The Sun.
London, England, 1839-01-09 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 1839.

FINE ARTS.

FINDEN'S ROYAL GALLERY OF BRITIS.

ART.—Part 2.

There are some admirable engravings in this Part—the
productions of the most eminent artists of the day. The
" Ruins of Carthage," which is engraved by Willmore,
from an original painting by Linton, in the possession of
Lord Western, is perhaps the most striking plate in the
series. The artist has happily caught the bright effect of
a sultry Eastern atmosphere, and worked out with impres-
sive effect, our notions—always sufficiently exalted on this
subject—of the grand and and massive character of Car-
thaginian ruins. Marius, however, should have had a
more prominent place in the picture. We never
think of Carthage, but our thoughts wander to that
romantic episode in Roman history, of the disap-
pointed military leader of the people, meditating over
his fallen fortunes, among the mouldering fragments
of the only African city that ever presumed to rival Rome. '
He, therefore, should have been the prominent object in
the picture, and the ruins mere auxiliaries, to help the
effect. " Neapolitan peasants," from a painting by U wins,
is engraved by Sangster. The figures in this picture are
skilfully grouped, and defined—the bold handsome boy
who walks in front, with a would-be manly stride—his
younger sister, who follows with an arch, but modest
and downcast countenance, all smiles and sunshine—
the staid and matronly female who accompanies them,
with her baskets of fruits and flowers on her head ;
all these various figures are full of " mark and likeli-
hood," and could only have been pourtrayed in the
style in which they are here presented to us,by one who had
been long a student in Italy, and was familiarly acquainted
with Italian character. " The Smuggler's Intrusion" is
replete with such strong homely character, as Wilkie only,
of all our modern artists, is able to throw into his pic-
tures. The countenance and bearing of the principal in-
truder at once explains his profession. This painting is en-
graved by Bacon, and he has executed it in his most careful
style. On the whole, the work is a magnificent spe-
cimen of art, and is appropriately dedicated to the Queen.

lying across it, as to render travelling on it not only tedious
but extremely dangerous.
In the village of Bebbington and in the neighbourhood of
the Rock Ferry scarcely a house has escaped more or less
damage, chimney-pots swept away in masses, slates and por-
tions of roofs carried off, and in some cases the sheet lead of
the gutters rolled up like paper, and removed to some other
more conspicuous position, where it hung in festoons like
ribbons.

Almost every house in Birkenhead has sustained more or
less damage in glass, slates, and chimney-mugs, presenting in
every direction the most fearful effects of the violence of the
storm. Several houses fell in, and are left with only the bare
walls standing.
The Church too, now building at Woodside and nearly com-
pleted, has had its full share of the storm. Nearly the whole
of the north side has been levelled to the ground. The
damage done cannot be repaired for perhaps less than 2001.
We learn from Bangor that the intercourse by land with
Anglesea is temporarily suspended by the damage done to the
wooden roads constructed on the Menai-bridge. The violence
of the storm of Monday night caused the bridge to vibrate so
considerably, that the wooden roadway, which appears to have
been considerably decayed, was broken up and carried away
by the winds, so as to render the bridge totally impassable for
carriages and mails. Some of the sustaining links are also
broken. Mr. Churchill, the Post-office surveyor, was, for.
tunately in the neighbourhood, and arrangements were quickly
made for the transmission of the mails in a large barge. Some
considerable damage has been done to the shipping craft in the
neighbourhood ; and a schooner, the Thomas Mason,' has
drifted to sea without crew, and is supposed to be lost.

MANCHESTER, JAN. 7.—One of the most violent and awfu
storms ever recollected by the oldest inhabitant of this town
was experienced last night. It commenced about eleven
o'clock, and the results, we are sorry to report, are of the
most melancholy nature, both as regards the loss of life and
propely. A list of the killed is handed beloW, and as it was
procured from the Coroner's-office every reliance may be
placed on its authenticity. The damage done to the various
public buildings is very severe, and from the quantity of slates,
bricks, &c., started from the house tops into the streets, it
appears almost miraculous that more lives were not lost. The
greatest sufferer ir, we hear, a Mr. vegan, the owner of three
or four man'ions at Braughton, which were injured to the
extent of 2,000/. ; this amount, however, includes furniture,
&c. Our Infirmary clock has undergone severe damage. A
short time ago a sudden swelling of the river Irwell carried
away eight large wooden centres, of 100 feet span, which were
temporarily erected previous to the turning of an arch of the
new Victoria Bridge. The new centres were only replaced
last week, and the storm of last night a;ain swept them away.
There is scarcely a house but has suffered more or less, and
the town presents a melancholy spectacle of windows com-
pletely battered in, chimneys blown down, &c.
LIST OF PERSONS KILLED AND MISSING.—Tha cook at the
Manchester Infirmary ; Miss Kyle, Cappershill, killed by the
chimney falling into her bedroom : two children killed in the
same manner in Acton-street, and two others dangerously
hurt; a servant girl killed at Braughton; a man killed whilst
passing through Bridge-street by the falling of Mr. Yadsley's
chimney ; a lady killed at Stretford, four miles from Manchester,
by a chimney falling into her bedroom.
So violent was the wind in the early part of the day, that
the trains could not leave for Bolton at the regular hour, and
the intercourse in that way between Liverpool and Manchester
was interrupted for some hours.
A hurricane, attended with a greater loss of life and of
property has never visited that part of the country.

