The Sun.
London, England, 1863-10-31 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONIVN, SATURDAY EVENING,- OCTOBER 31, 1863,

THE GALE,

On Thursday a gale frcm the WSW broke over London.
It became higher during the night, and continued to blow in
heavy gusts, accompanied by rain, during the whole of yes-
terday, In the south-west and north east broken tiles, slates,
chimney pots and cowls strewed the streets and roads, and
a number of persons were injured by their fall.
The most serious accident which occurred during the day
took placeat the New-cross station of theLondon,Brighton,
and South Coast Railway. As every one who has occasion
to travel on any of the lines from London bridge must be
aware, there are several large engine sheds in the neigh-
bourhood of Hatcham-park. In one of these sheds yes-
terday afternoon about a dozen men were working, princi-
pally engine-fitters, stokers, and drivers. There were also
four or five engines getting up steam, two of them being
ready to go out, when, without the slightest warning, the
wind rushed in at the lower end of the shed with terrific
force, and, there being no vent for it, it first blew off the
roofnotwithstanding it was braced with heavy iron girders,
and then threw down one side of the building which might, '
perhaps, be 50 or GO yards in length. The side which was
blown out fell across the rails of the Croydon line completely
blocking them with a mass of bricks and rubbish. The other
side of the building against which several hundred tons of
coke were piled, fell inwards on the space occupied by the
build ing,which was immediately covered by a mass of bricks,
heavy iron girders and broken beams of timber, In point of
fact, the building was as completely demolished as if it had
been a card house blown down by a breath of wind. The
men engaged in the building fled for their lives at the first
alarm, but before they could get out several of them were
completely buried in the ruins. One man named H. T.
Woodrow was killed on the spot by the falling of an engine
upon him. He was found completely doubled up, his back
being crushed, and both thighs broken. His head was also
frightfully wounded by the falling of iron rods. He was an
engine-fitter, and we understand leaves a wife and family.
Three other men, named George Cutts, Wm. Smith, and
Charles Privett, were also so injured by the falling girders
that but little hopes are entertained of their recovery. Cutts
had his back broken and his right leg broken in two places ;
Smith has both legs broken, and Privett his legs and arms
broken. All the unfortunate men wer e removed as soon as
they could be dug out of the ruins to Guy's Hospital. They
are covered with bruises in different parts of the body, caused
by the falling bricks and coke which completely covered
them. The other men, about a dozen in number, who were
engaged in the shed at the time fortunately escaped with no
greater injury than cuts and bruises. The bursting of the
building is described as being accompanied by a report like
that of a park of artillery. Mr. Craven, the superintendent
of the engine department and the chief officer at the New-
cross-station, happened fortunately to be in his office at the

