The Sun.
London, England, 1863-01-22 00:00:00

THE GALE.

GREAT YARMOUTH, Wednesday
The high wind still continues, accompanied at in-
tervals with driving showers of rain, sleet, and snow,
and vivid flashes of lightning. Yesterday evening
and through the night it blew with terrific violence,
and though it has somewhat abated now, there is
every indication of its speedy renewal. Yesterday
the barometer fell to 28.9, the lowest point at which
it has stood since the disastrous gale of May, 1860.
The damage to the shipping is, up to the present,
' much less than could have been anticipated ; but
with the wind from the westward, from which it has
generally been blowing, Yarmouth Roads afford a
secure shelter, The sloop Solid, from Bowness for
London,has been driven from her anchors and towed
in, and the brig Medora, of Whitby, has put in
with loss of mainmast and other damage. A large
fleet of trading vessels is out, for the safety of which ,
great anxiety is entertained. The schooner Kezia,
of and from Sunderland for CUD, with coals, drove
ashore on the beach, and became a wreck. Yester-
day she was sold for i 42, but during the storm of
last night, in the course of which the wind blew at
intervals from almost all points of the compass, she
was dashed to pieces, and her masts, stores, &c., de-
stroyed. Since Thursday 21 men have been received
at the Sailors' Home from vessels wrecked, but this
morning no further additions have been made to this
large number. Intelligence was, however, received
last night of the loss of the bark Sea Swallow,which
was observed on Monday night making signals of
distress on or near the Cross Sand. The men
launched their boat and went off in a heavy sea.
After they had made some way theyfound, however,
that the ship was also standing out to sea, the wind
blowing off the land. They followed her to such a
distance that the Newarp and other lightships were
well down, so that they were 16 or 17 miles from
land. When day broke they observed the vessel at
the distance of about a mile. They immediately
made for her, but before they could come up with
her she foundered. The vessel's boat seems, how-
ever, to have floated off her deck and the lifeboat
soon afterwards fell in with her and took in the
men who had escaped in her. The master, mate,
and two seamen were found missing ; the remaining
men, seven in number, were landed at Lowestoft,
yesterday.

This morning an alarming report has obtained
circulation here that the Cromer lifeboat has been
lost with 17 hands. It is stated that she went to
the assistance of a disabled vessel and capsized
through becoming entangled with her when along-
side. It is earnestly to be hoped that this report
may prove without foundation.

SHIELDS, Wednesday, Noon.
After the despatch was sent from this port yes•
terday, at noon, very little improvement took place
in the weather, and a gale from the west, with oc-
casional heavy snow showers, prevailed all through
last night. In Northumberland the country is white
with snow to-day, and we are experiencing a keen
frost. The wind, which still continues to blow from
the west, is very squally. It having, fortunately,
kept off shore, no casualties have occurred upon our
coast. Word has reached, however, that three well-
known old colliers have been run into and sunk to
the southward of Yarmouth Ro„ds. They are the
Thames, formerly a well known goods trader be-
tween the Tyne and the Thames; the St. Helena,
and the Naples Packet. On account of the weather
having set in cold, coal freights to London have im-
proved. Yesterday they were quoted at 6s 9d afloat •
and 7s 3d, at the wharf, for household coal.
PRESTON, Wednesday.
One of the most violent and destructive storms we
have had to record for some time past visited Pres-
ton and the surrounding district during Monday
night and yesterday. The heavy rains which fell
on Sunday and Monday, with a strong wind from
the north-westerly direction, had the effect of
causing the Ribble to overflow its banks. At
Preston yesterday morning the whole of Strand-road
the bottom of Marsh-lane, the Marsh itself, the
railway leading to the quay from the London and
North-Western station, and all the low lying ground
extending from the sloping gardens beneath Stan-
ley-terrace and the Preston Cricket Ground, were
completely submerged. All the roads and paths
were quite impassable. Men were busily engaged at
much personal inconvenience and danger,in securing
large timbers which were floating about. The
cellars of the public-houses and of other premises
were filled with water, which numerous labourers
were occupied a long time in damming up. For
passers-by all along the Strand-road novel contri-
vances had to be called into requisition, planks and
rails being used for locomotion. So high was the
tide that men were seen passing over the roads in
boats. The violence of the storm caused much de-
struction of property, chiefly, however, confined to
the vessels moored off the quays. Five vessels, all
schooners, broke loose from their moorings. The
Ocean Queen, Captain Thomas Iddon, had her jib
boom broken. About the same time the Punch,
belonging to Mr. George Richardson, of Freckleton,
and laden with a cargo of meal and oats, consigned
from Newry to Mr. Richard Carr, broke from her
moorings and drifted away, her anchor by some
means piercing her hull, which speedily filled with
water. She soon sank, and the force of the tide
rolled her over on her side. Much of her cargo was
lost, but men were on Tuesday afternoon engaged
in endeavouring to recover as much of it from the
sunken hold as possible. The Falcon shortly before
had snapped her mooring and floated off, but she
did not sustain much damage. The Agnes and the
Cabriole also broke away, and were considerably
damaged. In the town of Preston a good deal of
injury has been done to house property. During
the violence of the gale a cottage, which had just
been erected and was ready for roofing, in Ham-
mond-street, Moor-park, fell with a tremendous
crash. Nothing now remains of it except a portion
of the front and the wall of the lowest rooms.

