The Sun.
London, England, 1838-12-11 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

Since our last observations on the question of Irish Rail-
ways several public meetings have been held in Ireland, at
each of which the • recommendations of the Commissioners
were, as before, lauded or censured with much less reference
to their real merits as affecting the country at large, than
to the effect they were likely to produce on the local in-
terests of that particular district—a practical illustration of
the Irish patriots' boasted anxiety for the improvement of
their " beloved native land !" At one of these meetings—
that held at Charlemont-house, in Dublin—the deputation
appointed at a former meeting to wait upon the Lord-Lieu-
tenant communicated the result of their interview with him.
His own opinion was, that it would be necessary for Go-
vernment to advance money for making railroads in Ireland;
but he spoke merely as an individual, and could not
pledge the Government to any course until it was sanctioned
by Parliament : in other words, Government have every
inclination to consummate this job, and they will do
it if they can; but they begin to fear that neither Parlia-
ment nor the British public will be gulled into thus parting
with their millions, which are now so much wanted to put
down the "nation Canadienne," and to repair the disastrous
effects of the Humite policy upon the navy. At another
public meeting, which took place in Dublin two days after-
wards, Mr. L. Smith made the rational proposition to pe-
tition Parliament to fix upon certain principles and regula-
tions for the direction of private enterprise in railways, and
that if no companies could be found to undertake railroads
in Ireland upon those terms, then, but not till then, they
should be made national works. But this honest plain
sailing met with no favour from the million-craving multi-
tude, who seem nowise disposed to give up the pursuit of
their expected prey, now that they have been put on the
scent by the Railway Commissioners. They are also now
cheered on by the view-halloo of Mr. O'Connell, though he
wrongly denounced the report, both in Parliament and on
hit arrival in Ireland, as soon as it appeared I He had
opposed the report at first (he stated to a deputation at
Cork) on the ground of its checking private speculation,
but he had since changed his opinion, and now fully con-
curred in its recommendations. Mr. O'Connell did not
think it fit or necessary to mention his reason for this
change ; he thought them perhaps, as we do, too obvious
to need pointing out. The expenditure of five or six mil-
lions of English money among the payers of the " national
tribute" and the contributions to the " Precursor" funds,
and the distribution among the faithful tail and their friends
of the numerous appointments which would follow, would
be no bad prop to the collection of the " rint"
or the popularity of the Liberator. He seems al-
ready to make sure of the booty. " The Govern-
ment," he observed, " had no other alternative but
to carry on the lines recommended in their own " re-
port." The million given to relieve the pockets
of the tithe defaulters in Ireland has only whetted the
appetite for further demands. O'Connell and his dupes—
" her Majesty's humble servants, but fighting men," as
he appropriately calls them—now increase Their demands,
and talk in a h;gher key, in pursuance of the laudable
principle by means of which he boasted at the recent
Limerick dinner that he and his followers had triumphed.
" We cringed to them when we were weak, but now we
have kicked them off, because we are strong enough !"
What must be the brutal debasement of the being who can
boast of, and of those who can cheer—for the degrading
sentiment was loudly cheered—principles which any man,
any member of a civilized community, would die of shame
to acknowledge, and would consider it the bitterest insult
and the deepest mark of inferny to have even imputed to him?
He told his Limerick Precursors that "the peop'e of England
and Scotland must pay the usual penalty for simplicity—a
" laugh at their expense—for having given a million and
abolished 25 per cent. of the tithes under the expectation
of settling that question ; while, on the contrary, the getting
" rid of one-fourth of the entire, last Session," would give
him and his friends fresh spirit to " shortly be after
the other three " fourths." But, however patient and
much-enduring " the, people of England and Scotland" are
known to be, there are limits to all things, and the over
cunning Agitator may yet learn to his cost that his own
utter incapacity to entertain a generous sentiment has let!
him to mistake the desire to pacify Ireland for what he
calls British " simplicity," and that althoueh, from the
difference of their habits, " the people of England and
Scotland" may have taken the " cringing" of hypocrisy
for the honest supplication of misfortune, and may have
acted accordingly, yet will they yield nothing—let
him not confound " the people of England and Scotland "
with his humble servants her Majesty's Ministers—to
the bullying of the ruffian, now that he thinks himself
" strong enough" to substitute insult and menace for cun-
ning and dissimulation. The kind of thanks and gratitude
this country is now receiving for the generous sacrifice she
made in order to tranquillize Ireland by the settlement of
the tithe question, will surely prevent a repetition of such
folly, should Ministers, backed by the tail, make a similar
application to Parliament for the construction of the Irish
