way between the Magazines and the New Brighton landing-place. There is, as there always is in similar cases, a great variance in the statements of the crews of the two vessels as to what was done by each on their approach. The rule of the Trinity Board is, that when steam-vessels on different courses must unavoidably or necessarily pass so near that by continuing their respective courses there would be a risk of coming into collision, each vessel should put her helm to port, so as always to pass on the larboard side of each other. Both vessels, it is said, ported their helms in compliance with the bye-law; but, be this as it may, one thing is certain, that the stem of the "Sea Nymph" struck the larboard bow of the "Rambler," and thereby cut away her bulwarks and hull below the water-line, to the depth altogether, of nine or ten feet. The force of the collision was terrific. A labouring man, employed at the Magazines, who was sitting on the beach at the time, compares it to a clap, or rather to two claps of thunder; for he says he heard two tremendous noises as the vessels dashed with full force against each other. It was heard distinctly at the Seacombe pier, and by all the residents at New Brighton and the Magazines who were at the time in bed and asleep. The bulwarks and hull of the "Rambler" were not only stove in, but her heavy windlass was forced from its position, and one end of it fell upon the deck, and crushed to death five of the passengers. Others were killed by the force with which the bulwarks and forecastle were driven in, and others were wounded severely by the falling of the windlass, and the crash at the forecastle. No pen can describe the awful scene which presented itself on board the vessel the moment the collision took place. The passengers were in the utmost consternation. They set up the most piteous cries for help and deliverance. They ran in crowds to the starboard side, and in agonies of despair, seemed bent on plunging themselves into the river, in the hope that they might, in some way or other reach the land. In the general confusion and uproar which prevailed, families were separated-husbands from wives, wives from husbands. and children from both. The Captain did all that a humane and active man could do to appease their alarms. He implored of them to remain on board, and all would yet be safe; but, amidst the cries of the dying and terror-stricken multitudes, his voice was unheeded by all, and unheard by hundreds. Some of the passengers took possession of the starboard boat for the purpose of getting ashore. Launching her over the side of the vessel, twelve men got into her, and others were clambering over the bulwark, and were preparing to follow, when the boat capsized, and all who were in her, as far as we could learn, with the exception of two, were drowned. It was just at this moment that the Magazine's lifeboat, manned by eleven brave fellows, under the command of Thomas Evans, neared the "Rambler." The crew were then burning blue lights, and making other signals of distress. Evans, on approaching the vessel, fell in with the capsized boat, and observing that one of the poor fellows who was in her had succeeded in getting on her bottom, he seized him by the collar and drew him into the life-boat. Another man was taken out of the water almost immediately after. Two others were subsequently taken out, and also a woman who had flung herself over the side of the vessel with her child in her arms. She was hauled into the boat with the child firmly in her grasp. The rush of the passengers to get on board the life-boat was tremendous. Had the quarter of them succeeded in their rashness—pardonable under the circumstances the boat must necessarily have been swamped. Evans, however, took care to prevent more than twenty five of them from getting on board, and he succeeded in partially quelling the anxieties of the remainder, by assuring them that he should return with all possible dispatch from the shore, and make trip after trip, until he had removed every human being from the wreck. He made three trips in all, taking care to convey the wounded to the beach in the first and second trips that he made. The "New Brighton" steamer then came to his assistance, and brought the whole of the remaining passengers across to Liverpool. Thirteen dead bodies were found under the windlass and bulwarks, and in the forecastle; and these also were conveyed by Evans to the Magazines, and placed in the boat-house. Never, in our experience, and we have seen many fatal casualties in our time, did we witness such a deplorable sight as was exhibited in the Magazines' life-boat-house; thirteen

mangled_bodies lay there upon the cold earth, covered with rags and shrouded in death. That number was composed of persons of all ages and of both sexes. First there laid the old bald-headed man of three-score years and ten. His wounds were not visible to the eye, but they were so great as to produce his death while he was being carried from the life-boat to the beach. Next him lay two fine young women, one dreadfully mangled about the breast. Two men, apparently about thirty-five years of age, lay next to them, and immediately on their right, a mother with a sucking child by her side. The infant's brains had been dashed out, and the mother's skull fractured. Then right and left lay six other children-some three, four, and five years old, all horribly mangled. The arm of one had been completely lopped off from the elbow. The intestines of another were protruding, the leg of a third was dislocated, and the flesh of a fourth was abrased to the very bone. William Connolly, 45, is in a very dangerous state, with a broken leg and a dangerous wound in the scalp. Mary Connolly, his wife, 45, and Eliza Connolly, their child, 14, both badly injured. Patrick Geoghan, 45, very badly injured, and quite insensible. Very little hopes were entertained that some of them could survive the night. There are at present 14 dead; 10 others were drowned by the swamping of the boat; and several besides, we fear, were lost by jumping over the side of the vessel. The numbers who met with a watery grave cannot at present be ascertained, for none of the bodies had up to Tuesday night been washed on the beach.

