The Sun.
London, England, 1868-12-29 00:00:00

FINCI-ILEY RACES—Yesterday.

METROPOLITAN PLATE.
Wedding Peal - .. ... 1
Pine Apple
... 2
comus

MAIDEN STEEPLECHASE.
Birdie 1
Brown Beter 2
Order 3

Eour ran.
SELLING HANDICAP STEEPLECHASE.
Atalanta
Leotard
Wade

Seven ;stn.
FINCHLEY OPEN STEEPLECHASE
Ace of Trumps
Fl,i•c etcher

Nimrod
Tally Ho

4

SELLING HANDICAP.
Cheerful Boy's din gelding
Frailty
Ganytuude
ino ran
FREE HANDICAP
Vision

3

Bar-unlit° ...
B:ack Prince..

3

Four ran.

The following appeared in our Latest Edition of yesterday
evening:—

TURKE Y.

CONSTANTINOPLE, Dec. 28.

The circular of the Turkish Government to its
representatives abroad on the subject of the invita-
tion to the Conference says that the Sublime Porte
does not admit the necessity of the proposed Con-
ference, but it is nevertheless willing to agree to it,
provided that the five points of the Turkish Ulti-
matum form the basis of the discussion and the
Cretan question is not brought forward.

AMERICA.

NEW YORK, Dec. 28.

Advices received from Havanuah state it is re-
ported that the garrison of Santiago, 2,000 strong,
was besieged by the insurgents, and that Lucretia
Point Lighthouse had been destroyed by the insur-
gents' force.

THE GALES.

PLYMOUTH, Dec. 28.

A heavy W.S.W. gale has been raging here
during the night and this morning, and appears to
be increasing. The Greenock barque Cabot, Cap-
tain Ritchie, from the Baltic, with deals, for Bristol,
was lying in the Sound with both anchors down.
She parted one anchor last night and the other this
morning, and while drifting to leeward fouled and
carried with her the brig Flying Cloud, Captain
Evans, of Bideford, from Pernambuco, with sugar
for orders. Both vessels went on the Batten Reef,
and are expected to prove total wrecks. Assistance
was promptly rendered, and every endeavour was
made to get them off with the rising tide, but the
sea was running too high. The wife and child of
the captain of the Cabot were brought ashore by
the gig of the barque's agents, Messrs. Fox, Son,
and Co. The crews of both vessels were also
rescued. The lifeboat was early in attendance.

7ERRIBLE DISASTER A 7 SEA.

ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-TWO LIVES
LOST.

A portion of the passengers and crew of the
Starry Banner steamship, trading between New
York and Alexandria, has arrived in London, and
reports the total loss of that vessel with 122 lives
in a great storm on the 21st of December, some
700 miles off the coast of Ireland. It appears
that shortly after getting into the Atlantic on
her voyage home to New York the Starry Ban-
ner experienced very rough weather. After
battling with it for several days it was thought
advisable to seek a port of shelter, and Captain
Summers accordingly ran for Southampton. That
port was reached in safety, and, after a short stay
there and some appearances of a more propitious
state of weather, the Starry Banner once more steered
out into the Atlantic on the 14th inst. She had
not, however, ben long at sea iu this second at-
tempt when she experienced a succession of the most
violent gales, extending over a week, and culminat-
ing in the loss of the vessel and the greater portion
of those on board her. Great alarm was felt on
board from the commencement of the bad weather,
as the vessel was known to be old, and suspected to
be not over sound, and also because the winds and

waves were violent beyond the experience of the
oldest sailors on board. On the 19th of Dec. the
storm increased in intensity, and the waves swept
over the vessel as if she were a mere log, carrying
away or rendering useless the lifeboats. On the
20th the hurricane redoubled its fury, and all hope
for the safety of the vessel was dissipated by the
yielding of the bow plates to the fearful blows of
successive waves. The fate which this made ine-

vitable was anticipated to a great many by a fearful
catastrophe on board shortly afterwards. The great
number of those on board, passengers and crew, were
assembled in and about the saloon, as the only place
where a little shelter could be secured. Suddenly
a series of waves of the same character as those
which had already smashed the bows, struck the
saloon, smashed it into atoms, and washed it, and
the greater part of those who had assembled within
it, into the raging sea. A rough estimate—the
time not being one for even counting the dead and
mis3ing—places the loss of life caused by this occur.
rence at 100. The shrieks of the victims of this in-
cident, as they struggled amid the boiling and
angry waters amid floating wrecks, were ap-
palling. A young officer of the United States
army—cavalry branch—nobly distinguished him-
self at that moment. Casting aside a portion of
his clothing, and tearing away from the sailors
and others who endeavoured to restrain him in what
they looked upon as absolute madness, he plunged
into the sea, and by his skill as a swimmer saved a
number of lives by bringing the drowning people
within reach of assistance from the deck. This
gentleman's name is Major H. Joy.
By this time the vessel was rapidly breaking up,
and the remainder of the passengers and crew took
to rafts which had been hastily put together, leav-
ing the risking vessel to her fate. So hurried
were their movements that no water or provisions
could be secured, and in that helpless and unpro-
vided state they were obliged to trust themselves to the
mercy of the Atlantic. The captain, three mates,
with 118 others, had perished ere this, and the re-
mainder, under the command of the chief officer,
Mr. J. Van Buren', were buffetted about in a very
hopeless state for three nights and two days, when,
on the 23d inst., they were picked up by a French
barque, and on Sunday morning landed at Bou-
logne. In all 42 persons, out of a company of 164,
were safely landed in France after enduring great
sufferings and the constant terror of an ever-
threatening death on board the rafts.

With reference to the loss of the vessel we have
received the following direct contradiction from a
correspondent :
" Lloyd's, E.C., 29th Dec., 1868.
" The loss of the Starry Banner, steamer, in the
Atlantic, reported this morning in most of the daily
journals, is believed to be a hoax. No information
of the character has been received at Lloyd's, and on
reference to the American Lloyd's of shipping no
such steamer as the Starry Banner can be found ;
and letters received from their agent from Boulogne,
up to 12 o'clock last night, make no allusion to 42
of the survivors having lauded at that port on
Sunday.

TilF; LADY'S OWN PAPER—price 2d.—appears
this week with the immense attractions of a portrait
and a biography of Charles Dickens. The manage-
ment of the journal announces in another part of
the same impression that, with the commencement
of the New Year, this cheapest of all ladies' news-
papers will appear with several added improve-
ments.

The performance of " The Messiah" (to-morrox)
at Exeter-hall, will be the last performance this Christ-
mas. Miss Louisa Pyne will make her first appearance in
Exeter-hall, after two years absence. The band and
chorus will, as usual, number 700 performers tinder the
dinCii9ll Pi G. W. liertin.