The Sun.
London, England, 1864-11-05 00:00:00

The Awful Catastrophe at Calcutta.

DESTRUCTION OF ENGLISH SHIPS.-APPRE-
HENDED IMMENSE LOSS OF LIFE.-7.7:,

Owing to the Overland India mail bringing the
original telegrams of the fearful cyclone at Calcutta
not being due till next Tuesday, great anxiety pre-
vails among the shipowners, merchants, and under-
writers, not only in London, but Liverpool, Mans
chester, and Glasgow, to ascertain the extent of
losses sustained to the English shipping during that
terrible visitation. It is computed that the value
of the English vessels lying in the river Hoogly at
the time of the outbreak of the storm was between
two and three millions sterling, the largest portion
of which is owned by merchants at Liverpool and
Manchester,
There was a special meeting yesterday of the com-
mittee of Lloyd's Salvage Association, which was also
attended by numerous merchants and underwriters,
when it was urged to despatch without delay special
agents to Calcutta, in order to protect the interests
of all parties concerned in the losses, several mer•
chants expressing their conviction that the calamity
would be found to be far greater than at present
imagined in London. Special agents representing
the London and Liverpool owners and underwriters
will leave by the next mail.
The mail on Tuesday, however, will not furnish
much additional intelligence to what has already
gone forth to the public. It was telegraphed from
Calcutta to Bombay up to about the 10th October,
when the steamer started for Suez, therefore the
details of the hurricane will not come to hand until
the succeeding mail from Calcutta ; and as the
Nemesis (s), which was put on for this mail, ap-
pears among the disabled ships in the disaster, it
will doubtless be considerably delayed.
Some doubt have been expressed as to the authen.
ticity df the reports in the Paris papers that up-
wards of 12,000 lives had been sacrificed by the in-
undation of the villages along the banks of the
Hoogly. This, however, is believed to be too true.
Calcutta merchants in the city express that opinion,
and, indeed, assert that when the accounts arrive
the losses will be found to be frightful. Some 25
years since Calcutta was visited by a similar cala•
mity, when upwards of 36,000 natives lost their
lives by the inundation of their villages, The banks
of the Hoogly wero washed away, and the bore.
wave carried the ships into the interior of the paddy
fields. Such is supposed to be the case in the pre-
sent instance.
The telegrams containing the lid of losses and
disasters to the shipping were full of inaccuracies
in the spelling of the names of the ships, but by re-
ference to the latest advices from Calcutta of the
shipping in that port, a more perfect list has been
collected, of which the subjoined is a copy.
EMI'S REPORTED TO I3E TOTALLY LOST.
Tho ship-Great Tasmania, 2,500 tons, belonging to Li-
verpool,
The ship Lew Chew, 860 tons, Captain Sinclair, from
The Baron Renfrew, I,IOJ tons, Ceptain Bees, from Li-

The ships Vespasian, Singapore, Thunder (opium ship),
Franklin, Govindpore, Ally, Nimrod, Azgeniea, and A. J,
Kerr. _ _

