The Sun.
London, England, 1847-03-15 00:00:00

PLYMOUTH, MARCH 12.—8 y advice from Antigua, date4ll/
12th February, it is reported that her Majesty's ship Vindie.-.
dye, 50, Captain Michael Seymour, bearing the flag of Sir.
Francis W. Austen, K.C.8., and her Majesty's sloop Persian,
16, Commander Henry Coryton, arrived there on the 31rst of'
January, and her Majesty's surveying vessel Thunder,
Captain Edward Barnett, on the 3d ult.
Her Majesty's steam-sloop Salamander, Captain Ham..
mond, which put into Antigua in January, damaged, from
Otaheite, has by orders from the Admiral, undergone a tho—
rough survey. She is fitted with a new mainmast, top_
gallanttnast, and bowsprit, and notwithstanding the straining
which the boilers had undergone by the large body of water
previously kept in them, they were reported by the e.ngineera
in a fit state to steam the vessel across the Atlantic. The
Salamander was ready for sea on the 12th ult., and would
probably leave on the 13th. On her arrival more than one
court of inquiry is expected.
Her Majesty's steamer Bloodhound, Commander R. Phil.
lips, came in yesterday from Oporto and Lisbon.

DISTRESS IN IRELAND.
The following is a letter, addressed by Commander Catlin
to the Rev. G. Stoddart:—
" Her Majesty's ship Scourge, Behnullet,
Co. of Mayo, March 10, 1847.
" My dearhave 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
s.iould soon be a beggar, or have to steel my heart. against
the misery and woe around me. To do this would indeed
be a work of difficulty, and my only desire is, that all who
are rolling in riches and affluence in our land might be a
participator with me in those aceitcs 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 tlte 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 carried
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 Nil.-
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 that end which must shortly overtake her.
Her manners and those of her daughters are quite ladylike,
whilst their dwelling is more wretched than 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 be seen
searching for potatoes ; and ground which had not been
cultivated for two years, on account of the failure, they
were now turning and returning, and had done this three
and four times over, still looking for some ; those that they
got were no larger than marbles. Their 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. Some 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 can never be
effaced from my memory.
"It is impossible 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 heighten upon them.
Green crops, too, such as turnips and mangle- wurtzel, would
do well they say in this soil.
"It is uu use my entering in detail into the actual starva-
tion cases, or to tell you of the particular distress which pre-
vails in any one locality ; for th-y are all alike, getting
worse as ou travel south, and at Srhull and its or ighbour-
heed the very climax of misery finds its resting-place.
" I have no doubt ultimate g.. .d a i•I result from all this
misery, when lie alone who br,mg:it it to pass shall speak
tine word, and say, "It is enough." A stranger coining
among these people is at once struck with the filth and
wretchedness of their habitations and persons, but little
indeed removed from tie very beasts who herd among them.
He is at first inclined to thihk this is cons,qm lit upon the
present distress ; but it is not so. They have thus lived from
the earliest period till now. No care las 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 ycur society should,
in granting any gratuitous relief, require that some labour
be performed fur it, such as paving their cabins with slabs of
stones, which are to he found in abundance about them,
putting their cabins in order, building chimneys to them,
and in endeavouring to raiae them to a degree of comfort
which they are at present ignorant ot ; this would not stop
short of improving their minos 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 Rey. George H. Stoddart, Hon. Secretary,
United Relief Association, 40, Leicester-square.

ROWLAND lIILL, THE PENNY-

POST REFORMER.

