The Sun.
London, England, 1823-04-05 00:00:00

MI:ItCAN I'II.L SHIPPING.

DEAL, APRIL 4.—Wind W.S.W.—Came down from the
River the Margaret, Henderson, for the Cape of Good Hope.—
The wind this morning was untenable to the Northward, which
induced several of the outward-bound, and all the coasters, to
get under weigh ; soon after it backed agar' to the S.W.,
blowed fresh with thick weather, and the whole put back again.
The Harmony, Currie, for Jamaica, drove on board of the
William Miles, East Indiaman, early this morning, and forced
her to slip her chain cable, broke her spare anchor, carried
away her jib-boom, cat-head, bob-stays, and bowsprit rigging,
and considerably damaged her hull; the Ilarmony's channels
were torn up, and her side otherwise damaged. '1 he e
Miles has been supplied with two anchors and cables from
hence.—Arrived and sailed for the River the Helen, from Ja-
maica and New Providence ; and Union, Clinch, from Smyrna.
FALsiouTif, APRIL 3.—Wind W.—Arrived the Duke of
Kent packet (2), from Lisbon in 'l3 days: and Iris, Peyton,
from London.
PLYMOUTH, APRIL 3. —Wind W.S.W.—Arrived the
Essex, Wise, from Matanzas in 27 days. Off the port the Se-
neca, Gray, from Fayal.
LYMINGTON, APRIL 4.—Arrived the Sophia, Beehild,
from Cowes for Halifax, with troops..

The Margaret, Walsh, from Newfoundland to Liverpool,
was stranded near Rochelle on. Wednesday, but expected to be
got off:
The Renown, Perry, from Liverpool to Jersey, foundered
near the Smalls the 29th ult.—crew saved.
The Mary, Watts, from Scilly•to Belfast, was driven on the
North Rock, near Belfast, on 'Tuesday; and it was feared would
be lost.
The Blandford, bound to Newfouhdland, was on shore in
Bootle Bay on Wednesday.
The George, Coleman, from Youghall to Liverpool, was on
shore at Southport on Tuesday.

