The Sun.
London, England, 1867-01-08 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, JANUARY 8, 1867.

FATAL SHIPWRECKS.

LIVERPOOL, Sunday.

On Saturday night, during the gale and snow-
storm, the iron ship James Crosfield, of 1,000 tons,
bound from Calcutta for Liverpool, was wrecked off
Langness Point, Isleman. All hands were lost.
She had on board nearly 1,700 bales of cotton.

GREAT YARMOUTH, Monday.

A sad disaster occurred here yesterday, resulting
in the total loss of two vessels, while there is every
reason to believe that their crews also perished. The
weather on Saturday night was exceedingly stormy.
There was a terrific gale from the S.S.E., the wind
blowing with the force of a hurricane, while the sea
ran mountains high, so that no ordinary boat could
live in it. At about 11 p.m. flares were seen in the
south part of the roadstead in the direction of
Gorieston, and about midnight a brig, which after-
wards proved to be the Ark, of Sunderland, was
driven ashore to the south of the harbour. The
Coastguard fired rockets, and the mortar apparatus
was used, but there was not a soul on board the
stranded ship. It is supposed that the crew took to
their boats and were drowned, as no tidings of their
safety had reached Yarmouth up to this afternoon.
At daylight yesterday the masts of another brig were
seen to the E.S.E. of the pier, and, from a boat which
was subsequently picked up, it is believed that the
Sarah, of Sunderland, is also lost. Yesterday after-
noon the body of a sailor about 40 years of age was
cast on the beach near the Star Battery. Deceased
had a medal iu his pocket, besides a leather purse.
The mast of a sloop, the Ann and Charlotte, from
Goole for London, is just visible on the edge of the
dangerous Scroby sand. The vessel was driven on
the sand during the itorm on Saturday, but the crew
of .four hands were saved, and were taken to the
Yarmouth Sailors' Home.

PENZANCE, Sunday.

= During a strong gale from E S.E. yesterday
(reports Mr. Nicholas B. Downing) a schooner
went ashore at Long Rock. The Richard Lewis
lifeboat, of the National Lifeboat Institution, was
at once launched, and was happily the means of
rescuing the shipwrecked crew of six men. Again
this morning the same lifeboat went afloat and saved
the crews of 11 men from the Selina Ann, bound to
Plymouth, and tile Heiress, bound to London, the
former vessel having gone to pieces. There are
wrecks all over this coast.

The Looe, Exmouth, and Poole lifeboats were
also launched on Saturday with the viaw of rescu-
ing shipwrecked crews, although they did not have
the opportunity of rendering service in that respect.

RAM S G ATE, Sunday.

Capt. Shaw, the harbour-master, reports the fol-
lowing gallant services performed by the lifeboat
Bradford, of the National Lifeboat Institution, sta-
tioned at this port. Shortly before 8 o'clock yester-
day morning, the wind blowing from E.S E., with
thick fog, guns were heard at intervals of 5 minutes,
apparently from the North Sand Head and Gull
lightships. The Bradford lifeboat and the harbour
steam-tug Aid were immediately manned, and left
the harbour about 810 a.m. At this time the
wind increased and the thick fog suddenly dispersed,
when a schooner- was observed on shore on the off
part of the North Sand Head. The Aid, with the
lifeboat, proceeded through the Cudd Channel, to-
wards the North Saud Head, and on arriving in the
Gull Stream, at 8 30 a.m., fell in with a ship's boat
with eight men on board. The lifeboat hove to and
they came alongside, and were taken on board the
boat. They reported the vessel to be the schooner
Mizpah, 140 tons, of Brixham, from Amsterdam to
Genoa, cargo sugar. The tug then returned to the
harbour with the crew, at a quarter-past 9 a.lll.
The master of the Mirpah reports that she went
ashore about 7 p.m. the previous evening. On the
tide flowing the water was over the cabin floor,when
they soon after left her and got on the brig Faith,
of Boston, riding in the Gull Stream, where they
remained until the morning. On the brig getting
under way they left in their boat for the shore,
and were picked up by the lifeboat. Again,
about half-past eleven o'clock last night,
when it was blowing a heavy gale and
a heavy sea was breaking, signal guns and
rockets were fired from the Gull Lightship. The
lifeboat once more put off in tow of the steam-tug,
and proceeded in the direction of the light vessel,
and on arriving they were told that a large flaring
light of distress had been observed in a south-east-
erly direction. At this time it was thick with snow,
and it was agreed to keep about the sands until day-
light, hut about 3 o'clock it was so intensely cold
that the lifebcat and tug were forced to return to
the harbour. As, however, it was probable that the
services of the lifeboat were required to some dis-
tressed vessel, she was again taken out about eight
o'clock this morning in a strong gale and tremen-
dous sea. This time, it being.daylight, they dis-
covered a vessel ashore close to the Trinity Beacon.
After attempting no less than six times to bring the
lifeboat alongside the vessel on shore, through a
very heavy sea and broken water, they succeeded at
last in saving the crew, ten in number, from the
wreck, the lifeboat losing both anchors and cables
in the service, and arrived in the harbour with the
shipwrecked men all safe at 215 p.m. The crew
when taken off were very much exhausted. She
proved to be the Danish bark Aurora Borealis, of
Ribe, Smith master, 236 tons, froin Newcastle for
Messina, cargo coals—went on shore at 4 30 a.m.
Jarman, the coxswain of the lifeboat, reports that
he never encountered such terrific weather, intense
cold, and heavy sea in all his experience. The crew
could not have been saved without the assistance u:
the steamtug.

