The Sun.
London, England, 1867-01-09 00:00:00

The Gale.

A very heavy gale broke over London ou Monday
night, and continued to blow with great violence
until 7 o'clock yesterday morning. The direction
of the wind was chiefly from the S.W. and S.S.W.,
but there were sudden squalls from all points of the
compass. Considerable damage was done to houses
and in the parks, but no serious accident is reported
to have taken place.

CHATHAM, Jan. 8.
It blew a furious gale from S. and S.W., with oc-
casional heavy squalls of rain, during the whole of
last night and up to noon to-day. Since that time
the gale has sensibly moderated, while the barome-
ter, which yesterday was remarkably low, is rapidly
rising. Most of the vessels in harbour had extra
anchors down, and with this precaution they rode
out the gale in safety. At sunrise this morning a
numerous fleet of colliers and outward-bound ves-
sels were at anchor outside the harbour, near the
Grainspit, some of them giving signs of the severity,
of the gale by loss of spars and other minor casual-
ties. The gale, which at times had the force of a
hurricane, was severely felt on shore. Several of the
telegraph posts on the road outside the town have
been blown down, and in the neighbourhood of Gil-
lingham the hurricane was so high as to unroof a
block of houses in course of erection. In the after-
noon the gale had sensibly moderated, and the mer-
cury in the barometer continued to rise. The wea-
ther is fine.

DUNGENESS, KENT, Jan. 7.
A French vessel was seen on shore some distance
from this station, with men in the rigging (says Mr.
11. Stringer). The lifeboat Providence, of the Na-
tional Lifeboat Institution, was launched and pro-
ceeded to the spot, but before she could reach the
fatal scene the vessel had become a wreck and three
of the crew were drowned. There was only one man
left, and he was rescued by the clergyman of the
parish, the Rev. C. Cobb. A correspondent of the
Kentish Gazette says—" Dymchurch, Sunday.—Last
evening the wind blew a gale from the south-east
dead on shore. About 9 p.m. a large bark was seen
close in shore. Ihe signal for a vessel on shore
was instantly given, and the Volunteer Life Corn-

_ .
pany, with the Coastguard in this village, were soon
on duty with the life apparatus, and a line was
thrown off to the ship, but she was able to hold her
own, and came fairly ashore with apparently little
damage. Her name was the Towey, of Llanelly,
Wales. On Sunday morning, e daylight, a vessel
was seen in the offing waterlogged, and men hang-
ing in the rigging. Manby's apparatus and the ser-
vices of the Life Company were again called for, but
it was found the vessel was beyond reach of the ap-
paratus. The next resource was the lifeboat from the
Littlestone station, three miles to windward, but
the crew, by some extraordinary arrangement, were
found to be in attendance on the barkTowey, which
was then high and dry on the b,:ach, and it was an
hour and a half before any move was made to get the
lifeboat down. In the meantime the men were seen
dropping one by one from the rigging, as there was
then little hope of any assistance from the lifeboat.
Continued attempts were made to throw a line to the
vessel. At last a line was thrown across the rigging,
but by this time all but one of the crew had disap-
peared, and it was soon seen he stood but little chance
of getting to the shore without further help. In this
emergency the Rev. C. Cobb, rector of this parish,
volunteered to go off to the vessel, which

had now drifted to within 50 or 60 feet of the shore.
In company with one of the Coastguard, be safely
reached :the vessel, got the man out of the rigging,
and safely to land amid the plaudits of hundreds on
shore. The lifeboat made its appearance in an hour
or two after the man was fairly and comfortably
housed. The vessel proved to be the Courier, from
Dunkirk. One man was found dead on board, and
the others were lo,t, the vessel being a total wreck.
PORTLAND, Jan. 8.
About midnight yesterday a dreadful storm broke
over this part of the coast. This morning, between
5 and 6 o'clock, the sea began to make breaches
completely over the beach, and by 7 o'clock the rail-
way from Fortland to Weymouth was submerged
some three-quarters of a mile. This was at full tide,
and as the waters gradually decreased at the ebb.
breach afterbreach was made through the permanent
way. Telegraphic communication was stopped,
several posts having been washed down. In one
instance the breach was some 30 feet in length, the
metals dangling over the opening. The pressure of
water on the side of the beach was so great as to force
it completely through this great natural breakwater.
At 8 o'clock a.m. the traffic on the Weymouth and
Portland Railway was completely stopped, and
about 10.30 the Great 'Western Company's engineer,
Mr. Lane, with the superintendent and some of the
directors, inspected the line, and shortly after some
100 men were put to work to repair the damage. The
traffic, however, cannot be resumed for some days.
It is feared that at high water this evening some por-
tion of the village of Chiswell will be carried away.
PLYMOUTH, Jan. 8.

