WELLINGTON.

Colonist, Volume IV, Issue 342, 29 January 1861, Page 4

WELLINGTON.

WRECK OF THE BRIG SHAMROCK,

(From the Wellington Independent.) Captain Dixon arrived in town last night from Wairarapa, bringing the melancholy intelligence of the total wreck of the brig Shamrock, in PalUser Bay on the 9th inst. The following letters 'whichhave been kindly furnished to us will give the particulars of the catastrophe :— Wairarapa, Jae. 12, 1861. Sir, —I beg to forward you the particulars of the voyage of the brig Shamrock from Lyttelton, bound to Otago, which was wrecked in Palliser Bay on the 9th inst., and shall feel obliged by your publishing tbe same for general informatiou. And remain your' 3, &c, Thomas Dixon. Late Master of the brig Shamrock. January 7.—Left Lyttelton with a light wi^d from the. $,W, \ at 4 p<ok hard af^Ua

4%mi ;S.W^ close ,re&fe<L the imaint topsail. At 9|piUo-» gales. .uiAtyl^vmidnight^ai perfect burifcane>i the; sea mnning/mountaios high. i L January B.~^Wore'ship! ioiWM.W., making .iery..heavy< weatlieh j Heavyisquall* with sleet ; 7#t intenvals. : Ati l>li'&;m; saw ;t?ie;.land ; the .^hip; makings very little way Ulicpugh-the water. At-1 ;pim;:saw.the>Kai iEoras.iJPeniosula,. bearing N,,W.i.:> At 8 p;m.igot>close-in uh'der'the Peninsula^ bbt.finding-such! a beftyyiswell rolling in, was compelledjtpjwearisbipjvand''stand- to sea. At 9 p.m. terrific gales, sprung the main-yard; set the close reefed main-saily and handed the mainrtop-sail. ..AtilO'3o- p.m. the1 mainsail was blown clean out of the.bolt ropes. Set fore trysail, which stood for about an hour, when it was also blown away. At daylight set storm maintrysail, but it was of very little: service, the ship laboring in the trough of the sea./ Fearful seas broke on boards sweeping the decks. At ;8 a.m. run her before the "wind, at the rate of 11 and a half miles' an hour, under bare poles, the sea topping fearfully at the time. At 11 a.m. saw Cape Turakarea, tried to haul the vessel on the windj to weather it; but the sea was that-high that it drove her to leeward at the rate of 3^ milesper hour. Finding I could not weather the Cape, wore ship and 1 stpod to the eastward. Had the lee clue-of the foresail aft, and close reefed main-top-sail; but the sails did not stand any time. ' Finding the ship getting qmbayed in Palliser Bay and would not, go out, ithouglitlt prudent (for the sake of saviog the lives and property on board) to en^ deavor to beach, her, every . effort: having! been previously used to keep tha vessel oft shore, and all her sails haying been by. this time Blown away. Was fortunate enough ■to run her on a saudy beaob, and by great exertions, under the most trying difficulties,.succeeded in saving tbe lives of the passengers and crew. After getting on shore we were all treated with the greatest kindness and attention by Mr. and Mrs. Rpssell, who did everything in their power, to comfort us under the distressing.oiroumstances.. I have been, to isea.for many years, and although.having weathered, many a gale, I never remember having witnessed such a;hurricane as the present one. To show its great strength, I may-, state that the beaoh in Palliser Bay was literally strewed with . Albatroses,; Whale Birdsi and Porpoises, which were lying dead?onthe |eacb.