time, and immediately hurried to the spot. His first care was
to stop the traffic on the up and down lines, and to see that
none of the rubbish had fallen on the main line to Brighton,
which was only a few yards off. This precaution was taken
instantly. Some hundreds of men from the neighbouring
sheds had rushed to the spot where the accident had occur-
red, and, under the direction of Mr. Craven, one party com-
menced clearing the lines, while another proceeded to ex-
tricate the men who had been buried. After a portion of
the rubbish had been removed it was found that the rails
had been completely destroyed in every direction. Four or
five engines were either lying on their sides or resting on
the ground with their wheels off. One engine, however,
escaped altogether. The value of the property destroyed
must be several thousand pounds. It is a singular fact that
while this shed was thus destroyed another and much
larger one in the immediate vicinity escaped. The same
blast of wind which levelled the Jne lifted the roof of the
other completely off, but the wind finding sufficient vent it
settled into its former position without any other injury
than the smashing of a few panes of glass. As soon as ine
telligence of the accident was received, several of the com-
pany's chief officers proceeded to the spot. A large body of
the R division of the police force alsu arrived shortly after
the accident, and rendered essential service in preventing
the entrance of an excited crowd into the works. All last
night the workmen were engaged in removing the rubbish
and raising the girders and engines, so as to enable them to
repair the damaged lines.
The same blast of wind which levelled the engine shed
at New-cross, also unroofed three houses at the end
of the Old Kent-road. Two of them were shops occu-
pied by small tradesmen, named Sulton and Adams,
but fortunately in these case.' the inhabitants of the houses
escaped. One or two passengers in the streets, however,
just avoided being buried under about a couple of tons of
bricks which fell on to the pavement. In the other case they
were not so fortunate. On the opposite side of the road to
those houses occupied by Salton and Adams is a small one
in which resided a man named Mahony, a tailor. He was
sitting with four other men working, when the whole of
the upper part of the house was bleu n away, and a pile of
chimneys falling smashed the rafters, which fell upon one
of the men and inflicted such severe injuries as to render his
recovery doubtful. At the same time all the furniture in
the room was destroyed. Mahony himself had a narrow
escape. He was sitting by the side of the man who is nearly
killed, bir happening to look out of the window and seeing
the slates flying from the roof very freely, he left the room
to warn his wile to take the children into the house, when at
that moment the stack of chimneys fell. The other men in
the room were fortunately sitting under anotber rafter, which
resisted the force of the wind and the falling bricks, and they
escaped with a few bruises. The roof of the room adjoining
also fell in with a fearful crash, destroying everytteng in
the room. The unfortunate persons inhabiting the house
were driven into the street, and momentarily expected the
fall of the whole building. Some clothes and a quantity of
cloth were entirely destroyed by the fall of the roof.
The large forest trees in Hyde, St. James's, and the Green
Parks were much damaged, several boughs having been
torn off, and in Victoria and Battersea Parks the damage is
very great. At the residence of a labouring man, named
Henry Sloman, No, 2, Terrace-place, Stepney-green, Mile-
end-road, a stack of chimneys fell upon the roof, forcing it
in and causing considerable damage. The coping and upper
portion of the front wall fell with a loud crash, but fortu-
nately no one was injured, although several children were
playing within a few feet of the spot. Last evening the
rubbish had not been removed, and the traffic was partially
interrupted. A large travelling caravan which was
standing upon the waste ground facing the premises of
Messrs. Mann and Crossman, the brewers of Mile-end-
road, near the Blind Beggar Tavern, was suddenly blown
over on its side, but no person was injured.
At half-past three o'clock the wind tore away the wires
belonging to the London District Telegraph Company,
which extended from Bartholomew-lane, Bank, to the Old
Jewry. The crash occasioned by the snapping of the wires
resembled that of an explosion of gas, and created consi-
derable alarm, and it was feared at first that an explosion
had taken place within the Bank, where the Chartered Gas-
light Company have men employed laying down new mains
—but the fall of the wires across the roof of the Bans, the
houses in Princes-street, Grocer's-hall, and the houses in
the Old Jewry soon showed the extent of the damage. The
traffic of vehicles through Princes-street was suspended
until the way was cleared. The wires connected with the
North London Telegraph were also blown down in the
vicinity of Hawkins-street, Sydney, Mile-end, which has
completely stopped the communication at that junction of
the line.

The up-traffic of the river steamboats on the ebb tide was
considerably impeded by the violence of the storm. Off
Rotherhithe, a large barge having struck against a tier of
vessels the mooring gave way, and the tier drifted against
another tier, causing extensive damage, and a considerable
time elapsed before the vessels were separated.
LivEnrooL, Friday.

During Thursday and Friday Liverpool and its vicinity
were visited by a series of severe squalls accompanied by
heavy rains, the gale having caused considerable damage to
the shipping. Outside the Mersey, in the Channel, the gale
was of great severity. The ship Frankfort, from Liverpool
to Bermuda, and the Coquette, for the same port, were
compelled to put back, although they had not suffered any
damage. The Mona's Queen, for the Isle of Man from
Liverpool, also had to put back. One or two vessels which
had sailed from Liverpool, put b&ck yesterday slightly da-
maged.

