The Sun.
London, England, 1847-03-16 00:00:00

NAVAL INTELLIGENCE.

PORTSMOUTH, Sum)Av.—By letters from the Herald, dated
Panama, Jau. 20 and 21, 1847, we are informed that while
the ship was at Siquatanejo, a circumstance occurred which
had nearly proved of fatal consequence. Captain Kellett
(the master), Mr. Hill (the purser), Mr. Thomas Woodward
(the surgeon), Mr. Goodridge, and thirteeen men in two
boats, went ashore to collect objects of natural history; and
shortly atter landing, the whole patty were seized by a large
body of Mexicans (half Indian, half Spaniards), armed to
the teeth. It was with much difficulty they were restrained
from using their long knives before the arrival of the com-
inandant, who deefaied them to be Americans, and took
them all prisoners. Notwithstanding all remonstrance, they
were hurried up to a rising ground, and imprisoned in a
filthy shed. The Commandant would not credit their de-
claration of being Englishmen, although Captain Kellett
offered to take him on board his ship and convince him. At
last, he (the Commandant) was prevailed upon to allow
Lieutenant Wood, of the Pandora, tender to the Herald, to
go down to Acapulco (about 100 miles off ), where there was
a superior officer, for instructions. The Herald, meanwhile,
had anchored in the port, and the seamen came forward. in
a body on hearing what had taken place, to request the First
Lieutenant, Mr. Maguire, to allow them to man the boats
and make the attempt to rescue their captain, officers, and
inessinates, which he most prudently declined, as likely to
lead to much bloodshed without accomplishing their object,
as 200 troops had been brought up to the spot by the Com-
mandant, who informed them that the moment any one at-
tempted to escape, or a boat left the ship's side, he would
break up the two boats which they had hauled on the beach,
and the troops should fire upon them. Having no arms, the
prisoners were obliged to put up with these insults, and re-
mained in their wretched prison six days, on the last of
which one of the party was taken into the bushes and
shown a large hole, which their captors had been digging
and was told that on the morrow they would all be hanged
and buried in that hole. On the following morning, how-
ever, Lieutenant Wood fortunately arrived in the boat,bring-
ing a letter from the Governor of Acapulco, ordering the
liberation of the party, which took place in the afternoon,
when they returned to their ship, right glad to be once more
on her deck. " A narrow escape we have had of it," says
our letter, "as any indiscretion on our part, or attempt to
rescue ourselves, would have cost us all our lives." The
Herald will remain at Panama until after April; when it is
expected she will proceed to the northward to endeavour to
gain some intelligence respecting Captain Sir John Franklin's
expedition.
A court-martial, comprising Rear-Admiral Hyde Parker,
C. 8., President; Captain Pascoe, of the Victory; Captain
Chads, C. 8,, of the Excellent; Captain Henderson, C. 8., of
the Sidon; Commander Goold, of the Victory ; and Mr. G.
L. Greotham, Deputy Judge-Advocate of the Fleet, assem-
bled to try John Savage, able seaman of the St. Vincent,
120, on the following charges, preferred by Captain Milne :
"For that he, the said John Savage, when an able seaman
of her Majesty's ship St. Vincent, was, on the 6th of March,
1817, absent from the said ship and from his duty without
leave, he having on the same day, at about eleven o'clock in
the morning, been found concealed in a locker on board the
schooner Alert, of Youghal, lying in Portsmouth harbour."
Mr. Charles Wiletts, Master-at-Arms of the St. Vincent,
was the first witness called, who stated that on the evening
of the sth inst., between five and six o'clock, the prisoner
went on shore on leave until seven o'clock on the following
morning; that he did not return on the expiration of his
leave, and witness reported him absent to the commanding
officer; and having- received information from James Rey-
nolds, ship's corporal of the St. Vincent, that it was believed
the prisoner was on board a schooner in the harbour, called
the Alert, witness acquainted the commanding officer with
the information he had received from the ship's corporal, and
the latter was thereupon directed to go immediately, with
Mr. Biggs, midshipman, to search for the prisoner on board
the said schooner.

