The Sun.
London, England, 1864-03-16 00:00:00

COLONEL CRAWLEY.

Mr. D. FORTESCUE rose to call attention to the
court martial on Colonel Crawley, and to move for ceetain
papers relating to the arrest of Sergeant-majors Lilley,
Duval, and Wakefield. The hon. gentleman said he wished
to disclaim any intention of calling in question the verdict
of the court-martial, because he considered that verdict was
honestly arrived at. (Hear.) With regard to his first state-
ment respecting the treatment of Sergeant-major Lilley,
great exaggeratien had been imputed to his description of
the quarters in which the sergeant-major was confined, and
great pains had been taken to show that they were spacious
and commodious, and indeed such was the case as regards
the quarters in which he was first confined ; but his (Mr.
Forteacue's) remarks applied only to the quarters in which
Lilley was last confined, and in which he died. His state-
ments regarding:Lilley's wife also required some modifica-
tion, and he was bound to admit that his speech contained
several errors of detail, but under the circumstances it was
almost impossible to avoid such mistakes, It only remained
for him to express his regret if, from any defects in the in-
formation supplied to him, or any unconscious perversion of
that information on his part, he had been led to overstate
the case and give a darker shade to a picture which in his
opinion needed no such assistance. (Hear, hear.) He would
now make a few remarks upon the arrest itself—a subject
involving no leas a question than the competency of any
officer to suspend the clear and distinct provisions of the
Articles of War. (Hear, hear.) The language of those
articles was perfectly plain and explicit, They provided
that no officer or soldier should be kept in confinement be-
yond a period of eight days before being brought to a
court-martial. (No, no.) Well, at all events that was his
reading of the article. And any officer keeping a soldier in
arrest more than eight days without bringing him to trial,
was liable to be cashiered. (No, no.) Now in this case three
non-commissioned officers, who had been subpoenaed as wit-
nesses for the defence of a prisoner, were, after an irregular
examination, placed under and kept in close arrest
for several weeks upon a charge of conspiracy, which the
Commander-in-Chief declared had not a shadow of founda-
tion. (Elear, hear.) This high-handed and arbitrary pro-
ceeding had been [defended on the ground of emergency,
and it was alleged that the regiment was on the brink of
mutiny. But did any one really believe that ? (Hear, hear.)
The only crimes alleged against these non-commissioned
officers were, first, that they had read the defence of Captain
Sneaks before it was delivered to the court-martial. That
was a course of proceeding which they had an indisputable
right to take. The second offence alleged against them was
the unsupported assertion of one of the sergeant-majors
against his comrades that they had used improper language
against their commanding officer. The amount of credence
to be given to that statement might be jilted of by the
fact that Sir Wm. Mansfield stated that the men could not
be brought to trial, and yet for weeks after that decision
had been pronounced, these men were kept in confinement.
(Hear, hear.) The question was, who was to blame for all
this ? It would seem that the sanction of his military
superior exonerated Colonel Crawley from the responsibility
of the arrest, and the verdict of the court-martial acquitted
him of the charge of undue severity. The result of the
court-rnartnl had caused much dissatisfaction throughont
the country—(hear, hear)—and it had tended to confirm
the impression that, in a question between a superior and
an interior, everything was rendered subordinate to what
was called "supporting authority." But in that house
there were many hon. and gallant gentlemen who had
themselves occupied positions of command, and he would
appeal to them whether they had not found that the
best and surest way of maintaining their authority was to
inspire every officer and private under their command
with a full and perfect reliance on their strict justice.
(Cheers.) He believed that the mischief done by all this
unhappy business was incalculable—(cheers and counter-
cheers)—and that it would take years of administration
at the Horse Guards to restore that military justice,
which, if it ever existed, must have been shaken to its
foundation, If it should awaken in the minds of the mili-
tary authorities a more resolute determination to do justice
to all—no matter at what cost to individuals—no matter at
what apparent sacrifice of authority—and, most of all, if it
should lead to some sweeping damage in those antiquated
forms of procedure—(cheers)—with their temptations to
perjury—(cheers)—if such results attended the late court-
martial, costly and barren of result as many persons believe
it to have been, it would have conferred a great and lasting
benefit. (Cheers.)
Mr. H. GRENFELL, in seconding the motion, said the
only excuse he could offer for interfering in the matter was,
that as a taxpayer, and as the representative of taxpayers,
he was desirous of knowin,g why £lB,OOO hae been expended
on this court-martial. Like his hon. friend, he did not find
fault with the verdict of the court-martial, as it was con-
sistent with evidence given at the trial ; but although Col.
Crawley was not considered guilty of that with which he
was charged, he was morally responsible for the illegality of
the arrest, and he was also morally responsible for being the
principal party in an unjust court-martial. He should like
to know what hen. and gallant gentlemen opposite would
have done if they had been placed in the position of the mili-
tary authorities of this country. He very much doubted
whether they would have granted the court-martial, There
were various opinions entertained about the best mode of
administering the army. There were some who thought it
should be absolutely administered by the Horse Guards, and
others that it should be administered by the Secretary for
War, with a council of officers around him. For his own part,
he believed the Commander-in-Chief was bound by his posi-
tion to do dustice to all persons in the army—(hear)—and
that he was bound to consult the feelings of one class as well
as the other. He would go further, and say that if all the
majors and colonels in the army were swallowed by an
earthquake, there would be no difficulty in finding efficient
persons to supply their places. (Laughter.) But if a simi-
lar earthquake were to swallow the non-commissioned
officers, it would be a difficult matter to supply their places.
But if this was the case as regarded the Commander in
Chief, it was still more the duty of the Secretary for War ;
for he could not forget that the Secretary for War had been
a Liberal member of that house, and that, when ventilating
a question relating to purchase in the army, he dwelt upon
the efficiency of non-commissioned officers, and recom-
mended that cenemieaions should be bestowed upon them
as rewards for their services. Various motions had been
made for additional papers in this case, but he thought they
had already enough of papers, and that, if they got any
more, they would only become confused as they did in the
Schleswig Holstein affsir, The court martial on Colonel
Crawley was like the Wyndham lunacy case, where, owing,
he would not say to the incompetency, but the small calibre
of the judge—(laughter)—the counsel on b )th sides took
every sort of liberty. Still it seemed to him that justice did
not suffer in that case, as the liberties were taken on both
sides ; whereas, in the Crawley court martial the liberties
were all on one side. The hon. member then referred to
the dismissal of Major Swinley, in whose evidence, with a
single exception, and that an extenuating one, he could not
find any proof of animus, and he hoped they would hear
from her Majesty's Government that justice would be done
to this officer. (Hear, hear.)