DREADFUL HURRICANE IN DUBLIN.
(From the Pilot of Monday.)
Never in the memory of man has Dublin been visited with
so fearful a storm as that which prevailed last night. A scene
of devastation meets the eye in all quarters, and the visitation
has had a serious influence upon the present publication of
the Pilot—the state of our printing-office is little better than
a ruin. Chimneys have been hurled down in all quarters, and
numberless houses are stripped of every vestige of slating.
Windows have been burst in and whole fronts of buildings are
left almost without a single pane of glass. The house, No.
40, Dawson-street, was blown down at one o'clock, and two
servants were burned in the ruins. After great exertions by
the police the unfortunate creatures were dug out, and found
to have experienced considerable, though, we believe, not
not dangerous injury. The front of a house at the corner of
Church-street, Arranquay, is carried away ; and the
roof of one near the corner of Aungier-street fell,
completely gutting the building, which was fortunately
uninhabited. Vast damage has been done in the
Liberty, where it was melancholy to see the poor people
running from house to house, seeking for shelter and
safety. The ball at the top of Patrick's steeple was hurled
to the ground in the course of the night. A young man, in
turning the corner of Sackville-street, in Britain-street, was
blown off his feet, dashed against a lamp-post, and had his
leg fractured in a shocking manner. In Leinster-street, we
regret to say that the falling of a chimney proved fatal to a
lady named Whissitt, and injured a number of other persons.
The roof of one angle of Stephen's Hospital was dashed in by
the falling of aratack of chimnies. —The mass of materials
fortunately fell over the large staircase near the Church, and
no personally injury was experienced. The roof of Surgeon
Rumley's house in Stephen's Green fell, carrying with it all
within the walls. The inhabitants, however, had providen-
tially left it on the first warning, The Messrs. Guinness had
nine valuable horses killed by the falling of the wall of Mr.
Murray's concerns. The vitriol-works belonging to Mr.
Jones, on the Military-road, were damaged, it is said, to the
extent of 2,0001., the leaden chambers having been carried
away and the liquor spilt.
Our Paper, in short, could scarcely contain the particulars
of the mischief, and we have but hastily set down a few of the
cases out of the mass we have beard of. We have heard of
the loss of a number of lives, but particulars have not yet
reached us.
In the outlets of the city the damage appears to have been
terrible. At the Old Man's Hospital, the beautiful avenue of
trees has been almost prostrated, many of the fine elms several
feet in circumference, being snapped across. In the Pheenix-
park the devastation has been most awful, it being calculated
that there cannot be much less than one thousand trees thrown
down and damaged. At Glasnevin a portion of the wall at
the Botanic Gardens was forced out, and crushed to death a
policeman who is supposed to have sought shelter under it.
At Finglass and Castleknock we understand several houses
have been blown down, and hay-ricks carried away bodily ;
and the quantity of timber plucked up on Lord Cbarlemont's
demesne is quite astonishing. At Williamstown Avenue two
women were killed by the falling of a chimney, and we believe
that much damage has been done in that quarter. A number
of vessels have been stranded on the coast, and we anticipate
frightful accounts from sea.

DREADFUL CONFLAGRATION.—The horrors of the tempest
arc augmented by the additional calamity of fire. The Be-
thesda was last night the scene of a dreadful conflagration,
which soon extended to the adjoining buildings. It is impos-
sible to give a description of the awful appearance of the fire
in the middle of the hurricane. The streets were nearly im-
passable from the immense quantity of sparks which were
driven about by the wind. The Bethesda and the school ad-
joining are complete wrecks; and the storm being too violent
to allow the engines to be worked with effect, the fire conti-
nued to increase, and the houses next to them in Dorset-street
became ignited, and three of them have been destroyed to the
bare walls—like devastation having visited the houses at the
corner of Granby-row. We regret that three distillery men
were nearly killed by falling through the fluor of one of the
houses.

