The Sun.
London, England, 1868-12-15 00:00:00

THE GALE.

The gales nave: done great destruction within the last
few days. Tales of shipwreck reach us from every hand.
The one which has attracted the largest amount of atten-
tion is the Hibernia disaster. Only two boats at first
reached land, and it was feared that the third had perished.
But it has now reached the South of Ireland. Mr. Davis, the
second officer, gives a graphic description of the adventures.
"When we left the Hibernia we had in our boat two barrels
of biscuit, three casks of water, and several tins of pre-
served meat. Two hours after leaving the ship we found
the boat was so full that we deemed it necessary to
throw one of the barrels of biscuit overboard to make
room for the passengers. The boat was a life-
boat twenty-two feet long, with six or seven
feet beam. One woman had two children of three and
five years respectively, and another an infant of six
months old. Our boat was leaking badly when we started,
and it required two men constantly baling to keep her
afloat. Soon after leaving the Hibernia, we fell astern
of the other boats, being only able to pull two oars, owing
to our crowded condition. When the first mate's boat
was capsized, we attempted to get round to assist them,
but, being nearly swamped in doing so, were obliged to
attend to our own safety. During that day we pulled before
the wind, but at night 'we lay to by means of a floating
anchor, and endeavoured to make the boat as trim as
possible. We tried to make the women as comfortable
as we could by spreading tarpaulin over the forward part
of the boat. Nobody asked to get anything to eat the
first day, all being too anxious to think of eating. On
the following (Thursday) morning we got a higsail set
on the boat, and made the best of our way for the Irish
coast, before a south-westerly breeze. The following
night (Friday) an old man, who had shewn symptoms of
derangement, jumped overboard, saying he was going
to bed. On the third day the breeze fell very light, and
we had to take to the oars. Next morning one of the
passengers, supposed to be Francis Rogers, suddenly threw
himself overboard. A woman, supposed to be his sister,
pleaded hard that some of should throw her into the sea
after him, but we endeavoured to soothe her, and suc-
ceeded. He had quarrelled with us because we nailed the
compass to the thwarts. Up to this time provi-
sions had been given out in moderate quantities,
and each person had a daily allowance of a
pint of water. We had now to shorten the allowance.
Up to the Monday no one had seriously complained of the
discomforts, and all were in tolerable spirits. The sea-
men did all in their power to inspire hope ; and the quar-
termaster, Blair, spun yarns to keep their spirits up. On
the Wednesday the second engineer sang the 100th realm,
and many joined with him. On Friday morning we
had sailed 450 miles. The tarpaulin sail had given way
half a dozen times, and was as often mended, and on the
whole the boat had gone very well. This day the infant
died. Our situation had become miserable in the extreme.
There was nothing to cover the women, as we had
used everything for sails. Cramp had seized all
of us more or less, and our legs and hands
were greatly swelled, and consequently very painful.
The fresh water was so scarce that less than a pint had
to serve four persons for a day, and provisions were
equally scanty. Some of us were raving and violently
mad. A woman died as the evening closed in, but the
fact was not noticed at the time, and the body was still
in the boat when about eleven o'clock a heavy wave
struck the boat, and those on board, in their drowsy con-
dition, falling suddenly in a mass, to the lee side, she
went over, and all were left struggling in the water.
The boat floated upwards, and Reilly managed to struggle
up and seat himself on the keel. He assisted Blair to get
up, which the latter did with some difficulty, as a drowning
passenger had laid hold of his leg. Reilly then assisted
me, and I had also to shake myself clear of some one
clinging to my foot. No others got hold of the boat,
though several were heard for a time shouting or swearing
as they swam about in the darkness. About twelve o'clock
a heavy sea struck the boat, and the three of us, who were
sitting astride of the keel, were again immersed in the
water. Blair was the first to recover his position, and,
by his assistance, I and the other man wrought up on the
boat. The sail was floating alongside, and we got hold
of the ropes attached to the mast, and, watching for
a favourable opportunity, managed, by pulling upon the
ropes, to get the boat righted. She was, of course, full
of water, and we baled her at first with flat pieces of
wood, and afterwards with two tin cans which we found
attached to the thwarts. At length, by hard labour, we
got her clear. By the Sunday evening we were beginning
to get down-hearted. We saw a sail—the first we had
seen—but she did not observe us, and darkness shortly
afterwards closing in, we had no light with which to
attract attention. We were downcast at this, but about
six o'clock we were suddenly cheered by seeing a light to
the eastward, which turned out to be from Tory Island
Lighthouse. We made for the light, though it was blow-
ing strongly from the south-west, with a heavy sea run-
ning. After some further vicissitudes we ran along
the shore for some distance till we saw a likely place
in Mulroy Bay, on the west side of Fannet • Point.
Having a favourable breeze, we made a race for the shore,
and ran the boat up with such force that the receding wave
left her stern dry upon the beach. We were able to crawl
out of the boat, but it was only then that we began to
know how weak we were. Presently we found ourselves
in the midst of a crowd cf country people, who had been
attracted by the unwonted appearance of our boat as she
came up the bay. After coining ashore we found our
limbs swollen to such an extent that it was utterly impos-
sible to move."

