The Sun.
London, England, 1871-01-03 00:00:00

THE SINKING OF BRITISH SHIPS. BY THE

PRUSSIANS.
STATEUENT BY ONE OF THE CREWS.

The seizure and scuttling of seven -British ships-in the
Seine by the Prussians has, as might be supposed, created
a profound sensation amongst seafaring men ofthe_Port
of London. Thirty-nine of the crews of the vessels sunk
have arrived at the Sailors' Home in Well-Close-square,
where they have been ordered to remain by the Board of
Trade pending official proceedings, and they are
the centre of much interest aniongst the maritime
community. Mr. William Mingay, mate of the Sylph,
and the mate of the Alice, both of Sunderland, have
made statements detailing the circumstances attending'
the seizure of their vessels. From these it appears
that a French gunboat going up the Seine sighted a.
Prussian detachment advancing along the banks, and
fired into them, killing 150. This caused a- cer-
tain commotion amongst the Prussians, and it was,:
no doubt, with a view to put a stop to the movements
of the gunboat in the river that the Prussians'
resolved to sacrifice the British ships. The manner
in which the Prussians took possession of the Sylph is
described by Mr. Mingay as follows :—The Sylph was ,at
Rouen on Saturday week in the river, when a detachment
of about 30 or 40 Prussian soldiers, headed by an officer,
I boarded her from a steam-tug. The Sylph had discharged.
her cargo of coals, and was taking in ballast. The men
had, unfortunately for themselves as it ultimately turned
out, been paid. The Prussian officer addressed Captain
Ramsdale, the owner of the vessel, and the mate, in a
mixture of French and English. Striking his hand on the
flan, said,
y“eyurotsit
cacompanionpnnalmadsddaeire,,hie)osinaitdin,
g7olethemfluas
t not have my ship—it is an English ship." • The Prussian
officer, whose men had at once proceeded to cut the ropes'
that tied her to her anchor, roared out, "We don't cam
if she is English, or French, or Dutch, or Norwegian,
me want her to couler in the river." He re-
peated the French word couler (to sink) several times,
and announced his intention of seizing the brigan-
tine, whether its captain would permit him or
not. During this altercation the utmost confusion
prevailed on board, the soldiers proceeding to knock
holes in the bottom'of the vessel. The captain cried out
to the officer, "If you want my ship, pay me the £2,000.
she's worth." " Yes," said the officer, " I will." He
then produced a printed form, and calling for pen and•
ink, pointed to a vacant place on it, and directed the.
captain to fill it in, which he did. The form seemed to
be an order on the Prussian Government. During the
time this paper was being filled up, the sailors
were trying to save what they could of clothes
and money, but without much success, for in less.
then ten minutes from the boarding of the vessel, the
sailors were hurried over the side into a boat, which was
cut adrift. A good deal of their clothing was left on board.
The officers stepped on to the tug, leaving some soldiers in
charge of the Sylph ; these men hauled down the British
flag (they had previously ordered the captain to do so, but
he had refused), and they trampled on it, and wiped their,,
feet on it, making remarks, as- they did so in German.
They then floated her down the river. They did not sink,
her immediately, in fact, not till the next morning., but,
getting drunk on the ship's stores, set her partially on
fire. Though the captain had received a paper promiiing'
him £2,000 for his ship, the sailors receiving no compen-
saiion for their losses. When they got on shore at Rouen
Ithey reported themselves to the British consul, who went
'to the Prussian authorities and remonstrated. Through
his exertions two omnibuses were procured, and the men
were despatched en route for Dieppe. When they got to'
COlbec, between twelve and one at night, they were
:stopped in the bitter cold, the snow lying thick on the
ground, by a body of Prussian soldiers, who ordered them
to get down. Presenting the points of their bayonets,
and rudely vociferating, they directed the sailors to undo
their bundles. The mate distinctly affirms that the Prus-
sians took not only the men's tobacco, but part of their
clothing and even their money : he himself was robbed of
several pounds' worth of clothes, as well as his wages.
The other men were likewise pillaged. One unfortunate
sailor, who was compelled to lower down some luggage
from the top of the vehicle for the Prussians to overhaul,
slipped, and falling to the ground, got concussion of the,
brain. He had to be left behind at Colbec. Ultimately,
they were allowed to resume their journey. When they
arrived at Dieppe the Consul and the English chaplain
received them very kindly and gave them a shilling each
,to buy their dinner's at Newhaven. Having been
deprived by the Prussians of nearly everything they pos-
sessed, the poor men, had nothing to eat from the time
they arrived at Newhaven until their arrival in London.
The mate of the Alice, which is one of the six ships sunk
on the 21st of December, states that the vessels were seized
in the most peremptory manner, and the crews Put
ashore, where they had to remain, exposed to the cold and
to the rain which wetted them through, for eleven or
twelve hours. Those vessels were sunk at once. but as
they were not sufficient to block the passage of the river •
entirely to the satisfaction of the Prussians, the Sylph was
subsequently seized, and after her- the Paragon. When
the crews arrived in London they went to the Home-
office, and were sent thence to the office of the Registrar-
General of Seamen, Mr. Mayo. a Most of them being
married men were anxious to get to their families, but Mr..
Mayo sent an officer with them to the Sailors' Home,
where they have beenrequested to stay pending the action
of the -G-oVermilent. -

tie; Due
F
a adi
de
h: Gerrbaem.
,ont, has been
aplo.fiditedGinthents'tasff°il of
of General

