The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1824-11-27 00:00:00

THE LATE STORMS.

OVA COARESPOSDENT.I
PLYMOUTH. Nov. 24,
In addition to the list of shipping lost, published in the
Paper of yesterday, at Plymouth, we have now to add the
loss of the John, of Bideford, and Welcome, in the
Talin river. The former is a wreck, but her valuable
cargo of silks, from .ghorn, will he saved with little
damage. The Captain and crew of this vessel were
drowned ; the Captain's wife was found alive in the cabin,
and is now ashore at Weinbury. exc-edingly ill. The hull
of the Welcome will be saved, her masts are gone.
In Witham' Bay a large l)utch East Indianian, laden
with coffee, has gone to pities. A boat looking out for
smugglers saved pat t of her crew ; bat six persona cer-
tainly have perished, and only a small quantity of coffee
has been salved.
The other wrecks in port remain in stabs qsn, and per-
sons are busily engaged in landing their cargoes. The
Percy floated last night, and so dill the George Canning,
whose master was drown el early on Monday evening.
The fruit on board this ship will be well saved. The
Colonist is jamiticel inside, on a reef of rocks, under Teat's-
bill, by the Rochester, a beautiful large ship, for India.
The total number of ships on shore is thirty-three, and
the loss of property by sea and land is estimated by com-
petent judges at upwards of 400,0001. Certainly all the
ships cargoes appear to be exceetlingly valuable.
The intelligence from the country acquaints us with the
particulars of considerable damage dote to villages and
gentlemen's seats, by the overflowing of the tide and the
resistless power of the wind. Except at Cavrsand, near
this place, where many small dwelling-houses are washed
into the sea, but we njoice to say without loss of lives, the
damage done on shore is only considerable in the aggregate,
the storm having dealt out injury " here a little and there
a little."

To-day our worthy Chief Magistrate called a public
meeting of the inhabitants, to subscribe towards the relief
of the poor and auff•ring seamen who have le•en miracu-
lously spared by the hind of Providence, and in behalf of
whom, no doubt, a good collection will be made.
Captain Wilkinson, of the Richard, saved all his men
except the chief mate.
The troops are still under arms. The passengers all safe
ashore.

(ANOTHER ACCOLiNT.)
PLYMOUTH. NOVEMBER 24.
The dreadful hurricane which commenced here on Mon-
day evening, and continue) until late last night, has sub-
sided; in continuation of details, the following have
reached us :—Harinonie, Peterson, Surinam for Middle-
burg, ashore at Polom Cove, and will go to pieces ; a small
part of the coffee has been saved by the crew of the pre-
ventive boat stationed there, who su,:o eded in saving the
Captain, his son, and four seamen ; the mate and the re-
mainder of the crew were drowned. The whole of the
I preventive boats belonging to the different stations within
this port, with the exception of the one in B tveysand
Bay, have been destroyed, and the beat-houses washed
away ; the vier at Port Wrinkle, in Militant' Bay, and
the boat-how se on it, were washed away together, by one
of the most tremendous seas ever seen. A very large mer-
chant ship was discovered in great distress, about two miles
off, with her sails blowing to pieces; she succeeded in
getting out of the bay, and stretched to sea. Nearly the
whole of the fish cellars in Cawsand and Whitsand Bays,
together with many houses, were washed down and
destroyed, together with the greater part of their contents,
consisting of fishing tackle of all sorts, seine, beats, &c.
The destruction among the boats belonging to the watermen
has been very considerable. The John Wills, Leghorn
for London, ashore on Wembury Beach, and it is feared
will go to pieces ; captain and crew drowned, the captain's
wife saved by the exertions of the preventive crew stationed
at Yalm, who found her on board, entangled among the I
rigging and dreadfully bruised ; they also succeeded in
saving about one-third of her cargo, and much of the re-
mainder will be saved ; the Welcome, Morris, from the
Canary Islands, is also ashore near Wetnbury, high on the
beach, crew saved ; the cargo, it is thought, has not sus-
tained much injury. Two vessels are reported to be at
anchor off Mothecombe, dismasted. The crew of the
Coromandel, lost on the Breakwater, we understand are
saved. It is reported that several seamen belonging
to the different merchantinen were drowned, besides
those already named. The George Canning has been
got off, and is now in dock, her cargo is landed, which must
have sustained great injury. The cargoes of the following
vessels are landing, and notch will be accomplished to-day,'.
the weather being favourable : City of Rochester ; Percy,
Sayers ; Najaden, Masse ; Scotia, 1111‘Cormick : Colonist,
Smith • Female, Chapman ; and some others. The cargo
of the Concordia, Matson, is also landing. The cargo of
the Eliza, Edwards, has been landed, and it is repotted
has not sustained much injury. The Margaret, M‘Lel-
lan, fur St. Übes, is expected to be got off to-day. The
Retrench, Ansell, on shore in the Mill Bay, has broken her
back. The Nassau, Tremayne, for St. Michael's, has been
got off, and must unload to repair. The damage occasioned
in every part of the port, and on every description of pro-
perty, has been immense. A great part of the cargo of the
Mary Ellen, Guild, from London to Gibraltar, has been
saved in good order. We have just hoard that immense
quantities of wreck hare been discovered floating in Bovey-
sand and Bigbury Bays ; it is therefore apprehended that
considerable losses have taken place there.

