The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1825-11-12 00:00:00

VIE GOODWIN SANDS.

It wits not be amiss to give our readers some account of
the Goodwin Sands, which have again excited such fatal
interest, and which have so often caused the deitraction of
our ships and their ill-fated crews. The Goodwin Sands
are verr retnarable banks, situated between the North and
Smth Forelands, opposite 1)eal and Ramsgate, and about
seven or eight miles from the coast. The length of the
wad is about ten miles, and the breadth nearly two,
and consists of a more soft, fluid, porous, spongious,
hut witball tenacious matter, than the neighbouring
lands, and consequently of such a quality, that when
a ship strikes upon it there is little chance of her get-
ting off, the nature of the sand being such as to swal-
low the vessel up, sometimes in a few hours ; while
the *surf which breaks upon them renders all at-
tempts to approach the ill-fated vessel impossible. We
here often, when some miles inland, seen the wares break-
ing over the sands with fearful violence, and plainly dis-
cernible, although at a distance of ten or twelve miles.
This will enable our readers to form some idea of the
tremendous waves which, with a west wind, the worst that
can blow at that spot, hurried the Ogle Castle to destruc-
nos, and her despairing crew to a melancholy death, when
almost within sight of their destined pert. When the
rated er th, se sands, they become exceedingly hard anti
fins, so that people may land, and stay for hours upon,
them in summer ;.ituleesfirielactAratches have been played
nivethein, but woe to. those who do not quit ai tile pro-
' per Eminent, for in a ',try short time they become a quick-
and, and float to and fro with the waves, and when they
settle as before. When rite Trinity house, some
yeas since, formed a design to erect a light-house upon
the,, th. engineers employed penetrated to a great depth
with their boring augurs, hat they could reach no solid
hotter;, as the spongy material's roach to such a depth u
to ?mkt the design utterly impracticable, and a Costing
Felt was in consequence established. On the 26th Nov.
i7n, a most dreadful storm arose from the W.S.W. and
new for many hours with great violence, during which
till= men of war drove.fmun their anchorage in the
Darns, ran npon the fatal Goodwins, and sage totally
lest, with nearly ail their crews, only seventy-one being
wed. Coneenunft the ckigin of these sands there ore various
07iiif7its, but the common received story of their hiving
ctce been die estate of Godwyne, Earl of Kent, the father
eif Harold, who fell at Hastings, is now exploded, as well
at their having once bent an island called Lomea, and to
kave Men drooled by the sea In the year 1091 the most
;Inhabit opinion of our best antiquaries being, that instead
of these sands being occasioned by en intnidation of the
sea, they were canted by the sea's leaving them at the time
of that terrible inundation in the reign of King William
?cfueor Henry the First's reign, which drowned so large
prt of Flanders and the Lew Countries. This desertion
pa in ;he*, parts might have been further increased
ev followim; innndations in other places, especially upon
the parts of which anciently c insisted of fifteen
Wands, emit of which were swallonTtl up in
,henry the
Seemtl't tune. Such are the Goodwin', which no vessel
ought to paws withowt, a pilot: and had the Ogle Castle
taken the Dover on. who offered his Orrice, off Hythe the
pesioem night, pcsbnp, th. catastroOte might never bare
happened, the vessel might have beau in the Thames, and
unfortunate crew in health and spirits among those
friends who have se long be txpecttng their return.—
rem Herold.

Captain M'lntosb. of she lnpia, of this port, when at
die whale fishery this season,- landed on the east coast of
Davies Straits near Wilcox Point. lat. 74. 10. N. long.
37.15. W. that be 'nicht get to some high point of land,
ham width to stew mehme Bay, in order to discover if
tins was soy passage through the tee to the northward.
Afor he was attracted by the appearance of one
of the huts of the Esquimau x and on entering it found,
elth hater Sod virprise, the bdahw of 22 of the natives,
who arpraied to hare perished in the course of the winter.
nine of them being in a state of putridity. They had
their tishirg and hunting apparatus rear them and among
tk t=act WM': three ride fowling pieces, winch were of
cur brought away.-11w11 Packet.
Cols Revenes.—At Scnlcoatts Hall, on Tuesday last,
ttforrostiiin came on to be heard against Mr. John Bax-
ter. for makiog a false return as to the price of 479 qrs. of
`14!7. Mr. Charles Frost appeared to support the infer-
tlit,on. and Mr. Bower, of Beverley, with Mr. Anderson,
°f Iron, for the defendant. Previously to entering upon
Ilk eiligure. the Magistrates, after adverting to the nu
exe:pt'utis takes) against the former information at
11"rricy, intiiiiated their wish, that if there were any to be
aPtiost the present form. they should be urged at
3.47 e 01 the proceedings. The attorneys fur the de-
• e then made several ingenious objections, the chief of
P"• 01 was, tit it their client was not the party charged in
nbich purported to be against John Baa-
whereas he resided in Drypool. Before,
...,;istratis came to any decuion on these 1
me obs,. rved, that the present information
as it ••::r: not laid within the proper time. The
--rill's`, by the act was three months, which, ac.
mg to mum rout cases, meant three lunar months, or
4= wet ks• The offence was alleged to have been com-
a' ii on the Nth of July, but the information was not
ILI th of October, which would be a few days
I t!!• time. This objection mime being considered
tun was dismissed.—Toni (Ara*.