The Western Morning News gives a good account of the
wreck of the Gossamer :—" Midway between the Bill of
Portland and the Lizard, a hundred miles or more from
either, a promontory which mariners have good cause to
dread juts far out into the English Channel. This pro-
montory has three principal heads—Start Point, Prawle
Point, and Bolt Head. It is on the centre of theseheadlands,
Prawle Point, and one mile east of the lighthouse, that
the disaster occurred. The Gossamer, a China tea clipper
ship, of 735 tons register, was built in 1864, by Mr.
Stevens, of Glasgow. She was owned by Messrs. Potter and
Brown, of Liverpool, and was despatched from London last
week as one of Messrs. Holder Brothers and Company's line
for Adelaide, Australia, with a general cargo. She left the
Downs on Wednesday, in charge of Grant, a London
pilot, her master being Mr. Thompson and her surgeon
Mr. Dale. She had but one passenger on board. Mr. Dale
was to call at Plymouth to embark other passengers under
the agency of Messrs. Wilcocks and Weekes, and
among them were the Rev. Mr. Jeffries, family, and
servants, and Miss King. On Thursday, during a strong
S.W. breeze and a heavy sea, the Gossamer was working
her way down Channel in the pilot's charge. The captain,
who had been but three weeks married, was with his
wife below, unsuspicious of danger. The mate was with
the pilot on deck, and about noon called Grant's attention
to the fact that they were, in his judgment, standing too
close in shore to the Start, but the pilot declared they
were all right, and continued on the starboard tack.
Shortly afterwards the slip got very close under the
land, and the pilot gave the order to tack. The flood
tide, however, was sweeping round the point, and its
strength the pilot had miscalculated. On attempting to
tack the ship missed stays ; there was not final) to make a
further tack, and in a minute or two the captain, attracted
by the shouts, rushed on deck, exclaimiug, 'For heaven's
sake where are we ?' his ship being driven by a S.S.W.
wind and tide on to the breakers. These occurrences
had been watched by the coastguard, who saw the
imminent danger of the ship long before the pilot had
done so, and who, under the orders of their chief officer,
Mr. Pengelly, had got out the rocket apparatus, and
conveyed it to the point nearest to the wreck. The crew
were so terrified by their position, in momentary danger of
being washed over, and unable to see the preparations
being made on shore for their rescue, that several of them
jumped overboard to swim ashore. Most of these perished
in the attempt ; had they remained on board, they would
probably have been saved. The captain and his young
wife were on deck in an agony of distress ; throwing off
most of his clothes, he was about to make the attempt
to swim with her to shore, when one of the crew, a
powerful black man, and a noted swimmer, begged to be
allowed to take the lady—she was the only lady' on
board---on his back. The captain, however, thinking
probably that the additional warmth of his affection would
compensate for the want of power in his arm, declined,
and the gallant negro, believing that the vessel would
probably be shivered into fragments, plunged into t' e sea,
and swam ashore with ease. A moment after a tremendous
sea tore the wife from her husband's grasp, and washed
her over ; the captain instantly jumped after her, but the
back tow of the wave swept him and his wife seawards,
and they were both drowned within a few yards of each
other. Meanwhile the rocket apparetus was got to workby
the coastguard, and so effectually, that all those remaining
on beard were saved before the vessel broke up. Mr. Popple-
stone, the recipient of the Albert medal, was exceedingly
active in this good work. The vessel has since been totally
destroyed. She carried thirty as a crew. Of these se vent<en
only have been saved. There is, therefore, a loss of
thirteen lives."

