The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1833-01-04 00:00:00

STEAM NAVIGATION TO INDIA.

About a year ago, or rather more, we heard much of arrangements,
in progress for establishing, by the employment of steam vessels, a'
-quicker cosrimunication with India. Meetings wt re held on the sub-
ject by the merchants of London, Manchester, Liverpool, and Cllas-
gow, as well as by those of Calcutta, Madtas, and Bombay, and
large sums were raised, particularly by the merchants resident in India,
in aid of the undertaking, to be placed at the disposal of the per-
sons employed to carry it into effect. Of late, however, the matter
has been suffered to drop, and most persons, we believe, even among
_those who have, a direct interest in its result, have come to the con-
clusion that the project was wholly laid aside. It appears, that Mr.
Waghorn, the Onicer, who was considered by the merchants. of Cal-
cutta to be intrusted with the prosecution of this very important
-enterprise, and who came to England for that -purpose, is still on the
alert, and has now. only a few immaterial difficulties in the way of his.
success. We understand that one of the. principal obstacles is the
existence of an Act of Parliament, the 59th of George 111., cap. 3,
by which all vessels going to India may be compelled to carry letters
at the trifling-postage of 2d. each,—an act passed at a time when the
notion of a communication 'with India by steam could never have-
entered into the mind of any man, and the effect of which, taken
alone, if made applicable to such an undertaking, must be wholly
fatal to any attempt of the kind.
The simple question, therefore, now before the public is, whether
the Duke of 'Richmond, as the head of the POst-office, will venture
to recommend to ministers the repeal of the act abovementioned, or
to make the existence of steam vessels an exception from its opera-
tion. If that is done, and it. really seems absurd to suppose that
there can be any hesitation on the subject, the whole may, we are
assured, be effected by private enterprise alone, without leaning for
support on the East India Directors or any other public body, or on
the Government.

-----
The route proposed to be taken, if this foolish act of 'Parliament
shall be repealed, is b - way of Alexandria, across .the isthmus of
Suez to the lied Sea,. and thence by steam navigation to solve central
port on the Indian coast, from wlience the letters may be distributed
unsung the three presidencies.
At present the communication with India and back, by sailing ves-
sels, taking the Usual route of the Cape of Good Hope, seldom occu-
pies less then ten months.- By the plan proposed it would 'generally
he accomplished in half that time, and when it is considered how
haportant it.must be to merchants on either side, who have orders to
give, purchases or sales to make, ur bills to remit, to abridge by one
half the time now e7tiployed for that purpose, there can be no doubt
that a liberal sum for Tio'staceAvould.be readily paid. For the Govern-
ment, too, who have instructions to send out to India, in • matters,
either of 'civil or military regulations, such a saving of time must -orr
many occasions prove of the very highest importauce. As an -exam-
le of this may be mentioned what took place at the close of theßurmese war. As the conclusion of a pease could not witivany cer-J
tainty be calculated" on, supplies of military stores continued to
Bent out from this country, for months after the actual necessity for
them had• ceased, and-to, an immense _amount, all which might have
been saved, had such a mode of communication then existed as is now
Proposed to lie estahlishecL Of .its probable effect on commercial
operations still more striking illustrations might he given, . The more
obvious ones are its inflow' nee on the exchanges,. and the abridginent
of the long credit now unavoidably given, to the infinite adtalitage
and coMparative security to the merchant in periods of commercial
embarrassment.: •
• The conductors of :this undertaking propose to make their charge
for postage vary with the speed of delivery ; so that if any obstacles
should create a loss of time, the merchants will. be relieved from a
Portion of fin:, intended charge. Thus, for example ; for the delivery
of a letter in 70 days from its date, ss. is intended to be charged ; if in
80 days, in 93 days, Is.; and so on.
..One of the arrangenlents suggested, and which. would operate as a
very considerable saving of expense, is, to take advantage of the regu-
lar steam-packet to.l.Nlal_front whence. a navigation of only SW mile 4
Would convey the letters to Alexandria. The laud journey to the Red
Rea would clecopy.buta few days only, and steam-vessels already
ist there to complete the communication with India, In this way it
is proposed to make up regular mails monthly;,from India and from
klogiand. This valuable apvendage to the Latish Crown would then
be bronght as near to us as Brazil-and other parts adjoining of the
Bouth American continent, anducarer than Buenos