THE HURRICANE.
LorsooN.—The storm of Sunday evening has been produc-
tive of much mischief in the vicinity of the metropolis ; se-
veral trees in Hyde and St. James's-parks, have been levelled
with the ground, and much damage done to the houses. There
is too much reason to fear that in a day or two disastrous
tidings will be received from sea. The account given of the
storm by policemen who were on night duty is, that it was so
tremendous that they could scarcely keep upon their legs. In
the neighbourhoods of Islington, Camden Town, Holloway,
and Kentish Town, numerous chimneys, &c., were blown
down, and considerable damage sustained. The shipping in
the river sustained but little damage. A number of vessels
were driven from their moorings in various parts of the river,
but with the exception of the loss of a few bowsprits, spars,
and bulwarks, no material damage was done. We have not
heard that any fatal accident occurred. The disasters on the
coast have doubtless been numerous.

HULL —Less OF Two SLOOPS. —On Tuesday night last, as
the Lindsey (Gainsborough steamer) was on her passage to
this port, the master, Captain Waterland, perceived something
above the level of the water, in appearance like the mast of a
vessel ; he immediately turned the steamer round and lowered
a boat. In coming up ho found it to be the mast of a keel,
with a man clinging to its head. The other vessel lay sunk
close by. The poor fellow was immediately rescued from his
perilous situation, where he had been two hours hanging, and
taken into the boat. In about half-an-hour afterwards the
keel turned bottom upwards. Two much praise cannot be
given to Captain Waterland and his men for the kindness
shown on behalf of the poor fellow. One of the sloops be-
longed to a gentleman at Bishoprigg, the owner of the other
is not known.—Hull Observer.

( From the Dublin Evening Mail of Monday.)
The tempest commenced at ten o'clock, from the S. S. E.,
and varied in the course of the night frequently from that to
S. S. W. ; and though towards six this morning its fury in
some degree abated, yet it still continues to blow an ordinary
gale of wind.
Dublin in many places presents the appearance of a " sacked
city."
So far as accounts have yet reached us, it appears that the
tempest was generally felt throughout the whole country.
DELAY OF THE MAILS.—FIRES.—The Sligo mail which
left Dublin last night was upset by the force of the wind near
Kinegad. We have not hard whether any accident occurred
in consequence. The guard of the Galway coach reports that
there were several houses on fire in the town of Kilbeggan.
Trees of immense size lying across the road in various quarters
impeded the coach. In the neighbourhood of Athy, the Water-
ford coach was for several hours prevented from proceeding
—the road being literally blocked up with trees. The Cork
coach was stopped near Carlow for three hours and a half,
owing to several large trees belonging to Colonel Bruen
having been blown down. The Wexford mail was stopped
near Rathnew, in the county Wicklow, and it being found
impossible to remove the impediments, the letter bags were
forwarded by men. They did not reach the Post-office until
one o'clock.

At the hour of going to press, the only mails which had
reached the Post-office were those from Cork, Limerick, Gal-
way, and Wexford. _

THREE 0'61..(H77K, P.M.—WC regret to say that a heavy snow
storm has just commenced, and that the wind is blowing almost
as fiercely as it was at any period of the night. The worst

consequences are to be apprehended should the gale continue
as there is scarcely a house in the city or neighbourhood the
roofs of which have not been more or less injured.

AWFUL STORMS.

FURTHER PARTICULARS.
(From a Second Edition of the Morning Post.).

