The Sun.
London, England, 1852-01-24 00:00:00

THE LOSS OF THE AMAZON

- - ---
The adjourned inquiry into the causes of the destrue
tioa of the Amazon, and as to the fate of her crew still
unaccounted for, was resumed yesterday at noon by the
directors of the West India Mail Steam-packet Com-
pany. Captain Becchey again attended on behalf of the
Board of Trade, and the Rev. Mr. Warburton was also
present, and took part in the proceedings.
Captain Chappell, the secretary to the company, drew
attention to the following correspondence, bearing upon
the conduct of Admiral Sir John Ommanney, in not
sending out a steamer to search for survivors from the
wreck. Ile first read the subjoined extracts from letters
addressed to him by Messrs. Fox. Sons, and Co., dated
the 6th and 7th of January, 1852, and on which the
statements made by him at Southampton, in answer
to questions put by Captain Warburton, had been
founded:—

" It is reported the Government have sent a steamer
out to seek for fragments and boats of the Amazon, but
we do not know it our information is correct."
No steamer has been sent out. The Admiral in-
forms us that he considered it useless. We called on
him to know if the report we had heard was true."
In consequence of what he had said at Southampton, Ad-
miral Ommanney had addressed to him the following
letter:—

"Admiralty-house, Davenport, Jan. 21.
" Sir,—Seeing my name brought before the public in
,he Times and other papers on the 17th, upon a reply
made by you before the committee, which is founded on
a falsehood asserted by Mr. Fox, as soon as I saw it in
the papers I sent for Mr. Fox, who came before me, to
reply to interrogatory as to the fact of his ever having
seen me. He positively denied, in the presence of Com-
modore Seymour and my secretary, Mr. Kent, that he
had ever seen me. I said this denial was not sufficient,
I must have it in writing, which ho promised to send
to me, which he did; but it was at a late hour, just as
the post was leaving, doubtless with the expectation of
my sending it away in haste, having told him that I
should forward it to you. When I read it I considered
it to be an evasion, and rather tending to confirm the
statement than to contradict it. I immediately wrote to
him a letter in which I expressed my surprise that he
had departed from the pledge ho had given in the pre-
sence of the Commodore, end insisted on his giving me
in writing a denial of his having ever seen me; but this
did not reach me until it was too late to send it by
Tuesday's post in time to adopt measures to obtain a con
tradiction of the false assertion. Although I have not the
pleasure of your acquaintance personally, yet your re-
putation as an honourable man of sound judgment and
discretion is well known to the public; therefore,
when you receive the accompanying declaration, I
hope you will do me the justice to adopt measures
to contradict a statement so thoroughly incor-
rect. If Mr. Fox had given a viva voce statement on
his oath I would have prosecuted him for perjury, but he
sends a statement from the representation of another
person which is inadmissible in any court of law, as it is
only hearsay evidence, and ought not to have been re-
ceived. As the secretary of the Steam Packet Company,
I take this opportunity of informing you that there never
was a subject of importantance so connected with the
situation I hold so shamefully conducted. Mr. Vincent
acknowledges to have landed at 1 o'clock A. 31. from the
Marsden, and probably left by the express train at 10.
During the nine hours neither himself, nor did any other
person, agent or otherwise, came near me to furnish me
with any information; therefore I was in total ignorance
of what had occurred except from what I heard from
the general rumour. The only assistance I received was
from Commander Kennedy, of the Coast Guard, who
brought some vague account, but I recollect that it was
directly and positively stated that no boat left the ship
but the one whieh was picked up by the Marsden; that
shortly after she lelt the Amazon she blew up, and
there was not a vestage of her to be seen afterwards.' As
the admiral serving here, and the only person capable of
affording assistance, I appeal to you whether some
person should not have come to me to have afforded me
information, and to have solicited assistance, had it been
required? I should then have had an opportunity of
putting those questions which naturally occur ttoae
state sailor
as to the place where the accident took place, the
of the wind and weather at the time, how
after the
the wind
blew after the people were in the boat, and
questions
explosion of the vessel, answers to which :
might have been the groundwork for taking
into
con-
sideration the necessity for sending out a vessel;
il
of
all persons the Admiral is the one from whom
evi-
dence is withheld. I cannot conclude without express-
ing my hope that you will cause the reported 81aten:test
of Mr, Fox to be contradicted, and remain, Sir, your
very obedient servant,

