The Sun.
London, England, 1857-08-25 00:00:00

ADMIRALTY LIBERALITY.

The following letter has been addressed to a con
temporary :

Sir,—fn the spring of the present year the Ex-
' mouth, an English 90-gun screw-ship, with a crew
of 700 or 800 souls, on her way to Spithead, got
some ten or twelve miles out of her course in a
fog, and was seen by a fisherman, when about
three-quarters of a mile off the shore to the north-
west of the Lizard, proceeding under a press of
canvas directly for the coast ; he immediately ap-
pred the -officers of their imminent danger ; the
vessel was put about; and in doing 'so struck on a
ridge of rocks • she then tailed off and an anchor
was let go with 15 fathoms of chain, whichbrought
her up, when her stern was less than ten feet from
some rocks at the foot of an almost perpendicular
cliff about 200 feet
.high. She was here embayed
in one of the many little coves on that coast ; the
fog was very thick at the time, and a heavy ground
swell running in from the south-west. In this cri-
tical position she was boarded by a fisherman,
named Ilitchens, at the risk of his life, and under
his direction the steam was got up, the anchor
slipped, and the vessel piloted out in safety. This
poor fisherman was thus the means of saving
very many liveg, and national property worth
probably 100,0001. The tide was at .ebb at the
time, and had the ship remained there two hours
longer nothing could have saved her, as a very
heavy gale from the south-west • arose in the
evening, when a great loss of life must have
occurred.

For this very important service the Admiralty
have rewarded this poor fisherman with the
paltry sum of five pounds !
Cannot you, through the power possessed by the
leaders of the London daily press, get the claims
of this poor fisherman justly attended to, and the
nation spared such a disgrace ?

LONDON AND EASTERN CORPORATION.--A call of 151.
per share hA been made on the unfortunate shareholders
of the London and Eastern Corporation. At first it was
stated the assets would nearly suffice to pay the out-
standing debts, and that probably all that would be re-
quired of the shareholders after the total loss of their
paid-up capital would be that they should give their
promissory-notes for an additional 501. per share as a
guarantee to enable the corporation to obtain assistance
from the Oriental Bank. The parties engaged in wind-
ing up the concern now state that the assets will yield
considerably less than had been anticipated, and will
take a long time for their realisation ; and that unless
the call of 151. is promptly met, the whole affair may
have to pass into bankruptcy. For the public good the
latter consummation is greatly to be desired, in order
that a full exposure may be effected of a series of acts
which are believed to surpass any that have been revealed
in the case of the Royal British Bink.--Times.
THE TRAFFIC OF THE CLYDE STOPPED.—GLASGOW,
Sunday.—An obstruction has just occurred here which
has created a degreeof excitement, alarm, and inconve-
nience such as has rarely been paralleled in our local
annals. On Friday afternoon the great screw steamer
Australasian left the Broomielaw for Southampton,
thence to take her maiden trip in the service of the
European and Australian Company, for which she had
just been built. She proceeded to Govan, about two
miles down, and grounded. She floated by the night
tide, and moved down two or three miles tut ther, but
again grounded about a mile above Renfrew ferry. In
the efforts made by the tugs to get her off the Austra-
lasian swung right across the river, and as the tide was
receding she was left firmly fixed in this position. As
this happens to be the narrowest point in the course of
the navigation between Glasgow and Greenock, the ship
occupied the whole channel of the river, and put a stop
to the entire traffic. In the morning the wharfs were as
usual crowded with intending passengers, including
several thousands of both sexes, who had, as is fre-
quently the case at this season, hired steamers for plea-
sure trips, but not a single keel could get either up or
down, for the same inconvenience was felt below as
above. At the afternoon's tide a most earnest effort
was made to get the ship off, but she remained fast ;
and as the height of the tide was now decreasing, serious
fears began to be entertained that the traffic of the river
might be shut np till next springs, a fortnight hence,
and that the fillip herself might be destroyed on the
event of a serious fresh setting in, as she lay
broadside on to the fall sweep of the river. The
only hope of removing her lay with the night tide
of this morning, and meanwhile everything aai done
that could be done to lighten her by removing eteres
and ballast, and striking the masts. At half-paet three
this morning the ship moved, to the great joy of
She was gradually swung round, and got' down about
four miles to Dahnuir, when she again grounded; but
here the channel of the Clyde is quite wide; and no in-
convenience
can result except to the Australasian herself.
The inhabitants of Glasgow were rescued from gloom to
thankfulness when they learned this forenoon that the
Clyde was again open. One cause of the accident was
that the tides have been much reduced in volume by ti •
prevalence of easterly winds. It so happens that the
Clyde Trustees obtained an Act in the session about to
close for deepening and widening the river at the very
paint where this fine,ohip grounded.