The Sun.
London, England, 1846-04-11 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

PEN AND INK SKETCHES OF POETS,
PREACHERS, AND POLITICIANS, firo.
" A book which you can take up and lay down when
you please," formed Dr. Johnson's beau-ideal of a read-
able volume. It it gossipped about public persons,—if
it drew pen-portraits of those whose names are in every
one's mouth,—if it made them pass before us as they
lived or live, such a work, it is clear, must possess the
elements of popularity.
In these " Pen and Ink Sketches" there is no pretence.
The author's style is the reverse of ambitious. He has
known a great many distinguished persons, he has seen
many more, and he tells us what he knows and what he
observed just as we would expect a clever, chatty friend
to speak to us by a bright Christmas fire, upon topics
about which he fancied we might feel interested. The
result is a collection of clever portraits of public persons,
with a dash of biography, a leavening of criticism, and a
good savouring of anecdote. An amusing, instructive,
well-written work is this before us.
The living and the dead are cared for in this volume.
Robert Hall and Robert Montgomery ; Hannah More,
Felicia Hemans, and Joanna Millie ; Southey, Words-
worth, and Coleridge ; John Foster and Sir James Mac-
intosh; Abernethy and Faraday ; Brougham, Wetherell,
and Lyndhurst ; Shelley, Hazlitt, and Charles Lamb ;
the two Montgomeries ; O'Connell, Sheil, and Fergus
O'Connor; Father Mathew and Count D'Orsay ; Row-
land Hill, Irving, Baptist Noel, and John Williams
Mrs. Fry and the " Corn-law Rhymer ;" Williams
Macaulay, and Bulwer ; Hunt and Cobbett ;
Peel and
" the Duke;" Crabbe, Legh Richmond, and Professor
Keble ; Lady Blessington and Thomas Miller ; Buck-
land, Milinan, and Dr. Pusey : of these and more have
we here graphic and lively sketches.
The following is interesting:—
" In the month of July, 1824, the body of Lord Byron
was brought from Missolonghi to England, and on being
landed from the Florida, was removed to the house of
Sir Edward Knatchbull, who then resided in Great
George-street, Westminster. Having availed myself of
poet facilities, I saw, on one occasion, the corpse of
the —the lid of the coffin being for some necessary
purpose removed.
" It was at night that the work of opening the shell
commenced. This was soon effected, and when the last
covering was removed, we beheld the face of the illus-
trious dead,
" ' All cold and all serene,'
" Were I to live a thousand years, I should never,
/never forget that moment. For years I had been in-
timate with the mind of Byron. His wondrous works
had thrown a charm around my daily paths, and with
all the enthusiasm of youth I had almost adored his
genius. With his features, through the medium of
paintings, I ;:ad been familiar from my boyhood ; and
now, far more i;eautiful, even in death, than my most
vivid fancy had ever pictured, there they lay in marble
repose.
" The body was not attired in that most awful of habi-
liments—a shroud. It was wrapped in a blue cloth cloak,
and the throat and head were uncovered. The former
was beautifully moulded. The head of the poet was
covered with short, crisp, curling locks, slightly streaked
with grey hairs, especially over the temples, which were
ample and free from hair, as we see in the portraits.
The face had nothing of the appearance of death about
:it—it was neither sunken nor discoloured in the least,
but of a dead, marble whiteness—the expression was
that of stern quietude. How classically beautiful was
the curved upper lip and the chin. I fancied the nose
appeared as if it was not in harmony with the other fea-
tures; but it might possibly have been a little disfigured
by the process of embalming. The forehead was high
and broad—indeed, the whole head was extremely large
—it must have been so, to have contained a brain of such
capacity.
" But what struck me most was the exceeding beauty
tit' the profile, as I observed it when the head was lifted,
for the purpose of adjusting the furniture. It was per-
fect in its way, and seemed like a production of Phidias.
Indee,i, it far more resembled an exquisite piece of
aculpto,- than the face of the dead—so still, so sharply
defined, and so marble-like in its repose. I caught the
-view of it .but for a moment ; yet it was long enough to
have it stamped upon my memory as
" A thing of beauty,'
which poor Kest., tells us is a joy for ever.' It is in-
