The Sun.
London, England, 1846-03-19 00:00:00

THE ARMY.

It is reported in military circles that the officers of the
Guards intend to erect a cenotaph to the memory of the late:
Major Somerset, who was slain in 011.1 of the late battles in.
India.

The white trousers, as an article of summer dress, will no
longer bo worn, and on the Ist of May next the soldiers will,
for the first time, appear in an article of a darker texture
more serviceable and less liable to be soiled.

Several sergeants in the household troops have received
commissions in the regiments of militia about to be called out
for training.
The sth Dragoon Guards, serving for some time back at
Nottingham, proceed to York, there to relieve the 10th Hus-
sars, who will embark in a few days, at Gravesend, for India.
The 6th (Enniskillen) Dragoons are under orders for Ire-
land ; as are the 92d Highlanders.
The 17th Lancers, lately stationed at Brighton, ars ex-
pected to be ordered to Ireland in a short time.

MELANCHOLY SHIPWRECKS.
EIGHTY LIVES LOST:
The following are the particulars, so far as they aro at
present known, of the loss of two vessels, the Ida, .550 tons
(British barque), and the John Minturn (Amer;can vessel),
the Wrecks of which were reported at Lloyd's on Monday:—
The Ida was commissioned by Government for the con-
veyance of stores to Canada, and left the River on the 18th
of-last December for Portsmouth, where she took in the
stores; and finally sailed for St. John's, New Brunswick, on
the 4th of January. There Were on board, besides the
crew (18 in number, including the master, Captain William
Chember), 38 passengers, mate and female. After her de-
parture nothing was heard of her until Monday last, when
the intelligence of her fate wa-.. received. A letter, stated to
be written by Mr. Sherwood, the British Consul at Port-
land, thus describes her loss :—" On the 26th of January,
being in lat. 44 N., long. 52 30 W., the barque broached
to, while scudding before a severe gale from S.S.E., and was
thrown on her beam ends. Orders were given to cut away
the foremast, but before they had time to do so the barque
righted, full of water. The captain then ordered the long-
boat to be got under the lee, the other boat having been lost.
The passengers immediately rushed into her promiscuously,
followed by the captain and crew, to the number of 45. The
painter parted, and the teat dropped astern. The land bore
N.N.E., distant about 30 leagues by observation. The boat
got about two cables length from the vessel, when she ship-
ped a sea, filled, and all in her perished. The mate, nine
men, and one young woman remained on the wreck, in the
the tops, from Monday morning until Friday morning, when
they were taken off by the schooner Three Sisters, cf Eden,
when they were landed much frozen, and in destitute circum-
stances, the mate being the only one able to travel."
The Ida was not registered at Lloyd's, and the inquiries
made to ascertain who were her owners, andto know the
names of the passengers, have not been successful.
The fate of the Jobn Minturn and her crew and passen-
gers, amounting to fifty in number, was of a most deplorable
character. The ill-fated ship, a newly built vessel, more than
5,000 tons burden, was beniod to New York, having, besides
a number of cabin and steerage passengers, several ship-
wrecked seamen, who had been picked up on the voyage. Lp
to Saturday, the 14th ult., the weather was most favourable
for the voyage, and they were within three days' sail of her
destination. Soon after sunset on that day, however, there
came on a stiff breeze from the eastward, which, as the even-
ing advanced, greatly increased. The ship stood N.N.E. till
twelve o'clock, by which period the wind had increased to
a gale. Her course was then altered to the south, and was
kept till daybreak. When the shore was discovered, it ap-
peared to the leeward, about two miles distant. The tem-
pestuous weather in the meantime had increased considerably.
Every sail was torn almost to ribbons by the violence of the
wind, and the ship rendered unmanageable. On the land
being perceived, every nerve was exerted to keep her off, but