Lord LOVAINE rose to move, as an amendment, for
copy of correspondence and legal opinions forwarded by Sir
W. Mansfield from India to the Secretary of State for War
and the Commander in Chief, relating to the legality of
the .dhow court martial. The noble lord took exception
to some of the statements made by the honourable mem-
ber who brought forward the motion, and said, so far as
he could understand the evidence, it was perfectly clear
that the sentry had never intruded upon Mrs. Lilley.
Objections had been raised against the court martial,
but he did not see how the court martial could be
considered unjust in the presence of the memorandum of
the Commander-in-Chief, which he held in his hand, With
regard to the proceedings which had taken 'lase in India,
he thought it would not be denied that the military autho-
rities in that country had been hardly dealt with. The
extraordinary thing was, that, after the case had been sub-
mitted to the judge-advocate--after the Commander-in-
Chief had expressed an opinion approving of the proceedings
—it was suddenly discovered that the oourt-martial was
irregular, unfair, and should be reversed. That was owing
to the calumnies of the Indian press, to their republication
in this country, and their production before the House of
Commons in the most exaggerated fora]. A victim was re-
quired ; it became necessary to yield to pressure from with-
out ; and therefore, upon ex parte statements, Colonel
Crawley was brought to court-martial in I his country, and
a slur was cast upon the whole Indian army. The noble
lord then complained of the vacillation which had been dis-
played by the Government in the granting of papers re •
lating to the case. If they were resolved for the future to
take a firm course, and refuse all further explanations, he
should feel that he ought to withdraw his amendment; and,
under the circumstances, he begged to withdraw his motion,
reserving to himself the right of renewing it upon a future
occasion.

General PEEL said he had always deprecated interference
on the part of the House of Commons with the discipline
and command of the army. (Opposition cheers.) Ile drew
the broadest distinction between questions relating to the
maintenance of the discipline and the promotion of the army
and matters appertaining to the civil administration of the
army. At the same time he had no desire to debar that
house from the exercise of the constitutional control vested
in it with respect to the discipline of the army. They had
a Minister of the Crown responsible for the administration
of the affairs of the army, and if the House of Commons
was dissatisfied with the administration of the army they
could remove the Minister. He most earnestly hoped that
the Crawley court-martial case might never be drawn into
a precedent. It had done more to weaken confidence in the
governing powers of the army and the springs of discipline
than any case that had occurred in his time. He was not
going to re-try Colonel Crawley, for in his opinion it was
the Government which was upon its trial in respect to its
conduct on this question, (Hear, hear.) There was a

