The Sun.
London, England, 1852-01-09 00:00:00

We should not omit to mention that Mr. Silacy, 'one
of two passengers who wcre saved, handsomely handed
over to each of the surviving portion of the crew the
sam of V. ss. as a reward for the noble conduct they
had displayed on the lamentable occasion. In the
course of tue evening, the ;um were presented with
the amount by Mr. Vincent, the young midshipman;
and the poor fellows seemed considerably affected by
the gift.

FUWEY, JAN. 6.
A life-boat, nearly new, has been picked up near this
port. The boat is about thirty feet long, and is marked
on the quarter " Anaiaon, of London."

The following letter has been received by the secre-
tary of the company from Mr. Neilson, one of the sur-
viving passengers of the Amozon, testifying to the gal-
lantry of Mr. W. Vincent during the trying tcenes suc-
ceeding the loss of that vessel:—
" Halewood, near Liverpool, Jan. 7.
" Sir,—As one of the survivors of the passengers of
the unfortunate Amaz )n, I feel it my duty to bring,
through your official position, to the notice of the direc-
tors the gallant conduct of Mr. William Vincent, jun.,
midshipman of that vessel.

" He will have given you a description of the event,
which I need not, therefore, dwell upon; but he will not
have told you of the admirable manner in which he be-
haved throughout the scene.
" I had got away in one of the life-boats, with fifteen
of the crew. We picked Mr. Vincent, Mr. Sisley, and
three men out of the dingy,which immediately swamped,
and not for one moment during the trying scene that
followed did that young officer show the slightest symp-
tom of fear or he.itation, or utter a single murmur in
complaint. His whole care and attention seemed
devoted to the men, of whom he took the command, and
his entire conduct throughout was worthy of the pro-
fession to which he belongs, and of which, if he lives, he
must become a distinguished ornament.
" I have had an opportunity this morning of mention-
ing his conduct to the President of the Board of Trade,
and shall feel deeply gratified by any mark of approba-
tion the directors may feel disposed to show him.

" i am, &e.,
" ROBERT NEILSON.
" Captain Chappell, N., Secretary, Royal
Mail Steam-Packet Company."

PLYMOUTH, THURSDAY.—Mr. Thomas Sisley, one of
the passengers taken out of the dingy, and saved in the
after life boat, formerly carried on business in Watling-
street, London. He had on board the Amazon a quantity
of French fabrics, with which he was proceeding to the
West Indies, and occupied a double berth in the chief
cabin in conjunction with a friend, Mr. Cheque. Mr.
Sisley was in bed when the fire raged, and was awakened
by the berth being filled with smoke; he jumped out
immediately, and snatching up the nearest garment, a
coat belonging to his friend, hastily rushed through the
cabin to the deck. The horrible scene which now pre-
sented itself seemed, as in the case of most of the sur-
vivors, to have paralyzed his senses, and to have tempo-
rarily disturbed his recollection. Having got
from the burning ship into one of the boats
which fouled her tackle, he was precipitated
into the sea, and providentially for him succeeded
by swimming in getting on board the dingy. On
landing here, in a state of nudity, he sent for an old
friend, Mr. Henry Seaman, a gentleman in the silk trade,
by whom he was speedily provided with those neces-
saries which were so much required in his distressed
condition. Mr. Sisley's surmise as to the cause of the
fire is that it commenced among the coal, which, being
stowed in tarred bags, would be readily ignited when
placed near the engines.
Some of those who escaped first attempted to get pos-
session of the best life-boat, placed nearer amidships,
but lost so much time in their vain efforts to remove her
from the cranes or crotches that the approaching flames
drove them off, and they then took to the after life-boat,
in which they left the ship.
The conduct of Mr. Vincent, the young midship-
man, is deservedly spoken of in terms of the highest
praise by all the passengers, seamen, and enginemen,
and to his courageous bearing and skilful manage-
ment they attribute, under Providence, the security
of their lives in an open boat, on a tempestuous
sea, under such difficult circumstances. Taking his
place in the stern-sheets, he, although the youngest on
board, assumed the responsible charge of the boat, and
continuing in a standing posture nearly the whole of the
time from leaving the wreck to joining the brig, he gave
such directions to the men at the oars and to the cox-
swain as prevented the boat being engulfed by the heavy
seas which were running, and at the same time secured
her proper progress in that course which they thought
would have soonest led them to a place of refuge.
A difference of opinion exists in relation to the
conduct of the crew of the barque which they saw near
theta shortly after parting from the wreck. Those who
think their cries were heard by the barque, condemn her
officers, and with
,just cause, for not coming to assist
them. Those, on the other hand, who consider that the
barque did not hear them hail her, state that the course
which she pursued, in running directly towards the
burning wreck, was the most natural and humane which
could have been observed.