railroads. We have given elsewhere a summary of the
comments and recommendations of the Commissioners of
Bailways in Ireland, concerning the powers to he given to
Railway Companies, and the restrictions to which they
should be made subject. Notwithstanding the decided lean-
ing of the Commissioners to Government management which
prevails through this and every other part of the Report,
these remarks and suggestions will be found useful and in-
teresting at the present moment. They show the practice
of England, France, and America, with respect to the
management of railroads, and they embrace the chief
points which the defects of the system adopted in England
are rendering a matter of daily increasing importance. Rail-
ways are fast superseding all other modes of conveyance ; a
very few years more will complete the monopoly upon all
the great lines of communication throughout the kingdom.
In a country like this, where business, health, and recrea-
tion have rendered travelling universal, this is a question
which comes home to every man, as affecting his interests,
his convenience, and (as almost daily accidents now pain-
fully prove) his personal safety. We have always urged
the necessity of subjecting the Railway Companies to such
regulations as might appear advisable for the protection of
the public ; but although we believe that, from the absence
of competition, their own interests and the force of public
opinion are not, alone, a sufficient check on the conduct
of those Companies, yet it is a gross exaggeration to
assert—as some persons do, and as the Railway Commis-
sioners seem inclined to maintain—that these circumstances
do not influence the proceedings of railway proprietors and
their servants. Even admitting that the monopoly has or
will become complete, that coaches, posting, and every
other means of conveyance have been or will be driven off
the road upon all the main lines of communication, still it
must be remembered that nothing but an immense amount
of travelling and intercourse will repay the cost of construc-
tion and current expenses of a railroad, and that a very
large portion of the receipts arises from the great increase
in travelling caused by the saving of time, fatigue, and in
Many cases of expense, effected by the introduction of rail-
ways. Now, as a great proportion of this increase
in travelling has taken place among persons who
make the trip as a recreation, or to gratify their
curiosity, visit friends residing at a distance, or for
some other purpose neither pressing nor necessary,
the continuance of this large source of the railway
proprietors' receipts—constituting the chief, perhaps the
only, source of their actual net profits—is entirely contin-
gent on the conduct of these individuals and their servants ;
for those holiday travellers will undoubtedly soon cease to
patronize the railroads if they meet there with extortion,
insolence, neglect, or personal danger. That Railway
Companies have, therefore, a deep interest in studying the
comfort, safety, and convenience of the public, and that
this
circumstance produces its natural effect in very consi-
derably controlling their proceedings—though, we repeat,
not as effectually so as the present state of things shows to
be necessary—is already proved by the removal of the in-
convenience and delay noticed by the Railway Commis-
sionera as then existing at Birmingham, on the line between
London to Liverpool, in consequence of the non-junction
of the railways of the two companies whose termini meet
at that place ; but which defect, as is well known% has
since been remedied. The Commissioners must either
have been bitten with a blind prejudice against joint-stock
companies, or they must have purposely magnified the ob-
jections against them, in order to frighten the unreflecting
into the desired job of Government management. As far
as the introduction of railways has proceeded in France, it
certainly affords no very flattering specimen of the effects
of the State interference and centralizing system recom-
mended by the Commissioners ; nor will its effects bear a
comparison with those produced (whether in this or in any
other kinds of undertakings) by the free agency and un-
aided enterprise of individuals in Great Britain and the
United States, even notwithstanding the obvious and, to a
great degree, remediable defects of the practice pursued in
the two latter countries. The French Papers have lately
been full of complaints that the railroads are found to cost
twice or three times as much as the amount stated in the
estimates of the Government engineers—those boasted
documents which it was said did not, like those of private
projectors, deceive the public by under-estimating the
cost of the works !—that the further progress of the Ver-
sailles railway will probably be discontinued and the works
destroyed ; and that no Companies are forthcoming to
undertake the various other lines projected by Govern-
ment, even with the large advance of public money offered
for their assistance. If railroads could be constructed and
managed with proper economy and judgment by Govern-
ment, it might be advisable to do so, for the purpose of al-
ways being able to make whatever arrangements were ne-
cessary for the public convenience, and to fix the charges for
conveyance at the lowest rates which would cover the ox-
pendittire. But experience proves that such is the jobbing,
the waste, and the total want of responsibility which immedi-
~tely take when a work is made a Cgovornmoat under- 1