demand for a victim, and Colonel Crawley was offered
up. He did not wish to be considered an admirer of
Colonel Crawley; on the contrary, he condemned him for,
as it were) accepting the ovation of his men as he left the
head-quarters to proceed to England to stand his trial.
Undoubtedly such proceedings were subversive of the
discipline of the army. It was said that no trial is India
would be satisfactory to the people. Therefore, instead
of trying the man where the excitement existed, they
brought him to trial in this tountry, and fortunately for
Colonel Crawley it Was that he was tried by court
martial. (Cheers.) He (General Peel) was abroad at
that time, but from the evidence he read in the daily
newspapers he thought that the defence had commenced
first, the statements of the witnesses being so entirely in
favour of Colonel Crawley—and he thought it would be
fair for the prosecution to retire from what might have
been called persecution. (Hear, hear.) The hon. and
gallant gentleman remarked upon the influence of counsel
at the trial, and upon the calumnies in the Indian news-
papers and articles in magazines, and said that it was well
for Colonel Crawley all these attempts had no effect on the
honourable men who had to try him. They came tolthe
conclusion that he was fully and honourably acquitted of
the charges brought against him ; and surely it might be
thought an end of the case. (Hear.) The Commander-in-
Chief in his memorandum had intimated that he had no
intention of continuing the discussion upon the circum-
stances under which the trial arose. He thought it would
have been well if the house had followed the course of the
Commander-in-Chief. He deprecated the placing of the
confidential communications of officers on the table of the
House of Commons, and he trusted that the house would
agree with him that the beat plan was to come to the con-
clusion that the production of private papers would be in-
expedient. (Cheers.)
The Marquis of HARTINGTON said the Government
agreed with the right hon. gentleman that it was inexpe-
dient to produce papers that involved further discussion on
that subject. He was sure no hon. gentleman could say that
this subject had notnow been fully and amply discussed by
the house, and thought the large majority would agree with
him when he said that the time had at last come when this
controversy should be brought to an end. In reply to the
speech of the hon, gentleman who had brought forward this
motion, he admitted now, as he admitted in reply to a simi-
lar speech of the hon. gentleman a year ago, that Sir Wm.
Mansfield was held to be technically responsible for the
continued illegal arrest during the Mho w court-martial;
but he had explained that Sir 'William Mansfield was four
hundred miles away from the scene where these occur-
rencos took place, and had no opportunity of making con-
stant reference to the progress of the proceedings. He
was sure that no court martial would have found Sir Wm.
Mansfield guilty of a military offence, and he submitted that
to an officer of Sir Wm. Mansfield's distinguished talent the
communication of the opinion of the Commander-in-Chief
was full and ample punishment—if he might use that word
—for any error of judgment he might have made. Major
Swindley was censured for the manner in which he gave
evidence against hie commanding officers, but whether the
evidence he gave might have been elicited from him in a
peculiar manner he was not prepared to say. Whether
Major Swindley wished to make the worst case he could for
his commanding officer it was not for him to say, but it was
quite clear from the evidence he gave that his feelings to-
wards his commanding officer were such that the regiment
could not continue in peace and harmony if Major Swind-
ley went back and Col. Crawley remained the commanding
officer. Major Swindley was not actually placed on half
pay, but was permitted, as it was called, to change to half
pay. The other witnesses who were removed would before

long be gazetted to other regiments. In reply to the speech
of the hon. member for Aadover last year, which related
chiefly to the imprisonment of Sergeant-Major Liley, he
had stated that Sergeant-Major Lilley had died in illegal

