The Sun.
London, England, 1852-01-19 00:00:00

THE SUN

Here we boarded the French whale ship Ajax, of
Bordeaux, who gave us information that the ice ex-
tended
across the bay of Anadir from Cape Thaddeus
to Cape Tchaplin, and thence across the St. Lawrence
Island, and that, finding it impossible to get to the
northward, she was going to pass to the southward of
the island, in hopes of finding clear water to the east-

ward.
I am sorry to add that, in endeavouring to do this,
while approaching too close to the shore in search
of whales, this vessel struck, and was totally lost on
a reef off the south-east side of St. Lawrence Island
a few days afterwards. The Ajax had fallen in with
her Majesty's ship Enterprise on the Ist of June, in
long. 176 W., at the edge of the ice, which at this
period appears to have extended across from Cape
Thaddeus (Asiatic coast) to Cape Roumanzoff, on the

American coast.
On the 19th we sighted the ice, and found cruising
off the edge of it several whale-ships awaiting for an
opening to proceed northwards. We were detained
off the N.W. point of St. Lawrence Island till the
24th, when, having anchored with the stream, near it
we were closely beset with the ice, which extended
in every direction as far as the eye could reach, and
left us no alternative but to remain at anchor
to avoid being drifted near the shore. On the 27th,
the northern shore of the island being partially
cleared of ice, and the ship free, we weighed, and stood
to the eastward, in the hope of finding a clear passage
in that direction. We succeeded, however, in get-
ting but a few miles, and from this period till
the 9th July we were almost constantly beset
with ice, the only clear water being occasionally
close in the shore, where we were forced to remain
at anchor, sustaining a heavy pressure of ice against
the bows from the strength of the tide, which made
the ship drive; and it was generally found better to
weigh on these occasions, and, having no ice-anchors,
to secure the ship with warps and the boats' anchors
to the largest floes of ice, and in this manner we
gained some miles to the eastward. On one occasion
we made sail, and drove the ship through the ice into
clear water; but the thumps and shakes she received
were so great that I should not have attempted it
again but as a last resource.
On the sth, whilst at anchor, the weather being
very thick, a field of ice, above a mile long and half a
mile broad, was set across the ship's bows, and the
ship, unable to withstand such a pressure, drove, our
efforts to break it by degrees, by the use of our spare
mizen topmast as a bumper, and axes and pickaxes,
being quite ineffectual. A heavy jerk about mid-
night, and the ice passing on clear of the ship, showed
that something had given way ; and, next morning,
finding the ship again driving, we sighted our anchor,
and found both flukes, the shank having broken in half
about a foot from the crown, The part that came up,
as well as the cable, was quite bright, but so great was
the strain that I should have been surprised if neither
anchor nor cable had given way.
It is worth remarking that on the 12th of August,
or 34 days afterwards, we picked up the buoy of this
anchor (which was a wooden temporary one we
had made to save our new buoys whilst among the
ice) lying on the beach on the north shore of Port
Clarence. It was about fifty feet from the water's
edge, and about twenty feet further up than the ordi-
nary high water-mark, and had no doubt been drifted
up on the Bth, when the tide rose unusually high in
a south-east gale which blew on that day. The dis-
tance from where it was lost was about 145 miles, which
would give only about four miles and a quarter a day
to the northward ; but part of this time the sea was
almost filled with ice, and the winds prevailed more
then usual from the northward. It may be consi-
dered, however, as confirming the supposition that all
the large quantity of drift wood in this vicinity, and in
the midst of which the buoy was found, comes from
the southward.
The wreck of the American whaler Mary Mitchell,
lost about the same time on the west side of St. Law-
rence Island, drifted also to the northward and
through Behring'a Straits, and was fallen in with by
the English schooner Eliza, of Hobart Town, in
August, to the north-west of East Cspe.
In the course of the 6th we weighed, and soon
after, securing the ship to the field of ice above- men-
tioned, drifted with it ten miles further to the east-
ward. Finally, we observed early on the 9th clear
water to the north ward, and shortly after had the
pleasure once more of making sail, after three weeks
being obstructed and almost constantly beset with ice.
We were not, however, able to reach King's Island,
as the pack extended thirty miles to the westward of
it in a nearly north and south direction, and had the
weather not been so very thick in standing over to
the Asiatic coast, I should have gone into St. Law-
rence Bay, but the fogs were so thick we could hardly
see a ship's length. On the 15th we found the ice bad
cleared away, and succeeded in anchoring in Port
Clarence, when I found that the Enterprise had sailed
on the 10th on her Arctic service, and that the Plover
had proceeded on the 11th to Norton Sound, leaving
her decked boat in Grantley Harbour in charge of the
storehouse. I, therefore, took advantage of the fine
weather to get our topmasts down and refit our rigging,
and had the bows caulked, the pitch having been
forced out and some copper rubbed off by the ice,
which caused a trifling leakage.