Tho following statement by William Forster, an able
seamen, providentially escaped, will be read with interest
at the present momeet:—
" We left Southampton in the Amazon steam-ship at
3 p.m., with very fine weather, and proceeded down
channel until 9 P.M., when we had to stop to cool the
bearings of the engine, we then being off the Bill of
Portland. At 11 P.M. we proceeded on our voyage,
with an increasing breeze and clear weather. At noon
the following day all watch wore employed in securing
the anchors and getting things secured for sea. At 1
P.M. we commenced sending down the lower and top
gallant yards, upon account of the wind still increasing,
and being dead on end of us. From then nothing par-
ticular occurred until 9 r.m., when again we had to stop
the eugino to cool it. It was then my watch,
and I was on deck at a quarter to 12, when
we again proceeded, with the wind a little
increased. I knew not why it was that I should
have a dread something would happen to tho vessel,
but I can safely say I did not enjoy ono hour's com-
fort on board. This night of the fire in particular,
about 10 minutes before 12, I lay down by the after gun-
wale, when it appears I must have dozed off, for all at once
I aroused myself by fancying I heard two persons con-
verting and saying, " If we did not mind what we were
about, the vessel would blow up." After I gathered my
senses a little, I heard another man say it was the bell
which denoted on board it was half-past 12. I got up
then, as I knew it was my watch below, and walked
forward to the mess I belonged to, where I sat down
and considered whether I should go to bed or not. I
at once determined I should lay down on the mess
stool until my watch on deck again. I then took off
my oil-skin coat, and folding it, placed it as a pillow,
but had scarcely laid my head down, when I heard
the cry of fire. For a second or two I took no notice,
as I had so often been disappointed' at different sounds,
but all at once I heard three or four strokes on the
fire bell. I immediately jumped up, and looking up,
saw the flames protruding up one of the hatchways of
the engine-room, which was by the foremast funnel.
I ran att and up the foremost companion, followed by
gr. Roberts, the chief officer, in his shirt. Ho imme-
diately flew to some wet mats that were lying on the
foremast sponsors, singing out for me at the same time
to assist him, which I did till he had used them all,
about ten in number. He then ran through the flames
to the other end of the ship. I may observe that the
swabs we threw on the fire made no more impression on
it than a cupful of water would. I then proceeded over
the paddleboy on the starboard side, the flames then
being as high as the highest point of them, and when I
came to descend I found that I had to throw myself on
my stomach to succeed. As soon as I was down I found
there were some men trying to clear the foremast life-
boat, when I staid and assisted them, but the flames
increased so rapidly on us that we were obliged to leave
her, and commenced on the next. I had no idea at the
time this second boat was a life-boat. 1 found we had a
deal of trouble to get this boat clear, as she was placed
in iron crutches, and iu the confusion we found it
very hard to get the boat clear of them, but during the
time, which was only a short space, I repeatedly cast
my eyes on the quarter-deck, which was then all on fire
to see what was going on, but I saw nothing but Captain
Symons and a number of the passengers surrounding
him, as if to crave his advice what was best to be done.
I heard him shout out Never mind the boats,'when by
this time the boat was partly down. I jumped off the
deck into her. The men that lowered the boat then
came down the tackles into the boat, and both were
saved. The vessel at this time had such way on her,
and was going through the water so rapidly, I should
think about the rate of 12 or 13 knots an hour, that we
found it impossible to hold by her any longer. We
therefore let go, and, dropping astern, we left
the next boat hanging by one and on her
tackle, that was unhooked. As soon as we
were astern, we heard nothing but death screehes
all around us. We immediately set to to
clear away the oars, which were all looped to two or
three of the thwarts, and then it was some seconds be-
fore we could find the boat's crutches, which are used
for pulling the boat with; but after wo were all ready
we lost all cries, with the exception of what happened,to
he in a little boat called the dingy, which was the
smallest boat in the ship. We made immediately away
for her, and succeeded in saving five lives, and then
lashed her astern, in case we should pick up more than
our own boat could carry, and should also have her in
reserve, providing she could live, but we had scarcely
done so when a very heavy sea followed, sunk the dingy,
and half-filled our own boat with water. Wo had then
no other resource but to get our boat baled out, and this
we did by cutting the tops of our boots off, aided by our
southwesters; and, fortunately, we at the same time
picked up a seven gallon beaker, of which we knocked
the head in, and suoceded in getting our seats dry
that
again. We then laid by the fire until the ship sunk,
but we did not save any more lives. About
a quarter of an hour before the ship sunk, the
xi:og
jeczine exploded. We stopped there until daylight to
there
mightere anyie boats
e sawo thursneolveisl,igo.r
vn )
vesselt3
then pulled away k'
to the
pick
eastward,uil
,but w
which we had a very
nthing until
good idea of by the sea running
,that way, but wo saw
twelve at noon, when we sighted the brig
Marsden, who took us on board, and treated us very
kindly, and bore
with us from Plymouth, where we
landed at seven esures)
o
retest kindly treated by the FishermenTuesdayor rcs morning,peetand
ahnl
redati,ewrsi :Et
Marine
So-
ciety,ere
and then proceti•ldeet o u
In the csuree of conversr tiun, Forster said he deemed
tasfore this took place there prevailed a con-
Vincent and the others the
it fortunate for the safety the survivors that they had
in
di:frkerueteenceantef opinion amongst those in the
dingy.
what was the proper course to se Tr, &e.,
s
but the moment that officer was taken into the life-boot
lie;rdcol,:rbeadobalutopa
to
the command was by general consent conceded to him.
His coolness and judgment inspired the utmost con-
fidence amorgst all, and his judicious directions
were followed with the utmost cheerfulness and alas