PORTSMOUTH, Friday.
A strong S.W. gale set in here yesterday morning, and
continued, accompanied with rain, with but little intermis-
sion until an early hour this morning. As daylight broke
the wind appeared to increase in force, and blew furiously
until about 2 30 p.m., when the gale reached its culminating
point, and for the best part of au hour the wind swept over
in terrific force, everything being enveloped at the time in
a mist of blinding rain and snow, which came down literally
in torrents, and hid every object from sight at the distance
of a few yards. From this time the gale subsided gralually,
with the wind veering in to the N.W., at which it now (7
p.m.) remains, but the breeze is still strong. From 10 to-
day, until 3 p.m., when the gale reached its height, the
barometer fell 3.loths, It now stands at 29.1, with an up.
ward tendency.

CHATHAM, Friday Evening.
A sudden fall in the barometer this morning gave indica-
tions that a gale was at hand, and shortly after two o'clock
this afternoon a hurricane swept over this port, the wind
shifting rapidly from the south to the west and north-west,
The hurricane lasted about two hours, during which time
there was a very heavy fall or rain. At 2 o'clock the baro-
meter was at 29.2, and at 4 p.m. it had fallen to 29.5. Great
anxiety is felt for the safety of a large fleet of colliere which
are known to be on their way to this port from the north,
Up to the time of forwarding this despatch, however, no
casualties had been reported. Most of the vessels in the
harbour have struck their topgallant masts, and, with their
yards braced well up to the wind, have made all snug for
the night-, with, in some instances, an additional anohor
down. Late this evening the gale has very considerably
shifted slightly to the northward, but the night promises to
be very rough.

CARDIFF, Friday.
Yesterday naorning a telegram arrived from Admiral
Fitzroy to the effect that a storm might be expected, and
scarcely had the "storm drum:' been hoisted when a stiff
gale set in from the south-west, which continued to in-
accompanied with sleet and rain, during
tchreeawsehion inleotfetnhseitdy, ay—so much so that great fears were
entertained for the safety of the vast number of vessels
lying at Penarth Roads and in the Bristol Channel. The
gale continued all night, and, up to 9 o'clock this morning,

shows no signs of abatement. The skipping in the docks
has escaped, some slight casualties excepted ; but great
fears are still entertained that serious damage may have
occurred down Channel. Up to this morning, however, no
accounts have reached the port, as it is impossible for
vessels to get up Channel.

EDINBURGH, Friday.

Yesterday a hurricane of ereat violence, accompanied by
heavy rain, swept across this city. From an early hour in
the afternoon until about midnight the gale raged with
great fury. The streets were almost entirely cleared of
passengers in the evening, and of those who had occasion
to be out several were blown down and cut and otherwise
injured. The scaffolding at the Barclay Church and part
of the wooden bridge at the Edinburgh, Perth, and Dun-
dee Railway Station were blown down, but fortunately
without causing any damage. A number of chimneypots
and slates were loosened from their places and blown into
the streets, but no acidents have been reported to the pollee.

The American War Meeting at Oldham.

Last night, a numerously attended public meeting was
held at the Town Hall, Oldham, " to urge the Government
to use its influence, with the other powers of Europe, to
bring about a termination of the present war in America."
The Mayor (John Riley, Esq.) presided. Mr. Harrop
moved the first resolution, which was as follows :—" That
in the opinion of this meeting the war in America is an in-
jury to the world, and that the present aspects of the con-
flict afford no hope of its early termination, unless by
means of the moral influence of Europe; we, there•
fore, earnestly urge upon the Government of this
country to enter into communication with the Eu-
ropean powers, to concert with them as to the
best means of bringing about peace." He held that the
people of this country were not in favour of an armed inter-
vention in American affairs, but still they desired the Go-
vernment to use its influence to bring about a peaceful sepa-
ration of the states.--Mr. Milnes seconded the resolution.
—Mr. John Ashton, amid a scene of very great confusion,
moved as an amendment :—" That this meeting is of
opinion that the Americans should be left to settle their
own domestic affairs, and strongly approves of the policy of
non-intervention hitherto pursued by her Majesty's Govern-
ment."—Mr. Thomas Tetlow seconded the amendment.—
Mr. Spence, of Liverpool, rose to support the original reso-
lution. As soon as he rose, however, several of the partisans
of the North protested against any stranger being allowed to
tako part in a town's meeting at Oldham.—Mr. Mellor
said he understood that the meeting was an assembly to
take the sense of the inhabitants of Oldham upon this great
question. (Interruption.) He would pat it to the chair
whether persons from a distance should come there for the
purpose of interfering with the expression of their opinion.
(Cheers and counter cheers, which were followed by a scene
of great confusion, in the midst of which Mr. Spence re-
sumed his seat.)—The chairman said that when the requi-
sition was presented to him as mayor of the borough he
looked it over, and did not see the name of Mr. Spence or
the names of certain other gentlemen on the platform. ' If
the question, however, land not been raised, he should have
been glad to have allowed Mr. Spence to address the meet-
ing, but now the objection had been raised, he felt bound to
give precedence to gentlemen who were inhabitants of the
borough. (Cheers.) He took this course from a feeling of
no disrespect towards Mr. Spence, but he must decide that
the meeting be solely conducted by gentlemen connected
with Oldham. (Hear, hear.)--Mr. W. Steeple then sup-
ported the resolution, his remarks being frequently inter-
rupted.—The amendment was supported by Mr. Jas. Scho
field; after which a vote was taken, and the mayor inti-
mated, amid cheers, that the original resolution had been
carried.—Mr. R. Harrop next moved that a memorial em-
bodying the spirit of the resolution be presented to Lord
Palmerston.—The motion was seconded by Mr. Halliwell,
and carried with enthtisiasm.

