on this subject, we should not now have alluded to it, but that Sir John's attack on our bottles has led us to do so.

But, to return to our subject, Sir John does not "mean to say that the practice of throwing overboard bottles is of no use," and allows it might be of service, in telling "the fate of the President." We venture to say that, there are seamen, who can make a better use of it, even than of that nature, but as he has sufficiently warned them from making a "misuse of it," we shall be satisfied if they find it of that use which was intended.

The general tendency of the surface water of the North Atlantic to run to the eastward, in obedience to the prevailing wind, it is well known, has often formed the subject of remark, and is distinctly apparent on the Bottle Chart, which was never intended to shew the currents of that ocean, but the general effect of the surface drift. We shall continue to add to it as we receive further accounts of bottles from correspondents, without that fear of such information be misused, which seems to be entertained by Sir John Ross.

With regard to the replacing of the topmasts, on which subject Sir John differs from us, although it has nothing to do with the question, it is as well to recollect that the log says, two topmasts were got up, and it is equally important to remember that the present methodical manner of stowing the booms in an iron frame (the invention of Commander J. Anderson, the late first-lieutenant of the Howe,) is an advantage not known in the navy fifty years ago, By this frame both topmasts can be got out without casting the booms adrift, or, indeed without unstowing or touching a spar belonging to them; which we apprehend was not the case on board the Defence.

But these points are mere matter of opinion, and we shall not misuse our limited space in discussing them further, especially as Sir John Ross has himself admitted that the bottle experiments "may be interesting to those concerned, as well as amusing to all;" which is just what we intended, although they cannot be expected to conform to the precedent which he has laid down of a drift to the westward near the mouth of the English Channel.

We have added the foregoing concluding letters from Commander Fishbourne and Sir John on the subject.]

PAYNE'S WOOD PATENT.

House of Commons.-Mr. D. Barclay, member for Sunderland, put a question to the first Commissioner of Woods and Forests, with respect to Charles Payne's patent process for preserving wood from dry-rot, and for preventing the spread of fire: these two properties he considered would render the process of national importance; but thinking it particularly applicable for ship-building, he was desirous to place it before his constituents, with the opinion of the government, as it appeared to have been adopted by them; to which the Earl of Lincoln replied, that the chemist of the Museum of Economic Geology had minutely investi gated Mr. Payne's process, and reported upon it, that it had been adopted in the Claremont stables, and Regent-park. Time was required to place its effects beyond a doubt, but that his own opinion was favorable. The Admiralty had applied to the Commissioners of Woods and Forests to know the result of the experiments, when the same answer had been returned. The noble earl added, he had no objection to lay the report upon the table.-Report ordered accordingly.-Morning Chronicle.

THE VICTORIA AND ALBErt.

Portsmouth, Aug, 19.-The royal steam yacht, Capt. Lord Adolphus Fitzclarence, will be here next Tuesday. She is now all ataut, with her sails bent, and is quite ready for sea. The specimens of paintings are said to be exceedingly neat and elegant, and are different tints of drab, with a beautiful chaste moulding for cornice and skirting board. The furniture, which has been transferred from the Royal George yacht, has undergone a complete renovation, and is of beautiful Spanish mahogany, but exceedingly plain and neat, consisting of a library of books, wardrobes, state beds, numerous tables, sofas adapted as beds for Her Majesty's attendants, and three others for the Prince of Wales and the two Princesses, who will accompany their Royal Parents on their marine excursions during the autumn.

Between seventy and eighty tons of iron ballast have been put into her, in order to give her a deeper immersion and stability in the water. The engines and boilers are exceedingly heavy, and from being placed in a contracted space, the centre of gravity of the weight is unusually high. The heaviness of the machinery, and the situation of the centre of gravity of the collective weight was only known to the Engineer. It was contemplated that the vessel should only have twelve feet immersion or draft of water to enable her to go into shallow harbours; and she was first tried at twelve feet, when it was discovered that, owing to the superincumbent weights such a draft of water was incompatible with a sufficient degree of stability. Ballast was then put into her equal to one foot more immersion, which has much improved her steadiness and stability; and, as she has still three or four feet less hold of the water than other vessels of her size and power, more weight can at any time be added, without inconvenience to produce the greatest degree of stability at the sacrifice only of additional draft of water, which can hereafter be reduced at pleasure, by lessening the weights of the boilers and wheels, and lowering the centre of gravity. She will probably be stationed in Shoreham harbour for Her Majesty's use while the court remain at Brighton.

The Black Eagle is getting ready to accompany the Royal squadron, she has been considerably lengthened, and has engines of 200-horse power by Penn and Co., of improved make.

Loss OF THE PEGASUS STEAMER.