unfortunately it was impracticable, as the gale blew direct on
to the coast, and gradually drifted her inwards, and at half-
,past nine o'clock she struck with tremendous force. The
succeeding wave raised her, and dashed her with violence on
the rocks, when she broke but did not separate. The horror
and: confusion at the moment of her striking were terrific,
and when the worst was known every effort (says one of the
survivors, a seaman named King) was made to preserve the
lives of those on board, numbering fifty-one, including
passengers. The masts were cut away to ease her, but with
little effect, as she continued to strike' fearfully. The yawl
was then cut loose from the stern davits, but the surf
ran so high that before she could be got round she swamped,
and became useless. The captain, with his wife, son, daugh-
ter, servant, and cabin passengers, took refuge in the poop
cabin, the only place where they could be sheltered from the
violence of the sea, which was pouring over them in all direc-
tions. By great exertion the long-boat was cast adrift, and
launched over the bows. Five of the crew and a steerage
passenger, a Portuguese, jumped into her, and a long coil of
line was stowed in her stern sheets, by which it was intended
to carry a hawser ashore, and she was then shoved off. On
approaching the land, the men found that it was impossible
to tow the line through the breakers, in consequence of the
great pressure on the boat. They resolved on cutting it away,
that being the only chance of reaching the shore. All hope
was now lost of saving those on the wreck. Their sufferings
are described as being truly frightful. Being exposed to the
full violence of the sea, and a piercing cold wind,
ice soon formed over the surface of their drenched clothing.
In this state they remained until noon, when those who
were alive, for some had already sunk from their awful suf-
fering, went forward to the forecastle, where they lashed
themselves to prevent the sea from washing them from the
wreck. It is supposed that the captain, his mate, and the
pilot remained in the poop, for they were not seen after-
wards; and in the course of an hour the ship parted amid-
ships, and the after part drifted away into the sea. The re-
maining portion of the wreck then floated considerably in
shore. In the latter part of the day another portion of the
wreck separated, which carried away the half of those who
were lashed to the forecastle, all of whom instantly perished.
The rest lived a few hours afterwards, till by the combined
effects of the intense frost, and the surf beating over them,
they gradually sunk and expired. Between eleven and
twelve o'clock at night a boat was put off to rescue those
who were clinging to other pieces of the wreck, consisting
.of two mates, two of the crew, and four of the steerage
passengers ; and after almost insurmountable difficulties
they were preserved, although, as may be readily conceived,
reduced to the last stage of exhaustion. In the wreck of
the.forecastle sixteen bodies were found lying in a cluster
round the stump of the foremast, and it seemed as if the
.unfortunate creatures had huddled themselves together for
warmth. Among them could be recognised the captain's
wife, his children, and a female steerage passenger, with an
infant at her breast, and so firmly grasped that they could
not be separated. Owing to the quantity of ice that co-
vered the wreck the task of removing the bodies that night
was given up, in consequence of the extreme danger attend-
ing it. On the following morning, at daybreak, they were
brought ashore, when the beach was lined by the inhabit-
ants of the neighbouring villages. Amongst them were a
desperate gang of wreckers, who plundered every body that
was washed up from the other pieces of wreck. Several of
the passengers were known to have had a large amount of
money about them. Up to the last accounts, thirty-two
bodies were found. The ship had entirely gone to pieces, a
portion of her bottom only remaining, which was embedded
in the sand by the weight of the pig iron which formed par t
of her cargo. She was only partially insured.

