The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1843-10-10 00:00:00

FOREIGN 4- COLONIAL INTELLIGENCE

LOSS OF THE MEMNON STEAMER IN THE
RED SEA, WITH THE OVERLAND INDIAN
MAIL. _

(From the Morning Chronicle.)

We have received the following communication by ex-
press from our Paris correspondent:—
" PARIS, MONDAY MORNING, Oct. 2.—1 hasten to
communicate to yon that despatches have been received
from Malta of the 24th ult., announcing the arrival there
of the French Levant steamer, which brings intelligence
from Alexandria of the total loss of the Memnon steamer,
from Bombay, near the entrance of the Red Sea, on the
Ist of August. The crew, treasure, and passengers were
saved, but the mails were lost.
"The Hindostan arrived at Suez on the 12th Septem-
ber, from Calcutta, with 108 passengers. Left Calcutta
on the 10th August. _ _ _

It will be recollected that the Memnon left Bombay on
the 20th of July ; that is, ten days earlier than she would
have done on ordinary occasions, on account of the mon-
soon, which prevails in those seas during the month of
August. The Memnon was a splendid new ship, which
bad recently been sent out from England, having been
built expressly for the service of the Overland Mail. She
was much larger and more powerful than any of the other
steamers upon the station ; and so great was the confi-
dence of her commander in her powers, that he deter-
mined to steer direct from Bombay to Aden, instead of
taking the longer route generally adopted during the pre-
valence of the monsoon. The experiment was thought a
dangerous one, and it was the opinion of many naval men
that it must fail, as it had done in a previous instance;
but the result has shown that the confidence of the cap-
tain was not misplaced, as she completed the voyage to
Aden within ten days. No sooner, however, had she com-
pleted this great feat, than she was fated to meet with a
misfortune little looked for. On the evening of the Ist
August, when off Cape Guardafui, on the coast of Africa,
and not far from Aden, she struck upon a reef of rocks,
and in a very short time became a total wreck. The crew
and passengers, with five cases of treasure, which were on
board, and which happened to he on the deck at the time
of the accident, were fortunately saved ; but the mails,
cargo, and passengers' baggage were entirely lost, having
gone down with the wreck. The loss of the mails upon
this occasion is the more to be deplored, as, owing to their
late arrival at Bombay on the previous month, there had
been an accumulation of mails:from Madras and Ceylon.
The number of persons on board, including crew and
passengers, was about lid. It appears that the Memnon
has gone to pieces.
Captain Haines, the Political Agent at Aden, had sent
to the assistance of the shipwrecked people three steamers.
Two passengers who were on board of the Memnon,
Messrs. Southey and Crawford, arrived at Suez from
Aden by the Hindostan.

TREMENDOUS CONFLAGRATION AT KING-

STUN, JAMAICA

Advices from Falmouth of the fifth announce the arrival
on the previous day of the West Indian Steamer Tay.
By this arrival we are put in possession of the particulars
of a most fearful conflagration, by which a very large part
of the city of Kingston has been reduced to ashes. The
account runs thus :—" At about noon on Saturday the
26th of August, a fire broke out at James's Foundry,
situate at the S. E. end of Kingston, Jamaica. The sea
breeze was then blowing very strong, which caused the
flames to spread northwest with almost incredible rapi-
dity, and speedily reduced to ashes a vast amount of pro-
perty. The fire continued its course in this direction
until towards nightfall, when the wind changed, and with
it the course of the fire, which now took the direction from
whence it first originated, and ere the hour of midnight
hundreds of houses were reduced to ashes. The loss of
property is estimated at £400,000, and which has fallen
heavily on the owners of property on the eastern side of
the city, extending in a northerly direction to the extent
of a quarter of a mile. The feeling of sympathy for those
who have suffered, and the distress that pervaded among
the houseless had thrown a gloom over all classes, and
caused business of every description to be almost entirely
neglected. On the supposition that the fire was the act
of an incendiary, £lOOO were offered by the mayor of
Kingston, as a reward for the discovery of the offender."
The elections at Mexico were supposed to be proceeding
against St. Ana. The utmost discontent prevailing, but
it was believed that should he not be re-elected, the mili-
tary would not be instigated to overthrow the new con-
stitution, and proclaim St. Ana as dictator. Foreign trade
is completely destroyed by the restriction laws.