ANOTHER appalling steam-boat disaster has taken place, near the spot where the Forfarshire was wrecked a few years ago, and where the late Grace Darling so heroically distinguished herself by saving five lives at the imminent risk of her own. By the present disastrous occurrence no fewer than fifty human beings have been suddenly deprived of life. The Pegasus, which has plied between Leith and Hull for several years, left Leith harbour on Wednesday afternoon. She sailed with sixteen cabin passengers booked, and possibly one or two more may have gone on board without booking, as is the case on the sailing of coasting steamers. She had also twenty steerage passengers, and a crew of a dozen, in all forty-eight or forty-nine at the lowest computation. The vessel sped on her way till midnight; just when the watch was changed, the Captain being on the bridge, taking a look about him before he turned in. She struck on a sunken

rock inside the Ferne Islands, near what is called the Golden Island, (Holy Island the ancient Lindisfarne) forms a continuation of the main land of Northumberland at ebb of tide, and becomes insulated at flow.

The rock on which the Pegasus is supposed to have been wrecked, is called the Goldstone-a well known object, situated about two and half miles east, or seaward from Holy Island. It is seldom or never left uncovered by the tide; is well known to, and anxiously avoided by, our coasting navigators in working through the Fairway, or channel between the Ferne group and the main landa channel generally preferred to the open sea by masters of vessels as a shorter cut; but never so preferred (especially at night) without incurring a risk, which infinitely counterbalances any saving of time thus acquired. Her head was turned towards the shore, but she did not proceed many hundred yards when the water, rushing in, extinguished the fires, and almost immediately the vessel sunk. Finding the vessel sinking rapidly, there was a rush to the boats, which were swamped.

The Martello steamer, belonging to the same company, on her voyage from Hull, descried the wreck about five o'clock on Thursday morning. The first object which attracted the attention of Captain Blackwood was a boat with a man in it, drifting with the tide, and soon after a body floated past. This made him aware that some accident had occurred in the vicinity. On coming up to the boat, which was almost full of water, the mate of the Pegasus was found in it, nearly insensible from cold and exhaustion. A person of the name of Baillie, a passenger returning to Hull, was taken from a sort of a hatch, on which he was afloat; a young man of the name of Hillyard, another passenger from the neighbourhood of Hull, and one of the crew, were discovered holding on the mast-the vessel had sunk in about six fathoms water. Six persons in all were saved-namely, two passengers (Hillyard and Baillie), the mate, and three of the crew, which, we believe, amounted in all to fifteen. Captain Blackwood remained in the vicinity of the scene of disaster for several hours, and picked up six dead bodies, which were brought to Leigh in the Martello. Three of these were females. One appeared a middle-aged married woman, apparently pregnant; she was attired in a dark checked gingham dress, a Leghorn bonnet, and black hard-spun woollen mantle. Another was a Miss Barton, who had in her arms, when found, a child a few years old. The third seemed considerably advanced in life, and was nearly undressed. The other bodies were those of the second engineer or fireman, a very stout man, whose forehead bore the mark of a violent contusion; a lad, apparently 12 or 14 years of age, dressed in a black vest and trousers, and a rough brown Petersham surtout; and the third was the child found in the arms of Miss Barton. These bodies, on arrival at Leigh, were placed in shells and conveyed to South Leigh church till claimed by their relatives. Among the victims was Mr. Elton, late of the Royal Theatres. Captain Brown had great experience in the navigation of the coast, having sailed many years as commander of one of the Leith and London smacks. He was considered an excellent seaman.

From all we can learn there must have been about sixty persons on board, including the crew, and only six of them have been saved. The vessel now lies in the Fairway between the Ferne Islands and the English coast, about six feet of her mast appearing above water at half tide. It would seem the accident occurred nearly about the period of ebb. Mr. Pringle, a gentleman in the em ployment of the company, has been despatched to take charge of the bodies that may be recovered. It may not be improper to state, that most of the facts have been gleaned from parties officially connected with the company, who seem desirous of affording every information upon this unfortunate subject.

The ill-fated vessel, it appears, was built at Glasgow, in the year 1835, and was a somewhat noble-looking steamer; she was 130 tons burthen, old measurement, and had two engines of 40-horse power, and was commanded by a most experienced man, Captain Brown, of Hull. Her crew and engineers consisted of about fifteen individuals. She was the property of the Hull and

Leith Steam-packet Company, who had bought her out of the Newcastle trade.

MR. EDITOR.-Whenever we hear of the loss of a ship or of a steamer, it generally happens that attempts to sooth the regret, and excited feelings of the public, accompany the accounts of the melancholy event.

The Captain whether he happens to sink or swim, and the owner whether he loses or not, are seldom taxed with blame; in fact, it usually appears that "Nobody" is to blame. Who this "Nobody" is, has long been a mystery! "De mortuis, &c.," is a proverb of old standing, and one which is generally revered-but are not the living as well as the dead entitled to respect?

When the mind is harrowed up by the details of some awful shipwreck amid the roar of the breakers, and the howling of the terrific tempest, we lose all our feelings of indignation-on the want of foresight, caution, and skill, which, had they been exercised with due circumspection, might have averted calamity, in the generous emotions of sympathy and sorrow for human suffering; but in our cooler moments, we are unwilling to allow the spontaneous exercise of the compassion of our nature, to blind us entirely against the faults and errors of those whose business it is, and ever should be, to prevent as far as human care and precaution can prevent-such distressing events from occurring.

