies should find dupes in so enlightened
an age as this, and in such a country as ours. I Lave
observed, however, that such men as Oreely and Davis,
who may be ct.nsidend the head of the school, are men
without regular and systematic education—totally ignorant
of natural or exact science. They have talent, but no sound
knowledge ; they have, therefore, no standard by wbicb to
test reported facts. These are the sort of men who
believe in the discovery of perpetual motion, and the
possible and entire renovation of human affairs, while the
passible, habits, and evil propensities of men are unchanged
Their great field of research te in the unknown and untried ;
mental philosophy is their passion, ;and the lowest senses
their chief agents of reform.
Some interesting facts have been made known officially to
Congress in relation to the Willie of the United States.
During the past year there hays been struck at Philadelphia
9,519,513 pieces of gold ono silver, of which upwards of seven
millions were in gold. There are alsothree other mints, at
New Orleans, at Charlotte, and at Dahlonega. The whole
value of the coinage for the year was 11,164,696 dole., of
which upwards of six millions were from California gold.
A singular spectacle was presented to the eye of the public
in this city last week. Three large steamers were launched
at once (rum a single dockyard. One of more than 3.000
tons burthen, belongs to the New York and Liverpool line,
another of somewhat less dimensions, is intended for the
coast trade, and a third is designed for the navigation of the
Bay of San Francisco and the Sacramento River. The
latter left the ways tally equipped for sea, her engine was on
board, her steam was up, and as soon as she was fairly afloat
she piddled off at a very high velocity, recognising her
" native element," as some have it, with the apparent
instinct of a seagull. Not the smallest derangement
of the machinery was observed, and she was
even then ready for her departure. She sails
in a few days for the Pacific. I belive this is the first at-
tempt of the kind ever made, and it was perfectly successful.
Our ship yards, like those of England, show an increased
activity. Steamers of every size, and packet-ships of enor-
mous burthen, are being everywhere built. There seems to
be a wondrous impetus given to our commerce, and it will
not be long baron we shall have large fleets of merchantmen
in the Northern Pacific seeking new outlets for our pro-
ducts. There are hundreds of islands in that ocean we have
never yet visited for the purposes of trade that will soon re-
cognise our flag. The discovery of the mineral wealth of
ICZifornia has already led to an astonishing in-
crease in our manufactures of a certain description. Pre-
pared food, blankets, woollen cloths, boots, hats, and shoes,
gold and silver ware, paper, iron safes or boxes to hold papers
and money, scales for weighing-gold, hammers, nails and
axes are sent out in large quantities. A new market is also
found there for our flour, beef and pork, dried apples and
peaches ; cider and ale are also sent off by the ship load.
Ihe emigration thence continues to be large, and supplies
will be wanted for years to come to an almost unlimited
extent. The discovery of gold in the quartz rock has given
a new impetus to the existing impulses, and we look for the
arrival of our richly laden steamers from Chagas with an
interest that throws our European connexions into the
shade.

AMERIC US.