The Sun.
London, England, 1865-08-29 00:00:00

" Gentlemen,—lt is with the utmost sorrow that I have
to inform you that the company's steamer Corea is missing,
and that the greatest fears are entertained of her having
perished in a typhoon, which she is known to have en-
countered on the night of the 29th ult. She was despatched
from this port in the evening of the 29th at 6 o'clock, on the
usual east coast voyage, to Swatow, Amoy, and Foo-chow.
Eor some days previous the heat had been very intense,
the barometer inclined to be low, and the weather had the
unsettled appearance so common here at this season of the
year; still there was no striking indication of immediate
bad weather, and at the moment of leaving Captain Bird
expressed his belief that if it should blow at all, it
would be nothing more than a monsoon breeze. This was
at 6 o'clock, and the suddenness with which the storm
burst on the coast may be gathered from the report of a
steamer called the Oriflamme, which left this only two
hours before the Corea, and narrowly escaped foundering,
having been more than once on her beam ends and with her
fires extinguished, and several feet of water in her hold and
engine-room. This report has been extracted from the
newspapers, but has been verified by reference to the officers
of the Oriflamme, so there is no doubt of its correctness.
' The Oriflamme steamship, Captain Lane, reports that
she left Hongkong June 29, 1865, at 450 p.m., for Shanghai,
weather fine, with a fresh breeze from W.S.W., barometer
2975, being about the same as it has been for some time past;
6 p.m., Nine Pins bearing N., found a rolling swell from
S.E., could see no indication of a cyclone; made sail, as we
had a gentle breeze from westward; 8 p.m., barometer 2968,
thermometer 84; Single Island bore N. by W., lightning over
the land; 1020 p.m., Pedro Blanco bore S. by E., five miles;
11 p.m., barometer 29 60, thermometer 81, blowing a gale
from N., thick rain, a screw steamer in company supposed
to bo the Corea, sea beginning to be quite high. June 30.-
1 a.m., barometer 29.40, wind still N., and blowing a hurri-
cane, sea high, and confused wind so strong that it blows
the boat in the trough of the sea, we laying badly ; 2 a.m.,
barometer 29 30, wind blowing apparently as hard as it can ;
put over port bow 100 fathoms of 10-inch hawser, to help to
keep us up to the sea ; 3 a.m., barometer 29, thermometer
80, still blowing, some of the squalls terrific, fires all out in
furnaces, &c. ; 4 40, barometer 28.50, thermometer 82, wind
came in terrific gusts from S., till 8 a.m., it blew with
perfect fury, sea running high ; 9 a.m., barometer 29 65,
moderating and clearing up in the east, the bad weather
about west of us. During the gale we lost three boats, two
blown to pieces, one filled at the davits and left us, stove
in wheel-houses, decks to guards, and damaged things
in general about the decks ; 6 p.m., barometer 29 70; ther-
mometer, 80, midnight, wind and sea going down. July 1,
—All night moderate and pleasant from S. and W. ; 1135,
came up with one of our lost boats, sent a boat for it and
took it up the davits ; saw a bark with loss of foretoptnast,
maintopgallantmast, main yard, &c., bound here. On the
way in from Pedro Blanco, passed three junks dismasted,
one bottom up, and five fishing boats wrecked, also passed
large quantities of wreck stuff—china, cargo in mats, dead
hogs, one dead body ; 35 miles outside, picked up two men,
and within 20 miles of Nine Pins picked up 37 Chinese from
off different rafts.'

" The intelligence of the Corea not having reached
Swatow was first brought to me very early on the morning
of the Bth by the Azof. On hearing that the Corea was
missing Captain Baker very properly obtained immediate
despatch from Swatow, and came down as close along the
coast as it was safe for the ship to do, but without obtaining
any tidings of the missing steamer.
" I then applied to the admiral for a gunboat to visit the
various bays between this and Swatow, and make inquiries
of the Chinese authorities whether any seamen had been
wrecked on the coast. But there happened at the moment
to be no vessel of this class ready for sea. lat once de-
spatched the Azof again on this errand, sending in her an
armed party of sailors and marines, with a lieutenant in
command, whom the admiral placed at my disposal, as on
many parts of this piratical coast it would he dangerous to
land without due protection.

" My instructions to Capt. Baker were to visit all parts of
the coast as high as Swatow, and on arriving there, if no
intelligence had been obtained to induce him to proceed else-
where, he is to return to this port in a more easterly direc-
tion, and on his way to examine Pratos Shaol, if by any
remote possibility the Corea might have been driven there.

" Besides the Corea there is also another steamer missing,
which left this port four hours before her on the same
voyage, the Chanticleer, belonging to Mr. Douglas Lapraik.
No trace of this has been heard of either.

" In estimating the chances of the Corea having escaped,
the fact of another steamer being missed is not favourable,
for were either of them safe the probability is that in the
12 days which have elapsed since the gale she must have
been heard of. The direction of the, wind and current have
been continually from the south ; and this fact is also omi-
nous, as had the steamer run off in the only safe direction
—viz., the south to east, the prevailing wilds, even hadshe
been disabled,would have driven her towards the coast again,
the only ground of hope then appears to be that she may
have been dismasted, or her machinery also disabled, so
that progress of any kind is for the time impossible. I can-
not hold out this as a strong hope, but I deeplyregret to say
it seems the only one—one which professional men enter-
tain, taking all the circumstances into consideration.
" The Corea had on board a very small cargo and only
three European passengers, besides the commander's wife,
Mrs. Bird. That lady had only been here a few months,
but she was in delicate health, and Capt. Bird asked to be
allowed to take her to Swatow on a visit to some friends.
Of the other passengers one was Mr. Noble, manager of the
Agra Bank, one was a Portuguese, and one a German.
" I communicate these details with much pain, and would
gladly smother the fears I have been compelled to express
were the hopes of safety greater; but it is my duty to narrate
the plain truth, however painful. It is the common dread,
and one which I cannot but share, that an awful catastrophe
has befallen these two steamers within a few hours of their
leaving this port.

"I havo the honour to remain, gentlemen, your most
obedient servant,

" THOMAS SUTHERLAND, Superintendent of
the Company's Works, Hongkong.
" To the Managing Directors, London."

It will be observed that the above letter is dated the 11th
of July. The managing directors have received telegrams
from Hongkong up to July 31st. Nothing further was
known of the Corea.
The following is a list of the officers who were on board:
—Capt. J. W. D. Bird, commander; Mr. J. M. Guy, chief