The Sun.
London, England, 1825-10-25 00:00:00

PATAL ACCIDENT BY STEAM-BOATS.

[Further Particulars.]
(From the Greenock Adixrtiser of Friday.)
The Comet steam-boat, on her passage from Inverness to
this port, had reached the point of Kempoch at nearly two
o'clock, when she was met by the steam-boat Ayr, M'Clelland,
of Ayr, which was on her way to that port from Greenock.—
The two boats going with considerable velocity, were very near
each other before mutually observed: As soon as perceived,
the person on the look-out on board the Comet cried to the
pilot to put the helm a-starboard, which order the pilot of the
Ayr understood to be meant as instructions to him; both
vessels were in consequence directed towards each other, and
before the •unfortunate mistake could be remedied, they
came in contact with such violence, as to stave in the star-
board bow of the Comet, which vessel in a few minutes went
down, and, melancholy to relate, the whole of the passengers,
with the exception of nine, and the master and pilot of
the vessel, were drowned ! Two of the latter, a lady and
child, have since died. The"total number of passengers on
board are estimated to have been between sixty and seventy,
but we are unable to obtain any certain account. The most
prompt and humane assistance was afforded to the few
survivors 'by Mr. Andrew Ranken and Mr. Glen, of Gou-
rock, anti Mr. Robert Maitland of this town, who are still ac-
tively engaged in securing the property, which, together with
the bodies of the sufferers, is hourly coming ashore. We are
unable as yet to furnish any account of the names of those
drowned on this melancholy occasion, but from a gold watch
with the name "Arend. Grahame" engraved on it, and several
bills drawn in favour of Arend. Grahame, Corpach, being
found on the person of a young gentleman washed ashore, we
have little doubt of his being the person of that name; also
Mrs. Wright of Glasgow, whose body has likewise been got.
A Captain Sutherland and his lady from Inverness were on
board, whose bodies are not yet found. There have also been
washed ashore, besides the two above-named, the bodies of
four men, four women, and two children, whose names we
have not hitherto been able to learn. Too much praise can-
not be bestowed on the people of Gourock, generally, for
the readiness with which they gave their assistance, and the
honesty which has been sliewn in delivering up the property
picked up along the beach ; one instance of which deserves
to be mentioned. A young girl, daughter of James Mains,
of Gourock, found a 50/. Bank of England note, which
was instantly, in the most praiseworthy manner, delivered
to Mr. Rankin. Great blame is attached to the Captain of
the Ayr, for not attempting to afford assistance; he almost
instantly, on the catastrophe occurring, put about and made
for Greenock ; had he, on the contrary, stopped to pick up
those who were able to struggle fur a short time on the surface
of the water, the chance is, that many might have been saved
who have now met a watery grave, and his vessel might have
been run ashore at Gourock, had he found her so leaky as to
be unfit to proceed back to our port. Those saved were chiefly
rescued by wherries belonging to Gourock, which instantly put
off when the alarm was given.
We could have wished that no cause had existed to suspect
depredation of the property cast ashore, but from the circum-
stance of a trunk being carried up to an adjoining field by two
men, who have since absconded, leaving the trunk open, which
was found by a person who brought it to Mr. Rankin, con-
taining some wearing apparel, it is strongly suspected that
money had been abstracted.
The information of the accident was speedily made known
here by the arrival of the Ayr, and, both before and since
morning dawned, the most active assistance has been supplied
from hence, for the purpose of recovering the bodies, collect-
ing the property cast ashore, &c. Of the latter a great quantity
has been safely stored in the cellars of Mr. Rankin's house.
The money found is likewise in safe custody. C. Marshall,
Esq., Sheriff-substitute of the Lower Ward, went down early
this morning, as likewise several gentlemen in the commission
of the peace, to render every assistance. Shells have been or.
dered to be prepared for the bodies, as also the customary ap-
parelling of the dead, and the hapless victims have been con-
veyed to Gourock Church, to await being claimed by their
relatives. In short, whatever sympathy, humanity, and the
most honourable and judicious feelings could devise, has been
resorted to, on all hands, to pay respect to the remains of
those who have so suddenly been called from this scene of
transitory existence.
This melancholy event will at once revive the recollection
of the loss of the Catherine, of lona, from being run down by
the Hercules steam-boat, on the night of Saturday the 10th of
August, 1822. A strong coincidence prevails in the two cases.
in both the calamity was occasioned by steam-vessels, in the
very outset of their Career. The time was nearly the same :
the accidents occurred almost at the same place, anti had si-
milar causes assigned them. In the case of the Catherine, 42
persons perished out of 46 ; in the present instance it is to be
feared, however, a much larger number has been lost.
An investigation of the whole matter is now going on, and
may be expected to continue until the causes anti consequences
are fully developed. We shall leave no eflbrt untried to collect
whatever information is attainable regarding it, which, as far as
we may then have acquired, shall be reported in our next.—
Meanwhile, we trust the imperfections and irregularities of the
present narrative will be ascribed to their proper source-7111e
impossibility of procuring and arranging, within so short a time,
any thing like a complete detail of so great a calamity.
O'CLOCK.—We have just learned that the Captain
of the Comet, corroborated by one of the other survivors, states
it as his opinion, that there were not more than 60 individuals
on board when she went down. Four English gentlemen had
been landed at Rothsay last night. There were 26 cabin pas-
sengers. At two o'clock only 12 bodies had yet been recovered.
Besides those lost whose names have already mentioned,
are the following i—Mr. M'Allister, writer, Edinburgh : Mr.
APAllister said to be a relation of the above; Captain Camp-
bell. Mr. Cameron, jun., Fort-William, saved,