deed a melamcholy oy to me to have gazed upon the
silent poet. As Wasi,ington Irving says of the old sex-
ton, who crept into the vault where Shakspeare was en-
tombed, and beheld there the dust of ages, 6 It was some-
thing even to have seen the dust of Byron.'
" Amongst the persons engaged in the performance of
the office of removal, I noticed one—a tall, thin man,
who spoke little, and seemed absorbed in grief. He
would scarcely allow any one to touch the corpse—and,
with his own hands, he composed the head '
in its new
resting-place. The words, My dear Lord ! were fre-
quently uttered by him, whilst performing his melan-
choly duties. It was Fletcher—Byron's faithful valet.
This man afterwards told me the particulars of the noble
kpoet's death, and gave me a lock of his hair. Fletcher
Cd not long survive his beloved master."
As a counter-description we may give a brief sketch
of Southey.
"The personal appearance of Robert Southey was very
striking. He was, as I have intimated, tall and slightly
built. His forehead, rather receding, and not, phreno•
logically speaking, indicative of great acquirements, was
surmounted and partially shaded by an abundance of
white, silvery hair, combed upwards, and forming a very
;striking contrast with his jet black, magnificently arched
*eyebrows, ben,,ath which glowed [that is the best word
rte express what I mean] two of the most brilliant dark
'eyes I ever beheld. Their beauty did not consist so
much in their brill2Ancy, as in their deep, contemplative
expression. His nose was remarkably aquiline, so much
1101 that it approach ed to the beak formation. But it
was in :be mouth, w hich, after all, is the most expres-
sive feauce of the human face, that the peculiar charm
of Southey's looks lay. —the upper lip was finely curved,
and slightly p:ojected over the lower—but it is in vain
to attempt a dOecription .of it. Nearly every painter
has failed to transfer it to Caevas—indeed, I have never
seen a good likeness of the L aureate, for it was no
*ally matter to catch the ever•_ffitking lights and shadows
which, with every changing e .rno;i0o, passed over his
countenance." •
• •
" Southey's favourite attitude was th of lying back
in his chair, his elbows resting on the are la, and the
his tips
'of his forefingers placed on the inner portie
etY;ae:
brows, over the surface of which they condi.
versed, his eyes being closed excepting whe \c spoke.
n
The conversation, at one time, turned on Byron:- e tick-
lish subject for both Cottle and Southey. The N4t,cer
said, somewhat egotistically, I thought—but that or,
Southey's weak point—' No man cats honour Byron's
genius more than myself ; but I flpernented him
• doing as much harm as he might have'ney
done.'
So little is really known of Mrs. Hemans, that the
chapter which treats of her will be perused,t no doubt,
with avidity by every blue-stocking ihe
gr.
:
and. She
isnust have been a charming person. Ex.
-‘• I cannot well conceive a more exquisitely beautiful
.creature than Mrs. Hemans was—none of thebp:eaorurtrt!lin4
'or busts I have ever seen of her do her justice,
IpoAsible for words to convey to the reader any ideaisoitf
tthe matchless, yet serene beauty of her expression. Her
:glossy waving hair was parted on her forehead, and ter..
urinated on the sides, in rich and luxuriant auburn curls:
there was a dove-like look in her eyes, and yet there
was a chastened sadness in their expression. Her com-
eleXiOn was remarkably clear, and her high forehead
:looked as pure and spotless as Parian marble. A calm
trepose, not unmingled with melancholy, was the charac-
toristic expression of the face; hut when she smiled, all
tr aces of sorrow were lost, and she seemed to be but a
lit tie lower than the angels'—fitting shrine for so pure a
min d 1 Let me not be deemed a flatterer or an enthu-
alas t, in thus describing her, for I am only one of many,
whc have been almost as much captivated by her per-
son' d beauty, as charmed by the sweetness and holiness
of b er productions. If ever poems were the reflex of the
bea Mies, personal and mental, of their writers, they were
indet so in the case of Mrs. Hemans.
" Ve talked of L. E. L. Mrs. Hemans said she had
recei'v ed several letters from her, containing pressing
invite Lions to visit London. A place I never was in,
and n ever wish to be,' she observed. My heart beats
too lo tidly, even in this quiet place, and there I think it
W ould burst. The great Babel was not made for such
•
•

