The Sun.
London, England, 1869-09-14 00:00:00

7'HE GALE.

The terrific gale which has been prevalent far the last
• three or four days, and which still continues unabated,
has caused great damage both on sea and shore, and
many lives have been lost. The ports round the coast are
reported full of shipping, and a large number of vessels
have run into the Medway for shelter. At Sheerness addi-
tional precautions were taken to insure the safety of the
vessels which lay moored there by letting down extra
anchors. In the North Sea several vessels were observed
on Saturday night evidently in distress, as the sea at
the time was running very high, and one, a brig, is
reported to have foundered about ten miles from
Harwich with all hands. In the Thames, precautions
were taken for the prevention of collisions by the break.
ing away of vessels from their moorings. Several
collisions, only one or two of which were of a serious
nature, were, however, reported. A paddle steamer
from the Continent, while steaming up the Pool, came
against a Rochester sailing barge called the Henry, and
the man at the helm of the latter was knocked into
the water. A life-buoy was thrown to him from the
steamer, which he managed to catch hold of, and
he was safely got on board again. A large amount
of damage is reported in the metropolis as resulting
from the force of the wind. As usual, chimney-
pots and tiles came down with every strong gust of
wind, but it would not appear, though several persons
were hurt, that the injuries were of a serious nature. In
the metropolitan parks small trees and shrubs have been
uprooted. At Windsor the gale during the last two days
and nights has causeed much havoc among the ancient trees
in Windsor Forest and the Home Park. Large branches
of the fine old elms, particularly in the Long Walk and
Queen Anne's ride, which have weathered the storms
for nearly two centuries, have been torn away by the
violence of the winds, and are strewed over the avenues
and drives from one end to-to the other; and at the new
lodge at the entrance of the Long Walk, occupied by the
gamekeeper, a window was blown out. At Ramsgate the
wind blew very heavily all Saturday night, and a great
deal of rain fell. As morning broke on Sunday, signals of
distress were heard from various points. The lifeboat
Quiver put to sea from Margate at half-past seven on Sun-
day morning, and was afloat and out of sight all day in the
endeavour to assist the distressed mariners, who were
taken to the Sailors' Home and their wants duly attended
to by Mr. Hodges, the Italian Consul at Ramsgate. The
Unity sloop, of Portsmouth, Captain W. Russell, drove
ashore off Margate during the storm, and became a total
wreck. The Siren, of Naples, Captain Cucace, from Bar.
letta for London, laden with beans, parted from her
anchor and chains, and driving ashore on the Tongue
Sand, became a total wreck, The crew of the steamtug
John Bull fortunately succeeded in saving every one of
those on board. A number of vessels were towed intl,
Ramsgate Habour with their sails entirely blown a" ay or
torn to ribands. The Chance, of and from Dartmouth
for Goole, with a cargo of wheat, was assisted in in a
sinking condition, with loss of both anchors and chains
and sails, having experienced terrrific weather since pass-
ing Beachy Head. At Ryde a tremendous gale has been
raging since midnight on Saturday. The Volant drove
ashore at daylight. The lifeboat put off, and saved
Mr. and Mrs. H. C. Mudslay and the crew. The yacht
will most likely be a tots wreck.
The Liverpool Mercury reports the loss of the steamer
Golden Fleece, for Alexandria. She had gone to Cardiff
to load coals, and on completing her lading, anchored in the
stream off Sulley. On Friday night, at ten o'clock, she
was found to be almost full of water -so full, in fact,
that before the cable could be slipped and the vessel got
tinder way, for the shore to be reached, she sank. No
cause, says the Mercury, is assigned for this accident. The
Golden Fleece was a fine steamer of 2,091 tons and 300-
horse power. Another account says the steamer ran
ashore in a fog, and immediately commenced sinking.
At Portsmouth the greatest force of the wind was felt
about six o'clock on Sunday morning, A large shed,
running parallel with the boundary wall of the Hasler
gunboat yard, was blown down, some portions of it being
carried over the wall into the road, and other portions
into the back gardens of the Naval Hospital. There was
again a tremendous tide, and the Queen's waiting-room at
Clarence-yard, which has recently been raised to protect
it against the tide when it overflows the jetty, had about
■ix inches of water in it early on Sunday morning.
The weather reports chew that the gale has been pretty
general round the coast, and that at present there are
little signs of its abatement. Consequently the storm
drums continue hoisted, and will remain so till the bare.
meter shews signs of rising. After the gale abated on
Sunday afternoon, a large number of vessels which should
have left the river in the morning, but were delayed by the
stormy weather, proceeded to sea, but many of them sub-
sequently had to seek shelter at various ports. The gale
appears to have been especially severe in the Channel,
and the damage to shipping has been very extensive.
Intelligence of several disasters to shipping has already
reached Lloyd's, but it is feared that to-diy
the list of casualties will be largely increased,
as several vessels are known to have been wrecked, the
names of which are not at present known. The
screw steamer Fulton, belonging to Dunkirk, came
into collision in the North Sea with a coal brig bound for
London, and sank in deep water. The crew had only
time to take to their boat when the steamer foundered.
The brig was able to proceed on her voyage. Her name
is stated to be the T. Gales. The brig E. Young, bound
for Jersey, carne in collision with a vessel on Friday
night in the Gulls, and sustained such severe damage
that to save her from foundering the assistance of it
steam-tug was obtained, which towed her into Ramsgate
Harbour. Another collision occurred the same night it
the North Sea, off the Gunfleet, between a brig and the
Veracity, bound from London to Grimsby. The Veracity
was so much damaged that she had to make for the
nearest port, Harwich. The ship Silver Light was towed
into Milford Docks from Freshwater Bay, consequent
upon lcsinq her foremast in the gale. Information has
also been received of the abandonment at sea in a sinking
state of the schooner Prima Donna. The crew were landed
at Newcastle.

