The Sun.
London, England, 1827-06-16 00:00:00

INTERESTING NARRATIVE. ,

The following interesting narrative is taken from
the log-book of the Dundee, Captain David Duncan,
whose arrival at Lerwick, from Davis's Straits, we
noticed yesterday :---
LERwxcx, MAT.—Arrival of the ship Dundee, of Lon-
don, from Davis's Straits, together with a slight sketch
of the hardships the ship's company experienced during a
severe winter in a place where man never wintered before.
Commander David Duncan.

" The Dundee has been wonderfully preserved ; she
was beset in lat. 74. 30, and was liberated in lat. 63;
she drove, in one solid body of ice, from August 23,
1826, until April 16, 1827. The Haarlem Dutch ship,
of Harlingen, was lost close by the Dundee on Aug. 23 ;
The crew saved no provisions but came (to the number of 46)
on board of us from the 23d August to the 6th of October;
as, however, there was not the slightest appearance of the
ice separating, they resolved to set out for Levely, a Danish
settlement, about 350 miles distant ; they took their de-
parture in three open boats, with the frost so insupportably
intense, that I much doubt whether they will ever reach
Levely. I supplied them amply with provisions, and sent
all hands to assist in dragging their boats towards a lean,
or opening of water. From the mast head r watched the
parting of the two ships' companies, which was affecting
in the extreme, and heightened by an acute sense of their
mutual dangers.
On February Ist, we caught a whale, and another on
the 16th, which was a great relief to our crew, as by
that means we caught the sharks which came to feed upon
the dead fish. All of us at this period were frost-bitten,
some severely so. While we were disposing of the blub-
ber, we found to our infinite regret that all the water in
the casks was congealed to a mass of solid ice; the beads
too burst, so they were hoisted on deck for the cooper to
repair.
On February 22d an enormous ice-berg advanced direct
towards the vessel's stern : all hands were instantly on the
alert, and most of the crew leaped on the ice with which
we were hemmed in, with their clothes in their hands,
concluding as a matter of course, that the ship would be
lost. We lowered also on the ice 6 cwt. of bread, and had
scarcely effected our operations, when onwards with a
tremendous crash came the ice-berg, cracking the ice in every
dimtion. At this moment a number of our man were be-
hind the gigantic mass, and made certain that the vessel
was crushed to atoms : in a short time, however, they again
saw her, and hailed her with three hearty and enthusiastic
checi-s. When the ice-berg passed the ship, the cooper
was busy working on the ice ; it instantly ran over 30
tone of casks and one of the whale-boats, lines, &e. The few
hands that remained on board assisted in loosing the head-
sails, and as soon as there was room for the ship to cant
between the flaws of ice and the berg, she did so, and
escaped uninjured. Our escape was really miraculous, for
often at dead of night have we been alarmed by the awful
sound of the ice-bergs, as they came rushing, with the
voice of thunder, towards us, and tearing up whole
fields of ice in their way. With a view to obviate this
danger, we were in the habit of going across the ice with
lanterns,and minutely inspecting it in every possible direction.
We did not see the sun fur full 75 days, during which time
there was about four hours twilight ; the frost was intense;
the crew could not even walk the deck for five minutes
without being frost-bitten. In short we should'all have pe-
rished had we not luckily got some broken spars and staves
from the Dutch wreck, with which we cooked our victuals.
Great credit is due to Mr. Gale, owner of the Dun-
dee, for the complete manner in which he victualled
the ship ; we were enabled by his means to as-
sist not only the Dutch vessel (for which at one time
I ran some risk of personal violence from my crew), but
also to make our stores hold out till more effectual succour
arrived.