imprisonment, and he stated as well as he could what led

to that imprisonment; but he was not prepared to come
down to the house and give a victim to atone for the death
of Sergeant-Major Lilley. He stated also that Col. Crawley
was not responsible for that, and would not be tried for it;
but he promised that whatever circumstances of severity
there were in the imprisonment should be investigated.
This had been done, and this was the only promise Go-
vernment ever made, and the only promise Government
ever thought it necessary to give. The Government had
been of opinion that the surest way of getting at the facts
of the case was to have a court martial on Colonel Craw-
ley, The right hon. gentleman opposite did not seem
to think that the evidence was sufficient to justify
that course, but he would remind him that they had
the sworn evidence of Sergeant-Major Lilley on the
Mhow court ,martial, evidence which had never been
cross-examined or contradicted, as to the manner in which
the sentries were posted. They had also the admission of
Colonel Crawley that undue severity and inhumanity had
taken place in the imprisonment of Sergeant Major Lilley,
but that he was not responsible for it. They had the letter
of Lieutenant Fitzsimon contradicting that statement,
w icla letter he had been induced to withdraw on the repre-
sentation of General Farrell that it was insubordinate, and
would be ruinous to his future prospects ; though, in the
opinion of the military authorities at the Horse Guards and
the War-office, there was not oae word or sentence that
could be considered insubordinate or improper. Those were
the grounds upon which it had app?ared to her Majesty's
Government that the trial was justifi tble. It was true that
they had had statements from India in explanation of the
occurrences of the Mhow court martial ; but those statements
did not go to disprove a single one of the statements which
had been made by the hon. member for Andover. If he
made an exception to that general statement, it was to ex-
press his regret that he had not explained last year that
there was nothing unfit for human habitation in the house
in which Lilley was confined, being the quarters in which
he would have lived if he had not been under arrest. Com-
menting then upon the exceptions taken by Sir Hugh Rose
to the remarks made by the Commander-in-Chief in his
memorandum of Dec. 18, he denied that the Commander-
in-Chief had ever, in any material point of view, modified
the opinion which he had expressed upon the imprisonment
of Sergeant Major Lilley, or that the Government had ever
sufficient materials in their possession to refute the state-
ments which had been made in the press, and that therefore
they had no other course open to them than to order the
court martial to take place. Referring next to the attacks
which had been made upon the Government for having or-
dered the court martial to take place in England, he pointed
out how unlikely it was, in the excited state of public opin-
ion which had existed, that the House of Commons or the
country would have been satisfied with an inquiry con-
ducted in India, and insisted on the wisdom of the course
which had been adopted by the Government, by remarking
that the first thing which had taken place on the trial was
an objection on the part of Colonel Crawley to the charges
on which he was to be tried. This objection to immediate
reference could be made to the Government, occasioned no
difficulty, though if the trial had taken place in India it
must have caused very great delay, and a reference to Sir
W. Mansfield, the Commander-in-Chief in Bombay, in-
volving the legality of his own actions. If the inquiry
had taken place in India, moreover, it would have been
imputed to the Government that they were trying to shield
the Indian authorities. The right hon, gentleman had
severely condemned the conduct of the Government in
giving any papers on the matter. While quite agreeing
that it was undesirable for the House of Commons to make
itself a court of appeal for the revision of courts-martial,
or any other case, whether affecting civil or military affairs►
he said it was useless, when a case had excited so much
popular excitement as that of Colonel Crawley, to try and
suppress the discussion of the House of Commons, (Hoar,
hear.) He justified the production of the proceedings of
the Mhow court-martial on the grounds that the hon. mem-
ber for Brighton (Mr. Coningham) had been permitted by
the Speaker to read portions of the evidence in support of
his statements last session, and that, as the Government
were not then in a position to give an ample explanation of
all the circumstances of the transaction, they had a right to
know what had happened, and what the Government in-
tended to do. The production of the first papers had
obliged the Government, in justice and equity, to produce
the others. He would not follow the right hon. gentleman
into the observations ho had made respecting the conduct
of the prosecution, as the Advocate-General would give an
explanation of that. (Hear.) It was the opinion of many
h'gh military authorities that what had occurred had not
been in any manner prejudicial to the discipline of the
army. It would, however, be fatal to the discipline of the
army if at any time that discipline should degenerate into
tyranny—(hear, hear)—and it would be almost fatal if
even a suspicion of such degeneracy should be allowed to
remain. Most serious stains had been cast upon the
purity of military justice by the statements made in the
newspapers and in the house last year, and the administra-
tion of military justice could only be vindicated by complete
and impartial investigation, like that which had been made.
No member of that house could rejoice more than he did
that Col. Crawley was able to relieve himself from the im-
putations which had been cast upon him.
Lord HOTHAM, after justifying an amendment he had
put upon the paper, said he cordially concurred in the
principle laid down by General Peel ; but this was an ex-
ceptional case, and exceptional cases required exceptional
remedies, and when such things were done as had been
done in this case there was more to fear from mystery and
seeresy than in letting the whole truth be given to the
country. He complained of some remarks made by Lord
Hartington, which ho thought derogatory to Sir William
Mansfield.

Lord HARTINGTON disclaimed any intention of dero-
gating from the high character of Sir W. Mansfield.