FATAL ACCIDENT AT BATTEItSEA.—OtI Satur-
day afternoon a most dreadful accident took place, which had
nearly proved fatal to the lives of fourteen individuals, at the
extensive works of Mr. Spiller, the engineer, situate on the
Surrey side of Battersea-bridge. The premises were formerly
a soap-nouse, but latterly have been in the possession of Mr.
Spiller. About one o'clock on Saturday a barge came along-
side the wharf, in which was a stupendous iron boiler, weigh-
ing five tons, and from twelve to fourteen men were employed
in removing it into the factory, by means of a crane affixed to
the wall on the summit of • the building ; some of the men
were engaged at the windlass, whilst Mr. Spiller himself, a
young man named Joseph Pinchbeck, Samuel Cole, the
bargeman, and two lads were in the barge, affixing the pulley
to the boiler, the usual signal was given to the men at the
windlass, and the ponderous weight was hoisted to the height
of from two.to three feet, when all of a sudden the whole top
front of the premises to which the crane was attached was
torn down by the burden, and the whole of the brick-work,
together with the crane and the boiler, fell with a tremen-
dous crash into the barge. The alarm that prevailed was
indescribable ; those men on the premises narrowly escaped,
as immediately after, the roof of the building fell in also._
Mr. Spiller, who was in the barge, was forced into the river,
and saved his life by swimming to the opposite shore. The
bargeman, with extraordinary presence of mind, caught up
the two lads in his arms, and fled with them to the after part
of the barge, by which effort the three were preserved. IVe
however have the painful (;:ay to add, that the young man,
named Pinchbeck, was struck on the forehead by some of the
falling materials, and killed instantaneously. The man (Sa-
muel Cole), one of the others in the barge at the time, was
buried under the heap of rubbish, from which lie, after much
difficulty, was extricated, after remaining in his perilous situa-
tion for about ten minutes. The unfortunate man was then
alive, but it was considered that nearly every hone in his skin
was broken, and lie was carried to St. George's Hospital on a
shutter, where he now lies. Yesterday morning, at nine o'clock,
an inquest was held on the body of Pinchbeck, by Mr. CAR-
TER, the Surrey Coroner, at the Swan Inn. It appeared that
the deceased was about to be hound apprentice to Mr. Spiller,
and on this occasion was only a looker-on in the barge when
the °fatal accident occurred. The occurrence, from the evi-
dence that was given, appeared to the jury to be purely acci-
dental, and a verdict to that effect was returned. The deceased
was a very promising young man, in the 18th year of his age.
We have heard since that every attention is paid to the injured
man Cole, and great hopes are entertained of his recovery.
REMARKABLE A CCI DENT.-011 SIIIIBBy fore.
noon, a Gentleman, mounted on a valuable blood horse, rode
down Upper Seymour_street, where an immense sewer is form-
: leg, upwards ot sixty feet deep, and in endeavouring to pass
across the boards covering the excavations, one of them broke,
and the horse and rider sunk into the chasm. Several persons
who witnessed the sudden disappearance, rushed to the open-
ing, and with some little difficulty assisted the gentleman
(who clung to one of the cross beams in his descent) out of
his perilous situation. The horse, however, remained below,
msuinstrUhlaavr ciepmenricseh, ed wasby pgreetvtienngtedgoi
between
tg I to
twthe b bottom,eam s
atwlninderebyita immense crowd soon collected, and some of them very ac-
tively erected a mast and pulley, and having made fast some
blOcks and tackle, one or two descended with the ropes, pro-
perly sheved, and fastening them round the horse, cut away the
beams, and then the animal was hawled up, uninjured, amid
the loud cheers of the assembled by-standers. The gentleman
then, after observing it was impossible to reward them indivi.
dually for their exertions, went to the Prince of Mecklenburgh
public-house, and left 5/, with the landlord, to be spent for the
hemtfit of all who had assisted in saving his horn,

