The Sun.
London, England, 1870-04-18 00:00:00

A HURRICANE IN THE WEST INDIES.

One of the most tremendous hurricanes that has ever
devastated the West, Indies since 1783, was that of
August, 1831. On the night before, at Barbadoes, the
sea and air seemed restless and troubled, there were many
signs of unsettled weather and an impending gale; but still
nothing unusual was anticipated. The wind kept gusty
and fitful, and about ten p.m., there was a shower of rain
which was succeeded by a treacherous calm. After this
a dense mass of black cloud gathered over the horizon,
and hung there in deep gloom. About midnight a severe
squall burst forth from this darkness, and fierce and
sweeping rain followed, the wind blowing hard from the
north-east, and every moment increasing in violence.
Louder and louder it grew, till by three o'clock it had
increased to a hurricane that raged over thewhole island
till five o'clock, the lightning every few minutes cleaving
the darkness with keen blades of blue flame. Wherever
the hurricane spread the houses were levelled to the earth,
or the roofs blown off. The largest trees were torn up
from their roots, or were snapped in two like reeds.
Many persons were buri▪
ed under the ruins of the houses
and huts, and the survivors
cast forth to the storm and
rain, at the same time bei▪
ng exposed to instant death from
the ceaseless and dangerous drift of scattered boughs and
timbers. The wind blew
alternately from every point of
the compasss After veering to east it went back to north-
west, shifted fiercely to east, veered to south-east, and
about six o'clock in the morning broke from the south-
west with tenfold fury, accompanied by a perfect deluge
of rain. This continued for two hours, and during
all this time the houseless suffered both bodily and
mental torture. In many cases delicate women, risen
from a sick bed, and half naked, had to remain in the
open fields, separated from their husbands and children.
Many infants, too, lost by their mothers,were left exposed
to the storm. Everywhere was desolation, mourning,
and woe. Those churches that were left were converted
into hospital depots for the wounded ; the dead were
piled in heaps till graves could be dug. About six
thousand persons altogether perished at Barbadoes
in this storm. This storm only touched a part of St.
Lucia ; after a few hours the wind there went entirely'
down, and the evening was beautiful and calm. At
St. Vincent's every building was blown over and the
town destroyed. At Granada nineteen sail of loaded
Dutch ships were stranded and beaten to pieces.
Four ships foundered off Martinique. In the town of St.'
Pierre more than a thousand persons perished. At Fort
Royal, the cathedral, seven churcdes, and fourteen
hundred houses were blown down, and the hospital of
Notre Dame, in which were sixteen hundred sick and
wounded, fell and crushed the greater part of the
inmates. Altogether, about nine thousand persons
perished in Martinique alone.—Tortola, too, suffered
severaiy. The whole town of Rood Harbour was demo-
lished, two-thirds of the sugar-houses, and all the negro
huts were destroyed, and 100 persons perished.—Ail the
Year .Round.

fiAttWAY TAXATIO*.—The Railway News sktes
that the alteration of the payment made by railway com-
panies of 5 per cent. on passenger traffic receipts to a
duty of 1 per cent. on gross receipts from all sources will
affect the dividends on the various ordinary stocks to
the following extent : The South-Eastern, London
and Brighton, and Metropolitan companies benefit,
as might be expected, the most. The Caledonian and
Sheffield, on the other hand, lose by the alteration. Great
Northern is increased by is. 6d. per cent. per annum,
ditto A (deferred), 35.; Brighton Ordinary, ss. 3d_ .•, South-
Eastern ditto, ss. 6d.; ditto A (deferred), 11e.; Metropo-
litan. Ordinary, 4s. 3d.; Great Eastern ditto, 2s. 2d.; Great
Western ditto 2s. 9d.; London and North-Western ditto,
Is. 2d. Caledonian Ordinary will lose 2s. 7d. per cent. per
annum ; Sheffield ditto, 2s. Id.; Midland ditto, 7d.; 1,4414
datire ancl Ittlidgm a; Istarth-ZAAerp, N„