" Joris A, 03131/INNEY."
The written statements referred to by the Admiral in
the preceding terms were as follows:
annoy, C. 8., and beg to re.pocrpt.
twitohoast
4, Fox, Sons, and Co. present their respects to Ad-
miral Sir John Omm
they stated this morning, that when the junior s
Fox called at the Admiralty-office to in
steamer bad been sent out to look for thecitcleerew oil; at%
Amazon,
afterwho waiting some time he saw Mr. Kent, the
secretary,
informed him that the Admiral can-
sidered it useless, or words to that effect.
"Plymouth, Jan. 18, 1852."
~ Fox, Sons, and Co., present their respects to Ad-
miral Sir John; Onamnnue
letter of yesterday, believed 3' and, until receipt of his
conveyed all the facts of his their note of same date
question.
"Fox, Sons, and Co,, of course, admit that when their
junior called at the Admiral's office on the Bth inst. he
did not see Sir John Ommanney, but ho saw his secre-
tary, and had an answer from that gentleman to their
inquiry, which they
the Admiral
to be the same as if given
o
from the mouth Admiral himself, viz., ' that no
steamer had been sent out to seek for the Amazon's
crew, as the Admiral considered it useless ;' and these
are the
words____ used by Fox, Sons, and Co., to Captain
Chappell. s
ed The extract of their letters to that gentle-
man,dat
the 6th and Bth anuary,they
annex. of January, beg to
Captain Chappell concluded by stating that what ho
had said at Southampton had been founded on the ex-
tracts read by him from the letters of Fox, Scns, and
Co., and that he was merely replying to questions which
had been put to him by Captain Warburton.
Lieutenant GRYLLS, R.N., repeated the statement
which was published under his name from Plymouth,
Ile heard ll'lnnes, the storekeeper, say that he saw
flames come from the storeroom; and the engineer said
that he raw the fire break out somewhere before the
boiler. He could not say positively, but he was almost
certain that M'lnnes said so; they talked of the subject
frequently. The man who lowered the foremost fall of
the first boat he saw launched was, he believed, ono of
the officers. The captain had just before ordered the
fall not to be lowered. When the shi •
p exploded and
went down an intense feeling of loneliness came over
them. The crew struck him as ~
a very fine, efficient
body. He could say little of the officers, as there were
none of them known to him except Lieut. Brady. When
he left the ship the only boat remaining in his opinion,
was the gig. The lifeboats on both sides'were in dames.
On the morning of his arrival at Plymouth he reported
himself to Admiral thl2ll24lllloya who put 0 bi tri 6 number

" Admiralty, Jan. 22.
L " Sir,—With reference to your letter of this date,
. stating your return to Devonport in the Avon steamer,
I and the Sprightly in company, and requesting that
the Hecate might be ordered to complete the search
those vessels had begun, and which they had been
prevented prosecuting rom their being unable to
make Brest to replenish fuel, and further stating
that, after the prompt and liberal manner in which
the Royal Mail Steam-packet Company had forwarded
you to Plymouth with their Lordships' orders, you were
under tho impression that you held a power which had
been confided to you on the faith of a certain search
being made; lam commanded by my Lords Commis-
sioners of the Admiralty to acquaint you that their
Lordships will apply to the Foreign-office without de-
lay, for the purpose of communicating by telegraph with
the Minister at Paris, and requesting that an inquiry
may be made at the different porta on the French coast
for any intelligence respecting the survivors from the
wreck of the Amazon.
" I am directed to add that the Fury, which is now
destined for the Mediterranean, and will sail without
delay, shall be directed to call at Bilboa and at Corunna
for the purpose of ascertaining whether any information
has been received; and their Lordships will also suggest
to the Foreign-office that a communication should be
made to the Spanish Government to obtain and commu-
nicate any information which can be procured on the
subject. "I am, Sir, your most obedient servant,
" W. B. HAMILTON."
The Rev. Gentleman concluded by saying that no direct
communication had been made to Sir John Ommanney
by the survivors of the Amazon, and that, although ho
no doubt should have sent out a steamer at once, yet
that he had received no precise information. He had
sent Captain Kennedy to ascertain particulars, and by
that time all the men had left Plymouth, and were not to
be found. The Rev. Gentleman, therefore, blamed them
more than the Admiral.