LOSS OIL THE. ALERT PACKET

The following painfullY interesting particulars
of this most melancholy catastrophe are derived
from the oral relation of one of the cabin pas-
sengers, a respectable tradesman in Liverpool,
who was fortunately saved. The account thus
drawn up was published in the Liverpool courier
of Wednesday last. It is a mournful detail.
." We sailed from the Pigeon-house, Dublin, at half-past
eight o'clock on Tuesday evening. There were, as nearly as
I can judge, about fifteen paasengers including Myself, in the
cabin. Among them were three Ladies, one of whom had an.
infant about eleven months old with her. The appearance of
the cabin passengers was most respectable. We had a favour-
able breeze throughout the night, and made the IVelsh coast
early in the morning. About ten o'clock, however, (as I hive
since understood) the breeze died away, and the:packet was
driven, by the force of the current, towards the West Mouse
rock. Capt. Morgan immediately ordered the boat a-head, in
the full confidence that it would succeed in towing the packet
out of danger. But in this he was unhappily disappointed, the
unfortunate vessel being driven, by the strength of the tide, '
on the fatal rock. It was about half-past ten o'clock when
she struck. I was in my birth, in the cabin, at the moment.
The shock, though dot very violent, was sufficient to rouse me.
I started up instantly, and found the passengers in the cabin
in a state of confusion and alarm. I immediately ran upon
deck, and found it in a similar state of confusion. I returned
to the cabin, and discovered, with feelings not to be described,
that the water had, in the meantime, made its way into it. The
confusion and alarm among the passenges below increased with
the increasing danger. The Ladies were screaming with affright,
and even the Gentlemen were alarmed at the imminency of the
danger which threatened theta. I immediately quitted this scene
of horror, and, making my way upon deck, ran up the shrouds
At this moment the water had risen to a considerable height in
the hold, and baffled every exertion which was made by the
passengers and such of the crew as remained on board, to bale
it out. I now saw, for the first time, the boat a-head, a short
'distance from the extremity of the bowsprit, with several of
the packet's crew in it. I came down the shrouds, and making
my way towards the bowsprit, endeavoured to get into the boat.
I was, however, prevented by some of the persons belonging to
the packet around me, who stated, that if I were allowed to
get into the boat, there would be a general rush towards it, by
which means it would run the risk of being swamped, and thus
cut off the only chance ofany person being saved. Determined,
however, to renew the attempt at a favourable moment, I re-
mained concealed in the forepart of the vessel. Espying my op.
' portunity when the boat was a yard or two from the extremity
of the bowsprit, and when I had seen the last seaman get into
it, I ran along the bowsprit, but in attempting to get into the
boat, I unfottunately fell into the sea. 1 was taken up by one
of the crew, who pulled me into the boat, being the first pas.
:wager who was received into it. At this moment several others
passengers made their way along the bowsprit to'endeavour to
get into the boat, sonic of whom succeeded in gaining it, whilst
others fell into the water and were drowned. The boat still re,
mained at a short distance from the bowsprit of the vessel, those.
already on board deeming it unsafe to cone too near, for fear of
a rush being made by the crowd left on board the packet to get
in. The Captain next made an attempt to reach the boat, by
plunging into the water from the bowsprit, and swimming to.
wards it. A rope was thrown towards him by one of his crew,
which he was so fortunate as to grasp, and was pulled into the
boat. As soon as he caught hold of the rope, several unfortu-
nate passengers, who had plunged into the sea at the same
moment as the Captain, were observed to cling to his body, in
the hope of saving themselves by that means • but, such was
the crowded state of the boat, which was already almost level
with the water, that the crew dared not venture to take any
more into it, and they were abandoned to their fate. There
were at this moment 17 of us in the boat. When we rowed
finally off; we left four or five unfortunate men struggling in
the water, with no chance of escape from an untimely grave—
A boy, about 14 years of age, and who, as I understood, was
the cabin boy, was about this time observed to lash himself to
a piece of wood, and throw himself into the sea, in the hope
of supporting himself till the arrival of succour. Just as it was
determined to quit the sinking vessel, a man got hold of the boat,
to which he clung, earnestly entreating the crew to take him
in ; but they, fearing that the boat might be sunk by the addi-
tional weight on one side, lashed him to its side. In this state
hg remained for nearly half an hour ; when the people, find-
ing that he retarded the boat's way through the water (th
tide then running strongly against them) deemed it expee
dient, at all risks, to take him in, which they happily accom-
plished. During the time they were rowing toward. the shore-
which was attended with great difficulty and fatigue, I kep,
my eye fixed upon the packet, which was driving that off thet
land. Of the precise moment at which she disappeared, I can-
not speak with certainty.; but she must, I think, have sunk
about three quarters of an hour after we quitted her, and
whilst we were in the act of landing ; for when I looked for her
from the shore, I could not discover her, and a man who met
us when we landed, stated, that he had seen her go down. No
sooner.had the crew landed the passengert who were fortunately
saved,9leveral of whom were in a state of great exhaustion from
having been in the water than they heroically resolved, al.
though the boat was nearly half full-of water, to return with
all expedition to the spot where the packet was supposed to
have sunk. They went accordingly, and succeeded in rescuing
three individuals, who had sustained themselves in the water by
some buoyant articles from a watery grave.
" It were in vain to attempt to describe the scene of horror,, which the deck of the packet exhibited, when we were on the
point of quitting for ever the mtiltitude which crowded it. It
was a scene which would have melted the hardest heart. For
some time before that moment all hope of preservation had
been abandoned; and the unfortunate crowd were awaiting,
in awful suspence, the dreadful death which stared them in the
face. Many of them had fallen on their knees, and were im-
ploring the mercy of Heaven ; while others were sending up
the most piteous and heart-rending screams, which drew tears
even from those in the boat who had some chance of escape.
" There were many women on board, with young children,
to whom they clung with a mother's fondness in this scene of
death; the frantic shrieks extorted by their maternal agony
were most piercing, and were heard long after the boat had
quitted the sinking wreck. A poor soldier had his whole fa-
mily on board, consisting of his wife and several children, and
was observed endeavouring to afford them that consolation in
this awful situation which was denied to himself. In short, it
was a scene of horror which has seldom been equalled, and
such as, I trust, I shall never behold again."
This most dreadful shipwreck appears, from the information
which we have been able to gather, to have been caused by the
packet being kept close in with the Welsh shore. If a vessel
can be run between the Skerries and the main-land, the pas-
sage is, we understand, thereby considerably shortened. This,
it is supposed, was the object of the Captain of the Alert ; but
the breeze dying unexpectedly away, and a strong 'current
running in the direction of the breakers, a loss of human life
ensued, the bare mention of which makes one shudder. The
Captain, we hear, is like a man distracted, fearing the catas.
trophe will be imputes, to neglect or carelessness on his part.--
The Gentleman front whom we received the substance of the
preceeding narrative, was not on deck when the vessel was
drifting towards the rocks ; but he said that it was his indivi.
dual opinion, as well as the opinion of the survivors with whom
he conversed, that no blame was imputable to thetaptaln.

On Monday the Dinner was given to
the Climbing Boys, at Sheffield. Twenty.tive boys were pre.,
ant, also one g:,r/, ten years of age, whom the poverty and
it,rnorance of her parents induced to employ as an apprentice,
She has been twelve months in the habit of ascending anti
sweeping chimnies daily.