Mr. O'REILLY suggested that in the proceedings in
India there had been violations of military law.
Sir J. FERGUSSON cited certain expressions used by
Mr. Fortescue last last year, in relation to the treatment of
Sergeant-Major Lilley, for which he thought an explana-
tion was due to the house. He reviewed and severely cen-
sured the spirit of the proceedings against Col. Crawley,
who had suffered, he said, grievous injustice. Mr. For-
tescue, ir. his opinion, had only two courses open to him—
either to apologise to the house for having been made the
vehicle of gross falsehood, or to take exception to the find-
ing of the court martial,
Mr. HEADLAM, after explaining the course he had
taken, as Judge-Advocate-General, with reference to the
Mhow court martial, proceeded to reply to the objections
offered to the proceedings which had been taken against
Colonel Crawley, justifying the bringing that officer to a

THE SIIN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, MARCH 16, 1864.

court martial, and the having the trial in England. He de-
fended the manner in which the trial had been conducted,
anel all the steps he had taken in a case in which unusual
difficulties had presented themselves.
Mr. MOWBRAY complained that Mr. Headlam had not
fully explained hie course of action in reference to the Mhow
court-martial and to Paymaster Smales. He complained
likewise of the high terms in which he had spoken of Ser-
geant-Major Lilley, and that he had not touched upon the
question of the legality and illegality of the arrest. As to
the mode of conducting the proceedings at the trial of
Colonel Crawley, he suggested certain points in which that
mode was, in his opinion, erroneous, and that the fault lay
with the Judge-Advocate-General.

Mr. SMOLLETT thought, with Sir J. FERGUSSON, that
the statement made by Mr. Fortescue last year ought to
have been retracted, and that an apology was due to the
house and the country. He read portions of the statement,
and detailed facts which showed, he said, that it was almost
wholly unfounded. He detailed the case of Paymaster
Smales, and what he termed the inconsistent and capricious
orders in his case ; and in that of Colonel Crawley he con-
sidered that there was not a department of the Government
that was free from blame. He thought there was no
necessity for a court-martial upon that officer.
Mr. DUTTON vindicated the conduct of Sir William
Mansfield.

Mr. BOUVERIE contended that Mr. Fortescue was
unfairly censured for the statement he had made last year.
In the first instance, he had grounds for the statement ;
allegations were rife upon the subject, and it was necessary
that there should be an inquiry, which had resulted in the
vindication of Colonel Crawley,
Colonel GILPIN thought the Government ought to pay
the whole of the expenses of Colonel Crawley.
The debate, which was continued by Mr. Neate, Captain
Archdall, Colonel Dickson, Sir P. O'Brien, Sir W. Fraser,
and Mr. Fortescus, in reply, terminated in the original
motion being negatived, and the amendment being
agreed to.

Mr. BAINES obtained leave to bring in a bill to extend
the Franchise in Boroughs.

Leave was given to introduce other bills.
The remaining business and orders having been disposed
of, the house adjourned at five minutes to 12 o'clock.

THE CALAMITY AT SHEFFIELD.