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serted, and that his name was Savage, an "A. 8.," who was
likely to be found on board an Irish schooner lying off Gus-
port, called the Alert. • On reporting this fact to the master-
at-arms, on going on board the St. Vincent's hulk, he (wit •
ness) was sent with Mr. Biggs to board the said schooner,
and search for the deserter. The mate of the vessel denied
having any such person on board, but on searching the wit-
ness found the prisoner concealed in a locker in the fore peak
of the vessel, which sailed immediately afterwards.
The prisoner is an Irishman, and entered on the St. Vin-
cent's books in June last, the first man-of-war he ever served
in. He made no defence, and received a good character from
Captain Milne and the master-at-arms.
After mature deliberation, the Court decided that the
charge had been fully proved, and adjudged the prisoner to
receive fifty lashes on his bare back with a cat-o'-nine-tails
on board the hulk of her Majesty's ship St. Vincent, at such
time or times, and in such manner and proportions, as the
Commander- iu-Chief of her Majesty's ships and vessels for
the time being at Portsmouth aforesaid shall direct; to be
mulcted of and to forfeit all pay due to him for his services
done in the Royal Navy ; and to be imprisoned in Winches-
ter gaol for the space of twelve calendar months from the
date of the sentence, and during the whole of that term to
be kept to hard labour.
A great number of men have " run " from the St. Vin-
cent since her return from the squadron. The master of the
schooner will be prosecuted for harbouring a deserter from
her Majesty's fleet.
By the Poictiers Indianian, Captain Denny we have re-
ceived advices from the Cape of Good Hope station to the
10th of January. The Vernon, 50, Captain Fitzgerald, flag
of Rear-Admiral Inglefield, sailed on the sth to take the
command of the East India and China station, to relieve the
• I
Agincourt, 74, Rear-Admiral Sir " homm Cochrane, ordered
home.
The Dido, 20, Captain Maxwell, left the Cape for China on
the 26th of December.
The V rod, '4O Commander Dacres, sailed from Table
Bay for Algoa Bay on the 28th of December. She spoke
n erWood, on the it of November,
d 1- h
the Hound, 10, Comma
bound for the west coast of AfrStanle ica.
tam y, flag of Rear-Admiral
The President, 50, Cap
s, Commander-in-Chief, and the Acorn,l6, Commander
Dacres,
bound for the East India and China station, were
at the Cape on the 10th of January; also the Thunderbolt
btellMlloop, Commaladn Boyle,