been dead for some months:—here she is spoken of as
yet living.
A portrait of Coleridge, from a sketch in oil, by
Washington Allston, the American, embellishes this
work. It has never before been engraved, and is, be-
yond all doubt, the best likeness we have yet seen of the
author of " Genevieve" and " Christabelle."

ATLAN TIC COMM UN ICATION.
MR. M‘GFACHY'S (OF JAMAICA) PLAN FOR A
MORE RAPID COMMUNICATION BETWEEN
GREAT BRITAIN AND AMERICA, THE WEST
INDIES, AND FOR EXTENDING IT VIA
PANAMA TO CHINA AND THE EAST.
(From the Jamaica Dispatch, March 11.)
A pr, jest of a most comprehensive nature, gigantic
as well in its details as in the vast benefits to commerce
and civilization which it embraces, has been conceived
and planned by Edward WGeathy, Esq.., Croefn Sur-
veyor in this island ; and it is with no little pride that
we are enabled, from this distant, but not unimportant..
section of the British Empire, to submit to the notice of
the British people the details of a scheme, which appears
to be as feasible as it is fraught with importance to the
commercial interests of the empire.
The importance of rapid communication between
Britain and her distant dependencies has been already
acknowledged in the strides which she has made towards
this grand desideratum in the overland route to India,
and her steam navigation to America, and the Western
Archipelago ; but still the wonders of steam are but as
yet in their infancy.
The present arrangements, which are carried out by
the Royal Mail Steam Company, and the Halifax
steamers, have brought the West Indies awl' the United
States within a reasonable distance, and an easy commu-
nication has been established between Great Britain and
Mexico, and the various settlements along the northern
coast of the South American continent.

The object of M`Geachy's plan is to unite, on a more
comprehensive system, the western world with Europe
by means of railways and steam navigation in a manner
that will greatly abridge the time now occupied in tra-
velling between the old and new world, whilst it will open
a communication between Egypt and distant countries at
present only approachable by circuitous routes and the
ordinary system of navigation. Mr. M'Geachy's plan has
also this advantage, that the means of putting it into
effective operation already exist in a very considerable
degree, and the capital necessary to be raised for the
purpose of completing its details will therefore be pro-
portionably far less than at first sight its stupendous
objects would seem to demand.
In Mr. M'Geachy's plan the island of Jamaica and its
railroads, and Captain Liot's project for crossing the
Isthmus of Panama stand prominently forward, and the
magnificent vessels of the Steam Navigation Company
will be eminently useful in carrying out the project,
should it, as we have little doubt it will, be eventually
adopted. Mr. IVGeachy proposes to vary th• present
route between Jamaica and Great Britain by a diver-
sion through the United States and Halifax, so never-
theless as to reduce the period of communication to a
maximum speed of 14 days. He propo:es, if we rightly
comprehend his plans, to make Montego Bay the sta-
tion for the steamers which are to be the medium of
communication between the island and Great Britain.
The mails, and passengers of course, would be trans-
mitted by the railway now in course of prjection, from
Kingston to Montego Bay, and a steamer, would bear
them thence to Batabano in the island of Cuba, from
which a communication by railway is already esta-
blished to Havannah. Another line of steamers stationed
at the latter port, would take up the line of communica-
tion to Tampa Bay, in the State of Florida, and
railways between that place and Charleston, New York
and Boston, to St. John's, New Brunswick, would be
met by steamers at the latter place, which, plying be-
tween that port and the western coast of Nova Scotia,
would convey the mails and passengers to the terminus
of a railway concluding at Halifax, from whence they
would be embarked for Bantry Bay, in Ireland, which
Mr. M'Geachy proposes as the British packet station.
Mr. M'Geachy estimates the time expended in this
route at 14 days 5 hours between Kingston (Jamaica)
and Ireland; thus:—
From Kingston to the west end of Jamaica,
say Montego Bay, by the projected railway 5 hrs.
To Batabano by steamer
Batabano to Havannah, by railway 2 do.
Havannah to Tampa Bay 44 do.
Tampa Bay to New York, by railway 3O do.

