The Sun.
London, England, 1861-12-02 00:00:00

DARING ACT OF WRECKING ON THE

ESSEX COAST.

SHEERNESS, Nov. 30.
A very daring act of wrecking, on the Essex
coast, a few miles below the Nore, involving a loss
to the underwriters of £lO,OOO, was investigated by,
the county magistrates at the district bench (Sit-
tingbourne) yesterday. Saven boatmen belonging
to Brightlingsea, at the mouth of the Colne, named
Wm. Dove (master), George Oliver, Charles Cook,
Wm. Rumble, James Gould, James Bacon, and Jas.
Fielding, of the smacks Prima Donna and Sarah,
were charged with feloniously carrying away a
large quantity of tallow from the wreck of the ship
Regina, stranded on the Middle Swin Sand on the
night of the 13th ult.
The examination occupied the whole day ; but
the following will be found to contain the main
facts. The Regina was on a voyage from Cronstadt
to London with a cargo of tallow and lathy, ood :
and on proceeding through the Swin for the mouth
of the Thames on the night of the 13th November,
heavy weather was encountered, and the brig went
upon the Middle Swin sand, some seven or eight
miles from the coast, and the crew left her in the
long boat, and, after drifting some time were picked
up by the schooner Effort, which put into Whit-
stable. On the following morning, at daybreak, a
signal was hoisted on board the Effort, and two
smacks, with divers, &c., came off, and they were
told to go to the wreck, which they did. In the
evening of the 14th Captain Skelton, the master of
the Regina, who had been ill on board the Effort,
went ashore at Whitstable and reported the wreck
of his vessel to Mr. Wood, Lloyd's agent. On the
afternoon of the next day, the 15th, Capt. Skelton
and Lloyd's agent proceeded to the wreck, and they
found a lot of boats alongside and about 50 men on the
top of the wreck. Several holes had been cut in her
broadside. The men were cutting into the ship with
axes and crow bars fishing up the casks and taking the
tallow out of the casks with boat-hooks and hands
together. There was a general scramble as to who
should get most. Captain Skelton and Mr. Wood
remonstrated with the men as to their reckless pro-

ceeding, and commanded them to cease cuttieg holes
in the side of the vessel and removing any more of
the tallow. About this time a breeze sprung up,
and all had to leave the wreck. Coates, the mate
of the Regina, was left in a Whitstable smack, near
the wreck for the night, and a telegraphic commu-
nication was sent up to Lloyd's. announcing the
plunder that was going on. On the following
(Saturday) morning, at two o'clock, Coates found
the men again at work on the wreck, and several
yachts, with tallow in them alongside. The mate
told the fellows to leave off digging into the ship,
with their crowbars, and they pelted him with
tallow. A boat-hook was thrown at him, and they
stated that they would as soon put an axe into him
as the ship. The names of the Prima Donna and
other smacks that were lying near were taken.
The men continued working at the wreck, and be-
tween three and four o'clock Captain Skelton and
Lloyd's agent returned ; but they could not get near
the wreck in consequence of the number of boats
that surrounded her. The captain hailed the men
to leave her, but they treated his remark with deri-
sion, and told him that they had as much right
there as he had. About daybreak Capt. J. Russell,
the special agent for Lloyd's Association, who bad
taken a steam tug from Southend, arrived on the
scene. Capt. Skelton and Mr. Wood at once commu-
nicated with him ; and as it was evident that the
men would not leave the wreck, Capt. Russell at
once proceeded in the tug to Sheerness Dockyard,
and obtained the aid of a file of 12 marines. On re-
turning in the afternoon, 25 smacks were seen near
the wreck, and the men were still busy at work in
breaking up casks and fishing up tallow through
the holes which were cut in the side. Captain
Russell and Captain Skelton went near the
wreck and desired the boats to take what they
had to Sheerness, and for the men to
leave. With a deal of abuse they refused to go
to Sheerness, and as the marines were now seen on
board the steam-tug there was a general rush
amonst the men to get the smacks under weigh and
run for the coast. A sergeant and a party of the
marines were got into the boat, which made for the
nearest smack. On approaching the Prima Donna,
which was hoisting the sails and heaving up the
anchor, the prisoner Dove, the master, was called to
stop. He refused, and defied Captain Russell or any
one else to go on board. The sergeant and some of
the marines were then put on board the smack.
Still the crew refused to obey the order to stop
until the sergeant drew his bayonet. There was a
large quantity of loose tallow in the smack. Two
other boats, Sarah and Spray, were boarded, and
the three were taken to Sheerness ; but 17 of the
smack ran away to leeward and escaped capture.
The prisoners were stated to have been on board the
Prima Donna and Sarah. Very close upon 200
tons of the cargo was lost, and with the exception
of the tallow brought into Sheerness none of that
taken from the wreck had been accounted for to
the receivers of wreck. As soon as the men left
the wreck, Captain Russell set the divers to fork
from the Whitstable smacks, and the whole of the
casks left had been got up.
Mr. Wood deposed that when he remonstrated
with the men upon their improper conduct, he ex-
plained to them that they were prepared with
divers to save the casks whole.
Captain Skelton stated that when he left the
ship he intended to return, and that he got the two
smacks from Whitstable to take charge of her.
The prisoners were convicted under the 478th
section of the Merchant Shipping Act in the double
penalty of £5O, £lOO each man, or to be imprisoned
three months on each penalty until the amount was
paid.
Mr. Goody said it was unnecessary for him to
say that the men could not pay such large fines,
and intimated his intention of appealing.
The men were removed in custody by Superin-
tendent Green, of the Kent Constabulary.