We lost two Shetland men at the commencement of the
season : all the ship's company are still very weak, but are
gradually gaining strength since we obtained pro-
visions from the following vessels 28, spoke the
Bon Accord, of Aberdeen, the first ship we have seen for
eight months and five days, three weeks since she left Scot-
land. Spoke to the Lady Jane, of Shielde•'dn`e

_ •
spoke to the Rambler, of Kirkaldy, fourteerithliatisirifl
left home, one fish ; spoke to Captain Lee, of lite Lee,
Hull, two fish, in lat. 61. 20. and long. 61. 10. ; they
all behaved very kindly towards us, and gave us such
articles as we stood in need of. May Bth, at 8 A. 11., I
saw four strange ships; I immediately steered towards them
in hat. 60. 27 long. 61. W., and hoisted my ensign
as I wanted instant relief. When they perceived it was
the Dundee, all the Captains lowered their boats, and came
on board of us with every necessary convenience. The
four last ships were, first, the Core of Cork, Captain Pal-
mer; second, the Princess of TVales, of Aberdeen, Captain
White; third thePhatnix, of Whitby, Capt. A Ilaley ; fourth,
the 'Triad, of Kirkaldy, Captain Davison..—May 7th, I
took my departure for London, as I thought we had enough
provisions ; during our passage to Shetland, May 14th, in
lat. 56. 1 long. 37. 53. we passed the Dorothy of
Dundee, lying to,itl a gale of wind.

RIOTS AT NORWICH.

(rURTWERPARTICULARS 10ECEIVED YESTZUDAT.)

Isfaswicii, JUNE 14.,About an hour after the mail
left yesterday, some other witnesses that had been brought
up for examination, were escorted out of Norwich to Wy-
mondhain by about thirty of the Yeomanry. The ob-
noxious witnesses, who first gave the information to their
employers, left the Castle at four in the morning, when all
was quiet. The examinations before the Magistrates con-
tinued the whole of yesterday, and ended with the commit-
tal of several of the rioters for trial at our ensuing Assizes.
From the best information I can obtain, about thirty per-
sons, including the military, were wounded, more or less
severely. One fellow, who had thrown several stones at
the Lancers, and was about to hurl another, was shot
through the right arm by a non-commissioned officer, when
one of his superiors riding up said, "I hope you have not
killed the man." "No, Sir," was the reply of the Water-
loo veteran, " I have only winged him—he'll throw no
more to-night." Another individual, who was very active
in the affray, had a lance thrust through his thigh.

In many of the country churches in France,
the men are stationed on one side, the women on the other.
Now, it so happened, that one day, when the preacher was
holding forth, he heard a conversation among his audience
which sadly distracted his attention. Of course he made
bitter complaints, on which, a woman, anxious to vindi-
cate the honour of her sex, jumped up and said, " The
talking is not on our side, father." " lam delighted to
hear it, my love," replied the clergyman, " for it will be
over the sooner."—Le Fund.

