The Sun.
London, England, 1866-01-02 00:00:00

THE GALES.

The high gales which have prevailed in London
with nhort intervals since Friday last, we learn from
correspondents, have been felt in all parts 'of the
English and Irish coasts, and have been attended
with a large number of shipwrecks.
In the English Channel the brigantine Princess
of Wales, about 180 tons burden, Capt. Campbell
master, from Demerara for London with a full cargo
of rum and sugar, came ashore, broadside on, at
half-past 8 on Friday evening, about 150 yards east
of Sandgate Castle, and a mile west of Folkestone
harbour. At 6 o'clock, when near Dungeness Point,
a man fell from the foreyardarm into the sea, and
the mate jumped overboard with a rope to save him.
The rope slipped and the mate was obliged to let go
his hold. The man then seized the mate's leg, and
the latter gripped him by the collar ; but after a
while the shirt collar broke away, and the man sank
and was drowned. The mate was taken on board
much exhausted, having been in the water half an
hour. During this time there was some confusion
on board, and the ship had drifted to leeward. The
gale now increased, the wind being S.S.W., and sail
after sail was carried away, till the ship was left al-
most with bare poles; and there being no other sails
on board she had become unmanageable, and drifted
ashore. All on board were saved by means of a line
and a life buoy.
A heavy galevisited the Norfolk and Suffolk coasts
on Sunday, and continued during the night, but the
wind being in a south-westerly direction, the waters
in the Yarmouth roads were not so much agitated as
is usually the case in an easterly gale. We have,
however, to report several shipwrecks, although for-
tunately unattended with loss of life. The schooner
Beeswing, Spencer, of Whitby, from Rouen in bal-
last, was passing through the roads about noon, when
she was driven on the Newcome sands, and has be-
come a total wreck. The liessingland beachmen,
seeeing the perilous situation of the crew, launched
their lifeboat, proceeded to their assistance, succeeded
in rescuing them, and lauded them at Lowestoft at
6 p.m. The schooner Albion, Dutton, from Shields,
of and for London, with coals, while in tow of another
vessel,sunk in the south roads opposite the esplanade ;
the crew took to their boats and landed in the har-
bour about 8 a.m. yesterday morning. Both crews were
destitute, and have been cared for at the Sailors' Home.
The brig Northumberland, from Seaham for London,
with coals, was assisted in by a harbour tug, with
damage to her stern, having been in collision with
the brig Pantaloon, from Blyth for Ferrol, which
was also assisted in with loss of anchor and damage
to bows. The schooner Advance, Richardson, of
Malden, from London for Sunderland, in ballast,
was assisted in, making water. The brig William
Birch, of and from Shields for Carthagena, with
coke and coal, was assisted in by a harbour tug,
with damage to bows, having been in collision with
the Cooke lightship. The schooner Heroine, Balam,
from Seaham, of and for Ipswich, with coals, lost
her anchors and had her windlass broken ; she was
assisted in by a tug. The schooner Linda Flor,
Gibbs, from Goole, of and for Ipswich with coal,
was caught in the gale, driven in collision with
another vessel, and her mainmast carried away ; the
Linda Flor was assisted in by a harbour tug.
A terrific gale raged from the south along the
coast of South Wales on Saturday. On Sunday
morning it continued, and at high tide (6 30) the
sea broke over the extreme end of the new iron
pier, Aberystwith, with such fury that a part of it,
about 70 feet in length, comprising the entire head,
the under-float stage, standing on 29 iron piles,
gave way apparently in mass, for the iron and wood
of which it was composed were mostly found at
daybreak on the beach beyond the Queen's Hotel,
at quite the other end of the sweep of the bay.
The damage at present done is estimated at £1,500,
but great fears were entertained that a further
length would :suffer. However, to avert that as
much as possible the Foundry Company's men were
on Sunday employed in severing the strained
parts, so that the damage might be restricted. The
new terrace wall (part of a contract of £2,000 en-
tered into by the corporation of Aberystwith,already
erected beyond the north end of the Queen's Hotel)
had on Sunday afternoon stood the blast without
crack or blemish.

