The Sun.
London, England, 1844-12-09 00:00:00

MELANCHOLY CATASTROPHE.

On Friday last Mr. T. T. De Lasaux, one of the
coroners of Kent, held an inquest, at Whitstable, on the
bodies of Edward Polhill, aged thirty-four, William
Polhill, aged twenty-five, George Miles, aged thirty-two,
John Mason, aged thirty-one, and Henry 'Pym, aged
thirty-three, the whole of whom had been unfortunately
drowned on the evening of Wednesday last, while passing
from Whitstable td the Isle of Sheppey.
Mr. Pym was a farmer, and for some years occupied
an extensive farm at Leysdown, in Sheppey, but had
recently retired from business, and at the time of his
melancholy death resided at Bridge, near Canterbury.
His companions in misfortune were men engaged in the
Coast Guard service, stationed at Whitstable, and were
all highly respected by their companions in the service,
as well as by the inhabitants of Whitstable and Seasalter,
by whom their untimely fate is much regretted. E.
Polhill and G. Miles have each left widows, with five
young children ; and J. Mason, also a married man, has
left a widow and one child ; the other two—viz., W.
Polhill and H. Pym, were unmarried.
The jury having been sworn, proceeded to the Coast
Guard station-house to view the bodies, which presented
the melancholy spectacle of five human beings, in the
prime of life and full of health, hurried into eternity
without a moment's warning, as may be conceived by the
evidence adduced.
Mr. Aldridge, Chief Officer of the Coast Guard Ser-
vice at the Seasalter station, stated, that shortly after
four o'clock in the afternoon of Wednesday. he directed
E. Polhill, chief boatman, and his companions W. Pol-
hill, G. Miles, and J. Mason, to proceed to sea in the
" four-oared gig" on duty, to watch the various craft
that might be rounding the Shellness point, and also to
proceed to the station at Shellness, and communicate
with the chief officer there. Mr. Pym, who was at Whit-
stable at the time, asked his permission to be allowed to
pass over in the boat to the Isle of Sheppey, which he
assented to, and the five left the beach on board the
boat for the above destination. He (the witness) saw no
more of them; but the men not returning all night, fears
were entertained for their safety, and he on the following
day went in search of them, and between one and two
o'clock in the afternoon of Thursday found the bodies of
E. and W. Polhill, Pym, and Miles, lying on the Ponard
Sands, and the boat a short distance frcm them, lying on
her larboard side. On further search the body of Mason
was found in the water with, an oar under him, appa-
rently as though he had attempted to save his life by its
assistance. The whole of the men were perfectly sober
when they put to sea, and were well known as being
steady and careful men. Witness believed that their
deaths were caused by the capsizing of the boat, caused
by a heavy swell of the sea, which often takes place lay
the meeting of two tides near the place where the bodies
were found.
Charles Foreman, a dredger, of Whitstable, stated
' that lie was in a punt near the Pollard oyster-grounds
on Wednesday last, shooting wild fowl, and saw a boat
crossing towards Shellness, and noticed that she was
going at a fast rate, and shortly after he lost sight of
her, when he supposed those who were in her had lowered
the sails. On the following day he found the body of
Miles, and gave information of the fact, and shortly after
the other bodies were found. When he first saw the
boat on 'Wednesday, there was no other vessel of any
description on the water with which it could have come
in collision by accident or otherwise.
