The Sun.
London, England, 1864-03-14 00:00:00

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great danger of property. .13etw?en 9 a cl-- Ftwee ' - ' 4/,,,,q ,
flood had reached its highest poinst, and t r4i4rdlt, ;,,,, yHe4.. lb
marked its rise characterised its fall. 13y ha4ast'lo ii'dlniit.4...,-.,-,w
it had subsided about 28 inches; it in
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although it did not attain its former height Of the destruc-
tive character of the flood there were abundant evidences on
every hand. Timber in large quantities, bedosts, feather
beds, tables, clocks, and various kinds of household furniture
passed down, and several carcasses of' cattle also. About 11
o'clock the body of a middle-aged woman was taken out of
Crinipsall. It had no other clothing upon it than a night-
chess, and, judging by the sings upon the fingers, she must
have boon in easy circumstances. The body was removed
to the New River Tavern. At Mexbreugh, about seven
miles up the river from this town, the bodies of a man, a a woman, a child, apparently about two years of age, were
taken out ; and at Swinton, nb:mt a mile still further up,
three other bodies were recovered.
Large numbers of people have lined the river's banks all
the day, but it is now evident that the rrreatest volume of
water has passed by, and furtlicx damage here is Lot ap-
prehended. The water is very thickly impregnated with ntud—a proof that it moat have swept with terrific, violence
over the land adjoining the river. Fish, pike in particular,
have been left in large quantities on land from which the
water has subsided.

.•••• ...... •••••

SHEFFIELD, Sunday _Evening.
Every additional inquiry made into the circum-
stances of this appaling calamity shows that it has
been much more disastrous than was at first antici-
pated. It is now estimated that the loss of life will
exceed 250, and that the value of the property de-
stroyed exceeds half a million. From Bradfield,
where the reservoir burst, down the course of the
rivers for 12 or 14 miles, the country is laid waste.
The reservoir covered an area of 76 acres, and
would hold 114,000,000 cubic feet of water. The
embankment, which crossed the end of the valley,
was an enormous erection, with an average height
of 85 feet, and 40 feet in thickness. It was 300
yards long. Between Matlock and Hillsborough, a
distance of four miles, the greatest loss of life has
been caused. Within this tract whole rows of
houses have been swept entirely away, in three of
which alone there were 2,5 lives lost. In the oppo-
site row the whole of the inhabitants were drowned,
and scarcely any of their bodies have been dis.
covered. The flood seems to have swept off every-
thing before it, from the confluence of the Loxley
and the Revilin to the Don. Between Wardsend
and Shtffield on the Don the bodies were seen lying
in the mills and the mud and ruins. There were 14
in one place, 10 in another, and 13 in a third. At
Neepsend 900 acres of gardens were devastated, and
whole families were swept away. An official report
just received states that 156 dead bodies have been
already recovered ; 70 have been identified. Large
numbers are not yet found. Bodies have been dis-
covered as far down the river as Doncaster. Along
the banks of the river, between that town and Shef-
field, the scene of the inundation was visited by vast
crowds on Sunday. The police and a strong mili-
tary guard acted for the maintenance of order and
the security of property. A movement for a general
subscription was immediately commenced, and a
meeting will be held to-morrow. The inhabitants
of the submerged districts have lost everything,
and an appeal for instant help will be made, hun-
dreds having nothing left of their property but their
night-dresses. The inquests were opened on Satur-
day night, and then adjourned for ten days. There
were then 90 bodies in the workhouse, and the coro-
ner said he had been informed there had been nearly
200 found. He referred to a statement, which is
generally made and believed, that, in consequence
of the dangerous state of the reservoir, warning was
sent to the inhabitants of the valley as far as Darn-
flask, and that only a few lives were lost there, but
that the warning was not sent to thickly peopled
districts below. Strict inquiry will be necessary to
ascertain if the accident could have been prevented.
-- -
THE OVERLAND MAIL.

By the arrival of the overland mail we have
advices from Calcutta to Feb. 8; Madras, Feb. 15;
Colombo, Feb. 17 ; Hong Kong, Feb. 1 ; Singapore,
Feb. 4 ; Sydney, Jan 21 ; Melbourne, Jan. 25 ;
Brisbane, Jan. 19 ; Auckland, Dec. 31; Dunedin,
Jan, 18, k.).