The Sun.
London, England, 1848-10-24 00:00:00

COLLISION AT SEA.

Ocr. 22.—Some anxiety was mani-
fested yesterday in consequence of the non-arrival of
the Sir Francis Drake steam7packet, Captain Wm.
Sadler, a regular trader, which usually leaves
Guernsey on Friday evenings, and reaches here early
on Saturdays. However, this (Sunday) morning, at
one o'clock, she arrived safe at her moorings in
Stonehouse Pool, having been detained at Guernsey
all Friday night by strong northerly minis, and off
the Start last night by coming in contact with
a brig.

The Drake left the islands at nine o'clock yesterday
morning, and had heavy westerly winds all day. In
the evening, at eight o'clock, when very dark, Start
point bearing N.E., distant six, or seven miles, the
ship's head N. W. by N., carrying foresail with sheet
hauled flat aft, saw on the starboard bow a small I
glimmering light, which suddenly disappeared; ten
minutes after, within two ship's lengths, by the re-
fle,ction of her galley fire upon her sails, a strange
brig was suddenly discovered running before the
wind. Seeing that a 'collision was inevitable, the
Drake's helm was immediately put hard aport, and
her engines stopped as quickly as possible. The
brig's helm was put hard astarboard, by which she
came alongside the Drake ; her fore channels struck
the steamer's wales with a sliding blow, and,
in a heavy rolling sea, both vessels became
entangled. The Drake, in backing astern to
clear, hooked her bobstay in the brig's anchor,
and dragged away her own bowsprit, her figure-
head, and cutwater, and knocked off some of
her larboard paddle floats against the brig's starboard
main channels ; at the same time her spurbeam
carried away the brig's fore and midship bulwarks
and staunchions. When clear they found on board
the steamer three of the brig's hands belonging to
the watch below, who had jumped out of their berths
and left their vessel, expecting she would go down.
'Phis fear for some time prevailed in the minds of her
master and the rest of her crew, and finally induced
Captain Sadler, who continued near, to permit his
chief officer, Mr. Libbey, and one of his best hands,
volunteers, to go on board in the Drake's boat, and
pilot the brig into Dartmouth, whence she was distant
two hours' sail.

The brig is the Sophia, of Rochester, 110 tons re-
gister, from Swansea, heavily laden with 300 tons of
coal for. Rochester. On Wednesday night, the 18th
inst., she experienced stormy weather in the Channel,
and lost all her boats. On Thursday she took shelter
in Plymouth. Without purchasing new boats she
left again on Saturday morning. At the time of the
collisio❑ she was steerng E.S.E. under main royal,
with the weather clew of her mainsail hauled up, and
did not exhibit any lights. Her crew, how-
ever, half an hour before, clearly distinguished
the two paddle-box and mast-head lights of the
steamer.

The Drake had 60 cabin and steerage, passengers,
many of whom were on deck at the time of the colli-
sion ; although at first more or less alarmed, they sub-
sequently expressed their entire satisfaction with the
course pursued by Captain Sadler.

SHEERNESS.—Great apprehensions are entertained
that the town of Sheerness, surrounded as it is by pestife-
rous ditches, presents but too favourable an aspect for the
introduction of cholera amongst its crowded streets. The
garrison and arsenal, it is true, exhibit the most perfect
models of neatness, order, and cleanliness, but they are
surrounded by a town which, for filth, want of drainage,
and a complete absence of sewers, has no equal in her
Majesty's dominions. The narrowest streets and alleys are
crowded with houses of the lowest description, mixed
with piggeries, cow-sheds, stables, slaughter-houses, heaps
of foetid manure, and every abomination that can pollute
the atmosphere and promote disease. The offal of a
population of eight thousand lies upon the surface of the
streets and alleys in its most disgusting form. The
only semblance to a drain is a ditch which surrounds
the town, full of black and stagnant matter, and forms
the last receptacle for all the carrion that is too bulky
and offensive to wither in the streets. The malaria
arising from these combinations is so deleterious,
that the men employed in the dockyard suffer severely
from it by constant and prolonged illness. It is to he
hoped that the Government, or the Board of Health,
will not wait till the cholera has commenced its ravages
in this well-prepared hotbed of disease. If the inhabi-
tants will not take the proper means for securing the
aid of the General Board of Health, surely the garrison
and arsenal should not be exposed to such danger.
HISTORY OF TN UNITIID STATES' N AVY—CU-
RIOUS EFTURN.—An official work thus briefly sums up
the casualties among naval officers since the United
States have had a navy:—Died, 994; killed in action,
52; killed in duels, 21; killed by accidents, 7; drowned,
67; lost at sea, 87; murdered, 6; resigned, 1,635; dis-
missed, 402; cashiered, 51; discharged under peace es-
tablishment, 227; discharged, 106; last appearance, or
unknown, 545; deserted, 3; in service, I,sos—total,
5,758.
The Rev. Dr. Marsh was installed as Honorary
Canon of the Cathedral Church of Worcester on Mon-
day last, by virtue of a mandate from the Lord Bishop
of the diocese.