The Sun.
London, England, 1855-09-15 00:00:00

14-Igic*
--r'-- THE LATE GE ATERAL SI1? ;i7 aka 4-A'
41Agroj*_,
THOMAS Pig& :
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General Sir George Yuuwas Napier, K.C.8., born
June 30, 1784, died suddenly at Geneva, Sept. 8, 1855,
aged 71 years. His first commission was a cornetcy in
the 24th Dragoons, his second a lieutenancy in the 46th
Regiment, • In-1800 he became aide-de-camp to Sir J.
Duff at Limerick. Reduced on balf-pay at the peace,
he soon was restored to full pay in the 52d under Sir
John Moore, and shortly obtained a company in that
regiment. With the 52d be went to Sicily, still under
Thore, and with that general to Sweden In 1808 ; thence
to Lisbon, and being made aide-de-camp to Moore, served
the Corunna campaign, was beside his general in the
jattle, by his bed when he died, and by his grave when
he was buried, It was Moore's express intention to
:end Sir George Napier to England with the despatch
,f the battle ; but Sir David Baird, with very question-
able taste, ,nd more questionable justice, sent it by his
own aide-de-camp, Captain Gordon, a brother of Lord
Aberdeen. •
Captain Napier, having thus lost his promotion., served
with the 52d under the Duke of Wellington ; was in the
'celebrated march of the Light Division to Talavera, in
111 General ()rm./canna skirmishes between the Coa and
Agueda, including the severe combat of the 24th July,
tud was shot through the upper part of the thigh at
Busaco, while actually leaping, sword in hand, upon the
head of General St. Simon's column of attack.
Before the French retired from Santarem he was
again well, and was engaged in all the Light Division
combats during Massena's retreat up to Cazal Nova,
where his arm was broken by a shot. In that fight, his
company being forced back, he saw his lieutenant (Gif-
ford) fall, and four Frenchmen attempting to plunder
the body. Running back, sabre in hand, George Napier,
single banded, drove the Frenchmen back, raised the
still breathing Gifford, and brought him off. He died
instantly ; Napier's company buried him with their
bayonets under fire, and then, giving three cheers, rushed
at the enemy again. For his conduct in this pursuit
Captain Napier was by Wellington made a brevet-major,
one of 11 promoted in the army as reward for eminent
service.

At the siege of Rodrigo Major Napier was wounded
in the same arm again, but continued to do his duty in.
the trenches, and led the stormers of the small breach
in the assault, where he was again strack in the same
arm, and thus lost it by amputation. For this he was
made lieutenant-colonel.

Driven home by this wound, he served sotne time on
the Staff of the Northern District, but returned to Spain
in 1814, and was second in command at the Battle of
Orthes, where the 52d, under the present Lord Seaton,
certainly decided the fate of the day. Colonel Napier
was also at the combat of Tarbes and the Battle of Ton-
louse a• Lieutenant-Colonel of the 71st Regiment.
At the Peace he was put into the Guards, afterwards
into a regiment of the line, but finally went on half-pay
until, as a major-general, he was appointed Governor of
the Cape, 1837. In that situation, as a military mar,
he displayed great energy an•i promptness in preparing
and sending a succouring expedition to relieve Captain
Smith, who was besieged by the boers at Natal, and on
the point of being reduced, after an obstinate defencei.
Ai a civil go%ernor he enforced the abolition of slavery,
introduced and nourished with surprising success a new
system of district and other schools, made municipal
government general, formed a road commission, and
commenced sev,ral great public works f<,r opening the
country to trade and commerce ; improved the manage-
ment of the revenue, paid off the colonial debt, and
abolished internal taxes, relying solely on duties ; and,
more than all this, he kept the colony free from Caffre
wars for nearly seven years.
On his return from the Cape he passed most of his
rime on the continent, living chiefly at Nice, and, being
there in 1849, he was, by the late King of Sardinia,
Charles Albert, offered the command of the Sardinian
army, but refused it, not liking to war, except for his
own country.
When the panic caused by the Battle of Chillan-
wallah was rife, George Napier was offered the command
in India, but refused it, thinking in common with the
people of Eizg!a,,d, that the place of right belonged to
his brother, S'r Charles.

Wiieu the Russian war broke out he offered his ser-
vices as a lieutenant-general, but they were declined ;
and he continued in private life until his death. Let
the thou,ands of friends he won by his frank, honest,
warm heart and generous disposition speak for his pri-
vate character. It is believed that no enemy will gain-
say their eulogiums.

FRIGHTFUL RAILWAY ACCIDENTS IN

AMBRICA.

SOUTHAMPTON, Sept. 13.—The steamship North Star,
which arrived off this port last evening from New York
for Havre, brings detailed particulars of another terrible
accident which occurred on the 20th ult. on the Camden
and Amboy Railroad between New York and Philadel-
pisia..---Ths particulars-are as follows - --- -
The morning mail train left Philadelphia at 10 o'clock,
and reached Burlington (20 miles) a few minutes ahead
time—soy a quarter of au hour after 11 o'clock.
There were six passenger cars in the train. By the rules
of the railroad company, the train first arriving at Bur-
lington, which is the place for the meeting of the trains,
i 4 required to wait 10 minutes, and if the other train
does not arrive then the first is entitled to the road ;
both trains to run, looking for each other. There is but
a sii,gle track.

