The Sun.
London, England, 1864-08-09 00:00:00

The British Archaeological Associa lion.

IrswrlcEt, Aug '. 8.
The twenty-first annual congress of the E :ritish
Archaeological Association commenced this d ay at
Ipswich. There was a great influx of archoeol ogists
by the various railway trains in the morei,ig., and
at three o'clock a numerous assemblage coll. scte d in
the council chamber of the Town-ball, wh are the
members of the association and visitors we )r0 re-
ceived by the mayor and corporation.
Among "those present were—Mr Tomline,

Mr. Cobbold, M.P., Mr Pettigrew, Mr T. WI igh,
Mr Planche, Mr. Gordon Hills, Mr Levien, P Er G.
It. Wright, Mr Previte, Mr Godwin, and a many
others of the leading members of the association,
besides a number of clergymen of the neighbour-
hood, and a large sprinkling of ladies.
The MAYOR, in expressing his gratification at
the visit of the Ardm3logical Association to
Ipswich, regretted they had not come so;ne years
earlier, to have preserved from destruction many of
the ancient monuments of Ipswich, of which few
now remained. The town formed, however, an ex-

cellent centre for excursions, and objects of grea

interest to the antiquary, and he hoped they would
spend an agreeable and interesting week. It would
be his endeavour and that of the corporation to give
them every possible assistance.
Lord Houghton, the president of the meeting last
year at Leeds, was unable to attend, therefore the
usual formality of resigning the chair to his !nieces..
sor was dispensed with.
Mr PETTIGREW, as the oldest vice-president of
the association, and one of its original founders, in-
troduced Mr Tomline, M.P., to the meeting as their
president. He said the time was gone by when it
was necessary to speak of the value of such asso-
ciations, as it was now generally admithd ;
and the work they had accomplished in
diffusing a taste for arcbm)logical researches,
and in preserving the monuments of past times,
had thrown much light on obscure parts of
the history of the kingdom. He concluded by
pointing out the special qualifications of Mr. Tom-
line for the office of their president, to which he
had been elected.

Mr. TOMLINE then took the chair, and, after wel-
coming the association to the ancient kingdom of
East Anglia—where the Roman, the Saxon, and
the Dane had left their footprints—he proceeded,

in a very eloquent address, to laud arclat alogiea
pursuits, and to indicate some of the many advan

tages that had accrued from the efforts of the asso-
ciation since their first meeting at Canterbury, 20
years ago; amongst which were the formation of
associated local societies, which aided materially to
advance the progress of knowledge. He took a
comprehensive view of the connection of archeology
with physical science, and of the mutual aid whick
they gave to each other. The rapid progress of
knowledge at the present day, he observed, might
be in a great degree attributed to the freedom of
thought of the existing generation, for though our
philosophers and men of science do not surpass,
even if they equal, Plato or Galileo in intellectual
capacity, they possessed the advantage of greater
intellectual freedom.

Mr. COBBOLD, M,P., moved, and Mr. GODWIN
seconded, the thanks of the meeting to the presi-
dent for his able and eloquent address.
The motion was carried by acclamation.
The MAYOR directed the attention of the meeting
to a relic of ancient times that was hanging at the
top of the staircase of the Town-hall. It was a
" ducking stool," into which the female scolds of
Ipswich were formerly fastened, and dipped into
water to cool their angry passions.
The meeting was then brought to a close, and
the company proceeded, under the guidance of Mr.
Phipson, one of the local secretaries, to examine
some of the antiquities of Ipswich, including the
town library, an antique house, called " Sparrow's
House," the churches, and the museum.

In the evening there was a meeting at the
Assembly Rooms for reading papers and discus•

sions.

The programme for the week comprises excursions
every day to objects of interest in the neighbour-
hood. To-morrow Bury St.Edmund.'a will be visited,
where the members of the association will be re-
ceived by the mayor and corporation at the Guild-
hall, and they will after wards examine St. Mary's
Church, the Norman Tower, St. James's Church,
the Abbey ruins, Moyses Hall, and Abbot's Bridge.
The excursion will be prolonged by visits to Hen.
grave Hall, Risby, and Little Saxham, and on the
return to Ipswich there will be an evening meeting
for reading papers and discussion. On Wednesday
there is to be an excursion to Colchester, where the
mayor and corporation will receive the archaeologists,
who will find ample occupation in inspecting the
various antiquities in the town. On Thursday
there will be an excursion to Parham Hall and
Church, thence to Bruisyard Church, to Denning ion
Church, and to Framlingham, concluding with. a
visit to the president at Orwell Park in the evening.
The excursion for Friday includes Woodbri.lge,
Ufford Church, Bnttry Abbey, and Orford Canis.
On Saturday, Sudbury, Long Melford, Lowenham,
and Hadleigh, and Little Wenham Hall will be
visited, and the congress will conclude with an
evening meeting.