taking that there is little doubt the increaseof expense arising
from these sources would considerably exceed the saving
of the profit received by joint-stock companies, If an
engineer or other ern/Aye is found ignorant, idle, negligent,
extravagant, or otherwise unfit for his duty, their own in-
terest will soon induce the directors, or, if not, the pro-
prietors, to dismiss him ; but of what avail are complaints
against the host of incapables whom interest alone thrusts
into public employment in spite of the indignant remon-
strances of the whole country ? Heaven knows the effects
of the boasted march of Lteform, and the use made of Go-
vernment influence by our " no patronage" Ministry, hold
out no encouragement to adopt the French system of
centralization. Look, on one side, as the achievements
of individual enterprise in steam-navigation, in railroads, in
the projected intercourse across the Isthmus of Panams, and
through Egypt to India, and in a thousand other ways ; and
look, on the other side, at the Post-office service, and at
everything else that is cursed with the paralyzing contact
of that compound of sloth, corruption, and imbecility, Go-
vernment management. It appears to us perfectly clear
that Government management and unrestricted private en-
terprise are both to be deprecated; and that the under-
taking of railroads by joint-stock companies, under such
well-considered regulations as the interests and convenience
of the public require, is the true juste milieu which, under
all the circumstances of the case, it is most advisable to
adopt. We have not the least doubt that capitalists will
be found to undertake the Irish railways upon those con-
ditions ; but at any rate to begin, as the Commissioners
have done, by arriving at the contrary conclusion, in the
teeth of appearances and without having ever tried the
offer, is undoubtedly the most Irish specimen of logic and
proceeding ever exhibited to an astonished world, or the
most barefaced attempt at an unprincipled job ever perpe-
tra'est even in Ireland.—Times.