SIIIELDS, Sunday Night.

About midnight yesterday one of the most severe
gales from the S.S.E. that has been experienced for
some years burst on the north-eastern coast. It was
accompanied by blinding showers of hail, which
seemed to cut the face as they were blown before
the gale among the watchers on the coast. From
12 o'clock until 5 this morning the wind blew a-hur-
ricane, and in consequence we have had the greatest
loss of shipping at the mouth of the Tyne expe-
rienced this winter. A look-out was kept by the Pre-
ventive men and the lifeboat crews, and about 20
minutes past 12 last night the man on the look-out
on the south side of the Tyne saw a vessel
coming ashore behind the south pier. He burnt
a blue light, and immediately three guns were
fired from the Spanish Battery, which was the signal
for the South Shields Life Brigade to muster. The
south pier was covered with ice, and the Preventive
men and the Pier Police had to crawl down on their
hands and knees, as they could not stand before the
blast, while carrying the hawser and rocket lines
down. About 20 of the Life Brigade mustered, who
were soon increased to 50, and three or four rockets
were fired over the ship ; but the crew seemed to be
so benumbed with the cold and terrified by the tre-
mendous gale that they could not use the lines when
they had them fired on board. The three Shields
lifeboats, the Providence, the Tyne, and the Nor-
thumberland, were got out and fully manned ; but
such was the force of the wind and sea that, though
the crews of them pulled with all their strength for
two hours, they never got the boats outside the
har-
beur, and were at last obliged to abandon the en-
terprise and return into port. The first vessel which
came ashore with the Mary Mac, of Whitstable,
and an hour after she was followed by the Cora,
of the same place. At 2 o'clock in the morning a
new ship, the Lucerne of Blyth, from London, came
ashore, and an hour after that another Whitstable
vessel, the Nergee, so that by 3 o'clock there were
four vessels all behind the south pier, thumping
against each other and bumping on the atones, and
threatening to knock each otter to pieces before the
crews could be all got off. The night, which was
extremely dark, the terrible sea that was running,
the gale which blew in violent gusts, and brought
with it showers of sleet and hail, the dangerous con-
dition of the pier from the ice, the howling of the
wind, and the smashing and crashing of the ships,
with the shouts of the seamen and life' brigade, the
reports of the rockets, and the great excitement of
every one lest the ships should break up, and drown
the men before they could be got off made up the ele-
ments of a terrible scene. The Cora was driven by the
gale alongside thepier, and the crew were at last able to
swing themselves frpm one of the yards, on to the
parapet, and thussave themselves. TheLucerne,which
came ashore after the Cora, ran into her starboard

