The Sun.
London, England, 1859-12-26 00:00:00

DREADFUL SIIIPTVRECK IN THE

CHANNELL.

During Friday afternoon and yesterday a great
sensation pervaded the shipping interest in the city
in consequence of the receipt of a telegram from
Lloyd's agent at Calais, announcing that in the
course of that (Friday) morning several French
fishing smacks had brought into Calais harbour a
large number of cases of wrecked goods with the
name of " Blervie Castle" painted upon them. It
was at once supposed that they had come from the
ship Blervie Castle, Captain George M'Hardy
commander, belonging to Messrs. Dunbar and
Son, the eminent shipowners, which cleared out
of the London Docks last week for Adelaide, and
sailed from Gravesend on the 15th. Great anxiety
was of course evinced to have further information
relative to the cases, and a rneseage per electric
telegraph was at once forwarded to the agent of
Lloyd's at Calais desiring him to send imme-
diately the numbers and character of marks
upon the cases. Yesterday morning the
subjoined particulars of the wrecked property
taken into Calais was received from the agent --
" CALAIS, Friday.
" The cases picked up and landed at Calais are
marked as follows :-G B A (in a diamond), 34 1
triangle), A beneath 10, 3 B A (in a diamond) D J
T (in a diamond), 123 M N (in a diamond) 359 T L
(in a diamond), 40, 35, 139, 98, 158. 133, 59. 11
cases marked B 59, G B F 1,4, 8, 17, 20 F (in a
(circle) 880 B S A (in a diamond), 130, G W A (in
a diamond), 28, 32, S A B and G 95 (in a square),
G B L, 12 13 ; A E (in a diamond), 185 83 (in a
diamond), with C M (beneath), 251, R. and S S.,
58 ; G. W. A. (in a diamond), 8.8. outside, 528 ;
B. S. A. (in a diamond), 127; G. W. (in a diamond),
C. outside, 1,020, 1,021; a box marked Edward
Chard ; a desk and two boxes without marks ' • bar-
rels marked C. S., 125, M. G. and C., 1,622, 12, 23,
24 ; D. J. F. (in a diamond) 70 ; D. J. P.
(in a diamond), 54 ; F. C., 205 ; A. M. L.
(in a square), 256, 258, 366, 137, 287, 375,
207, 125, 278, 165, 288, 223, 139, 254 ; P. (in
a diamond), 10, 17, 21, 29 ; eight casks without
marks ; four barrels marked Booth, London ; M.
C. and C., 69, 214 ; B. C. R. W.,156 ; W. P. E. P.;
three casks without marks, 12, 62, 20 tin cases, a
gun carriage, six bottles of wine, one bottle of gin,
and seven iron hoops. The master of one of the boats
states that these things were picked up about 20
miles to the N.E. of Dunkirk, and that he left a
considerable quantity of goods floating about with
the spars and planking of a large vessel. The cases
bear, in addition to the other marks, the words
Blervie Castle."

Lloyd's agent at Dunkirk also forwarded the
following :
" Dec. 23.—Seven cases have been picked up 12
miles N.N.E. of this port. G and C (in a diamond)
C A 88, G B A (in a diamond) H 62, W H P (in a
diamond) C M 259, 1 (in a triangle) A 34, S J (in
a diamond) M 65, five of which bear the name
Blervie Castle, besides one without mark and one
containing a pianoforte. The third one (No. 259)
is broken and appears to contain ready .made clothes.
On the spot there was no appearance of a vessel
except that of a mast."

Inimediately on the receipt of this news the
brokers, Messrs. Grierson and Tweedale, of Princes-
street, who had chartered the ship, compared the
marks and numbers of the cases with the vessel's
manifest ; and it was at once seen that the whole of
the wrecked property formed portion of the cargo
of the Blervie Castle, and the fact was apparent
that she must have gone to pieces, as the four bar-
rels marked " Booth, London," which had been
landed at Calais, were known by the clerk to have
been stowed at the bottom of the hold of the ill-
fated ship.
The Blervie Castle was one of the fleet of Messrs.
Duncan Dunbar, of Limehouse. She was a very fins
ship, 610 tons register, almost new, having only
been built twoyears, and was classed at Lloyd's A
1, 12 years. She had very superior passenger accom-
modation, and was chartered by Messrs. Grierson and
Tweedale, and laid on for Adelaide. She loaded in
the London Docks, and about 40 passengers had
taken berths in her to proceed to the colony. Twenty-
two joined her when she left the river, and the re-
mainder intended to go on board at Plymouth,
where the ship had to put in. She carried a crew
of 34 hands, including the officers, and had a
valuable cargo of merchendise, with some live stock
on deck. The Channel pilot took charge of her
when she sailed from Gravesend on the 15th inst.,
and proceeded through the Downs with her, and
left her off Dover on Sunday evening, when all
appeared well with her, and she had a fair wind for
her course down Channel. It was expected that
she would reach Plymouth about Tuesday or Wed-
nesday, but nothing more was heard of her. To-
wards the close of Tuesday the wind shifted to the
north-north-west and blew a terrific gale, with
heavy snow, the pilots who were out describing it
as an awful night.
It is supposed that the ship must have got some
distance down Channel when she encountered ;le
gale, and whether Captain M'Hardy, who }.'.,ears a
high character for skilful seamanship, attempted to
run back or hold on by beating about, and was
driven back by the force of the tempest, is a
matter of conjecture. It is quite evident that
the ship got back to the eastward of Dungeness,
in the more narrow portion of the Channel,
where both the English and French coasts are
most prominently lighted, and when seen give a
ship her immediate position. It is therefore ex-
ceedingly probable that the dense snow which fell
during the night entirely shut out these beacons
from view, and that Capt. M'Hardy was not aware
of his situation. It was thought that she was lost
either on the Varne or the Ridge, two shoals which
stand in the centre of the Channel almost in a line
with Folkestone and Cape Grinez. The Varne ex-
tends some four or five miles in length, extremely
narrow, and has not more than a fathom and a-half
upon it at low water, while all round it are sound-
ings at 12 and 17 fathoms. The Ridge is near to
the French coast, a long and narrow shoal, and,
like the Varne, has deep water round it. The gene-
ral impression is that the ship struck upon one of
those shoals, and, after heavy beating, wont to
pieces, and sliding off sunk in deep water. It may
be stated that she was fitted with ample boats to
save all hands, but in such a sea as prevailed that
night it is very doubtful whether they could have
outlived it.

