The Sun.
London, England, 1871-01-23 00:00:00

A SHIP STRUCK BY LIGIITNING.

American papers give an account of the rescue, on the
10th of December, of the captain and crew of the ship
A. B. Wyman, bound for Liverpool, from Savannah, ,
with a cargo of cotton. Captain Lachere, of the ship
Charles, of Antwerp, which arrived at Nex, York
on the 2nd, states that when nearing the banks of
Newfoundland he sighted the Wyman on fire, and went on
board. Her captain stated that in the midst of a dreadful.
storm two nights before the mainroyal musthead had been
struck by lightning,. and that the electric fluid had- gone
through the coat of the mainmast and passed down into the
hold. At the time the casualty occurred but little notice
was taken of it, and it was not until the smoke began to
ascend that the thought of fire suggested itself. The
captain immediately gave orders to make everything air-
tight below, stuffing up all places of ventilation, and,
changing his course, hoped to reach land in time, or
meet some friendly vessel on the way. She had been
two days and nights in this condition when she was
sighted by Captain Lachere. Arrived on board,
after some difficulty, that gentleman found everything
very much heated, the cabin suffocating, and the crew
ready to take to the boats as the last resort. The
fire was raging in the lower 'tween decks. Having tried
her main pumps, he discovered that the water in the
tanks,
.which contained 10,000 gallons, was almost boiling
—" hot enough to boil an egg." Captain Lachere readily
surmised that the ship must be full of fire, and, considering
it unsafe to remain much longer on board, generously
invited the Captain and crew to the Charles. The main
hatch was opened before finally quitting. The bales of
cotton, partly released, burnt with terrible rapidity. The
smoke bad full vent, and in about ten minutes after the
last boat left the A. B. Wyman the fire had extended
to every portion of her. The crackling of the burning
timbers, the fury and noise of the conflagration,
and the splashing of spars in the water as they tumbled
down in quick succession are stated to have been terrible.
The two vessels were not more than a couple of cables'
lengths apart, and as soon as the rescued party scrambled on
board the Charles that gallant ship squared away to the
westward, the wind being about south-west, and the dis-
tance from New York about 900 miles. The Wyman
belonged to Boston, was about 813 tons register, and was
built in 1866 by Enoch Bonner, and at the time of the
disaster had on board 2,700 bales of cotton. it is re-
, marked that, though lightning may have caused this fire,
spontaneous combustion is not improbable when bales of
cotton are greased in order to make them fit more com-
pactly into the vessel.

The Manchester Examiner is informed that the
Lilo President of the Board of Trade has received an
autograph letter from the Queen, expressing her Majesty's
regret on receiving his resignation as a member of the
Government, and condoling with hint on the tardy pro-

greys of recovery.
GOVERNMENT SANITARY INQUIRIES.—Dr. Buell a.
nan, one of her Majesty's inspectors, has just issued his
reports upon the sanitary condition of Helstou and
Newlyn, in Cornwall, the former being a borough return.
ing one member to Parliament. He reports that Helston
has been suffering from typhoid and scarlet fevers, and from
diarrhoea of an epidemic character. The back streets of
the town are ill constructed, ill-ventilated, and devoid of
drainage. The oozings from filth-heaps and privy-pits flow
into open channels on each side of the streets, which also
receive the refuse from the houses. There is no sanitary
authority. The Inspector recommends the prompt
adoption of the Local Government Act, and of some
system of drainage. The report on the condition of the
fishing town of Newlyn, near Penzance, is still more un-
satisfactory. There is neither water supply nor drainage,
and the stenches in the streets are abominable. Dr.
Buchanan gives advice similar to that given to HeMon,
for the sanitary improvement of the place.
WHITBY CHURCH AND CHURCHYARD. - The
gravest apprehensions are now entertained for the safety
of the graveyard at the top of the cliff overhanging Hagger-
lythe, where the recent extensive landslip and destruction
of property occurred. The effects of the recent thaw have
brought down several portions of cliff, and in one case a
large stone was clashed against a house, and in another one
of the houses damaged by the recent slip has fallen.
The prospect that the dead may soon move down towards
the harbour is not pleasant to contemplate, and with a
view of preventing so dreadful a catastrophe, the church-
wardens have asked for a Government inspector, and Mr.
Holland is expected down to inspect and advise in the
course of a few days. It is thought that efficient drainage
alone can save the cliff, and as this cannot be carried on
among the graves in the usual way, it is proposed to form
a tunnel lower down to act as a main drain. The sea has
taken away the whole of the soil which blocked up the
passage between the piers and destroyed the Spa ladder,
but a greater fall is imminent.
CHURCH REFORAL—A conference, called by the
Chairman and Council of the Church Reform Union, has
been held at the rooms of the Social Science Association,
London, to discuss the giving of legal powers for the for-
mation of Church Councils in parishes. The chair was
taken by the Right Hon.W. Cowper-Temple, M,P., chair-
man of the Union. The right hon. gentleman, in opening
the proceedings, said it would be cruel to bind all con-
gregations to the same minute rigid rule and representa-
tion—such as Church Councils in parishes, elected an-
nually as churchwardens were—appeared to be the best
way of meeting the difficulty, The powers of the council
should deal with the services of the Church, 'regulating
the kind. of ornaments to be used, &c., and the members
might in other ways be useful to the incum-
bent. There were many objections, of course ; but
they were not to be compared to the advantages
which would accrue generally to the Church. At a time
like this, when there was a general opinion amongst the
laity that they ought to belong to a Church where they
had some responsibility beyond mere submission, it was
especially desirable to discuss this question. Papers were
read by Mr. Salt, M.P., and the Rev. W. H. Freemantle,
The first-named gentleman referred to the widespread dis-
satisfaction which existed between the clergy and the
laity of the English Church. A rector, he said, was a
corporation in himself, and in him was vested not only
the parsonage-house and glebe, but the parish church
and the churchyard ;. and in this position he was almost
unassailable, even if guilty of the gravest offences.
The theory upon which the clergy system was based
was a false one, because it proceeded from the erro-
neous. idea that the clergy alone constituted the Church.
Nothing ought to be done without the co-operation
of the laity, • and the Christian Church, where
there was nothing but • clergy, was an anomaly and
almost misnomer. The hon. member advocated the giving
of legal powers for the formation of Church Councils in
every parish, Mr. Fremantle in an earnest paper
argued the three main principles-Ist. The necessity of
the powers of Councils being legally bestowed ; 2nd. The
necessity of such Powers being as large as possible, the
Church still being governed by general laws; and 3rd.
The necessity of the restrictions upon the parishioners
being as few as possible. Various gentlemen continued
the discussion, and Sir Antonio Brady narrated the
perfect success of the voluntary councils which already
existed in the diocese of Rochester. Lord Ebury also
spoke.
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