Jamaica to New York
New York to Halifax

125 do.
24 do.

Jamaica to Halifax

149 do.

Or 6 days 5 hrs.
Halifax to Bantry Bay, or Valentia 8 days

Jamaica to Ireland
The selection of Tampa Bay, as the place of arrival of
the steamers, appears to be particularly advantageous
for a company projected to carry out Mr. M`Geachy's
plan. The very great importance of the cities of New
Orleans and Mobile, as seats of commerce profitable as
well to the United States as to European nations, is
too well known to require observation from us. At
present the means of communication between these cities
and the principal commercial towns on the eastern coast
of America are extremely defective ; indeed, a sea
voyage between New York and New Orleans is at pre-
sent an undertaking equal to a passage across the At-
lantic. Tampa Bay would be comparatively but a few
hours steaming from the mouth of the Mississipi, and
the projected railroad would take the New Orleans mer-
chant to New York in thirty hours.
But Mr. M'Cleachy's project is not confined to the
western world. He proposes to establish another station
at Kingston, from whence the present communication
with Vera Cruz and Mexico, Honduras and the ports on
the Spanish Main, shall be continued, with the addition
of a direct line to Chagres, whence, by means of the pro-
jected railway or other passage across the Isthmus, upon
the plan of Captain Liot, an immediate line of commu-
nication will be established with the city and port of
Panama in the Pacific. And here begins another branch
of Mr. M`Geachy's project, which seems to render it
peculiarly deserving of the attention of the British
nation. A direct and rapid communication being
established with a large and safe harbour in the Pacific.
on the high way to China, what remains but to establish
a connexion by steam between that most important part
of the great continent of Asia, through Jamaica and
Panama ? Mr. M'Creachy estimates the passage of
large steamers between Panama and Canton at six
weeks, which, taking the passage from England by
the proposed route through Jamaica to Panama as
eighteen days, will open a direct communication to
China in little more than two months. If the voyage
between Panama and Canton be deemed too long for a
steamer, in consequence of her inability to carry coals
for so long a voyage, there appears no reason why coal
depots might not be established in the Sandwich Islands,
which would be almost directly in the route.
Mr. M‘Geacky also contemplates, and has designed a
t plan for embracing at some future period, in the general
1 ~,st,eme which he has laid down, the Brazilian empire
, 'and
‘,!ountries adjacent. by means of a railroad running
with the coast, and with the aid of steamers
parallel
runiiing
t,zreen a point in the eastern extremity of
Brazill and th.
e doast of Africa, to be again taken up by
rail way's.
The project, we ;:ave reason to believe, will, together
isplaying the lines c,,ntem-
with some beautiful m.lps
plated, be transmitted by the present mail to Sir Robert
Peel, having been previously submitted to Lord Elgin,
and to the beads of departmwts in the United States, as
well as in Canada and the oilier British provinces in
America, by all of whom it had been highly approved of.