The uttering of forged notes is still carried
on as extensively as ever ; in addition to those recorded in
our last, we have heard that a woman was taken up on
Saturday while attempting to pass one of Sir W. Forbes
and Co.'s bank at a shop in this city. Too much care
cannot be taken by shopkeepers in examining notes offer-
ed them for change by suspicious characters, by whom,
no doubt, this unlawful profession is carried on much
more extensively than the public are generally aware of.—
Since writing the above, we have hears that two men and
a woman were apprehended on Monday evening near the
Cross, untkr suspicion of being dealers in the same eon-
traband article. They were taken to the police-office, end
there searched, when eight forged notes of the above bank
were found upon them. The parties were brought np at
the police-of:lce yesterday, from whence they were remit-
ted to the Chamber, and are committed to gaol. We un-
derstand that an Irishwoman, lately conic over from that
country, is known to have in her possession several hun-
dreds of those notes : the forgery is executed in a wretched
manner, and may be detected by the most superficial ob-
servation.— Glasgow Free Press.
GEOLOGICAL DISCOVERY.—TIIO workmen
employed in excavating stone from the quarry of Craigleith,
hare lately made a curious discovery of a petrified tree.
It was found lying nearly in a horizontal position, but con-
forming exactly, in inclination, with the dip of the sur-
rounding strata of sandstone, (which, however, is not very
great,) in a part of the quarry nearly 200 feet beneath the
oeart:gtliisalstblifa,)ce. That portion of the trunk which has
already been extracted, (for much of it still remains in its
must, we should think, measure nearly 30
feet ; the diameter at the thickest part is about three feet.
The outer surface of the tree has been turned into coal,
somewhat similar to cannel coal ; it is very brittle, and dis-
plays an imperfect conchoidal fracture, and shining lustre;
the interior is a hard stone, except here and there, where
it is converted into a substance resembling charcoal, quite
soft and light. No traces of the fibres of the wood are vi-
sible to the naked eye; but upon subjecting to the micro-
scope a slice cut across the direction of the grain, of the
thickness of a sheet of paper, the pores of the sap vessels
are distinctly perceptible. In many parts, the fossil has
been penetrated by calcareous matter ; small crystals of
pearl spar may be discovered dispersed through it ; it also
contains traces of galena and iron pyrites ; and some cre-
vices are filled with what appears to be common sandstone.
It is to be regretted that this curious petrifaction has been
broken to pieces by the quarrymen, in order to facilitate its
removal out of their way. It may, however be satisfactory
to the curious in such matters to learn, that the fragments
have been put aside, in a part of the quarry where they may
be easily cmeguihicdsvrEdinburg4 jr‘cfily (Thwack,

PARLIAMENTARY PROCEEDINGS.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.
ORDERS OF THY. DAY FOR. THIS DAY.
1. Sale of Bread Bill—Committee.
2. Manor Court (Ireland) II ill—Committe.
3. New South Wales Bill—Report.
4. Game Certificates Bill—Third reading
5. Brazil Slave Trade Bill—Committee.
6. Mutiny Act Amendment Bill—Committee.

PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS.

A BILL for EXCLUDING the BOROUGH of EAST
RETFORD from ELECTING BURGESSES to serve
in PARLIAMENT, and to enable the TOWN of BIR-
MINGHAM to return TWO REPRESENTATIVES
to PARLIAMENT in lieu thereof.

Whereas there has been the most notorious, long-con-
tinued and general corruption in the election of Burgesses
to serve in Parliament for the borough of East Retford, in the
county of Nottingham ; wherefore the said borough should
be excluded from hereafter returning such Burgesses ;
And whereas on account of the great wealth, trade and
population of the town of Birmingham, in the county of
Warwick, it is expedient that two Burgesses should be re-
turned to the High Court of Parliament to represent the
said town in lieu of the said borough of East Retford ;
May it therefore please your Majesty,—That it may be
enacted ; and be it enacted by the King's Most Excellent
Majesty, by and with the advice. and consent of the Lords
Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present
Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same,
that henceforth the borough of East Retford, in the county
of Nottingham, shall cease to elect and return Burgesses to
serve in the High Court of Parliament.
And be it further enacted, that in this present Parlia-
ment, and at all times hereafter, the said town of Birming-
ham shall have two Burgesses to serve in the High Court
of Parliament, such Burgesses to be elected and chosen by
virtue of a Writ and Precept to he issued, according to the
usage in the case of other boroughs, to the Sheriff of the
county of Warwick, and to the High Bailiff of the said
town of Birmingham for the time being, respectively,
which High Bailiff shall be the Returning Officer at every
such election ; the same el,-ction to be made from time to
time by the major part of the inhabitant householders of
the said town of Birmingham, then and there present,
whose houses shall, for calendar months then
last past, have been rated to the relief of the poor, and who
shall have been actually in the occupation of their re-
spective houses, for the space of years immediately
preceding such election.
And be it further enacted, that the Burgesses so to be
elected and returned to serve in Parliament for the said
town of Birmingham, shall have the like voice, authority
and place therein, and the like liberties, advantages, and
privileges as have been and are had, exercised, and enjoyed
by other Burgesses in the said High Court of Parliament.
And be it further enacted, that all laws now in force
touching the qualification, election, and return of Bur-
gesses to serve in Parliament,• are hereby declared to ex-
tend to the qualification, election, and return of Burgesses
to be elected and returned to serve in Parliament for the
said town of Birmingham, in manner aforesaid, so far as
the same may be applicable thereto. •

A BILL TO REGULATE THE SALE OF BREAD
IN IRELAND.