FLEETWOOD, Tuesday Night.
We have this day been visited with a very heavy
gale of wind, accompanied by a high tide, which has
done immense damage along the Lancashire coast.
The boat-house belonging to the National Life.
boat Institution at this place has been totally de-
stroyed by the violence of the sea. It was erected
about 3 years since, at a cost of £175. The lifeboat
and transporting carriage have been seriously injured
It waswith considerable difficulty that they were
got out of the house by the lifeboat's crew, who
risked their lives in securing the boat and her
equipments.

LIVERPOOL, Jan. 21.
Yesterday afternoon the ship John H. Elliott,
Capt. Somers, hence for New York, and the ship
Admiral, Capt. Clarke, for Bombay, both of which
sailed on Saturday, having encountered the storm,
put back. Iu endeavouring to make the port while
the gale was at its height, they got ashore on the
Burbo Bank. The crews of both vessels, and 20
passengers on board the John H. Elliott, were
rescued. The Admiral had sunk up to her decks
in sand. She has since become a total wreck, her
stern having parted from her hull. The ship
J. A•
Storer, homeward-bound from Portland to Kingston,
laden gston,
Little
laden with deals, went ashore this morninges north of
o
Brighton, near Waterloo, about fivem.l
Fifteen of
Liverpool, and has become a total o
saved, but two
wreck.
the crow, besides the captaincn
wer
attempting to reach
of the sailors were drowned
i
the shore. Another vessel is also reported to have
got on shore near the but no tidings
having
same place,
having been heard of her crew it is feared they have
though no positive evidence to that effect
hasbeen
b loeesnt
received. Portions of cargo, consisting of
applee, have been washed ashore along the beach.
From Southport information has been received that
the barque Rubin, NV oodpoint, for Glassin Dock,
laden with timber, had gone ashore and become a
total loss. Subsequent information states that she
had floated off, and was knocking about, the crew
having been taken off by the Lifeboat. The Pride
of Canada, from Benin for Liverpool, went ashore
during the night at the entrance of the Mersey.
Steam tugs were at once despatched to her assis-
tance.

HOLYHEAD, Monday Night.
The barque Medea, of Liverpool, anchored in the
outer roads at Holyhead. Her anchors did not
hold. As she was dragging, the lifeboat of the Na-
tional Lifeboat institution was despatched to her
assistance. On arriving alongside, the lifeboat ,

had time to slip the chain of the vessel and to run
her on the sands instead of the rocks, on which she
was fast drifting. After performing this service, the
lifeboat, which behaved, very well, was hauled up
to leeward, as she was then unable to return to he•r
station.

PORTSMOUTH, Wednesday, 6 p.m.

The gsle has subsided to a strong breeze from the
W:, veering at times to W.N.W. The wind still re-
mains, however, sufficiently strong to have again
put off the Himalaya's official trial of speed at the
measured mile, which had been fixed for today.
The weather looks "hard," and the present strong
winds give a promise of continuance. The baro-
meter is rising.