The Alleged Illegal Seizure of the British
Steamer Sir William Peel by the Federal
War Sloop Seminole.

All the papers in the case of the seizure of the British
steamer Sir William Peel have been placed before Earl Rus-
sell by the underwriters at Lloyd's, where the vessel was
insured. The protest of the captain and officers of the ship
is a most important document; and assuming the facts
therein stated to be true there can be no doubt the seizure
is illegal and unjustifiable. The following is a copy of the
protest :

"Hex Britannic Majesty's Consulate, New Orleans,
State of Louisiana, Sept. 29, 1863.

" Capt. Jesse Thornham, Master of the British steam ship
Sir Wm. Peel, 2,000 tons, belonging to London, Mr. Chas.
2ua
whentr:ffs
e the hce a
mmouth 2ld
July
Pycraft, first officer, and 'Wm. Cremmen, second steward,
state they sailed:frone the Port of Liverpool on the 16th of
came
to a
n o
cf
ht
oh re. RioA About
o Grandut
the
6o
unh theof J
j u thene
anchorage
haeg
vessel
e
May, in cargo, bound for the poi t of Matamoras, and arrived
at
the steamship was taken in tow by the Mexican steamer
Matamoras and towed to a point from which the flagstaff
on the Mexican shore bore W N, and then com-
menced to discharge cargo, which cargo was taken on board
of Mexican lighters and delivered at Matamoras under
general permit of the Custom-house there, the permit hav-
ing been issued on deposit of the manifest of the said steam
ship's cargo. On the 10th August, after a portion of the
cargo had been discharged, it si as deemed prudent to move
the steamship into deeper water, she being then at anchor
in 41 fathoms of water, and drawing 18 feet water. Conse-
quently the steamship was moved about two miles to the
south of her former anchorage, and into six fathoms of water
with 90 fathoms cable out, and the ship heading south, the
aforesaid flagstaff now bearing WNW by the standard com-
pass, the Mexican shore at a distance of not over two miles,
where the discharging of her cargo was completed, with the
exception of a few packages of axles and harness rings,
which the lighter was not able to take on her last trip. Dur-
ing the latter period of discharging the inward cargo 904
bales of cotton were taken on board the steamship as part of
the outward cargo, the vessel then being bound for Liver-
pool. On the 11th September, at 11 o'clock a.m., the steam-
ship was boarded by armed crews of four boats belonging
to the United States gunboat Seminole, who seized and
took possession of the steamship, ordered all the crew of
the Sir William Peel aft, and placed a sentry of marines
over them. About half-past 11 a.m. of the same day
Captain Thornham went on board of the Sir William Peel,
and demanded from the United States' officer in charge
the reason why the vessel had been seized in neutral waters,
to which he (the United States officer) replied that he had
seized the vessel on suspicion of having a crew of 140 men,
and having nine or ten 11-inch guns under the cotton on
board. Capt. Thornham replied that he was willing to dis-
charge the cargo on board the steamship in proof that the
accusation was without foundation. Capt. Thornham then
desired permission to go on shore to get all the ship's papers,
which were with the British vice-consul and with the agent
of the ship at Matamoras, which was refused; but the chief
officer, Charles Pycraft, was allowed to go on shore for the
purpose of writing to Matamoras to have all the papers for-
warded to New Orleans. The crew of the Sir William Peel
were then sent on board the U.S. gunboat Seminole. Capt.
Thornham then warned the commanding officer of the Semi-
nole that the engines of the Sir William Peel were very
complicated and intricate, and that unless some person had
charge who anderstood the working of the taps, &c., serious