THE LATE ATLANTIC GALE.
(From the New York Tribune.)
About the middle of Jan:larY
the Atlantic—continuing with ver commenced one of the
most terriffic and protracted t.
srepests that ever swept
aiatle, or rather no
of this disastrous and unparallelsld we"
in-
termissionthey for over 45 days. OulaCCO 111:.3 of the conse-
quencesyet comparatis ely few, but they are such :the,: ii,r.e, as
belief that a great number of vessels have:sBl.l.
total or partial shipwreck. Our fleet otu"lau'le the
ere eittier
packets, which have been for a
bmonth bey.l°‘
over-due
usual time, beating and staggeringla
hugeout the oces.oh:
d their
now
enveloped with ice, are looking pro-
cess of chrystalization, and aron Tee' lig ogfiemthsrolu h 10
or 20 degrees of latitude to the south, for theg purpose'
of getting thawed out. Icebergs, ov-stornasand
fierce hurricanes have beset these vessels on every
side, and the sea every now and then swept over
their decks, dashed in their bulwarks, carried storey their
boats, and left the crew helpless and freezing. Masts,
rigging, and sails, were carried away daily and n ightly,
and the sailors, officers, and passengers, have heel.' ox-
•hardships for sd
posed to indescribable
a - •
g. But
" ' Come—l will show you my poetic mint,' she snid—
eea she 'led the way to a room over the one in which we these excellent vessels, with their gallant captains and
which connot be contemplated without. shrinking.
NI 'ere sitUng. It was a very small place, but neat almost
crews have, so far as they have yet been heard from,
is ) a fault. There eras no author-litterings. Everything fully maintained the reputation which their successful
'1 /as in order. An open letter lay on the table. She
vointed to it, and said, lhingly
contests with winds and waves have heretofore won for
" ' An application gramf y autograph, and the postage Europe, and
unpaid. You cannot imagine how lam annoyed with have been long expected--the RosciUs, Sea,
On Saturday, four of these admirable vessels, which
albums and such matters. A person, who ought to have eye dim with
known better, sent me an album, lately, and begged a anxious heart and brightening many an
Hendrik Hudson, arrived in port, gladdening many an
1 piece from_ me, if it was only long enough to fill up a watching Below we publish the accounts of the pas-
-1 rage of sky-blue tinted paper, which he had selected for
1 is e to write upon.' rages t i
not*
.. In incidentally referring to her compositions, she
said
w hi
ch
wairl el
which reach the bottom of human sympathy.
likebe dpeeerpusseeda
lain'ietsh,
rtehst3.se
remain chiming iis my mind for days, ship R scius Captain A. Eldridge, sailed from
The 0 .
lie fore I commit them to paper. And
i b' rget many, which I compose as I sometimes . lquite •
Liverpool on the 13th January, experiencing continued
lie awake in bed. •
gales from N.W. and W.S.W., with rain, snow, and hail
(1., miposition is less a labour with
me
than the act of interspersed with thunder and lightning. January 26
„l iting down what has impressed me, excepting in the and 27, experienced a heavy gale from the N.W. and
ea se of blank verse, which always
lit e labour. My thoughts have beens involves something W.N.W., during which we shipped a heavy sea, stove
o useds to go in bulwarks in the waist, and filled the decks with water.
th a harness of rhyme, that when the
rix n without it, they are often diffused, o they
arrel uffered to February llth, in lat. 43 22, lon. 49 20, was running in
lose sight,
its the ardour of composition, of the 1 • a gale from S.E., wind hauled suddenly to N.W., and
leading idea alto-
ge ther.' blew a hurricane with great violence, accompanied with
o Mrs. Heman's voice was peculiarly musical, nd I sleet and snow, stove in the cabin windows, filling the
Wt ,old have given anything to have heard her and
cabin floor with water, hauled up fore-sail and
aoi ne of her own poetry; but I did not dare to hazarde fore-topsail, and made every exertion to furl
au ili a request, and feeling that I had intruded quite tb.em, but could not, owing to the excessive
hit ig enough on her time, I after a short time took cold weather, and the sails and rigging being full of
my i
d e pce, and many of the crew having their hands
" arture. I
must not omit to mention, for the especial benefit froz n. February 12, experienced another violent gale
or my fair readers, that Mrs. Hemsns' dress was simple the
most furiously ; weather extremely cold and
en et ugh. She wore a white gown (I really sin not learned the sea running very high, during which we carried
en laugh in such matters to say whether it was ©t cotton away all three topgallant .masts, stove in the starboard
or muslin), over which was thrown a black lace shawl— bulwarks in the gangway, letting in the sea constantly
of i her heal was a cap of very open net-work, without. on deck. Everything below and aloft being encumbered
fle wen or ornament of any kind." with ice rendered it impossible for the men to work the
ship- The three topgallant-masts thumping to and fro,
We have quoted sufficient to show that there is plea- cutting and chafing the spars and rigging, and all the
stvi it reading in thi. work :—it will gratify curiosity sails blowing from the gaskets to atoms. making upon
alat •tit eminent people, a-1 its own literary merit ought thehe whole, a dismal scene. February 13, shipped a
to. is, take it live far be} and ts., season. As we are " no- offavloyalhea,hasttoohveesbow house., tore tarpaulins, and worked
tl tin '
aif not critical," 'aye may riniark that Dire. Fry h From
all January leant
, g in large quantities of water.
20 to let March, we did not make one