is
to
ERRATIfm.—In the paragraph yesterday relating,,tin° etoth
Mr. SMITH, of Bury St. Edmonds, instead of
year," read " ninetieth."

3 p
e:
(.PRICEent. OnFeds.T.o:BlC6: T 7 i
116--......7
1;;;e r.O Cg•
.....
Bank Stock 226 5 Old Annuities .......... 87i
3 per Cent. Cons.
3i per Cent.r I V
94i Ditto ... 5001. lid 'Par , ,o,
Ditto Red. 9.IN Ditto Small 1id.... 2 4 ' I_ .
4 per Cent. New
-42 A Ditto Advertised .....
....,
Bank Long Ann. 20 15-16 21 Bank for Acct. ..............
India Stock
Ditto Bonds
South Sea Stock - 1 .., ar.
ICons. for Acct. .......

PRICES OF FOREIGN F
Austrian Bds, 5 per cent
Brazilian Bds

1825 .

Scrip
Buenos Ayres Bds
Chilian, Bds, 6 per cent —
Colombian Bds, 6 per ct— —
Do. do. 1824
Danish, 5 per cent.
Do. 3 per cent.
Greek lids
Do. Scrip 1825
Guatinaala
Mexican Bds 7l 70i 1
Do. do. 8 per cent.

Nos AT ONE O'CLOCIS;
Mexican Scrip ............... -••
Neapolitan, 5 per cent. .
Neapolitan do. 18:4 .........
Peruvian Bonds ............ 61j
Do. Scrip ..................
Portuguese Bonds .........
Prus,,ian, 5 per cent. ...... 95
53
3
Ditto New .....................
Russian, New,5 per ct.
Spanish 1821 5 per ct. "
..................
French Rentes, 5 p. c.
--- Exchange •
3 per cent. 70.
25f.
----- Exchange ..,

CK'
PRICES OP SHARES AT ONE o'fiLOper chart.
E 0
Anglo-Mexican Mining Company .* ****************** 21
Bolivar Mining Company ....... . ..................... 2
,001
Castello and Espirito Santo Brazil Alining Conipany i'
5
Hibernian Alining Company ..............................
421
Potosi La Paz and Peruvian Mining Association ...... 36,
Real del Monte Mining Company ............ ' • ...........
New United Mexican Mining Company ..........
Alliance Fire and Life Assurance Company • • ..... ~
Ditto, Marine Department ............................ •,9i nu_
British Iron Company .................................
British Rock and Patent Salt Company ..............
General Dyeing and Printing Company ................ •
Imperial Plate Glass Company ......................