The Glasgow ship Sir W, Eyre, 1,316 tons, owned by
Messrs Law and Co.
The Dingo, 1,020 tons, belonging to Messrs Collut, of
Liverpool.
The Solway, 800 tons, and 12 large steam togs.
Six other large vessels, all in country (India) trade, are
included in the list of totally lost, to which are also to be
added the wrecks of three large fine steamers, each 1,000
tons burden, belonging to the British India Steampacket
Company, trading between Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay ,
and in one instance, that of the Persia, all on board perished.
LIST Or SHIPS ASHORE, DAMAGED, &3.
The Anne Royden, 1,175 tons, belonging to Liverpool.
The ship Hanover, 1,046 tons, owned by Mr. Marshall,
Fenchurch-strot, London.
The Newcastle, 1,137 tons, belonging to Messrs Green
and Co., of Blackwell.
The Red Rose, 1,455 tons, owned by Messrs Curtis and
Co., London. She was last from Melbourne.
The King Arthur (iron) 1,245 tons, belonging to Messrs
Capperd and Co., London.
The Southampton, 909 tons, owned by Messrs Bremner
and Co., London.
The Pride of Canada, 906 tons, belonging to Messrs
Taylor and Co., London.
The Mauritius (iron s s), 2,400 tons, owned by the
General Steam and Shipping Company.
The Carribean, 800 tons, belonging to Messrs Taylor and
Co., London.
The City of Paris, 990 tons, belonging to Messrs Smith
and Co., Glasgow.
The Victoria Bridge, 1,201 tons, from Liverpool.
The Winchester, 1,157 tons, belonging to Messrs Mare
shall, of London.
The Bengal (s), 2,000 tons, owned by the Peninsular and
Oriental Steam Navigation Company.
The Lady Palmerston, 1,247 tons, from Liverpool.
The Mooresfoot, 1,189 tons, belonging to Messrs Moore
and Co., Liverpool.
The Mirzapore, 778 tons, Captain Pitson, owned by Mr
Scott, of London. She was last from Bombay.
The Southern Cross, 650 tons, belonging to Messrs Simp-
son, of London.
The Broughton Hall, 1,193 tons (iron), owned by Messrs
Sinclair, of London.
The Indian, 1,291 tons.
The Agra, 900 tons, belonging to Messrs Ratlibourno and
Co., of Liverpool.
The Chevy Chase, 687 tons, owned by Messrs Blythe and
Co., of Liverpool.
The Lincolnshire, 1,024 tons, belonging to Messrs Wilson
and Co., Liverpool.
The Manilla, 1,147 tons (iron), owned by Messrs Phillips
and Co., Liverpool.;
The Merrie England, 1,042 tons, belonging to Messrs
Beazley and Co., Liverpool.
The Monmouthshire, 1,153 tons, owned by Messrs Bolt
and Co., Liverpool.
The John Chism, 88Q tons, belonging to Messrs Chism
and Co., Liverpool.
The Astronomer, 1,119 tons (iron), owned by Messrs
Harrison and Co., of Liverpool. Was last from Bombay.
The Beaumaris Castle, 1,140 tons, belonging to Messrs
Somes and Co., of Blackwall.
The Royal Alexandria, 1,040 tons. owned by Messrs
Browning and Co., of Glasgow.
The Waterloo, 1,253 tons, belonging to Messrs Leon
and Co., Liverpool.
The Aladdin, 840 tons, Captain Ermal, from Bombay.
The (ship) Wide Awake, 806 tons, Captain Smith, from
Hong Kong.
The (ship) the City of Lahore, 1,500 tons, Captain Top-
ping, from Glasgow.
The Botanist, 1,121 tons, from London, belonging to
Messrs Harrison, of Lip erpool.
Tho Western Star, 1,400 tons, engaged in the India
trade, belonging to Liverpool.
The Romaine, 1,700 tons, Captain Criekehaw, from
Bombay.
The Collicgwood, 1,200 tons, Capt. Nunn, from Madras.
The Sir John Lawrence, of Liverpool.
The Martaban, 827 tons, of Liverpool.
The Salsette, Captain Dawson, of Liverpool.
The Nimrod, 883 tons, belonging to
,Liverpool, a total
wreck.

To be added to the abovo there aro no less than 64 large
ships reported to be either ashore or damaged by collision
after driving away from their anchors—but as some doubt
exists as to Cleir identification as given by telegram, it
would be useless to give them at present.
The Peninsular and Oriential Steam Navigation Com-
pany had only two of their steamers at Calcutta at the
time, and the satlaed like the rest of the shipping. it is

Yesterday the 70. pounders entered upon their
second stage of trial at Portsmouth with direct shell
firing at the Alfred target ship to test percussion
fuses against a wooden ship. The Alfred is an old
armour-plate target ship, with her broken armour
removed from her sides, and then ph,nked over ex-
ternally, arhe her ports filed in with 4'n. fir !leak-
leg. She lay moored in Porchester Creek, with her
port broadside presented to the Stork gunboat,
which was moored 700 yards distant, with the three
70-pounders on her deck, mounted on pivoted slide
carriages. The special committee, with Captain A.
C. Ray, C. 8., took up their quarters on board the
Erebus floating battery, which was lying at the
bend of Porchester Creek, and about 400 yards
distant from the Alfred, the latter vessel being stem
on to the view of the committee from the deck of
the Erebus, and thus affording a capital position ou
the battery's deck tosview the effscts of the shells
as they were fired at the target ship. The White
worth shells contained a bursting charge of 21b.,
and were fired with a 101 b. charge. The Arm..
strong shunt gun shell contained a bursting charge
41,1 b., and was also fired evith a 101 b. charge: The
Armstrong wedge gun shell contained a bursting
charge of 411 b. and was fired with a 91b. charge.
The first shell was fired from the shunt gun, went
over the ship without exploding, and was afters
wards brought back by a fisherman, who had
recovered. it in a field on the north shore of the
harbour, about 4,000 yards from where it was
fired from. The second shell was from the
Whitworth gun and also went over the ship. The
third, from the wedge gun, burst in the ship. The
fourth, from the Whitworth, burst in the ship. The
fifth from the shunt, burst prematurely between
the gun and the ship, and the sixth from the same
gun did the same. The seventh, from the shunt,
went over the ship, its first graze being about 400
yards beyond the target ship. The eighth, ninth,
and tenth shells, all from the shunt, all burst close
to the muzzle or in the gun. Nos. 1, 12, 13, 14,
and 15 were fired from the Whitworth gun, and all
burst in the ship. Nos. 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20 were
fired from the wedge gun, and all burst in the ship.
A visit to the ship at this stage of the proceedings
disclosed the fact to the committee,that the damage
inflicted upon the interior of the ship by the respect'
five shells might be approximately proportioned
according to the amount of their bursting charge,
but it was impossible to draw any very exact and
reliable comparisons. The decks of the ships were
covered with splinters, sufficient in quantity to
have wounded or killed every man who might have
been stationed upon them had the ship been in
action, but the ship was nowhere on fire, nor was
she, as yet, at all seriously damaged externally.
The firing was resumed with the 24th shell from
the shunt gun, which burst on the off gun whale of
the ship and inside. Four more followed from the
same gun, three of which burst in the ship and one
burst on gassing through the ship. The Whit-
worth gun next took up the firing with five shells,
making the total number up to 30. Four of these
burst in the ship, but one (No. 29) went over and
burst some 300 yards beyond. The wedge gun
followed with six shells, making the total number
fired at the ship for the day 36. Four of these burst
inside the ship; one burst on striking and ono
passed through the ship and buried itself in the mud
in the distance without bursting. This coucludtd
the firiag.
At to the general results they may be very briefly
sumnisd up in the words before made use of—thu
damage mt.y bo fairly apportioned to each shell
according to its bursting charge. Beams were
split up and broken and hurled over the target
ship's deck with ugly jagged pieces of the broken
shells, strips of planking, and cartloads of wooden
splinters, but the ship was net set fire to. Se far
for the inside of the ship. With regard to her
outside, a neatly cut hole plainly told where the
shell had entered the ship, but the damage, with
one exception, did not extend beyond the Tot
struck. The exception referred to is a most re•
markeble one, and will afford most valuable data
for the guidance of the Lords of the Admiralty in
their intended application of chain cable armour to

