The Sun.
London, England, 1863-09-26 00:00:00

THE SUN. LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, SEPTEMBER 26, 1863.

THE ALABAMA,

(From the Cape town Argus of August 11.)

During the whole of Saturday the Alabama lay
quietly at anchor in Table Bay, the waters of which
had then become comparatively calm, but with the
Valorous no longer alongside, that vessel having
draggediher anchors during Friday night and drifted
a considerable distance to leeward. In the latter
part of the day, although the weather was gloomy,
a goodly number of visitors went off to the vessel,
and were received with the courteous urbanity which
distinguished the conduct of the officers of the ship
towards the crowds who thronged around her on
Thursday. His Excellency the Governor having,
as stated in our issue of Saturday last, decided that
prima facie there was no ground for his interference
in regard to the capture of the Sea Bride, the mind
of Capt. Semmes was untroubled by any of the
abstruse questions supposed by some people to be
occupying the attention of his Excellency the Go-
vernor and puzzling the brains of the Attorney-
General. Having completed on Saturday the re-
pairs intended to be effected here, at an early hour
on Sunday morning Capt. Semmes weighed anchor,
and at 6 o'clock the Alabama took her first depar•
ture from Table Bay. On leaving the bar the Ala-
bama steered a south-west course, and scarcely had
she got out of sight when the signalman on the
Lion's Rump made down a sail to the north-west,
and subsequently another coming from the same
direction. Both turned out to be Federal merchant-
men—one the bark Sedron, from Baltimore to this
port, with a general cargo, consigned to Jamieson
and Co., and the other the whaling schooner Charles
Colgate, from New London to Desolation, which put
in for repairs. The Alabama passed within a few
miles of both. The signalman on the Lion's Hill
had all the ships under his view at the same time.
A fog bank between the steamer and the Federals
prevented Capt. Semmes from getting a sight of his
prey. On her passage to Simon's Bay the Alabama
fell in with the American ship Martha Winzell,
bound from Akyab to Falmouth, but she, not being
three miles off the land at the time, was allowed
to proceed on her voy age. Yesterday morning
she put into Simon's Bay, where the Alabama
also will remain for a few days to complete re-
pairs, and then will proceed to sea. She will pro-
bably cruise off l'Agulhas for some time in the hope
of falling in with homeward bound American ves-
sels engaged in the Chinktrade. On Saturday the
Confederate cruiser Tuscarora, Lieut. Low com-
mander, formerly the Conrad, of Philadelphia, cap-
tured by the Alabama, and converted by Captain
Semmes into a tender to his ship, put into Simon's
Bay for the purpose of refitting. She carries two
guns and 10 men before the mast. About 14 days
ago she fell in with the American ship Santee,
bound from Rangoon to Falmouth, and captured
her, but as the vessel was laden with cargo belong-
ing to British owners she was allowed to proceed
on giving a bond of 150,000 dols. A few days after

the Tuscaloosa fell in with the American China
clipper ship Snow Squall, 800 tons, homeward
bound. It was blowing hard at the time, and the
Tuscaloosa, having fired at the Snow Squall with-
out bringing her to, made chase, but the latter be-
ing the fastest sailer escaped_
The Cape Town Argus of August 20, says :—The
Alabama sailed from Simon's Bay on Saturday
last. The bark Saxon, from Algoa Bay, belonging
to Messrs. William Anderson, Saxon, and Co., re-
ports having been boarded by the Confederate
stermer Alabama off the Cape. After inspection of
the ship's papers she was allowed to proceed on her
voyage, with an apology for her detention. The
Saxon arrived in Table Bay on Monday. On Sun-
day afternoon the Confederate steamer Georgia,
Captain Maury, entered Simon's Bay for coals and
repairs. She appears to be an ordinary iron built
packet boat, certainly not intended for a fighting
craft, but having a good crew, and armed with two
Whitworth rifled guns aft, one large 56. gun for-
ward, and two 32's on her quarter-deck; and,
being a fast sailer, is well suited to capture mer-
chant ships, and run from war vessels of superior
armament but inferior speed. On the 25th of
April she captured the ship Dictator, of New York,
bound to Shanghai, with coal. After burn-
ing the Dictator, she proceeded to the Cape Verd
Islands to land her prisoners. As she got into the
entrance of the harbour of St. Vincent, she dis-
covered a man-of-war with the American colours
flying ; put about, and went to the north side of the

