The Sun.
London, England, 1844-08-03 00:00:00

FREIGHT.

Freights have slightly given way within the last eight days,
and may be quoted for London and Liverpool at 2/. 15s. to
3/. for first-class ships, and at 2/. 10s. second class ; and for
China at 14r. per candy.

BORNEO.
MURDER OF THE HON. MR. MURRAY.
By the arrival of the Young Queen, Captain Hart, the total
failure of the expedition fitted out at this port by the Hon.
James Erskine Murray and Mr. C. W. Bowra, to open a com-
mercial communication with the island of Borneo, had been
confirmed. We regret to state that the report of Mr. Mur-
ray's having been killed in an engagement with the natives
is also too true. We have been enabled to acquire some of
the particulars from an authentic source. After their arrival
on the coast the two vessels, the schooner Young Queen and
the brig Anna, entered the river Coti for about 80 miles, and
anchored off Tongarron. During the ascent no opposition
was offered ; and on arriving at the town named, where the
Sultan resides, he expressed himself gratified by the visit, and
willing to trade with the vessels. Deceived by these friendly
appearances, they were moored ; but after some time having
e apsed, there appeared no intention on the part of the in-
habitants to buy or sell. From the large body of armed
men congregating around the Sultan's house suspicions
began to be entertained that all was not right. These
suspicions were soon confirmed by attempts being ma de to board
on two several nights, which were prevented by the vigi-
lance of those on the watch. The Sultan had now thrown
aside every appearance of :friendliness, and there was no
longer any doubt of his intention to destroy the vessels, if
possible. Mr. Murray, deeply impressed with their dangerous
position, addressed a letter to the captains of the Young
Queen and the Anna, stating his conviction that they could
only escape by fighting their way through the gun-boats and
floating batteries with which they were surrounded ; he
also endeavoured to get hostages from the Sultan, for a
safe passage down the river : in this he failed. The attack
commenced upon the vessels on the 16th of February,
while they were still at anchor, by masked batteries
from the shore and gun-boats. They slipped their
cables, and commenced their almost hopeless attempt
to fight their way out of the river, surrounded by numerous
boats, which kept up an incessant fire from their long brass
guns. On every turn of the river they found a fresh battery
to contend with, the boats keeping up the pursuit out of
range of the swivels, but not of the long guns, from which,
in the Young Queen, there were fired 550 shot, and a pro-
portionate number from the Anna. At one time the Anna
got on a mud bank, but her consort nobly bore up and ranged
alongside for her protection, until she got off. But for this
she would inevitably have been taken. The night being
calm, with a strong ebb tide, the two vessels were lashed '
together, and allowed to drift with the current, determined
to escape or perish in company. Ahead of each was a boat
to pull them round when they got broadside on to the cur-
rent; the men in these boats state positively that they heard
English voices hailing them from the shore. After thirty-
six hours of continuous fighting, they reached within a few
miles of the mouth of the river, and escape appeared certain.
But they found a numerous fleet of boats ahead of them which
had entered through some unknown creek. This was the last
mid most desperate attack, and the number of pirates killed
must have been immense. With personal safety almost
within his grasp, here poor Murray was killed. He was
fighting the midship guns when he was struck by a two-
pounder on the breast ; death was instantaneous. They at
length passed the bar and flats at the mouth of the river,
though at sunset the boats were still in chase. During the
whole affair the conduct of the officers and men was excel-
lent. An unflinching determination was evinced to escapeor die in the attempt. Mr. Murray was the
moving spirit
by which they were all influenced, and it deeply to be
regretted that lie was cut short in the very vigour of
life : with his talents and energies he might have done
much to retrieve past misfortunes. We regret to state
that on the 23d of March an attempt at, mutiny was
made on board the Young Queen, in which one man
was shot. He is still a prisoner on board. As a matter of
course, the Admiral upon this or the East Indian station
will not permit this daring 'affair to pass unpunished.
There is not a sufficient depth of water for heavy ships
to carry them to the town of Tongarron ; but the small
iron steamers, of which there are several in India, and
one here, are admirably fitted for the service. After their
escape, the Young Queen fell in with her Majesty's ship
Samarang, Captain Sir Edward Belcher; this energetic
officer will, no doubt, put himself in communication with Sir
William Parker, if he be still on the Indian station, and with
Sir Thomas Cochrane, who is unfortunately absent from this
port. We do not suppose that Sir Edward Belcher will at-
tempt anything with his own vessel ; her draft of water
would render the chastisement, which must be ample and
complete, impossible. The following is a list of the killed
and wounded on board the two vessels :.
KILLED.—Hon. James Erskine Murray, Young Queen ;
James Dance, seaman, Anna; and John Thomson, boat-
swain, Anna.
WOUNDED.—Mr. B. C. Hart, Anna ; Mr. 111‘Nyles Anna ;
John Miller, gunner's mate, Young Queen; William' Thom-
son, gunner, Anna; and Constance, boyrAnna.—Friend
of China, April 20.

