The Sun.
London, England, 1840-12-08 00:00:00

THE WRECK OF THE BARK

WESTMINSTER.

It will be recollected that in the course of the last week
a paragraph appeared announcing that the steamers Royal
William and Royal George had arrived in London from
Margate, respectively laden with many hundred chests of
tea, being part of the cargo belonging to the said ship
Westminster, which struck on the sands off Margate, on
Sunday, the 22d ultimo.
The following particulars of the wreck and providential
manner in which the passengers and crew were saved may
prove interesting to our readers :
" The Westminster, commanded by Captain Mollison,
left Singapore some months ago, laden with upwards of
4,000 chests of tea. " After a somewhat tempestuous
passage," says one of the officers attached to the vessel,
in a letter dated the 26th of November, " we were
enabled on Friday the 20th instant, to see the Isle of
Wight, at a distance of twenty-one miles. Our ship was
then impelled by n very pleasant breeze, which continued
until six o'clock the next morning, when the wind became
exceedingly boisterous. A pilot then came on board
and took charge of the ship through the Downs, the wind
increasing during the whole time, and between ten and
eleven o'clock the same morning we came to an anchor in
Margate Roads, at a distance of two miles from the shore.
The barometer being very low and still continuing to fill,
we were prepared for a heavy gale of wind. Our exFee-
tations were soon realised.

" In the afternoon of Saturday the wind became less
stormy, but towards night it again freshened, and blew
very hard. At one a.m. (Sunday morning), we retired to
rest, but expected to be called up every minute, and at
five o'clock our worst suspicions were confirmed. It then
blew a perfect hurricane, and the vessel was tossed about
in a fearful manner. The pilot not bein; aware of the
danger which threatened us, came forward and exclaimed
She is all right yet, is she not?' Yes,' was the
answer given by the boatswain, whose heur it was to
hold the watch. A few minutes afterwards we were sud-
denly roused by the boatswain, who called out in a loud
voice, Pilot, pilot, she's adrift, she's adrift, and we are
running fast on a lee-shore.' The carpenter was then
ordered to cut away the mainmast, but some time had
elapsed before he succeeded in doing so. On the
nstant the mast fell the ship gave a heavy lurch
and away it went, with a crash which made everything
shake in a most alarming manner. We fired mihute nuns
to bring boats to our assistance, but none came, and the
water was now washing over the vessel with such force
that at times we could not s_e our hands before us. At
daylight we hoisted our ensign union down, as a signal of
distress. A few minutes afterwards we saw a wuggon,
which contained a boat, on the lee shore. This cheered
us all up. The boat was launched to the water, and the
poor fellows in it pulled with all their might for half an
' hour, but could not get ahead. We then lowered our own
boat, and at the risk of our lives succeeded in lauding the
whole of the crew, who arrived safe on shore, but miser-
ably cold and wet. However this we thought, little of, as
we had not been dry since we left the Western Islands.
‘Ve were taken to an inn at Margate, where we obtained
some refreshment. The next day we went down to the
ship, and found sne h.
had 15 feet of water in her hold. A
steamer came alongside in the course of the morning, and
we discharged about 4,000 chests of tea in a dry stat. All
the
They are now striving hard to
et
thesands,vesselg
but I am much afraid they will not
rest
oser damaged.
the
succeed."