quarter, which she smashed in. She also carried away
her mainmast, but as she was the innermost ship the
crew of the Lucerne were instructed by the life bri-
gade to get on board of her, and they had not been
there ten minutes when their own ship slid over with
her deck to the sea, and immediately broke in two,
becoming a perfect wreck. The crew of the Mergee
were also enabled to swing themselves off the jib-
boom on to the pier, all except one lad named Payne,
belonging to Canterbury, who was making his first
voyage. Ile was paralysed with fright, and though
the crew tried to induce him to do so, hp would not
leap, and while he was thus hesitating the ship
swung over, broke up, and he was thrown once or
twice into the air upon the rigging, and was then
drowned. The crew of the Lucerne were brought
ashore by the life brigade. As the crew of the Mary
Mac were afraid that they could not be saved by the
life brigade they had their long boat out and put a
boy into it. But the boat got stove, the boy was
washed out and was drowned. Ultimately one of the
crew was able to throw a lead line towards the shore,
which was caught by a man who plunged into the
surf, and the life brigade was thus enabled to get a
hawser and cradle off to them and save them. The
four vessels are total wrecks, and two of them, the
Mergee and the Lucerne, have been nearly pounded
by the sea into matchwood. At 4 o'clock this morn-
ing there was another alarm of a vessel ashore. The
William Butcher, of Whitby, ran on to the edge of
the Herd Sand. Her crew were taken off by the
Pomfret and Goole lifeboat, belonging to the Na-
tional Lifeboat Society, but the master refused to
leave her, and she was taken off this afternoon with
the assistance of three powerful steamboats. But
she is very leaky. It seems that the reason why the
four vessels ran behind the south pier and were lost
was that the masters, having lost sight of Tyne-
mouth light in the hailstorm, mistook the south pier
for the north pier at the mouth of the Tyne. The
Mary Mac last Tuesday, while between the Dud-
geon and Cromer, ran into and sunk the Bonny Lass
smack, of Gravesend, and it is feared killed a
man. A considerable fleet of light and laden
vessels put into the Tyne to-day. The master of the
Olive Branch, from Ghent, reports that last night
he lost Robert Sharp, a seaman, overboard, off
Flamborough Head, who was drowned. The
weather has moderated to-day, and the snow is fast
disappearing.

heads were brought up into the courtyard, they
were broken open, and every one drunk as much as
he could.

The aim of the revolt was the death of the spies.
First, it had been settled that they should be taken
to the heath and to the bogs, there to be killed with
stones, but that idea was given up for another ten-
fold more atrocious.

The victual storehouse was pillaged, and another
warehouse, containing petroleum oil and inflam-
mable matter, was contiguous to it. They broke
open three doors giving access to the passage lead-
ing to that warehouse. A fourth door, opening
into the warehouse itself, more solid than the three
others, resisted, and the only portion of it that they
could break was an upper panel, and to enter the
petroleum warehouse through that aperture they
were obliged to scale the door to get up to it.
The most daring went into the warehouses through
that breach, and pillaged all the victuals and pro-
visions. They found out quantities of sugar, sau
sages, brandy, bacon, .&c. After the older boys
had satisfied their gluttony, Condurier communi-
cated to them an idea of his. " Let us shut in
there the spies, and then we shall set the place on
fire." The plan was adopted by the followers of
Condurier, all of them more or less intoxicated.
Two fellows, chosen from among the worst, were
entrusted with the fulfilment of the diabolical deed,
and they executed it too well.

The young ones, enticed to come and pillage the
victuals in their turn, hastened to do it, having not
a shade of distrust. The arch-plotter kept away
some of them, and admitted the intended victims.
Fourteen boys were in the warehouse. He judged
that the moment was opportune, and he told a
certain Fernandon to light a heap of paper, pre-
pared for the purpose. They had also taken the
precaution of pouring on the floor a large vase full
of petroleum. The flames, therefore, rapidly ran
over the whole place.
That fire was to devour the 14 boys who had
been admitted into the warehouse ; one could
escape only through the broken upper panel of the
door, and a jet of fire at that spot rendered such
escape a sheer impossibility. The flames had not
yet ascended to the panel, when one of the unfor-
tunate boys, named Garibaldi, saw the danger,
jumped at the panel, and tried to get out. But
another boy, Allard, true to hii orders, ran at him
and thrice thrust his knife in Garibaldi's legs and
chest. The blood flew in torrents, and the poor
fellow fell back in the flames.

Then a heartrending scene occurred. All the
boys inside managed to get at the window, clung
to the bars, and cried for assistance with the ac-
cents of the most: moving despair. But the ring-
leaders now surveyed the victims with an implac-
able coolness, while they repressed by words and
threats every mark of interest, every sign of pity,
given to those unfortunate boys.
The watchman of the semaphore established in
the isle, prompted by a generous feeling, tried to
save them. To use his own words, he was carried
off as a feather, and thrown into a ditch where he
broke his legs. One of the boys who had tried to
give a wet blanket to his friends suffered the same
fate.