On the 30th of July the Plover arrived, and I
sent the carpenter and a carpenter's mate of this
ship aboard to examine into her condition and re-
port on her defects, and I have the honour to enclose
herewith (No. 1) a copy of their report, from which it
is evident that in their judgment the vessel is
quite fit to continue the service ehe is now employed
in for the period she is ordered to remain. Com-
mander Moore had instructions from Captain Collin-
son to proceed to Hong-Kong in ceee no man of war
arrived during the summer, in consequence, I ima-
gine, of the Plover's crew having suffered much from
scurvy in the past winter.
He had also a discretionary power to proceed pre-
viously to the northward of Behring's Straits for a
short period, if he thought it likely to be of any
service in gaining information ; and as he was anxious
to do so I delayed the repair of his defects, and sup-
plied him with stores and provisions, till his return,
and I proceeded in this ship in company with the
Plover to St. Lawrence Bay on the 2d of August, to
arcertain if any dispatches had been buried on the
island there, in the position pointed out by Captain
Collinson in his letter to the Admiralty last year.
We had parted company in very thick weather, and
on the 4th, on entering the bay, we observed the
Plover also running in while we were communicating
with an English lorcha from Hong-Kong, ont of
which vessel we took a bag of letters for the En-
terprise.
The Plover meantime had anchored inside the har-
bour, which is formed by a low sandy islet, on the
northern shore.
We had neither chart nor sailing directions, but as
I understood that the passage was safe on either side
of the islet, we steered for the eastern one, but the
water shoaling very quickly the best bower anchor
was let go in four fathoms and a half, sail shortened,
and on bringing up the ship swung into three fathoms,
and touched very lightly a few times, owing to a
slight swell that was setting in.
Shortening in cable and laying out the stream
anchor, we hove her into deeper water immediately,
without of her having received the
slightest
and then entering by the western
h
mag e possibility
channel we anchored in the arbour, where we found
several whale ships, principally under English and
American colours.
No dispatches having been found, I quite agreed
with Commander. Moore, that although there was
very little probability of his either seeing or obtain-
ing any intelligence of the Enterprise, or hearing of
the position in which the Investigator had passed the
last winter, it would be satisfactory that I should be
able on my return to carry information as to the state
of the ice to the northward, as the unusual time to
l assist
found
ini
n which the sea to the southward has been filled with
ice would render it probable that the packed ice
wou
dnwernhourekepinrehg thefvuirotuhseryteoars.
To d
be
thanu southward of its
position
thera a
tPe,l oavnedr sre. nt
Scott,fr second this
ship Mr. Buckley, acting g
otmenmasneadmerenm(awoirteh, wohnosehiscornedthurcnt, and
exertions withC
ex-
pressed himself as much pleased), and on the 9th of
August, the two vessels sailed together, the Dmdalus
then7o
d e
g2h.Be 28th
og thera P.olnomovreitlrhe
miles
fureturned,latitude,rther whereshoaugvt ihn having
e.ra reached
foundlhaes dt
anchoring in Port Clarence the following day.
On
therefore, visited
Kotzebueprovisions was un-
touched,of of
his way back to
ytheearp.acktHe,
dethtehecahcehsteSound,
Port
Clarence. We immediately commenced
her defects, which, with the exception of
caulking and
ascertained and t hma at
some copper rubbed (ff under water,
replacingre pe; r n g
p em er, and on the 9th
she moved into CTrantl-y Harbour to prepare for pas-
completed by the, 6th of Se t b was
sing the winter.
I have completed the Plover with stores, provisions,
clothing, and fuel to December, 1833, as per state-
meat No. 2, with the only
yichof wseoinheadProen
I have -,
served soups and vegetables,excep
with a few trifling stores, none of w
hoard ; and in additionexceptionnld
few
medicines
left in her charge a
supply of six months' provisions and warm clothing
for sixty men, calculating that if either crews of the
Enterprise or Investigator should fall back in boats,
they would be victualled during the winter, without
encroaching on the Plover's own stock, and in the
summer the Plover will have no difficulty in falling
in with whalers about the Straits, any of whom
would carry the crews to the Sandwich Islands or

elsewhere.
In compliance with the third paragraph of your
orders, I have replaced all the officers and men of the
Plover who either were desirous:of quitting the Arctic
regions, or were not considered, alter another most
careful medical examination (a previous one having
been already held by Captain Collinson's orders in
July), equal to passing two more,,winters there.