An early copy of a couple of volumes, published this
day, and bearing the title of " Travels in Town," by the
Author of " Random Recollections of the Lords and Com-
mons," &c., has just reached us, and, we need scarcely
add, has commanded our earliest attention. From the al-
most unparalleled success of the author's previous works, he
was entitled to this consideration ; and in perfect fairness
and candour we readily allow that the work, so far as we
have had an opportunity of perusing it, is not calculated to
detract, except in one or two points, the high reputation
which he has already earned ; but those points are with
us points of infinite importance. We shall broach only
one for the present, reserving the other for a future op-
portunity—and it is the accusation preferred by the
author against the Melbourne Administration of hav-
ing favoured and fostered Popery, and of unfairly pre-
ferring Catholics to Protestants in almost all official ap-
pointments in Ireland. We will venture to assert, and
with perfect power of proof in our hands, that a grosser
libel was never committed, even by the most rancorous
o! the Tory Journals, upon the Melbourne Government
than that which is contained in the following passage :
" 1 then proceed at once to another cause, which is the
only one to which I advert, of the alarming advances
which the Romish faith has recently made in this country.
That cause is to be found in the conduct of the Melbourne
Ministry. I can easily imagine that some of the Dissen-
ters, the body to which I belong, will startle on hearing
such a position advanced by me. I cannot help it. if they
should : and most thoroughly do I feel assured, that if
they will only look a little below the surface of things,
they will soon share with me the conviction that the pre-
sent Ministers of her Majesty are deeply responsible for
the fearful strides which Popery has made in Great
Britain within the last few years. I have no sympathy,
and never had any, with the leading performers in the cru-
sade in which the ingenious device' clique have been
recently engaged against the Church of Rome. I have
always regarded that crusade—in this I may be right or I
may be wrong—as having had its origin fully as much in po-
litical considerations as from an attachment to pure and
undefiled religion. * * Is it not as clear
as the noon-day sun, that the Melbourne Cabinet have
evinced a decided and uniform partiality to Roman Catho-
lics when making appointments to the vacant situations in
the public service in Ireland ? Let me not be here misun-
derstood. I do not say that where a Roman Catholic was
qualified for the vacant situation, he ought not to have re-
ceived the appointment. On the contrary, I hold that no
man's religious opinions ought to exclude him from offices
of State. Wherever I saw a man possessing the necessary
qualifications, and he had by his public services established
a claim to an appointment, I would unhesitatingly give him
that appointment, whether he were a Protestant, a Roman
Catholic, a Jew, or even a Deist. I do not, therefore, ar-
raign the conduct of the Melbourne Ministry because they
have appointed some of the adherents of Popery to civil or
political offices. So far from this, I think that forming as
they do the majority of the population of Ireland, Roman
Catholics should have received the majority of ap-
pointments. What I complain of is, that Roman
Catholics have, in almost every instance. received
the lucrative and influential appointments which have been
made in Ireland since the advent of the present Adminis-
tration. It was part of the narrow and bigotted policy of
Tory Governments to bestow all their patronage on Orange
men ; the Ministry of Lord Melbourne have leaped to
the other extreme, and conferred all the loaves and fishes at
disposal on the Roman Catholics. To be a Prct s-
tent in Ireland is precisely the same thing as if one had an
inscription written on his forehead—' Ineligible to any Go-
vernment office under the Marquis of Normanby.' If there
have been one or two exceptions ; if one or two Protestants
have been appointed to vacant government situations,
under the present Ministry, the circumstance might be
easily traced to the personal influence of the parties making
or seconding the application. It is not, however, to the
mere appointment of Roman Catholics to Government situa-
tions, while Protestants are systematically proscribed, that
I attribute much of the progress, which Popery has recently
made in these realms ; it is chiefly to the impression
which this marked partiality towards the adherents of
the Church of Rome has created in the public mind, that
Ministers are in their hearts friendly to Popery—that the
increase of that religion is to be ascribed. And this im-
pression has been strengthened by the contemptuous way
in which Ministers have spoken of Protestantism, and by
the compliments they have lavished on Popery, :in their
places in Parliament. Ever, in short: since Ministers came
into office, their language and conduct have had the effect of
giving a heavy blow and great discouragement' to the
Protestant religion; while they have had the opposite effect
of fostering and extending the Romish faith. The Roman
Catholics thus taught to regard the present Administration
as the special patrons of their religion, have, as might have
been ex, ea ed, taken fresh courage and been stimulated to
make those extraordinary efforts for the spread of their reli-
gion to which I have already alluded, and which are this
moment being crowned with such astounding success. No
one will venture to deny, that since the accession of the
present Administration to office, that Popery has made
more extensive progress than it had done for the 1.5 or 16
years previously. Neither'will it be questioned that the
Church of Rome has, since that accession, assumed a
bearing of haughty defiance towards Protestantism, unknown
among us since the subversion of the Stuart dynasty. In-
toxicated with its recent success under the auspices of the
Melbourne Ministry, Popery is now putting on a bold
front, and is confidently looking forward to still greater tri-
umphs in Great Britain. Mr. O'Connell is one of the most
zealous and superstitious of his Roman Catholic country-
men. The fact of his having publicly fallen down on his
knees before a priest to express his veneration for the
ghostly father, is sufficient proof of this. Who can tell
what influence the circumstance of Ministers acting as a
sort of nursing fathers to Popery, may have had in induc-
ing him of late to stand by and support these Ministers
through thick and thin—through evil report and good re-
port." To-morrow we shall continue our extracts, as well
as attempt to show the gross inconsistency of the author in
pleading, on the one hand, that " no man's religious opi-
nions ought to exclude him from offices of State," and,
on the other, that where there is a Catholic majority, Ca-
tholic officials ought not also to be in the majority.—
Morning Advertiser.
Another Welshman has been incarcerated in Car-
marthen gaol for costs in a suit against him for non-attens
dance at. church, and not providing sacramental wine, and
the informer is the self-same Rev. Ebenezer Morris who
figures in this capacity in the case of Mr. John James.
Mr. David Jones, late churchwarden of Llanon, of which
parish, as well as of Llanelly, the Rev. Ebenezer Morris
is incumbent, has, according to a Correspondent whose
communication will be found in another column, been sued
for not providing the sacramental elements and not attend-
ing ehuyrch. The two heads of accusation are different in
kind. The
with
sacramental elements must of course be pro-
somietehpsraecrin
tsepcetyee;. but the non-attendance at church is
on
an affair of Till we have more particular in-
formationto this case we shall abstain from
comment. It certainly does appear strange that any man
in these times should be thrown into gaol for non-attendance
at church. The Rev. Ebenezer Morris seems determined
to acquire a namem the e
someofse sort. Our correspondent states
,101.—Morning Chronicle.
that the costs •
t nu
at t especiallyalle
albs
er thetf a pn oyo, r ra,a atsa
ktehne
effect in the price °N Nooels. o thanks to the dealers in
who
black diamonds, nor to those •eduty it is to assist
the public in this result. The
thanks
in are due
eg
tuopl‘hintelligencefollowiradfield for his zeal and intelligence
is
exposure of the abuses which exist in this important
trade, and to the Lord Mayor for the countenance and
support which he has afforded him. The committee to
whom the matter was referred have, no doubt uninten-
tionally, borne the highest testimony to the value of Mr.
Bradfield's services ; for while, throughout their report,
they treat 11/41 as a person quite unworthy of their con.