(To the Editor, of the Wellington Independent.) Wangaimona^Eallisef Bay, I ..... -11th January, 1860. . Sib,—l regret to inform, you that the! brig Shamrock, Captain,l)ixon, f . Master, bounds from Auckland to Qtagq, was wrecked on: Wednesday last, at about half-past ,2 ia-;the noon. , -.-.; .-,■ .-. .-...■■.■• -^

We sailed from. Auckland on the 17th; December,, was iv Jjyttelton; eight days, and left that, port on Monday last, en route to,Otago, in the evening of that day we : bad fc very, heavy gaje of wind, which ; never; ceased until.we(were, wrecked as before, mentioned on Wednesday the 9th inst. ..'.On.- Tuesday and early on Wednesday morning it blew.a hurricane. - I wjas in a Typhoon in the CJhina.Seas, in the. mon^th of July, 1859, and the. fury of the wind was so great that the sea.became .quite smooth, it j was the same.at times on Tuesday and Wednesday, buttlieseasoonagainroaean.d ran mountains jiigh/ every shred of cauyass was,: blown away, I arid although the Shamrock was as. good a ship as ever went to sea of her size, we drifted this far out of our course. I never before saw. such |iigh

.seas. : •■■••. : .;..... ■.;.... | ...;.:•;'- ---... Our situation on Wednesday morning beqame more and more[.critical. Off a lea shore,' a furious sea running, not able.to keep one sai|set,^ and the .wind, bowling and, blowing .terribly! our captain whois a first-rate seaman, scarcely lefi the deck since we left port, did all that coul-J be done, but seeing that-we were fast approacjring the shore, he, took the helm, and calmly gave orders which the crew readily obeyed. jWe shipped several seas, which .swept our decks;' still our brave and excellent commander contrived to keep at the helm and boldly, steere&j through the heavy surf, whioh for a mile ahdtifi half kept breaking over us, and nothing bjut a watery, grave, presented: itself. ■...' At last{ we bumped and fortunately stuck in the s&nd.^ Then also came; the time of trial. We for sbme, ; time had, been, clinging to .the rigging, but now v iwe had to leave pur .hoW, the sparaV began to. break and blow about, sea after sea pooped jand; broke over us, jand we bad to get over the [side of the ship-and piunge ; through the aurf. ; There were three ladies on board, Mrs. Graham jand the two, Miss Heaphy's, the whole of wjioim were by this time very weak. : Mrs. Graham was very much bruised, she was the;.first j[ady that got out of the vessel, being ; lowered Idpwn by a rope, the othersfollpwed quickly/andj theCaptain and myself• werje the last to.cleave) the1; ill : fated brig,.,but thank God we all got thl•o:ugh^ .the surf and safe to land., . ■.;..■. :.■■■•, : j ';: ..We were all in a very* .deplorable state, jour clothes torn and jpf.qpurseJwetj) tbe.oladies inpariicular had nearly.all their clothes •; torn) off; and they, must; have perished had we not fortunately: met. Mr. Robert Russellyof; Wangs imona, \Vaiiarapa-—-who. hearing of; the wreck instantly came to render: assistance/■•:; He v.camed.'.l^rsV' JGJraham to his -house, his men and-some ofjthe crew assisted theJMiss Heaphy's. : On> arriying; at liisvery -hospitable residence,: we were intro-: duced to Mrs,..;R, Hussell; and Mrs. Russell, sen., these, ladies had prepared for .ourreceptjiob/' and they did everything that lay in theirpoweb to: make us comfortable,.giving üßalL.a change of clothed, &c. Mr. John Russell also did all tjhathe could do for us. Truly this c very laind family were neighbors to us. j • •■■■> Early the following inbrning the capt&in, crew, and Mr. Russellj' went to the wreck..; jßy this time the brig had broken up, the cqrgo scattered and gone. We had on board, nearly7 100,000 feet of boards and scantling; Scarcely one whole board was left, it was wonderful to see how everything had been torn to pieces and broken up, and scattered for miles along the beach. I fortunately recovered one box w;ith^ the contents of course much damaged and wetted, nearly everything else was lost, it; is wonderful to think how we ever escaped as we did. Thank God the whole of our party are now in a way of recovery and hope in a few days to reach Wellington. . : •• The. passengers by the Shamrock' were Mr. Gbodfellow, Mr. and Mrs. Graham, of Auckland, aud two Miss Heapheys, of Lyttelton. . I am, Sir, - Yours, &c, George Graham. The Brig Shamrock.—The hull, gear, and, cargo of this ill-fated vessel were sold by auction by Messrs. Smith and Co. The hull, &c, brought .£45 ; and the timber, shingles, brandy; and bacon, £5. This seems rather a low figure, but we understand that she is complete weok.* w$ the o^rgQ all adjifc,