We have had a very severe gale from the south-
ward and westward all the night. The schooner

Teazer, from Saundersfoot, of and for Ipswich,
is ashore in Batten Bay. Captain Austin, and
Henry Burgess, a seaman, are drowned. The
mate, E. J. Gooding, succeeded in dropping from
her bows into the lifeboat. The others did not
follow, and the boat was compelled to leave on
account of the surf. The schooner Palmyra, 69
tons, belonging to Southampton, went ashore about
the same time as the Teazer. She was laden with
oats. All her crew have perished. There are no
casualties to report in respect to the ships of war in
llarnoaze. This afternoon the storm has somewhat

abated. The schooner Derrynane, Capt. Phillips,
of and from Cork, with oats, for Poole, slipped her
cable in the Sound, and went ashore in the Cutwater.
She was towed off by the tug Secret, and is now in
Sutton harbour full of water.

CORNWALL, Jan. 7.

The awful storm on Saturday, which commenced
about 1 a.m., raged with increased violence as the
day advanced on the Cornish coast. Several lives
were lost and vessels wrecked, while inland property
suffered severely from the wind and floods. Rain
descended in torrents for more than 14 hours. A
complete report of disasters is not yet obtainable,
but the following information may be fully de-
pended upon :—Early on Saturday morning the
Emblem, trawling sloop, was seen in great distress
off Looe. Intelligence was at once conveyed to the
lifeboat authorities at this station, but in the mean-
time the crew of the vessel made an attempt to land
in their boat, 13ft. long, and it was at one time
thought that their endeavours would be crowned
with success. A heavy breaker, however, suddenly
capsized the boat ; three of the crew immediately
disappeared, but the fourth was observed for a few
minutes making an effort to swim to a buoy ; at
last he was overwhelmed by the surf, and, conse-
quently, all the poor fellows perished. The vessel
washed ashore; her owner, John Williams, was on
board acting as skipper, and was thereforz lost
with the others. He has left a widow and one
child, as also another of the crew, Samuel Wil-
liams. At Par the gale was very strong, and a
seaman named Richard Hooper, belonging to the
schooner Model, of Fowey, was blown overboard
and drowned; he has left a widow and one child.
At Falmouth the gale was more violent than has
been known at the port for many years. The Carola,
Capt. Christensen, from Rio de Janeiro, with coffee,
bound for Hamburg, shipped a heavy sea near
Penzance Point, during which the cook was washed
overboard and drowned ; the captain, mate, and one
of the seamen were also partly washed over the sides
of the ship, but they retained their I old and got on
board again. Soon afterwards the Carol& was
thrown on the rocks between Gylin.vase and Swgt-

• pool beach, when the waves made a clean sweep over
her. For more than an hour the vessel was beat-
ing about on the rocks without any one coming to
the rescue of the crew, in consequence of there being
on board no gun or rockets by which to signal.
Several vessels were more or less injured, many
seriously. In Mount's Bay, off Marazion,
assistance was rendered to three vessels—the
schooner Heiress, Captain Harris ; the brig Selina
Ann, of Swansea ; and the schooner, Salome, of
Dartmouth. All these vessels went to pieces soon
after their crews had been rescued by the Richard
Lewis lifeboat, which on that day was the means of
saving 17 persons. The Penzance extension pier
was seriously injured by the storm, the bed of the
pier near the centre was sunk a couple of feet below
the proper level, and several solid blocks of granite
were broken ; in fact, nearly two-thirds of the pier
has been injured considerably. At St. Ives the
shipping suffered to a great extent, and in the Land's
End and Lizard district much damage was occa-
sioned. The neighbourhood of St. Austell is flooded
to a very great extent, the river having burst its
bounds at various points. Four large and strong
wooden bridges have been washed away, and the
river overflowed its banks on the side of the Pente-
wan Railway ; the line for a long distance was
consequently covered with sand, stones, and
water. A little below a massive iron bridge
the river altogether kft its channel on the
eastern side, and forced a passage for itself
across the railway, thence into Menagwins Moors,
and into some valuable tin works. Several cattle
are reported to be drowned, and there is no doubt
that in this district alone the pecuniary loss is very
considerable. In many houses on Sunday night
the water was from 2ft. to 3ft. deep. At Truro,
the lower part of the town was flooded on Satur-
day night to a great height, and in some of the
dwelling-houses and places of business in River-
street the water was from Ift. to 2ft. deep. For
about a couple of hours River-street, Victoria-
place, and the western part of Nicholas-street
were all but impassable. The district of St. Blazey
is flooded to so great an extent that stock have had
to be removed to higher ground. On Saturday busi-
ness was to a very great extent suspended, and many
of the roads were in a condition that utterly forbade
traffic. To-day, at noon, the rain is falling heavily,
and the wind is very strong. A. telegram states that
a vessel has gone ashore near Penzance.

PENZANCE, Jan. 8.

The ship John Gray, of Glasgow, bound from
Demerara for London, has gone ashore to-day off
this place. The lifeboat of the National Lifeboat
Institution has been the means of saving 15 of the
shipwrecked crew, but the captain, mate, and two
men, who refused to leave their vessel, were unfor-
tunately drowned. This valuable lifeboat has been
the means during the last few days of rescuing 82
persons from four wrecked vessels.

LIZARD, Jan. 7.