LYTHAM, Wednesday Night.
We have been visited with fearful gales during
the last three days, but fortunately there is only
one instance of shipwreck to record. A vessel was
observed aground on the Saithouse Bank while the
wind was blowing very hard and the sea very high.
The lifeboat of the NAtional Lifeboat Institution
was immediately got out and mounted on her trans-
porting carriage, and quickly conveyed to wind-
ward, a distance of four or five miles over the sands,
which were very soft. On arriving near the
scene of the wreck the lifeboat, with her
crew on board, was at once launched and pro-
ceeded off to the vessel, which was found
to be the barque Rubin, of Liverpool, with
a cargo of timber on board. The jibboom of the
ship was carried away, and her rudder was gone.
She had no boats, the yard tackle hanging in the
water. With some difficulty, owing to the heavy
seas, the lifeboat succeeded in rescuing the crew of
12 men and brought them ashore, amid the cheer-
ing of a large concourse of spectators. It is a sin_
gular coincidence that this vessel belongs to the same
owners, and was chartered with the same cargo as
the barque Brazil, which was wrecked on the Sand-
bank on the 26th ult., and whose crew of 13 men,
were rescued under similar perilous circumstances
by this va'uable lifeboat.

SOUTHPORT, Wednesday Night.
We have had a very strong gale here with a high
tide. The lifeboat belonging to the National In-
stitution put off this morning to a vessel on the
Salthouse Sandbank, which had signals of distress
flying. On arriving there, however, she was found
to be abandoned, the crew having been taken off by
the Lytham lifeboat. She was the barque Rubin,
of Liverpool. She had floated off the bank, and
her deck was nearly level with the water. The
extraordinary high tide forced open the large fold-
ing doors of the lifeboat house, and washed away
the boarded fencing round the house.

(BY ELECTRIC AND INTERNATIONAL TELEGRAPH.)
CROMER, NEAR NORWICH, Thursday, Noon.
Mr. Henry Sandford, of Cromer, the hon. secre-
tary of that branch of the National Lifeboat Insti-
tution, reports that no accident had happened to
the Cromer lifeboat by a disabled vessel falling on
her. The lifeboat had not, fortunately, been re-
quired during the recent gale.

THE GALE IN THE WEST.
In the neighbourhood of Bristol the gale of Tues-
day morning raged with great fury. At Lypeat-
buildings, St. George's, the front of a house, occu-
pied by Mr. Adams, contractor, was blown away
from the roof to the first floor, but fortunately with-
out injury to any of the inmates. Various other
buildings were injured. The heavy sea running
from the Bristol Channel caused the Avon to rise
6fr. above the height indicated in Burt's tide-table,
being higher than the highest tide registered for the
last 17 years. The banks from Pill to Cumberland
basin, and at the foot of St. Vincent's rocks, were so
overflowed that it was impossible to pass along
them. Much damage was done to houses along the
waterside at Pill. At St. Philip's Marsh Mr. Clark's
ropery was completely inundated, the water on the
walks being fully 6ft. in height. The workpeople in
the cottages had to quit their ground floors, Which
were flooded to a depth of 3ft. The rifle-ground at
Sney de Park was completely submerged, and doubts
are entertained whether a match fixed for Thursday
can come off.
At Cardiff the locks of the outer gate of the EP.st
Docks gave way, the chain which held them toge-
getber being broken in consequence of the pressure
of water outside. About 10ft. of the bridgeway over
the locks were carried away, and the coping was
much shaken. At the Bute esplanade the tide forced
its way over the sea-wall in' front of a fine row of
houses recently erected in that locality. Part of the
sea-bank erected by the Bute trustees in the old
park, near the river Taff, was washed away, and
the water rushed into the park. A large portion of
the Penarth-road was rendered impassable, and the
ropeyard of Mr. Verity and the premises of the Car-
diff Gas Company were under water.
At Weston-super-Mare the wind caused the sea
to rise to a considerable height, washing down so
large a portion of the sea-wall that the road was
rendered impassable. Great fears were entertained
that the whole esplanade would be carried away.
Large pieces of timber, and a broken pilot boat,
were washed ashore at Sand Bay. About 100
sheep were swept away on the St. George's Werth ,
which, together with Portbury Marsh, was entirely
inundated.
The shipping in Kingroad and Penarth-Roads
weathered the gale with but slight injury, and fur-
nished another proof of the safety of their respective
anchorages. _