The great mass of the flood waters seems now to

have passed off from the Don, and the streets in its
neighbourhood at Sheffield begin to wear somewhat
of their old appearance. Not so, however, with
the district over which the deluge poured. Many
months must elapse before the buildings are re-
stored, and years must go by before the face of the
country can wear the aspect of verdure and careful
cultivation which it bore on Friday night. The river,
though fallen, is far from being as low as it generally
is at this time of the year, and every furlong of the
stream's banks exhibit almost innumerable traces of
the inundation—such as trees, balks, and beams of
timber firmly embedded in its bed. The open land
in this neighbourhood is still for the greater por-
tion under water, and, as that drains off, a number
of bodies will, it is feared, be exposed to view. The
large hollows which abound are being filled up by
hundreds of cartloads of mud which are being de-
posited in them. The great manufacturers are busily
engaged cleaning out their warehouses, and polish-
ing their machinery, which had become rusty by
the water. Harvest-lane presents the same picture
of mud, cinders, dead horses, cows, and pigs, that it
did on Sunday. Bridgehouses was as busy as ever.
The Whiterails has been cleared. A great portion of
the thick deposit of mud has been carted away, giv-
ing the street somewhat of its usual appearance. In
Nursery-street, with its now silent manufactories,
is the Lady's-bridge. A great portion of the rub-
bish has been removed from beneath the arches,
and the water now flows freely as far as the Blonk-
bridge, where the stream is still impeded by a mass
of rubbish. Blonk-street yet remains in the same
state as on Sunday. The works in this vicinity are
also stopped for repairs. As a rule, however, the
damage done to thegreat manufacturers in the town
has been slight. Mr. John Brown's works and
those of Mr. Bessemer escaped without injury, and
were at work as usual on the Monday following the
calamity. Messrs. Cammel's works were only de-
ranged, so to speak ; but the new works building
for Messrs. Naylor Vickers were rather serously
damaged. Round Neepsend and by Hillsborough
and 0 wlerton-road, where the great mischief fell,
the inhabitants of the houses are busily engaged
pumping the water out of the cellars. " Wailers "
and masons are engaged in rebuilding, wherever
practicable, the walls that have been washed
down. Further down in the gardens opposite,
at the other side of the river, a very painful
incident occurred. Two or three men were en-
gaged in removing the rubbish of cue of the small,
inhabited garden-houses. Near them stood a
young woman, with two children clinging to her
dress, the only ones saved from the wreck of their
cottage. The rubbish had almost been cleared
away when the leg of a human being was exposed
to view. Brick after brick was removed, until the
poor woman recognised the remains of her husband.
A little above where this incident occurred the
corpse of a child was brought out of the mud in an
open space near the Old Brewery. About 20 yards
from this the body of a man was also found. As
these bodies were carried on stretchers to the work-
house a large crowd followed, but the greatest order
and decorum were observed by every one.
'Writing to the Sheffield Daily Telegraph, a corre-
spondent who resided on Bacon-island, thus de-
scribes what he saw in a glimpse of the flood :
" I was seated at my fireside a little after 12 o'clock on
Saturday morning when ray attention was arrested by a
strange noise, together with a shouting of many people.
Alarmed, I hastened to my front door; upon opening it I
was completely bewildered by the frightful sound that fell
upon my ears. It has never yet been truly described, nor
can it ever be ; the nearest approach to a correct definition
of it that I have heard was that of a poor man whose house
withstood the storm that swept away his furniture, &c.
Sir,' said he to me, I heard it coming just like hissing
thunder.' I was so stupified by this horrid sound that I
did not see the wild waters immediately before me, nor did
I dream of the nature of the calamity by which I was
threatened, until I actually stepped into the water at my
garden gate, I at once mounted the railings, and was ter-
rified by the sight of the rushing flood. Sharman's house
was immediately opposite, only across the road. My eye
had but just caught the waters foaming at its base, when
the end fell into the flcod, affording a glimpse of the
rooms, furniture, &c. It was but a
glimpse, for in a moment
the remainder of the house fell towards the road, and sank
like lead in the waters, not leaving the slightest vestige
visible. As I was not aware that Sharman and his family
had escaped a few minutes before, I supposed they were all
lost, and a thrill of horror came over me that caused me to
turn my head from the deep that had, as I supposed, swal-
lowed them up. I then perceived that the waters had risen,
and surrounded me in my garden. I at once leapt back and
retreated into my house, which is considerably elevated
above the road. The stream rose rapidly, until it reached
4ft above the level which it had attained when it swept
away Sharman's house, As it had now reached my door-
step, I requested that my children should be taken out of
their beds and carried to a neighbouring house on higher
ground. Before this could be done I fancied the waters
ceased to rise ; presently I had the happiness to see that
they were subsiding, so that anxiety for my family and my-
self was at an end. When the ft Sod invaded it rose rapidly,
but when it retired it seemed to sink slowly, very slowly.
At length the road was clear of water (not of mud) ; we
then perceived that the bridge leading to the island was
swept away. Anxiety to know the fate of the cottagers on
the island constrained some to creep over the top of the
shuttle. I essayed to follow, and succeeded. Upon reach•
ing the other side we found we were landed in chaos, and
had to grope our way (the darkness was terrible) through
thick mud, under and over trees, timber, stones, and wrecks
of every
kind. Upon reaching the cottages we were rejoiced
to find all their inhabitants safe, excepting poor Wright,
his wife, and the little girl who was visiting with them.
The end of Wright's house jutted out into the stream which
brought down a beam that broke a large hole through it ;
into this the stream poured until it threw down the front of
the house, carrying away the door, the stairs, all the fur-
niture, and we think Wright, his wife, and the child too ;
but, as the flood never reached the chamber in this house,
we are driven to the conclusion that the three persons who
perished must have been down stairs."
In the Kelham rolling
mills the escape of the
workmen was very narrow indeed. The first alarm
was given by a man who had been asleep at the
bottom end of the mill,
and who was awoke by the
rushing in of the waters. lie hastened to where
his fellow-workmenwere getting dinner—these men
being what are called the
"night shift"—and gave
them warning. Fortunately, the gates of the yard
were closed, and the men had no means of getting out
by these means. Had they done so they would in-
evitably have beet swept away by the tide which
passed in front of the buildings. They climbed on
the roeoxft,raermideaesagheersnaelarsetaodyesbcap
been told
to set it on fire intold contrived, in
doing so. But the more remarkable circumstance
remains to be told. The man who gave the alarm,
and who was the means of saving the lives of so
many of his fellowaveorkrnen, lost his father, mother,

wife, and two children, who lived at Malin-bridge
and his own bedstead, with other of his furniture,
floated into the mills where he, with others, was a
prisoner—a distance of not less than 2 miles. In
another part of Kelham island a man and his wire,
who occupied a small cottage, on hearing the noise
of the waters, went out to save their pig. Both
were swept away by the torrent, and the pig as well.

