The Sun.
London, England, 1859-11-05 00:00:00

THE ARMY.

In consequence of the representations which have
been lately made to the authorities of the want of a
sufficient number of well qualified non-commissioned
instruction
of to superintend and assist in the
of the Royal and Indian Engineers, now at head-
quarters, Chatham, in the various branches of engi-
neering operations taught at the Royal Engineer
establishment, an order has been received from the
War Department, directing that eight additional
non-commissioned officers be appointed as supernu-
merary instructors in addition to those already em-
ployel in that duty. The additional non-commis-
sioned officers selected are to be allotted to the seve-
ral departments of instruction—viz., photography,
lithography and printing, telegraphy, surveying,
fieldworks, and the laboratory. Each non-commis-
sioned officer so appointed is to receive an addi-
tion of ls. 6. per day beside his regimental pay as
colour-sergeant, which rank he is to hold.
The second instance of the infliction of corporal
punishment in Colchester Camp during th 3 present
week took place yesterday morning. The prisoner
was a private of the 37th Regiment, named Drake,
who had been caught in the act of pilfering a com-
rade, and when placed in the guard-room he com-
mitted a second felony. For these offences he was
sentenced by court-martial to receive 50 lashes,
which were yesterday inflicted in the presence of
the men of the 10th Depot Battalion. The prisoner,
although a young soldier, bears a very bad charac-
ter. He sustained the punishment without the ut-
terance of a word, and was afterwards removed to
the hospital. The person first whipped during the
present week belonged to the same regiment.
The troops in Colchester Camp, about 2,600 in
number, are now frequently brigaded, and have
field-days, and the customary autumn and winter
prolonged marches into the country have com-
menced.
Thn folio w;ng officers have been appointed by the
Lords of the 1m ratty to the Royal Marine Artil-
lery on its new formation as 2 distinct corps from
the Royal Marine Light Infantry, as --Iced in
The Sun of Thursday :—Col.-Commandant
Fraser, and Brevet :Major J. E. IN . Lawrence, to be
Paymasters ; Capt. T. Q. Meade to be Barrack Mas-
ter; First Lieut. E. C. L. Durnford to be Adjutant ;
Sergt.-Major W. Healey to be Quartermaster.

THE LOSS OF TLIB ROYAL CHARTER.

CONTINUATION OF THE INQUEST.
MOELFRA, FRIDAY NIGHT. •
The inquest was continued to-day. Yesterday
afternoon, however, after the last parcels were de-
spatched, the examination of Suiaca, the boat-
swain's mate, was pursued at considerable length.
In answer to questions from Mr. Mellor, he stated
that the captain was on deck when the first anchor
was dropped. After the first attempt to stay the
vessel had been made the captain told the engineer
that he was to give the vessel as much steam as he
could, as he (the captain) was going to " stay" the
ship again. A second hawser was sent ashore when
the ship broke. Signals of distress were made when
they lost sight of Point Lynas. He considered that
everything was done that could be done to save the
lives of the passengers. The captain was constantly
on deck during the night of the wreck. Witness
was sure that he was perfectly sober.
After some general evidence as to the gale, and
the course which the ship was running at the time,
Thomas Welch, of Park-hill-ro'ad, Liverpool, was
called by Mr. Mellor. He said that he was pre-
sent, along with Mr. Mellor and Mr. Russell, on
Thursday night last at Moelfra, when he heard
Suiaca say distinctly that on the night of the
wreck Captain Taylor was not sober. On the same
night witness heard Suiaca say that he himself
applied three times to Captain Taylor to have the
masts cut away on the night of the storm.
The witness was cross-examined by Mr. Samuel
Martin, of Liverpool. In answer to a question,
witness said that Suiaca knew perfectly well what
he was talking about when he said that Captain
Taylor was drunk.
Mr. John W. Mellor, solicitor, of Oldham, next
tendered his evidence. He corroborated the state-
ment of the previous witness that Suiaca had told
him, in the presence of Mr. Russell and the pre-
ceding witness, that the captain was nut sober.
The witness also stated that he heard Mr. Russell
say that the captain was drunk ; but he afterwards
explained that Mr. Russell had merely made that
statement from hearsay, cs he did not see the cap-
tain on the night of the wreck. To his mind the
evidence was quite conclusive that the captain was
perfectly sober on the occasion. He had no doubt
about it.

William Foster, the carpenter, was next called,
and gave evidence of a similar nature to that which
had been given by Suiaca.
At the sitting of the Court this morning the wit-
ness Foster was recalled. He said that the vessel
might have been from half an hour to an hour on
the rocki before she parted, after which she broke
right across the main hatch. Previous to this a
line had been sent ashore by a man named Rogers,
who had jumped overboard and swam. People stood
on the cliffx and helped to fasten it. It was fast
there an hour or an hour and a half before the ship
parted ; sixteen went ashore by it. A female hesi-
tated to go along it, and this caused a delay
of half an hour. After she refused to go I
went down next, and about three other men
followed me. The chief portion of the pas-
sengers were on the poop and in the saloon.
There were other portions on the forecastle.
A heavy sea broke across the starboard, and about
60 or more were washed into the sea. I had fre-
quent occasion to see the captain that night. He
was perfectly sober. Considerinf, the gale that
evening, I am of opinion that the captain° could nct
do more than he had done to save lives.
By Mr. Bright—After we passed Point Lynas
the wind got stronger and stronger. At first bump-
ing on the sands it my duty to examine her,
and she made no water then. About an hour after
the vessel made water, when she turned round and
was on the rocks. In answer to further questions
from Mr. Bright, the witness only gave corrobora-
tive evidence as to what was done to save the pas-
sengers after the ship struck.
By the ('°n
Ife never heard Suiaca say
that he hadal;eedrihe captain three times to cut the
masts away, and that he had refused to do so. I
never made such a statement myself, and never
heard any one say so.
Mr. J. B. Marsh, reporter, of Chester, called,
said,—l had a conversation with_ Suiaca at his lodg-
ings on Thursday week, the day after the wreck.

The carpenter (Foster) was present at the time.
After taking down Smaca's and Foster's narratives,
I asked Suiaca whether he had any more to say.
He replied that he had heard somebody on the
beach say that the captain was drunk, but he said
that he was as sober as he (Suiaca) was then, and
that he would like to see the man who said he was
drunk. He afterwards added, " I was running
about all night carrying messages from the captain
to the officers, and from the officers to the crew,
and I can swear that he was not drunk." Those
words I took down in writing, but it is now de-
stroyed.

In reply to the Coroner the jury said they were
perfectly satisfied that the captain was sober, and
that there was no necessity for further evidence on
that point.
_ _

At half-past 4 the jury came to the following ver-
dict

" From the evidence tendered we are unanimously
of opinion that the deceased, James Walton and
others, unfortunately lost their lives on board the
Royal Charter by pure accident; that Capt. Taylor
was perfectly sober, and had done all in his power
to save the ship and the lives of passengers."

Last night one of the divers descended down that
part of the wreck where it is supposed the specie
lies, and brought up a bar of gold weighing 4M.,
ar'd a cash-box much crushed, containing a photo-
graph bearing the following address James Haw-
kins,Esq.,Wells -street, High-street, Wells,Somerset-
shire." No bodies were washed ashore either
last night or this morning, except a portion of
the mulilated body of an infant, which was con-
veyed this morning to the church. Persons who
had friends on board still continue to arrive and
seek admission into the church to view the
bodies which remain there to be identified. Every
facility and attention is shown to them by the Rev.
Mr. Hughes, the rector.