The first contingent of the 1,200 volunteers who
aro invited to be present at the International Tir and Fete
at Liege kit Bishopsgate station on Saturday afternoon, and
proceeded 'via Harwich to Antwerp•

On Saturday, at Cheadle, Staffordshire, a boy,
named Prince, engaged on Mr. Blore's farm, fell from a load
of corn on a hay-fork, the prong of which entered his neck
on one side and passed out at the other side. He only sur
vived eight minutes.
A fatal boat accident occurred on the river on Sun-
day, near Vauxhall-bridge. A boat containing three young
men was passing down the river, and when near Vauxhall.
bridge it suddenly capsized, and all were immersed in the
water. Two, being good swimmers, succeeded in swim-
ming ashore, but Joseph Rabbits, who could not swim, was
drowned.

At the Mansion House on Monday John May, aged
21, dealer, and George Hall, 38, commercial traveller, were
charged, on remand, before the Lord Mayor, with obtain-
ing ten cases of brandy worth £2l 125., and twelve
cases of the value of .£25 4s. by false pretences, and br
means of forged cheques. The prisoners made no reply to
the charges. The Lord Mayor committed both prisoners
for trial.

Cardinal Cullen having accepted an invitation to
be the guest of the Earl of Granard, at Johnston Castle,
county Wexford, on the 22d inst., preparations are being
made on an extensive scale to give Lis Eminence a popular
reception. The Earl of Granard's tenantry will await the
Cardinal at the Enniscarthy railway station, and accompany
him into Wexford. There is to be a muster also from the
surrounding districts. A meeting was held on Sunday
in Wexford, the mayor in the chair, to make the arrange-
ments.

With the Herefordshire farmer the apple crop 15
only second in importance to the corn harvest, and now that
the latter has been safely housed the former is reciving his
attention. It is unquestionably, according to the Fall
Mall Gazette, below the average, and even where
the fruit is tolerably plentiful it is very small and
grub-eaten. Fourtoenpence a bushel will probably be the
general price, being an advance of twopence upon that of
last year, but longer time and more labour will have to bo
expended on the picking, and of course these losses will not
fall on the grower. _ _ _

A fleet of merchant vessels, mostly grain-laden, of
probably unprecedented magnitude, has arrived from the
Atlantic in the British Channel. The prevalence of
easterly winds had detained the bulk of these ships in the
Atlantic for several weeks, and tho first change in the wind
to south-west brought them up to the British shores.
According to Dornbusch's Floating Cargoes Morning List the
number of ships arrived in the course of eight days,
viz. from Friday the 3d to the 10th of September, at Fal-
mouth, Plymouth, Queenstown, snd other ports of call,
amounts to a total of 553 vessels, including 103 laden with
wheat, 11'9 with maize, 12 with rye, and 14 with barley.
The Wildbad correspondent of the Standard, who
is recording the doings of the Princess of Wales, writes,
under date Sept. 10, as follows :—" his Majesty the King of
the Belgians drove from Baden to this place yesterday fo
the purpose of paying a visit to the Princess of Wales.
In the evening her Royal Highness entertainad at
dinner the King of tLo Belgians, the Duo do Nemours, the
Duchess of Manchester, the Hon. Mrs. Harding, General Sir
W. and Lady Knollys, and Mons. Jules Devaux, Chef du
Cabinet du Rol. At a late hour the King returned to Baden
by a special train. The excursion on a raft down the river
Enz last week gave so much gratification to all who had
the pleasure of sharing in it that it is proposed to repeat the
performance, and M. Stockinger, of the Belle Vue, whose
efforts to provide for the cow fort and amusement of visitors
aro highly appreciated, is engaged in making the necesor7
preparations for the expJelitiJn.