Captain Blair, R.N., inspecting officer of the district,
was in attendance, and at his suggestion several ques-
tions were put to the above witness, as to whether it was
prudent to allow a boat of the description to go to sea in
the then state of the weather ; and also as to whether
the men who had charge of the boat were proceeding to
their destination in a proper direction ? To which
questions the witness replied, that there was nothing in
the weather that would prevent any one going to,sea for
such purpose in a boat of that kind, and had he been
going, lie should have proceeded in the same direction
as he saw the boat, without any idea of its being
unsafe to do so ; but he stated that at times the passage
across was a difficult one, arising from what was termed
by the seafaring men of Whitstable a " hollow," or
" counter sea," occasioned by the general tide and by
the water flowing through the " East Swale," which
divides the Isle of Sheppey from that part of the coast
of Kent. Captain Blair explaineel that he had merely
required those questions to be put to the witness, who,
being a seafaring man of the place, might be better able
to show if danger was to be apprehended at the time
the boat went to sea, and not that he. (Captain Blair),
considered there was, as, in fact, he himself was at sea
in exactly the same description of boat at the same hour
on Wednesday, in which they stretched out full three
miles, passing on from Reculver to Whitstable.
No other evidence being adduced,
The CORONER addressed the jury, calling their at-
tention to the facts elicited ; and remarked, in the ab-
sence of further evidence, and almost certainly with the
whole that could ever be produced, he felt justified in say-
ing that the deceased had come by their deaths by purely
accidental circumstances ; in which opinion the jury
concurred, and returned a verdict of " Accidentally
drowned," levying a small deodand on the boat.

THE STEAM-ENGINES OF THE
RETRIBUTION.
(FURTHER PARTICULARS.)
After some preparatory trials the engines were set to
work on Friday, and several persons distinguished for
scientific acquirements or mercantile eminence, received
invitations to witness the performance. No inconsider-
able number of gentlemen attended, and several ladies.
We are glad to see such a deep interest taken in the suc-
cess of our steam navy, for one of greater national im-
portance hardly exists. There was no pleasant trip on
the occasien to give excitement, for the vessel was lying
the whole time fast bound to the dock pier, but so far
from it as to permit the paddle-wheel freely to revolve.
The mere performance of the machine, and wonderful it
was, excited the highest interest.
As we approached the vessel we saw the immense
wheel, 34 feet in diameter—the paddle-boxes which
cover them standing high above the top sides of the ship,
and looking, we must say, unsightly—throwing the
water away with great rapidity, and though that was no
index to the rate at which the vessel would move were
she at liberty, the velocity with which the water was
thrown past the ship was a sufficient test of the vast
power which was at work within. It has been said, in
depreciation of man's faculties, that he " dashes the
water to hasten the speed of the cataract ;" but each of
the mighty wheels of the Retribution, as it revolt' ed,
gave rapid motion to a body of water that may be ap-
propriately styled a river. It made as much ferment as
a little cataract, and it raised the water to which it gave
an impetus. The wheels, however, were not at full
work, for only half the float boards were on, yet the
rush of the water filled us with astonishment. So dis-
turbed and so aerified the usually still waters of the
dock probably nevsr were before.
We entered the ship, expecting to find her trembling
with the exertion. She was perfectly still. Not a.
vibration was felt. We descended into the engine-reom,
convinced that so great a power could not be exercised
without considerable clatter, but it was working almost
as noiselessly as the heavenly orbs. It did not tick as
loud as an eight-day clock, and yet it was raising and
sending astern, on either side, a long stream.at the rate
of eight or nine miles an hour. We saw cranks, weighing
each thirteen tons, moving backwards and forwards, and
they were perfectly silent. Such great power, combined
with such a total absence of every kind of noise, as is
exhibited by these two noble engines, is, perhaps, no-
where to be found, except in the works of nature.
We were astonished, too, at the large space prepared
for the machinery, and at its compactness. The two
engines, with their boilers, which occupy the whole
breadth of the ship, weigh no less than 540 tons. They
occupy nearly one-third of the tonnage of the ship; but
they are as compact and well arranged as they are
powerful, and every part of them is easily accessible. If
any man get entangled with the machinery it must be
by his own fault ; he can move about amidst it as com-
fortably as in a parlour. The whole, too, is as simple as
it is compact and gigantic.
