the ship, and reported on her to the Admiralty, will be closely examined. Portions of wreck of the ship are being thrown up on the coasts of Devon and Cornwall. [It is gratifying to find that the subscriptions (see Advertisement Sheet) for the survivors of this sad event are progressing favourably: in addition to the bankers advertised they will be received by Mr. Potter, 31, Poultry, Admiralty Agent.-ED.] A SHIP ON FIRE.-FORCE OF DISCIPLINE. The following which appears in a recent number of the United Service Gazette forms a remarkable contrast to the foregoing. Whether any discipline, however rigid and perfect in detail, could have preserved the ill-fated Amazon, is a question which is not my province to answer, even were I thoroughly acquainted with the facts; but as we see so many melancholy proofs of the absolute want of discipline on board ships, both in the mercantile and Royal navy, I will, should you deem it proper to grant me a small space in your impartial and widely circulated journal, give you an instance of the force of it. In 1831, on board His Majesty's ship Magicienne, at sea, many hundred miles from land, about 4h. 30m. A.M., (dark of course), the ship Corporal, on going the "rounds," smelt, or rather fancied he smelt fire, in the fore cockpit. On descending the cockpit-ladder he observed the foresail-room to be on fire; he made no alarm on the lower deck, but according to the order in the "fire bill," quietly made his report to the commanding officer, who instantly, without dressing himself, communicated it to the captain, who jumped up through the skylight hatchway in his bedgown, and coolly gave orders to beat to "quarters," at the same time sending a hand aloft to see if he saw a ship to leeward;-on his answering in the negative, the captain says, "You be -9 —, sir; I can see her." Then looking round to the man at the helm, "Do you see that ship, sir?" The poor fellow, afraid to say "No," answers "Yes, sir." Then "put the helm up, and keep towards her." He then ordered the fire-bell to be rung, at the same time calling aloud, "Fire in the fore sail-room; sail-trimmers, shorten and trim sails; sentries under arms; over the boats." Every inan and officer darted to their respective stations with lightning speed. Sailtrimmers having hauled up the courses, and brailed the fore and aft sails up, remained steady at their quarters; pumps, engine, buckets, &c., were worked with more than mortal energy. The water from every direction rushed down on the devouring element to an extent that must either have extinguished it or swamped the ship. The party whose duty necessitated them to be where the fire uas, notwithstanding their perilous position, immediately over the magazine-the light room where the fire originated already burned, and the flames within three inches of the powder, cleared the burning sail-room with all that energy and self-possession peculiar to British seamen in such emergencies, when commanded by a rigid and determined disciplinarian. More than ten minutes did not elapse from the time the drum beat to quarters till all was over, and the gallant "craft," under all canvass, again pursuing her course. So quietly was every thing managed, that those "sailtrimmers," at the after quarters never knew that the ship was actually on fire, but merely thought it a sham for exercise. Not a man or sail-trimmer was allowed to look round, or speak, or whisper to his neighbour. The piercing eye of the captain was upon them, who, in his bedgown, walked the deck, with his arms folded, his step as firm and features as composed, as if he had been parading the quarter-deck of the guard-ship in Portsinouth Harbour. No one, save the captain, first lieutenant, and corporal knew the ship to be on fire until every man was at his station. How long the fire had been burning we never ascertained. Suffice it to say, had it not been for the corporal discovering it at the moment he did, the ship would have been blown up, and every soul on board unconsciously hurried into eternity; and it was equally fortunate for us, when discovered, that we were commanded by a man possessing all the firmness, coolness, and presence of mind requisite to control and direct on such an awful occasion. Had the corporal, instead of acting according to the orders on the fire-bill, given the alarm of "Fire in the foresail room," those in their hammocks would have been so panic-stricken, knowing the proximity of the sail-room to the magazine, that neither threats nor persuasion of any description would have tended to recal their self-possession, To leave the ship would have been impossible; the quarter-boats might have been lowered, but the large boats inboard were lashed and secured for sea, so that we could scarcely have made an attempt