The brigantirie Pilot^: C^ain;; Burk^ from Hobart Town via 'arrived,: in', this port yesterday morning with; ji, cargo of general merchandise. She left Nelson on Monday, the ■7th instant,and when off Stepnens'llsknd slie encountered tbe late severe gale? in Which she has sustained considerable damage, hiving had her boats washed away, her sails split, skylights broken in, and her cabins deluged, frith water. Captain Burk says he. has neveri experienced more severe weather since has-been to sea. —Spectator. ■ \ '^M{.. ''"'.'■. ;/''^

THE CURTIS-KING;,,CONSPIRACY;EXPOSED. (Fromthe. Wellington. Jnd£p^rukr\t.) As already recorded, the election .fop Nelson City has resulted iv the ; returnw of Messrs. Domett and Stafford oyer> Mr. Robinson. Mr. Elliott, in-returning thanks for Mr; Stafford, remarked that "by sending b^cFthei^ ■former Representativesthey had materially. s|repgthened the hands of the Croyerpmen.t v :OTS, had shown that Nelson: would not .consent tp-.a, Ihollow and disgraceful peace." ; While we, in: common yiritji every other portion of the Press in the various provinces, look witjb^^iDtQrest.^pb/^tilie^ontestS that are taking,; place -ill oyey/Kew!.Zealand and communicate to 'burreaders,... such .information as reaches; us, from, time; to: time/ of tho probable success of the ministerial or anti-minis-terial candidates; we dovnot-jpre&ume'.nor have we presumed to interfere in What isj Le"bs!eatial!y the. duty ■of .leach^ indivi^\ia|i a eleptorat^t We have a .4opr''!o|.iw.r.jpVn;tq-^e i ep*'4leap f ,and this affords us quite.Sufficient employment ;bjut considering the position in which the party whose cause we espouse- are placed^lboKedsnpon as that which is to fornii an in^ppFtant.jefeiqaent ia the opposition tp the p^eijeut^pfetry^ £nd probably in sonie.measure"i'ndiieflci.ng,the policy which the/ ministry to.;be.ere longiformed will pursue, !we shall tiot be accused:of transgressing , our proper limits, if we tak^tbe Ijtberty 6f alluding to. •&/ 'Eliibjt'a;jflefimtipn r' p'f [ WeT policy whjch the opposition are: s&d.lto ia reference, "to^iie;war~the v ßingingjabout "a hollow ;and !disgracefuJLpeace; ,/, J - ...//^e>r.e.the/.mWe,aVlibeFty;'td;do''thiß: becaase the statements with 1 whichLtne;^eTson -qieinbera' cajoled their^oonstiMents^^'backe.tf by" Mx, King, late mernbj^for Jaiati^h/a^^een^Hie)! here by a conte'mp'prary-to fasten,pn #ie'Representatives 6f,tbis.prpvinpß, the stigma; of -being: peaceat:any'prjce.ftdvpca£es.. ;Mrv Evelyn '<3urtis of Nelson^ sbme weeks since, informed his constituents that bad the ministry been turned out, it was understood-at Auckland- tbat one of the first acts of the -new, Ministry (with, probable Mr. ■Fox ■as premier), would^ have" been^eo'send a " deputation to William King to sue for peace upon, the best., term, Jie/w^ould^fionsent to grant" Mr. Fox happening.46 be at Nelson denied in toto that;,any such,-)understandingstUbervjeg|sted or was entertained. 