The Sun.
London, England, 1841-07-14 00:00:00

AMERICAN NEWS.

(Further Extracts from the American Papers.)
THE SHIP CHARLES.
Captain Hubbard, of the brig America, which has
arrived at this port from Chagres, reports that on June
13th, he spoke the schooner Ann, from New Orleans,
for Portsmouth, which vessel had on board the Cap-
tain and crew of the ship Charles, which had caused so
much excitement at New Orleans. They had left the
snip about a week previous with five feet of water in
her hold. So much for the second pirate story from
New Orleans.--.journal if Commerce.
This does not settle the matter. If the Captain of
the Charles be the same Captain Gorham, from Bangor,
Maine, who a few years since, with his brother-in-law
and some others, desperate characters, moved into
-Oswego, in this State, where his store was fired under
such circumstances (1. e. to recover a large amount of
!insurance) that public opinion compelled him to leave
the place ; who subsequently was indicted by a grand
jury of Buffalo on a suspicion that he had murdered his
own child, by administering to it an excessive quantity
of laudanum, and who was cleared by the non-appear-
ance at the trial of his wife, who, it was supposed, he
attempted to kill with a dose of arsenic, to get rid of
her evidence ;—we say, if this be the same individual
lie is certainly iot too good to have been engag,ed
.in
Such an affair as the New Orleans papers describe.
The schooner Ann, from New Orleans, here spoken of,
may be one which the Captain had employed to fol-
low him out, to rescue him and his crew after they
had scuttled their own vessel. The mate of the
Charles, we perceive, is spoken of as the brother-in-law
of Captain Gorham.—New York Evening Post.

THE WHEAT AND GRAIN CROPS.
CANANDAIGUA, JUICE 22, 1841.—1 have now visited
most of the grain growing sections of this State, and have
beard by people with whom I am well acquainted, from
those in which I have not been, and I assure you that the
condition of the grain crop is truly alarming. The
wheat crop cannot by any possibility come up to one-
half of a fair yearly average. There is no mistake upon
the subject, for 1 hive taken the greatest pains to arrive
at the utmost certainty, and I believe it hardly possible
for me to be mistaken.
The wheat crop of 1839, as appears by the census,
was almost eleven millions, and that was an unusually
prodtictive year, and more than the usual quan-
tity of land was in wheat. There is not as much
land in wheat this year as there was in that, so that
it is fair to assume that there will be a deficiency in the
crop of 1841, in wheat alone of at least six millions of
bushels, which will be fully equal to a loss to the farming
interest of as many dollars. But the evil does not stop
here. All the spring crops will be unusually light. Barley,
Oats, and Corn, will generally be alinost a failure, and un-
less there is rain soon, the potatoe crop will hardly re-
turn the seed. The spring was so cold and back-
ward that nothing like as much land has been put into
grain as is unial. Grass is generally light, and promises
but a small return in hay.
Tise situation of the country is gloomy, for with short
ervb Away; come hard times; money gets scarce, and
all busiuos gets deranged. We must now look to the
Westew States, for a supply sufficient to keep up the
eqn3libriain. I fear I shall find the West as bad as cur
own bi.ate.—New Yorh Express.