We have just received the following letter from our Dublin
Correspondent :
" DUBLIN, JAN. 7.—The most awful hurricane that ever
occurred in the memory of the oldest inhabitant visited this
city on this morning. Scarcely a house in the whole metro-
polis but suffered more or less from the gale. It blew at first
from the west, accompanied by violent rain, and then got
round a point or two to the south. Nearly all the fine row of
elms planted by the late Earl of Chesterfield, when Lord
Lieutenant of Ireland, are prostrated. The avenue of ancient
elms, forming a beautiful and favourite approach to the resi-
dence of the Commander of the Forces, are levelled with the
earth. Several chimneys fell, burying the inmates in the
ruins ; and one lady, a Mrs. W histon, of Clare-street, was
killed, and a servant man and woman at Sidney-avenue ; a
woman and child in New-low. A gentleman was blown
against a lamp-post, and had his leg fractured.
" A policeman had his thigh and arm fractured by being
blown down—in fact the casualties and losses to human life and
property are incalculable.
" Amidst the raging of the elements the Bethesda Church,
which had the furniture of a room burned on Saturday night,
burnt forth into the most awful conflagration, threatening de-
struction to all the neighbouring houses from the fury with
which the flames were fanned by the wind. The artillery were
sent for to cut off the communication by firing six-pound shot
to level the contiguous houses, but this plan was not adopted,
as the flames, by the intrepid and active exertions of the po-
lice, were subdued, but not until this fine Church and six
dwelling houses, were consumed to ashes. So appalling a
sight was never beheld—the fire and the fury of the gale con-
spiring to deter the bravest from venturing to give assistance.
The city was enveloped in darkness, the gas-lamps being blown
out."

AWFUL STORM AT LIVERPOOL.
( From a Second Edition of the Morning Chronicle,)

LOSS OF THE PACKET SHIP PENNSYLVANIA.
Liverpool, Tuesday Night.

We continue our account of the disasters by sea and land
that have resulted from the late hurricane. The weather,
however, continues very unsettled. Violent gusts arise at in-
tervels of such a squally nature, accompanied generally with
showers of hail and sleet, as to render the navigation of the
river very unsafe. The Dublin mail packet Avon, due on
Monday morning, has not yet arrived ; she has, however, been
preceded by the Lucifer, which was on her return from Dub-
lin. The Lucifer sailed from Dublin at two o'clock on Sun-
day, three hours after the Avon, which conveyed the mail,
which, strange to say, has not yet reached its destination.
The most disastrous intelligence unhappily remains to be
told. We regret to state we have received intelligence of
which we can hardly entertain a doubt, of the total loss of the
fine packet ship Pensylvannia, which sailed from hence on
Sunday, together with all her crew and passengers, save one.
One only being left to tell the dreadful news.
The gentleman believed to be the only survivor, escaped
the melancholy fate of his late companions through wearing a
life preserver. A boat had put off from the ship in which he
and other persons hoped to reach the land, which was lost on
the breakers at West Hoyle. All the crew and passengers
perished but the individual from whom this sad intelligence is
derived. There were five cabin passengers. The cargo
which the Pennsylvania was carrying out was of great value.
Six r. M.

The St, Andrew New York picket ship which sailed on
Sunday, is on the North Bank, full of water, both anchors a.
head, beating heavy, expected to go to pieces before morning.
Three other American ships ashore near Spencer-gut.

(From a Second Edition of the Times.)
MELANCHOLY SHIPWRECKS AND LOSS OF

LIFE.

LtvEitr•ooL, TUESDAY, Six P.m.—The hurricane, which
commenced about midnight on Sunday, and which continued
with but little abatement in its violence from that period until
three o'clock this afternoon, has now completely spent'its fury.
An almost perfect calm prevails.
The most melancholy event reported is that of the loss of
the packet-ship Pennsylvania, which, after having been wind-
bound from the 25th of December, sailed on Sunday last for
New York. She had been at anchor for a week at the Rock,
and proceeded to sea, about noon that day, in tow of a steam-
tug. The steamer returned to the river before five o'clock,
and it was hoped that the ship had made a good offing. But
if the statement made of the landing of a solitary passenger at
Hoglake, who, having been so fortunate as to possess a life-
preserver, which he wore, and thereby made his escape, when
the other persons in the ship's boat, in which they were trying
to reach land when it was overwhelmed in the breakers—if
this statement be true, and we cannot, we lament to say, see
anv good ground for doubting its truth, the Pennsylvannia
and all her crew and passengers, except this gentleman, have
perished on West Hoyle. The crew would amount to about
twenty-five; and Captain Smith, with whom we conversed
just before his putting to sea, told us, in reply to a question,
that he had only five cabin passengers. Her cargo was a most
valuable one, and so great that even her cabins were crammed
with goods. _ _

What has become of the New York packet ship St. An-
drew, the Lockwoods, and other vessels, which sailed on Sun-
day afternoon, nobody can tell. The worst is feared for the
whole of them, as they had not so good a start by three hours
as the Pennsylvania. The St. Andrew had only four cabin
passengers, and the Lockwoods, which was also bound for
New York, had 85 passengers in the steerage.
The Brighton, from Bombay, was wrecked this morning
on West Hoyle. The life-boat, after several ineffectual at-
tempts to reach her, was towed close to her by a steamer. The
captain and seven of the crew were taken off the wreck, and
brought up to the town. The remainder of the crew, four-
teen in number, had previously quitted the wreck on a raft,
and, up to this hour, no tidings have been received of their
fate. It is feared that they have perished,
At dusk two small vessels were aground on the Burbo
Bank, and would be complete wrecks. The packet-ship Ox-
ford, which arrived on Sunday afternoon, and brought the
important news from Canada and Mexico, will, it is feared,
prove a total wreck. Nothing but her hull remains, and it
fills at high-water.
Dead bodies continue to be washed up the tide along
the coast.

