The Sun.
London, England, 1868-12-09 00:00:00

THE GREAT GALE.

We have recently had an angry storm, and several casual-
ties on the sea have already been noticed. hlr. C. 0. F.
Cator, of Beckenham, writing of the gale on Sunday, says:
"At two p.m. the great gale began ; by three p.m. the pres-
sure reached 91b. on square foot. and frequent pressures of
71b. to 91b. till eight p.m., when it rose to 1211 b. ; at ten p.m.
171 b. ; at 11 p.m. 191 b. ; and then gradually receded to 81b.
at 1.30 a.m. of Dec. 7, the direction of the wind up to this
time being SW, when there was a rather sudden shift to
WNW, and simultaneously the pressure increased very
greatly, and at 1.15 a.m. there was a ten iCc gust of 301 b.,
being a greater pressure than I have ever previously recorded.
It remained excessively violent from WNW till 1.55 a.m.,
when it was 251 b., at 8 a.m., 191 b., and then gradually de-
creased to lib. and 21b. at 7.30 a.m., and the direction had
by this time veered back again to SW.
Over the metropolis the gale swept with great fury
Trees have been blown down in exposed situations in
all directions, houses have been unroofed, and chimney
stacks blown down. Serious losses have been the re-
sult of the storm on the river and in the docks by
the numerous collisions among the shipping, barges,
and boats. At two o'clock on Monday morning,
when the fury of the gale was such as to give rise
to the most gloomy forebodings, the few people in the
streets at that hour were blown down in many places.
The top of a house in the Back-road, St. Georges-in-the
East, was blown off and fell into the street.

On Sunday last the force of the wind at midnight is re-
ported from Sheerness to have been as great as the memo-
rable night in October, 1855, when the Royal Charter was
lost. From the fact, however, that the dockyard, basins,
etc., were well sheltered by the houses of the town, no
serious damage was sustained. The shipping in the har-
bour also escaped injury. Not so, however, the gigantic
Bermuda dock. From the position in which sho was
anchored, and as a consequence also of her vast bulk, she
was unable to resist the fury of the gale. She dragged her
nchors, and it being utterly impossible to render any assis-
tance, she drifted to the adjacent mud flats.
Casualties and wrecks on the sea are continually reported,
and the lifeboat services in connection with them have been
most valuable. The Austrian Consular agent has written
to the secretary of the Trainor° branch of the National Life-
boat institution to express the grateful thanks of the captain
'and crew of the Men for their rescue, 16 of them, from an
almost inevitable death. From Castletown, isle of Man,
to hear of the gallant rescue of the crew of a smell schooner,
five in number, by the Castletown lifeboat of the National
Lifeboat Institution, the Commercial Traveller. During a
heavy gale from the S.W., the vessel was in a most danger-
ous positien. The beat, with a full crew, was despatched
to the vessel, which was found to have struck or. a reef of
rocks, and arrived at 12.15 p,m. The launch through
the raging surf was a most successful and brilliant one.
Amidst the cheers of hundreds of spectators th, vessel was
reached in a very short time, and, w:th much difficulty
the crew of five hands wore taken on boa: d the life-
boat, which then proceeded to Port St. Mary, where she
arrived with the rescued crew. The rescuers and the re-
scued were received by almost all the inhabitants of the
piece with , repeated outbursts of enthusiastic cheering.
The lifeboat had scarcely reached the slip when she was
seized by a host of volunteers, who dragged her to a
place of safety. The boat was then pieced on her car-
riage by the volunteers and started for Castletown
amid the cheers of all the villagers. The vessel, which,
during the afternoon, parted her anchors. and is very
likely to become a total wreck, proved to be the Vision
of Drogbed.., Joseph Leech, master, 65 tons register, from
Deogh«li to Garston, with a cargo of prop wood. Previous
to the lifeboat's arrival the Volunteer Rocket Brigade was
on the greued, and had fired several rockets, but the vessel
fired beyeul their r ash, very shot falling short.

A t liockir,g runnier bas beet porpetrat:d at Pres-
A I;Ln-tyre'. intrved Caton was grievously irr-uitod
h who :13 in a s!ate of intoxication, urn 'wit id]
trip r two or ,::with a pi,ce too. tt on the
ad the bhiws proved f •t,‘l.

ritlyiT,Tl-: El) GOVERNMENT COMMUNICATIONS.—
rir It:irtle Fr, re, the 1:;te C4,vernor of Fom'iay, has been
c•::,-.nincd before the tomboy Bank Conl:;:::,3:oher3; at the
New India Office, and objected to the production of cer-
tain papers which he had received fiorn the Governor-
General of India and from the Secretary of State, which
ho considered were "privileged communications." The
chief commissioner (Sir C. Jackson) said the commission
Lad the Fame powers as the courts at Westminziter, and
t':e only exception was that their production would be
B,4ainst tha policy of the State. Sir Bartle Frere said it
bt) co. lie was revested Th!arsda,y
,with thy dycumoto,