The Sun.
London, England, 1858-09-07 00:00:00

THE NAVY.

Her Majesty's paddlewheel steamvessel Vivid re-
turned to Woolwich on Sunday evening.
The Sprightly paddlewheel steamvessel, Master
G. Allen, commander, arrived at Portsmouth on
Sunday evening from Plymouth, towing the brig
Penguin, for the Coastguard.
The Russian squadron sailed from Spithead yes-
terday morning for the westward.
The Portuguese screw corvette Sagres, Captain
Centurini, got under way from Spithead yesterday
forenoon to try her speed in running the mile in
Stoke's Bay. At the expiration of her trial she
leaves for Lisbon.
The following appointments have been made at
the Admiralty .—Lieut. F. Osburn, to the Russell ;
Lieut, G. T. icey, to the Royal Albert ; Lieut. IL
Kerr, to the Valorous ; R. J. C. Grant, master, to
the Wasp ; A. M'Clure, surgeon, additional to the
Victory ; G. Patterson, second master, to the Nile ;
G. M. T. Marshall, acting second master, to the
Orion.

HARBOURS OF REFUGE ON THE

EAST COAST.

On Saturday afternoon the commissioners ap
pointed to complete the inquiry recommended by
the select committee on harbours of refuge held an
inquiry at the Town-hall, Leith, into the subject.
The commission comprised Rear-Admiral James
Hope, C.B. ; Major-General Sir Frederick Smith,
Knight, M.P. ; Mr. W. S. Lindsay., M.P. ; Captain
Washington, R.N. ; Captain Veitch, R.E. ; and
Mr. Coode, C.E.
Rear-Admiral HOPE presided, and after the com-
mission had been read, inquired whether any depu-
tations from ports were present.
Mr. WM. TIIOMPSON, merchant, Leith, answered
that he attended to represent the district of An-
struther and Cellardyke, where a harbour of refuge
had been memorialised for.
The CHAIRMAN then stated the purpose of the
inquiry—the primary object of which was to ascer-
tain the most eligible site for a harbour of refuge on
the north-east coast of Scotland and the east coast
of England.
The Provost having mentioned the name of Mr
John Broadfoot, merchant, of Leith, as one who
could assist the commission in the inquiry,
Mr. Broadfoot was examined accordingly. In
answer to the queries put to him, he stated that, in
his opinion, Peterhead was the best site for a har-
bour of refuge. As to Peterhead being a better
point than Wick, he could not perhaps form a cor-.
rect opinion, not being practically acquainted with
Wick. He considered that if the Government
resolved to spend £300,000 on the north-east coast
of Scotland, the meney would be better spent in
making the existing harbours accessible to vessels
frequenting the coast at full and low water than in
constructing simply one great harbour on the coast,
as vessels were frequently caught in heavy gales of
wind,_ and had not always the power of making for
one fixed point. At Leith there was no present
access to the harbour at low-water spring tide. The
channel between the piers at low-water spring tide
was 91- feet, and sometimes they had 23 feet in the
channel at high water.
Mr. Donald Macgregor next volunteered evidence.
The locality of a harbour of refuge was, he said, a
matter less thought of than the questign of getting
one for the north-cast coast. The best site, he
thought, was either at Wick or Peterhead ; the
latter for Baltic and Archangel vessels, and the
former for vessels connected with the American
trade. As to the mode of expending £300,000 if
granted, he agreed with the last witness ; but it
was much better if they could make one good har-
bour to do so, rather than make two or three bad
ones. Undoubtedly, if there were two propositions
—one to make a harbour in which ships of all sizes
could take at any time of tide, or which could afford
shelter in any weather, and the other to make four
harbours suitable to receive laden ships of 300 tons
and under at half-tide—he would prefer the
former. Looking to the present merely, he
would prefer the four harbours as above ; but as
regarded the future, the large harbour would be
most desirable. He thought a point between the
Firth of Forth and the Humber,was the best site for
a harbour off the north-east toast of England—
perhaps about Whitby or Scarborough. Applying
the above propositions to this coast, his opinion
was in favour of one large harbour, as their coast-
ing vessels were fast increasing in size. St. Mar-
garet's Hope, on the coast of Scotland, was not a
safe natural harbour at night ; it might be run for
in daylight.
Capt. Dixon, a retired shipmaster, deponed that
he had commanded vessels plying between London
and Leith. He thought Hartlepool was the best
point on the east coast of England for a harbour of
refuge, as it was a deep bay,- and a. vessel caught
about there Nvas more likely to find the bottom of
the bay than
much wanted on the
any
other point. A harbour was very
north-east coast of England.
Filey Bay, close to Flaorough Head, would not
make such a good sitei n
isotr forelaysr4eoaseatroso,hand never had
Hartlepool. He lad
traded along that coast
lace at liar-
a place to run to.
tlepool than at any other point onthcl!coast.
Mr. B. Mann, shipmaster, and who had had
many years' experience of coaAing between Leith
and London, added his testimony to that of the
preceding witness as to the desirability of having a
harbour at Hartlepool rather than at any other
point on the east coast of England. To complete
the present protection afforded by Filey Bay, a
breakwater, if erected, must be a long one. There
place' at the Firth of
wFoeirleh,mbauntyhewre-s attributedtakin tghem to people not being