Four cylinders, two to each engine, each cylinder 72
inches diameter, occupy the hold of the vessel; and the
double cylinders giving motion to one beam must work
identically. The smallest deviation would cause a waste
of power. The two legs, though they each contribute
equally to move forward the body, do not work so pre-
cisely together as Messrs. Maudslay's double cylinders.
By their invention a great power is obtained in compa-
ratively small space, and the immense wheel receives its
impetus from a short and slow stroke. Abaft the cy-
linders, but with an ample space betwixt, the boilers are
placed, and the stoker's-room seemed no more confined
or heated than a well-warmed kitchen. With all this
power and ingenuity great neatness is combined. The
cylinders are cased with mahogany, and instead of the 4
places about the engine being like a dirty smithy, they
resemble rather a ladies' drawing-room.
After admiring this wonderful union of power, simpli-
city, order, compactness, and neatness, remembering that
the Retribution is to be what the Victory and the Queen
Charlotte were, the means of easuring the safety of the
nation, we could not help asking ourselves how many
generations of small farmers and spade husbandry- men,
whose gradual disappearance it is at present the fashion.
to regret4and whose restoration is the object of so many
prayers and wishes, it would require to construct such a
model of skill ? By similar instruments has Great Bri-
tain in past times been made triumphant--by such in-
' struments must she be henceforth defended; and they
are blind admirers of her great maritime superiority,
and her national independence, who would impede the
increase of those classes who construct such admirable
machines.
Naval victories, it is conclusively shown in the present
number of Blackwood's Magazine, are far more decisive
of the fate of empire than land battles. Those who
form a contrary opinion derived it from contemplating
the naval battles of something less than a century ago,
But the writer in Blackwood only described half the
value of our great naval victories. They were obtained
at a aomparatively small cost of human life. The great
battles won by Lord Howe, Lord Duncan, Lord St. Vin-
cent, and Lord Nelson cost the country less than 5,000,
men, or less than fell in each of several of the battles its
the Peninsula. The reason is, that disabling machinery,
instead of slaughtering human beings decides the fate of
naval warfare, and the more machinery is used the less
bloody will be naval encounters. "Ile more it is used
the more time and labour it requires to equip a fleet, and
the more decisive will be those victories which destroy
it. At the same time, the more complete is the machi-
nery the more certain will be the success. We look,
therefore, on this invention, and such works as those ot
Messrs. Maudslay, as having a greater value than merely
strikes the eye, impressive as they arc. They are the
means of securing the national independence and tho
national superiority.

The Hon. Ir. I‘7ljidcielol.lchas arrived at Rao
vensworth Castle from Eslington House, on a visit to hii
noble and venerable parents, Lord and Lady Ravens..
worth. During Christmas holydays Ravcnsworth Castle
will be full of vissitors, and old English hospitality will
ba dispensed in bounteous profusion,

SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS

FROM THE DAILY PAPERS OF SATURDAY.

GLOBE.--Dartmouth was among the boroughs
which were redeemed by the Reform Bill from the
degradation of nominal representation. Before that
just and necessary measure was enacted, this little
maritime town gave two seats in Parliament to the
nominees of the Treasury ; in whom its close corpo-
ration invariably discerned all the requisite qualifica-
tions for the honour and advantages then pertaining
to such legislators. The Reform Bill opened the
borough, and assigned one Member to its constituency.
Lieut.-Colonel Sir J. H. Seale had endeared himself
to the inhabitants by his numerous virtues, and espe-
cially by the exertions he had used to break up the
close corporation confederacy by which the represen-
tation of the borough had been prostituted to the pur-
pies of private gain and political corruption. That
gallant officer became its first representative under
the new system ; and continued, without competition,
to be returned as its Member to every successive Par-
liament. His death occurred a few days since, and
his remains will be committed to the tomb this day.
But scarcely had the breath left the body of the
deceased Member than the Tories were on the alert
to recover their lost influence in the borough.