THE REFORM LEAGUE.—Mr. Joseph Gueciall.
has resigned his place on the executive council of the
Reform League. In a letter addressed to Mr. Beaks, and
read at the last meeting of the council, Mr. Guedalla espe-
cially urges those who will in future direct the policy of
the League to adopt a tone not more of firmness than of
moderation and conciliation, and so strengthen the bands
of Mr. Gladstone's Administration. Mr. Beales referred in
high terms to Mr. Guedalla's past conduct ; and a resolu-
tion conveying to him the cordial thanks of the council for
his able and disinterested service, was unanimously
Ooptgclt

Tran t adv.

HER MAJESTY.

WINDSOR CASTLE, Dec. 14.

To-day being the anniversary of the death of the
lamented Prince Consort, the Queen, accompanied
by the Royal Family, went to the. mausoleum at
Frogmore (which is now completed) this morning,
where her Majesty remained for some time.

7HE CONSERVATIVE LAND SOCIETY.

(THIS DAY.)

The sixteenth annual meeting of the shareholders took
place this day at the offices, in Norfolk-street, Strand -•
Viscount Rauelagh in the chair.

Mr. GRUNEISEN (the secretary) havidg read the adver-
tisement convening the meeting, the annual report of the
Executive Committee was read as follows :

Iu compliauca with the certified rules, the Executive
Committee have the pleasing duty of submitting their
general statement to the shareholders of the funds and
effects of the Conservative Benefit Building
gether with an account of the money received and 0-
pended, duly vouched by the Auditors, since the publica-
tion of last year's balance-sheet. Society, to"
The subjoined returns give the total cash receipts for
the respective quarters of. 1867-8 to the close of the &lan"
cial year on the 30th of September last:—

Qrs. ending Shares in Shares Total ReceiptS.
--
progress. Complete. Shares.
Dec. 25,1867 6109 8
179 789 £54,268,
March 25, 1863 39i 175 570 50,948 13 7,
June 24, 1863 1.22 83 905 49,697 6 ..,
Sept. 30, 1868 413 89 507 33,428 10 .
..—...............
2,245 526 2,771 188,342 19 6
Totals to Ml
chaclmas, 1867. . 22,386 5,397 27,783 1,100,600 7 9
Grand totals to
Michaelmas, 136 24,631 5,923 30,551 1,288,946 7 3

The total withd

society(lBs2)
The total sale of

uwals sinc
to Michael;
land for

33 the formation of the
alas, 1868, are... £328,984 19 6
the same period

is ... 583,650 15 1
The reserve fund to Michaelmas, 1868, is... 15,089 13 2
The last share number issued to Septembor 30, 1868, Wag
No. 30,554.
As regards the general business of the past year the
Executive Committee can refer with great satisfaction to
.
the annexed tabular statement, showing the increase 111
various sources of income :