Tuesday afternoon, a Jury of fifteen gentlemen were empannelled at the Magazines, before Mr. Churton, Coroner of Chester, for the purpose of holding an inquest upon the bodies. After having viewed them at the dead-house, the Coroner said, he understood that sixteen or seventeen persons were drowned shortly after the collision, and that probably some of the bodies of those persons would be washed ashore in the course of two or three days. It was a matter of great importance that every tittle of evidence should be brought before the Jury in so important a case. He thought, therefore, that they had better adjourn for a week, in order to afford time for Mr. Scrambler, the constable, to summon all the necessary witnesses. The inquest was then adjourned until Tuesday morning next. of course, the bodies will be buried.

In the meantime,

About 200 of the pigs died or were washed overboard, and one of the cows was killed. The rest of the cattle were conveyed ashore on Tuesday.

Since then the Jury has again met. The facts disclosed did not materially differ from the preceding account. The verdict was Accidental Death, with a deodand of £200 on the "Sea Nymph."

DESTRUCTION OF AN INDIAMAN BY FIRE.

By the arrival of the "Agincourt," East Indiaman, from Calcutta, we are in receipt of intelligence of the total loss of the "William Rathbone," East Indiaman, by a dreadful fire that broke out on board on the night of the 8th of May, whilst on her homeward voyage, and, considering the fearful circumstances attending it, it is extraordinary how the crew escaped. The "William Rathbone" was a large Englishbuilt ship, of upwards of 500 tons burden, and was the property of Messrs. Huitcher and Co., of Liverpool. She sailed from Calcutta in the early part of the spring, with a valuable cargo of rice, sugar, jute, and other articles of East India produce. She carried no passengers, and the crew, with her master, Captain Hoseason, consisted of twenty-three hands. Prior to the eighth ult. her voyage was as favourable as could be expected. The fire broke out about five o'clock in the evening on the above date, the position of the ship being in lat. 82 N., long. 36 W.,

about 500 miles to the westward of the Pecopico, or the Western Islands. It should be observed that, for several days previous, an intense heat had emanated from the hold of the vessel; so much so that some of the crew could not remain below in the forecastle, but made up their beds on the deck, the inconvenience being rendered more painful by the excessive heat of the weather, as the vessel for several days had been almost becalmed. The first alarm, it appears, was raised by a boy, who discovered a quantity of smoke issuing from the fore-hatching. All hands were instantly turned up to render assistance. The hatchings were removed, and the smoke rose up in dense volumes. A canvass held over the hatchway soon proved that it proceeded from a fire kindling among the cargo, and that from the overheating of the jute, as the smoke covered the canvass with soot. The first step taken by Captain Hoseason was to destroy the powder, which he did by having it thrown overboard. He then urged his men in every possible way to extinguish the fire, which appeared to be amongst the pile under the forecastle-deck, extending some distance aft. What with a scorching sun, the heated state of the decks, and the quantity of smoke that kept rushing up the hatchways, the sufferings of the poor fellows in their praiseworthy endeavours were immense. Finding that the water they threw down the hatchways had no effect, they replaced the hatchways, with a view, if possible, of stifling the fire. They then launched the long-boat, and commenced cutting holes in the sides of the ship, so as to admit, water to extinguish the flames, supposing the principal body of it existed at the bottom, and so arranging their plan, that, in the event of the fire subduing, the holes could be easily blocked up. Long before this, three boats, well manned, from the " Agincourt," which had kept company with the unfortunate ship for two or three days, arrived, under the charge of Mr. Harris, the chief mate, to afford assistance. They did all in their power to aid the crew of the "William Rathbone." Discovering, however, the flames rapidly increasing, they resolved to abandon the ship to her fate, as they could not remain on her decks, in consequence of the great heat. The night had already advanced, and they were afraid of not reaching the "Agincourt." commander, Mr. Nisbett, however, had got his vessel's head round, and soon picked his men up with the long-boat of the "William Rathbone" and the crew in tow. They had scarcely got on board the " Agincourt" before the fire rose up the hatchways of the ill-fated ship, and communicating to the rigging, soon presented an entire blaze. The night was exceedingly clear, and, owing to the inflammable cargo, the vessel burnt with the greatest brilliancy, and must have been seen fifty miles round. The flames raged on her with great fury during the whole night, until eight o'clock the next morning, when, having burnt to the water's edge, she went down in deep water. The "Agincourt" remained by her to the last.