SIDNIM7II, Nov. 23.
The devastation and ruin caused here by the hurricanes
exceed all calculation ; 20,0001. will not replace the da-
mage sustained in this place. Of the gravel promenade,
which, for beauty, could challenge the coast, not a ves-
tige now remains. The surf made such inroads into the
town, that nothing could stop its fury ; the whole of the
lower part of the town was inundated. Every individual
who inhabited a house on the beach, hail nothing but
ruin and death staring hint in the face ;—to retreat to
the town was utterly impossible. The shrieks of the
different females, together with the tremendous roaring
of the sea, and the general wreck on every side, pre-
sented a scene of the most awful and alarming kind.
Almost every boat on the beach was broken to-pieces.
Houses were seen blown down by the wind, others
knocked down by the fury of the sea ; others quite un-
roofed ; and the whole town was deluged. At length,
happily for us all, daylight appeared, and presented a
scene which beggars all deacription. At this time the
tide had arrived at its highest : had it continued half an
hour longer, not a house near the beach would have been
standing. Every person was anxious to preserve the wreck
of the little property that was left. Men and women were
busily engaged in taking their goods from their windows;
others were endeavouring to preserve their lives, which
they effected with great difficulty by letting themselves
down by means of sheets from their bed-rooms into
boats ; others escaped by swimming. Fortunately the
wind changed snore to the wehtward and moderated, or we
must have had the second part last night, for we are desti-
tute of any beach to check the sea from breaking into the
town. It is highly satisfactory to state, that, amid all our
calamities, no lives were lost.

WEV3IOUTII, Nor. 25.

A most painful duty devolves upon us to recount the
awful dispensation of Providence, in one of the meat tem-
pestuous gales of wind from S. S. E., accompanied with the
highest title which this town ever experienced. It com-
menced about four o'clock on Tuesday morning, and con-
tinued with unabated fury for t;:veral hours. The pier, at
the entrance of the harbour, is nearly demolished, together
with the greater part of the Esplanade. The different
quays were deluged, and the lower rooms of houses in va-
rious parts of the town were inundated. Boats were seen
floating in the street; one in particular, from the harbour
nearly to the church ; the damage sustained is immense.
But the scene of desolation here es comparatively trifling.
The most melancholy reports are hourly arriving from
Abbotsbury, Fleet, and all along the coast. At the for-
mer place a Danish brig has been wrecked, laden with
fruit. Five hands were on hoard, four of whom were pro-
videntially saved, and every attention has beer•. paid to their
distressed situation by the kindness and humanity of the
Countess of Hamster.