Mr. ELMSMERE gave evidence that the decks of the
Amsz)n were constructed of the materials used in tho
best class of shipbuilding; that the pine employed was
from Dantzic, and was not pitch pine, as had been stated.
Captain CHAPPELL mentioned that the Rev. Mr.
Blood had applied for and received pecuniary aid from
the company. lie and the other passengers who were
saved had been invited to attend and give evidence, if
they wished to make any statement, but none of them
had availed themselves of the offer.
The CHAIRMAN considered it unnecessary to continue
tho investigation further, as it had been taken up by the
Board of Trade.

The proceedings terminated by an acknowledgment of
the exertions made by Commander Kennedy, of the
Coast Guard, to afford assistance in the search for sur-
vivors from the wreck.

The following is a correct list of the passengers who
were lost in the ill- fated ship:—
Rev. Mr. and Mrs. De Winton, Mr. Do Pass, Mr.
Delgado, Mr. Y.'.Bowes, Mr. Joel, Mr. Anthony, and
Mr. D. Hamilton, for Jamaica; Mr. Best, accompanied
by a male servant, Mr. Callender, Mr. Sterling, and Mr.
Alleyne, for Barbaducs ; Mr. Johnston, Mr. Burnett,
and Mr. and Mrs. Scotland, for Trinidad; Mr. M'Clon-
nan and Mr. Hick, for Demerara ; Mr. Eliot Warbur-
ton, for the Round; M. and Madame Lucombe and child,
Mr. Gerand, M. Kerenbor, M. Cima, and M. Debellc-
men, for Chngres; M. Martinez Del Rio, M. Trenear,
Miss Grace Hoare, Miss Margaret Fitzgerald, M. Sor-
rier and M. Granier, for Vera Cruz; .Petr. Cuming and
M. Creveeourt, for St. Thomas's; M. Cardenas, for St.
Martha; M. Le Faye, for Guadaloupe ; and Lieutenant
Brady, R.N., in charge of the Admiralty mails. One
gentleman, who had selected his berth and paid his pas-
sage was prevented joining the ship at the last
moment, ney'
and thus escaped the fearful catastrophe.
The names of the passengers saved are—Mr. Neilson,
Lieutenant Grylls, R.N., Rev. W. Blood, Mr. Hawkes,
Mr. Sisley, Mrs. E. R. M'Clennan and child, Miss Anna
Maria Smith, Mr. F. Glcnnie, Mr. Bernardo Baricose,
Mr. W. Evans, M. Jean Stybos, Mr. P. Kilkelly, and
M. S. J. C. Cima.
The following is a numerical list of the officers and
crew of the Amino, with the proportions lost and
saved:—

Captain ... •••
Mates ...
Surgeon
Purser
Parser's assistant •••
Midshipmen ...
Seamen
Bo} s ... ••• •• •
Engineers .• • •• •
Boiler-maker .. • • •
Firemen
Coal-trimmers
Lamp-trimmer
Stewards '••
•••

Total, crew
Saved ... ".

Number.

36

••• 21
12

... 16

Saved.

- 110
... 42

... 42

Tho proportion
Lost ... 68
of passengers lost and saved stands

Number of passengers
Saved

... 50
... 13

Lost
Imputations havint been thrown upon the iioya3l7Bi ail
Company on the
suhject of the crews of the ships form-
fleet, and assertions of incompetency among
the sailors from want of a knowledge of this particular
kind of navigation having been made, it is right to state
that of the officers and crew on board the Amazon the
following had already sailed several voyages in the
company's ships:—The captain, the four chief officers,
the sut'geon, the purser, two midshipmen, two petty offi-
cers, 10 seamen, 3 engineers, 13 firemen, 1 lamp trimmer,
seven coal trimmers, and 12 stewards.
The following extract from a letter addressed to the
Secretary of the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company,
and dated Plymouth, Jan. 19, 1852, is so creditable to
the parties concerned that we make no apology for
appending it:—
We take free to mention to you that the exertions of
Commander Kennedy, R.M., inspector of the coast
guard here, in sending out the Royal Charlotte revenue
cutter, in charge of Lieutenant Lilburn, deserves the
attention of the company in writing hits a letter of
thanks for his activity; end also Lieutenant Lilburn, in
his perseverance in beating to windward for three days,
under close-reeled canvas, with the determination to
search well-down Channel in search of boats from the
Amazon. Fortunately, Lieutenant Lilburn spoke the
galliot, Hellechina, who was approaching the English
shore, not knowing his
position, having considered the
Rani Head was the Batt Head, and at once offered his
services, sent one of his officers on board, and conducted
the galliot safe into this port, saving at least one day,
perhaps more."
PLYMOUTH, JAN. 22.—Messrs. Fox, the agents of the
West India Mail Steam-Packet Company, have received
news to-day from Mr. Balkwill, their agent at Pow,
near liingebridge, stating that a portion of wreck had
floated past the harbour with spars attached, and which
had apparently formed a portion of a raft. It is still
thought that the barque which passed the Amazon, be-
tween the boat in which Mr. Blood and his party were,
has picked up some of tho passengers, and that from the
whiteness of the sails it is supposed that she was an
American liner, and that sae may have
taken them on
to New York.