island, where she liy until dark, and then stood out
for sea. On the 13th of May she arrived in Bahia,
where the Alabama was lying at the time. From
Bahia she proceeded down the South American coast

off Cape Frio, in sight of land, she captured the
George Griswold, which vessel had a British cargo
on board, and was therefore bonded. The Georgia
then proceeded to the island of Trinidad, on her way
capturing the barque Good Hope, of Boston, bound
to Agulhas, with a general cargo. Her captain had
died some days before, and his body being pre-
served in salt, Captain Maury had it brought on
board the Georgia, read the funeral service over it,
and committed it to the deep. During the service
the barque J. W. Sever hove in sight, and was
chased by the Georgia. She was from Boston,
bound to the Amoor River, with machinery for the
Russian Government. The prisoners of the Good
Hope were put on board, and she was bonded, On
the 18th of June the Georgia arrived at the island
of Trinidad. On the 25th of June she captured the
ship Constitution, of New York, loaded with coal
for Shanghai, made a prize of her, and took her
into the island. On the 28th of July the Georgia
captured the ship City of Bath, of Bath, from Callao
to Antwerp. The cargo being neutral she was
bonded, and the prisoners of the Constitution were
put on board her. On the 16th of July, the
p, with guano. The
Georgia captured the ship Prince of Wales, of Bath,
was bonded. The fol-
lowing is a list of the Georgia's officers :—W. L.
eVaarlgpoarbaeiisnog, bnoeunnt
neutral,
t Ab
en te wb
iepr
, Ist lieutenant;
Morgan, mid-
EMvaaunr ,
Smith, 3d ditto; Ingraham, 4th
2edomdimttaon;der ; Chapman
doctor; Pear-
son, chief engineer.take in from
sdbi tpom; a In V; acl
uk
re
tri ,a pp passed
Thea
amtei
rGd
;selhovi
rpbgmei
aeadnwo;
200 to 300 tons of coals, besides general supplies.
The Florida is expected to put into Saldanha Bay.
The Valorous was last night signalled to proceed at
once to that port. As soon as it was known that
the Alabama was in Saldanha Bay, Mr. Graham,
the United States' Consul at Cape Town, addressed
a letter to the Governor, requesting that the vessel
might be " at once seized and sent to England,tbe
from
groundw htebnacte
bseh e
British
Government,
clandestinely
'
treaty of amity and commerce with the United
as a Government at all."
against States, hadthe not
United recognised
States
His Excellency replied that he had no instructions
or
courseauthori ttytakoseen byp
izeorcadettain Semmes was,
detain the vessel, and that
tho in
his
opinion, in conformity with the instructions he had
received relative to ships of war and privateers be-
lenging to the Government of the United States
and the States calling themselves the Confederate
States visiting British ports. Against the capture
of the Sea Bride Mr. Graham protested, on the
ground that the capture was made within British
waters, contending that neutral waters were limited
to the fighting distance from land, which, since the
invention of Armstrong guns, must be held to be six
miles. He also subsequently claimed her forfeiture
on the ground that on the day succeeding her cap-
ture the prize crew on board of her brought her
within a mile and a half of Green Point lighthouse,
which he maintained was " a violation of neutrality
as much as if the capture had taken place at that
distance from land." But on both points the deci-
sion of the Governor was adverse to his views.
Mr. Graham also claimed the delivery to him, as
the official agent of the former owners of the Con-
rad, of the Tuscaloosa, on the ground that being a
prize, and "not having been condemned by any Ad-
miralty Court of any recognised Government," she
was debarred from entering any British port, and
ought, therefore, " to revert to her real owners" the
moment she violated the Queen's proclamation.
His Excellency replied that he was not aware of
of any provision of international law by which cap-
tured ships, as soon as they entered neutral ports,
reverted to their real owners ; and believed that the
claims of contending parties to captured vessels could
be determined in the first in tance only by the