the broadsides of our wooden ships in the wake of
their engines and boilers. The shell broke the cable
clean in two, and exploding by the fcrce of impact
and resistance to its flight drove in the ship's
planking and timber, doing more damage in fact
to the ship's side externally than all the other shells
put together. Here was clear proof that the sure
means to insure damage to a wooden ship's side
from rifled shell was simply to hang chain cables
over her side for so-called protection. The chain

thus struck was one of three cables with which the
ship was slung vertically, as is usual with all target
vessels,

The premature bursting of the shell from the
shunt gun is something remarkable, the wedge gun
being fired with the same description of fuse, It
has been said that this bursting of shells prema-

,urely from this gun is entirely owing to the nip

the shell is believed to receive just as it leaves the
muzzle of the gun, but this we believe to be an
error, and the bursting of the shunt shells yester.
day can only be ascribed to some fault in the fuse,
which may perhaps before the next day's firing
with shell be discovered and remedied. It is also
just to say that the fuses themselves were experi'
mental. No misfires occurred with the Whitworth
gun yesterday, the additional precaution having
been taken to prick each cartridge before firing.
-Yesterday was only the first stage of the direct
shell firing, and it will be resumed probably on
Tuesday next, and brought to a conclusion with
shells fired en ricochet. On Monday next the 70d
pounders will be tried outside Portsmouth harbour
on the present private slides in independent and
quick firing.
Gen. Todleben, who had previously been taken
over the various points of interest in Portsmouth
Dockyard, paid a short visit to the Stork gunboat
during the time the firing was going on, accom-
panied by Major-Gen. Lord William Paulet, C. 8.,
and Admiral Sir Michael Seymour, G.C.B.

The Wreck of the Oliva,

OFFICIAL REPORT.

The following is the report of the court of inquiry,
held at Colombo, relative to the wreck of the ship
Oliva

District Court, Colombo, August, 1864.
TO THE BOARD OF TRADE, LONDON. .

We have the honour to report that, at an investigation
into the causes of the wreck of the ship Oliva, at the in-
stance of the Receiver of Wrecks, held on the 18th and 231
inst., after hearing seven witnesses called by the said Re.
ceiver of Wrecks, we found-Ist. As to John Barr, Master
of the said ship, that the accusation of intoxication made
against him has not been substantiated, and accordingly
returned him his certificate. 2d. As to Robert Barr, mato
of the said ship, we found that her loss was caused by hie
gross ignorance, carelessness, and inattention ; but inas-
much as his certificate was that of second mate only, and
not of chief mate, we felt compelled to run him such certi-
cate, and did so accordingly, 3d. We cannot close this
report without censuring the captain for having proceeded
to sea in such a state of health as prevented him taking
personal command of the vessel, without having on board
a competent officer. The wreck lies about three miles to
the north of the port.
JOIIN Frr.rv, Judge.
JAMES DONNAN, Master Attendant Assessor.

ACCIDENTS IN TIIE FLEET.— Several accidents
occurred in the Fleet during the inspection by the Lords
Commissioners of the Admiralty lately at Malta. We have
already noticed the deaths of two seamen on board the
Gibraltar, by falling from aloft.:,The ono said to have taken
place on board the Revenge occurred on board the Royal
Oak, by falling down the hold. Two others, one with
fatal result, happened to seamen onboard the Marlborough,
the other loan having e4caped with a. broken log.—Ara /to
pct, :7,