The Loss of the Corinthian Steamer.

OFFICIAL REPORT.

To the Right lion. the Lords of the Committee or Privy

Council for T:ade.

My Lords,—l have the honour to report that I have, in
conjunction with Captain Harris and Baker, as Nautical
Assessors, held an inquiry into the loss of the steamship
Corinthian, off the coast of Portugal, on the 3d of July last.
The Corinthian was an iron screw steamer, built at Greenock.
in 1855, of 1,034 tons, registered at Liverpool, and owned
by Mr James J. Bibby and others. She was commanded
by Mr John Wheaton Goff, and had a crew of 32 hands.
She sailed from Oporto, thoroughly equipped, on her home-
ward voyage on the 3d of July, at 1,45 p.m., with a cargo
of cattle, wine, fruits, wool, &o. She bad also onboard
four passengers, two of whom were to be, if practicable,
landed at Vienna. The weather was clear, with a fresh
northerly wind and a strong westerly swell. After leaving
Oporto the vessel was steered a N.N.W. course for from
five to seven miles, when a course was shaped N. by E.
E. along the coast towards Vienna. The speed of the ves-
sel is variously estimated at from five to six knots. At 5.40
p.m., according to the evidence, the Raven Rock is alleged
to have been passed, but there is some little discrepancy in
regard to the distance from Lit. The Raven and the St.
Bartholomew's Rocks form a dangerous group, front-
ing the coast, a little to the southwa.rd of the river
Neiva. Three-quarters of an hour after passing the
Raven Rock, and while pursuing the same course the
vessel struck. The engines were kept going a-head,
and cattle were shifted forward to bring the vessel on an
even keel, and the injection hose having been choked, the
engines necessarily stopped, and do not appear to have
been subsequently moved, and every effort to get her
off by making sail failed. About 2 a.m. he ship floated on
the rise of the tide, and sank about an hour afterwards, dur-
ing which time the tide and the westerly swell appear to
have drifted her towards the shore. No lives were lost, and
some of the live stock were saved. The evidence of all the
witnesses belonging to the vessel, who were before the court,
tends to show that the Corinthian struck upon a danger not
laid down upon any chart or mentioned in any sailing direc-
tions for the coast of Portugal. This conclusion is strongly
confirmed by the testimony of Mr John A. Perry, Com-
mander of the steamer Braganza, who on the day following
went down to the wreck to render assistance. Leaving his
own vessel at a distance of two and a half miles N.W., he
proceeded to the wreck, and found the masts' heads above
water and a portion of her taffrail visible. Having left a
lighter by her to save property, he returned. On reaching
his own ship, which had been nearly stationary, he found
that his mate had obtained irregular soundings, ranging
from 4to 12 fathoms. He then proceeded to Vienna,
and anchored outside the bar, and a pilot came on board,
who informed him that he had, in all probability, passed
over the same danger on which the Corinthian had grounded,
but a rising tide and his light draught of water had saved
him. From this it would appear that the danger in ques-
tion is well known to the On the sth, while at
anchor, Capt. Perry, who appears to be a very intelligentositionof
ffi ocer, took bearings of the wreck, from which he has con-
structed a very neat chart, showing the precise p
the wreck where she now lies, and which I now append to
this report for the information of your lordships. Upon
this evidence I have felt myself justified in acquitting the
master of the Corinthian of any default in the loss of his
vessel, and have accordingly returned to him his certificate.
In doing so I have deemed it my duty to point out to him
that, in the opinion of myself and of my assessors, he navi-
gated bis ship too near the lsnd in the vicinity of the St.
Bartholomew Shoals; and having failed to take any bear-
ings when the vessel was stranded upon this dangerous
rock, its true position is left to this moment very doubtful.
—I have, &0.,
T. S. RAFFLES, Police Magistrate, Liverpool,
We concur in this report,

HY. HARRIS, 1 Nautical Assessors,lt. B. BAKER,)