courts of the captors' country, and was satisfied that
the Tuscaloosa was entitled to be regarded as a
vessel of war. Against the decision of his Excellency
in each case Mr. Graham formally "protested," in
the name of his Government.

The Occupation of Fort Wagner by the
Federals.

On the evening of the 6th inst., General Gil-
more, it is known, ordered that an assault on Fort
Wagner should be made, the following morning.
The special correspondent of the New York Herald
writes

The troops moved from their camps shortly after 10
o'clock, reaching their positions in the trenches an hour later.
They had barely arrived when a deserter from the rebel lines
came in, bringing the news that the island was being eva-
cuated. We had depended upon our picket beats in Vin-
cent's creek, under Major Sandford, to keep us advised of
any movement of this kind on the part of the enemy ; but it
appears that the state of the tide would not allow them to
get through until some time after the withdrawal of the
rebel garrison had commenced. As soon as the story of the
deserter could be told, General Stevenson sent forward a
small scouting party to ascertain its truth. They speedily
returned and corroborated the news, and our forces imme-
diately leaped into the fort, Captains Walker and Pratt, in
charge of the sappers, planting their flag upon the parapet.
A slow match connecting with the magazine was dis-
covered and extinguished, and then commenced a race
between our troops for Battery Gregg. Captain Btayton,
of the 3d Rhode Island Artillery, was the first man
there. A few men of the 54th Massachusetts were close
behind him, and then came two companies of the 3d
New Hampshire regiment, under Captain Randlett. They
arrived in season to capture between 40 and 50 stragglers,
mostly from South Carolina regiments, while Major Sanford,
who as soon as tide served had got his picket boats through
the marsh, succeeded in overhauling a couple of boats con-
taining a lieutenant and 22 men of the rebel iron-clad
steamer Chicora, who had been assisting the garrison in
their escape. In addition to the prisoners taken we captured
a ten-inch
n
sinisgte five
dof i n
two ht
nr Gregg.coum Thebi ad rm,
e
19 guns, 14 of which were in Fort Wagner and the remain-
aomneentteonf.:SinVeahgnmerorctoan;:
five navy howitzers, mounted c n seacoast carriages; three
carronades, one rifled gun, and two field pieces, Gregg was
armed with three ten-inch columbiads and two field guns.
es
Nearly all the pieces had been spiked, but in such a manner
that the spikes can be easily withdrawn from the vents.
These guns are nearly worn out, and are now of little use
except for short ranges.
The scene which presents itself to the eye of a visitor
at Fort Wagner this morning is one of utter wreck and
ruin. The broken parapets, the dismounted guns, the
sand piled up before the entrance of the bombproof, the
bolts and fragments of exploded shell with which the
terreplein is paved, and more than all, the heaps of
rebel slain, some lying in the sun and others half buried
in the loose sand, show what a fearful ordeal the garrison
passed through. The stench arising from the decaying dead
is sickening and overpowering. Many were buried at night,
just below the surface of the terreplein, to be unearthed
and torn to pieces by the missiles which on the following
day continued to plough through the work. Hera au arm
sticks stiffly out of the ground, and there a shoeless foot is
visible, while in another corner are three bodies, one clad

. .
in a major's uniform,Taiie;efuliYaside for burial, but left
in the hurry of departure for us to put away.

WITHIN THE BOMBPROOF.