NATUnE OF ACCOUNT. 1867. 18C8. 1NC'53.1.86
--------1..
£ s. d. £ s. d.
Subscriptions
Deposits
Advances for Build-t 5
11,991 4 4 41,674 9 4 23,680
Advgances to Allottees 48,161 0 2 45,917' 6 4 6,766 6
Repayments of Ad- in 5
vances for Build- 9,687 2 6 3',122 13 2 21,:35 ""
ing, &c.
Repayments of Ad-1. 5
32.411 8 9 39,790 18 2 7,379 -
vances forAllotteesno 9 /
Interest on Advances 6,438 4 8 7,247 13 11 8-- 1,0
Sale of Land 2 8
41,993 0 9 48,625 15 7 6,61
Totals 207,870 8 1 289,194 17 4 81,824
_.........9 8

The four auditors appointed at the quarterly meeting
the 6th of October last, namely, Mr. Clemow and Mr. 0081
elected by the shareholders, and Mr. Thomas Russel het
Mr. Newnham Winstanley, nominated by the Board, W'
on the 29th of October and subsequent days and verified
the vouchers, books, andsecurities, and signed the balace"
sheet. After leaving the reserve fund at £15,089 13s. 2d;
(of which sum, the office premises and furniture acceun.
stand at £3,089 13s. 2d.), the executive committee are ,W
abled to provide for the interest of 5 per cent. per sil;
num on shares (completed or paid a year in adviar
and for the interest of four per cent. per annum in 'Ac3-
posit department. The committee are also enabled r°
add to the accounts of members holding uncompleted irt;
vested shares, not in arrear (in respect of which no interes;
has been paid), a bonus equivalent to six per cent. Pe"
annum ; and on shares paid a year in advance and 11P
wards, a bonus of one per cent. will be added to the Dr
counts in the pass-book. As regards the additional lute;
rest of one per cent., to which the holders of comPletef
shares will be entitled by the present declaration 0
bonus, the amount will be included in the half-YOrlici
Lady-day interest warrants, issued and payable on °ha
after the Ist of May next. Thus, every payment On tot
shares on the Register at the present annual meeting, e°r
being in arrear, will realise six per cent. per annum fos,
the financial year ending the 30th of September, 186 a
Tho rate of interest on shares (completed) will
shares in progress (paid a year in advance)
remain for the present at five per cent. per annuilli.
The half-yearl7 warrants up to Lady-day and k1ic1336'.:
mass will be is3uol at the customary periods, namely, the
Ist of May and the Ist of November. The rate of interes
for the Deposit Department, that is, for investors wil°,ll,l
not members of the society, will remain unchanged e
four per cant. per annum, payable half-yearly, at the 55.-i
period as the interest warrants on shares. The otdieeira
quarterly meetings were duly held on the 7th of April,
7th of July, and the 6th of October. The following ole;
hers of the executive committee retire by rotation, /if Gall,
; .v,
The HOB. and Rev. W. Talbot, H. W. Currie, Esle
Newcomen, Esq., J. Goodson, Esq., and IL 13°"11,3.
Esq., and being eligible, offer themselves for re-electioot
The Executive Committee have to regret the retirellie4
yes-
from the Board of the Earl of Shrewsbury (so wall tint
a member of the Executive Committee as theYise°-03,
Ingestre). His lordship since his accession to the earl:
i
being unable to attend the weekly meetings, rcsigneu„se
office, but preserving his interest in the society re estates
member of the general committee. The following eiev.tso
have been allottgd since the last annual report :-1•1410-
London, Finchley, 2d portion 26th March, 1868. 2",,01
with, Suffolk (East), 2d portion 26th March. 3. S'inc;ith
Estate, Isle of Wight, 2d portion 26th March. 4.
London, Clapham Junction, East Surrey, No. 1, 29th AP),,
5. South London, Clapham Junction, East Surrey,
."
tion 24th June. 6. Holloway (Upper), Middlesex, 2361
7. Reigate, Red Hill, Surrey (East), 13th AuPst'sept.
Northampton (Kingsthorpe), Northamptonshire, Ba
At the annual meeting last December the members
mss'
