The National Register.
London, England, 1823-03-30 00:00:00

THE NATIONAL REGISTER

LOSS OP THE ALERT PACKET.

HOLTHRAD, MARCH W.—This morning at 10 a.m.
the Alert. Morgan, Liverpool packet, from Dublin to
Liverpool, struck on the %Vest Mouse Rock near the
Skerrte's Light Douse, and in half an hour afteruards
went down ; the Captain and crew, excepting one boy
and the steward were saved. From 10 to 14 of the pa,
sengers were also saved ; about 130 perished ! l3oa s
trout this place have picked up and landed 46 of the
deatl

(ANOTRER ACCHOoNT
We have received the following melancholy
pence by a gentleman w ho arrived in the Holyhead mail.
Hr states hr left Dublin no Wednesday morning, and
tailed with Captain Skinner from Huwth,3t about eight
o'clock, and Toothed the per at- Holyhead at abtut three
in the afternoon. Ow landing he learned that a vessel
had f !creel about ten miles- (ruin the Head, but no
vestige of the wreck. .was visible. Boats were sent 0111
in all•disectiona ; when at abort five o'clock, he was
sent-for to 4penceee hotel, to riven he would go down
.to.the beach to see if he could recognise the remains of
any of the unfortunate sufferers whose bodies had been,
picked up. 'rive bodies of about twenty.nine persons,
principally females, were landed from the several boats,
and were stretched out in different pails of a field near
the water side.
The mint awful and melancholy spectacle here pre-
sented itself to the view. Mothers with their ittfauts at
their hearts, exhibited the last dying efforts to chug to
life ; but, alas, they clasped nothing tpitj the inns:cent
infant, who, with its battle mother, su audeleitly, and
so soon were immerged in a watery grave. Children of.
the ages of two, three, and four years were found near
females of between twenty and thirty years of age, pre.'
wined to be their mothers.
The countenances of the men whom he saw exhibited
a among contrast to the placidity which pervaded those
of.the laces of the infants, who, of course, were uncon-
scious of the anticipated deaths which the adults nits-
unmanly expected.
The only.body whitth had the appearance of a gentle.
man, and which had been pickedup previous to the de-
parture of the mail-coach from Holyhead, was that of a
Major Kelly, at feast so the papers which were found in
his pocket led the custuni-house officers to conclude Was
the gentleman's name ; but although udr informant was
acquainted with a Major Kelly, who hail been on the
stalfsof Gen. EiCOOII, he could not take upon filmed( lea,
identify the corpse of the figure he saw, which certaitily,
in paint of spertonal. appearawoe, • bow* strong resent- '
billiCe to that gentleman. Colonel a gentleman
who knew him well, and who cause over in the semis.
packet with our informant, expressed his opinion very
strongly as to the identity of Major Kelly; lout the fact
is, the countenance was au completely distorted, that it
I was iiIIVUSSibIe to trace the resemblance of she features. •
There can be nu doubt that the body picked tip was
that of a gentleman, for that part did the dies. he had
on (being all hut his hat, boon, and coat) ascertained
that-point.. Upwards of two hundred pounds was funnel
in his pockets, which is safe, it is believed, in the hands
of the Custom-house officer, together with the letters
and ductinaeuts that were found on his persons.
footman, immediately after viewing as much of the ap-
pulling scene, just described, as lie Could bear to look
upon, endeavoured to find out some of the survivors,
WOO it appeals were only twenty-six out of one hundred
and sixty ! l
He saw one, who described himaelf to be. the ohly
cabin passenger who had been saved. Ile bad scarcely
recovered fruits tue effects of having being in this water ,
nearly two hours, and his answers to the few questions
put dul.not give such full. inforinatiou as, could be de-
sired.
He stated his name to •be M'Kenzie—that he had
lately arrived f r some port of •Seinland, anti bad wily
been a few days in Dublin. tie appeared-to be euttitected
with swine mercantile house, and it is believed hail been
accustomed to a seafaring life. He *aid that he had been
itt his birth at about 11l o'clock on the 11101 ttttt Of Wed-
nesday, when it being o drub calm, with a at.mig current
tide ffuwitig, the vessel drifted on a rock called Mount
Ruck, near the Skerriee; about ten milesairom Holy.
• head. As far as lie.conld learn the moment the vessel
struck the Captain ordered out the boat to eudeavuur to
tow her off. A sufficient number of the crew, with, it is
believed, a few-passengers who got into the boat, endea-
voured tu• tow her out to sea, and all hands were ap.
- plied to the pump. Although at so early an hour as ten
o'clock. no signals, of distress were (Ibsen ed, at least no
relief was afforded. The steam-picket which lett Holy-
head at eight o'clock in this morning, uniortunately fix
the unhappy warren, must have paned -her by upwards
of an hour before the accident pawned; and certainly
no kind ofassistance was•afforded until it was too late.
About an hour after • the vessel struck she sunk. The
death-dealt:is cuotfusion which roasted may easily be
itoasitted by Won who witnessed the spectacle, which
our informant—an eye-witness of the tragic scene, has
attempted to alelitteato.
l'he Captain, it seems, reached the boat,- which woe, •
however, too lull to Like him ; and he clam; to the side •
and reached the ttekrekt land. The cabin passenger, .uf
whom every enquiry was made, could only answer fur
himself, that he had been nearly two hours in the
Water, having clung to a crate, which Our informant
saw. His believed that three other pervious eueleavoured
to save themselves in the saute way; but the crate could
scarcely support one, and that one was saved.
The mail-coach hurts having sunti tttttt ed the passen.
gers away, ,they could learn no further particulars
it reached Haupt Ferry, when the boatman informed
them that the Captain (Miorgau) had come round by
land, and had just crossed the ferryon his way to Liver-
pool ; he had given liula or nu isifortnatiou of the
accident.
Of the sufferers, the men appeared, from their dress,
to be of the lower order.' The females situ childten
were all decently land comfortably clad. The former
are supposed to be the winced* soldiers and tracitstnen.

