The Sun.
London, England, 1869-01-01 00:00:00

ALARMING ACCIDENT.

CORONATION OF. THE QUEEN OF
MADAGASCAR.

The following extract from a letter written by the Rev.
W. E. Cousins, and published in the English Independent,
will be read with interest :
" On Thursday, September 3, we found Andohalo crowded,
with the exception of the roads preserved for the Queen
and her attendants. Every piece of ground on the rising
ground surrounding it was filled with spectators. Soon
after nine guns announced that she had left the palace, and
soon parts of the procession began to arrive. All the
female members of the near branches of the Royal Family
were clothed in scarlet from head to foot. The wives of
the officers, &c. (some 100 or 150), were dressed in Euro-
pean clothing, some of them looking very nice, and others,
as you may well imagine, perfectly hideous. Then
came two brass cannons then soldiers in their
different uniforms. Great advance has been made in
the dresses of the soldiers since we have been here, and
they really looked very well. Then came the officers of
higher rank, in most expensive dresses, velvet of all hues
and gold lace in profusion.. Then came the Queen, in a
handsome gilded palanquin, with the scarlet umbrella,
and her usual attendants. When she reached
a stone upon which for generations it has been
customary for new sovereigns to stand, she al-
lighted, and walking over the stone, accom-
panied by the Prime Minister and other high officers,
she went to the throne prepared for her. The canopy
under which she sat was in excellent taste. The pillars
were of green with gold moulding, and the hangings of
green and gold too. The dome-shaped roof was of
scarlet velvet prettily ornamented with silver spear-heads
crossed at the corners. Beneath the dome were
inscribed on the four different sides the following words :
`Glory to God ;" Peace on earth ;" Goodwill to men ;
`May God be with us ' At the side of the Queen's seat was a
small gilded table, upon white-was, placed a very hand-
somely bound Malagasy Bible, and a copy of the laws of
Madagascar. As soon as the Queen had taken her place
the scarlet-clothed ladies above-mentioned were taken to
seats on the south of the Queen on the platform, and the
French and ourselves weie placed on the north side of the
same. We thus had a very honourable position, and one
from which we could see the whole proceedings. The Prime
Minister, as first subject, took his place among the people
below. He was dressed in a white velvet suit trimmed
with gold, with blue leather boots. A little boy about
twelve or fourteen acted as his shield-bearer. Behind him
stood some 200 officers, dressed chiefly in velvet. As soon
as the firing of cannons had subsided, the Queen stood up
and delivered her speech. The sentence in which she alluded
to Christianity was as follows :

" ' And as to the praying, it is not compulsory, nor is
there any hindrance, for God made you.'
"The Queen was very collected, and spoke distinctly,
but of course she could not be heard by the thousands
who were present. We are happy to know the speech is
to be printed, and circulated freely. After the Queen's
Speech the laws were proclaimed, upwards of eighty
in all, and these, too, are to be printed. After this the
presentation of 'basins,' commenced. The heads of
the different tribes came forward in parties, and made
their short congratulatory addresses one by one, and
presented their dollars. The dresses of some of these
chiefs were most rich and yet grotesque ; the colours of
some of their lambas were magnificent, and many wore
cfoured silk turbans.

"After some few had presented their basins, first the
French and then we did the same. Speeches and assu-
rances of loyalty continued till nearly three, and were
closed with a most energetic and well-received speech from
the Prime Minister, and then the proceedings terminated,
having lasted about five hours. The mass of people
was a splendid sight as we looked down upon it. It
was variously thought to comprise from 300,000' to
500,000. On the day following the coronation the
Queen went down to Imahamasina, which was filled
with people gathered together to hold what is called a
lauonana,' a kind of festival or time of general rejoicing.
As soon as the Queen had taken her place, a general
dancing commenced, or what is called dancing. Hats
and bands were waved, and everyone's body was in motion,
the Queen standing up, and answering the people by a con-
tinual motion of her hands. • This was kept up for about
five minutes, and then all was still again. The effect of
this dancing was very strange. There was not the energy
and enthusiasm of English cheers, but it was rather
exciting, nevertheless.