point of eastern, and had to go south to thaw the ice on
tl.e rigging and sails. Saw some ice to the east of the
banks.
The ship Sea had heavy gales from W.N.W.
to W.S.W. from the 25th of January to the 10th of
February, when we were on the banks; fresh breeze from
W.N.W. and very cold weather; much ice about the ship
fo, ward. Toward noon the wind hauled S.W., and in
the afternoon went round by N.W. to N.N.E.; moderate
breeze and light showers of snow. In the evening the
wind freshened, and at 9 o'clock it came on a very
severe snow storm, and blew hard from north; ten of the
crew laid up from the effects of the cold, one man suffer-
ing severely; lost foreyarrl ; split the maintopsail; lost
the mainsail and foretopsail; the ship so much iced,
and so many hands laid up, could not do anything
with the satl4, everything being in such a state
wish the ice; had to bear away on the morning of
the 11th, and run to the southward to thaw off. During
the whole of the day and night of the 11th, it blew a
violent gale from the north, snowing hard all the time.
On the morning of the 12th hove to, in let. 41 20 N ,
lon. 50 35 W. ; when I bore away I was in Ist. 45 30,
lon. 52 45 W. After repairing damages, stood up to
northward again, having drifted back to lon. 49 25 W.,
in lat 41 20 N. February 16 and 17.—Lat. ot 42 north,
lon. 51 40, experienced a very heavy gale from N. by
W. and N.N.W., with a heavy sea running, which
caused the ship to labour exceedingly heavy, and make
a great deal of water. On the 10th, bad strong wind
from N.W. Latitude at noon, 40 55 N., lon. 53 45 W.,
in company with the Roscius all day. Bore down to
her, and showed signals. She had lost all her top-gal-
lant [nests. On the 19th it blew a heavy gale from
N.W. and N.N.W., with violent squalls, and a heavy sea
running. Finding the crew were getting pretty well
fagged out, and having four hanc's still laid up, stood
across the Gulf. Split the foretopsail and mizen-
topsail. February 27, off Bermuda, had strong
gales from N.W., with a heavy long sea running from
the N.N.W., ship labouring heavy, and making so much
as kept both pumps going, making nearly 3,000 strokes
per hour. March 2, heavy gales from S.E. to S.W. with
a tremendous heavy sea from N.E. In lat. 35 10 N.,
lon. 71 30 W., passed close to a vessel in the morning,
waterlogged and abandonned ; the foremast, the fore-
topmast, and bowsprit were still standing ; the main
and mizan masts were gone about six feet above the
deck, the jib-boom broke short off by the cap ; some
part of the foretopsail had been put round outside the
foretopmast rigging, as if the crew had been living in
the foretop, but there was no person there when I pas-ed
her ; the anchors were on the forcastle, the bowsprit
and lower masts were bright varnished, yards black ;
she had painted ports, a full woman figure-head, with
a green dress ; she appeared to be a vessel of about 500
tons, and I have no doubt of her being a British vessel ;
but whether a bark or a ship, I cannot say. During
the afternoon and all the night of the 2nd, until half-past
3 o'clock a.m. of the 3d, we lay becalmed, with the most
tremendous sea running from N.E. that I ever saw,
breaking at times the same as on a reef. I expected to
have lost all our masts at one time, the ship laboured so
very bad. When the wind came out, it came all of a
sudden, like the report of a cannon, and blew hard from
N.N.E. Barometer stood at 29 10 until the gale reached
the ship, when it immediately began to rise. It blew
hard N.N.E. all day on the 3d, with a very heavy sea,
breaking a great deal. At nine o'clock a.m. passed
close to the bark Cantero, of Portland, lying to, under
bare poles. At this time we had nearly three feet of
water in the hold ; but finding that we had gained on her
since 6 39, kept on our course. After an hour and a half,
got the pumps to suck, having now been several hours
without being able to get the pumps to work. On the
evening of the 4th, off Currituck, spoke a Baltimore
pilot-boat. We then made 3,840 strokes per hour,
both pumps constantly going. On the 6th, at daylight,
took a pilot boat off Egg Harbour.
The packet ship Europe experienced, during the
whole passage, constant gales and heavy seas—lost sails
and spars. Was off Barnegat on Sunday last, and was
compelled to stand off on account of the north-east gale.
March 4th, lat. 37, long. 72 46, fell in with the wreck
of schooner Pembroke of Casting. She appeared to have
been dismasted but a few hours previous, as the spars
were still attached to her, and a large part of the deck
floating within 100 yards of the hull, which appeared to
have been ripped up by the falling of the masts. There
was nothing above water but the bowsprit and a little of
the larboard side and the stern. Shortly after fell in
with the wreck of the brig Orione, Captain Bowne,
laden with molasses, of and for Philadelphia, from Car
denas, which place she left on the 24th ult., and took
from her the captain, mate, and six men. During the
north-east gale on the night of the 2d instant, she lost
both masts, and the deck was swept clean of every
thing thereon. Captain Bowne, the mate, and one of the
men were much bruised and completely exhausted when
taken on board of the Europe.