Existence must have been terrible while the bombardment
was going on. Even now the odour of the apartment is
almost intolerable. The garrison, which consisted of about
1,400 men, was here huddled like sheep in a fold, without
sunshine to illumine or air to breathe. The ceiling, formed
of huge logs, is so low as scarcely to afford standing room.
Dead bodies are scattered here and there, contributing their
effluvia to the horrid stench arising from human filth and
nastiness. I could only remain for a moment in the
place. Officers and soldiers who enter it flee hurriedly
away as from a
plague or pestilence. The only furniture of
the room was a table made of rough boards. One or two
rough coffins were there, whether empty or not I did not
endeavour to ascertain. A row of shelves on either side of
the main entrance containel a number of shot and shell of
various calibres. The floor was strewn with papers, old
rags, pieces of greasy bacon and other filth which, in ordi-
nary camps, finds its way to the sinks. Until disinfectants
are freely used and the work thoroughly policed it will be
impossible for our men to remain there. Already General
Terry has ordered them out of the fort, and 40 barrels of
chloride of lime are on their way up the beach to be em-
ployed in making the atmosphere of the place in some de-
gree tolerable and wholesome.

THE REBEL BURYING GROUND.
Beyond Fort Wagner the ground seems to have been
used as a place of burial for many who fell in the defence
of the place. There are a number of graves just in the
rear of the banquettes. Here also are several dead horses
and mules, swollen with noxious gases, and attracting to
the spot myriads on myriads of flies. A little further on
are several holes dug in the sand for shelter to the troops,
those stationed without the fort living very much like the
fiddlers and sand crabs with which the ground is thronged.

THE TELEGRAPH IN OPERATION.
At an early hour this morning the telegraphic machine
which has been stationed for a month past in a bombproof
in the second parallel, was removed to Fort Wagner, and
the line advanced to that point by Lieut. Dane,of the Signal
corps. The following message from Lieut.-Colonel Mann,
of the 39th Illinois Volunteers, was the first transmitted
from the new station :
United States Military Telegraph, F.epartment of
the South, Fort Wagner, Sept. 7, 8.20 am.
To General Gilmore—The general officer of the trenches
sends his compliments and congratulations to the Command-
ing General from the bombproof of fallen Fort Wagner. His
confidence in God and General Gilmore is unshaken.
Colonel MANN,

Affecting Incidents During the Earthquake
at Manilla.

I was so much bruised that I made illy way very
slowly. At last, finding I was becoming exhausted,
I sat down on a heap of rubbish Which, as far as I
could make out from the appearance of the frag-
ments, had once been
a church—as indeed it had
the same catas-
trophe.been, and I oneof en
tried
me utmost to shut out the sound of
the screams and groans w
t destroyed by
d the air all night
.hich filed
tightlyby tying my ever my ears;
but I found it impossible to sleep, and as soon as the
sun rose I got up, stiff and Weary, and made my
way towards a group of men and women who were
assembled about a heap of ruins, the magnitude of
which enabled me to recognise them as the remains
of the cathedral. Of all tile sights on that dreadful
morning, there Was none which equalled this. The
service in the cathedral not only began later than
in the other churches, but Was longer, so that while
those who had attended the latter had for the most
part left them, the whole congregation was present
in the former. The earth quake was so sudden, that
probably not a dozen persons escaped out of the
building before it came crashing down, burying
every one of the two or three thousand persons
within it beneath its heavy roof and massive walls.
When I reached the ruins, men and women were
already working at those parts where appearances
indicated the possibility of must speedily
reaching bodies. The largest group was col-
lected round a chapel, a small portion of which
was upheld by the peculiar way in which a
beam had fallen. Women were sobbing, and
men were listening anxiously at a small opening
where a window had formerly been. Seeing I was
a foreigner, the. Spaniards and Indians, with the
politeness they invariably practise, made way for
me, and I approached close to the opening. Faint
groansissued from it, and I could hear a voice—
that of a girl, I thought, but it turned out to be one
of the choristers_asking piteously for help and
deliverance. Then a low but deep bass voice, doubt-
less that of the priest who was officiating at the
time of the calamity, uttered the well-known words
44 Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord. Yea,
saith the Spirit, for they rest from their labours."
As these words came forth, those outside burst into
a passion of tears, which was soon choked, in order
that they might hear if the voice spoke again.
There were some deep groans, apparently wrung
from the speaker by intense pain, and then the same
voice spoke in a calm and even tone as though ad-
dressing a congregation : "For the Lord himself
shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the
voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God."
Silence followed for some minutes, and then a deep
voice came forth which was so low that only I and
a few others near the hole could hear it: "Father,
into thy hands I commend my spirit," and with the
utterance of those words of faith and prayer the
spirit must have left the tortured body, for not a
sound was heard after this, except the piteous
prayers of a Child. Being too weak to assist in the
efforts that were making to enlarge the opening, I
left the spot With a sad heart —Dickens's "All the
Year Bound."

