The Sun.
London, England, 1852-01-08 00:00:00

FURTHER PARTICULARS.

A Southampton correspondent writes as follows:
The most disastrous intelligence of the destruction of
the magnificent steamer Amazon, by fire, reached
Southampton early yesterday morning by electric tele-
graph from London. Such a shock Las scarcely ever
before been felt in this-town. Only last Friday after-
noon she left this port, with every prospect of a fa-
vourable and successful voyage. It appears to be but
a few hours since that nearly the whole of the 159 per-
sons on board were standing on her deck as she was
steaming down Southampton water, and with waving
hats and handkerchiefs were bidding good bye to friends
and relatives. The Amazon was the largest mail packet
afloat; she was the first of the gigantic fleet of steamers
building tor the Royal West ledia Mail Packet Cetus
pany which was got ready. Most of the crew and
officers were picked men from the company's service,
and it was considered promotion to be transferred from
any of the West India packets to the Amazon. Among
the passengers who were lost in the Amazon was the ac-
complished Eliot Warburton, the author of the " Cres-
cent and the Cross," "Isfochelaga," "Darien," &e.
Captain Symons, the unfortunate commander of the
Amazon, was a most experienced officer. He was for-
merly in the Peninsular and Oriental Company's service.
During all the time he commanded the West India
packets he was enabled to boast that notwithstanding the
intricate and difficult navigation of the West Indies, the
Gulf of Mexico, and the central American coast, he
never met with the slightest accident. He had not long
been married. Had Captain Chapman, the commander
of the Tay, been in England, he would have taken out
the Amazon. Lieutenant Brady, the Admiralty agent,
was for many years the Admiralty agent on the Alex-
andrian line, Ho was a highly intelligent and most
ausiehle man. He was called on by the Admiralty au-
thorities, almost at the last moment, to take charge of
the mails on board the Amazon, in consequence of the
illness of a brother officer. Mr. Roberts, the chief
officer of the Amazon. we, first in the company's service
for promotion to a commend. Mr. Vim. Angus, the se-
cond engineer, was wrecked in the Acteou and Forth,
two of the West India packets. Most of tee
officers and crew of the Amnon have left families
or friends in Southampton. The task of revealing
the terrible calamity which has befallen most of them
has been of the most painful and eff,.c:ing kind. It was
a long time before the news of the loss of the ship was
generally credited by the inhabitants of Southampton.
On the receipt of the London morning papaas, however,nner
the truth of the disastrous intelligence could_
rntaortnallwlegi.cesdt
be doubted. The utmost sympathy is felt forun h
Indiadisasters,
teheep
de
ffii cnn;lt an
disastersotx.
ineNdvn
indomi-
table uld
ve
duties they undertook to perform; such
fortuneo of
estosf
have broken the spirits and ruined the
almost
any body of men; but by the exert.: , the
display
submission to great sacrifices, and
from
perseverance, they had recovered
all public their
mis-
fortunes,
the most
fortunes, and were nearly equadliejgsuccese le
companies
and surpassing most, in spice
.1 hey have
perfect.
w and
spared,edmtroa b
seelo
hopes teminipsfonrratruinlye.bli,gthhCideobrayrany a
cruelgan andhrci t hei
their
heartrending
dis-
patched the Amazon in the most
everything was
suggestednnge
science u p
by the most
than manner.in
h e r
No
constructionattenti on
andor expense spared, to see
that in her construction and fitti
penosdsitbhlye dsaofneetywohiffioethrhtescooilfuildp. b©
proved experience and advanced
to the comfort and health of to contribute
of the passeelesrtsmaonmdeenrtewoi
Up to th
her departure the most experienced officers of the com-
pany were examining
and testing the Amazon. But the
dispensations of
man are sometimes frustrated
all
Providence,
are. oftiles vain in providing against
hbmyuoms most
hnl au
contrivances
oo mysteriousnritor
iuvsa ces
hihegthe furious elements of nature. The fire
Amazon broke out, it appears, in the gal-
leoenry-cboonaltr:dhoeitl galley, it is stated was constructed fore end
aft, different from what it is in most ships. It was
siotiunn. atedo.ver the engine-room. When operations were
g
0n in the galley before the Amazon left .South-
ampton the heat was most intense there.
The property sacrificed by the loss of the Amazon
cannot be less than a quarter of a million sterling.
By none of the West India packets which have been
lost has there been such a frightful loss of life as
has happened by the burning of the Amazon. In fact,
the lost of life in the latter, consisting of 128 persons,
is nearly as great as that of all the other wrecks put
together. The following are the names of the principal
West India packets which have been lost, viz.--The
Tweed, Forth, Solway, Isis, and the Medina. The
Amazon is the first belonging to the company destroyed
by fire.
SOUTHAMPTON, WEDNESDAY NIGHT, JAN. 7.
The water tender on board the Amazon, who was
saved, has just reached Southampton. He states that
the chief and fourth engineers went the rounds of the
engine-room after midnight on Saturday, and found
everything right; within a quarter of an hour after they
left the water tender saw bits of something on fire fall
into the engine-room; ho had only just time to get as-
sistance before he was driven out of the engine-room,
owing to the intensity of the heat arising from tho fire.
He describes the fire as most rapid and intense. He is
confident that many of those forward never ceuld have
got out of their beds before the fire overtook them; he
only recollected distinguishing Captain Symons and
Mr. Roberts, the first cacao amongst those who
perished.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES.
Sir,—la the absence of any definite information re-
spectLng the origion of the fire which in the space of a
few hours consumed this splendid steamer, and. added to
the annals of maritime disaster the most deplorable ea-
la,mity which has happened since the mysterious loss
of the Pm-Admit and the wreck of the e Avenger, it is
very diiiieult to spEculato with anything like certainty
011 the primary cam of Ow milograti9ll. It seems