the :femme

•-"Luß.Gati
j`t,‘r, tbMl

'"eft fail, as it
Ms:se. pr, .

111.!‘c wet

FIRE AND HURRICANE AT MIRAMICHI,
NM? BRUNSWICK.

Yesterday, a public meeting was held at the London Tavern. for
the purpooe of taking into consideration the heormesna of affording
relief to the sufferers by the late calamitous tire at Illiramichi, New
Brunswick.
At half-past one o'clock, JOHN BAIXIIRMGE, Esq. took the
Chair. He stated that, as arzent to several !errors in New Bruns-
wick. he had been requested to call upon the public to give some
relief to the many sufferers by the melancholy occurrence to which
he alluded.

The CHAIRMAN then read the extracts from various letters, con.
wining the silbstance of the intelligence conintunicated by the
British Press of yes:erdey.
Esq. then proposed the first Resolution, which
allueltd to the melancholy circumstances that had occurred, and the
urgent necessity for an Immediate subscription, in order to alleviate
the miseries of the sufferer..
H. BrAss., Esq. rose in second the Resolution. He described
himself as a native of the Province that had been so fearfully vi-
sited, and one who had had frequent opportnnitles of being so far
acquainted with the nature of the country, as to be enabled to bear
testimony to the melancholy emits which must inevitably attend
so fearful a visitation, unless some means were adopted for alle-
viating the misfortune. Appeals of this nature, he observed, were
not rare ; but it seldom occurred that a call so pitiable was made
upon the British petiple. A Inge portion of our colonies in North
America had been laid waste and destroyed by tire, in consequence
of the burning of immense forests ; but the litter was an event of
very common occurrence in America, it was often caused by the
carelessness of the native Indians, and often for the purpose of
clearing a tract of land. The circumstance of a burning forest,
therefore, Suited no alarm in the minds of the inhabitants, and no
apprehension of danger was felt until the day previous to the 7th of
October, when the sky became retinal], darkened by volumes of
smoke. On that fatal day the wind shifted, and a hurricane of
fire involved all the neighbouring district in delimit:ion. So power.
ful did it come, that there was no resistance—so suddenly, that
there was scarcely any escape ; and all whose age and infirmity
prevented their flight perished in the flames. Many houses were
consumed. and several of the ships that lay in the stream were burnt
to the water's edge. Thos, in • few minutes, all, whose industry
had given them corn forte, were reduced to absolute beggary ; those
who had but little lenit their all ; sad those who dessended on manual
labour for their simport. were deprived of the hnpe on which they
existed. The loss of property was immense. In Newcastle. 240
houses had been consumed ; and in Douglastown, forty. Of the
latter,ne knew that the Ramose value of the lonise% was 10001. each.
exaggerat'on,therefore, there was a loss of aubstancealinost
unequalled. The destruction of human life was also enormous. It
was already known That between 2 and 300 perished, but doubtless
the number was fur greater, and many parties who were collecting
timber in the woods, must a sacrifice, and not one
have returned to tell she ,fetal tale. Sei dreadful were the effects,
that the accounts described the dying as unnoticed, and the dead as
unburied. 'lle heart 'sickened at contemplating the melancholy
picture. The event that had Impoverished she country had seldom
If ever been equalled in any other. There had been a burning
wilderness, a hurricane of fire, sweeping all before it ; and so enor-
mous was the smoke, that it had been felt at Halifax, distance
of three hundred miles from the scene of destruction, lid 4 a thick
fog over the city. No one could describe, and scarcely any one
could eonceiee, the extent of the calamity. Bet great as it was, he
feared it was not all over much was to be apprehended from the
situation in which the survivors had been lett, for theme who had
escaped the name,' must expect famine and disease, and the dread-
ful results that followed the despair of many who had been left
destitute. He felt assured that such an appeal to a British public
could not be made in vain—tn those Britons who, when aliens and
strangers to their name and their language had called to than for
aid, had cheerfully and liberally given their assistance. The peo-
ple of the American colonies bad been the first to set an example
of liberality. and in Halifax alone a large subscription had been
rained ; and thr United States would doubtless follow die example :
England, therefore, could not, and would not, be behind-hand in
the charitable work. (Applause-)
Powsns, Lsq. in moving the second resolution, ob-
served, that the sufferers were our fellow-subjects, and inhabitants
of one of oar most interesting colonies. They had a claim on us
not only as Christiana, but as Englishmen. He then moved that a
onbseription be immediately opened for affording relief to the unhap.
py sufferers by the late fires at Miramichi and its neighbourhood.—
Passed unanimously.
The CHAIRMAN then informed the meeting, that a letter had
been received from Earl Bathurst, inelosing 100/. ; from the Earl
of Liverpool 11W. ; from Mr. Huskistinn 261. ; from Mr. W. Hor-
ton 30/., their private subscriptions. He added, that his Majesty's
Government had not received any official information of the circum-
stance ; but in order that no time might be lost in affording the
sufferers relief, they had transmitted the enclosures to the Com-
mittee. He also read a list of other oubscriptions, to the amount,
we should suppose, of about 1500/.
JAS. Torso, Esq. moved a resolution for the appointment of a
Committee, and expressed his sanguine hope that the appeal on
behalf of so many suffvrers would not be made in vein to a British
public. If such an epportunity were allowed to pass unnoticed,
he conceived it would be a stigma on the British name. Nothing
could lift the sufferers from their depth of distress, but the libe-
rality which wag then confidently anticipated, and which it NU
hoped would not be confined to the metropolis, but would extend
over the kingdom..
The resolution having been seconded. passed unanimously.
Mr. JAQUES, an inhabitant of Miramichi, observed, that the
:deset*tion given by Mr. Bliss was pet friar porrect ; and he knew
theetheenelanehnly five at New Bronswiele 'would produce the most
wretched and deplorable effects, unless the lit:entity of the British
people relieved the inhabitants from their deeply distressed si-
tuation.