ICI

The following are the Chancellor of the Exche-
quer's resolutions, which have been adopted by the
House of Commons, and pursuant to which the
Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Mr. Ilerries; of
the Treasury, have been directed to bring in s
Bill
1. That there shall be levied and paid an excise duty of ssi.
fix tray butrelc.Amtaining 36 gallons. ale measure, of beer or
ale which shall be brewed in Great Britain fur sale, and which
shall be brewed in the proportion of. not less than five barrels,
containing 36 gallons each, of such beer or ale, nor more than
five and a half at such barrels, for and from each and every
quarter of malt which shall be used for the brewing thereof. and
which shall be sold in tiny quantity at one time of nine gallons
or upwards. at a rate or price not exceeding 274. the barrel, or
which shall be sold in any puintity at one time of less than
nine gallons thereo4 at a rate or price. not exceeding led, the
gallon.
5. That every brewer of such hector ale shall take out an
excise license, authorizing such persons to brew such beer or ale,
and shall pay duty for every such license at and after the same
rate as is by law itapused on excise licensee to eximanun brewers
of strong beer.
3. That every seller and retailer of such beer or ale, at any
place detaelied town the entered .premises where the same is
brewed, and not being sold Par consumption on the premises or
place where sold, shall take oat an excuse license,. and shall pay
tilt the same the sum of IL Is. -
ROYAL LIBttARY.—The folliiwing account is
given of the origin of the King's donation of this
valuable colleciton :—" The circumstances which
fink suggested his Majesty's munificent gift to the
public of the library collected by the Ism King. are
said to be the lUllowing:—ln the survey of Buck-
inghani-house, made in the contemplation of making
it a residence• for his Majesty, an objection was
found to this arrung,ment in the want of any kitchen
adequate to the maintenance of the culinary splen-
dour for which his Majesty is so celebrated. From
the construction of Buckingham-house, some diffi- •
culty was felt as to the means of remedying this
fatal inconvenience, till one of the architects, who
thought the foundation of life of much more im. •
portance then the mere ornaments of it, observed
that the octagon room in which the books• were, .
would make a superb kitchen. It was. then pro-
posed to sell the library, but this was objected to by
the Ministers, and the idea then arose of giving the
collection to the public—an idea not the least praise-
worthy, because the train of thought which led to
it had it origin in the wish to gratify the hospitable
predilections of our beloved monarch."
KINGSTON, JAMAICA, Firs •B.—The death war-
rant for the execution of the pirates included tea in
number, who were, . about an hour before down of
day yesterday morning, token front the gaol, under
a guard of soldiers from the 50th regiment and the
City Guard. The whole of the, ten having been
placed oil the scaflUld, and the ropes suspended, the .
drop was let down. Nendie being it heavy • man,
broke the rope, and fell to the ground alive, but was
again suspended: he was for a long period c,on vulsetl,
turd died hard.

A Jamaica packet has arrived, with papers to the
110 h ult. Santa Martha WilS retaken on the 22(1 of

_
January by ►he Colombians. Expectation was daily,.
entertained of the arrival of Bolivar at Canteen frnm
the suuth, who intended in person to the
campaign uaginst the (Loyalists.
A mail from the Leeward Islands has. brought •
letters to the 19th ult. The accounts were &your-

able from the Main. Montilla was on the march .
with a very superior force to attack Morales in Ma-
ratatibo ; and Puez had returned to Valencia from
the interior, his presence there being no longer ne-
cessmy to put an end to the disailixtion which had
broken out among the.lndians. The commercial in-
tercourse with Caraw►san' L:tguayra was conse-
quently on t mush better fou.ing, and the commerce
with the Main generally had acquired greater faci-
lities by.'the protection of two Danish ships of war
which soiled to and from the coast as convoy. The

fact seems now fully established of the ascendaney
of the Colombian fleet at see, which held Puerto
Covello in strict blockade.
MAUNDY.THuasoAv.—The annual distribution
ot• his Majesty's Royal Maundy took, place on
Thursday last at Whitehall chapel, when 61 men
and 61 women, being the•uge of the King, received
the customary -gifts of provisions ; also, shoes and
stockings, and purses of money. One ()Mho female
receivers of the King's bounty was a hundred years
old; and a male, an old soldier, was ninety-two.
LINCOLN REFORM MEErtNo.—Pursuant• to a

repiktion, the High S'aeriff of Lincoln appointed
a meeting of the County to be holden on Wednes-
day lust, at Lincoln Castle—at 12 o'clock the High
Shet•iffopened the business, and a very rational pe-
tition to the House of •C:mmons fur reform, was
proposed by Sir Robert Hdron, and seconded by Sir
J. .fliorold—Major Cartwright then proposed one of
his annual parliament and universal suffrage circular
nostrums, embodied in a petition as an amendment,
which was negatived by a great majority, and the
original petition agreed to. Thanks ware rated to
the lith Sheriff and the meeting was dissolved.
A public tweeting of the traders and others of
Westminster will behold in the ensuing month, fin- ,
the purpose of taking into consideration the present
Insolvent Debtors' Act, and to petition the Legisla-
ture against it. Mr. Hobhouse, on dating applied •
0), consented to preside at the meeting.