EMIGRATION TO AMERlCA.—Tuesday forenoon th©
American line-of-packet ship Switzerland, 550 tons register,
Captain Knight, Failed from the St. Katharine's Dock for
New York. She takes out about 60 emigrants, among whom
are several farmers of limited capital. The steerage passen-
bers consist chiefly of agricultural labourers from the neigh-
OUriPiE cvtinties of Enex, And

FROM _.E EVENING PAPERS OF YESTERDAY.
GLOBE—The statement of Lord Aberdeen, made last
night in the House of Lords, in reply to a question by the
Marquis of Clanricarde respecting the extraordinary proceed-
ing at Otaheite, is well deserving of notice. The Noble Mar.
quis observed, that what had fallen from the Right Hon. Ba-
ronet at the head of her Majesty's Government, in another
place, was doubtless known to their Lordships : "still, as their
Lordships ought not to be dependent for information on such re-
ports, and as the subject was certainly not unworthy of further
notice, he would ask his Noble Friend, the Secretary for Fo-
reign Affairs, whether any reparation had been made for the
outrages to which he bad alluded ; and, if not, whether any
measures had been taken to obtain it?" The Earl of Aber.
deer, in reply to these questions, admitted that " a gross out-
rage had been committed against the person of a British sub-
ject; indeed, so flagrant an outrage that, if he had not re-
ceived an authentic account of the transaction, it would have
appeared to him almost incredible." His Lordship, how-
ever, seemed to think that Mr. Pritchard, on whom the
"flagrant outrage" had been committed, had ceased at the
time to be Consul; having, on the dethronement of
the Queen, hauled down his flag, and given notice to
the authorities that he had ceased to exercise his func-
tions. The Noble Lord, however, proceeded to say, that
though he believed the French Government not only had
not directed, but was utterly ignorant of, the acts of its
officers, still a proper representation would be made,
and reparation demanded in the name of her Majesty.
which he had no doubt would be afforded. The Earl of.
Minto remarked on the insufficient British force at Otaheite,
and the blame which our Government had incurred by with-
drawing the ships stationed there at a time when there
was a manifest necessity for retaining them on the
station :—" Formerly a proper force was maintained there.
Was it true, he should be glad to learn, that latterly we had
only had one small ship of war at Otaheite, and that the
Government had withdrawn the Vindictive, without taking
any measures to supply her place ?" The Earl of Hadding-
ton was sorely puzzled by the questions put by the Earl of
Minto. He was manifestly taken aback ; and knee
not whether to admit his ignorance, or essay an ex-
planation, which might admit too much. We refer
to the Noble Lord's successful attempt at myStifica-
tion. The debate is satisfactory—at least to this extent:
it affords a hope that the indifference of our Government has
been shaken ; and that something like decision will be
shown both in requiring reparation from the French Govern-
ment for what has taken place ; and in preventing a recur-
rence of outrages and indignities that have reflected disgrace
on Ministers for the apathy they have shown, and which
ought to have long since roused them to a sense of what was
due to the country.
STANDARD.—The Marquis of Clanricarde, in the House
of Lords last night, questioned the Noble Secretary for
Foreign Affairs, as to the correctness of the published re-
ports of the transactions at Otaheite, in March last. The
Earl of Aberdeen admitted that these Leports were in sub-
stance correct, speaking in very strong language of the
outrage committed by the persons pretending to
represent the French Government in Otaheite. Iliac
Lordship, however, reminded the House, that irx
September last the French commander at the island
in question had usurped its absolute Government, not only,
without, but in flagrant disobedience of, the orders of has
superiors at home, that the very moment when the fact of'
the usurpation became known in Europe, viz., in February last,
the King of the French explicitly disavowed it; that this act
of disavowal was approu-ed of by the French Chambers, and that
it was necessarily from the impossibility ofa very early commu-
nication with the antipodes, that the events of March had been
permitted to occur. The Noble Lord explained that,. as Mr.
Pritchard had struck his flag, and of course abandoned the
consulate, upon the usurpation in September, he could not bo
regarded as a British Consul in March, though his
right to protection as a British subject must remain.
His Lordship admitted that the case is an unpleasant
one, and likely to prove quite a godsend to • the
war parties in both countries, but he expressed a con-
fident hope that the good feeling and good sense of the
French Government will render easy an accommodation of it.
in this confident hope we entirely concur. Were the French
Government differently constituted from what it is—were
it still animated by the spirit of M. Thiers—it could
hardly adopt the proceedings of d'Aubigny and Bruat,
or decline to do justice either by reprimanding these persons,
or leaving them to be dealt with by the Queen Pomare and
her subjects and allies. The French establishment of an ab-
solute sovereignty in Otaheite has been clearly acknowledged
to be an act of usurpation ; to sustain the acts of that abso-
lute sovereignty would be retrospectively to sanction the
original usurpation.