sideration, they admit the necessity of adopting, and of '
their having, in fact, partially adopted his recommendation
of facilitating the delivery and supply of coals by the
appointment of additional weighers. In addition to this
they let the public into the knowledge of a fact which
does not appear to carry with it quite so much wisdom
and propriety as they would have us give it. credit for—
that " it, is open to any person to appoint and employ
his own weigher in the delivery of his coals." So much
the worse ; for what is it the consumers complain of ?
The high price, the mixed quality of the article, and
the frequent deficiency in weight. That there are highly-
respectable persons in the coal trade nobody doubts. So
there are in the corn trade ; yet " rogues in grain" has
long been a proverbial expression ; and so have " tricks
in the coal trade ;" and we know of no more effectual aid
which could be given to such tricks than that persons
base enough to practice them should thus have the power
of defeating- the main, if not the only, check there is upon
them. The time of year, too, is most important. Every
possible effort should be made, and facility given to the
most extensive delivery of coals at the present moment, not
only when the supply is large, but while the river is open ;
for should a severe frost come, and the navigation be im-
peded, as is always liable to be the case for the next two or
three months, the price would be greatly enhanced, and that
in proportion to the smallness of the stock which would be
on hand. Such being the case, and such the importance
of the subject, we trust that Mr. Bradfield .will, in spite of
the impediments which may be thrown in his way, continue
to be the coal trade's tormentor.—Morning Herald.

NAVAL INTELLIGENCE.

(From the Hampshire Telegraph.)