.
NAVAL BEG ut. Atios s.-A new code of naval instructions, which
'were expected to have come out in July last, will, it is said, bq
issued early. in January, the same having. been thilayed.hy
terationS which the. consolidation of tHe -Admiralty,
.Navy, and
Victualling Boards, has rendered necessary. therein.—Devon?
Port Telegraph.

moNTRosE.---We are sorry to state that the fine bilg Lion, of this
Port, Captain John Ferguson,. on her passage from Liverpool to Duo,
nos Ayres, was on the I:2th Septemoer, in a severe storm, driven
ashore near Monte Video, and totally wrecked. Part of the cargo was
got out in a damaged state, and put on board lighters for the purpose
(.4' being forwarded to its destination ; these were afterwards driven
ashore and lost. The remaining parts of the wreck, it is understood,
Were .disposed of on the spct. Cn the vessel striking, one of the crew
i
a young man said to belong to Arbroath, . leaped overboard, and sae.,
eeded in reaching the share but no house -being nearer than three
Leagues from the place, he died during the night from fati,nie and cold.
,Ye are grieved to add, that before this disaster the Captain. fell into a
premature grave: Having, on the 7th of Atignst, ordered a stage to
4 put over the larboard quarter of the vessel, for the carpenter to
Caulk some trenail .heads, both were standing on it, when it unfortu-
Oately gave way, and the Captain fell into the water. The ship bein
then g
proceeding at a considerable rate, the side ladder was thrown
overboard, and the vessel brought to, and the boat got cut with all ea-
kedition, but just as it was clear of the ship's side, he disappeared:
£he carpenter was saved by clingin., to the gunwale. Captain • Ferg,n-
lon was an active young man—at aillmes particularly assiduous in the
discharge of his duty, was kind in his diposition, and by all who knew
Illin his loss brill be much and deeply regretted.—Edinburgh Evening
(A,tera

„. MURDER AND PIRACY ON THE SEAS.—At the last Admiralty
c'essions a Portuguese seaman, named 'Jose Elias, was capitally charged
!rah the crime of mutiny and piracy, but was 'acquitted; it appearing
from the evidence of an admitted approver, a German, steward of the
tessel, that both acted under compulsion, and through fear-of the
leaders
in the transaction, which Mr. Justice Gurney, in his summing
11P, truly described as most bloody and atrociou3. From the evidence
toauctal at the trial, it was clear that the conspirators, or chief pirates,
Were two men, one called Antonio, a Spaniard,--the other Jack, a
l'reeelonan ; the former taking the command of the ship. Happily
for the purposes ofjustice, information has just arrived in this conn-
L'Y from America that the pirate murderer, Antonio, is in custody,
veharged with piracy committed upon American vessels, accompanied
"5 acts of gross barbarity, and, should he be acquitted of the dreadful
crimes imputed to him in America, he will be detained until the British
1-ithorities take cognizance m
of him. The horrible circumstances that
led to the late trial arose fro the piratical seize re, by part of a mixed
ereW of Englishmen and Foreigners, of the brig..lane, of Bristol, when
wa.Bahia, on the South American coast, returning from a trading voy-
;k.P. In the dead of the night, last December, Antonio and his con-
surprised the captain and master, the two mates, and one of
the crew, murdered them, and threw their bodies overboard. They
then compelled the remainder of the crew to navigate the vessel,
Which they ransacked of all its portable valuables, throwin,,,, the cap-
141's papers, instruments, and furniture, into the sea. A. few days
howcvcr, in a heavy gale, the ship was scuttled and run ashore;
When the only passenger on beard was drowned. The vessel was com-
pletely wrecked, and the pirates, after losing their ill-gotten booty,
dispersed in various directions, and information was given of the whole
kffair to the Consul at Bahia. The captain, Mr. M`Nulty, who, it ap-
pears, was first shot, and then thrown overboard, was a highly re-
'lliectable individual. The Jane was estimated to be worth £3,000, and
Was the property of Mr. Broadrick, ship-owner, of Bristol.