MEMORIAL TO THE LATE MA-
DAME SOYER, TIIE CELEBRATED ARTIST.

The inauguration of a splendid monument, erected to the
memory of Madame Sayer, whose name is so intimately con-
nected with the genius of Art, took place on Sunday, before
a numerous and distinguished party, at Kensal-green Ceme-
tery. The design, which is quite new, is by M. Soyer, her
husband, and reflects the greatest credit upon that gentle-
man, who is so well known at the Reform Club. It consists
of a pedestal, about twelve feet in height, surmounted by a
colossal figure of Faith, with her right hand pointing to.
wards heaven, and -the left supporting a golden cross. At
her feet, lightly floating upon ciouds, are two cherubims, the
one holding a crown over the head, and the other presenting
' a palm to a beautiful medallion of the deceased; the latter
executed in white marble, and surrounded by the emblem
of eternity. A palette and brushes, embellished with a
wreath of unfading laurels, is gracefully placed beneath the
medallion. M. Puyenbroack, of Brussels one of the prin-
cipal sculptors to his Majesty the King of the Bel-
gians, has added to his fame by this new example
of his talent. Although the figures of the monument
are larger than life, so light and elegant is their
construction that the observer might almost fancy they were
leaving this terrestial sphere, while the cherubims, poised
upon the ascending clouds, convey such an idea of buoyancy
91atOgritiMitattIlitTLT,talfat N)k% talK 1%1;111-A1101de W:tiOse
memory it was erected to perpetuate. We are informed that
the palette and brushes, with the laurel and her initials,
were sketched by the lamented artist the morning previous
to her death, she being then in perfect health; while the
medallion is from her portrait by M. Simoneau, her father-
in-law, and only master.
Amongst the party present at the inauguration we perceived
the fair Cerito, bestowing upon the shrine of her sister artist
a wreath Freneraire, made from a crown placed upon her head
in La Scala, at Milan, before several thousands of her coun-
try people. Such feeling impressed all with the highest re-
spect for that fairy child of Terpsichore, and deserves a dis-
tinguished place in the history of art. The wreath, together
with the palette of the artist, will be placed in a glass case,
and fixed at the back of the pedestal. The inscription upon
the pedestal will be simply the words "To Her," without
any addition whatever.