Her

The following is an extract of a letter from Mr. Nisbett, Capt. of the "Agincourt,” and gives some further particulars :

"The only consolation I have is, in having been the means of saving a whole ship's company. We had had a ship in sight during the calm, for three or four days, but had managed to crawl about seven or eight miles a-head of her, when at 5 P.M. on the 8th of May we discovered her to be on fire; got the ship's head round towards her, and sent my two cutters away to her assistance immediately. They reached her about 7 P.M., but before that, we could see the flames coming up her hatchways, and that they were getting out the long-boat; it then fell calm and dark at the same time, and we were left in suspense until 9 P.M., when the boats returned, having in tow the long-boat of the ship "William Rathbone," of 500 tons, of Liverpool, from Calcutta for London, laden with jute, rice, and sugar. They had scuttled the ship, in hopes of drowning the fire, but without success. They had just time to save a few provisions and take to the boats, when the flames burst up all the hatchways. The master and officers saved some of their clothes, but the men nothing but what they stood in. We were becalmed unpleasantly close to her all night; she was one mass of fire from the trucks downwards. At 8 the following morning, we saw her go down."

SHIPWRECKS AND DISASTERS AT SEA.

HOBART TOWN. - Previous to Jan. 23. The "Spy," Wooden, from Amoy, arrived here with the cargo of the "William IV." wrecked there.

was wrecked

VICTORIA.-March 29. The schooner "Emma," Fraser, hence for the east coast, was wrecked in Namoa Straits 27th ult., five of the crew drowned. CAPE OF GOOD HOPE.-April 2. The Portuguese barque "Unaio," off Tamatave, January 28, during a hurricane; fifty of the crew drowned. RIO DE JANEIRO. April 4. The " Mary Gray," Story, from Valparaiso, arrived here 29th ult., with boats, deck-houses, bulwarks, stanchions, carried away, and the mate, carpenter, and a boy washed overboard, having been struck by a sea. PORT ELIZABETH-ALGOA BAY.-April 2. The following are additional particulars of the wrecks of the "Blackaller,' "Jim Crow," and "Susan," reported in the Shipping and Mercantile Gazette of the 30th ult. A strong south-easter had been blowing from the Saturday to the Wednesday, when the wind freshened, and brought an unusually heavy sea into the bay. Between six and seven in the evening the "Blackaller" parted, and grounded on the sand at some distance from the beach. The crew had tried to put her under sail and work her out, but that failing, they took to the boat and got on board another vessel. Two hours afterwards the "Jim Crow" was seen adrift, and soon came ashore. The whole beach was lit up with tar-barrels, and a great concourse of people were ready to render every assistance. A line was thrown from the vessel, but in his anxiety to reach it, the master got out of his depth, but was lucky enough to get hold of another line, by which he got on board the stranded schooner. Another line was thrown, which was safely brought on shore. By this means a stronger rope was passed to the wreck, by a life-buoy attached to which, all on board were safely landed. The first sent on shore was Captain Geere's child, about two years old. The next was the mother, who, though quite insensible when brought on land, was soon restored by care and attention. A short time after the "Jim Crow," the "Susan" followed, outside the former, and a little more to the south. No assistance could be rendered to her, on account of her greater distance from the beach. The oxen had been driven loose, and now rolled, heavy dead masses, from one side of the vessel to the other át every wave. The deck was breaking up, the foremast fell, and all about the bow was a mass of wreck. A little after twelve at night she heeled over with an awful and continuing crash. The spectators stood appalled at what appeared the inevitable fate of a crew, thirty-three in number, when they were cheered by a cry from those on board, "Can you give us no assistance?" "Hold on" was the only answer that could be made. At daylight, the gale having abated, and the tide being low, a whale-boat was manned, and a communication established with the wreck, by which a line was got on shore, as in the case of the "Jim Crow." After one attempt, it was determined to land the crew by means of the whale-boat, which was worked, not by oars, but by means of a second line. The whole of the crew, who had taken refuge in the rigging and tops of the two standing masts, were thus providentially saved, the last dropping into the boat in a state of utter exhaustion. The "Susan" is completely broken up. The "Blackaller" and the "Jim Crow

held together better, though the latter has "broken her back."