"For about three hours different parties came and
danced before the Queen, and then the assembly broke
up.,,

It is the intention of the Conservatives of Ware-
ham to invite Mr. Drs.; the newly-elected Conservative
member, to a grand banquet, to bo held about tho second
week in January.

A man named Thomas James, a collier, about 25
years of age, bas been arrested at Halifax, on suspicion of
being the perpetrator of the Wigan murder. His conduct
since being in custody leads to the belief that he is either
guilty or affected with insanity.

At a meeting of the members of the St. James's
vestry, Westminster, held yesterday, it was agreed that
Government should be asked not to fill up the office of Chief
Commissioner of Police until a Parliamentary inquiry has
been instituted respecting the organisation of the police
force generally.

The members of the Leeds Chamber of Commerce
intend, at their next annual meeting, to present Mr. G. S.
Beecroft, the ox-member for Leeds, with a testimonial of the
high respect in which they hold him. It consists of a hand-
some silver epergne. Tho presentation will probably be
made in the course of two or three weeks,

The Huddersfield Chamber of Commerce has
already taken action on the announcement from the Board
of Trade that the Austrian Iteichsrath and the Hungarian
Diet having been prorogued without their assent having
been obtained to the Supplemental Commercial Convention
with England, signed at Vienna on the Ist of July last, the
Convention wi:l not be brought into force on the let of
January next, as therein stipulated. A resolution, reading
remarkably like a remonstranc-, has lean adopted by the
chamber.

At Judges' Chambers, yesterday, the King's
Lynn election petition against the return of the Ron. Mr.
Bourke was before Justice Willos, when a discussion took
place on an allegation of illegal practices, and as to
the conveyance of voters to the poll. Particulars
were to be given in four days as to the allegations
of bribery, treating, or intimidation, &c. Mr. Justice Willes
said the Scotch judges had adopted the practice that names
should be given in three days before the trial. His lordship
)bserved that it was mentioned in the newspapers " within"
three days. The order was three days before the trial. The
:eased judge amended the order in thi,3 case,

A most alarming accident happened on Tuesday after-
noon at Hebburn-on-Tyne, which for some minutes
placed the lives of about 100 persons in the greatest
danger, and caused the most painful consternation
amongst the inhabitants of Hebburn Quay. The
immediate cause of this alarm was the capsizing
of a large new iron screw steamer whilst being launched
from the shipbuilding yard of Messrs. Leslie and Com-
pany. About half-past three o'clock in the afternoon a
newly-finished screw steamer for a Liverpool firm was
launched, and on the-occasion a large number of the men
and apprentices in the yard remained on board while
she glided into the water. The steamer, which
has been built on an exceedingly fine model, ...after leaving
the stocks, slipped steadily and smoothly, but on touching
the water she immediately "canted" to one side, and con-
tinued to lean over on her port side. The consequence
was that the whole of those on board were knocked off
their legs, and falling on the deck, slid down to the side
touching the water. Though rolled one on top of the
other, singular to say, not one of the hundred men and
boys on board was thrown from the deck into the water.
But it is feared that, thus unexpectedly and promiscuously
heaped together, many have sustained severe bruises.
Only one case of a serious nature is reported.
The vessel, it seems, was launched without any ballast in
her whatever, and being very sharply finished about the
keel, and slightly top heavy, reeled on her port side, fling-
ing the whole of those on board in a heap against the
bulwarks. Immediately the nature of the accident was
observed, boats put off in all directions from the shore
to the rescue, and after the alarm had subsided, and those
on board had partly recovered from their fright, they were
safely brought ashore. Fortunately, at the time of the
occurrence several of those on board the ship were em-
ployed in the hold, and escaped with only a. few scratches.
—Northern Daily Express.