The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1842-11-22 00:00:00

DREADFUL STORM AT MADEIRA

Funchal, the capital of Madeira, and the whole of the island
has been visited with one of the most dreadful storms that
has occurred since the flood in the year 1803, when upwards
of 400 persons were swept into the sea; and, had the late
deluge occurred at night, as was the case in the former ca-
tastrophe, there is no doubt but hundreds of persons would
have been drowned : however, as far as can be learnt at pre-
sent, few lives were lost except in the distant parishes, where
several hundreds of persons have been carried into the sea.
The summer was very hot, and the weather continued beau-
tifully fine until the 15th October : it then rained heavily un-
til the 24th, when the rain partly ceased. A correspondent
of The Times says,

" About mid-day the whole of the island appeared buried
in one vast cloud, threatening total darkness; the barometer
fell considerably ; the air became very oppressive, with a
strong sulphurous smell ; and the wind veered about to
nearly every point of the compass. At one o'clock the rain
began to fall in torrents ; and about an hour afterwards I per-
ceived, at a distance of about a mile from the shore, an im-
mense rising in the sea, which was soon connected with a mass
of dark clouds overhanging the bay, to all appearance
charging themselves or drawing the water from the sea, for
the space of about ten minutes, followed immediately by a
heavy swell or rising of the ocean, which swept towards the
shore ; and, although T was at a considerable elevation above
the level of the sea, it appeared high enough to sweep over
the city ; its force, however, was broken, and it subsided on
the beach. The rain still continued in torrents ; and at four
o'clock the roar of the water in the river N. S. do Calhao,
which was forty feet in depth, began to give me some alarm ;
when, looking out of the window of my house, I perceived
that the bridge was being swept away, and that the water was
rushing into the streets. I immediately left the house ; and
on reaching the street the appalling sight that appeared in
every direction was enough to make the stoutest heart quake
with fear: The street in front of. the garden of my house was
upwards of three feet deep with water ; and hundreds of men,
women, and children were wading their way up the stream,
flying towards the mountains, whilst others were flocking to
the town, not knowing where to go for safety, amidst the
most dreadful shrieks and cries that can possibly be imagined.
As I approached towards the river, the scene became still
more awful, the water having burst open the wine-lodges, and
the contents being swept into the sea ; whilst the streets in
the neighbourhood were all overflowed with water, and the
inmates of the houses escaping by ladders, and over the roofs
of the buildings. Upwards of 200 houses have been destroyed,
or become untenaotable by this disastrous flood; and the
quantity of wine, corn, &c., swept into the sea and destroyed
is very great; but at present it is utterly impossible to state
any thing like an estimate of the amount of damage done."
The Government made immediate arrangements to admit
the poor into the forts for shelter, and to keep order ; but
the overflowing wine gave opportunity for intoxication and
the confusion for frequent robberies.
" The news from the interior, or rather the coast—for
from the interior we have none—is awful. Half of Machio
is swept away, and all the fishing-boats belonging to the vil-
lage. In the parish of Madalena nearly all the houses and
part of the population are gone; in Calheta many houses are
washed away. Fayal and Porto Cruz have suffered much,
entire vineyards having been swept into the sea. Santa Cruz
has suffered less than others ; but at Canico the disasters are
great."
The weather moderated ; but on the 26th it blew a hurri-
cane from the south, and the sea rushed furiously over the
beach into the lower streets of Funchal. Six vessels were at
anchor in the bay : at five o'clock the first, the American
brig Creole, was driven from its anchors on to the beach ;
and at intervals followed the English schooner Wave, the
Portuguese schooner Novo Beijinho, the brig Dart of Lon-
don, and the Sardinian schooner Gloria Mare Esperanza.
All on board the last vessel perished. The ship Success was
saved by its anchor becoming entangled as it dragged with
one left at the bottom by a large American ship : next morn-
ing the ship got out to sea ; and afterwards returned in safety.
The wreck of an unknown vessel was found at Porta Cruz,
the crew apparently swept away ; and another Sardinian
schooner was wrecked at Porta Santo. Up to the 2d, they
still remained without news from the interior.