THE LOSS OF THE EMIGRANT
SHIP CATARAt:.tUE.

Copies of correspondence respecting the loss of the
emigrant sh;p Cataraque (in Bass Straits in August last
having three hundred and sixty• nine emigrants on
board) have been published, by order of the House of
Commons. The following is an extract from these
documents :

Colonial Land and Emigration Office, 9, Park-
street, Westminster, Feb. 6, 1846.
Sir,—With reference to the intelligence which appears
in this day's public papers of the melancholy loss of the
Cataraque emigrant ship, we think it probable that Mr.
Secretary Gladstone may desire to receive an early
report from us of such circumstances as fall within our
knowledge concerning this vessel.
She was submitted by the Messrs. Smith and Sons, of
Liverpool, for approval, on the 11th of March, 1855, for
the purpose of conveying to Port Philip the residue of
the emigrants they were entitled to send out under the
bounty contract of 1843. On the 12th of March, Lieu-
tenant Henry, R.N., the Government emigration agent
at Liverpool, was instructed "to make a strict and
thorough examination of the vessel while in dock." lie
replied, by stating, on the Bth of April, that the ship
"had had a thorough overhaul, and been found perfectly
sound." On the same day, the owner transmitted the
inclosed certificate of Lloyd's committee, showing that
the vessel had been surveyed by their surveyor a few
days before, and been placed on the first description of
the first class for five years, from 1840, including, there-
f ,re, the current year. Under these circumstances, the
employment of this ship in the conveyance of emigrants
on bounty was agreed to.
By the nature of the catastrophe, it will be perceived
to have been one in which the seaworthiness of the ship
is not brought in question. Being cast upon a reef of
rocks, in the midst of what is described as a " fearful
gale," with the waves running " mountains high," no
vessel constructed by human skill could hold together.
She struck at about half-past four A. 1. ; but it was not
rill four P.M. that she is said to have parted, nor does
the destruction appear to have been complete till the
next dAy. During the whole time the published ac-
counts represent the gale as continuing to rage.
Immediately on hearing a rumour of the vessel's
having been wrecked, we requested Lieut. Hodder to in-
quire into the character borne by the master and chief
mate; and we beg to enclose an extract containing hi.
reply on this point, from whence it will be seen that no
doubt whatever appears to exist of their competency and
fitness in all respects for their trust.
The calamity is by far the greatest which has occured
to any emigrant ship within our recollection ; and, in-
deed, it is the only occasion of any loss of life whatever
from any similar cause in a ship carrying passengers at
the public expense, since the creation of an office for
superintending this service in 1837. T: :e number of
vessels which have been sent out under the direct
Government inspection since that date has been 208,
conveying 41,842 passengers. Deeply as the present
event is to be deplored, we can only hope that it may ap-
pear from the foregoing statement, that it has not arisen
from an omission of any of the precautions which could
be taken in dispatching the vessel OR her voyage.
We have, &c.,
T. FRED. ELLIOT.

