The Sun.
London, England, 1870-05-19 00:00:00

THE SUEZ CANAL.

On Tuesday was published the report of Capt, Richards
Hydrographer to the Admiralty, and Lieutenant Colonel
Clarke, Director of Engineering and Architectural Works,
on the condition and capabilities of the Suez Canal. The
report is of considerable length and of much interest. The
conclusions ccnne to are the following :-4. That for a
certain class of vesszAsithis great work, which must always
be a monument of persevering energy and engineering
skill, as it now stands, is a convenient mode of passage
from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea, g.it will
be so to a greater extent when the works contem-
plated, viz., the deepening of certain shallow parts,
the enlargement of the Bares, and the widening and
improvement of the curves, are carried out. 3. That it is
available for the transit of ships employed in the Eastern
seas, with the exception of the large ironclads, and other
exceptionally heavy vessels. 4. That for the present type
of Indian transports it is not a desirable route. 5. Further,
we think that the cost of maintenance will not exceed
the amount estimated for it the work was first
projected.

FATAL COLLISION WITH AN EMIGRANT
SHIP.

Early on Sunday, the Ist instant, a disastrous collision
occurred on the River St. Lawrence, about 115 miles be-
low Quebec. The screw steamer Germany, of 2,075 tons,
Captain John Graham, left Liverpool for Quebec on
Good Friday with over 800 passengers and crew and arrived
in the river after a passage of fifteen days. Having taken
a pilot on board on Saturday night, April 30th,
a little below Farther Point, and, the weather being clear
she was proceeding at full speed up the St. Lawrence,
when, at twenty minutes past three in the morn-
ing she came in collision with the steamer
City of Quebec, 592 tons, Captain Connell, belong-
ing to the Quebec and Gulf Ports Steamship
Company. The latter vessel was carrying the qw,rni-
meat mails, and a full cargo of stores and commercial
wares, from Montreal to Quebec, to the ports on the south
coast of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The force of the
collision was terrific, the Germany cutting • down
the City of Quebec just before the paddle-box
on the port side. It was at once evident that
the ship was fast sinking. Passengers and crew to the
number of 59 managed to save their lives by climb-
ing on to the forecastle of the Germany over
the anchor; but unfortunately the third engineer
was killed in 14s berth, and two steerage passengers
whomone of was said to be lame, were also lost.
Another passenger, a Frenchman, after escaping from the
sinking ship, was killed by the fall of the Germany's fore
royal-mast, thus making a total loss of four lives. After
remaining locked together for some twelve or
fifteen minutes, the Germany backed her engines, when
the City of Quebec immediately settled by the head,
threw her stern many feet into the air, and went down
bow foremost, leaving no trace behind ter but a boiling
whirlpool to mark the spot where she disappeared. The
eecape of the Germany, with her immense num-
ber of passengers, may be considered most pro-
vidential. Directly after the disaster a fire broke out
in a_ saloon cabin, but was soon got under. The vessel
proceeded slowly to Qvebec with three large holes letting
daylight right through her starboard bow. Fortunately the
holes were just above the water line, and the water was per-
fectly smooth, or she must have inevitably filled. The
passengers, who consisted of about equal numbers of Eng-
lish, Germans, and Norwegians, worked all the Sunday
morning in removing the heavy cargo from the fore part
of the ship, to prevent her settling by the head, and she
arrived safely at Quebec at sunset. The cause of the col-
lision cannot be rightly ascertained until the official
inquiry takes place.

The Russian Government has decidsd to admit
women into the Medical University a st. Petersburg,
after passing an examination. They will be taught se-
parately from the male students,and the whole course
of study is limited to a period of four years. A diploma
as midwife, which confers the right to practice, is to
be given to those who go through all the prescribed ex-
aminations.

Yesterday morning a number of boysand young men
were bathing in the river, off Rotherhithe, when a
boy named joseph Smithers, aged 14, got out of his
depth and immediately disappeared. His b,rother, who
was standing on the shore, at'once jumped into the water
to his rescue, when he went under and disappeared also.
A cry was raised, and assistance was almost immediately
at hand. Everything was done to save the boys, but
without avail.

An Oxford correspondent writes that no intelli-
gence of the gentleman who disappeared from Christ
Church on Sunday night has as yet been received, but the
police have been sent in search of him. There is a rumour
that the other culprits intend declaring themselves to the
Dean, but it is doubtful whether he has any power to
receive their confession after legal proceedings have been
instituted, nor, in fact, does the matter rest with him at
all, but with the governing body, who announced on Mon-
day their determination that nothing should stop the legal
proceedings.

SHIPWRECK AND Lass OF LIFE.—A sloop ran
ashore on Tuesday on Skinburness Point, during a heavy
gale, when her mast went over the side and she filled with
water. The lifeboat Angela and Hannah, belonging to
the National Lifeboat Institution, and stationed at Silloth,
near Carlisle, was launched, and through a fearful sea
followed the sloop, which had floated and drifted round
Grune Point and up the river Wampool. On arriving.
alongside, however, they found the vessel abandoned, and
it afterwards appeared that the crew of two men were
drowned before the sloop could be reached.

At the Mansion House yesterday, the Lord Mayor cal!el
the attention of the reporters to a communication he had
received from some emigrants who had been sent
to Omaha, in the United States, through the American
FAmigration Agency in London, and who complained that
the prospects that had been held out to them had not
been realised. He proposed to hand the communication
to Captain. Fisher, the emiration agent for the port of
London, who happened tote present, for him to take
such measures as might be necessary. The
letter was then handed to Captain Fisher. It
was signed Thomas Attry, and dated Nebraska,
United States, the 23rd of April, 1870. It was written
on behalf of some emigrants whose signatures were en-
closed on a separate piece of paper, and it stated
that they were only able to obtain wages sufficient to pay
for their board and lodging. The signatures were not very
numerous, there being only nine or ten.

ROYAL STRAND THEATRE.
Sole Lessee and Manageress, Mrs. Swanborough.
THIS ENENING, at 7 o'clock, WIDOW'S WEED Messrs.
Crouch, Turner, and Mesdames E. Bufton and Anstiss.
Followed by SIR GEORGE AND A DRAGON. Messrs James,
Terry, Fenton; Mesdames Sant:ey, Dashwood, Goodall, Hughes,
A nada 4, and Metcalfe.
And A lam OUT OF WATER