1843.] 
THE GARDENERS 
CHRONICLE. 
the catastrophe from those who escaped in the gig, which 
had made Corunna so early as five o’clock in the morn- 
ing. The launch took the life-boat and cutter in tow, 
and brought them safely in, when the survivors were 
landed, and every attention paid to them by the authori- 
ties. Mr. Lane speaks in the highest terms of the admi- 
rable qualities of the paddle life-boat, through the instru- 
mentality of which alone nearly 60 lives have been saved, 
under circumstances of the most extraordinary difficulty 
and danger. The French national steamer L’Erebe, Capt. 
Castaigne, was coming out of the harbour for the purpose 
of proceeding to the wreck as the life-boat entered. The 
chief officer, Mr. Wilder, went on board to 
afternoon; 4,476 persons also went in on Monday. On 
Tuesday the Londoners were again flocking in immense 
numbers to Greenwich. It was thought that the metro- 
polis had been wellnigh exhausted of the holiday-folks on 
Sunday and Monday, and that the fair would be com- 
paratively deserted on the second day, but the park, the 
fair, and the town, were nearly as full as on Monday, and 
the visitors to the Painted Hall of the Royal Hospital and 
its nobler corridors, wards, kitchens, and dining-rooms, 
were very numerous. Above bridge during Monday and 
Tuesday, the steamboats were filled with passengers; and 
Chelsea, throughout the day, was crowded with strangers. 
Notwithetand, 
ay 
them, and at a short distance from the mouth of the har- 
bour a signal was observed. The steamer bore down to- 
wards it, when it proved to be the pinnace, described 
above as swamped at an early period of the catastrophe. 
It contained a young man named Michael Bradley, a 
waiter on board, and the corpse of Mr. Hall, the mid- 
shipman. The steamer afterwards proceeded to the spot 
where the wreck took place, and succeeded in recovering 
several packages and trunks which were floating about. 
It appears that the ship sank in about fifteen fathoms of 
water, and about four miles fromthe shore. Eight or ten 
persons succeeded in reaching the rigging before she 
went down, and as the upper portion of the main and 
mizen masts were several feet above the surface of the 
water, they were enabled to hold on until daybreak, when 
their situation was observed from the shore, and some 
boats put off to their assistance. The following is a list 
of passengers who are lost: Mr. and Mrs. Fitzjames, 
four children and servant, Mrs. Haly, Mr. Montefiore, 
Miss Beadon, the Rev. Mr. Bascom, Mr. Le Main, Mr. 
Blake, and Mr. Burtchell, of the Royal Engineers ; Mr. 
Hunter, Mr, Nicolle, and Mr, Cartwright—total, 17. The 
officers lost are, Capt. Duncan, Mr. Dicker, surgeon; 
and Mr. Hall, midshipman, died in the boat—total, 3. 
In the steward’s department eight persons were lost. 
Mr. Fitzjames, who has perished with his wife and four 
children, was proceeding to the West Indies as 
arbitrator of the Mixed Commission. Among those who 
fortunately escaped was Captain Wentworth, R.E., with his 
wife and children, who was proceeding to Bermuda, to 
superintend alterations in the Government fortifications 
of that island. The Hon. Mr. Dalzell, who also escaped, 
is a brother of the Earl of Carnwath, and was on his way 
to Antigua. The Rev. Mr. Bascom, who was lost from 
the rigging, was a Protestant clergyman stationed at Bar- 
badoes. His fate is described to have been most distress- 
ing. He had maintained his hold in the ship’s rigging 
during the night, and until the first boat had reached 
within a few hundred feet of the wreck, when his strength 
entirely failed, and he fell backwards into the water and 
Was seenno more. Lieut. Hemsworth, the Admiralty 
agent, had remained in the vicinity of the wreck during 
the.night, in the hope of saving the mails; but his boat 
was quite full, and he was unable to render any assistance 
to the unfortunate creatures who still clung to the rigging. 