But under what very, different circumstances was the Pegasus lost? Here we learn that this old established steamer, with an experienced Commander, was wrecked upon a rock, the position of which was well known, and during fine weather and a smooth sea, and that out of fifty-six persons, only five or six were saved, and that too by their own individual exertion and fortitude!

The distressing circumstance is remarkable, and deplorable, but cannot create wonder, since it appears that she was provided with only two boatscommon boats, and these not sufficiently large to carry half the number of persons that were on board! Is "anybody" to blame?

The fact would seem to be that the desire of profit is so pressing, as to absorb all other considerations, for we find in almost all cases that very slender means had been provided to insure the safety of the passengers or crews, and this will continue until some legislative measure binds down the owners to furnish efficient means for the security of life.

In my humble opinion, if the following plans were adopted, there would at least be a greater chance, as far as human means are available, of saving the lives of the passengers and crews of such vessels.

1st. All steamers should be formed into compartments, the divisions water tight.

2nd. A certain space in the bow, and in the run, should be closed in and rendered air and water tight.

3rd. All the boats should be safety boats, and every convertible article should be rendered capable of being used as a float or life-buoy.

4th. Steamers are built with a flush deck-if, however, they were provided with a top-gallant forecastle, as it is called, and a small poop abaft, both fitted so as to be easily separated from the bulwarks, when necessary, they would serve with little additional preparation as rafts.

It would be saying too much, perhaps, to assert that a steamer ought not to be lost, as so much depends on the skill and abilities of the Commander; but, there is no question that, with the advantages she possesses over a sailing vessel, she has it much more in her power to avoid being placed in a dangerous situation than a ship, whilst her machinery is perfect, and her fuel unex pended.

It would appear that very little was to be gained by the ill-fated steamer passing through the Fairway, where the fatal Goldstone is situated, the passage outside the Farne Islands being only a little longer and clear of dangers.

X.

Loss OF THE COLUMBIA STEAMER.

It is with deep regret we record the loss of the Columbia steamer, which was unfortunately wrecked on the rocks of Seal Island, in a dense fog, on Sunday, the 2nd of July. The Margaret, a spare steam vessel belonging to the Boston and Halifax Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, arrived at Liverpool on Sunday evening, at half-past nine o'clock, under command of Captain Shannon (late of the Columbia), bringing the mails and the greater part of the passengers. At the time of the Columbia's departure for Boston, the wind was from the southward with moderate breezes and thick weather. At 8h. P.M. of that day the fog became dense with a calm sea, and so continued. The ship proceeded on her voyage without any material occurrence until the 2nd when she suddenly struck upon a rock or ledge at a quarter past 1 P. M. At the time when she struck she was proceeding at the rate of about ten knots an hour; the sea was perfectly calm and the fog very thick. There was the usual watch on deck and look-out in all parts of her. There was not the slightest appearance or intimation of danger one moment before she struck. She ran upon the ledge and settled down to about midships. The captain and crew when she first struck, considered she had run down a fishing boat in the Bay of Fundy, no one had any idea that she was near any land, or liable to any danger from rocks or ledges.

After she had grounded, it was ascertained that she was ahead of the pilot's reckoning, owing to the extraordinary indraught of the currents and tides into the Bay of Fundy. The fishermen who boarded the ship on her taking the ground, all spoke with astonishment of the extraordinary indraught then prevailing, and all who knew the navigation declared that for some days previously it had been greater than for any time for many years. Immediately the ship struck, signal guns were fired, which after some time were answered from the shore, and at about four o'clock P.M. a boat boarded them from the Seal Island. It was then ascertained that the rock, or ledge, on which the ship had struck was called "The Devil's Limb," and was situate about a mile and a quarter from the shore, and nearly the same distance from the lighthouse. The distance was about 150 miles from Halifax, and it was about high water when she first struck. Instantly on the vessel striking, the chain cables were hauled aft, the coals thrown overboard, and every exertion was made to lighten the ship. An anchor was carried out in order, if possible, to get her off, but all was in vain. She was firmly fixed on the ledge about mid-ships, and from soundings it was ascertained that at this time there was upwards of 27 feet of water at

her stern.

At about four P.M. the passengers were, with their baggage, landed on the Seal Island. For some time after the ship struck, she was found not to make more water than could be easily got rid of by two pumps, but on the day following a gale sprung up with a heavy sea, which caused her to back upon the rock and bilged her, and the water then flowed into her and out of her with the tide. On the 3rd inst. the packet brig Acadian, on her passage from Boston to Halifax, spoke the wreck, and information was forwarded on by her to the agents of the company at Halifax, who instantly despatched the Margaret to convey the passengers and mails. On Tuesday morning, the 6th, the Margaret arrived at the wreck, the agent of the company being on board, and immediately took all on board, with the exception of some of the officers, pilot, and crew of the Columbia, who were left with the wreck for the purpose of saving any of the materials. When the captain left her she was lying bilged on the rock, a complete wreck, and without the most remote prospect of her being moved. The Margaret left Halifax on the 9th inst, at half-past five, and has made the voyage in 13 days, stopping at Cove of Cork one day for a further supply of coals. She has brought upwards of sixty passengers.