-sent passed a resolution fully "approving of the foi,r the
tion of a Land Company (Limited), to co-3perata Wit'!"
Conservatie Laud Society, thereby inaugurating 5 itoa
system of Combined action, whereby the operations ill
go
may be considerably extended, and thus prove Intituoci
beneficial." The executive committee therefore iselier
circular to the shareholders, accompanied with the, the
posed prospectus to be issued by the directors e`f
United Land Company (Limited), enclosing forms that
plication for shares, thereby carrying out the plecie„, be
the members of the society should in the first instal:nue
offered the shares of the new company. Such Wag
the
readiness displayed by the shareholders to invest '-ajor
new company that the latter was duly incorporated ucioso
the Companies' Acts of 1862 and 14167, and since the bet,
of the society's financial year, on the 30th of SePte! the
the land business has been exclusively carried on 100,
United Land Company (Limited). The Executive jai'
mittee have to congratulate the shareholders on the I'ol
tional element of security which this co-operation
14
afford. As the parent society increased Yearlip,ect
prosperity by extending its purchases of 01.
into various counties, the applications for builditigt
tb
vances on these properties became so numerous tiu;ot9'o
loan business itself sufficed to employ much of the 81/e'oete
finances. It became evident that, to carry on OttenThe
land transactions, a fixed capital was necessalP
combined principle of action whereby the comp boil 0110
botlk
in the land, and the society developes the estates blu 061
ing advances, is now working successfully. M
a °lets
Building Society, under the certified rules, the
rola
makes advances on freehold, leasehold, and other aPPitis cs+'
security, and at the same time will supply its. 0114 te;
pital to the United Land Company (Limited)
yatia
quirsd. Owing to the combination'avith the Unite
in s 4
Company (Limited) the board has much pleascr:rotege
nouncing that from the 30th September the qua er sei
fees have been reduced to one shilling per share Poes o
num, as a contribution towards the working esPetbe et'
the society. The Conservative Land Society bas „ or'
tributes of a savings bank and investment institute °-13 00
large scale, as well as a building advance associsti°o' 00e
profits being dependent chiefly on the difference d the
the interest paid to shareholders and depositors,,S,lloit't
interest charged to borrowers. The Executive 'roof'
tee congratulate their fellow shareholders on ti' shed °4
position and future prospects of the society, estabiLi vtiV
the institution is on thoroughly sound coranierci6tie 01:
ciples, and they trust, by economical and energ '
e 4
nagement, to insure the continuance of the succebs;prell
has attended the Conservative Land Society for t—
ons 16 years.
(Signed) RANELAGH, Cbarillall• Ee°'
(Countersigned) CHARLES LEWIS GRo-EISZ'
Offices of the Conservative Land Society,

33, Norfolk-street, Strand, W.C.,
London, Dec. 16, IE6B.

THE WESTERN FISHERIES.—The catches c'liori"
OW kinds of fish on the Devon and Cornish Coast, Dog;
the past week have again been large. Ab tl'to 0 /3'
ad°dili‘ion to
hi ;las
heads of pilchards were secured,'
good loads of herrings, and thereis-reinfair takes of
~`ls;ott ta
plaice, and sprats. A:large portion of the fish vrtl"
London. Tb°
TH TI
N TRADE.--TRHRO, blondal.'' y,'
„,,,,, scP
smelters have to-day followed up their last -,-'—foiet-
b advance in the standards of tin ore and place o' dotb'
tiy announcing a further rise of 25., making the
PIO t°
tons thus :—Ores, common, 97s to 98s; fine,
1 .0
loio til/
s. ; metal, common, 107 s; refined, 111 - Sh3rie:l
t f°,l
mines have been in great request during the "":, co/
days, and the present advance will be sure to noil—.
siderably increased activity to the market. '