Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-12-27 00:00:00

DREADFUL SHIPWRECK IN THE

CHANNEL.

During Friday afternoon' and Saturday a most painful
sensation pervaded the shipping interest in the city, in
consequence of the receipt of a telegram from Lloyd's
agent at Calais, announcing that in the course of that
' (Friday) morning, several French fishing smacks had
thought into Calais harbour a large number of cases
of wrecked goods, with the name of " Blervie
Castle" painted upon them. It was at once sup-
posed that they had come from the ship Blervie Castle,
Captain George M'Hardy commander, belonging to
Messrs. Duncan Dunbar and Son, the eminent ship-
' owners, which cleared out of the London Docks last
week for Adelaide, and sailed from. Gravesend on the
15th. Great anxiety was of course evinced to have
further information relative to the cases, and a message
' per electric telegraph was at once forwarded to the
agent of Lloyd's at Calais, desiring, him to send im-
' mediately the numbers and character of marks upon the
cases. Yesterday morning the subjoined particulars of
the wrecked property taken into. Calais was received
from the agent :-
" CALAIS, Friday.
" The dads picked up and landed at Calaii are marked
as follows B A (in a diamond), 34 1 (in a triangle),
A beneath 10, 3 B A (in a diamond), D J T (in a dia-
mond), 123 M N (in a diamond), 359 T L (in a dia-
mond), ' 40, 35, 139, 98, 158, 133, 59. . Eleven cases
marked B 59, G B F 1,4, 8, 17, 20 F (in a:circle), 880
S A (in a diamond), 130 G. W A (in a diamond), 28,
32, S A B and G 95 (in a square), G B L, 12 13 ; AE
(in a diamond), 185 83 (in a diamond), with C M
(beneath), 251, It and SS, 58 ; G W A (in a dia-
mond), 811 outside, 528 ; B S A (in a. diamond),
127 ; G W (in a diamond), C outside, 1,020, 1,021;
a box marked ' Edward Chard ;" a desk and two
boxes without marks ; barrels marked C. S., .120, M, G.
and C., 1,622, 12, 23, 24 ; D. J..F. (in a diamond), 70 ;
D. Y. P.' (in a diamond), 54 ; F. C. 205 ; A. M. L. (in
a square), 256, 258, 366; 173, 287, 375, 207, 125, 278,
165, 288, 223, 139, 254 ; P. (in a diamond), 10,.17, 21,
29 ; eight casks without marks ; four barrels marked,
Booth, London,' M. C. and C., 69, '214 ; B. C. R. W.,
156 ; W. P. E. P:: three casks without marks, 12, 62.
.20 tin cases, a gun carriage, six bottles of wine, one
bottle of gin, and seven iron hoops. The master of one
of the boats states that these things were picked up
about 20 miles to the N. E. of Dimkirk, and that he
left a cohsiderable quantity of goods floating about, with
'the spar's and' planking of' a large Vessel. The cases'
bear, in addition to the other marks, the words Blervie
Castle?'