probable however, that an unhappy euxiety to make " a
rapid run" may have rendered the officers and engineers
, indifferent to the extreme danger of working now en-
gines against a heavy head-sea at a high pressure; that
the bearings gradually heated, and that the :woodwork
having caught fire, the whole vessel
w ttrstheseenriv n machinery cin
afiihmeesr,yat the same time that the engineers
w
from the engine-room.
roundedei
It is to be observed, that when the Amazon was
going round Southampton, in c edinstry weather, the
engine bearings became so hot on two occasions that,
if I recollect rightly, she was obliged to lie to till
the temperature was reduced. In the account you
have published of the fire it is distinctly a thatjramyetdo—as
I
from 9.30
toto
apse;
to
yhtewr two hours,
cool down. She, she
then proceeded, as it ep [Tars, tterring west by south
half south against half a gale from the south-west; and,
if it be true that she was bursting through the heavy
seas of the Bay of Biscay at 8 knots an hour, it is
evident she was forced along at full speed. In little
more than one hour from the time she was Let in motion
she ‘became from stem to stern ono sheet of flames.
The greatest confusion seems to have prevailed, but tho
noblest might well have lost head and heart at
such a tremendous moment. In the dark night, on a
turbulent ocean, and mid a howling gale, with the fire
fanned by the wind into a furnace blast, the physical
and moral courage of the bravest sailor, no doubt, gave
way. Then came the awful "rush for the beats,"
which, under such circumstances, could only end in the
sad alternative of one death for another. Of the fate of
those who perished in their berths let us not speak.
It may have been less horrible than the lot of those
who, full of life and energy, battling for dear existence,
were sucked down in the pitiless waters. Nice manage-
ment with falls and tackles is always required to
launch a boat in a heavy sea from a rolling ship. It is
too much to expect common caution under the circum•
stances in which the crew of the Amazon were placed,
all but the watch on deck just roused from their
hammocks by the cry of" Fire," and the officers unable
to preserve any control over the terrified passengers and
seamen, the last of whom knew besides that there was a
magazine beneath their feet surrounded by flames.
It is beyond doubt that, had the mail-boat, pinnace,
and second cutter been properly handled, every soul on
board could have been saved. For half an hour the
dingy, the smallest boat iu the ship, lived in the sea,
with five men on board. Pinnace, mail boat, and life-
boat between them ought to have held nearly 100 persons
or even more; the first hung by the fore-tackle from
inattention in lowering it from the deck; the second
was swamped, most likely by bad management; and, if
the lifeboat were a good one, as no doubt she was, she
could have held at least twelve persons more than were
actually on board. As to the second cutter, she was
hurriedly lowered away to a rising sea—the boat lifted,
the fore-tackle unhooked, the sea fell away, and down
came the boat, the boat's bow foremost, while her stern
was still hooked up by the after tackle, and all the
people were washed out of her. Of the first cutter Ido
not yet despair, but alas! there were only five people on
board when she was last visible. Would it not be well,
even at the risk of damaging boats, to exercise the crews
of our large steamers in lowering them away in rough
weather? Would it not be well, at any risk, to avoid
the danger which must arise from the heating of new
engines when worked full pressure against a heavy head
sea, and to save life and property at the hazard of losing
reputation as a " clipper."—Your very obedient servant,
QUIESTOR.