The Sun.
London, England, 1854-05-15 00:00:00

ACCIDENT TO THE SIMLA.

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Sou'reamrroN, Saturday, May 13.—8 y the arrival of ,
the Peninsular and Oriental Company's steam-ship Sultan
we learn that the screw steamer Simla, Captain Brooks,
was spoken on the • 9th instant off Vigo, and that she
reported having broken her screw propeller in two places,
and that steam power was in consequence quite useless.
The Simla, it will be recollected, left Southampton on
the 6th instant for Gibraltar, Malta, and Alexandria,
with the India, China, and Australian mails, and had
on board also the mails for Melbourne and Sydney;
taken out of the Great Britain, besides a very large and
valuable cargo, 300 tons of stores and provisions fo. the
Government, to be landed at Malta for transmission to
the fleet in the Black Sea, and specie to the value of about
90,0001. sterling. The screw, it appears, was broken
by having struck some portion of a floating wreck • and,
no spare one being on board at the time, the Simla had
to trust entirely to her canvas. She was going about
eight knots, with a fair wind, whet spoken by the Sul-
tan. It is supposed she would make Gibraltar, and
there endeavour to repair temporarily the damage sus-
tained. The company have a spare screw at this port,
and it was at first deemed advisable to ship it on board
the Sultan or Colombo, and to send both these steam-
ships to Gibraltar, there to meet the Simla, and trans-
ship her mails, passengers, and cargo for conveyance to
their destination. For this purpose Captain Engledue, the
superintendent of the company, ordered these vessels to be
prepared for sea, so as to leave Southampton on Sunday
or Monday. Subsequently orders were, however, re-
ceived this evening from London, countermanding their
departure, and the Simla will have to make the best of
her way unc'er sail alone, or with temporary repairs
(should such be practicable), to the Mediterranean.
Great delay to the mails will necessarily be experienced,
and the steamers on the Suez side of the isthmus will,
of course, be kept waiting. If the Simla gets favour-
able weather, she wiil probably make a fair passage to
Malta, whence the mails might be sent on by the
Vectis or Valetta to Alexandria, but if foul winds are
encountered in the Mediterranean, it is uncertain when
that island may be reached. The Simla is a most mag-
nificent ship, and, independent of her steam-power, is
fully rigged as a clipper barque, so as to take the greatest
possible advantage, on all occasions, of a leading wind.
We regret to learn that a serious accident had taken
place on board the Simla just previous to the disaster to
her screw-propeller, the third engineer having been
killed by falling down the engine-room upon the work-
ing parts of the machinery. The unfor.unate man was
dreadfully mangled, and died almost instantaneously.

THE CITY OF GLASGOW STEAMER.—The New York
Journal of Commerce publishes the following report by
the captain of the schooner Canton, arrived at New
York, and remarks upon it :—" April 12, saw a steam-
propeller off Achhn's Island (Bahamas), from five to
eight miles distant—sails furled ; she was undoubtedly
lying at anchor, as she was head to wind. There did
not appear to be anything the matter with her.
Saw no one on board. Several small vessels, ap-
parently wreckers, were in the vicinity, but did not
appear to be going to or coming from her. She
was apparently about 1,000 tons burden ; sup-
posed her to have been a surveying vessel." We
further learn verbally thatshe had windsails set, —noflags ;
the stack very short and back, between the fore and
main masts—nearer to the latter. The distance between
the fore and main masts was noticed as being consider-
able; that between the main and mizen very much less.
Boats were hanging on the quarter and at the stern.
The vessel stood very high out of the water. The fol-
lowing is a minute description of the City of Glasgow :
Built of iron ; 1,810 tons register, but at sea appears
much smaller ; length over all, 258 feet •, breadth, 34feet
3 inches ; 350-horse power ; sides black, bottom dark
yellow, white full-length female figurehead, scroll work
and name board on each bow - imitation quarter
galleries ; had no bulwarks proper, but network around
her supported by an iron rail, painted yellow, which
might easily be mistaken at a distance for wood-
work; decks yellow•; was barque rigged, with bow-
sprit and jibboom ; her smokestack, which was black,
with a white ring near the top, was abaft the foremast ;
house on deck also abaft the foremast; she carried the
American ensign at the fore ; blue pennant, red edges,
with her name in it, at the main ; blue signal, with a
black star in it, at the mizen, and the British ensign at
the wizen gaff. Captain Johnson further states that he
is positive that the above vessel was afloat ; that if she
was in distress she could not have been in the position
reported— viz., to windward. Had she' been in dis-
tress she would probably have come through the Maya-
guana passage, and made some of the more windward
islands. The passengers by the Canton also state their
belief that this vessel was not in distress, and
also to the best of their knowledge that there was no
white about her smokestack ; and one of them still
further states that he has seen the City of Glasgow, and
is pretty positive that it was not she. Captain Johnson
also states that in his judgment, and allowing for the
distance from him, she was not over 1,000 tons burden,
that she was either a war or surveying vessel, and that
as it was contemplated to. build a lighthouse at or near
that she might have leen there for the purpose
of
which is also the opinion of the
filzoi en locality, i
the site ;
passengers.
THE MAILS—LIVERPOOL, Ma 13.—The British and y
North American mail steamer America, Lang com-
mander, took her departure hence to-day for Boston,
with a large number of passengers, a full cargo, and a
heavy mail. The South American and General Steam
Navigation Company's screw steamer Brasileira is re-
ported to have reached Bahia on the morning of the 14th
ult., being 204 days' passage from Liverpool, and that
she sailed on the following day for Rio Janeiro, booked
full of passengers and cargo. She will be due at Liver-
pool on the 27th or 28th inst. La Plata, belonging to
the same company, reached Pernambuco on the 7th ult.,
lowing day for the River Plate. Their new steamer,
21 days passage from Holyhead, and sailed on the fol.
the Bahiana, sails hence on the Ist of June, and will be
succeeded by the Lusitania on the 24th. The report
that these fine steamers are under offer to the Govern-
=eat for the conveyance of troops is, therefore, in-
correct.