The weather was tolerably moderate, or the lives of the 
whole crew must inevitably have been sacrificed. Had 
any attempt been made to reach the shore, there can 
be little doubt that the boats would have been swamped 
by the breakers, and every soul lost. The Solway was a 
Scotch built boat, and her total cost, when put into work- 
ing trim, amounted to 80,0007. She is in 15 fathoms 
water; and Mr. Lane is of opinion that in her present 
position it would be impossible for her to hold long toge- 
ther. She had only one box of specie on board, which 
contained about 1,300/. Captain Duncan is said to have 
been one of the most skilful Commanders in the service, 
and to have been thoroughly acquainted with the locali- 
ties throughout the route. 
The Easter Holidays.—The unusual fineness of the 
weather during the Easter week has been productive of 
the usual résults, and for many years so large a number 
of holiday-folks has not been witnessed in the different 
places of attraction. On Monday from daybreak to a late 
hour in the evening, the Gravesend, Woolwich, and Green- 
wich steamboats were crowded with company for their 
several destinations. On some of these boats as many as 
from 400 to 500 persons were on board, so closely lodged 
that they could scarcely move, and the wharfs from whence 
they started were so crowded with people anxious to get 
on board, that in many instances the police were obliged 
to assist in preserving order. Greenwich seemed to be 
the most favoured resort; and although there were from 
20 to 30 steamboats to carry persons to that place, they 
were not sufficient for the numbers. In the afternoon the 
Pressure at the London-bridge wharf was so great that the 
large steamers began to take passengers for Greenwich, 
and the City of Canterbury, after landing her passengers 
from Margate, embarked 800 persons on her spacious 
decks, all bound for the fair. Up to seven o'clock, 
30,000 persons had landed from the Waterman steamers 
at the floating pier at Garden-stairs, and the solid pier 
adjoining must have received double that number. The 
Tailway furnished its quota of visitors, and a great many 
who landed on the Tunnel pier, after visiting the Tunnel, 
came up the Rotherhithe shaft, and proceeded on foot 
down the lower road to Greenwich. At sunset, the park, 
the fair, and the town were crowded. Altogether such an 
Easter Monday was never known before ; and the people 
of Greenwich were in high spirits. At eight o’clock, 
People were still flocking into the town, and .thousands 
Were returning home by the steamers and railway. On 
Monday, 5,785 persons visited the Painted Hall, and 
ak the Chapel. On Sunday, 1,640 persons visited the 
ainted Hall, and 224 went into the Chapel, which was 
on that day only opened for inspection from 1 to 2 o’clock, 
vine service being performed there in the morning and 
this migration to the suburbs, all the 
public exhibitions were unusually well attended. The 
number of visitors at the British Museum on Monday, was 
18,432; the number last year, on Easter Monday, was 
14,320. Notwithstanding this large concourse of persons, 
not a single case of robbery or misconduct occurred, nor 
was any one refused admission on the ground of intoxica- 
tion. From twelve o’clock on Sunday, to the same hour 
on Monday, 28,642 persons went through the Thames 
Tunnel, and since the opening, upwards of 320,000 have 
visited it. The holiday folks have given employment to 
three or four tollmen. 
The late Explosion at Waltham Abbey.—An inquest 
was held on Saturday on the bodies of the five persons 
who were killed by the late explosion of the Government 
Powder-mills, which we noticed in our last. It seems 
that there were four separate explosions which followed 
each other in immediate succession, as but a few seconds 
elapsed between the first and the last. The corning- 
house is situated on the banks of a stream which runs 
through the meadows at Waltham Abbey, and is divided 
into two distinct parts, which are separated by a solid 
buttress, twenty feet thick. In the first of these buildings 
there were 2,300]bs. of powder, and in the second 
2,000 Ibs. The explosion in the two chambers took place 
almost simultaneously, as the flames must have com- 
municated through the fissures in the buttress, which was 
not blown down, but is much shattered and shaken. The 
men who lost their lives were all at work in or near to 
these two buildings. At about 170 yards from these 
buildings stood the granulating-house, which was also in 
two detached parts, separated by a buttress. Several 
men were at work in this building, when they were 
startled. by the explosion in the corning-house. They 
rushed out, and had barely made their escape before flakes 
of fire from the ruins of the corning-house burst through 
the roof and came in contact with the powder, which ex- 
ploded, and reduced the granulating-house to a heap of 
ruins. About 70 yards further on is the ing-h 
Metropolitan improvements.—A few days since, by 
order of the Commissioners of Woods and Forests, several 
houses in Belton-street, Long Acre, and in Broad-street, 
St. Giles’s, which are to be removed for the purpose of 
making the new line of street leading from Bow-street, 
Covent-garden, weredisposed of by auction, so that in a 
short time the communication by this thoroughfare from 
Waterloo-bridge will be open to the new street that will 
connect Holborn and Oxford-street. 