Considerable damage seems to have been done
during the severe gale of Sunday morning upon the
Yorkshire wolds and in some of the more
exposed parts of the North Riding. Stacks have
been overturned and trees torn up in various places,
and some houses had chimneys blown off, and are
partly stripped of tiles or slates. The north side of
St. Michael's Church, Mahon, suffered somewhat in
the roof. Rain fell in torrents, and the land is so
saturated that all field work is stopped. After the
gale the weather was remarkably calm and mild,
but yesterday snow again fell slightly.
A hurricane, something in the nature of a cy-
clone, suddenly broke upon the north-east coast on
Friday evening about 4 o'clock. Three vessels, the
Windward brig, of Blyth, the Levis, of North Shields,
and the bark Union, of Shoreham, were crossing
the bar of the Tyne to enter the harbour. The two
first mentioned were in tow of steamboats, but they
were taken entirely out of the control of the tugs,
and thrown upon the sands at Tynemouth, and the
bark was pitched with equal violence upon the rocks
there. Signals were immediately made from the
Spanish battery for the life brigade, and they soon
mustered in good force, placed the rocket apparatus
on the rocks, and fired lines over two of the ves-
sels ; but, in the meantime, the South and North
Shields lifeboats had pulled out to the vessels, and
with some difficulty they succeeded in getting the
crews off and landed them at Prior's Haven. About
6 o'clock at night torrents of rainpoured down upon
the coast, and after it ceased the torrent lulled, and
the night got out fine. Before midnight the sailors
had the Windyard and Levis off the strand ; they
will receive £lOO for each vessel. The Union is a
wreck. The bay of Hartlepool experienced the
effects of the hurricane in all its fury, and several

In Edinburgh the south-westerly gales were felt
with great violence, though coming off the land.
They were fortunately unattended by any disaster
in the Firth of Forth. On Friday, from noon
to 4 p.m., the wind raged over the town, caus-
ing a considerable number of accidents to person
and property. On Saturday there was a blinding
snowstorm, the first visit of the cold for the season ;
but at night the milder southerly wind again pre-
vailed, and from 11 o'clock till 2 on Sunday morn-
ing it blew a perfect hurricane, doing great damage
to the ;chimneys, trees, signposts, and hoardings.
In Bishop's-close, High-street, a brick chimney gave
way, and fell through three successive stories in the
apartments of the several fiats occupied as kitchens.
No one was in either of the two under kitchens
at the time, but in the upper one were three chil-
dren of Mr. T. Harlow, two of them in bed, and
the other a girl of 16, who had not yet gone to rest.
Although almost overwhelmed in the rubbish they
were extricated alive, and without having received
any serious injury. They were got out by Police-
sergeant Black and Constable Rennie, who set to
work with great presence of mind and at great risk
to themselves, and who eventually succeeded in
digging through the rubbish, and in bringing them
out of the story below that which they inhabited.
While the alarm continued the police caused all the
ten families in the stair, numbering 63 persons, to
take shelter in the head office, which was near at
hand, until the state of the building was ascertained
and they were able either to return or find accom-
modation elsewhere. The house in which the oc-
currence took place was almost the next building to
that which fell four years ago with the loss of 35
lives. Various other accidents took place in the
course of the night, but were happily unattended
with loss of life.

On Friday evening the brig Annabel, of Montrose,
ran ashore in Montrose-bay. The Annabel left
Montrose on Wednesday morning, in ballast, for
Sunderland, but owing to the roughness of the
weather she had only got as far as the mouth of the
Firth when she began to make water. On discover-
ing this the captain immediately ordered all hands
to the pumps, but these were found to be chocked.
The vesselthen't ecame unmanageable, and was driven
back as far as Lunan-bay, where she was on Friday
afternoon. In the evening of the same day the
wind drove her as far north as Montrose bay, and
the captain endeavoured to enter the harbour. This,
however, he failed to do, and the brig was driven
ashore. The crew took to the boats, and got safely
to land, but had to leave all their clothes. Means
were being adopted to save the masts, sails, and
other movable materials, but the vessel herself will
become a total wreck. The Annabel is the property
of the Montrose Union Coal and Lime Company.