damage would be the result, and asked that the engineer of
the steamship be allowed to remain on board to give infor-
mation to his engineers regarding working the engines;
which he refused, and sent the engineers of the Sir
William Peel on board the Seminole. At five p.m. of
the same day the United States engineer, who had
been placed in charge of the engines of the Sir William
Peel, reported to the commander of the Seminole that there
was a quantity of water in the stokehole, which was gaining
an them, and did not know where the water was coming
from. Capt, Thornham then requested that the engineers
of the Sir William Peel should be sent for, which was done.
The engineers having been brought on board, Capt. Thorn-
ham told them to go down to the engine-room to see what
was the matter. They reported that the engineers of the
Seminole, through ignorance, had opened the seacock the
wrong way and had let the water into the bilge. After
this was remedied by them they were again sent on board
the Seminole by the commander of that vessel. At 10 p.m.
the commander of the Seminole left the Sir William Peel,
having been on board since 11 a.m. At half-past 7 a,m. of
the 12th the Sir William Peel, still under charge of the
United States officers and crew, was got under weigh,
steering from the land. That at 11 a.m., when about eight
miles from the land, the engines were stopped, waiting
orders from the Seminole, a large quantity of water then in
the ship, and gaining rapidly. The officer in charge hoisted
the British ensign half-mast, union down, as a signal of dia.•
tress to the Seminole. The Seminole came out to the Sir
William Peel,and found that the United States engineer then
in charge, through ignorance, had again opened the seacock.
At half-past 5 p.m. of the same day the Sir William Peal
proceeded towards New Orleans under steam, while the two
after boilers, the engines shaking the ship dreadfully, in
consequence of the propeller having been shipped the wrong
way by the Seminole's engineers on the shaft. From this
time the ship proceeded under steam towards New Orleans,
arriving at the quarantine station in the Mississippi River
on the 16th, where she remained until the morning of the
25th, when she was then brought to New Orleans, where
she arrived on the evening of that day. Capt. Thoruham
further states that the commander of the United States gun
boat Seminole was in a state of intoxication during the latter
port of the time he was on board of the Sir William Peel
on the 11th ; that much damage was dune by the large num-
ber of armed men, exceeding 1(10, who had been brought on
board from the Seminole, they being exceedingly violent
and very generally in a state of intoxication, having got
access to liquor by breaking open the ship's stores, and
under no control, inasmuch as the officers in charge were
as intoxicated as any of the men. When the officers and
men of the Seminole were leaving the Sir 'William Peel, they
took with them large quantities of the ship's stares, and of
the effects of the officers and men of the Sir William Peel.
" Now, therefore, the aforenamed Capt. Thornham, mas-
ter, Chas. Pycraft, first officer, and Wm. Cremmen, second
steward of the said British steamship Sir William Peel, do
protest, and their request I, the said acting consul, do also
protest, against the officers of the Untied States gunboat
Seminole, against the Government of the United States,
I arainat the seizure by tome of the said steam ship, as set

out in the foregoing, and against all other acts of the said
officers and Government, for damages and losses sustained
by their acts, as set forth herein, or that may be sustained
in consequence thereof.

" JESSE THORNHAM, Master,
CHARLES PYCRAFT.
WILLIAM CREMMEN.
" Witnesses—Edward Briggs.
William S. Johnson.
GEORGE COPPELL,
" Her Britannic Majesty's Acting Consul."