(Signed)

James gtephen,Esq. C. ALEXANDER WOOD.
It may be remembered that out of 441 passengers and
crew, only nine persons were saved. Of the crew, con
sisting of 41 men, the first mate, Mr. Guthry, six sea-
men and one apprentice survived ; but of the emigrant
passengers, one alone was saved, namely Solomon Brown,
a labourer, from Sutton, Bedfordshire. His wife and
four children, daughters, all perished. These returns
contain an alphabetical list of the emigrants on board.
fdlowing are a few of the most deplorable instances
of toe extensive destruction of entire families from
among the number :—Charles Knott, his wife, and seven
children nerlahed ; William Cook, his wife, with six
sons and daughters ; Patrick Maguire, his wife,
and seven sons and daughters ; Anthony Aiurray,
his wife, and nine children ; Bernard M`Caffrey, his
wife and sister, and six children ; Emos Pierce, his
wife, and seven children ; and numerous other
e -tees where fathers, and seven children were thus in •
scan taneonsly swept from existence. There were alto-
gethe." 6cfamilies on board, numbering 313 persons ;
besides 33 unmarried females, and 23 unmarried males.
%calamitous loss of life and property The folio loiter regards what is stated might have
AtiILI;TTER FROM CAPTAIN HAMILTON, R.N., TO
eTAMES STEPHEN, ESQ.
Cpore:y,enoterd

Admiralty, Feb. 14, 1
my Lords Commissioners
commanded
byyou will br!n,rt the following
Sir,—l aln
ticre of Mr. Secretary of the Admi,"alty to request
t;ladstone.
which has been done, and the chart
of disastrous wrecks that had occurred
devrmined
faclt.s
Ttohothueumn(i;
my Lords to have it tho-
irnoußghasl; S t
surveyed,raits ,
published, and nothing is wanted to its free navigation
but judicious lights.
In the years 1841 and 1842, a Committee of the
Wales examined our survey-
Legislature of New South
ing officers, and other evidence, on the best positions for
these lights. Similar steps were taken in Van Diemen's
Land ; sites were fixed, and the Lieutenant-Governor
laid the first stones of one or two of them at the eastern
end of the straits.
been done, though each year
Since that, nothing has
has been marked by more or less loss of life ; and the
last mail from Sydney adds to the catalogue an account
of the wreck, on King Island, or Ole Cataraque, in which
four hundred and fourteen emigran:s perishe e Otway,
d.
A single light on that island, or on Cap
would have prevented this frightful misrortune.
2. Under these circumstances, my Lords trust her Ma-
jesty's Government will take such measures as they mar
deem proper, to insure proper lighthouses being erectcd
to prevent such disaster- in future ; and in the mean
time my Lords will consider it their duty to prevent
navigatinglitg;ataind tthheeysawidoulsdtrraeitcsointimll
elnigdhtthhuotuesemsighraa
transports, with troops or with convicts, to attempt
vuet
ships
should he also prohibited from navigating them for the
same period. I have, &c.,
(Signed) W. A. B. HAMILTON.
To Jas. Stephen, Esq.