- -
A vessel, which left Vigo on the 22nd ult., has just arrived. She
°rings a confirmation of the sortie made by the troops of Don Pedro
us the 17th. About 2,00 men sallied out early on that morning, and
then the last accounts left, they were busily employed in Villa Nova
,4 shipping off all the wine they could find there fdr- Oporto. Accord-
to the Pedroite story, which is that brought by thismi vessel, the
,`toops of Don Miguel are much discontented, and hismilitia are de-
"•?rtiog. The Miguelite account, as e presume, would be somewhat
4"rere-nt, particularly as it is admitted that the lower part of Oporto
'en "ines to be severely bombarded by the beseigers.
Swrsß DEe. 30.—A shock of an earthquake occurred this Morn-
,, L)T ~L)Tfar the most violent remembered in this country.—At 20
-•unuies past
eight a noise was heard like the distant firing of heavy
, which came booming from S. W. by W.; in about two or
it was succeeded by about four violent vibratory mo., three seconds
'&tts, which continued altogether a second to a second and a
half, and passed on in a direction N. E. by B. the sound apparently
I?Peeding the shock. As there was no obstacle for several miles, it
tiogs distinctly passing in that direction for several seconds after
I'3 shock hall ceased- The motion seemed to be that of a wave ex-
ttlding in a N.W. and S.E. direction, and passing from S.W. by W.
~.1'1•11. by E. Its effects were very considerable. The inmates eagerly
t"cluired of each the cause of the commotion, and the neighbouring
atta,,,,r3 ran into the street, and could not comprehend what was the
Itliatte'r, but all were much alarmed. The morning was cloudy and
.tiVul; but unusually fine and mild for the season. Barometer 30 in.,
,ermometer out of doors 4'2 deg. It is remarkable that though no
eration has taken place in the appearance of the weather, ivhich
tll continues cloudy and mild, the thermometer now, at two o'clock,
stands at 4o deg.
mountains, the late unsuccess-
,tPovita, DEC. 31.—Saturday, whilst it was blowing a hurricane of
OM (tom the S. E. and waves running
candidate for Canterbury, Sir W. P. 11. Courtenay, Knight of
of showing his courage hired an ealta, with a view, it is supposed,
IN boat, the Catherine, Davidson, master, and his crew, to convey
ti,tt and two friends to Boulogne. The sum was 20 guineas. From
ni('. Wind setting directly into the harbour, it required the assistance
kt 40 or persons to tow the boat to the mouth, where she struck her
enihitrboard side a.m., hist a pile of the North Pier Head which occasioned
a breach that the water poured in by wholesale. A boat-builder
sent for, and copper sheathing having been nailed over and se-
D-41.(11 the Knight and his fr;ends took their seats and put to sea ;in
the sur, two tremendous waves struck her. At this time, no
Ve. on the pier heads would have ensured their lives at an expense of
shillines„ for had another wave struck her, in all probability both
k.,nterbury and the county would have lost the Knight's services for
tiir• It appeared, however, that though no chicken,. he was game to
hack bone, for the instant he was beyond immediate danger, he
Up in the boat, and taking off his hat gave three hearty cheers,
ti chas he had lately been accustomed to hear at the Canterbury elec-
-8::. By pumping and baling the boat, she reached Boulogne Roads
i•rn,t,lt eight in the evening, but the tide being down, she could not
Itit7,l the harbour until next morning, when she got in safe, and the
t \t,„"'e party returned here again this morning. The Knight and his
ta," friends rode up through the town on horseback, and proceeded in
e tlireetion for Canterbury.—Kerdish Gazette.