The poor fellows suffered the most excruciating
agony ; their faces were black, their cheeks melted
in the fiery flames, their hair blazed ; but soon death
put au end to their sufferings. When the ware-
house was entered next day their carbonised corpses
were but shapeless remains.
Then the rebels wallowed in the grossest orgies.
The next day they had a mind to begin again, and
when they saw the chaplain and the family of the
director go out to sea to escape danger and seek
assistance deadly vows and dreadful imprecations
were uttered against them.

It was only during the evening of the 4th that
assistance came to hand. The fire was still raging,
and if there had been a little fresh wind the whole
range of buildings would have been destroyed.
I give you only a short sketch of that awful drama.
The trial will last several days. The town is quite
full. M. Mayet, councillor of the Imperial Court
of Aix, is presiding over the trial ; M. de Merville,
procureur-general of the same court, is conducting
the case for the prosecution. The president has
appointed ex officio counsel for the prisoners, who
look as if unconscious of the awful position they
are in.

How is the Powei of the Pr sident to be
Proved ?

Congress is puzzled how to deal with the PRESI-
DENT. Both Houses regard him as their enemy,
and they apparently hold with MAccuLtvELLI that
it would be folly to leave power in that enemy's
hands, of which they can deprive him. The House
of Representatives has directed the Committee on
the Judiciary to prepare a report of the practice
usual in cases of impeachment, and when the
document is sent in it is probable that a debate
may arise on the proposition to impeach the PRESI-
DENT. It is a singular fact that on Mr. JOHNSON'S
own motion when Governor oh Tennessee a prece-
dent of impeachment was established, which has
been strongly urged against himself. The case of
Judge WEST H. HUMPHREYS is the only one which
could furnish anything like a precedent to be used as
a guide. But the position of a mere judge of a
United States District Court is so dissimilar from
that of the PRESIDENT, as well as the time of the
Judge's offence, which was one of actual war, as to
render it almost useless for the purpose. Failing
impeachment, it is proposed to render the PRES!-
' DENT ineligible for re-election. On balancing the
arguments for and against a measure like this, there
• can be little doubt that such a change in the
Constitution would be injurious. There is no
' office in which experience is of more value, and it
is advisable that the changes should be as few as is
consistent with the spirit of the Constitution
and of good government. A great crisis
might arise at the very moment that it
would be necessary to elect the new PRESIDENT,
and the interests of the country might be damaged
materially by a change of Administration being
forced on it at a critical moment. Such, for in-
stance, was the case with Mr. LINCOLN'S Adminis-
tration. The midst of a perilous war was not the
time to put the helm into the hands of a new man.
The country felt this, and, without hesitation, re-
elected Mr. LINCOLN. That they acted with the
greatest wisdom there can be now no doubt, and
with such a case before us it would be little less
than madness to deprive the people of the power
of thus recording their sense of the manner in which
their affairs had been administered. It is in accord-
ance with the spirit of the American Constitution, to
enforce as strongly as possible on the PRESIDENT the
will of the majority of the nation. If the people
cannot re-elect the PRESIDENT for another term of
office, one strong inducement for him to carry out
the popular wishes would be removed. On the
other hand, if the people retain the power to re-
elect, the PRESIDENT who sought another term of
office—which nearly all do would be com-
pelled to shape his course by the sentiments of the
majority. It may be urged, that the national
opinions and feelings may be wrong, and the PRE-
SIDENT, in withstanding them, may be right, and
that it would not be wise to hold out to the head of
the Executive an inducement to pander to public tastes
and opinions. If this be so, Democracy is an error,
and the sooner a ruler is made absolute the better.
Democracy is, however, held in America to be the
true theory of Government, and so long as the Con-
stitution is founded on that theory the measures of
Congress should conform to it. Democracy does
not enforce constant changes of Government. Its
object is to obtain frequent expressions of public
opinion—to give the people after short intervals a
legal means of sweeping away obnoxious Govern-
ments. But it does not, and is not intended to en-
force, constant changes of rulers. A third plan, and
one Congress is pretty sure to adopt in depriving
the PRESIDENT of power, is to reduce his patronage
to the lowest possible point. To effect this it will
be necessary to revolutionise the whole system of the
public service, and adopt a plan based on a Euro-
pean model. An official class will be created, to
which men will be appointed young—and only
after an examination—when their rise will depend
on their capacity and good behaviour. The PRESI-
DENT host Of course retain the power of dismissal,