well acquainted with it. Many got embayed in
Dunbar through ignorance of the place, or through
not seeing the land. If there had been a harbour of
refuge on the east coast of England he would have
taken it on many occasions wp_cn he was master of
smacks. He preferred Peterhead as a site for a
harbour on the north-east coast of Scotland. He
would say it was a much better place than Wick.
Mr. Macgregor wished to state to the commis-
sion that a wreck of a large ship was unusual in
the Firth of Forth. •
Captain Alexander Brown, shipmaster, and for
forty years at sea, deponed that he had for many
years commanded vessels plying between
Leith and London. A harbour of refuge was
much needed on the north-east coast of England—
he thought the best adapted place was Hartlepool,
A harbour there would tend more to save life and
property than at Filey Bay. Heavy westerly gales
often happened near Flamborough Ifead. Most of
the vessels wrecked off Hartlepool were laden.
Robert Colme, fisherman and pilot, was next ex-
amined. He had been a pilot 22 years, and he was
acquainted with the Pentland Firth and with
Shields. There was very great necessity for a har-
bour of-refuge between the Firth of Forth and the
Pentland Firth, as there was no place except Cro-
marty for Baltic or American vessels to run to if
caught about there. He agreed that Peterhead
was the most available point on the whole range
of the cast coast for a harbour of refuge. He knew
most of the fishing stations between Leith and the
Pentland Firth. At one of them, Cfaigroan, he
thought the expenditure of a little money would be
the means of saving life and property. At New-
haven they wanted something done, for they had
300 fishing-boats there, and no harbour at all. It
would be the means of saving life to have a harbour
at Newhaven. St. Margaret's Hope required lights
for the guidance of strangers. It might then be
used as a harbour of refuge.
Mr. William Thomson' merchant and shipowner,
Leith, was then called, He stated that there was
great necessity for a harbour of refuge at An-
struther fad fishing-boats employed in that locality.
Anstruther was second to Wick only as a fishing-
station, and the present accommodation of the har-
bour was quite insufficient. In 1856 great damage
was caused to the shipping, and also some loss of
life occurred, through the want of accommodation.
He produced a copy of a memorial signed by 1,243
fishermen belonging to the Firth of Forth, asking
for assistance to- construct a harbour for their use.
Messrs. Stephenson, the engineers, had prepared
plans showing that such a harbour could be made
at an expense of £30,000, and Anstruther would
raise £12,000, if they could obtain a loan of £lB,OOO,
and they would assign the revenue of the fishing,
which amounts to L 1,200 a-year, in security for
payment of the interest and redemption of the debt.
Anstruther was not fitted for the construction of a na-
tional harbou•r of refuge. On the north-east of Scotland
he did not think a harbour of refuge was needed for
foreign vessels and coast-going vessels, but only for
the fishing-boats, but on the north-east of England
one certainly was wanted. He coincided in the
view taken by other witnesses as to the eligibility
of Hartlepool as a site for a harbour. As a ship-
owner he would not be willing to pay a passing
toll for a harbour of refuge at Peterhead, but he
would willingly pay a toll for the formation of a
harbour on the east coast of England. There were
some dangerous rocks near Peterhead, and in a
gale of wind ships making for a harbour there
would meet with mischief. Within the last three
years lives had been lost of fishermen at Anstru-
ther, and a harbour would to a great extent pre-
vent these occurrences. The only harbour at
Anstruther was formed by two piers running out,
and boats could not take it until half-tide. There
was an act of parliament for the improvement of
the harbour, but works were not yet commenced.
Mr. Charles Jackson, of Greatham Hall, West
Hartlepool, was the last witness called. He merely
stated that hearing • the.commission was to attend
there that day he came, being in Leith on business.
He had been endeavouring to .get the opinions of
nautical men as to the different parts of the north-
east coast of England, and the necessities for a
harbour of refuge, and he produced the evidence.
The Chairman suggested that anything Mr.
Jackson had to offer respecting the making of a
harbour on the north-east coast of England could
be more properly taken when• the commissioners
visited the district of Hartlepool.
The commissioners then retired for a feW minutes,
and, on-returning, the chairman stated that they
had resolved to proceed no further with the inquiry.
The proceedings then terminated.