DESTRUCTIVE FIRE I'D BL3IIRA, CHEMUNG COUNT?.
—We learn, from several residents of this flourishing
village, that a destructive fire, which consumed twenty-
four dwelling-houses and stores, took place at half-
past twelve, on the morning of Thursday last.
So rapid was the progress of the flames, that in the
iree of one hour and a half, in a perfectly still morning,
tee whole of the above premises were reduced to ashes.
;!re commenced on the street next the river, running
east and west, a few doors east of the Post-office, which
is among tiai buildings consumed. The buildings con-
and it is thought that insurance
smiled were all ot" "ood+
will cover about one-L.41 the amount lost, both in build-
were lost, nor was any per-
ings and propert). No liv:24
son injured.
THE PIRATE BRIG MALER ADHEI..—The case of
this vessel, which has been before the U.,it..ed States
District Court, sitting in this city, for some days 243 t,
was decided yesterday. Judge Heath, in his opinion de-
livered yesterday, condemned the vessel as a pirate, fur
acts committed In reference to two of the vessels fallen
with by her—the British brig Albert, and a Portuguese
brig. The Judge acquitted the owners of all censure in
the case. The cargo was not deemed to be liable under
the circumstances of the case, and was therefore acquitted.
An appeal to the Circuit Court was entered by the coun-
sel for the claimants.—Baltimore American.
The MuSquitoes have established an extensive Singing
School in the office of. the Galveston (Texas) Gazette,
and the Fleas avail themselves of the musical advantages
thus afforded, to foot it up and down over the editor's
body, in every sort of a dance, from the slow march to
the rapid gallopade. The editor's position is most inte-
restingly uncomfortable.
The Buffalo Commercial states that " a train of wag-
gons filled-with Mormons, or some similarly infatuated
creatures, passed oar office this morning on their way to
Nauvoo, or some other newly discovered paradise. They
did not take shipping, but intend to travel the whole dis-
tance, some 800 miles,. in their vehicles."
EXTUNSIVE FIRE AND Loss OF LIFE IN PHILADEL-
,PHIA.—A fire broke out just before two o'clock, on the
morning of the 24th, in the extensive wholesale gro-
cery establishment of Mulford and Alter, north side of
the Market above Sixth-street, which with its con-
tents was entirely destroyed. The fire was the
work of an incendiary. When it was first discovered,
the building, was in a blaze in different parts of the third
Moor ; and an iron bar was found much bent near the
Safe, into which the desperadoes had been attempt-
ing to effect an entrance. No fire had been in the
building for some time, except the gas-lights—the
. store was dosed before dusk. Various circum-
:sta.ncee strengthen the suspicion that it was the re-
cult of design. The books were saved, but the contents of
the store were nearly destroyed. Fortunately, the stock on
hand was small, in consequence of the active business sea-
• son being over. The building was four stories high and ex-
tended to St. James's-street The walls are standing, and
-probably can be rebuilt, as it was originally considered
sene of the -tannest edifices in Philadelphia. The adjoin-
ing building, recently a drug store, now being altered
into a depot for a transportation line, was slightly in-
jured. Insurance was effected at two offices, $15,000 at
the North American ' and $9,000 at the Spring Gar-
den Fire Insurance Company's office. The most me-
lancholy and painful part of the disaster, was
the loss of • life. While the fire was raging
with incredible fury, a ladder was raised against the front
of the building.. Two members of the Phoenix engine
were upon it when the brick covering and part of
came down, crushing three or four individuals be-
swath it. George Eisenbrey was almost instantly killed,
and Mr. Thomas, another member, was seriously injured.
HUMILIATING FACT.—We learn from the census re-
turns of the Marshal for the district of Illinois, that
there are in the State 28,769 persons of twenty years old
and upwards, out of a population of less than half a
:million, who can neither read nor write. There is
mot a State in the Union with more liberal provisions
Tor purposes of education ; yet about one in fourteen of her
population are destitute of the first rudiments of edu-
cation. This humiliating fact ought to awaken us to
renewed exertion for diffusion of knowledge. We have
been far too remiss in this matter. At the same time it
ought to be reineinbered that much the greater portion
.of 28,780 were born and reared in other States, and
',therefore our common school system is not answerable
for their ignorance.—Peoria (Ill.) Register.
DEATH OF JAMES BELL.—We are indebted to Major
B. I'. Baker for the following. statement of the facts
attending the death of 'James Bell, Esquire, brother
of the lion. John Bell,' Secretary of War. The two
gentlemen named left New Orleans in company on
Tuesday, the Bth instant-, on board the steamboat
New Orleans, for this place, Mr. Bell being on his
:way to Washington. On the succeeding Sunday more.
ing (the 13th), about sixty miles below Memphis,
:having been indisposed during the, passage, in
a fit
iof mental derangement, he threw ennself overboard
mud was drowned. Though the boats were instantly
ileetvered, and his body in five minutes brought on
:hoard,. lie was a corpse. At Memphis Mr. Baker left
boat,he taking the body of his unfortunate friend ashore,
where meeting- several of Mr. Ben
he friends, he ga„
the body into their charge. Before .left. the arrange_
monts had been made for the funeral of the deceased, on
the succeeding day. Many friends are left to mourn this
untimely disaster.—Louisville _Advertiser.
A DREADFUL MUR of a most
Ira gical murder and suicide which occurred on the
fitt.., about two miles from that place on the Vir-
ginia side of the river. A man and his wife, the
forthee a German and the latter an American, were
teavellitg together, when a quarrel arose between them,
and the wretched husband . took a razor from his poc-
ket and cut the throat. of his companion from ear
to ear, causing instant.. death. He then applied the
:aame instrument to his own throat, but failing to
:accomplish his purpose .he finished the work of
death by tying a handkerchief about his neck and sus-
Tending himself to a fence. The wretched pair had been
"re-tarried about two years, and a little girl, daughter of
tae murdered woman by a former husband, looked upon
the bloody scene with indifference.
WRECKS.—The number of wrecks and castaways on
our Atlar.tie seaboard is astonishing. It averages four
hundred to five hundred a year. In January, 1839,
there were ninety-one American vessels of all sixes
wrecked on the Atlantic Coast—makine. on an average,
a case of shipwreck once in every eight hours for a month.
--Salem Gazette.