City Police.—Mr. D. W. Harvey, the City Commis- 
sioner, has presented a statistical report to the Corpora- 
tion on the operations of the Police force under his 
command, during the past year. From this it appears 
that the number of persons taken to the different Station- 
houses in the City between the Ist January and the 31st 
of December, 1842, both inclusive, was 10,841. These 
are arranged by the report in two classes :—1. In the first 
there were apprehended—for offences against the person, 
562; for offences against property committed with vio- 
lence, 40 ; for offences aguinst property committed with- 
out violence, 1,960; for malicious offences against property, 
360 ; for forgery and offences against the currency, 249 ; 
for offences not included in the above classes, 1,831 ; 
Total, 5,002.—2. In the second class we find the follow- 
ing entries,—Charges not entertained for the reasons 
assigned on the occurrence sheets, 2,783 ; drunken per- 
sons discharged when capable of taking care of themselves, 
973; destitute persons, 1,782; vagrants, 301; Total, 
5,839.—Number of summonses taken out and prosecuted 
by the Police under the Carriage Act against public- 
houses and drovers, of which 1,098 were convicted, an 
404 dismissed or withdrawn by order of the Magistrates, 
1,502 ; number of lives saved by the Police, 36 ; number 
of fires discovered by the Police, 131 ; number of children 
found and restored to their friends, or sent to the work- 
house, 441 ; houses, warehouses, &c., found insecure, of 
which number 87 were untenanted, and 360 had no nightly 
resident, 1,892,—Value of property found on drunken 
persons, and restored on their liberation, 857/. 7s. 4d. ; 
value of property stolen, 6,559/. 7s. 23d.; value of pro- 
perty recovered, 1,241/. 8s. 9¢.—Of the 5,002 persons in 
the first of the above classes, 2,682 were discharged by the 
Magistrates; 1,871 summarily convicted, and 449 commit- 
ted for trial; of which latter, 111 were convicted and sen- 
tenced to transportation, and 243 to imprisonment for 
various periods. Of the remaining 95, 58 were acquitted, 
and 37 not prosecuted, or bills not found.—Mr. Harvey 
adds that there are two points in the above details which 
merit notice. Although the amount of depredations is 
comparatively trivial, yet the amount is greatly swelled by 
the i estimates of lost property. He states 
e 
which contains a large quantity of powder, but this has 
fortunately escaped. These buildings, in common with 
others of their class, were built of very slight materials. 
If any massive masonry had been employed in their 
structure, or any considerable force been opposed to the 
exploding matter, the destruction would have been tenfold. 
All the witnesses bore testimony to the great precautions 
taken to prevent accidents, and to the frequent inspec- 
tion of the machinery by superior officers. The chief 
workman examined stated that he was so satisfied with 
the precautions, that he should not have the slightest 
objection to work in the same mill under the same 
management were the works rebuilt ; he was persuaded 
that there were fewer accidents at the Abbey Powder- 
mills than at any mills in the country. The jury returned 
a verdict of Accidental death,’’ panied b: 
an expression of their unanimous opinion that the manu- 
factory appears to have been conducted by Captain 
Tulloh, the inspector, with every possible precaution for 
the safety of the men employed under his superin- 
tendence. The deceased were all married men, and have 
left families. 
Dinner at "the Mansion-house.—The usual Easter 
h 
that it not unfrequently happens, that elderly gentlemen 
lose their watches or money at unseemly hours in the 
great thoroughfares of the City, when the value of the 
watch or the ring they have lost is sure to be largely over- 
rated ; and that nearly all the great robberies are made 
upon premises which are entirely abandoned during the 
nigbt, and the key of the outer door left with persons 
little entitled to confidence. He adds, that in all cases 
in which any person is aggrieved, and in which the assist- 
ance of the Police could be expected, a letter is addressed 
to that party from his office to inquire whether there is 
any cause for complaint ; and he is able to state that of 
several hundreds of answers, but six persons have expressed 
themselves otherwise than entirely satisfied. 