I MEETING IN AID OF THE SUFFERERS.
A public meeting was held in the Town-hall yes-
terday for the purpose of considering and adopting
such measures as may be deemed necessary to relieve
the distress and suffering occasioned by this cala-
mity. The Mayor (Mr. Thomas Jes3ep) presided.
The Right Hon. Earl Fitzwilliam, the Right Hon.
Lord Wharncliffe, and nearly all the gentry of
position in the town and neighbourhood, were pre•
sent. Among them were the following—Mr I. S.
Stanhope, Mr Dunn, Mr J. Brown, Mr W. F.
Dickson, Mr W. Butcher, Mr S. Butcher, Mr H.
Vickers, Mr T. W, Rodgers, Mr H. Rodgers, Mr
J. W. Hawksworth, Mr H. Wilson, Mr J. N.
Mappin, Alderman Matthews, Mr R. J. Gains-
, ford, Mr H Unwin, Mc C. Atkinson, Alderman
Jackson, Mr H. Harrison, Mr M. J. Ellison, Alder-
' man Fisher, Mr J. G. A. Creswick, the Rev. Dr.
' Sale, the Revs. Mr Blakeney, Newman, Aldous,
Wilkinson, C. Wilkinson, and Loxton, &c. The
meeting was crowded.
The MAYOR having briefly opened the proceed-
, ings,
Earl FiTzwlLLiAlt,who was received with cheers,
moved--" That the fearful inundation which hae
caused such awful loss of life and such immense de-
' struction of property, necessarily occasioning wide-
spread misery and desolation, calls upon the inha-
[ bitants of this borough and neighbourhood and all
who sympathise with the sad event at once to sub-
scribe so as to alleviate as far as possible this great
distress, and that a subscription be now com-
menced." On such an occasion as this, added his
, lordship,:it affords me the very deepest gratification
to perform a duty at once so pleasing and melan-
, choiy. A subscription has already been commenced ;
noble sums have already been subscribed to alleviate
the sufferings caused by this dreadful calamity. We
must bear in mind that the first thing to be done is
to alleviate those whose all has been taken from
them. I fear that to a very large extent this will be
found to be the case. Not only have persons, but
families been swept away. Those whom we aro
accustomed to call the " bread winners" have been
' swept away in many cases, leaving fatherless fami-
lies. These are the cases which must first call for
our attention, and to these cases our subscriptions
must be first directed. (Cheers.) That there is other
wide -spread distress no doubt is true, and that, I
hope, can in time be alleviated. But the first must
be alleviated, and that immediately. (Cheers.) I
will not detain you longer than by making that one
observation, because I am sure there is so much to
be said on such an occasion as this, so much detail
to be gone into, that I should be taking up too much
of your valuable time were I to trespass long by
making a speech. I shall be happy, as you know I
always am, if I can come among you to assist
with pleasure on such an occasion of alleviating the
distress of, as I will call you, my fellow townsmen.
I do not know whether any kind of subscriptions
have yet been made known, but I wish on behalf of
myself and family to subscribe £l,OOO. (Protracted
and reiterated cheers.) To the mayor and gentle-
men who will form the acting committee I must be
allowed to say that I hope what I give will be most
speedily placed to the use of those who most need
it. (Loud cheers.)
Lord WIIARNCLIFFE, who was most warmly
greeted, said—Yesterday I addressed a meeting in
the Council-hall, and I ventured on that occasion to
recommend the people of Sheffield to make such a
subscription as should be worthy of the town, and
I am happy to find that the few words I said on that
occasion have borne some fruit. (Hear.) The mayor
informs me that the sum of £6,000 is available for
the purpose of relieving the distress occasioned by
the inundation. I have often occasion to sit in the
place in this court where your worthy mayor now
sits, and although my duty on these occasions nre
sufficiently melancholy iu their nature, yet these
only refer to evils which we may hope in the course
of time to extirpate altogether, but this is one of
those calamities which no human means, by any
possibility, can totally and thoroughly alleviate.
(Hear, hear.) It is a calamity involving not only
the loss of fortune and happiness but involving also
the loss of life, which is the thing that touches us
most nearly. lam happy to see that we have been
honoured by the presence of the noble Lord Lieu-
tenant of the Riding, who has shown such readi-
ness to meet the men of his county in this matter,
and who is now, as he ever is, ready to open his
teart and his puree to all who come to him in need.
We all owe him our most sincere thanks for his mu-
nificent donatio❑ on this occasion. (Hear, hear.) I
hope every one of us will do his duty in like man-
ner. (Hear.) The example that has been set us by
the highest in the room ought to be followed
down to the lowest. This is not an occasion on
which to indu!ge i❑ platitudes as to the necessity of
subscribing. (Hear.) The necessity is one which
we must all feel, and I believe the county at large
is quite alive to the intense suffering that has been
occasioned in its neighbourhood by this disaster.
(Hear.) I believe we shall find that the whole of
England will rally to the assistance of the people
whose homes are desolate in the same way as we
have rallied to the relief of their distress in every
other part of the country when any calamity has
fallen upon it. We need not refer to the Holmfirth
or the Hartley catastrophes, or to the more extended
calamity which prostrated the whole of Lancashire.
I hope we shall find the whole of England will meet
together to render assistance to us in the time of
need ; but, as I said yesterday, we must first set
our own shoulders to the wheel—we must first set
the example. That we did yesterday to some ex-
tent.; don't let us fail to-day in doing our part. I
have groat pleasure in seconding the resolution pro-
posed by the noble lord. (Loud cheers.)
The resolution was carried.
The Rev. Canon SALE, D.D., Vicar of Sheffield,
moved a resolution appointing a committee to receive
and distribute funds, &c. He congratulated the
meeting on the readiness which all classes of society
had shown to unite together for the furtherance of
this good work. The Archbishop of York had sent
a subscription of £5O, and would have attended this
meeting if he could have possibly neglected press-
ing engagements at York. (Applause.)
Mr. T. DUNN seconded the resolution. He ear-
nestly impressed upon the town the necessity of
united action, and called upon the young men of
the town to band themselves together to seek out
deserving objects, and bring their cases under the
notice of the committee at once. He was afraid the
distress would prove wider spread than they were
aware of at present, but he had no doubt that the
sympathy of the people would be equal to the relief
of it.
The resolution was carried.
Mr. J. BROWN moved that the Mayor be requested
to act as treasurer.
Alderman VICKERS seconded the motion, and an-
nounced that the town trustees, at a meeting this
morning, had agreed to subscribe £5OO. (Cheers.)
Councillor HARVEY, who spoke amid some ex-
pressions of disapprobation, was of opinion that the
leading gentry of Sheffield had not done enough to
show their sense of the overwhelming nature of the
calamity. He urged them to double their subscrip-
tions, and then they would have a good case on
which to appeal to the country.
1)r. HALL, speaking as a medical man, said there
could be no doubt that if the mud and filth were
not soon removed from the houses, some serious
epidemic of fever or other disease would result.
Mr. J. DoDwoßm, a small manufacturer, sug-
gested that the working men of Sheffield should
each give one day's wages. His men had done that,
and he had no doubt the working men could raise
in that way -ClO,OOO. He gave £25. (Cheers.)
The resolution was carried.
Mr. J. Yeomans (town clerk), Rev. J. Aldous,
Mr. C. Doncaster, and Mr. T. Chambers were ap•
pointed honorary secretaries of the committee.
Mr. W. S. STANHOPE, of Cannon-hall, said he
would call a public meeting in Barnsley, and he had
no doubt that meetings would be held throughout
the length and breadth of Yorkshire.
With regard to Mr. Dodworth's suggestion, it