Her Majesty's steamer Lucifer, which ought to have ar-
rived from Dublin yesterday morning, did not arrive until ten
o'clock to-day. The mail-boat of to-day did not arrives until
three o'clock this afternoon.

Little short of twenty persons have lost their lives, in the
own and its vicinity, by the falling of the buildings.

THE POOR-LAW COMMISSIONERS
AND MR. STEPHENS.

Lies have been the chief basis of the Anti-Poor-law agita-
tion. Whatever may be the motives of the individuals—and
even the chief incendiary, who is now called upon to answer
for his conduct, has the credit for amiability of private charac-
ter—nearly all the declamation employed has been rested on
false representations of the principles and practice of the law
and its administrators. But of all the charges which have been
preferred, perhaps the most atrociously false is that which we
report in our present publication, forming part of a Sermon
delivered by Mr. Stepbens to a multitude of his infatuated
hearers at Ashton-under-Lyne, in the interval between his first
and second examination. The statement is to the effect that he
has seen a book, written by one of the Poor-law Commis-
sioners, recommending that all the children of the poor here-
after to be born, above three in a family, should be immedi-
ately put to death. Feeling convinced that, monstrously in-
credible as this statement must appear to every person of calm
judgment, there was a large class of persons whose minds
were so inflamed as to render them capable of believing any-

thing, we took the liberty of requesting the authority of the
Poor-law Commissioners to give it a direct contradiction, and
we are happy to lay before our readers the following reply to
our application :

Poor-law Commission Office,
Somerset House, Jan. 7, 1839.

Sir,—The Poor Law Commissioners acknowledge the re-
ceipt of your letter of the 6th instant. and they desire to ex-
press their thanks to you for the communication. It is impos-
sible for them to describe the feelings of .astonishment with
which they have seen the statements made by Mr. Stephens, to
which you allude, as to some work, represented by him to be
written by a Poor-law Commissioner, containing a project
for destroying all the children of the poor over three in a fa-
mily. Not only are those statements utterly abhorrent to their
feelings, and also totally at variance with any opinions which
they have ever held or expressed, but they arc unable even to
guess what it is to which he alludes.
Of the three Poor-law Commissioners one has never pub-
lished any work whatever, either with his name or w thout it ;
and the only publications which have emanated from the others
appeared many years ago, long before the Poor-law Commis-
sion was even thought of, and contained neither a statement
nor an expression which could by any ingenuity be tortured
into a resemblance to such opinions as are put forth by Mr.
Stephens.
It cannot but be painful in the extreme to the Commis-
sioners that they should be called upon to disavow what they
would willingly believe no human being could impute to them ;
but, if such a disavowal is necessary, they declare that no
such publication has ever emanated from them, and that there
do not exist persons on the face of the earth who more en-
tirely abhor the sentiments imputed to them by Mr. Stephens
than they do.
°edge, Esq , Editor of the Bury Post,
( Signed, by Order of the Board,)
E. CH A DWIC K. Secretary.
jl
have no doubt that after this indignant disavowal, the
charge Bury St. Edmund's.
willvn be shifted from the Commissioners to some other
grrVogthe ha
quarterssand we perceive that at a meeting at Bolton the book
lapteedrsboyn
tbceall\ivngbighsi.mseolff ‘e'ellefrasrecuist,"isanitnd
epetarabilbi pus
circulated aanad.
was mentioned by a " delegate" named Deegan, as written
ciScua
swer so sweeping an accusation as this. If there be ie exist,
ence a book containing such a project—and the speaker di-
rected his hearers to a place where it might be purchased—it
is either a most untimely and wicked joke, in the manner of
Swift's plan for relieving the distress of Ireland by eating the
children, or it is put out by the agitators themselves, in order
to stir up the people to a higher pitch of madness. It is evi-
dently necessary for the Government to do something more
than *merely holding Mr. Stephens to bail to answer to a
charge of using inflammatory language.