PORTSMOUTH, DEC. B.—The Rattlesnake, Captain
Hobson, which arrived on Wednesday, came into harbour
the following day, to be paid off. She left Madras the
2-Ith August, Trincomalee on the 3d of September, Cape
the 6th of October, and the Island of Ascension on the
26th of the same month. Sir Frederick Maitland, in the
Wellesley, 74, with the Larne, 18, and Xgerine, 10, were
at Canton, and expected back at Madras in November ; the
Wolf, 18, would leave Ceylon for England in October ; the
Victor, 18, was in the straits of Malacca ; the Volage, 28,
was gone to Calcutta to bring specie to Madras ; the
Favourite, 18, was on the Coromandel Coast ; the Leveret,
10, and Forester, 3, were at the Cape. The Hon. Ad-
miral Elliot's flag was flying in the Badger, his ship, the
Melville, 74, being on the coast of Africa. The Rattlesnake
brought home the crew of the ship African, wrecked at
Ceylon, as well also as Mustafi Effendi, who has been doing
duty as a Lieutenant in the Wellesley, but who was obliged
to come to England from ill-health. The Rattlesnake will
be paid off in ten days.
The Tweed, 20, Commander for. F. T. Pelham, which
arrived on Wednesday, after a service of nearly four years
on the coasts of Spain and Portugal, Kill be paid off on
Tuesday next.
The Malabar, 74, Captain Harvey, arrived at Halifax
on the 31st of October, and the Cornwallis, 74, Captain
Sir R. Grant, left that port for Bermuda on the following
day. The Andromache, 28, Captain Baynes, followed her
on the 17th ult.

The Ringdove, 28, Pearl, 20, and Crocodile, 38, were
at Bermuda on the 22d of October. The Charybdis, 3,
had gone to Jamaica.
Commander Nixon, of the Ringdove sloop-of-war, in a
moment of temporary excitement committed suicide by
shooting himself on the 25th of October, at Bermuda. The
Hon. Keith Stewart, one orthe Lieutenants (1 the Corn-
wallis, has been promoted to command the Ringdove.
The Stag, 46, Commodore Sulivan, C. 8., and the Spar-
row ketch, Lieut. Lowcay, were at Rio de Janeiro cn the
17th of August ; the latter was preparing to take to the
Falkland Islands a stock of sheep, fowls, and seed of all
kinds for propagation.
The Britomart, 10, Lieutenant Stanley, and Beagle,
surveying vessel, arrived at Sydney on the 15th of July ;
the Alligator, 28, Captain Sir J. G. Bremer, arrived at
South Australia on the 10th of July.
The Weazle, 16, arrived at Gibraltar on the 16th ult.,
from Valencia.

The Athol!, troop-ship, was towed out of harbour on
Monday, and proceeded to Woolwich to be r; paired.
The Meteor steamer, Lieutenant Pritchard, called in this
afternoon, from Plymouth, with seamen for the Gann-es ;
she proceeded immediately for Woolwich, with Lord bur-
ham's plate and valuable baggage, which she yesterday took
out of the Inconstant.

Tile Numa transport has embarked 120 men of the 89th
Regiment, with whom she proceeded on Friday for Bar-
badocs.

The transport ship Eagle arrive 3 at Halifax, Nov. 7,
with detachments on board for the 93d, 11th,23d, and 65th
Regiments.
The Revenge, 74, has been put out of dock, and the
Magielenne, 28, taken in. _

,
do Monday afternoon a large Dutch West Indiaman
came into Portland Roads, assisted by her Majesty's re-
venue cutter Nimble, Mr. Ramsay, R.N., Commander.
The ship Buckinghamshire, of 1,400 tons, arrived this
evening at Spithead, to embark emigrants for South Aus-
tralia ; ten waggons from Sussex arrived this morning, fuly
loaded with a very superior description of husbandmen, who
intend to take passage in her.
The Morning Star yacht, Hon. H. Upton, left Gibraltar
for Palma on the 21st ult.
In the Harbov.—Britannia, Victory, Ganges, Excellent,
Royal George, Rattlesnake, Daphne, Tweed, Cameleoe,
Meteor, and Messenger (steamers).
At Spithead—Racer.
PROMOTIONS AND APPOINTMENTS.—COITIIIIRMICT—
Baldwin, W. Walker, to the rank of Captain. Lieutenants
—The Hon. K. Stewart, to the rank of Commander ; Jef-
fery W. Noble, to the Inconstant ; Zaccheus Andrew, to
the Grecian. Master—Wm. Forbes, to the Pilot. Assist-
ant-Surgeon—James Macneal, to the Acheron.

