The Sun.
London, England, 1852-12-22 00:00:00

EXTRAORDINARY DISASTERS AT SEA.

(F
We have beenionfu':nte
ihshelv
dibeyillownel Mofail.)
the officers of the
Swordfish vessel with the following account of the dis-
asters that befel her on her recent voyage from Pernam-

buco to this port, and as much sympathy has been
manifested here, owing to the extreme sufferings of the
crew and passengers, we have no doubt that it will be

read with general interest :
" Everything went on well from the time of leaving
Pernambuco till the 20th of November. On the day
previous the ship was running before the wind, under a
close-reefed topsail, and a double-reefed main. On the
morning of the 20th, however, she shipped a sea which
half filled the cabin. EThe captain, mate, steward, and
seven of the crew immediately commenced baling the
water out, and got all dry about ten p.m. All were then
busily employed in drying the cautain's and passengers'
wearing apparel, and matters went on well until four
o'clock on the morning of the 21st, when the wind be-
gan to blow fearfully and the sea to run moun-
tains high, with tremendous squalls from six to eight.
The captain was then lashed, with the chain mizentop-
sails sheets, to the mizenmast, and gave directions how
to steer the ship. As soon as opportunity offered the
captain returned to the cabin. The after part of the
ship was then out of water, and the helm could not ren-
der any service. The vessel was flying through the
water at the rate of 16 knots an hour. Four of the
most competent men were now chosen to steer—namely,
the second mate, boatswain, and two seamen. The baro-
meter was down to 28k. It was impossible to look to
windward, or yet walk the main deck, without being
taken off by the wind or sea. The 'liveliness' of the
Swordfish only saved all on board from destruction. The
captain was now apprised that the fore-end of the ship
was sinking fast. He had just gone to ascertain the
truth, when the vessel was struck by a terrific sea, which
disabled him and the majority of the crew. Several
parts of the deck were also torn up by the force of the
water, and the second mate promptly exerted himself to
secure these by nailing over them canvas, while the
steward paid attention to the requirements of the
wounded, and again helped to bale out the cabin. The
ship lost spars, masts, bowsprit, and galley; and, unfor-
tunately, the chief officer, by this awful sea, found an
untimely grave, having been
swept away. The vessel
was pooped' by the first sea, which knocked the wheel.
completely away, and the two seamen steering at the
time were picked up in the fore part of the fore-cabin,
apparently dead, They, however, have since slowly
recovered. The same sea stove the after-cabin in most
frightfully, and washed the passengers then in it into the
fore cabin. They were all more or less injured, some
being badly bruised, while others bled profusely. The
second sea stove all the boats, and swept the decks ;
while the third buried her completely under water. It
was now thought all were going down for ever, but
by laying hold of the fragments of the rigging the
men held their footing on the deck—when the ves-
sel rose gallantly out of the water. The captain
requested Mr. Brent, second officer, to look after
the missing, which was forthwith done. Mr. Brent
then swam to the pumps to see if they were clear. He
found the cutter lying on them, and not having sufficient
strength to move the boat he went for some of the crew
to assist him, when he found a fellow, reputed brave
under ordinary circumstances, rolled up in the steward's
blankets in his room, and immediately thrust him out,
and made him help to clear the boat. The ship, in the
meantime, fell off, and hove round on the starboard tack.
The passengers, it is needless to say, were in the utmost
terror, believing there was no hope of life ; and they
were all mixed together in the fore cabin, where many a
fervent prayer to God was offered up for deliverance.
The violence of the elements now began to abate, when
their comfort could be attended to ; and the captain,
„having some seameni_clothing_ou board ordereiL_the
efre-wara to---,,,--,ve-rnem out to the lactrrassengers, and
very grateful they were for such seasonable relief, every
fire and light having been extinguished by the water for
the two previous days, and the cold consequently most
distressing. The captain's conduct was most praise-
worthy throughout the whole of the dreadful scene, and
can only be fully appreciated by those who witnessed it,
and who, under Providence, owe to his energy, that
never for a moment tired, and his courage, that never
quailed before the horrors of the ship's situation, their
lives and restoration to their friends. He stood lashed
on the deck all the time of danger, issued his orders with
the utmost coolness, and forgot himself in his anxiety
for the general welfare, scarcely partaking of even a
morsel of food when offered it. The wreck was now
cleared, and jurymasts erected, which occasioned several
days' delay, during which time assistance could only be
rendered by Mr. Brent and two of the seamen. Unfor-
tunately Mr. Brent got disabled shortly after. The
Swordfish came from 46 lat. N., 20 W., to Tuskar, under
jury masts, and ran from eight to nine knots an hour,
passing several ships under full sail, bound up Channel.
Off Tuskar she fell in with a northerly gale, which a
second time knocked the wheel away, and also filled
the cockpit, and carried off the main yard. Two men
fell overboard from this yard. Luckily, it being day-
light, they were picked up. The following morning it
became calm, and soon a steamer hove in sight. The
ensign usual under such circumstances was hoisted, 10
rounds were fired from the guns, and though the steamer
came so near that the man at the wheel could be plainly
seen, yet she took no notice, but held on her course.
Many of the seamen, in addition to their physical suffer-
ings, have lost all their clothes. The captain of the
Empress, when he first discerned the Swordfish, imme-
diately bore down for her, and rendered all the aid he
possibly could. It has been stated that the wreck of the
ship was occasioned by carrying on sail, but this is sim-
ply untrue. The captain was exceedingly cautious, con-
sidering what was before him ; and few ships deeply
laden could have survived that terrible hurricane, the
intensity of which [had never previously been expe-
rienced by the oldest hand on board."

