The Sun.
London, England, 1847-04-10 00:00:00

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LONDON, SATURDAY, APRIL 10, 1847.

Among the many horrible catastrophes recorded
in the annals of the British sea-service, one more
melancholy cannot be instanced than the loss of the
Tweed. The narrative of this disastrous shipwreck,
already inserted in our columns, has so elaborately
detailed the circumstances of the calamity and so
fully recounted the misfortunes of the survivors that
it were needless to recapitulate them. Nor is it by
ally means necessary to insist upon sufferings su
manifest, upon fortitude so noble, upon enterprise
so ingenious and daring, as the sufferings, fortitude,
and enterprise evinced by those who escaped destruc-
tion. The story of the wreck of this noble vessel
upon the sunken reef of the Alacranes, situated about
seventy miles northwards from the peninsula of
Yucatan in the Gulf of Mexico, is characterised by
all those adjuncts of misery and desolation which
impart such intense interest and such pathetic fascina-
tion to the narratives of the perils encountered on the
ocean. After leaving Havannah on the 9th of
February, with the intention of touching at Vera
Cruz and Tampico before returning on the homeward
voyage to Southampton, the weather becomes un-
favourable, there is a storm of thunder and
lightning, and the solar observations are interrupted
by the gloom of the atmosphere. The Tweed,
nevertheless, pursues her course without interrup-
tion. Early in the morning of the 12th of February,
the occupants of the ship being in the peaceful un-
consciousness of sleep, with the exception of the cap-
tain and the few seamen upon their ordinary watch,
there is a cry of "Breakers ahead !" At half-past
three, A.m., the Tweed strikes upon the submerged
rocks; at four her massive timbers are scattered in
fragments over the surf. Seventy-nine human beings
are clinging to the precarious juts of the Alacranes,
foodless, almost naked, destitute and still involved in
darkness. At daybreak the feeble hopes that had
been previously entertained are abandoned, the
survivors find themselves encompassed on all
sides by the " remorseless waves,"—not a
vestige of land—their footing a reef of breakers
covered by the water variably to the depth of two
and six feet—the ruins of the magnificent ship float-
ing in all directions. With an almost incredible com-
posure these seventy-nine wretched creatures—
scarcely covered with clothing—saturated to the skin
—gather together upon the rocks, consult as to the
course most advisable under the circumstances,
submit themselves to a rigid discipline, and separate
into parties, under the direction of the different officers.
It were unnecessary to re-enumerate the struggles
which follow against these appalling and accumulated
adversities, from the patching of the mail-boat
with rags for caulking and a copper bolt for a
hammer, to the departure of the forlorn hope under
the command of the first officer, Mr. ELLisos, and
the construction of the loose platform at the insti-
gation of Captain PARSONS. Our intention is not
to enlarge upon the contrivances adopted for the pre-
servation of life and the search of assistance, it is not
to deepen the gloom which envelopes the picture, it
is to record the courage and the self-possession of
those intrepid men, under whose conduct so many
of our fello w-creatures have been rescued
from a frightfully perilous situation. The obe-
dience and sobriety which were maintained during
five days and five nights upon the Alacranes ; the
dauntless passage of the forlorn hope in the mail-boat,
cobbled up with stray spars and casual nails, steered
by the chief officer through the twilight of the 12th
of February, with the scarcely distinguishable com-
pass between his knees, and the reef extending before
him_ for a considerable distance; the noble disin-
terestedness, the bravery, the generosity, the ad-
mirable and affecting self-forgetfulness of BERNAR-
DINO CAMP, the commander of the Spanish brig
Emilio—these are the means by which, under the
Supreme GOD, the survivors of the royal
mail steam-ship Tweed have been preserved
from destruction. Upon the heroic young Spanish
captain—" worthy, noble, humane BERNARDINO
CAMP !" as he is gratefully apostrophised by one of
the passengers of the unhappy Tweed—we are satis-
fied that the sublimest recompense of every good
action has already fallen, the consciousness of having
acted with a greatness of heart beyond all commen-
dation, beyond even the exaggeration of the most
extravagant panegyric. But the dignity of our
common blood demands that this fine-hearted sailor
should feel that his magnanimity is appreciated and
his character beloved. A thousand channels are
open to convey this knowledge to him—let one at
least be selected !

Upon the officers of the unfortunate steam-ship
the honour rests of having displayed an endurance
and a daring fully equal to the emergency of their
position. To them, to Captain PARSONS, and espe-
cially to his brave coadjutor Mr. ELLISON, the grati-
tude of the survivors has been already expressed ;
and the exertions of the latter officer—exertions
which require no eulogium, seeing that he was in-
dividually the leader of the forlorn hope have
elicited from the rescued passengers the following
emphatic acknowledgment :
" To Mr. Edward Ellison, the first officer, we feel
sure that all who have survived the wreck entertain but
one feeling with regard to his gallant and resolute con-
duct in the performance of a most arduous duty. In the
only remaining ship's boat cast upon the reef, with her
bows stove in, and her sides and bottom much damaged,
he undertook, without a moment's hesitation, to convey
to the Campeachy coast the news of our distressed con-
dition, after a most arduous passage through the shoals
at night, and exposed during another day and night to
all the risks of starvation or of foundering ; he and his
gallant boat's crew accomplished this object after run-
ning a course of not less than 100 miles. He was the
first, after all his hardships and fatigues, to cheer us
again by his presence. We once more beg to express
the deep sense entertained by each and all of us in re-
spect to his manly and courageous conduct."
The extraordinary fortitude and endurance dis-
played throughout this appalling catastrophe by the
officers, the patient obedience of the passengers and
crew, and the splendid and magnanimous generosity
of Captain BEZNARDINO CAMP, demand this simple
but heartfelt commemoration.

Perhaps there are none among the official servants
of the Crown whose duties are of a more difficult or
arduous character than the Governors of distant
colonies. They are compelled to carry out the in-
structions received from the Colonial Office, although
thoroughly convinced in their own minds of their
impolicy, and although in so doing they may receive
the strongest opposition, not only from the inhabitants
of the district, but also from the members of the Exe-
cutive or Legislative Councils, who constitutionally
are entitled to advise and assist in all things relating
to the government of the colony. Should that ad-
vice be slighted, or neglected, feelings of bitter
animosity are excited in the minds of those who con-
ceive themselves to be thereby despised. Their opinions
may be based on justice and equity. The Governor
himself may be satisfied by the soundness of their
thereof which
in the
afracgturnents as to the correctness of their views. New
Downing
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possibility, of
street,
heeNtvould
even satisfy
degree confirmatory
conduct but still he is satisfy the authorities in
persevering
the imprudence, if not the irn-
matitscti:ehttered and restricted by his
instructions ;no in any particular line of
aarri.t. from the strict letter
cumstances, he cannot doew urgent
may
Banner which may
be the cir-
thereof. No discretion fart
not to preside over affairs in ted ; he is appointed
at the same time be most conduci
the colony and the best interests untfhe welfare
of
the mother
country. No, it is to carry out some
Petsome hobby of the Colonial Scretary for the:lnr beingujecti
—to that he must stick per far auk nefas.
brought
It e may be
some gigantic experiment, some system
into use for the purpose of giving a solution
to one of the most difficult of social problems,"
one not adopted in consideration of its effects on the