LONDON,

To the former I gave the option to volunteer for
this ship any petty officers for whom no vacancies
might exist, being borne as supernumeraries for your
disposal. I have the honour to enclose (No. 3) a
general statement of all charges made, with the rea-
sons against each name ; also the documents con-
nected with the medical surveys held on the Plo-
ver's crew, and the volunteers from this ship for the
Plover. To supply their places, amounting to 23, an
equal number have been sent from this ship, and, in
addition, I appointed Mr. Gordon, acting mate, and a
steward, at the request of Commander Moore, mak-
ing her complement hold 41, exclusive of the inter-
preters. The seamen and marines selected by lot
from a large number of volunteers, and all of them
men of excellent character. Lieutenant Vernon of
this ship, who replaced Lieutenant Cooper, is a
most excellent, trustworthy officer, as is also Mr.
Foster, assistant-surgeon, whom I sent to the Plover
to supersede Dr. Simpson (b) , surgeon, in accordance
with the Admiralty Circular, No. 17, dated July 3,
1846, and whom I received on boards for a passage to
England ; and I have given Mr. Chads, acting mate,
an order to act as lieutenant, vice Vernon.
With the exception, therefore, of some few medi-
cines and preserved soups and vegetables (and to
make up for the latter article this year a supply of
excellent potatoes was purchased from an English
schooner which visited Port Clarence), I consider the
Plover is, as far as possible, in a condition to fulfil
their Lordships' instructions. I should have quitted
the Plover with more satisfaction could I have felt
myself justified in replacing Commander Moore, and
every one of the Plover's crew, even without their
consent. They all either left England in the Plover,
and have therefore already passed three winters in the
Arctic regions, or have served in the Herald since
1845, and desirous as they were to remain at their
posts as long as their bodily strength permitted them,
and at present there is no such impediment, I did not
feel myself authorised to act contrary to their wishes,
although it is impossible not to be anxious at
leaving them for two more winters, and looking for-
ward to the possible effect upon their health which
the monotonous nature of such a lengthened service
produces in depressing the spirits. Having, however,
made a fair offer to all of retiring, coupled, as I felt I
might do, with an expression of my conviction that
no possible discredit could by possibility attach to
their accepting it, I did not feel it right to take any
other step.
Judging from last year's supply of venison
(6,000 lbs.), and several thousand head of ptarmigan'
besides fish, a fair supply of fresh provisions may be
reasonably anticipated this winter, although the Es-
quimaux have obtained such a large supply of their

favourite articles of barter from -the ships
during the summer, they may not exert themselves
so much in order to secure them for the Plover.

During our stay at Port Clarence I received an ur-
gent request, a copy of which I have the honour to
enclose (No. 6), from the master of the English
schooner Eliza, of Hobart Town, of which Mr. John
Johnson, of New-wharf, Hobart Town, is owner, to
remove John Thomas, second mate, from his vessel,
and having personally assured myself of the truth of
his statement, I received him on board this ship, to be
sent on shore at the first convenient opportunity.
From what I was able to collect from the different
whaling ships we fell in with I imagine that the past
season has proved so unfavourable that not many will
tempted to try Behring's Straits next year. Very
flw whales have been taken, and in addition to ex-

. ,
tensive injury from the ice, which, owing to its being
so far south, many attempted to force their way
through, but unsuccessfully, several have been totally
lost.

I inclose a list of such as I heard of, but I believe
there are one or two others.
We found Port Clarence a most excellent harbour :
abundance of water and wood, easily procured, and
our seine net, used once a week, provided enough for
the day for the whole ship's company.
The winds were generally moderate, the holding
ground excellent, and had it been necessary for the
ship to remain for the winter, although it is very
doubtful if we could get her into Grantley Harbour,
there is a position near Cape Riley where she would
no doubt have been perfectly secure. Grantley Har-
bour has proved quite secure as a winter quarter for
the Plover, and the shore abounds in summer with
wild onions and berries—excellent anti-scorbutics.
In the belief that Commander Moore has trans-
mitted to you a report of proceedings during the past
winter, as also an account of the distressing murder
of Lieutenant Barnard, of the Enterprise, at Darabin,
I do not allude to these subjects.
I am sorry to say that an unfortunate affray be•
tween some natives, somewhere near Cape Chaplain,
and the crews of some whalers, has occurred this
summer.
The dispute seems to have originated in the endea-
vour of the natives to obtain possession by force of
some property on board a whaler which was wrecked
there, and ended in the loss of some lives on both
sides.