And is there to be no statue to You, Rowland Hill ? Do
marble and bronze on every band anticipate, with impa-
tient honours, the rewards of posterity for a hero, who,
through the sinews of a hundred thousand warriors, and,
with the aid of captainship, hardly inferior to his own, on
every side of him, has won a host of fields ; and is there no
mould or chisel for you ? You who have filled up the perni-
cious gulph, which poverty and distance interpose between
man, and the best cherisher of his affections and virtues--his
home! Poor artisans! by whose fast wasting and dispro-
portionably rewarded vigour, the manufacturer grows fat
and sleek—enlarges his little lawn into a domain of
and his country-box into a palace—heed not, now, though
you should be obliged to send your children from you—far
—far—to seek for better fortune at less toil! Without
stinting a meal, you can talk to them when you please;
learn how it fares with them • counsel them, encourage them ;
comfort them when they need it; keep them still upon their
guard—beset if they should be with knavery or lust—almost
as though they were still within the range of the paternal
eye! Abstracted from the millions of the land, what a sorry
remainder would you leave ! What were the land without
you? If you are the base of the society, how broad is that
base I of what moment that it should be sound !—Rowland
Hill has found out the secret for rendering it so, and for pre-
serving it so.
The Revenue ! Pounds, shillings, and pence ? Dross!
Set a sum upon the domestic tie!
And there is no monument for you, Rowland Hill? They
wished you a kind good morning at the General Post-office
—Justice !—but it was politely done. There is nothing for
you, or next to nothing—a mighty spirit of gratitude I—a
sprinkle of a few thousands of pounds ! when the tithe of a
million might have been raised for you, in mere penny beads,
and not the pocket of a contributing errand-boy perceptibly,
the lighted But there was nothing flashy,
Rowland Hilt,
about your achievement ! It cost neither treasure, nor blood
and sweat I It was announced by no brawling of gazettes
—it was celebrated by no public rejoicings—the blustering
of cannon, fireworks, illuminations It shook not theor
ages worldit
will do what it
with the strugglescame of its mighty birth ! thou gli
f upon us as softly as a sheet of French letter-paper falls to,
the ground, not making any noise atallt! e
epithet
public testimonial botched and bungled,
earnest—never was
Never, clear Rowland Hill—we use h in hearty
ed themselves upon your friends, aa,
so lamentably, as yours! Thoughtlessness, apathy and stu-
pidity, must have feasted
been arranged a
l k to you, in
• Itaneous demonstration of t .an s
simultaneous the promoters of it. There ought to have
town, village and hamlet throughout the United Kingdom!
If we have heard aright the compliment cost something
short of twenty thousand. Why, London alone might have
paid the shot, for the rest of the empire, without doing any.
thing to wag its head for, after all! But, Rowland Hill, we
fear you want the knack. You may have the talent, the be-
nevolence, the patriotism to plan and suggest a benefit—per-
haps one of the most important that a country ever received
from the services of a single man ; but, we suspect, you lack
the cunning, to know, that patriotism, benevolence, and
talents, must, either directly or indirectly, bestir themselves
—and thoroughly too, to secure their due reward—or be con-
eelndtotmo gifoewvei without outit.
discharged Theo,t.fat
lt,sh;fllt. Irgitd,e to,n
Kthelmowaleree
New Work of " George Lovell."

AWFUL SHIPWRECK, IGO PERSONS DROWNED.--•
Intelligence was received yesterday in the City, announcing
the awful loss of an emigrant ship belonging to Hamburgh,
in the (;all' stream, while on her passage to Canada, by
which upwards of 160 emigrants perished. The vessel is re-
ported to be the barque Stephani, Captain Bruger, master,
which sailed from the port of Hamburg!' on the 28th of Oc-'
tober last. The calamity is stated to have occurred during
the heavy gales on the 18111 of December. The master and
four of the crew are reported to have been picked up in an
open boat by a schooner from New Orleans. Further ac-
counts are anxiously looked for by the agents in London and
Hamburgh.—Sunday paper.
REPRESENTATION OF DUNGANNON.—We under-
stand that Alexander M. Shaw, Esq., of Belfast, has com-
municated to the electors of Dungannon his intention of being
a candidate for the next election.—Northern
ESCAPE FROM JAIL.—On Friday morning it was
discovered that Charles P 3 e, who had been convicted the ,
evening previously at the assizes of bur :glary., had effected
his escape from the jail at Chelmsford. ide has npt, yet, been
retaken.