Electioneering agents of the Carlton Club, metro-
politan and local, commenced operations. Their can-
didate was announced. Mr. Joseph Soames, Go-
vernor of the New Zealand Company, is to contest
the seat on the " Conservative interest ;" and the
Dartmouth Reformers, who have hitherto been
faithful and firm to the principles and party which
obtained for them their long-sought right to the
elective franchise, are modestly " solicited" to
exercise that right in favour of the candidate who,
with the party which nominates him, would gladly
deprive them of their votes! The modesty of this
attempt on the constituency is equal to the delicacy
the Tories have shown to the memory and bereaved fa-
mily of the deceased member, in thus needlessly agitat-
ing the constituency before his funeral has taken place.
Although taken by surprise by this indecent haste on
the part of their opponents—and necessarily unprepared
to engage in a contest while the solemnities of commit-
ting the remains of their deceased member to the
tomb were yet unperformed—the Dartmouth Liberals
will be found true to themselves, and to the cause with
which they are identified. They have found a candi-
date worthy of their exertions in Mr. George Moffatt,
well known to the Liberals of the metropolis as an
eminent merchant, and as " a good man and true."
Mr. Moffatt has already shown by works, as well as
words, that he regards Parliamentary Reform as only
the means to the attainment of valuable results. As
the Chairman of the London Penny Postage Committee
in 1838 he contributed, by his zealous and persevering
exertions, to the attainment of that immense national
benefit. Mr. Moffatt's opinions on the question of
free trade are identical with those who advocate the
removal of commercial restrictions, as essential to the
extension of our trade and the profitable employ-
ment of our increasing population. Mr. Moffat
will commence his personal canvass of the
electors on Monday. We cannot doubt of his
success. The Dartmouth Tories, by violating the
decorum which the conventionalities of society pre-
scribe—and which, even when political excitement is
more strongly felt than it is atpresent, are observed—
indicate the hopelessness of the contest into which they
are plunging themselves and the constituency. The
constituency is small—not more than 250 will vote.
Nothing but the employment of corruption and co-
ercion can prevent Mr. Moffatt's return by a large
proportion of the electors. The former is, happily,
by the new election law rendered more easy of detec-
tion than it was. Let the Liberal voters be but proof
against the latter, and Toryism will sustain a defeat
at Dartmouth that will discourage any future attempt
to seize upon the representation.
STANDARD.—We appeal to the memory of our
readers to witness whether we have not anxiously
abstained from the agitation upon ecclesiastical mat-
ters, which is now distracting the Church and the
country ; or if our readers are so forgetful of our con-
duct, or so ill-informed of the pressure we have had
to resist as to hesitate in acquitting us of a voluntary
part in the agitation, we can appeal to hundreds—
to thousands—of offended correspondents, whose fa-
vours we have rejected or whose suggestions we
have slighted, though heartily concurring in their
opinions. We know our countrymen, and we best
know that most numerous and most intelligent, as
well as best disposed, division of them—the members
of our Protestant Church. We know that they are
slow to move, because they are religious, prudent,
and just, and that they will not move at all except
upon what seems to them a clearly righteous and an
adequate ground ; but we know also that when
they move, they are determined, inflexible, and
irresistible. When such men arise to action they
stand much more in need of the curb than of the
spur. We should apply the curb if we could hope to
have influence; but though we might offer violence
to our own convictions, and should certainly forfeit
all our influence in the attempt, it would be an utterly
vain one. Let us close our columns against the para-
mount topic of the day, and we may to-morrow close
our establishment; while the line we could conscien-
tiously pursue in perfect conformity with the uni-
versal feeling would be taken up by some mere
time-server, as indeed we see already some of the
mercenary class pressing into it—the last and the
decisive proof that the public mind has been defini-
tively made np. We copied yesterday with satisfac-
tion, from the Morning Herald, an announcement, of
the correctness of which we have no reason to doubt,
that the Bishops are preparing to interpose. We can
assure their Lordships that there is no time to spare,
and that they must make up their minds to interpose
effectually when they do interpose. It is now too
late to stand upon trifles • too late, indeed, to
treat any of the disputed points as trilling ;
every ensign of hostile innovation is an intole-
rable insult., and every rag of such ensign must
be abandoned, if an honourable peace is to be obtained
for the Church. Without the removal of every
tatter of Tractarianism the people will not be satis-
fied—must we add, ought not to be satisfied. In
short, if the Bishops will have an end to the present
distractions, they must exercise their legitimate
influence to have the order of the Church
brought back to what it was a dozen years
ago, the most glorious era in the history of
any. Church since the age of the Apostles. That
glorious era it was which tempted vain men,
who had no share in producing it, to turn the deep
religious feeling of the nation to the account of their
own ambition or foppish conceit. They saw the
Church the object of a veneration only less than
that paid to its divine head, and they hoped to
' exalt themselves as priests of the Church above
all other men, and to render their persons " the
• observed of all observers," by fanatical dresses,
gaudy church furniture, and antic gesticulations.