1 "Mf. JKing, ofTaranaki, thereupon oame to Mr'rCurtis's, rescue,, a^nd, made a clean breast of■it-by\de^criijidg.^bje 7''pVoc < <^dings ■■ of a certain private meeting wliic t n 'be said was attended by ;many Northern5 iriemb^rs^|*which some resolutions were proposed, ;!the;fe,xa4t£wording, of which he did not- reßoiledfc^ but' they wer© characterised;by himself at the timeas;tiuoiiliating, and disgraceful .$ and. wariraated him in denouncing;; the; iVVelJingtoja ime'mbersj 'among .:p);hers,- i as,.. J a ;;i p : eaper.#;anytpripe^ faot asserting ■su|scLent, i .if:,truei : ;4p.^Bqthpj|iae Mr. i .?fice_qt,,de ; sor.igtio ! n. t of; th§ a Opposition pbfiby as one iplendcd toj)riiqg^bp|it V a^hollow anpt^disgra'ceful^ peace." = '.-., :,. .; ;t j Mrl Fox at ;Wanganui said';^here,was.,not a word of trutli as io! subh resolution'teing proposed—he believed.that the resolutions brought forward proposed the sending of aTdeputatiott ,to the Governor to- consult^itbl'hnJDl^jioSobtaining peace. a-declaratibn;frbin|Mr. Fox; ought;' to be a*sufficierit HJMiiiE^y of Mr. JEing's.statementk>andnb?dbubt^woiild nave beenconsidered so., iWe-have, however/by the liordiAsblev, the coirbbprat^} denial of; 'several 0 mien^|rs, 7 and.; Xhe.:'New(! Zealander (^ermeeting was |^e«sig^ ; it the c:N6of^'Mmd rm(3)^^;injai?criii^mitely, except Mr." J^chnibn^, : tbq "natrye.mii|ißter. who was oimtteo':'fro)ii!'hir<'con^ Government; ■■■' Friends and foes of th'e/;Stafford Ministry^ were 5 iqvited^a|inot' very likely ineeting: to: broachtbe' idea^^an^^till less to «xpectto'^^carry' ai; resbrutibn' fprop6sing' " to send; a'deputation tb'Williahf Eing/tdsue for peace upon the best terms-he would^snake." The meeUng •, was, ; pur;e,ly. v ; o cppveraational. A resolution' was. react tp.xh^,j-meeting^agking the Governor to appbfnt'a~.w ,to s^,,aiyntarv^ jyith Wi Eing.iV anbl certaini^ '.to : .[mate,jpe^Qe,7-but bniy' to , Vt Mperf;aini and.*jepQrt/.^ethe i r fV ipjr not :any m,eans.'* can' pe\ dpvis.ed> ipnMst.e^,t,with the dignity of tije^ happy war' thatjexists,];hVre.'C...Tbw' ;> re,solution evenvwas./not put..pr'"agreed. to, iiptjdid our niembera take.p^iin'ih^^^prsatigl?? .excepting a; few, v^ds f-ftpni["Mr^Qajrter; and Mr. Brandon ;, itue .remarks of. f wnbm.are/most inborrectly;described^by^r.Eingl vi ; : ; ;, ~ '[$$~ article^ froni^the Nsw c .Zea' > ah^i|e^w Aibkland/mem^^ and ?cau:bniy ; ,]hope;that" l np.j^ ts§ pf^ Mr. \ Eveleyn !!iCurt^ :^drHrv.'Thpni?iß4 King; .have 'beeni;prov|d^fals^^we'' j^t^hej-r ;^io jiapre of ';tbese: pe^ce:at-any-pi;ipe.^ ta.malign damage poiitipal bj^nen^ FoiVdec|a ; ratibn:t.l)at .'^lf he w.ere.hiMf ffiinistry timorrow r 3ie wQuldpjfmoji ,tfye si wai\y}it]h, the utmost vigour i" and bur^^eaß.eramayrest satisfied that nothing .can. be more unfqu.pded. ; than' Mr. Elliott's 'assumption that the Fox ; or any other party, would consent to." a hollow and disgraceful peace." [TheCarticle Referred to^ have.already. ap,p_.eared In .pu^.cpluninsj.