but it will be controlled by public opinion, which
would not permit a gentleman who made the service
his profession,to be discharged from his office with-
out good cause being assigned. The QUEEN holds
this power ; and the public more frequently com-
plain of its being too seldom, rather than too
generally exercised. It may be doubtful whether
in the future it would be advisable to fill such an
office as that of the PRESIDENT by any man not
directly elected for the post by the people. As the
Constitution now stands, but one election only
can occur in each interval of four years. The case of
the PRESIDENT'S death, impeachment, or incompe-
tency, is provided for by the Constitution, and it is
an open question whether this contingency would
not be better met by the nation immediately select-
ing a successor. The chances of a Vice-President
thus succeeding the ruler of the Executive is so
improbable as to enter little into the calculation,
and the opinions and merits of the candidates for
that office are not scrutinised as they ought to be
in view of such a contingency. The quarrel, how-
ever, between the PRESIDENT and the Congress
will be productive of a real benefit to the country, if
it ends—as we have every hope it may—in creating
a public service class—educated and trained—to fill
the offices of the United States Administration.—
Anglo-American Times.

the act, whatever milling rights might have been acquired
since 1714 had been acquired subject to the paramount
right which thepublic had, that the fish should not be taken
or hindered by such dams from passing or going up tho
river to spawn. If there wore no such enactments restrain-
ing mill-owners, it would be competent for any person to
plant himself at that part where a great river ceases to be
navigable, and to erect so largo a darn as to practically an-
nihilate the whole salmon fisheries of the river. Hence the.
statute makes the salmon pass a paramount right over all
milling rights, and that on the ground of public policy.
Now the question was, whether the mill darn of Messrs
Garnett came within the above prohibition. Their coun-
sel contended that the statute had gone into disuse, and
was therefore inoperative ; that, at all events, this dam
had been used 20, 40, and 60 years, without challenge, and
that the title was now good against all the world ; that the
Prescription Act had now repealed the statute of George
1., and that it was at all events repealed by the Fishery
Act in 1S61; and that even if the Ist Geo. I. could be
looked at, this dam did not, in point of fact, take or hinder
the fish from passing up to spawn. The learned commis-
sioner then combated these several points, showing that
the weir was supposed to have been built in 1781, and at
all events that it had not been proved to ' have existed
before 1714, and that it must have been illegal up to 1861.
They did not think there was any authority for saying
that the statute of 1714 became inoperative, because it was
not enforced. It only showed that no one felt sufficiently
aggrieved to set it in motion, but it did not alter the essen-
tially illegal character of the act prohibited by the statute.
If then, the mill darn was illegal up to 1861, how had it
since become legal? The act of 1861, though repealing
previous acts, and among them lstGeorge 1., did not make
legal anything that had been previously illegal, and what
they had to try was whether this dam was legal in 1861,
and if it had anything illegal since that date. They saw
nothing in the late Salmon Fishery Acts, which made this
darn legal, or which could warrant them in finding it to
be now legal, though the remedy had no doubt been now
altered. Then it had been contended that the dam did not
take or hinder fish from passing up the river. The baulk
(before described) was occasionally lifted, so as to make
an aperture through which the fish often did effect a pas-
sage. But this was only used as matter of fairness and
occasionally, and was first put in about 49 years ago, not
because there was any obligation to do sn, but because
Mr. Garnett, being a lover of the sport, wished to assist
his neighbours in that respect. This was generous and
neighbourly; but the question was, whether ho had ever
legally acquired the right to do this. When the baulk
was closed, did it hinder the fish, and had Mr. Garnett
the right to a dam of that character ? They considered it
did, and their order must be that the dam must be al-
tered so as to render it legal. According to the
act of 1865, their order must be such as would "render
the dam incapable of taking fish;" and the only way to do
that was to make an opening in the top of the dam, at the
site of the previous baulk. It was impossible to make an
order which would not in some way injure the milling
power. The owner of the dam had made no suggestion or
they would have endeavoured to give it weight ; but as he
relied on his absolute right, and considering the import-
ance of the case, as affecting:his milling interests, would
probably take the opinion of a superior court, they must
come to the best decision they could on the evidence be-
fore them as affecting the practical form of their order.
What they would therefore order was that the planks
on the top of the stonework of the dam, which were shown
to be first used since 1827, should be removed ; and also
that the baulk be removed, and two inches more under the
baulk, during the whole length of such baulk, and that
this opening shall be permanent during the whole year.
Mr. Jordan, Messrs. Garnett's counsel, immediately gave
notice of appeal to the Court of Queen's Bench.