The Sun.
London, England, 1864-02-22 00:00:00

Extraordinary Abandonment of a Ship.

On Saturday a most remarkable case of ship aban-
donment was made known, and which created much
attention in the City. The West India mail, which
arrived a few days since, brought intelligence to the
underwriters at Lloyd's of the abandonment of the
ship John Linn, 1,647 tons, belonging to Messrs.
Fernie and Co., of Liverpool, on the Ist of January,
while on her passage from Bombay to Liverpool,
and that the officers and crew had been picked up
in the boats. Subsequently a letter was received
from the master confirming the above document,
and adding, that when he left the ship the water
was within four feet of her main beams, and no-
thing could save her. The large amount of insu-
rances on the cargo, wo understand worth about
£150,000, led to inquiries as to the character of
the shipments. They were found to comprise
3,103 bales of cotton (valued at £49 per bale),
3,447 cwt. of cloves, 290 bales of wool, 130 tons of
hemp, 120 tons of cora yarn, and other Eaat India
produce. It will be seen by this that the nature
of the cargo was more likely to keep the ship afloat,
even if she filled with water. A few days after
she was abandoned she was boarded by the crew of
the ship Devgallan, Capt. Beaglehole, now at Flush-
ing, who reported her as follows :—" In lat. 20 N.,
long, 38, fell in with the derelict ship John Linn, of
Liverpool. She had only three feet of water in her,
and was making not more than half an inch an hour.
They laid by and sailed her for two days and a
night, and could have taken her into Barbadoes had
he (Captain B.) been able to spare any of his crew."
Assuming that this report is correct, the abandon-
ment of this valuable ship seems somewhat unac-
countable. Had Captain Beaglehole succeeded in
getting the valuable derelict into port, the ship and
crew would probably have been entitled to £50,000
for salvage service. The underwriters are satisfied
the cargo of John Linn with keep her afloat for
weeks, and are sanguine of hearing of her being
picked up and taken into some West Indian port.

Wreck of the Black Ball Line Packetship
Golden Age,

During a heavy snow storm on Friday morning,
the well-known ship Golden Age, Captain Park,
ene of the BI wk Ball line of passenger ships, on her
homeward voyage from Madras to London, with a
cargo on board valued at £200,000, was driven
ashore in the Channel near Dungeness, where she
tilled, and it is expected will become a total wreck.
The Golden Age was formerly an American ship,
when she was bought into the service of Messrs.
Baines and Co., the owners of the Black Ball fleet.
Owing to the valuable cargo which she shipped at
Madras, her arrival in the Channel had been anxi-
ously looked for, and the first that was heard of her
being off the coast was on Thursday. A foreign
galliot put into Dover in the course of that day in a
damaged state, and reported that she had been run
into, by a large ship called the Golden Age, off the
North Foreland, the vessel being in tow of a tug.
The next that was heard of her was her being seen
on Friday morning off Dungeness by the coast-
guard. How she got so far has not not been
clearly reported, but it is thought that the tug
might not have had sufficient power to keep the
ship in tow against the driving wind and snow, and
she drifted down Channel and went ashore on the
Roar Bank, opposite No. 2 Battery, near Dungeness.
When first discovered she had had the main and
mizen masts cut away. A heavy sea was breaking
over the ship, and it was observed that many on
board, crew and passengers were in a most critical
position. The coast-guard stationed at No. 27
Tower at once volunteered to man the the New
Romney lifeboat and to go off to the rescue of those
who were on board. A high sea was rolling in over
the beach, and it was with difficulty that the boat
could be get through the surf. The boat, however,
was at length fairly launched, and the men, in the
most courageous manner, succeeded in reaching the
stranded ship and taking off the Trinity House pilot,
the captain and several of the crew, in all amounting
to 22 Previous to the lifeboat reaching the vessel
a pilot cutter, called the Queen, had managed to
get alongside the ship, and rescued three of the
passengers and some of the crew, who were landed
in the course of the day at New Romney. When
the crew abandoned her the ship was about a quar-
ter of a mile from the shore, and the next tide filled
her with water. A heavy gale had been prevailing
ever since from the north-east with a tremendous
sea breaking in on the shore, and it is feared that
the ship will go to pieces. The cargo, as before
stated, was most valuable, and comprised cotton,
silk, indigo, and other East Indian produce, and
was insured at Lloyd's and the different insurance's
companies for £200,000.