The arrangements with regard to the Plover were
completed before the last week in September ; but as
it was probable that i❑ the event of the Enterprise
not findieg it practicable to reach Point Barrow, she
would be obliged to return to Port Clarence, in which
case she might be expected to arrive before the end of
September, I delayed our departure till the Ist of
October, when we put to sea with a fine northerly
wind, which carried us past St. Lawrence Island ; and
on the 7th we passed through the Straits of Amouckta,
thence we steered a direct course, and arrived at this
port on the 2.2 d inst.
After a few days' stay I shall proceed to sea for
the purpose of carrying out the remainder of your
orders, en route to Valparaiso.—l have, &c.,
(Signed) " GEO. G. WELLESLEY, Captain."

LAW INTELLIGENCE,

INSOLVENT DEBTORS' COURT, Jan. 17.

IN RE JOHN MILLS.

This insolvent, described as an author, who applied
under the Protection Act, was opposed in person by two
creditors named Magniss and Thompson.
Mr. Cooke supported.
The opposing creditors were holders of bills of ex-
change given by the insolvent, and the question was,
what reasonable expectation the insolvent had for con-
tracting his debts. His wife was in expectation of
money by the death of a reladre, and a friend expected
a Chancery suit to be settled. He had made himself
liable for debts, and had sold for 1201. furniture which
cost him more than 3001. Mr. Magniss had discounted
bills for the insolvent, and admitted that he had charged
thirty per cent. discount. The insolvent said Mr. Mag-
niss had dia.-gad him sixty per cent.
Mr. Commissioner PHILLIPS said if the opposition
stood alone he should pay little attention to it; but he
looked at the schedule, and saw the manner in which
some of the debts had been contracted. He should give
no assistance to gentlemen—and it should be made public
—who took, by their :own admission, 30 per cent. They
were their own insurers, and need not complain.

Mr. Thompson, the other complainant, said he was
in the same " boat" as the other—he had charged 30
per cent.
Mr. Commissioner PHILLIPS—Do not call it boat—
call it craft.—(Laughter.)
Mr. Thompson said he had lost 1,0001. by the persona
from whom he took the bills of the insolvent.

Mr. Commissioner Pium.tes had no doubt bill dis-
counters ran great risks—it was part of their profession.
They were their own insurers, and were not, under the
Prisoners' Act, entitled to any protection. This case
was under the Protection Act, and upon the face of the
schedule it was clear that the insolvent had incurred
debts without reasonable expectations of payment. He
had no authority under the Act to name a day for the
final order, and therefore it must be adjourned sine die,
without protection.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE
MARLBOROUGH-STREET.

Henry Adams, a pugilist, was charged before Mr.
Hardwick with conspiring with others not in custody, to
pefraud William Jackson, landlord of tho King's Head,
Park•lane, of 341. 103.

It appeared in evidence that on Friday week he went
to the complainant, a Yorkshireman, and asked him if
he had a room for sparring, as he knew a gentleman of
fortune who wanted to take some lessons. Complainant
said he thought ho could accommodate the gentleman,
who was said to havejust come into possession of 4,0001.,
and who, while taking lessons, would be sure to order a
bottle of wine. The next two days the prisoner and the
gentleman came, and some sparring took place ; and, on
the second day, the gentleman said ho was going to
leave town, but, before doing so, should wish to bring a
friend to have a sort of glove-fight with the prisoner.
On Wednesday last the gentleman and two others came,
and, after sparring some time, prisoner told Mr. Jack-
son that a bet of 5/, was made for one of the gentle-
men's friends to fight him with the gloves on.
A bet was made by one of the friends of 301. to 10/ ,
and the better asked the prosecutor to put down 10/.
for him, to which ho consented, and the person took it
up. The room being considered too small for the glove-
fight, all persons went to a house in Cumberland-market.
The glove-fight was begun, and during its continuance
Mr. Jackson was induced to put down 241. 10s. more,
making 341. 10i., not on his own account, but on account
of the bets made by the gentleman's friend. Mr. Jack-
son, however, suspected something was wrong, and de-
manded his money back, when the prisoner and others
threatened to punch his head, and made their way out of
the house into a cab, into which he aisogot, and they then
got out, and went into a public-house in Lamb's Conduit-
street, but were followed by Mr. Jackson, who ultimately
gave the prisoner into custody.
was remanded to Tuesday next.
John Fletcher,
a well-dressed young man,
WORSHIP-STREET.
e mbierz. e
Peterm e n
Ludgate, very respectablystated to be
connected, was placed at the bar before
Mr. name:all, upon the following charges of felony and
gate, an extensive draper in Chiswell-
street, Finsbury, stated that the prisoner bad filled the
situation of chief clerk in his service at a liberal salary,
since the month of July last, residing upon the pro-
mises, and had always been regarded as a person of the
strictest integrity until Monday,
the 29th ult. when,
without the slightest intimation to any one, ho suddenly
quitted the warehouse in the middle of the day, and
never again made his appearance. The prisoner's ab•