GIBRALTAR.-May 7. The "Ruth," Newham, of Scarborough, from Messina, for St. Petersburg, was attacked by Moorish pirates, on the 30th ult. off the Riff, coast of Barbary, Cape Forcas, bearing S.E. by E., distant about five or six leagues; was abandoned by the crew, in order to save their lives, and it is supposed, was subsequently run on shore.

DONEGAL-May 18. The "Blanch," Falkenbridge, reported yesterday, was got off the beach last evening's tide, considerably damaged, after landing passengers, in number about fifty, provisions, &c., with fore feet gone, keel broken, ship strained, &c. The greatest praise is due to the son and daughters of Mr. George Mahan, who live near where the vessel went on shore. She was seen going on in the evening,

about twilight; the ground-sea and surf were tremendous at the time. She struck immediately, and canted on the starboard side, and, providentially, a large rock prevented her going right over and filling. The sea broke over her several times; and were it not for the heroic conduct of the females and their brother, many lives would have been lost, as they had two boatsful of the passengers on shore before any other boat attempted to reach the ship.

HARWICH-May 20. Wind S.W., squally. The "Alert," Eskdale, of Whitby, from Oporto for London, at ten o'clock last night, got on the Long Sand, and at six this morning she upset, when the master and four seamen took to the boat, and were, with one passenger, who was picked up on a spar, brought in here by the smack "William and Elizabeth," of Dartmouth. One seaman and eight passengers were drowned. When the master and crew left the "Alert," she was afloat on her broadside, riding at anchor. The following is a list of persons drowned-viz., Robert Anderson, seaman; Hiram Nelson, blacksmith, wife, and three children; Mr. Hardgrave and two children-passengers.

WIVENHOE.-May 20. Wind S.S.W., showery and squally. A sloop, apparently Danish built, about 80 tons burthen, laden with oats, was discovered on her broadside in the Swin, on Monday last; she was taken in tow, but in crossing over the Gunfleet sand, she struck, and soon afterwards went to pieces. It is supposed that she had previously been on the Sunk Sand, and it is feared that her crew are drowned. Part of her broadside was washed on shore yesterday at Walton-onthe-Naze.

HARWICH.-May 21. Wind S.E., fine. The "Alert," reported yesterday on the Longsand, has been got off, and just towed into this harbour (on her broadside) by the "Scout,' revenue cruiser, and several smacks. None of the bodies of the nine persons drowned have as yet been found. The persons saved were James Eskdale, master; John Eskdale, mate; Benjamin Curling, and James Anderson, seamen; George Kennett, boy; and Michael Hardgreaves, blacksmith; who have been relieved from the Merchant Seamen's fund, by the collector of customs at this port.

CORUNNA.-May 22. The Spanish mistico "Gaditano," from Barcelona, for this port, was totally wrecked on the 13th instant, near Sisarga Islands-crew drowned.

DREADFUL STEAM-BOAT EXPLOSION AND LOSS OF LIFE. - LIVERPOOL, May 29.-Intelligence has just been received here from Wigtown, Scotland, by a letter dated May 27, of a melancholy accident which took place on Wednesday last, by the bursting of a steam-boiler. It is as follows: "An awful accident took place to-day. The steamer, Finn Mac Coull,' left here at twelve o'clock for Liverpool, and on the passage called at Garliestown for goods, and when just loosing the rope to leave the quay the boiler burst, and the under engineer and one fireman were killed, and the head engineer and two men (I do not know whether they were firemen or not, but they belonged to the vessel), were dreadfully scalded, and not expected to live. None of the passengers were injured. The boiler burst at the bottom; if it had burst at the top there is no saying what amount of lives might have been lost. The steam had just been shut off about one minute before the accident took place, and the poor fellows had to lie in the engine room upwards of five minutes before assistance could be got on account of the great quantity of steam and dust."

HALIFAX-N.S.-June 3. The "Thomas Row," from the Clyde for Quebec, went on shore on Cape Sable, 14th ult., but was got off the next day and taken into Harrington.

The "Catharine," from St. John (N.B.) for Glasgow, put into this port 28th ult., in distress, and deck load thrown overboard, having encountered a severe gale on the 24th.

The "Brilliant," Stormer, of London, from Cork for Quebec, out thirty days, was wrecked near Laune (?) 12th ult. ; two passengers drowned, 153 saved. FALMOUTH-June 8. H.M. sloop, 66 'Philemon," arrived here, picked up on the 8th ult., in lat. 36.34 N., long. 36 W., a boat containing the master and crew of