Whereas it is expedient to make provision by law for
the regulation of the sale of bread in Ireland ; be it there-
fore enacted, by the King's most excellent Majesty, by and
with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and
Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament as-
sembled, and by the authority of the same, that from and
after the that all bread that shall be baked for
sale by any baker in Ireland, or that shall be sold, or ex-
posed for sale, shall be made up in loaves of the weights
following only, and none other ; that is to say, of the

weight of
"en ly being marked thereon by a figure expressing the
ber of pounds as aforesaid : provided always, that
F othing in this Act contained shall extend or be construed
to extend to prevent any such baker or seller of bread from
selling bread sold under the denomination of French bread,
or fancy bread or rolls, without regard to the weight
thereof.

And be it further enacted, that if any baker or other
person shall bake or make for sale, or sell or expose for
sale, any bread, which shall be of other weight than one
of those above mentioned, and being thereof convicted, as
in hereafter directed, he shall forfeit the sum of

for every loaf of such bread ; the said penalties to be re-
covered and applies as is hereinafter directed.
And be it further enacted, that all penalties under this
Act shall be recovered by summary proceeding before

Justices of the peace acting for the county, city, town or
place wherein any offence against this Act shall be com-
mitted, such offence being proved by the oath or affirma-
tion of one credible witness, or by the confession of the
party ; and if not paid upon conviction, to be levied by
distress upon the goods of the offender, by warrant under
the hand and seal of such Justices, returning the overplus,
if any to the owner ; such penalties to be given
to the informer, and to the poor of the parish.
Provided always, that nothing herein contained shall
be construed to extend to any city or town in which
the assize or sale of bread is provided for by a local Act.

SPORTING INTELLIGENCE.

ASCOT HEATH RACES.--FRIDAY, JUNE 15.

These races concluded this day, after four days admirable
sport. The countenance and support afforded by his Ma-
jesty, aided by the able directions of the Steward, Lord
Maryborough, and the excellent arrangements of Mr.
Jenner, have given great satisfaction ; and the meeting,
without being superior to former years, has lost none of its
superiority over most other races. In the minor details
there is much to praise ; every thing was conducted with
that precision which has acquired for Ascot the character
of being the best kept course in England.
The King was again present, having arrived at the same
hour, with the same equipage, and the same attendants.—
His Majesty, in the course of the day, expressed his sense of
the excellence of the running, and his determination to give
the races his cordial support. His Majesty left after the
last race, amidst the acclamations of the spectators. The
company was more select than numerous, and, as is always
the case on the last day, every thing was dull, and the
gloominess was not a little heightened by the threatening
state of the weather. Many of the Noblemen who have
been before mentioned were again present. The day's races
came off thus—

The Wokingham Stakes of 5 Boys. each, for three-yr-olds
and upwards. The last three quarters of the new mile.
(24 subscribers.)
Duke of Grafton names f. by Merlin, Seamew, 3 yrs, 7st. I
Mr. Payne's Bachelor, 3 yrs, 7st. 61b.
Nine others started, but were not placed.

A Plate of 501. for all ages. Heats, the old mile.
Mr. Goddard's ch. c. by Anticipation

Lord Jersey's br. f. by Gainsborough S 3
Mr. Wyndham's b. c. by Whalebone 2 dr
Mr. Jones's Logic, aged 4 4
Lord Exeter's Attica. 5 dr
Mr. Payne's Ardrossan colt
Hie Majesty's Plate of 100 gs., for hunters. Two mile.