I have to report (says the Rev. P. Vyvyan Robin-
son) that as I was leaving the house for church yes-
terd:ty morning, shortly before 11 o'clock, a farmer
arrived from Mullion-village, and informed me that
a schooner was at anchor near that place and in very
great jeopardy. Immediately the Anna Maria life-
boat, of the National Lifeboat Institution, on this
station, was got out and quickly drawn on her
transporting carriage by ten horses to that locality,
but, sad to say, we found we were too late, as the
vessel had gone ashore shortly before our arrival, and
all hands had, unhappily, been drowned. The
greatest zeal was shown by the lifeboat crew and
helpers in getting the boat to Mullion-cove, and we
were only 40 minutes in getting there from the life-
boat-house. The Porthleven lifeboat, which like-
wise belongs to the National Lifeboat Institution,
had also been taken towards the scene of the wreck,
but she could not be got there in time.

CARDIGAN, Jan. 7.

The Manchester lifeboat the John Stuart, be-
longing to the National Lifeboat Institution, was
this morning happily the means of rescuing, in a
heavy gale of wind, the crew of three men of the
sloop Oliver Lloyd, of Cardigan, and three men be-
longing to the smack Turtle Dove, of Aberyatwith,
which had dragged their anchors and drifted out into
Cardigan bay. The services of the lifeboat were
most gallantly performed. Owing to the violence
of the gale, the lifeboat had great difficulty iu find-
ing a safe place for landing.
LLANDD\VYN, ANGLESEA, Jan. 7.

Daring very rough weather (states Mr. John
Jackson) a schooner was observed in a perilous posi-
tion, and the Manchester lifeboat, of the National
Lifeboat Institution, the John Gray Bell, was at
once taken along the shore on her transporting car-
riage to a spot opposite the vessel, and then launched
through the surf. She was then taken to wind-
ward of the schooner and anchored, and on veering
alongside they found the crew were desirous to leave
the vessel, although the master refusecf. The wind
shifting a little to the northward, the lifeboat then
immediately slipped the cable of the vessel, and
brought her into Llanddwyn roads, the vessel being
leaky and the crew thoroughly worn Out. The
schooner was the Zillah, bound from the River
Plate for Liverpool, with a cargo of prepared
manure. The master states that the coxswain and
crew of the lifeboat behaved very well.

TRAMORE, IRELAND, Jan. 7.
The Cambridge University Boat Club lifeboat,
the Tom Egan, rendered yesterday (reports Mr.
James Budd) some valuable service to a shipwrecked
crew. The French schooner Ammonion, of Nantes,
was observed unmanageable in the bay, with loss of
rudder and rigging. The lifeboat of the National
Lifeboat Institution immediately put off to the help
of the shipwrecked crew, and ultimately succeeded
in bringing the whole of them, five in number,
safely ashore. One cf them had one of his knees
put out of joint while getting into the lifeboat, but
Dr. Kennedy immediately attended to his case, and
the man is now doing well. It should be men-
tioned that the Hon. D. Fortescue generously took
the shipwrecked crew to his house and provided for
their wants.

It may be mentioned that the lifeboats of the
National Lifeboat Institution have during the recent
gales contributed to the saving of 77 lives from dif-
ferent shipwrecks on our coasts.

I The plan for the re-introduction of street rail-
ways into London is being pushed forward as
rapidly and energetically as possible,. and probably
the next Session will be marked by the taking of
such steps as are necessary to legalise the attempts
which the projectors propose to make. In connection
with this matter a number of reports on the work-
ing of tramways have been obtained from officials
in the various cities and towns of America, into
which the system has been introduced. The
general testimony thus obtained is to the effect
that the tramways do not interfere with
the ordinary street traffic, though laid down
in some of the most crowded thoroughfares,
that the cars are more comfortable and con-
venient than the omnibuses, which they have in a
measure displaced, and that they are productive of
less accidents than omnibuses. Opposition is said
to have died out in almost every district, and, to
crown all, the expenses incurred by the local autho-
rities in repairing the roadways have been very
materially lessened by the fact that the company
who use the tramways take the responsibility upon
-themselves of keeping such part of the road as their
vehicles run upon in good condition. Supposing all

these points to be fairly stated—and we have no
reason to assume otherwise—the only conclusion
that can be arrived at is that the sooner we get the
new cars in operation the better.

THE HEN AND DUCK AS EGG PRODUCERS.—A
paper has been received by the Paris Academy
of Sciences from NI. Comaille on the comparative
value of the hen and duck as egg producers. His
observations were limited to three hens and three
ducks, all fine animals, hatched at the same time in the
month of February. During the following autumn
the ducks laid 225 eggs; they recommenced laying
in February, and continued to do so until the middle
of August. The hens laid no eggs during the
autumn, but began in January, and left off about
the middle of August. The totals of each at the
end of that time were--the hens, 257 eggs ; the
ducks, 617. M. Comaille next examined the nutri-
tive value of each kind of egg, and found them
nearly equal in that respect. Hence the duck is
more profitable than the hen by far.