Full benefit of reduced duty obtained by pur-
chasing Hornituan's pure Tea ; very choice at 3s. 4d. and
4s. "High Standard "at 4s. 4d. (formerly 4s. Bd.), is the
strongest and most delicious imported, .A.gents in every
town eapply it iu pachet,4.

PRUSSIA,

A letter from Berlin, dated 21st inst., says :

A few days since the Conservative fractions issued their
electoral programme, which does not contain any points
clearly formulated, but dwells more upon the general state
of the country. We have now before us the programme of
the party of progress. That party demands :-
1. Complete liberty of the press, and, consequently, the
suppression of the decree of the 2d June.
2. Presentation of the law on Ministerial responsibility
prescribed by the Constitution.
3. Effective recognition of the right of the Chamber of
Deputies to control the expenses of the Treasury.
4. Re organisation of the House of Lords.
5. An army founded upon a popular basis, with a two
years' service.
6. A German Parliament, freely elected by the nation.

The organs of the press which are more or less intimately
connected with the Government are not quite agreed upon
the policy of the Ministry. It is therefore very difficult, not
to say impossible, to form any certain conjecture of the at-
titude which the Government will assume towards the Diet.
All that is positively known is that the Cabinet is deliberat-
ing upon the German question, and that the budget is the
object of serious discussions. Count Wielopolski, from War-
saw, who is still sojourning at Putbus, has taken a house
hero in the Thiergarten, which he purposes inhabiting
towards the end of September.
The King is expected here to-morrow afternoon for
military manoeuvres. The Ministerial councils will, it is
supposed, then be resumed to settle the propositions that
will be made to the Diet. At all events, it is probable that
the King's answer to the Sovereigns who met at Frankfort
has been decided upon. It is also supposed that, shortly
after the opening of the Diet, the documents relating to the
German question will be laid before it.

During the last few days additional warnings have been
given to various newspapers. The President of the Police
announces that the pamphlet entitled "Art. 73 of the Con-
stitution and the Laws on the Press" has been confiscated.

At the request of the Government the police at Leipsic
have confiscated a number of the Weekly Journal, pub-
lished there."

A telegraphic despatch, dated Berlin, Sept. 23,
gives the following as the substance of the report
addressed by the Ministry to the King, relative to
the question of Federal reform :

In this document, which bears the date of the 15th of

September, the Government complains that the project of
Austrian reform was only communicated to the King in an
incomplete manner, and posterior to the date of the letters
of invitation sent to the other Sovereigns.
The report claims for the two great Powers the right
of opposing their veto to all declaration of war, as long as
the Federal territory should not be attacked. It solicits,
moreover, that Prussia and Austria shall hold a perfectly
equal rank in the Directory.
The elections ought to direct and the powers of the Na-
tional Parliament more extended.

The Ministry proposes to the King-
1. To refuse his adhesion to the actual project, and to
enter into negotiation with his confederates;
2. In case it should be decided upon to hold Ministerial
Conferences, to convoke them with a view to decide upon
some other project of reform; and
3. To submit it either to the elected representatives of
the nation, or to the Diets of the different countries,