. CASE OF A SLAVE AT NEWPORT, R. I.—Our New-
pp: -t, correspondent, under date of the 24th, says that the
brit Relief, of Cherryfield, Strout, from Norfolk for St.
.Toll. i's, N. 8., put iu to land a slave, who had secreted
ldmst if on board at Norfolk, in order to send him back
to his ..owner. The name of the slave is Mansfield Jack-
son, anet we are informed iS owned by a widow lady—his
r.,,nard;ans~ name is Archibald Allen, of Suffolk. We
learn ;hat ,iackson had assisted in-loading the brig, and
o.► tt. she. had been at-sea seven days before he was disco-
vered he having_ provided himself with provisions and
wate'r. The [rig arrived lief e late in-the afternoon, too
late to accomphih the captain's object—he therefore tied
tlie slave,. and retiyed for the night ; but the watch on
(lack having gone a:leep, the negro loosed his cords, stole
44jaivied on .Goat • Island, from thence was
idstetti tail/ by tho.person having the char,ge
Aiia. that the blacks have taken him in
!IVeolt 'bitted money and clothes to his
A cotx - him to New Bedford. Jackson
ife irt), w York.—AmeriCan Paper.
.)
4' THE' WEST.--Within the last twenty-
i the. ffido Commercial Advertiser of the
-has' ought a large number of vessels
t,blc.-{l-th:e following aggrep te of articles :
,G 67 bush wheat, 435,500 staves,
292.000' feet lumber 1,097 bbls pork, 282 tons iron, 120
&els ashes, 202 casks hams, 68 kegs
laud, 249 do. butter,

67 bbls beans, 5 do. eggs, 713 bushels corn, 2,669 brooms,
163 hides, 34 bbls gin, 2 do. brandy, 191 do. whiskey,
7,550 bshls oats, 3 bbls wax, 11 rolls leather, 10 sacks
v.. 001, 29 do. feathers, 11 hhds tobacco.
The Secretary of the Treasury acknowledges the re-
ceipt of one hundred dollars, enclosed in an anonymous
letter, post marked New York, June 9. The writer
states the same to be " for duties long due." The
amount has been placed in the Treasury.—National In-
telligencer.
KEOKUK NOT KILLED.--The lowa Hawkeye says
that Keokuk is not killed, but still living. He has lately
been giving himself up to intemperate habits, which is
probably the reason why many of his band has forsaken
him, and joined his rival, Hardfish.

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17,587 bbl s iIO