MISCELLANEOUS EXTRACTS.

Wellington Independent, Volume XVII, Issue 1488, 11 January 1861, Page 3

MISCELLANEOUS EXTRACTS.

, V r A^- 'iEypOKSSi Train . on : Firb.-tOii j Tuesday an alarajiug aooiden t i ooouired to the express train which bares Carlisle at one o'clock for the south, 1 and which might have deprived the Alliance meeting of two ot its prinoipalspeaMers, Mr, Washington Wilks and the Dean of Carlisle Between Garnforth and Lancaster I it was discovered by the ocoupanits of the hindermost carriage < that ttre 1 luggage upon the roof had taken i l^; 1 There being no 'means of communication with the guard or driver, the passengers shouted as loudly as they; could, and waved their: hats in the anxious hope of attracting attention. They suooeeded with the aid of the smoke and fire, which rapidly made themselves seeu and felt, in passing on the alarm from carnage to carriage/ but not in arresting. the attention of the only parties who could inter* fere to stop the train,: Most fortunately at this time the train was rapidly approaching Lanoaster, as the flames were travelling along the roof,, and the'moment the station was reached, the burning luggage was thrown off. The pack-, acres-were founds© oonaiatot liahtaooda^ the property of some ladies in the carriage, and to; have ignited by a spark from the engine. 5 The accident was the more alarming and painful to some of the passengers, because in tbe next carriage to that on which the luggage was on fire was a poor lad, who 'had been severely injured on the works near Oxenholme, who was being conveyed to the Lancaster Infirmary. Of course the greatest consternation and alarm prevailed amongst the passengers in the train, and we should think that if anything could shew the utility of having signals between the engine and its freight, the accident we have described ought to do so. Five Days if a Galb.— The 3rd of October will be long remembered as one of those days which leave their impress in anxious and sorrowful memories. Already we have heard of shipwrecks, brave seamen perishing in their efforts to reach the shore ; and could the effects of thot terrible storm be fully known, it would reveal many an instance of suffering, endurance; and heroic, toil. One i such came under our notice, and cannot fail to awaken the interest and sympathy of the reader. On the morning of the 3rd the William Simpson, of Peterhead, a boat of little more than fifteen -tons, left the Tay for tier native port : with a heavy cargo of mussels. She was manned by William and Alexander Alexander, with two of their sons, b.oys about fourteen years of age. Suddenly the wind rose, and, finding it impossible to breast the storm they ran to sea, and continued thus till, it is calculated, they were at least a hundred miles from land. 'Being unable to carry canvas, or even take down the mast, they were entirely at the mercy of the waves, and could only struggle to keep their vessel from sinking. The perilous condition of the poor fishermen with their little boys ,it would be impossible to oonoeive. Here, in a small boat, their provisions destroyed, without fire, wet and weary,.in the midst of the raging elements, their only prospect was a watery grave. ' A large quantity of the preoious cargo was thrown overboard, twice was the boat filled with water, and the waves continued to break over her. The two boys soon became exhausted, and were placed under the only, shelter an open boat can afford, saddening as it is, that their parents might not see them die. They refused to remain, aDd the last edible remnant, a raw cabbage, was divided between them. Hard and heart-breaking were the struggles of the two fishermen, and yet they toiled on as those inured to difficulties and storms only can. For five days did William Alexander remain at the helm, except twice, when he was dashed by a wave into the bottom of the boat, while his brother, attended to the pump and other matters. Seldom have we heard of such trying exposure, such protracted privation and suffering. At last the calm came, and with what strength remained, stimulated by a hope that, even yet, through a kind Providence, they niight be saved, they made for the land. On Suu'day they arrived at Stonehaven, having been nearly five days at sea, during whioh they had ate little, slept none, and been subjected 'to the severest hardships." Their condition was deplorable, their deliberauoe a marvel, and the news of their safety was received by anxious friends with equal delight and astonishment. The boat arrived here on Monday. Such is one of the incidents of Wednesday week. The William Simpson had a perilous voyage, and her brave little crew a narrow esoape ; but how many on that memorable day perished amid the scenes of their struggles and sufferings! — Peterhtad Sentinel. Dreadful Coolie Massacre.—-Ano-ther Coolie tragedy has taken place on board the Spanish ship Euoarnaoion. She left Maoeio roads oh the 2nd Aug., and a few days after leaving the Coolies rose and rushed into the oabin. They wounded the captain severely, but in the meanwhile the crew carae aft, and a fight ensued. The interpreter aud one of the crew, as well as 75 of the Coolies, were kiUod, .'in the fray. The captain and eleven of the crew were severely wounded. Murder in WALES.-^Mr,,Daviß Price, aged 78, a farmer, nearTryoastle, Wales, attended an auction, and quarrelled with some of his; neighbours with whom he bad for years been on bacj terms. In the evening, after he had started for home, c*ie,s ol "murder " were heard* but were disregarded. Hot returning home, Price's j