TIIE 014r4/Bus FROPRIETORS AND THEIR SERVANTS.
that some disagreeable differences are likely to
stated
een the omnibus proprietors and their men, in
•se betw
consequence of the movement Which the latter have made to
arise
is
obtain cessation from labour on every alternate Sunday.
The driverst uti and conductorsthe purpose of providing against Sick-
ness and other unavoidable misfortunes. This society has
taken part in the above movement, and it is said that several
of the members have in consequence received notice of dis-
charge from their employment. If this determination be
acted upon the probability is that some serious "opposi-
tion" in the shape of competing -r omnibuses will be started the men.

of questions. A steamer had been sent out previously. It
appeared to him that Captain Symons had almost boat
his mind. He was rushing about the deck and saying
" Den% loser the beets;" and twice he heard him
say " Where are the ladies?" It did not strike him
that there was insubordination. The crow were berthed
forward, under the forecastle; and, from the rapidity of
the flames, comirunication fore and aft was cut off
shortly afzer he reached the deck; but a number of them
had by that time got to the boats. It was two hours
after they left when the barque passed, and the ship
was then about two miles and a half away. They could
see that she never hove to, unless she did so when she
got to th© lee of the burning steamer. The explosion
took place in the after part or the ship, and must have
been ire= the powder-magezine.
Captain CHAPPELL, alluding to the letter signed " A
Transatlantic Passenger" published in the limes, and
i
reflecting on the efficiency of the crew, read n. defence
of the company the following statement :—" List of tho
crew on board-3 midshipmen, 1 saved; 36 seamen,
18 saved; 6 boys, 1 saved; 6 engineers, 2 saved;
1 boilermaker, saved ; 21 firemen, 10 saved ;
1 lamp-trimmer, raved; 12 coal trimmers, 6 saved; 16
stewards, 2 saved; 1 captain, 4 mates, 1 surgeon, 1
purser, 1 assistant-purser. Total on board 110; 42
saved, 68 lost. Passengers—Mr. Neilson, Mr. Hawkes
Mr. Sisley, Mrs. E. R. M'Clennan and child, Mr. F.
G/eenie, Mr. Bernardo Barricon, Miss Anna Maria
Smith, Mr. W. Evans, Mr. Jean Strybus, the Rev. W.
Blood, Lieutenant Gryll., R.N., Mr. I'. Kilkelly, Senor
J. C. da Gime. Total number of passengers, 50; 13
saved, 37 lost. There were formerly in the company's
service—the captain, 4 officers, 1 surgeon, 1 purser, 2
midshipmen, 2 petty officers, 10 seamen, 3 engineers, 13
firemen, 1 lamp-trimmer, 7 coal-trimmers, 12 servants;
total, 57 out of 110." Ile was present with two of the
directors when the men were examined by the superin-
tendent of the Admiralty, and he made the remark at
the time that he never saw a ship go out with so young
and efficient a crew; of 110, the whole number, 57 were
the practised servants of the companny, and the officers
all stuck to their duty to the last, only one of them hav-
ing been saved.
The Rev. Mr. WARBURTON, with reference to the
censures which had been passed on Admiral Omman..
ney's coaduct, said that when he went to him to apply
for aid he expected at least to receive kindness and
courtesy, but had found none. The rev. gentleman then
gave a minute account of the steps whieh were at last
taken to search for survivors under the orders of the
Admiralty, and praised the liberality of the company in
providing a special train for him to Plymouth, that no
time might be lost. He described the fruitless cruise of
the two small steamers which had bees sent out, the
stormy weather which they had encountered, and their
being compelled to return without having completed
their search. In consequence, feeling himself entrusted
with the discharge of a duty, he had made a representa-
tion to the Admiralty, to which he had received the
following reply:—