MOVEMENTS OF THE GORGON AND
NIAGARA AFTER LAYING THE
CABLE. -

The following letter has been addressed to a
cotemporary :
Sir,—Everybody knows by this time how, on the
29th July, 1858, in lat. 52 N., lon. 33 W., the tele-
graphic squadron assembled for a final effort to
submerge the Atlantic cable, and how on the sth
of August, against the expectation and prediction
of nearly all the world, one end was taken into
Valentia by the Agamemnon and Valorous, and the ,
end conveyed by the Niagara and Gorgon to New-
foundland,
was safely deposited in the station house
of the Atlantic Telegraph Company at the Bay of ,
Bulls Arm. But although nothing of interest con- ;
nected therewith, beyond what has been already
brought before the public, remain to be told, yet
there may be those who will gladly hear somewhat
of the- movements of the last named vessels
since the accomplishment of the event in which
they performed so prominent a part, more particu-
larly as the connexion of the Gorgon with the
submarine cable is not at an end. On the 9th of
August the Niagara and Gorgon left the Bay of
Bull's Arm for St. John's, where they arrived on
the same evening. During the passage, the
Niagara, with a pilot on board, touched the ground
twice, once at the southern point of the entrance to
Trinity Bay, and again just inside St. John's ;
little or no damage was sustained ; and I am happy
to say .the general feeling on board her is, that
had she remained by her old and tried friend,
the Gorgon, she would have passed through all
the dangers of Newfoundland navigation un-
scathed. '3l.uch rejoicing awaited the arrival of
these vessels. The bell-ringinas,
addresses, and other festivities with which the con-
querors of submarine difficulties were received need
not be told here. Are they not set forth in the
(St. John's) Telegraph and Neufoundland Express?
On the 11th the Niagara sailed for New York. On
passing the Gorgon, three .hearty cheers, in token
of the good feeling, and cordiality which had existed
between them were given and returned. As the
Niagara neared the harbour's mouth she was seen
to strike on a. rock, but, as her speed was at its
lowest rate, a reverse turn of the engines took her
clear, and she steamed away without any further
casualty. On the 14th the Gorgon steamed out of
St. John's Harbour for the Bay of Placentia, and
anchored in the great south harbour at the head of
that bay on the evening of the 18th. It may not
be out of place here to say why the Bay of Bull's
Arm was selected by the Atlantic Telegraph Com-
pany as the best spot for landing the Newfound-
land end of their cable. For the safety of a sub-
marine cable it is advisable where practicable to
take. such a line as will ensure a depth of water not
less than 90 fathoms, and to land it in a spot un-
frequented by shipping. The reasons for this are
obvious. From the entrance.tif Trinity Bay to the
mouth of the Bay of Bull's Arm is uninhabited save
and except by the few servants the Atlantic Tele-
graph Company have placed there. It is not,
therefore, ever likely to be troubled with shipping.
Again, northerly and north-westerly winds bring
the icebergs from Labrador and Greenland to New-
foundland : many of these would ground in even
40 fathoms. Now, a glance at the chart will show
that the Bull's Arm is protected from them by these
very winds.
The line of the New York Telegraph Company,
through which all the Atlantic communications
have to pass, runs at present from St. John's across
the head of Conception Bay, along the neck divid-
ing Trinity Bay on the eastern, and Placentia Bay
on the southern, side of Newfoundland, skirts the
heads of the various bays along the south side,
down-to Cape Rae (nearly the whole of this track
is uninhabited and very difficult of access), thence
by, submarine cable to Cape North Breton Island,
and so on to Nova Scotia and the United States.
This line passes within one mile of the station of
the Atlantic Company at Bull's Arm. It is gene-
rally believed that the New York. Company have it
in contemplation to lay down submarine lines from
the head of Placentia Bay to this port, Halifax,
Portland, and New York. The neck of land sepa-
rating the Bull's Arm from the water on the other
side is about three miles across. So the station of
the Atlantic and New York Telegraph Companies
will stand side by side.
On the 20th the Gorgon started from Great South
Harbour, and arrived here at 6 p.m. to-day. She
has taken a line of soundings for a submarine cable
to this port, as per plan enclosed,
I enclose you a copy of a telegraph from the
Common Council of New York to Commander Day-
man, together with his reply. It is not known
yet whether the Gorgon will go to New York or
not ; permission from the Admiralty has been soli-
cited, IV no answer has yet been received.—l
am, &c., • A. T. M. ROBERTS.

ll.M.S.Gorgon, Sydney, Breton Island,
Nova Scotia, August, 1858.

TELEGRAPH FROM NEW YORK

TO CAPTAIN DA lAN, H.M.S. GORGON.
common council of • this. city,' being
desir(us of celebrating in an appropriate manner