AAOTLIER TRADE OUTRAGE AT

SHEFFIELD.

SHEFFIELD, SUNDAY EVENING.

The horrible details of the outrage in Acoru-
street (which have been fully given in The Sun) are
still fresh in the public mind, and we arc sorry to
state that another deed of violence has been com-
mitted, which will throw fresh disgrace upon the
town. The outrage we are about to record, how-
ever, has not caused injury to life, but a large
amount of valuable property has been imperilled.
It appears that early this morning a man named
John Bollington, engine-tenter at the works of Mr.
Harry Houldsworth, crinoline manufacturer, New
George street, Sheffield-moor, went to his master's
premises for the purpose of inspecting the
machinery. Very shortly after entering the
works he found that an attempt had been made
to blow up the place during the night. On going
into a room which is let off to a factor named
Pattison, he found the window shattered to
pieces, the hearthstone broken, the joists of
the floor heaved out of their places, and
one or two of them broken. He went in the machine
room and there found that the joists of the floor had
been lifted up, and the framework of the door forced
out. It was evident that the explosion had proceded
from the lower story, and on proceeding there Bol-
lington found his surmises confirmed. The usual
means of destruction adopted in these cases was
found, and sufficiently marked the nature and origin
of the outrage. In the cellar he found the shattered
remains of a large milk-can, capable of holding
several pounds of powder, which had been thrown
in through the grating. In the broken lid of the
can there was a small hole in which the fuse had
been placed. It is remarkable that the damage done
was not more extensive, but the building, as it is,
is seriously injured. A man was working all night
in another part of the works, but he says he did not
hear an explosion, but heard a hissing noise about
four this morning. The wind was very high at
the time, which may account for this somewhat
singular circumstance. The facts were at once
communicated to the police, and Mr. Jackson, the
energetic chief constable, was shortly afterwards
engaged with his detective officers in investigating
the case. The shattered remains of the can are in
the possession of the police, and it is hoped they
will be the means of affording a clue to the perpe-
trator of the outrage. It seems that a non-unionist
grinder has been working on the premises, and the
explosion was, it is thought, intended as a warning.
The two unfortunate victims of the explosion of
the " infernal machine" in Acorn-street are still
lingering in great suffering. This afternoon a
special sermon was preached by the Rev. Brooke
Herford, Unitarian minister, to a vast assemblage
of working men in the Temperance-hall. The rev.
gentleman, who is a stanch supporter of unions,
strongly denounces these crimes, and called upon
the working men of Sheffield to leave no means
untried until the perpetrators of them were rooted
out. The general feeling in the town is one of un-
mixed detestation and horror of these crimes, and
no amount of punishment will be deemed too severe
if the perpetrators are discovered.

HEAVY GALE OF WIND AT MANCIIESTEE.—Late
on Saturday night a strong gale of wind sprung up in Man-
chester and its neighbourhood, from the west, which by
ono o'clock on Sunday morning had increased to one of the
most fearful hurricanes ever remembered there, and did not
abate till towards five o'clock. It was feared much mischief
would result to shipping on the Lancashire coast, but very
little damage to property had been heard of in the neigh-
bourhood of Manchester up to nine o'clock, wilcn our re-
port left,