The Times of yesterday (Monday) brings but few further
particulars of these events. One of the papers published at
the place, says,—" Our contemporary calculates the loss at
300 contos of reis, but that calculation is contradicted when
the same paper states that there are found to he more than
300 houses thrown down or totally destroyed in the streets
of the Paugneirois and neighbourhood. We are of opinion,
and many well-informed persons concur with us, that the
city has sustained a loss not much under 2,000,000 contos of
reis."

Lord Dinorben's new mansion at Kinrnel Park is being re-
built on the plan of the old hall before the fire.

THE Loss OF THE RELIANCE.—The City of Boulogne
steamer, Captain Tune, which left that port at ten o'clock
on Thursday night, acd arrived at London-bridge wharf yes-
terday afternoon, brings some additional facts relative to the
wreck of the above vessel. The information is obtained from
Captain Tune, who gleaned it during a short conversation
with Dixon, the carpenter, who still remains at Boulogne,
and in the absence of any official account, may be deemed of
some importance, as showing more clearly the circumstances
under which the ship struck. The statement made to Cap-
tain Tune is, that previous to the Saturday morning when
the Reliance went on shore the weather had been so hazy,
that the officers of the ship had been unable to take any ob-
servation for upwards of 70 hours. At the time the vessel
grounded she was heaving to under close-reefed main-top
and staysails, and veering her head to the northward, when
she struck on her heel. Her head immediately came round,
and she fell broadside on the sand. The tide was, as has
been already stated, ebbing at the time, and the sea running
very heavy, which caused the vessel to break up speedily.
The fact that the Reliance when she split was, as is now first
ascertained from Captain Tune, more than two miles from
the shore, which is low and sandy, will account for the awful
loss of life which occurred. Several other bodies of the ill-
fated crew have, since the last accounts were received, been
brought into Boulogne, and buried there. The mother of
one young man on board died only a fortnight since, leaving
her son a handsome fortune. The weather at Boulogne on
Thursday last was so boisterous, that the Brittannia, Dover
packet, which left at ten o'clock, a.m., after vainly endea-
vouring to cross the Channel, returned to port at half-past
one o'clock.

BURNING OF A LUCIFER FACTORY.—Last night, at about
20 minutes to 11 o'clock, an alarming fire was discovered
raging in a lucifer manufactory situate in William's-court, a
narrow thoroughfare leading from Guildford-street, South-
wark, into Bankside, adjacent to the Phoenix Gas-house.
The premises consisted of a brick building about 20 feet in
depth, two stories high ; and in addition to the lucifer fac-
tory, which was carried on by a person named Phillips on the
first story, the floors above were used as workshops by a
wire-worker named M`Niel. Upon the alarm being raised,
the utmost confusion prevailed amongst the numerous poor
families tenanting the houses in William's-court • for to all
appearance, such was the violence of the flames, the destruc-
tion of these dwellings was inevitable. No doubt existed
but the fire originated in the factory in question, from the
fact that the smoke first appeared to issue from the windows
looking into it, and that shortly afterwards the destructive
element burst forth from every part of it. Information
having been forwarded by the police and strangers to the dif-
ferent stations on that side of the river Thames, in the course
of a short time two engines arrived from Southwark-bridge-
road district, in charge of Mr. Henderson, the officer in
command, who, with the firemen that accompanied him, put
the machines into order for operation. They, however, for
upwards of twenty minutes, were unable to afford the slightest
assistance to prevent the flames extending, not a drop of
water being obtainable in the neighbourhood to supply the
engines. In the interim the fire had made alarming progress ;
the roof had partially fallen in, and every portion of the
building was turning rapidly. Other engines of the brigade
force, under the superintendence of Mr. Braidwood, subse-
quently came up, but out of six only two were able to get to
work, from an insufficiency of water. In about three-quarters
of an hour the flames were subdued. No damage was done
to any other premises but those in which the conflagration
commenced; they were entirely destroyed. Unfortunately
for the sufferers (particularly M`Niel, the wire-worker, who
has a large family depending upon him for support) they are
uninsured ; consequently, the loss will be severely felt.
Upon inquiry, it was ascertained that the delay of water did
not arise from any negligence of the turncock, but to the dis-
graceful state of the pipes laid down in the streets. The
same complaint occi,rs at almost every fire that takes place in
Southwark and its suburbs.