Since the communications that have come to
hand from Calais and Dunkirk it has been ascer-
tained that several luggers have reached Rams-
gate, Dover, and Folkestone with portions of the
cargo of the Blervie Castle; some of it was picked
up in the course of Thursday as far to the eastward
as the Galloper Light off Harwich.
The following are the names of the passengers
wbo went on board in the river and have perished :
" Ist Class—Mr. and Mrs. Daniel and family,
consisting of four sons and one daughter—Henry,
Arthur, Edmund, William, and Elizabeth, late of
Upper Belgrave-place, Belgrave•square ; Master
Stone, aged 16.
" 2d Cabin Passengers—James Young, Catherine
Young, his wife, and their children—James, John,
Isabella, and Margaret ; Joseph Saunders, James
White, Mr. and Mrs. Denham, Mr. and Mrs. Came-
ron, Duncan M'Coll, and Edward Chard. _ _

"List of the Crew—Captain George M'Hardy,
commander, London ; Mr. Thomas Hosie M'Ander-
son, 38 years, chief officer, London ; Mr. Alexan-
der Fraser, 21, second officer, London; Mr. Edwin
Walker, 23, third officer, London ; Charles Damo-
rell, 31, boatswain, Exeter; John Sutherland,
31, steward, Shetland; Wildradge, 21, carpenter,
Wick ; David Finlayson, 20, sailmaker, Dundee ;
Edwin Wordley, 31, cook, Exeter ; James Hatt,
25, butcher, London ; Robert Peslate, 25, able sea-
man, London ; William Sydlander, 25, able seaman,
Milford ; Thomas Elvin, 23, able seaman, London ;
John Jones, 19, able seaman, Cardiff; William
M'lntosh, 24, able seaman, London; John Lewes,
23, able seaman, Bordeaux ; John Swainson, 23,
able seaman, Sweden ; Louis Leguenne, 26, able
seaman, Havre; John Charle, 24, able seaman,
Caen ; William Anderson, 22, ordinary seaman,
Kirkaldy ; Grigsby, 17, ordinary seaman,
Dover; Herbert Rawlinson,
18, euddy servant,
London. Midshipmen (apprentices) :—William
Pittman, of London ; James Shaw Davis, of Lon-
don ; Albert Langdon Draroond, of London ; Wal-
ter Pearson, of London."
There were nine other seamen:on board whose
names have not as yet been correctly ascertained.
The value of the ship and cargo is estimated
at £30,000 at least.

LOSS OF THE LADY FRANKLIN, OF
LIVERPOOL.

Intelligence was received in Liverpool on Satur-
day, confirming the total wreck of the barque Lady
Franklin, of Liverpool, while on her passage from,
that port to Maranham. There is little doubt, also,
that all on board perished save one of the crew,
Charles Matthews, a native of the West Indies,
who was afterwards picked up, landed at Cadiz,
and made the following statement to Mr. J. M.
Brackenbury, Her Majesty's Consul at Cadiz :
" British Consulate, Cadiz, Dec. 6, 1859.
" On this day appeared personally before me Chas.
Matthews, a native of Kingstown, Jamaica, and
he voluntarily declared upon oath that he sailed
from Liverpool in the English barque Lady Franklin,
of Liverpool, Capt. Mantle, with a general cargo
for Maranham, the crew consisting of 17 persons,
and two male passengers. That on the 29th Nove-
mber, at midnight, the Lady Franklin was struck
on her port bow by a large ship steering to east-
ward. After the second concussion the ship an-
swered to the hail and promised to stop by ttqUark,
but afterwards seen to steer twAy tind` was soor,
lost sight of. One 9 the boats was then lan4hed