FOREIGN MAILS.
ARRIVED.

Guernsey and Jersey
Lisbon
. Gottsnburgh
Ha►nburgh -
Holland -
France -

Pu og.0g.

RO°.'
MOH IVATER AT LONDON BRIDGE TO./1101,.,e, 1.
Morning, 23 minutes after 1.1 Evening, 46 minutes 6'l

THE SUN.

SOLEM GUIS DICERE FALSUM ..41JDZA

LONDON,
TUESDAY. EVENING, OCTOBER 25, 026'

We received last night the French Papers
contains
Saturday. The Journal des DAats
long and laboured euloghn on the late 'Ong °
BAVARIA. We are informed by the Quaid:4°7Y
that all the sections of the Commission of Liqui;
dation for the claims of the Emigrants had
met
on Friday, under the presidency of Atari"tracts will be found elsoclisr .
MACDONALD. Ex

The Lisbon Gazettes to the Bth October
they
received this morning. The only extra-- 10
furnish will be found subjoined, and relate° a'
rather an interesting point, about to be Jecijecie:
as to the capture of the schooner Elio, "ow
role
tained at one of the Cape Verd Islands. ,
Auditor-General of the Navy has been appoints

judge:,
Theistipatnhieshcsachu
osoene:r—the Atrevida, which had e3ilei frf,
the Havannah to carry on the slave trade on the coast ofd
ft-;
beingothers
at anchor in the river Triton, the Captain an Mme
thers being on shore, the remainder seized the ship, Bndo,Pt•ith
ting. to sea, turned pirates, plundering the ships they °let, - on
without distinction. Proceeding then to the river Isli°' 'oi
the west coast of Africa, where the schooner Pisa " r.,°e $
anchor, they made themselves masters of it, and it being
better sailer than their own ship they removed to it' :he
ing the other to the captain and part of the crew °' tbe
Elisa. After this they proceeded to cruise lOW is*
Cape Verd Islands, and plundered several vessels till did 7
chored in the port of Tarrafal, in the island of Sante Ant°,r;t°o
having there landed some of the persons whom the Plioa
had compelled to accompany them, the GOVerDOr of the l'iii,
was informed by these persons of the above-mentioned
the
culars, he took the most judicious means to apprehend be,
He then caused the preliminary investigations to be wadfoit
fore the tribunals of the islands, which have been sent Poo.
with the other documents, containing together the etaipo
stances related, and will serve as the basis of the Prt/cee

now to be instituted."

Hamburgh and Dutch Papers resetv''' t,
—......p.--
morning contain no news of the slightest iroP°fr,
ante. Such extracts, however, as the 1,, ese
nish, will be found in another column. ' wise
Papers give accounts of the opening of the, ~
of Saxony, and of the proceedings or the C'lit,
her of the States-General at the Hague/ f(, its
second Sitting. A letter from Marseilles 9
.ct
that a French house has entered into a lost
with the Paella of 141gypt to build for him
fol6l‘
ships, carrying 60 guns. each, and in the ero.
meta of which, it is added, the French °/
went has lent its most powerful aid.
, ,0 die
Brazil and Rio Papers have arrivea L
word °C
24th August, but they do not contain a

ar• very
this ..........---
L • • op;e
Legislation is a more diiiicult task than re ,
apt to imagine, a truth amply proved
t°l;
Unitede slightest reference to the statutes of of
m mass of law heaps of the most inconrateui:
obscuredotter will be found, and the sense coalPl.eci Iti
in a cloud of words adopted ill 100 e
Kingdom• Turn i n g over the leaves
..
view to render it clearer and capable of cull
no
Constr • gaincooferred in :on
construction. If a power
clause, ihe per
se) we shall look- in Or '

information.