The up.train waited, according to orders, for the train
from New York, and then came on. When about three
miles this side of Burlington, the trains knet. saw each
other in season to reverse, reversed rapidly, and the
tro:n which NO left Burlington a few minutes before ran
back for two miles, until it had reached a eross•road
this side of Burlington.
At this point a c a ,gun with two horse., driven by
Dr. tianne,an, an old physician, residing jast out of
Burlington, vas crossing the track ai the train backed.
tl►is caused to nng tihr 3ettun tihne. ttarnatcllC,
aTniide itchkatt !el
care r horse-,
while those in front piled up on the top of it. Four out
~f the six cars were thrown off the track in this manner,
and three of them were utterly destroyed. They were
all cell filled with passengers, nearly all of whom were
injured mole or less seri.,us4.

the number killed is stated to be 21 persons, and
about 70 others are more or leas eriou-ly wounded.
Many of the-e persons were resbients of Philadelphi •
Among those killed on the spot are mentioned the names
of Major Boyce, of the Uni;eil Sta' es' coast sur, ey, with
his wife, and the B:tr. di de St. Adire, Proton Col sail at
l'bilitielphia. Mr. John F. Gillespie, of Natchez, one
of the wounded, had Hs left leg amputated, and the
right fo t lakes off. His position being very critical,
tlits gentleman made his will, and disposed therein of his
property ti the value of 600,000 dollars, directing that
in case of his death or that of his wife the railway com-
pany should be prosecuted to the last cent. of his frrtune.
tlatinegati was accompanied by his wife and two
children, none of whom were seriously injured.
Ou the morning of the 31st u:t. anoth,r accident oc-
curred on the Ohio and Pennsylvania Railroad. The
express train ran over a cow, and three of the carriages
were thrown off the line in consequence. Ten persons
were nitre or less wounded, four of them seriously.
A third accident happened on the Brooklyn City Rail-
road, caused by the breaking of a break chain when de-
scending a hill in Sands-street. A passenger who jumped
from the carriage was dangerously injured, and the con-
ductor was also very much bruised.

TOTAL LOS. OF THE SAILING TRANS-

FORT CANTERBURY.

SOUTHAMPTON, Sept. 14.—8 y the Peninsular and
and Oriental Company's mail steam-ship Tarts, Captain
J. Weeks, which arrived at Southampton last night,
with the Peninsular mails, we receive intelligence of the
wreck and total destruction of the fine sailing transport
ship Canterbury, of 750 tons burden, commanded by
Captain Carvell. The Canterbury was on her voyage
from' Corfu to England, and bad on board 63 rank and
file, invalids ; 49 women, and 58 children, all of whom
fortunately were saved. it appears that the ill•fated
ship left Gibraltar on the 20th of August, and shortly
after putting to sea, bad to contend with strong head
winds. She, however, continued the voyage with.
out either difficulty or mishap, until the night of the
4th instant, by which time she bad past the coast of
Lisbon. The chief mate, from the entire absence f
vroaelreof
all lights from the shore, and the extreme darknesso
and thick state of tbe weather, found great
difficulty
in discovering his whereabouts. After
h towards the coast, orealerash
a reac wee to "go
about," but before the vessel could reach
gr.ocks making
ffaktinbge
fairly On the
other tack she ran bodily on
coast of Vianna. All the exertions to extricate her were
of no avail, for no sooner was the vessel in this dilemma
than she began to fill rapidly
With
the greatest consternation • water. Of course
immediately seized the pas-
senger, and piteous were the
scenes of the most Painful
desoriptien shrieks of the women, and
throughout the vessel. The were witnessed
dately ordered the
ship's boats to be lowered, and the
activity of the crew in
this respect was surprising. It
being just break of day the position of the vessel, pa-.
sengers, and er
• ew was observed by persons from the
shore, and b •
oati were immediately sent off to render
icisiat
ass- e. They succeeded in landing every soul with-
out
Vienna. The crew managed to save some of their
clothes, together with a few sails and some little of the
ship's gear. Shortly after the men, women, and chil-
dren were got out the unfortun=ate vessel heeled over and
her deck burst from her. The captain and chief mate
\were still with the wreck, in the hopes of saving some
other portions, but there is very little doubt that the
destruction of the ve-sel i. by this time complete. The
! crew, c .nsistiny of about 30 hands, arrived at Southamp-
ton by the Tagus. They state that the proper look out
was kept on deck, and that the mistake as to the posi-
tion of the ship is solely to be placed to accident caused
by the extreme darkness of the night. The Canterbury
was not more than one mile from the shore when she
struck. The whole of the passengers were left on the
beach in charge of an officer, who ' will be sent on to
England by the first opportunity. The crew arrived at
Vigo, from Viartna in one "of their touts, aidrire
, brougli theasis to douthomptos.