The Sun.
London, England, 1836-01-18 00:00:00

HIS MAJESTY'S SHIP STAR•

We are enabled at length to relieve the public anxiety as
to the melancholy fate of his Majesty's packet Star, by pub-
lishing the following extract from a despatch received on
Saturday at the Admiralty, from Mr. James Brown, Master
and Acting Commander of that vessel. It will be seen that
Lieutenant Binney, the Commander, and thirteen of the
crew have been lost. The despatch is dated at sea, the 9th
of December, 1835 :

" On the 20th of November, in lat. 45. 57. North long.
38. 0. West, a heavy gale came on from south west, which
increased so as to oblige us to lay to on the larboard tack
until the 22d, when we were with our head to S.W., the
wind varying from W.S.W. to N.W., with very heavy
squalls of wind and hail. On this day we lost our gig
from the quarter, with all our hammock nettings. On
the 23d, the gale still increasing, with a tremendous
cross sea, shortened sail to main trisail and fore storm-
staysail. At two o'clock on the morning of the 24th
a heavy sea struck the ship on the starboard beam,
throwing her on her beam ends, and stove in all our sky and
dead lights, washed overboard one seaman, and fractured
the thigh of another. In about a minute she righted, with
the loss of fore-topsail-yard and tiller ; shipped a spare one,
which went immediately ; shipped a third one, which also
went ; succeeded at length in securing the rudder with iron
stanchions. At daylight observed a bark to windward,
under the lee clew of main-topsail, with loss of foremast
and bowsprit, standing to the S.W., the gale increasing
to a severe hurricane. Ship this time under the main
trisail, and no possibility of showing another stitch of
canvass, as a new fore storm-staysail had just blown out
of the boltrope. Eleven A.M., lost sight of the vessel to
windward, supposed to have foundered. At noon a tre-
mendous sea struck the ship on the starboard beam,
which threw her on her beam ends, with her tops in the
water, dead lights a second time stove in, washed the
Commander, Lieut. I. Binney, and myself with eleven
seamen overboard, I being the only person out of the
number who regained the ship. Fortunately our, watch
was kept below, otherwise a greater sacrifice of life would
have inevitably followed : the sea swept the ship from stem
to stern-post, carrying everything away to the covering,
hoards, which in many places were ripped up, obliging us to
fill up between the timbers with oakum and wedges, to pre-
vent her going down, having nothing above the gunwale
but the starboard cat-head, and anchor. ln about two or
three minutes the ship righted, with the loss of masts and
bowsprit : found between five and six feet of water in her
hold. Employed pumping, securing the hatches, and
clearing the wreck from the ship, the sea making a com-
plete breach over us. Found the rudder-head split and
shaking- the stern-post, so as to endanger starting it. On
clearing the deck below, found the Commander's boy dead
in the assistant-surgeon's cabin, under the wreck of bulk-
heads, &c. At eight P.M. succeeded in securing the rudder
with iron stanchions ; the sea breaking over us so as to
endanger the lives of the crew remaining, I deemed it neces-
sary to send them below, after securing the last hatch. On
the morning of the 25th made an attempt to get a sail on the
stump of foremast,but could not succeed,owing to a heavy sea
still breaking over us ; found she was not making much water;
sent the crew below as before. All hands suffering severely,
both officers and men, some from severe contusions, and
others from scalds, owing to the water being upset from
the coppers ; employed below trimming the ship with the
few hands that were capable of exerting themselves, every-
thing having settled to port. On the 26th, a little more
moderate, found the mail considerably damaged ; succeeded
in getting a topgallant-sail on the stump of the foremast,
which enabled us to keep before the sea, as it was breaking
over us, so as to endanger the decks ; fortunately the foremast
went in the wake of the trusses, which enabled us to make
sail on it, the driver boom and part of the gaff being the
only spars left on board, the mainmast went by the wedges,
mizenmast four feet above deck, and bowsprit by the gam-
moning ; at four P.M., this day, spoke a ship, name un-
known, which, owing to the heavy sea, could render us no
assistance. Strong breezes still continuing from the north-
ward, deemed it prudent to run to the southward. On the
.27th examined the magazine, and found much powder da-
maged ; also a tank of bread quite spoiled. With the
driver-boom as a spread yard, we succeeded in setting a
lower studding-sail as a square-sail ; officers employed in
drying the mail ; people cleaning lower deck cabin ; furni-
ture totally destroyed, and bulkhead more or less stove in.
I am now making the best of my way for Antigua, which
I expect to reach in about three weeks."