The Sun.
London, England, 1855-02-17 00:00:00

One of the most fearful conflagrations connected with
the shipping interest at this port which has ever been
known at Southampton occurred at the docks this
morning, causing the total destruction of the fine steam-
ship Mauritius, belonging to the General Screw Steam-
shipping Company. This vessel, which was built by
Messrs. Mare and Co., of Blackwell, for the purpose of
assisting the company in carrying on their mail con-
tract with England and the East Indies, via the
Cape, was launched in 1852, since which time she
has made two successful voyages to Calcutta and
Lack, the latter voyage being completed in August of
last year. Since that time the Mauritius has been iu
the service of Government, and employed in the con-
veyance of troops, &c., to and from the Black Sea. She
was of 1,850 tons burden and 300-horse power, and cost
about 70,0001. On the return of the Mauritius from
the Crimea she arrived at this port, and has during the
last few days been lying in the new graving-dock, under-
going some necessary repairs previously to her return
to the duties of the transport service.
About 5 o'clock this morning several persons con-
nected with the docks were aroused by the alarm of
" Fire !" and Mr. Hedger, superintendent to the Dock
Company, and Mr. Levy, together with other officials,
wore immediately upon the spot. In conjunction with
these gentlemen we noticed several officers connected
with the Royal Mail and Peninsular and Oriental Com-
panies' service, and also a strong body of men, under the
charge of the second officer of the United States mail
steam-ship Hermann, now lying at this port, who bad
been ordered to render assistance by Cept. Higgins, com-
mander of that vessel. When first seen, the fire appeared
to have gained only a slight hold upon the ship, but the
time naturally occupied in the preparation of fire-engines,
together with the difficulty experiencedin procuring water,
owing to the tide being at its lowest ebb, permitted the
fire to extend. itself considerably. A short time after
the alarm had been made known, a strong detachment
of Sappers and Miners from the barracks, with their
engines, were speedily on the spot ; but the fearful ra-
pidity with which the devouring element extended itself
damped the hopes of all in the possibility of saving the
vessel. In short, no sooner had the fire made sufficient
progress to be thoroughly visible than it burst out into
one immense mass, almost instantly extending itself over
three-parts of the devoted vessel. However, every exer-
tion was made by those in attendance, but unfortunately
with no beneficial result, for the Mauritius now lies in the
new graving-dock totally destroyed, and, beyond the
iron with which she was built, the whole of which has
twisted into a thousand different shapes, and her bowsprit,
jibboom, and cutwater, not a vestige of this once noble
ship remains. It was stated that a considerable quan-
tity of gunpowder remained on board, and this rendered
the danger of assistance imminent to many persons who
were otherwise willing to have volunteered their services.
But had such not been the case with such rapidity
did the flames travel throughout the vessel, that
hardly any time was left after the arrival of a suffi-
cient number of persons to save anything of material
value. It is fortunate that, although a large quan-
tity of the officers' kit, together with the plate, &c.,
of the ship has been totally destroyed, the ship's
papers were removed on shore yesterday and there-
by saved. 'For about three hours the fire raged
furiously, and a strong breeze springing up from the
eastward considerably assisted the progress of the
flames. About 8 o'clock the wizen and main masts fell
over the port side with a tremendous crash, and were
shortly afterwards followed by the foremast, the whole
forming a tangled and burning heap of spars and cordage.
Fortunately, no damage either to the docks or the mass
of people assembled occurred. For some considerable
time great fear was exhibited in refeieace to the powder
magazine, and many persons left the docks or retired to
some distant part.
The water had reached a sufficient height to lead many
to presume that the portion of the ship containing the
ammunition was entirely inundated, and that any danger
from the explosion of gunpowder was rendered thereby
utterly futile ; but about half-past ten o'clock a terrific
explosion took place, and large fragments of the burn-
ing wreck were scattered in all directions, fortunately
without doing any injury. Some fear existed in conse-
quence of there being several pieces of loose timber and
a large quantity of shavings lying on the dock quay,
some of which took fire, but was speedily extinguished.
As is usual in similar cases great difficulty exists in
tracing the origin of the fire, and every exertion is being
made by those in authority to satisfy themselves on this
point. From the particulars we have gleaned it ap-
pears that during the whole of last night some men
were engaged in repairing the boilers of the ship,
and were provided with two fires as necessary to the
carrying on of their work, and, beyond a small stove
in the forecastle, there was every reason to believe
no light of any kind existed on board. About half-
past four o'clock, while proceeding with his work, one
of the men had reason to suspect the ship was on fire,
and, on reaching the upper deck, perceived through
the bull's-eyes, which are used for admitting light to the
main deck, a large quantity of flame. An alarm was at
once given, and, although eight or nine seamen were on
board, together with the ship-keeper, hardly a drop of
water could be procured, and in a very short time all
hands left the ship. One of tit. °Moot of the Peninsular
and Oriental Company's steam-ship Tagus, lying in the
docks, as soon as he became acquainted with the fact,
went on board the Mauritius, and, seeing the danger of
the fire spreading, although it was only slight at the
time, requested that about a dozen buckets of water
should be brought him, as he thought he could then ex-
tinguish the thirties ; but this was refused him with a
grin and the question, " Who is to pay the men for
fetching the'water ?"
Captain Eeßledue, superintendent of the Peninsular
and Oriental Company, and Captain Vincent, of the
Royal Mail Company, were in the docks shortly after the
commencement of the fire, and immediately made such
arrangements as to insure the safety of those vessels be-
longing to each company which are now in port. The
Orinoco was instantly shifted from her close vicinity to
the scene of the conflagration, and other ships were
without delay moved to a safe distance.
A very strong opinion exists among many persons in
this port that the destruction of the Mauritius was more
the result of design than accident. This opinion has justly
been excited from many circumstances. It will be re-
membered that, at the commencement of the week, a
charge was instituted by the company against several
seamen connected with this ship for having broken faith
with the company, by non-fulfilment of the articles they
had signed previously to her departure for the Black
Sea, by deserting on her arrival at Portsmouth. This,
it is presumed, has greatly incensed the men against the
company, and we have been told that one of the crew
was heard to express his intention yesterday of putting
the " - ship in flames."
Independently of the severe loss occasioned to the
General Screw Company by the destruction of this splen-
did ship, the inconvenience to the Government will be
considerable, as the Mauritius was to have been ready
in eight or 10 days to embark 1,200 men for the
seat of war in the East. In the present posture of
affairs the services of such a ship can ill be spared by
the country. We have been unable to obtain any re-
liable information as to whether the disaster is fully
covered by insurance, but it is believed ttat only a small
policy had been effected on the vessel. Captain Stewart,
the commander of the Mauritius (late of the Golden
Fleece), has lost all his nautical instruments and effects,
and the officers saved nothing, the whole of their ward-
robes having been consumed. Captain Stewart took out
the first detachment of troops to the East at the ems-
mencement of the war, and has done great service with
the Golden Fleece during the past year. After success-
fully braving the dangers of capture, shot, and wester
in the Black Sea, he expresses great disgust at having
the ship under his command ignobly burnt in a dry dock
at home.