CHILD MURDER AT MANCHESTER.—An inquest was
held yesterday, at the Chorlton Union Workhouse, Man-
chester, before Mr. Herford, borough coroner, on the
body of a new-born male child, which had been baptised
John Stott, but whose parentage was unknown. On
Thursday week, late in the evening, a woman, named
Ann Fox, living in Stott-street, Hulme, heard a strange
cry at the back of her house. The noise continued at
intervals, until a neighbour, named Ellen Lane, came
and told 'Mrs. Fox that she thought there was something
in the ashpit behind a house occupied by Mrs. Holl. The
two women took a candle, and opened the door of the
ashpit, the hinge of which was at the top, and found an
infant lying on the ashes. It was crying, blood was
issuing from its mouth, and there were marks about the
neck as if had been pinched with the fingers. Mrs. Fox
washed and clothed the child, but did not feed it, and it
was then taken to the Charlton Town-hall by a police-
man. From there it was taken to Mr. Golland, sur-
geon to the Manchester police, whose residence is in
George-street, and then to the Chorlton Workhouse, in
Stretford-road, where it arrived about half-past 12. It
gradually became worse, and died last Wednesday, It
was observed that the child had great difficulty in swal-
lowing, and on Saturday it vomited its food. Mr.
Greaves, the surgeon at the workhouse, said the child
appeared to have been born about 12 hours when it was
found. He made a post mortal examination, and found
all the organs in a healthy state, except the oesophagus,
which lwas extremely congested opposite the seat of the
external marks on the throat, which) he had no doubt,
were caused by the pressure of fingers. This accounted
for the difficuty of swallowing. There was inflammation
of the lungs, which he believed to have been the imme-
diate cause of death, and attributable to cold and expo-
sure. The jury found a verdict of "Wilful murder
against some person unknown:,
vigilant inquiries of the police, no clue has
Notwithstanding
obtained
to the child's parentage.
-
ROYAL ACADEMY OF MUSIC.—The be en the
examination of the
candidates for the vacant King's scholarships took
place at this institution on Monday, the 20th instant.
The board of examiners consisted of Mr. Potter (Prin-
cipal), Sir Henry Bishop, and Messrs. Goss, Lucas,
Sterndale Bennett, Blagrove, and Howell. The suc-
cessful candidates were Miss Janetta Aylward and Mr.
Henry Baumer. The following were especially noticed :
—Miss Rosina Bentley and Mr. Louis Schroeder. The
following received high commendation :—Misses Sadler,
Spiller, Matilda Hales, R. P. Lyne, L. Marie James,
and Eliza A. Hughes ; and Messrs. J. W. Pew, W.
Pettit, and T. Watson. The number of candidates wax
36 in all, of which only half were pupils of the institu-
tion, the others comprising aspirants for this high aca-
demical honour from all parts of the kingdom.
GENERAL POST-OFFICE, DEC., 1852.—Henceforward,
letters for Switzerland, when specially addressed, to be
forwarded in the Prussian closed mails, rid Belgium,
will be liable to a rate of postage of 101 d., instead of
ls. id., the single letter, not exceeding half-an-ounce in
weight, and so on, according to the scale in operation for
charging inland letters. This postage may be paid in
advance, or the letters may be forwarded unpaid, at the
option of the sender.