Lloyd's agent at D unkirk also forwarded the following :
" Dec. 23.—Seven cases have been picked up twelve
miles N.N.E. of,this port. G and C (in a diamond) C
A 88, G B A; (in a diamond), n 62, W H P (in a dia-
mond), C M 259, 1 (in a triangle) A 34, S I (in a dia-
mond),M 65, five of which bear the name Blervie Castle,
besides one without mark and one Containing a piano-
forte. The third One (No. 259) is broken and appears
to contain ready-made clothes. On the spot there was
no appearance of a vessel except that of a mast."
Immediately on the receipt of this news the brokers,
Meisrs. Grierson and Tweedale, of Prince's-street, who
had chartered the ship, compared the marks aminumbers
of the cases with the vessel's manifeit ; and it was at
at once seen that the whole of the wrecked property
formed portion of the cargo' of the Blervie Castle, and
the fact was apparent that she must have gone to pieces,
as the four barrels marked,. " Booth, London," which
had been landed at Calais, were known by the clerk to
have been stowed at the bottom of ,the hold of the ill-
fated ship.
The Blervie Castle was one of the fleet ,of Messrs.
Duncan Dunbar, of Limehonse. She, was, a very, fineship, 610 tons register, almost new, having only been
built two years ago, and was classed at Lloyd's A 1,
twelve years. She had very superior passenger accommo-
dation, and was chartered by Messrs. Grierson and
Tweedale, and laid On for Adelaide. She loaded in
the London Docks,, and about forty passengers had
taken berths in her
,to proceed to the colony. Twenty-
two joined her when she left the, river, and the
remainder intended to ,go on board at. Plymouth,
where the ship had to. put in. , She carried a crew
of thirty-four hands, ineluding the officers, and had a
valuable cargo of merchandise, with some live stock on
deck. The channel pilot took charge of her when she
sailed from Gravesend, on the 15th inst., and:proceeded
through the Downs with her, and left her off Dover on
Sunday evening, when all appeared well with her, and,
she had a fair wind for her course. down Channel. It
was expected that she would reach Plymouth about.
Tuesday,or Wednesday, but nothing more was heard of
her. Toivards the close of Tuesday the wind shifted to
the north-north-west and blew a terrific gale, with
heavy snow, the pilots who .were out describing it as an.
awful night.
It is supposed that the ship must haVe got some dis-
tance down Channel when she encountered the gale, and
whether Captain M'Hardy, who bears a high Character
for skilful seamanship, attempted to run, back.er hold
on by 'beating about, and vias driyen back by the force
of the tempest, is a matter of conjecture, It is quite
evident that the ship got back to the eastward of Dun-
geness in the more narrow portion of the Channel, where
both the English and French coasts are most prominently
lighted, and when seen, give a ship her immediate
position. It is, therefore, exceedingly, probable that
the dense now which fell during the'night entirely shut
out these beacons from view, and that Captain M'Hardy
was not aware of his situation. It is thought that
She was 'lost either on the Varne or the Ridge, two
shoals which stand in the centre of the Channel almost
in- a line with Folkestene and Cape Grinei. The Verne
extends some four or five miles in length, extremely
narrow, and has not more than a fathom and a half
upon it at row water, while all around it are sonndings
at 12 and 17'fathoins. The ridge is near to the French
coast, a long and narrow shoal, and, like the: Varne, has
deep water round it. The, general impression is that
the ship' struok upon one of these shoals, and, after
heavy beating, went to pieces ; and, sliding off, sunk in
deep water. It may be Stated that she was fitted with
'ample boats to save ill hands, but in such a. sea as pre-
vailed that night it is very doubtful whether they mild
have outlived it. .
Since the communications that have come to hand
from Calais and Dunkirk, it has been ascertained that
several luggers have .reached Rainsgate, Dover, and ,1
Folkeitone, with portions of the cargo, of the Blervie
Castle ; some of it was picked up in the course of Thurs-
day as far to the eastward as the GallOper Light off Har-
wich.
The following are the names of, the passengers who
Irmit on board in the river, arid have perished:—
'lst Class.—Mr. and Mrs. Daniel and faMily,
1,7 of four sons and one daughter--:-Henry, Arthur, Ed-
aid, William, and Elizabeth, late of Upp..r Belgrave-
,
place,. Belgrave-square ; Master Sto7:'.., ;17,.; ! 16.
"-2nd Cabin Passengers7--James 5.-oung, Catherine
Young, his wife, and their children—James; John, Isa-
bella, and Margaret ; Joseph Saunders-, James' White,
Mr. and MrS. Denham, M. and Mrs. Cameren, Thincln
M•Coll, and Edward Chard.
" List of the Crew:. ----Captain George M'Hardy, com-
nlander, London; Mr. Thomas Hosie M'Anderion, 38
years, chief . officer, London ; Mr. Alexander Fraser,
'22, second officer, London ; Mr. Edwin Walker,
23, third offiCer, London ; Charles Dainaell; 31,
briataivain, Exeter ; John Slitherland, 31, steward,
' Shetland ; Georg'e Wildradv, 21, carpenter;- Wick ;
David Finlay-son, 20, sailmaker, Dundee ; EdWin
Woialej.t, 'cook; Eieter; Janics Hatt,' 25, butctei,
Lolidon; Robert Peilate, 25, able Seaman, Londori:;
Sydlander, 25, able seaman, Sweden ; Hear! Cook, 20,