A correspondent of the Independance Beige says :—"
conversed yesterday with a person who has come from
Versailles, and according to what I heard the Germans
are not very numerous before PariS, but their excellent
organisation perinits them td cbllect in a few hours great
masses of troops on one point."
A French cavalry officer, with ten men, rode into a
village near Havre, and asked for the Maire. That
functionary mistook his countryman for a German, and,
in reply to a polite question about the " enemy,"
gasped out all he knew or could tell, about the positions
and forces of the French. He will' be tried by court-
martial, and will probably be shot within four-and-twentY
hours. . • •

A correspondent writing from Lorraine on the 28th
ult. says :—"ln-consequence of the fortresses in Germany
being filled, to overflowing with French prisoners, and the
unjustifiable hardship of transporting them in open un-
covered coal trucks while the thermometer registers from
10 to 12 degrees, stridt orders have been given to avoid
such barbarities for the future, and the large forts at Metz
arc being prepared for their reception."
The Emancipateur of Cambrai. says. that the Prussian
scouts continue to roam about the neighbourhood ; their
demands are reported- to .be . moderate, but the smallest
resistances is severely visited. At Fins they burned the ,
forge of a smith who refused to shoe their horses. At
Gonnelieu they threatened to exact a large sum unless the
trenches made by the engineers were filled up before
evening. At • Mceuvres they requisitioned oats, bread,
coffee, and brandy.
A native-. of Geneva,' who served as subaltern in the
French Foreig,ir•Legion, took part in the campaign on the
Loire, was four dayfi a"' prisoner, and then escaped to
Orleans, writes from Bourges to a Swiss paper :—" I re'
mained four days in the hands of the Prussians, and mr3s,
treated throughout with the greatest civility, provided
with brandy, tobacco; and the best meat, and in spite of
all that is.alleged-4gainst them, I can assure you that they
treat our wounded;and prisoners better than our French.'
officers treat ifs." , . _
.[ADvEnnsmEst.]—Holloway's- Ointment and "pills
Never at Fault.—ln all. irritations of the _ skin, sores, ,
ulcers, burns, and scrofulous enlargements of the glanciSs'
Holloway's Ointment presents a ready and easy means
cure, which' neyet 'disappoint the most favourable exPec.
tations. It manifests a peculiar power in restraining hid
flawation, removing stagnation, cooling the blood, ?Lit
checking all acrimonious, or unhealthy discharges, whir
thus acting locally, the-Pills are no less remarkable igrt
their power in improving the general condition and hap'
of the body, which render the cure complete and pernl3:
nent. Under the genial influence of these potent rola*?
dies, the puny infant becomes the robust child, the
' and emaciated regain Colour and rotundity, and ~the yg
peptic eats freely without fire.

BIRTHS.
On the 29th ult., at 1, Great Cumberland-place the LadY
. -
Emily Van de Weyer, of a son.
On the 30th ult., at 1, Ennismore place, the wife: of er•
Archer, Esq., of
.a daughter.
.•

MARRIAGES.
On the 29th ult. at St. Mary's, Kilburn, William
Strickland, of. Priory-road, and Clifford-street, B°11..,(1.
street, to Martha, eldest daughter of Benj. W. We""'
of Bridge road, St.-John's-wood.
On the 29th ult., at Holloway; Arthur, third son of Phi/
Sutton, Esq., of Totteridge, Herts, to Eliza Louis
Coopg, of 22, Canonbury-square.

i • ... - , :s , 0 , DEATHS. • 1\ l''
•
9104,,,,pQui tilt., _At, 280, Liverpool-road, Islington,
t James Edit, ,t,
asred 72.
.
On the:29th ult:7 .at Elm Tree-avenue, Hull, Arthur
1 Leirett-,.Esq., aged 70. ,
_..—....•!-

LOndon Printed by GIDEON ACLAND BOYCE,I
No. 112, Strand, Printer, and Published by hinledr
THE Suig, Office, No. 112, Stranclidn, the Precinct of ,
Savoy, in the County of,Kiddlerx.
Tuesday, Januhry 3,1871,