wife Is eat a stepson' iti&eart^fM^.foaiicl^ his Gorpso> during the, nigpt,,in $ field,,;,, , with !a , watoh?ohai n belougingtOpanother person besicU him.' A warrant ihasbden ■ issued for the apprehension 6f the' BUp- • posed mucderer. ' ' The Widow of Sir Harry Smith,—' In Ihe obituary notices of the late gallant general which haye appeared,' it has been briefly mentioned that Sit Harry Smith married a Portuguese lady. • A - most romantic story is told of the man-' ncr in whioh he beoame acquainted with that lady. After one of the' actions, in the Peninsula, in or about 1813J a Spanish officer of rank and great gallautry, with whom Sir Harry • happened to have a slight acquaintance, was found • mortally wounded on the field. He lived- for two or three days, and while in the hospital, to which Sir Harry had ' had him conveyed, he sent for his wife, to whom he had been married only a few weeks, and who was a Spanish beauty of between fifteen and sixteen years. The dying officer entrusted the lady to his gallant English friend, with a request that he would see to her welfare. How well he discharged the confidence thus j^gosedin him was shown by the .fact thatlynrooner was the war in Spain at an end, than jid made the Donna Susanna de Leone, Mrs. Colonel Smith, v The Greajt EASTttRN.-^There >eems no probability that the Great Eastern will make another voyage to America until next spring, as the tides will noiadmit of moving her off the gridiron at Milford i even if it were ■ 'desirable she should be floated, until about Christmas next. During the, last week the directors have, it is understood; received from.the New York consignees of the great' ship the sum of £1400. but have not ■ yet received the aooounts, whioh will enable them to judge as to the financial -results •• of the trip. It is, however, expected 'that the receipts from passengers and visitors will very nearly balance the expenses. The Board of Trade certificate,,' which expires in November, will not be renewed until the bearings of the, sorew shaft are put in the same position as they were previous to the trip to New York, ;aud when that is done the surveyors will give .a certificate limited to one voyage to and ' from America. On the retain, however, the board will require a number of improvements of a, permanent ■ charaoter necessary, to replace the inferior materials ,and workmanship employed under' previous contraots. ■ The works ' incFude a new timber deck, the present one being so thin and badly laid that the water which does not remain in pools "on -the surface pours through in copious showe;* into the .saloon and cabins. \ The alterations required for the screw shaft, for replacing the new injection feed pipes, by other modes of supplying the boilers,' the warming apparatus, and other details, will involve an outlay of from fifteen to v - twenty pounds. The examination of the ship, made by the Survey* - ors of the Board of Trade, has shown that the hull has sustainedno injury Whatever - that not a plate has moved nor a rivet started ; but that in a few cases where the paint has been rubbed off the plates have been corroded away some 'minute fraotion of an inoh. ' .. The £100,000 of preference capital raised six months since has been reoeived, and almost entirely expended. A sum of £40,000 and interest was required to pay of the existing mortgage, and some pressing liabilities were also liquidated.. Added to these items, there is now the award against the company on Mr. Scott Russell's claim of £18,000. The payment of this the directors are advised to resist, and steps will be taken as early ' as possible to set aside the award on various •* grounds— among others; that contains matter not included in the order of reference. In the event of the company having to pay this sum, additional capital will be required. The direotors will, it is stated, issue a report to the shareholders, which will, no doubt, afford more complete information respecting the fact's above stated, the position of the company," and the course which they are prepared to recommend for adoption^ The launoh of the Rosario, of 1 1 guns, took place on the 17th, at the dockyard, Deptford. Thb Last of "the Buccaneers. — It has been the fashion of late years to style "the old fashioned buccaneer a filibuster, and oue of the most notorious of these gentry has lately ex. piated his maraudingjpropensities by the loss gf his life. Mr. William Walker sounds like avery plain prosaib^tfame, but it oaly require* a' biographer like De Foe, or a novelist like Scott . or Cooper, to make him appear, a very sraittt and melodramatic, though not genuine hero. Mr. Walker was one of those now scarce" warriors who have a propensity for fighting, and - make war on their own account. He has been _, called pirate, felon, burglar, and yet it may be doubted, if he had commanded larger afutfes and been more successful, whether politer terras would noi have been applied to him. His last effort was tbe most unsuccessful; he made war after his fashion on Truxillo, a town of Central America, under British guardianship.' This was a fatal raid for Mr. Walker, for here lie had* not to deal with a disorganised ban'dof husbandmen or traders, but with one of our ships of war commanded by Captain Salmon. He was' warned and desired to surrender,- when his life would "have been spared, but these overtures he neglected. The authorities having had the wild animal caught for them, shot vim r ; and if it be more criminal to kill several persons than one, and to rifle rauny bouses rather than one money chest, he certainly richly deserved his - fate. But then wrought' ta have' very clear noiious as to the right of making/war,; and be thoroughly convinced of the ''justifiability,, of , ' warfare. Such distinctions- oerj^inly?,, depend' " - on other reasoniutng,vthan, thai : .y^alkeH,- " was only a small dealer in such' matteV^iwhil^ / 1' * Alexander, Caspar, and the-, first '-Na^lWjnL l^ are esteesned to be heroes," as^bQle^^^y and colossul -traders -in the sanguiud^^^^^