Mortality of the Metropolis——The following is the 
number of deaths registered in the week ending Satur- 
day, April 8 :—West districts, 144 ; North districts, 156 ; 
Central districts, 180; East districts, 190; South dis- 
tricts, 185. Total, 855, (444 males, 411 females.) 
Weekly average for the last five years, 903, (46] males, 
442 females,) and for the last five winters, 1004. 
rumour has lately been current that an epidemic fever 
prevails in St. Giles’s and other densely populated districts 
dinner was given on Monday at the Mansi i 
Among the company were the Earl of Jermyn, Lord 
Dudley Stuart, the Bishops of Norwich and Llandaff, the 
French and Turkish Ambassadors, the American Minister 
and Mrs. and the Misses Everett, Baron Rolfe, the 
Vice-Chancellor Knight Bruce, and numerous other 
guests. The Count de St. Aulaire, the French Ambassa- 
dor, addressed the company in French, and adverted to 
the construction of railways, which would still further 
facilitate the intercourse between France and England, 
and unite the two countries by a constant interchange of 
kindly feeling. 
Easter Parish Elections.—On Tuesday, being Easter 
Tuesday, the election of churchwardens, overseers, and 
other officers for the several metropolitan parishes, took 
place, but the proceedings possessed a merely local interest. 
In several instances the opposition party were defeated. 
Church-rates and the new Poor-law were the principal 
topics of discussion. 
The Chinese Ransom.—On Monday, six waggons, each 
drawn by four horses, arrived at the Mint with upwards 
of one million and a quarter dollars’ worth of sycee silver, 
being the last moiety of the first instalment, namely 
5,000,000 dollars, of the Chinese ransom. It arrived at 
Portsmouth about the middle of last week, in her Majesty’s 
ship Herald, and one of the principal officers of the 
Commissary department of the Treasury immediately took 
charge of it. During Thursday and Saturday the Herald 
was unloaded, and on Monday the cargo was brought up 
to town by the Southampton Railway, under a strong 
military escort, and in the course of the day was safely 
deposited in the bullion storehouses at the Mint. The 
silver, as on previous occasions, was packed in strong 
wooden boxes, bearing the official seal of Sir H. Pot- 
tinger ; and as the treasure passed through the City crowds 
of persons followed the procession to the gates of the Mint. 
of the M The College of Physicians, however, 
have issued a report announcing that ‘‘ no epidemic is in 
existence ;’’ and subsequent observations by individual 
physicians have been published, which show that the 
general health of the Metropolis is rather above its usual 
standard at this season of the year. 
es 
Jprobincial Nets. 
Alverstoke—A vestry meeting was held on Thursday 
the 13th, at the House of Industry for this parish, Arch- 
deacon Wilberforce, the Rector, in the chair, to consider 
the subject of the medical relief of the poor of the parish. 
The Archdeacon, in stating the object of the meeting, said, 
the plan then existing was, that there were two medical 
attendants in the parish, and that they wrote prescriptions 
which were made up at the chemist’s, the charge for which 
it was calculated would not have exceeded 40/. a year. 
The plan had failed in this respect, that in less than half 
a year 36/, had been expended for drugs. It was evident 
that the matter must be considered, and he should have a 
plan to suggest to them on the subject. He would ask 
them to allot a salary to the medical attendants of the 
parish, and it would then remain to decide whether they 
should have two or one; there would be no difference in 
the expense. He thought two would be preferable. He 
should then propose to do away with the regulation as to 
prescriptions. He should suggest that it would be de- 
sirable to have two medical men at a salary of 502, to 
include medicine and attendance ; labours and fractures 
to be paid for extra, according to the rules and scale of 
the Poor-law Commissioners. The question was not what 
had been formerly done, but what would be fair and just 
to enable right-minded men to do their duty to the poor. 
In the adjoining parishes the emolument was greater in 
proportion. The Poor-law Commissioners never allow 
more than 15,000 inhabitants under one surgeon, and if 
