The Sun.
London, England, 1862-04-04 00:00:00

IMPORTANT LIFEBOAT SERVICE.

PORTSMOUTH, Thursday. —The vessel reported as
being on shore at the back of the Isle of Wight is
the Cedarine, Captain Dill, from Bermuda, bound
to Spithead, with 191 short-time convicts on board.
All on board have been happily saved, and chiefly
by the aid of the excellent lifeboat placed last
autumn at Brigstone Grange, by the National Life-
boat Institution, and presented to it by the Royal
Victoria Yacht Club for that purpose. The convicts
on board were in charge of Surgeons Beek and
Roberts, Overseer Young, and three warders. The
crew of the ship numbered 13, and in addition
there were also on board the wife of Surgeon King
and five women and 18 children, the Ns, ives and
families of the w arders. The Cedarin©, which is a
new barque built of cedar, and measuring 308 tons,
sailed from Bermuda on the 15th of March, expe-
riencing stormy weather until striking soundings,
with the wind chiefly from the N.N.W. After making
soundings the wind came round to S.W., blowing
strong, and accompanied with very thick weather
iu the Channel. Shortly before 2 a.m. on Wednes-
day land was suddenly seen close aboard through a
lift in the fog, and the ship's helm was put down to
bring her round, but she missed stays, and immedi-
ately afterwards struck the ground midway between
the Ship. Ledge and Brigstone Grange, about 200
yards from high-water mark, it being about high
water at the time. A heavy sea was running in at
the time, and each succeeding roller lifted the ves-
sel and drove her further in, the ground over which
she was driving being fortunately a bed of sand
and free from rocks. The Coastguard at Atherfield
station gave the alarm, and Mr. John Brooke, of
Brigstone Grange, personally superintended the
conveyance of the lifeboat on its carnage from the
boathouse by a team of his own horns from the
grange to the shore. The Rev. I. P. Gaze, rector
of Brooke; and hon. secretary of the Isle of Wight
branch of the National Lifeboat Institution, and Mr.
Cutajar, commanding the Coastguard station at
Atherfield, were also on the beach superintending
the means being taken to rescue the people from on
board the stranded ship. A hawser had in the mean-
time been got out from the vessel's jibloom, and by
this means some of the crew and convicts reached
the shore, assisted by the coastguardatnen, one of
the latter, named Sendereen, particularly distin-
guishing himself by his boldness in entering the
surf to assist the men in leaving the ship. The life-
boat on her first trip brought ashore the women
and children, and in seven subsequent trips brought
on shore in safety the whole of the remaining people
on board. She behaved admirably in the broken
water, and her crew appeared to have the greatest
confidence in her. A military guard had been de-
spatched from Parkhurst Barracks, but previous to
the arrival of all the party at the scene of the wreck
the convicts had left the shore for the village of
Brigstone, where, having plenty of money, they
nearly drained out the stock of two publichouscs,
the result being that the majority of them became
drunk and quarrelsome, a series of fights taking
place simultaneously in the middle of the road. It is
but justice to state that all the men were not
alike, a body of the best conducted having been sent
away by themselves, at their own request, on the
near Newport. The
arorraidvatloofPthaerknhtiulritsatryPpruistmaitt,
end to the riot in the
village, and, waggons being Procured, the convicts
were convoyed under escort to Parkhurst. This
morning the weather had greatly moderated, and
the vessel now lies sufficiently high on the beach to
enable any person to walk round her at low water.
Hor crew are engaged in getting her sails, spars,
and stores on shore. She shows but little signs of
damage, but it is the opinion of the people resident
near the place where she lies that it is impossible to
get her afloat again, owing to the extent and nature
of the shoals between. her present position and deep
water, Thu ship 15 partially insured.