The following is a letter, addressed by Commander Caffin
to the Rev. G. 6toddart :
" Her Majesty's ship Scourge, Belmullet,
CO. of Mayo, March 10, 1847.
"My dear Sir,—l have to acknowledge the receipt of your
letter and its enclosure with many thanks, for really the de-
mands upon my own purse were so many and great, that I
should spoil be abe r, or, have te..ateel Day heart a.gainst
the- misery - ifOe- around me, To do -this would indeed'
be a work" of difficulty, and my only desire is, tharall who
are rolling in riches and affluence in our land might be a
participator with me in those scenes which I feel it my duty
to witness and represent; nay, I will say more, it would in-
deed be well for their souls' good to see what poor human
nature can be reduced to, and must thrust the inquiry upon
all, ' Who maketh me to differ?' I much regret that I could
not have furnished you with the state of things in this
barony before ; but really my time is so much occupied in
attending to duty, that it gives me little to devote to my..
self. I must plead this, too, as an excuse at this moment,
fearing I shall be able only to give you a hurried and short
note, as I leave for Westport, Newport, and Clifden, to-mor-
row morning, delivering the remainder of the cargo of the
Society of Friends.
" In the barony of Erris, about Bellmullet, the wretchedness
is very great, and the cases of death from starvation of fre-
quent occurrence, although the greater number are earried
off by dysentery caused by insufficiency, change, and
unwholesomeness of food. On both sides of Blacksod Bay
they are very badly off, and nothing but gratuitous issue of
meal in the extreme cases can do any good. This too often
comes too late, and the poor sufferer is carried off without be-
nefiting by it. On the west side of the bay, throughout
the whole length of what is called " within the Mullet," is
wretchedness and woe. At the extreme south point is a vil-
lage, seldom visited by anybody, called Surgeview; it has
about 150 or 200 inhabitants; at this place they had been
living upon horseflesh for three weeks past. I rode there in
order that I might be able to bear testimony to this extreme
state of destitution. It was the fact, and on entering one of
the cabins, and being shown a piece of horse, my heart
sickened, but a moment's reflection led me to commend these
poor people to bring themselves to this rather than allow
themselves and their large families to die; some, how-
ever, preferred death, or a miserable existence upon limpets
and sea-weed, which • may be said to have kept them in
a state of existence during the winter, together with a
little fish which they catch when the weather permits them
to venture out in their frail boats, which are only made of
open basket work, covered with horse hides or canvass. In
one cottage they had a quantity of the horse flesh salted,
and some of it smoked. I asked them how they obtained
this meat? They said that the horses died of starvation, the
owners of them skinned them, and then allowed the flesh to
be taken; in some cases taking a' portion for their own use.
In this village lived an old lady with her two daughters—in
fact the village belongs to her. She says she cannot get the
rents paid, and the people impose upon her sadly. The poor
creature, with tears rolling down her cheeks, told me she
went to bed last night supperless, and cannot tell how one
meal in advance of the other is to be obtained. She is the
only Protestant in this wretched village, and /appears well
prepared for Art end which must shortly. overtake her.
Her manners Thd those of her daughters are quite ladylike,
whilst their dwelling is more wretched thin you can con-
ceive—a mere hovel, clean as far as it could be. There was
no sickness in this village, and the looks of the people
bespoke a better state of things than we found. On our
return we visited other villages; at Fallmore we found them
eating horse flesh, as in Surgeview. Everywhere the poor
!creatures'; with their children barely clad, were to IR. seerT
searching for potatoes ; and ground which had not been
• cultivated for two years, on account of the failure, they
were now wining and returning, and had done this three
and four times over, still looking for some; those that they
got were no larger than marbles, Tuck principal support
during the winter, as throughout this narrow neck of land,
was seaweed and limpets. With few exceptions the middle-
aged and young people were healthy looking, with all their
distress; but the old people and children mostly objects of
starvation, and I should fear they were neglected, being
unable to provide for themselves. Seine of these poor creatures
were in bed exposing their limbs in order to show us their
emaciated state, and many children positively skeletons, and
without clothing. I need hardly tell you that it is very
heart-breaking this spectacle, and one which cau never be
effaced from my memory.
*• It is inn possible to convey the melancholy aspect of the
whole country lying fallow—not a patch of it touched—and
the groups of poor creatures only looking for and hoping
that employment may be found for them. Their spirits are
sadly depressed. Their cry is for seed, and Ido think if
they saw any chance of this coming they would rouse them-
selves, believing that their poor country might yet be saved ;
but no provision has been made for the ground to do its
part ; and the state of things next year must be ten times
worse than this. The 12th of next month is considered here
the end of seed time, and no ground has as yet been pre-
pared. If seed, however, was to be brought without delay,
I do think the people would rouse themselves and prepare
the ground, and things might yet brighten upon them.
Green crops, too, such as turnips and mangle-wurtzel, would
do well they say in this soil.
" It is no use my entering in detail into the actual starve-
.

..,..•••• • VVII.III •
tion cases, or to tell you of the particular distress which pre-
vails in any oae locality ; for they are all alike, getting
worse as you travel south, and at Schull and its neighbour-
hood the very climax of misery finds its resting-place.
" I have no doubt ultimate good will result from all this
misery, when lie alone who brought it to pass shall speak
the word, and say, "It is enough." A stranger coming
among these people is at once struck with the filth and
wretchedness of their habitations and persons, but little
indeed removed from the very beasts who herd among them.
He is at first inclined to think this is consequent upon the
present distress ; but it is not so. They have thus lived from
the earliest period till now. No care has been shown to
improve their condition, and they are little inclined to do it
themselves. I think, however, the time has come when it
might be done effectually; and I think your society should,
in granting any gratuitous relief, require that some labour
be performed for it, such as paving their cabins with slabs of
stones, which are to be found in abundance about them,
putting their cabins in order, building chimneys to them,
and in endeavouring to raise them to a degree of comfort
which they are at present ignorant of; this would not stop
short of improving their minds too. I have written more
than I thought my time would allow—it has been written
at random ; but I will convey to you any further information
should I feel I can interest you, or forward the object of your
society. You, of course, are at liberty to make use of this
letter, or any parts of it, as you may think fit; and refer any
one for particulars to the simple truths which I stated with
reference to Schull for detail, which will answer quite as well
here as there, starvation, in all its stages, is to be found.

. _ .
" Believe me, my dear Sir, very truly yours,
"CRAWFORD CAFFIN.
To the Rev. George H. Stoddart, Hon. Secretary,
United Relief Association, 40, Leicester-square.