• Such men could not appreciate the true source of the
veneration so universally paid to the Church—the Me-
t:nee of those personal vanities and passions, and of
those profane frivolities with which they, in their
stupid conceitedness, would desecrate the majesty
of religion. If the Church is to become again
what the Church was twelve years ago, the
object of devoted love and reverence to the people,
all the innovations introduced by the self-seekers
and coxcombs must be swept clean out. Men cannot
be too firm, or we will say too obstinate, where prin-
ciples are concerned ; but they who deny that the
surplice preaching is a mere sign of novelty, as some
bishops do, will admit that surplices are not prin-
ciples, and will surely surrender surplice preaching
to the feeling of the people, who cannot help con-
necting it with the Tractarian innovations. If
firmness or obstinacy upon questions of high prin-
cioe cannot be too much commended, obstinacy in
things trifling or indifferent to principle cannot be
too much despised. There are, it is true, the
two cases in which a plausible apology may be
made for obstinacy upon questions of secondary
importance. An importunate claimant may be
refused a trifle, because he is importunate—
becauae in his case every new concession
leads to a new demand. This cannot apply
to men who ask only for the status quo—their de-
mand limits itself for ever. They only ask to be
left where they and their ancestors have been for
nearly two centuries. The remonstrant Churchmen,
indeed, give the best possible proof of their content-
' ment with, and deep affection for, the Church, in ear-
nestly praying that its practical order and ritual may
undergo no change. Arguments and answers ht
to he used towards importunate aggressors un-
doubtedly do not apply to them. The second case
where trifles may be obstinately maintained with
some colour of reason, is when the concession of the

trifle gives a party triumph ; but the Bishops will
scarcely treat the whole laity and forty-nine-
fiftieths of the clergy as a party to `salance
'against a few hundred Tractarians ; to put them
at all into opkyosite scales would be a triumph
to the Tractarians immeasurably disproportioned
to their real importance. No, the Church can
have no triumph in being left to the peace-
ful enjoyment of her time-honoured usages ; but
the least concession of the least of those usages
would he indeed a triumph to the Tractarians
—a gross insult to the Church—an insult., we do
not hesitate to say, fatal to the Church as a temporal
establishment. This may be thought the language
of exaggeration, it is, however, the language of our
deliberate and: sincere
the utmost alarm f convict. Ve confess
Chußr'enh. as a temporal
establishment. A veryor fewrise
• since every hand and
Purge of the nation were
cheerfully opened for ChPuurcr
collected for building of chure'hiersP7s- Money was
and for the erecting and Support of elc-:urreTsel°l7,2l,oll"tir
):AplTtds of thousands of funds. How is. it non,
174. yei.;.r men most active in promoting these noble
imitrfbptiatts, and most liberal in contributing thin,.
Pives,,kow the very men who oppose any grants
pigeb' cue,
,--4 6:;•2