The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1852-01-20 00:00:00

THE LOSS OF THE AMAZON.

It is highly satisfactory to know that, in addition to the
passengers and crew of the Amazon reported last week to
have been saved from the awful conflagration of that
vessel, thirteen more were picked up on Sunday afternoon
week, after having drifted about in an open boat for fifteen
hours, by the Dutch galliot Hillechiena, Captain S. P.
Gruppelaar, from Amsterdam, bound to Leghorn, and
taken into Plymouth on Thursday evening last, by the
revenue cutter the Royal Charlotte. The names of the
persons thus saved arc :—The Rev. William Blood, Mr.
Kilkelly, Lieutenant Grylls, R.N., Senhor Juan de Cuna,
William Angus, second engineer ; Isaac Roberts, boiler
maker; Michael Fox, fireman; Angus M'lnnes, engineers'
storekeeper ; C. Dewdney, stoker ; W. Wall, stoker ; G.
Webb, seaman ; R. Harris, doctor's boy. These persons
escaped in one of the life boats from the burning ship.
This was lowered during the confusion occasioned by the
devastating progress of the flames, and by some means a
hole was stove in its side, which required a staunching,
and one of the poor seaman's shirts was used for that
purpose, together with the drawers of Fox, the fireman,
and the stockings of Mr. Kilkelly. It was necessary,
however, to continue bailing the water out of the boat
during the whole of the fifteen hours she was at sea; and
as her oars had been capsised in lowering her, she was
suffered to drift until three o'clock on Sunday afternoon,
when a sail appearing in sight, the boards in the bottom
of the boat were torn up to make paddles, by means of
which those on board were able to reach the Dutch galliot
which rescued them from their perilous position.
While in the boat, the men had not a drop of water to
drink, or a bit of food. Some of the party were without
clothes, and others only partly clothed ; and the Spanish
gentleman who was 'saved escaped without any trousers or
waistcoat, having only his night-clothes on. They were
drifting for fifteen hours, during which time the weather
remained comparatively calm, and the sun shone out
brilliantly ; but shortly after they were taken on hoard
the Dutch vessel a strong gale sprung up,. and the sea
became so rough that they could not have lived had they
not been picked up.
The party thus saved remained in the neighbcurhood of
etlxleplobdueri_nangsceAnme awzohnichfowr
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de-
scription. Immediately afterwards every trace of her
disappeared; but during the night the passengers and men
in this boat heard the voices of people in another boat at
a distance. It was, however, so dark that they could dis-
tinguish nothing but the weltering waters. They shouted
loudly for assistance, and for oars, but no response what-
ever was returned. The steam-ship, it is said, did not
explode till about six o'clock in the morning.
The captain of the Dutch galliot treated those whom
he had rescued from death with the utmost kindness,
courtesy, and hospitality ; and after being out eight days,
and encountering heavy gales from the south-west, he
consented to return on being promised £6O and his port
charges at the first English port that he could make. He
accordingly put back, and entered Plymouth at half-past
six o'clock on Thursday evening last. The appearance of
all the persons who then landed evinced the hardships
they had experienced. Their beards were of many days'
growth ; their clothes were scanty and dilapidated ; several
of them appeared to have been wounded either by falling
spars or the effects of the fire ; and some had their arms
in slings.

The inquiry instituted by the directors of the Royal
Mail Steam-packet Company, as to the cause of this
dreadful catastrophe, was resumed at Southampton on
Friday, and a number of witnesses were examined, whose
evidence was mainly a recapitulation in different forms of
the main facts already before the public—the first appear-
ance of the fire at the starboard fore stokehole—the
rapidity with which it spread—the impossibility of stop-
ping the engines, or even of using the pumps—and the
madness of launching the boats while the vessel was
making such way.
As to the origin of the fire, some approach to a satis-
factory solution has been made by the evidence of Attwood,
the fireman, who declares positively that he first saw the
fire breaking through the grated door of the storeroom, the
oil tanks of which leaked, the oil running out under the
door and over the boiler.

MELANCHOLY OCCURRENCE.—A young lady, named
Johanna Timme, about thirty years of age, and very re.
spectably connected, had for some time past resided in the
family of Mr. A. Duncan, of Hatfield House, Widcombe,
Bath, as governess, and on the morning of Christmas-day
she accompanied Miss Duncan to church. During the
service she complained of illness, and quitted her seat.
After this time no trace of her could be found by her
friends, excepting that on Christmas-day, between twelve
and one o'clock, a young lady, answering the description
of Mr. Duncan's governess, had been seen walking
hurriedly along the towing-path on the bank of the river
Avon, about two miles frcm the city. A few days ago the
body of the unfortunate lady was discovered in the river.
The deceased was, for some time previous to her disap-
pearance, suffering from depression of spirits, to which
she was constitutionally disposed.