Thanks were then voted to the Chairman, and a subscription was
immediately opined.
Notice was given that subscriptions would be received at the
London Tavern ; at Lloyd's t and at the North and South Ame-
rican f efrbe-hou.es.
The Meeting then separated.

WHIREITI:ktp TN' THE B. If AM AS.-1 to the Roth of Sep-
tember, about fire in the afternoon, this place was visited
iby a Most tremendous hurricane. In the oourse of five
minotos it destroyed about thirty houscs. The storehouse
of J. Thomson and Co., full of goods, was thrown down ;
the goods however received but little injury. Part of the
poorhouse (a strong stone building) was also throw down,.
as well as several others. The scene is represented as most
awful, and, as might be expected, the utmost,cousternation
prevailed ; it is gratifying however to find that no lives
were lost on tie occasion. The oldest inhabitant has no
recollection of a similar calamity occurring there before.—
Nassau Pdper, New Providence.

NORTH IVALSHAM ANO.DILHAM CANAL.—The an-
nual mineral assembly of this undertaking was held on
Monday. the 7th instant, at the Crown and Anchor Tavern,
in the St-and, agreeably to the Act of Parliament. After
the Chair had been taken, the Report of the Committee of
Management and of the Engineer were presented and
read. The Report stated, that the work had been begun
in April last, and was making great progress towards its
completion. which it was expected would he effected by the
month of May next; and that altlfongh the Act of Parlia- '
ment authoriz_d the raising of 30,0001. by 600 shares, at
AO/. each, yet the Committee had well grounded hopes,
that the canal would be corhpleted for a considerably less
sum. After some general Resolutions were passed, with
thanks to the CoMmittee and others for their exertions in
the p a of the work, the former Committee were una-
nimomuaryesre-elected to manage the concern for the year
ensuing.

So w o r. C Y.—An extraordinary instance of somno-
lency occurred on Friday night last in this town (Leeds).
A Toung man, an apprentice to a respectable tradesman,
retired to b 741 at an early hour ; about one o'clock in the
morning the family were surprised to see him march into
the cellar kitchen,- holding in his hand a bunch of keys,
which he had procured out of the shop. He next went
into a pantry, obtained his slippers, and from a shelf a
candlestick : shot three bolts, and unlocked the outer door;
and how far his dexterities would have gone is uncertain,
for his master, imagining all was not right, called out to
ask whither he was going ; and not until some time, and
rubbing his eves, he exclaimed, " I thought it was locking-
up time." He was desired to retrace his steps.—Leeds In-
telligehros.
OnlVednesday morning, as the Regulator coach, from
London to Exeter, was hanging horses, between the
hours of five sod six o'clock, the guard missed a parcel
directed to Mr. Wm. Feltham, draper of Blandford. On
the alarm being given, it was ascertained that a man had
left the Crown Hotel with a parcel under his arm. A ser-
vant of Mr. Spooner itnunediately pursued him, and se-
cured him in a nursery ground, about a quarter of a mile
out of the town. Just before he was taken, he tore some-
thing to pieces. and threw it from him ; the fragments, on
being carefully collected together. proved to be the bill of
parcels of the goods which had been stolen ; they con-
sisted of braces, Ike. Two men and a woman, who had
been seen in company with the thief abore mentioned,
were afterwards taken into custody; on searching them the
whole of the contents of the parcel were found, as was
likewise a great quantity of other stolen property, belong-
ing to tradesmen at Blandford. The parties were brought
before E. B. Portman, Esq., who, after a patient investi-
gation of the circumstance, committed them to Dorchester
gaol, for trial at the next assizes. The following arc the
names of the prisoners:—Patrick Galaghar, Thomas Nor-
ton, William King, and Mary Ann Moore.--Dore t Ciro-
/fide.