(From the Devonport Independent.)
PLYMOUTH, DEC. B.—Her Majesty's ship Malabar,
74, Captain E. Harvey, may be daily expected here from
Canada.

Her Majesty's ship Opossum, 4, Lieut.-Com. Robert
Peter, arrived here from Falmouth on Monday, and went
into dock on ThUrsday to have her defects examined.
Her Majesty's ship Espoir, 10, Lieut.-Com. J. T. Paul-
son, sailed on 'Wednesday for Lisbon.
Her Majesty's ship Inconstant, 36, Capt. D. Pring, came
into harbour on Thursday, she will be taken into dock on
Friday next.

The Netley sailed for Liverpool on Friday, to bring round
men, raised for general service.

The Devon, lighter, will call here on her way to the
North Coast of Spain.
Her Majesty's ship Tweed, 20, Corn. F. T. Pelham,
sailed on the 3d, and the Rattlesnake, 28, Captain Hobson,
the 4th inst., for Portsmouth to be paid off.
THE ARAB TRANSPORT.—The following account, as
received by us from one of the officers composing the de-
tachment of the 36th regiment, on board the Arab trans-
port, Harry J. Naylor, Master ; Lieutenant W. Lyster,
R.N., agent, bound to Halifax, and which was obliged to
but back to this port, in consequence of her springing a
leak, we publish for the information of our readers, con-
ceiving that it will be highly interesting to all who may
hereafter be similarly unfortunately situated. Sailed out of
Cork harbour, at 12 at noon, on Friday, Nov. 9, and had
fine weather and fair wind until Saturday the 17th, in
which period, the ship ran 1,180 miles towards her destina-
tion. On Sunday, the 18th, the ship commenced labouring
very much, in consequence of a most heavy sea,the wind being
W.N.W. The gale continued without interruption (and
for some days amounted to a perfect but ricane) until Friday
the 30th of November, when three seas in succession struck
the ship on the starboard side with so much violence, as
to make her tremble throughout. At this time, the ship
commenced making considerable water--the master and
agent, suspecting that from the severe shock the ship had
received, as also from the increase of the leak, some seri-
ous injury had been done, went below into the hold, and
found the transoms quite flooded, upon which they in-
stantly decided that it was impossible for the ship to pro-
ceed on her voyage, and accordingly bore up for England.
At this time the soldiers were all battened down, and the
officers' dining cabin, as well as their sleeping cabins, had a
foot of water in them which could not be kept out ; the
pumps also at work every quarter of an hour. Oa Satur-
day, the Ist of December, the vessel scudded under close
'reefed topsails and foresail, with a heavy sea, and on Sun-
day, the 2d inst., the gale rose to a perfect hurricane, with
a sea sunning mountains high, when for 24 hours the Cap-
tain never left the wheel, and to his seaman-like conduct, as
shown in his experience and energy, all the officers on board
feel that they are indebted, under Providence, for their pre-
servation duriog so many days of peril. During the gale a
seamen fell overboard from the fore topsail yard, but was
pulled on board by a rope thrown to him by the captain,
tvho by his personal risk upon this occasion, gave a fur-
ther proof of his manly and humane disposition. A sol-
dier of the 36th regiment, also fell overboard while drawing
a bucket of water, but was most fortunately saved by the
exertions of Mr. Apsey, the chief mate. It is impos-
sible for the officers ever to forget the kind attention on the
part of Lieutenant Lyster, R.N., the agent, towards the
comfort of the soldiers on board as shown by him upon all
occasions, and the unceasing vigilance and ability displayed
by the master throughout their moments of anxiety. From
the time that the pumps were forced to be kept so con-
stantly at work, the soldiers were incessantly employed at
;hem, and though suffering from every privation of wet
and cold, cheerfully performed their part.
Her Majesty's brig Fantome, 16, building at Chatham,
is in progress of planking; she is of a new class of brigs
projected by Sir W. Symonds, being 5 feet longer, and up-
wards of 100 tons larger than his other 16-gun-brigs,