A large West Indutman, the Coralle, laden with rum,
&t.. has been wrecked off Fleet : the whole crew perished.
A Dutch galliut has also been wrecked opposite the Old
Weymouth Ca. Ale, laden with butb:r and cheese: the

whole of the cargo was lost, except a few trifling articles,
which were saved under the direction of the Dutch Consul,
Joseph Horsfortl, Esq., whose ex,,rtions for two days were
indefatigable; the crew was saved. The Nancy brig, be-
longing to Mr. Wallis, of this port, is totally dismasted,
but has rode out the gale, and is now in safety. Two
other vessels have been also wrecked on the North shore—
one the Louisa smack, of Exeter, Codner, the mister,
saved, two men drowned ; the other, the Sally smack, of
Portsmouth, Moor, master, drowned, and one man.
Sevetal houses at Chisel, in the Island of Portland, have
been totally swept away, by the tremendous waves passing
over the beach, and many of its inhabitants are buried in
the ruins. Twenty-three bodies have already been found;
among them a man, his wife, and seven children. The
ferry passage-house i 3 also nearly demolished, and its in-
habitants narrowly escaped with their lives. The ferry-
man was th•owned in endeavouring to take a soldier's horse
from the stable—the horse was saved. At Fleet the church.
with almost every house in the village, is swept away, and
several lives have bmn lost. A large West Indianian, to-
tally dismasted, has rode out the gale near Chisel Cove,
where she now remains at anchor.

POOLE, Nov. 24.

It is impossible to enumerate the damage sustained in
this town ; scarcely a house has es,..aped injury. tin the
Qua) the scene was truly terrific ; the tide hati risen to so
astonishing a height as to overflow the Quay, on which
hoats were dashed about at the mercy of the wind and
waves. The houses in the Strand were innndated, some of
them to the depth of four or five feet. The town was com-
pletely insulated, being surrounded on all sides by the
briny element. So eral of the vessels in the harbour have
been sunk to prevent any damage being done them ; se-
veral others have been sullirred to drift on the mud. All
the streets in the lower part of the town were rendered im-
passable by the inundation. Three gentlemen, Messrs.
Absulam and Davy, and Captain Stroud, took a boat at the
church-yard. and proceeded through Thames-street to the
shop of Mr. Sheppard ; from thence round the Quay to
the Custom-house, where they re-landed. At eleven
o'clock the tide receded. The damage which has been done
in the town and neighbourhood is estimated at several
thousand pounds. The oldest inhabitant in the town can-
not recollect so destructive a stonn.

BRIDPORT, Nov. 21.

I am sorry to communicate the melancholy intelligence
of the death of Mr. Thomas Major, of Bridport, who, with
his two children, was drowned yesterday morninz. It ap-
pears that Major was put in possession of Mr. J. B. Good's
property at Bridport harbour, and had been sleeping in
a small house in the yard, the bed of which was on the
ground-floor, and he had taken two of his little girls with
him for company. On Monday night, the weather being
' so very rough, he had gone, it appears, up stairs, into a
small low room (the roof of which is not sealed), and had
taken his children with him, as two chairs and two pillows
were found near the fire-place, and one of the children's
pinafores and a candlestick in the same room. The candle,
it is supposed, had bunted out, and fearful of his situation,
Major, in the morning, got through the under window by
beating out the sash, as he was seen about break of (lay
with his two children, one on his back, the other under his
arm, endeavouring to get through the water: but he had
not proceeded far when one of the children fell, and in
stooping to :Ike her up, a tremendous wave came and
washed them away. Their bodies have all been found,
which is, of course, some consolation to the afflicted widow,
who, with three other children, are left to deplore her
husband's untimely end. What renders the event more
afflicting is, that not a month since they buried their eldest
daughter.

To describe to you the state of the harbour is impossible.
A quantity of timber is washed up near Marsh-gate, and
some much farther. A hay-rick belonging to Messrs.
Swaine and Son, which was near their stores, is likewise
brought a considerable way up the marsh, and is now
standing. Roofs of shops, saw-pits, &c. have Lien carriid
away. Mr. Good's rope-yard was washed or blown down,
and 29 sheep, belonging to Mr. Edwards, have been
drowned. The damage altogether is estimated at 20,0001.