STRANDING of the P. & 0. Co/s STEAMER NORTHAM IN THE RED SEA.

Otago Witness, Issue 422, 31 December 1859, Page 7

STRANDING of the P. & 0. Co/s STEAMER NORTHAM IN THE RED SEA.

(From the Home News.)

The following authentic particulars of the accident which happened lo the steamship Northam on her voyage from Sjdney and Melbourne to Suez, occupying from the 14th of July to the 28tli of August last, have been forwaided to us ibr publication by Air. William Harvey, acting as secretary and treasurer for the passengers on that occasion :—: —

Leaving Sydney on Julfc^gt mid-day, the Northam had proceeded9n|^Mpidity and success, and, at the perioc^HnHnjident, the passengers had every antHHßpi)f landing at Suez on Tuesday morning^w^ist 23. On August 19, at 6 o'clock a.m., the Northam passed abreast of the island of Gibel Teer, in the Red Sea. Beautiful, but very hot weather was experienced the whole of that day and succeeding night, and at 4 o'clock a.m. on the morning of the 20th a smart "Shomaul," or land wind, from W.N.W., commenced , and blew with some violence until 11 o'clock;Jum. Though fine at mid-day, no proper sight for latitude was obtained ; the weather became after sundown extremely thick and hazy, even for the Red Sea, and at 9.45 p.m. the vessel ran on Shab Baryer Coral Reef, at the rate of 12 miles an hour. The damage to the fora part of the ship wa3 so great, that in 25 minutes all the water-tight compartments forward of the engine were filled ; a considerable portion of the mail damaged, and subsequently lost ; and everything, including the large portion of the passengers' luggage which was stowed there, completely destroyed. A largo part of the luggage was also afterwards lost and destroyed; which was taken from the cabins and conveyed to the desert isjand of Myetta on a raft.

Immediately after the stranding of the vessel, and a partial knowledge of the damage done had been obtained, the passengers and crew were detaiied to the boats, lest, in consequence of the fall of the tide or rough weather, the vessel might slide off the reef, and then probably sink in deep water. The boats were provisioned and so things quietly remained till daylight, when a survey having been taken by the captiin and officers and the Admiralty agent, the captain proposed to the passengera to put them ashore on the island of Myetta, distant eight miles, so as to leave him in as free a position as possible to save the ship.

All provision proper and possible for the comfort of the passengers ashore was made on their leaving the vessel, but the island was desert and unknown, and it had been unforeseen (though suggested by the writer) ihataf there was no fresh water on the island, thera would be no channel through the coral reef,. hounding it at a distance of one-third of a mile: This suggestion turned out fact, and everything sent to the island (the whole of the treasure on board the vessel included) bad to be carried, after a difficult landing, for this distance by tha passengers, over the uneven surface of the coral reef, sometimes to their middles, sometimes to their necks, in water.

The extreme heat (125 degrees of Fuhren. heit), and the glare from the sea, and the fierce reflection of the sun from dry burnt coral, which formed the structure of the island, along with a short supply of water/soon bore't.ery hard on some of the passengers and children, several of whom must -have die'dif 24 hours longer resident on the island. Ii was vruh joy, therefore, that on full daylight of August 25, we discovered the Northam afloat, and under steani, outside the reef. The fact of her having been got afloat is solely attributable^ to the ability and practical energy of her captain; and oilicers, and engineers, in availing theteselre* of the steam winches on board, through which, by the manufacture of large -sanvas'bucketa, to lift the water out of the vessel, was she alone got off. "Without the possession and use thus of these winches, the Northam would now be lying on Shah Baryer Coral Reef. The leak, large as it was in the fore part of th^Shij), was practically built out from the inside^fthe'shiri, and shored ami secured from her' deck and sides; though the passage from jfcfyetla to Suez was literally like sailing on a barrel with the bung out. After the accident .the" ship steered very wild, and her icompHsV'j and watches were injured. Myetta Islandis on the west coast of the>Ked Sea immediately opposite Jklctah.'

The passenger^, 28 in number, addressed to Captain Stead of the Northam ft letter, gratefully acknowledging the great, assiduity. with which he ministered to their comfort, and the foresight and energy he' displayed under the very trying circumstances in 'which he;.wa« placed. This testimonial waa accqnipariied bya silver salver and cup, value £100.' A similar letter of acknowledgment was' addressed to Mr. Sparkes, the first officer, arid another to Lieutenant Lewis, of the Indian Navy, who took charge of thd passengers on tho'island. . The testimonial to Lieutenant Lewis, waa ao-. companied by a gold watch. "

The Old World passes away. Just nowj in the middle of the 19th century, a whole 'forest has been reclaimed from its primeval roughness in the very heart of this country. Whichwood Forest, within a morning's ride*of Oxford, has been enclosed,, divided out into farms, studded syith "plain and convenient"' buildings, arid let at 28s. an acre. $« years ago, except 19 coppices, all the rest waa cover-%5 ed with old timber and brushwoodj'the no doubt, the rough,, shapeless, raggeiVtrees" always found where the villager has Hcease.to use his hook or his hand. The Commission- % eh seem to have done their work well, and\ at" the cost of £10 an acre, have made the arable portion a property that the Crown may be proud of. It will be some comfort to our sentimental readers to hear that the seven farmhouses and homesteads are built£not of bruJk, > but of the oolitic stone of the district stf fami- , liar to the^ Oxford man ; W;t!he othert&aiu!^ no doubt thejpae material has been generaU^ ly preferreaipthe quickset hedge of our home ' counties. Seven miles of roa/J invßdbitbe ~WL~ recesses, and policemen now probably walfe v where deer once stalked. , v , The following surprising scrap of regal go^-fl sip conies to us from a New York paper : — An offer of marriage has recently been made by;- ' the Duke of Rutland to the Princess Matyf sister of the Duke of Cambridge, whiejUthe* latter is rather anxious to accept. Her consent, however, is not sufficient* as by the pro-St visions of the Royal Marriage Act, ;passe^h some 90 years ago, in the reign orGeorge lit '-.? no member of the reigning family caale^lly contract matrimony without the assent of the •* sovereign personally declared, and- Queen Vte toria objects to granting the requisite license.