appeared that the workmen of Messrs. Guest and
Chimes, of Rotherham, had agreed to give the sum
of £lOO, at least, by setting apart portiono of their
earnings.
Mr. J. ;G. CRESWICK, of Ecelesall-grange, sug-
gestedts,o; property owners who had houises empty
should offer them to persons rendered houtclegs by
the flood. (Cheers.)
Mr. MARCUS SMITH, agent is the trustees of the
Duke of Norfolk, announced that they would sub-
scribe liberally, but he had not yet received in-
structions as to the amount.

Several suggestions for the collection of old cloth-
ing, the distribution of coals, Sze., were made/ and
on the motion of Earl Fitzwilliam, seconded by
Lord Wharncliffe, a cordial vote of thanks was
passed to the Mayor.
The committee met at 5 o'clock in the Council-
hall, and began operations at once. At the close of
the meeting the following subscriptions were an-
nounced Fitzwilliam, £1,000; Town Trus •
tees, £500; Lord Wharncliffe, £200; Charles Cam-
mell and Co., £2OO ; Milner and Sons, Liverpool,
£lOO ; Harrison, Hanson, and Co., £100; Martin
and Hall, £100; Mr. Benjamin Huntsman, £100;
Mr. George Dawes, £lOO ; Marsh Brothers, £100;
Mr. J. F. Mappin, £lOO ; Thomas Rawson, and Co.,
£lOO.

Other subscriptions were afterwards received,
raising the total to over £ll,OOO. Mr. Roebuck
telegraphed that his Royal Highness the Prince of
Wales will head the subscription,