EXPERIMENTS WITH LIFE-PRESERVING APPARATUS
AT WOOLWICH.-On Thursday last Captain Sir Thomas Battings,
Ent., R.N., clerk of the Ordnance, Lieutenant-Colonel Barney, com-
mandant of Royal Engineers at Woolwich, Lieutenant-Colonel
Dundee, C. 8., Lieutenant-Colonel Colquhouu, and Captain
Palliser, of the Royal Artillery, assembled at the Royal Ar-
senal to witness experiments to illustrate a simple mode of sav-
ing the lives of persons when shipwrecked on the sea coasts, of
a plan submitted by Captain Jerningham, commanding the coast
guard at Yarmouth, a station which has afforded him an oppor-
tunity of evvitnesslng in many eases the complication and ineffi-
ciency of the plans adopted at present. The experiments on
Thursday were made from a 54 inch brass mortar, by firing
an anchor, weighing 341b5., made on a similar principle to
Porter's anchor, with the exception of its wanting the small
projecting part to give it the first holding quality, and the two
flukes moving on the pivot independent of each other, for the pur-
pose of both being enabled to lie close to the shank when placed in
the mortar. On being fired, the flukes open during the flight of the
anchor, and are secured by a spring in their extended position.
When fired into the Thames it required the united strength of seven-
teen men to drag home the anchor. The experiments were resumed
on Tuesday, in the Marshes at Woolwich, in the presence of Lieu-
tenant-Colenel Dundas, C. 8., Lieutenant-Colonel Dansey, C.B. Lieu-
tenant-Colonel Chalmer, Assistant Director-General of Artillery;
Lieutenant-Colonel Barney, Royal Engineers ; and Captain Palliser,
of the Proof Department at the Royal Arsenal. The object of the
experiments on Tuesday was to ascertain the length of the range
by ectual mersurement, and the best mode of coiling the
ropes for service in severe weather. The range of the
anchor was found to be 180 yards, carrying twe-ineh rope, and
united
it alighteduegti itsof holdingtwelve poweratho required the
The coiling of a rope upon a wooden roller attached to a hand-
asarstiollgrefee-antiethn attoitdrraegq
armed remarkably well, and appeared greatly superior to the
barrow, which occupied exactly three minutes in superior toy
cumbersome, and and requires a greater number of hands to work it. The
arrangement of a rope adjusted by a wooden rack, which is far more
rope used by Captain Jerningham is known by the designation of
" manila." one and a half inch thick where attached to the shot, and
possesses great advantages over the hide leather previously used ;
as when dry and lying for some time untied, the latter becomes
liable to break when fired. Twelve rounds were fired on Tuesday
with the manilla, which answered the purpose effectually.
'ITICIDE.-817B11111URY, MARCH 16.—Yesterday after-
noon, between twelve and one o'clock, another awful and melan-
choly case of suicide occurred in this town, Mr. Alexander Frost,
postmaster, having cut his throat with a razor. It is supposed that a
deficiency in his accounts relative to the Post-office department, with
the anticipation of being shortly removed from his situation, led him
to commit the rash act by which he has left his wife a widow, and
four very young children fatherless and wholly unprovided for. This
afternoon an inquest was held at the Angel Inn, before William
Denman, Gent., coroner of the borough, when a verdict of "Tem-
porary insanity" was returned.—Bury Post.
A mistake has been made in the papers which an-
nounced the arrival of Joseph Buonaparte, ex-King of ,Spain, from
America, that individual having died in Italy about two years ago.
THE TARIFF.—The butter merchants at Brew's Quay,
yesterday, received intimation, through the bonding officer of her
Majesty's Customs, that Government were prepared at once to re-
move the duty of 10$. per cwt. from foreign butters, provided they
imagadeedditoatetheeffetst.wase;
would guarantee the amount, should the measure new before Parlia-
nelnftr
onmo t
Ib3eocso.m toe law.
128 s.
this,T h
cent.,that pruetdchucbesutthters
article altogether 135. per cwt. This reduction
have affected the price of English fresh butter.
BODY FOUND IN THE THAMES Y d.— ester ay the body
or. a man was found in the Thames
near Bermondsey, which appeared
to be that of a sailor, and had evidently been
in the water ten or
terelve days. The body now lies at the Bermondsey workhouse, tO
await the Coroner's inquest,
WOODEN PAvEmEwr.—The City Commission of
Sewers decided on Tuesdao, by forty votes to one, that Newgate-
at reet should be paved with granite, and that the street should be
closed for that purpose for three weeks, the dissentient being Mr.
E agleton, of liewgate-street. Two years ago the votes in the same
body were forty to one against stone, and in favour of wood, that one
being Sir Peter Laurie.
INJURY TO AN ORGAN.—The new organ of St. Olave's,
Southwark, now in course of completion, was on Sunday last da-
maged by some evilly disposed person, who must have gained ad-
minion into the interior by a false key. The action of the great
organ key-beard was tampered with and injured. The new pipes
pinched together at the top, and in one case rent down, the iron
colenterbalance of the bellows torn up (an act requiring very consi-
derable force to perpetrate), and the valve of the pedal bellows very
Twitch damaged. The organ was the first instrument in England
co hstructed on the principle of a double-doable gamut, having a 32-
fe, it diapason throughout the grand manual key-board. It has been
two years in the course o
f perfecting, under the design of Dr. Gaunt-
lett the organist, and had been lately placed in Mr. Hill's hands for
cotripletion. A first trial was made on Sunday of certain stops, and
du ring the morning service tile instrument was in good and perfect
weer, but at the evening service the mischief perpetrated was so
groat as almost to occasion an impossibility of playing upon it. The
fully discovered on the
extent of this malicious mutilation d
assembling on Monday, but how a m ss on was procured
workmen tuele
into the interior is yet a mystery. lt is evident that some know-
ledge of the mechanism of an organ must have been possessed by the
perpetrator, as all his exertion were directed to those portions of the
instrument which could suffer most from violence.
Too Mucit TROUBLE.—The newspaper reports from
the Western circuit state, that at Winchester, the week before last.
three soldiers were indicted for assaulting a woman named Lucy
Edmonds, and robbing her of half-a-crown, her property. The first
witsiess proved that the prosecutrix was a married woman. Where-
upon Mr. Justice Erie said, that " as the money in the indictment
was stated to be the property of Lucy Edmonds, and it turned out
that she was a married woman, the prisoners must be acquitted, be-
cans • a married woman couldnot have half-a-crown of her own." Now
this may seem a very hard case ; and it may appear a very easy
matter for the Legislature to pass an enactment rendering the speci-
fication of the person actually robbed sufficient, in a case of felony,
for the validity of an indictment. But this change in the law is net
caned-for ; that is, there is ne serious danger of an insurrection or a
revolution from its not being adopted : why, therefore, should Minis-
ters take the trouble to effect it /—Punch.
letter from Rome mentions the death, in that city,
on OP 4th, of Cardinal Mangelli, aged 84.