THE BRITISH PR

CHURCH MISSIUNAIW SOCIETY.

Yesterday a meeting of the friends and subscribers of this society
was held in the Freemasons' Hall, Great Queen-street, for the per.
pose of communicating their instructions to the .11isalonat les about to
be sent to foreign putts for t) e propagation of the Gospel among
the heathen. At an early hour the great room was crowded
with a large and respectable assembly, the majority of whom were
females. The Missionaries occupied a conspicuous situation on
the left of the platform, and near them were their wives and rela-
tions, some of whom are to accompany them in their travels.
At twelve o'clock the Chair wu taken by Lord GAMBiEII, and
the business of the meeting enrnmenced.
The attention of the Church Missionary Society has been
anxiously directed, from its first establishment, to the due quali-
fication of those persans who should be sent forth by it as labourers
among the heathen. In the preparation of these labourers, the
Committee have, till very lately, pursued the plan which, under
existing circumstances, appeared best calculated to insure the ob-
feet in view. Candidates for missionary labour have been placed for
a given period on probation with some pious and judicious clergy.
man ; and, in the event of a favourable report from him, have ei-
ther remained with such clergyman until their entrance on their la-
bours, or have been removed to one of the Universities, as was
deemed best in the judgment of the Committee.
This mode of preparation, although the best which then pre-
vented itself, was obviously attended with many disadvantages. For
the personal inspection of the Committee, It stfbatituted the less re-
sponsible superintendence of a single and distant agent. The
atudents, not being brought together, had not the benefit of being
subjected to a common test and discipline while they were pre_
eluded from other local advantages. This system, moreover, allowed
little of that variety of education which different missionary stations
might require, yet rendered it next to impossible to obtain that in.
timate knowledge of the slight turns and shades of character, which
qualify or disqualify individuals for particular spheres of labour. In
these and other respects, the course of Feparation heretofore pur-
sued, though it involved considerable expense and anxiety, fell very
far short of the efficiency which may be anticipated from a more
organised and comprehensive system of missionary educating.
Under these impressions the Committee, in 1821, resolved upon
the establishment of the Church Miseioeary Institution et Isling-
ton, with the view of supplying those defects in the preparation of
the Society's Missionaries' which have jusr been stated—by collect-
ing the candidates and students in a spot near enough to the me.
tropolis, for the constant inspection of certain responsible indi.
riduals appointed by the General Committee—bringing them under
a common instructor and guardian—subjecting them to a com-
mon discipline—furnishing the advantages of a war* of Ittollm
more immediately suited to their respective destination.--institut-
ing the most vigilant inspection into their intellectual and moral
qualifications for their high office—endeavouring, in lepers.
dcnce on the blessing of God, by every means to lead them I
to seek that divine grace, which may eminently tender them
men of God, and fill them with devotedness of heart to thoit Re-
deemer—and cherishing in them that ardent love of souls, that spi.
rid of missionary enterprise, and all those hardy, vigorous, self-de-
nying, disinterested and magnanimous habits, which their peculiar
°cremation demands.
When the establishment of this institution had been determined
on, the Committee felt the strongest persuasion, that it would at once
approve itself to the public mind. In this conviction they resolved,
in order to carry their plan into effect, instead of drawing on the ge-
neral funds of the society, to open a separate fund for the express
purpose of purchasing suitable premises, and preparing them for
the reception of students. Their hopes, however, have not been
fully realised. And. although they have as yet prepared accom-
modations at Islington for only 22, instead of h 0 students, which
was the number originally proposed, not only has the separate fund
been exhausted, hut it has been found necessary to borrow 1,0001.
from the general funds of the safety.
The following is a list of the Missionaries who, after receiving
the requisite preparatory education at the Society); Institution at
Islington, are now to he sent as labourers in the different foreign
countries which have been, or are now to become the theatre of
Missionary exertions :