The Sun.
London, England, 1841-01-07 00:00:00

THE LATE THUNDER STORM.

STRANRAER, JAN. 3.—We have had an awful night of
lightning, thunder, wind, and hail—quite a war of all the
destructive elements. In the midst of the storm, the brig
Jean Gordon, Captain Simpson, of and for Ayr, in ballast,
from Cork, was totally lost with four of her crew, the
master, one man, and one boy being saved. The master
had his leg broken in getting on shore. She struck at
four, a.m. at the back of the North Breakwater, at Port-
patrick Harbour, and instantly went to pieces. Several
large and small vesasels have taken refuge in the lock.
Sunday last was ushered in by a fall of snow, for the first
time during the season. The flakes, though small, were
unusually thick ; and in sheltered spots, where net the
slightest drifting had taken place, the onfall towards even-
ing had accumulated to the depth of three and a half
inches. In the forenoon while the sun snone at intervals,
the country, far as the eye could penetrate, had at once a
wintry and a beautiful appearance. For hours the flaky
moisture clung pertinaciously to every shrub and tree ;
and in gardens more especially it was interesting to behold
vegetable nature exhibiting, according to the form of the
various spccics,an endless variety of frizzled and powdered
locks. In town, part of the snow melted as it fell, owing
to the heat inseparable from smoke ; but we understand it
was far otherwise in the country, where the storm is still
severe, and bids fair to be a feeding one, in the opinion of
many. To-day we had recurrence of snow showers at in-
tervals, but they were thin and slight, and added very little
to the depositions of yesterday. Last night the London
mail was past due about two h ,urs ; the Gallaway half an
hour; arid the Independent coach at least an hour behind
the proper time in the journey from Glasgow. The Edin-
burgh mail kept time wonderfully, notwithstanding the
dangers consequent on the Crook, Tweedshaws, and Errick-
Stanehrae. The Galloway guard reports a violent storm
at Portpatrick ; the spray, he says, spouted over the highest
houses, and the waves, from the Mull to Ailsa Craig and
beyond, were so dreadfully convulsed that the captain of
her Majesty's steam packet, in charge of the mails at
Donaghadee, durst not put to sea. He also reports, with-
out giving the particulars, the melancholy shipwreck re-
corded in a separate paragraph.—Dumfries Courier.
BRIDLINGTON, JAN. 4.—Yesterday (Sunday) morning
we experienced a dreadful storm of thunder and lightning,
'accompanied with sleet and a heavy gale of wind from the
north-cast. Several of the vessels that were riding here
( Bridlington) for the last few days, have proceeded for the
Humber, but many others, which appear to have been off
the land, are coming into the bay.
FAVERSHAM, JAN. 5.—A tremendous storm of thunder
and lightning passed over this place between seven and
eight o'clock on Sunday morning, accompanied with a
heavy shower of hail, and almost a hurricane.
BOSTON, JAN. s.—On Sunday morning last, Boston and
its neighbourhood was visited with a tremendous storm,
which raged for some hours with the utmost violence. The
wind blew a hurricane, the rain poured down in torrents,
and successive peals of loud thunder rolled through tho air.
The lightning was remarkably vivid, and altogether the
storm was one of the most terrific description. At five
o'clock yesterday morning, a heavy fall of snow commenced
and continued at intervals throughout the day, with strong
gusts of wind.

STATE OF TRADE.

( From theAlancliester Guardian.)

MaticllEsTEH.—The near approach of the time when
the arrival of the overland and Levant mails may be ex-
pected, has caused a falling-off in the purchases for those
markets, and the German buyers not having yet begun
their operations, the market has been very quiet during
the last few days. Yesterday, the demand both for
goods and yarn—especially the latter—was very limited ;
but, as cotton has again advanced, holders were per-
fectly firm in price, and the limited business done was at
the rates of the preceding week.
ROCHDALE FLANNEL MARKET, JAN. 4.—To-day
we have had a better demand for finished goods, but in
other departments there is no improvement to report ;
and prices remain the same as last week. There is no
change in the wool market.
IIUDDERMELD MARKET, JAN. s.—The market,
to-day, was duller than that of last week, but there is
nothing to create despondency, as most of the mills are
in full work, and orders, for exportation, are such as to
keep the operatives in fair employment. Nor havo
prices receded, all new :styles maintaining their stand.
In the warehouses there is no change for the worse.
1,,V00!s arc stationary in price.

SULPHUR MINES IN AFRlCA.—Letters from
Tripoli give some interesting particulars of an attempt
lately made by a French company to work the sulphur
mines in the Gulf of Syrte. It seems that a French che-
mlilysts,enenamseorrine specimensSulitil, residing at Tripoli, having accident-
of sulphur of remrrkable purity,
a
which be ascertained to have been brought from the in-
terior, determined to visit the place of its production.
After a search of forty days, traversing the Desert of Barca,
and arriving quite at the bottom of the Gulf of Syrte, ho
found mountains of sulphur mineral, and a lake whose
bottom and sides were sulphurous earth, The mineral of
the rock sulphur is extremely abundant, quite on the sur-
face, and many camels were speedily loaded with samples.
The district was nominally within the Pachalic of Tripoli,
but had for some time
.been absolutely ruled by Abdcl, a
Moorish chieftain of illustrious birth, who maintained
an army of forty or fifty thousand men, and enjoyed
a virtual sway over a very extensive portion of this part
of the African continent. From this chieftain M. Subtil
returned
first merchantstol'
at Marseilles to theraoce, and obtained the
obtained the exclusive right of working the mines in ques-
tion for a certain number of years;, and, on the strength of
support
tortascot,mhe .f the er etlue
prosecution of his plan. In M&y he landed in Africa with
a number of workmen, and amply provided with the means
of turning the mines to the best account. But in the in-
terval the aspect of affairs had changed. The Moorish
chieftain had been defeated by the troops of Tripoli, and
i
the district had returned to ts allegiance, Tho British
Government had protested against the contract with Abdcl
as a monop )Iy, and therefore a breach of their treaty with
Tut key, and all the exertions of 31. Subtil to obtain a con-
firmation of his contract were fruitless.
He was, however,
a man of too much spirit to abandon his enterprise
and accordingly,having abandoned
iwiisti rr ioountoapolsytgglc,
:ru lie is negotiating with the Turkish Govern-
ment for permission to work the mines, in the hope of
realising a handsome remuneration for his outlay before
he could be disturbed by the competition of any other ad.
venturers. The sulphur district lies between the ports of
Tripoli and Bengal'. The rock ore has been found to
to give 35-40 per cent. of pure sulphur, and also 2-15 of
sulphate of soda, and 5.10 per cent. of salt. The sul-
phurous earth gave 45 50 per cent. of pure sulphur, but
was more difficult of fusion. European produce in the
interior of Africa bears a profit of 700 per cent., and gold
dust sells there for only one dollar the metecal, or 373
English grains, and, indeed, all the interior prodve is at
a similarly lvw rate.—Jourtial (j. Industry.