The Sun.
London, England, 1859-10-27 00:00:00

HARTLEPOOL.

Four days of keen frost with a nipping north-
east wind was followed yesterday, at Hartlepool,
by a sudden and delightful change to almost
spring weather, the wind having changed to
the south-east. In the eventng it increased in
violence, and towards midnight the storm raged

with great intensity, continuing till about 4 o'clock.
The gale was at:its height at 2 o'clock, and those
who witnessed it describe it as being the most
awful that has been seen on this coast for many
years. A large number of light colliers were in
the neighbourhood, together with some laden ves-
sels at the time the storm commenced, and they all
ran for this port for shelter. The consequence of
so many running in together resulted in consider-
able damage to almost every vessel. The first ves-
sels that entered, instead of running to the head of
the harbour, took up their positions alongside the
quay, and those that followed were obliged to run
aground on the south side of the harbour. About
a dozen lay closely packed together, and this morn-
ing presented a distressed appearance, with yards,
bowsprits, and jibbooms carried away. The brig
Margaret, of Colchester, lost mainmast, bowsprit,
and jibboom. On the mussel-beds, between the
jetty and the commissioner's ferry-landing, the fol-
lowing vessels were driven,—some of them above
the ordinary high-water mark,—all of which re-
ceived more or less damage from collision with each
other :—The Trio, of Whitby; the James Dowell,
of Newcastle ; the John Elliotson, of Whitstable ;
the Fly and the Beeswing, both of Whitby ; the
Happy Family, of Whitstable; the Robinson and
the Margaret, both of Hartlepool ; and the Auguste,
of Lynn. On Middleton Sands, near the jetty, the
brigs Atlas, Wilcher, and Isabella, Bemm, of Whit-
', by; and near the north pier at West Hartlepool,
the Ann, of Stockton. At West Hartlepool, the
screw steamer Admiral Cator, Paxton, master,
of that port, from Rotterdam, with general
cargo, when entering the harbour, struck the south
pier on her larboard bow, and immediately began
to fill. Her engines were reversed to back her
off, and then put on full speed again, which
was scarcely done before she sank, the water
flowing above her deck. At low water she is un-
covered, and she is now being unloaded. The brig
Severn, Richinson, of West Hartlepool, was driven
into a bight in the basin, and where she did con-
siderable injury to the pier and groynes, and then
was carried across the basin in the south corner
upon the stones. The brigs Eleanor and the Mecca,
of Whitby, were also driven into corners between
the piers and the groynes, and received consider-
able damage, the latter losing foremast and bow-
sprit, and the hull being completely doubled up.
The brig Hawkhill, of 'Whitby, was driven on to
the Black Rocks near the Hartlepool pier, where
she will become a total wreck. We are sorry to
have to record the loss of two lives in connection
with these casualties. The schooner Wells, of
Lynn, went ashore on Seaton Sands, near the life-
boat house, and two of the crew, the master and
mate, were unfortunately drowned. This morning
scarcely a vestige of the vessel was visible. About
a dozen vessels were cast high and dry alongside
the fishermen's cottages in the West Hartlepool
basin, and great difficulty will be experienced in
getting them off.