to clear them before the fire would have reached the powder in the magazine. There was but one alternative—make a desperate effort to subdue the flames-we did so, and were successful. A splendid ship and a gallant crew were saved by the force of discipline. I may remark that the order given to the man at the helm to "steer direct for that ship," had a considerable effect on the spirits of those who knew the worst of the case; they, no doubt, imagining all the while that there was a ship to escape to should their efforts to extinguish the fire fail. I need scarcely say the Magicienne, at that time, was commanded by James Hanway Plumridge. She was on her passage out to India, and on, or near the equator. THEN AN A.B. IN THE "MAGICIENNE." THE RECENT ATTACK ON LAGOS. An attack on the King and the slave traders of Lagos was made on the 25th of November last by the combined crews of a squadron of cruizers, which included the Officers, Seamen and Marines of the Philomel, 8, Commander Forbes; Harlequin, 12, Commander Wilmot; Volcano, steam vessel, Commander Coote; Niger, 14, screw sloop, Commander Heath; and Waterwitch, 8, Commander Gardner the force consisting of twenty-three boats, with 260 Officers and men, under the command of the senior Officer, Commander F. G. Forbes, of the Philomel. The King of Lagos, Cogioco by name, had forbidden the men-of-war boats from coming up the river to Lagos; but previously Mr. Beecroft, the Consul at Fernando Po, with the Commanders of the Harlequin and Waterwitch, and Lieutenant Patey, the Commander of the Bloodhound, steam tender, had been received by the King with every demonstration of respect. They, however, failed in their object to engage the King to promise, on the part of himself and subjects, not to favour the slave trade. Mr. Beecroft then determined on seeking another interview with the King, and in order to show his sable Majesty the hopelessness of any successful persistence in carrying on the inhuman traffic, arranged that the armed boats of the Squadron should accompany him up the river under a flag of truce. Accordingly, a course over the bar having been surveyed by the Masters of the Bloodhound and Water witch, the Bloodhound steamer, with a white flag, and following boats of the Squadron, Mr. Beecroft in Commander Wilmot's gig starting 100 yards a-head, proceeded at daylight of the 25th of November towards the river. * There was no ship in sight. Philome!.-Commander Forbes, in the whale-boat; Lieutenant Williams, in the pinnace, with twelve-pounder carronade, and cutter and whale-boat. Harlequin.-Commander Wilmot, in the gig; Lieutenant Boughey in the pinnace, with cutter and two whale-boats. Vulcano.-Commander Coote, in whale-boat; Lieutenant Reeves, in paddlebox boat, Lieutenant Robinson, in paddle-box boat, with cutter. Niger.-Commander Heath, in the gig; Lieutenant Dunn, in the pinnace, with three cutters and whale-boat. Waterwitch.-Commander Gardner, in whale-boat; Lieutenant Graham, in pinnace, with cutter and whale-boat. As the force crossed the bar, and about four miles distant from the point, a heavy fire of musketry was directed towards it. No notice, however, was taken of this ineffectual show of opposition to the progress of the boats, and the flags of truce were kept flying. When within about a mile and a half of the town the Bloodhound grounded, and as she could not be got off the boats formed line and proceeded up the river, and kept on, with the flag of truce flying, until they received a heavy fire from some guns and musketry on shore. The fire was harmless on account of the distance; but now the boats opened their fire with shrapnel shells and round shot, the Niger at the same time throwing a shell or two on the point near the mouth of the river. After exchanging a continuous fire for nearly an hour, with a beach lined for more than a mile with bodies of men, the boats dashed at the shore and effected a landing simultaneously at one spot, when leaving a sufficient guard at the boats, about 160 Officers and men fought their way into the town. They were met, however, with most determined resistance on the part of the natives, who disputed every inch of the narrow streets intersecting each other, and when beat out of one street ran round by the backways and showed front again at the end of other streets. After some gallant fighting in this way against an increasing enemy, which amounted to at least 5000, and having two Officers killed and six men wounded, Captain Forbes determined on setting fire to as many houses as they could and retreating to the boats. Having fired the houses in the neighbourhood they retreated in good order, and having re-embarked, proceeded to the Bloodhound, got her afloat the same night, and the next morning re-crossed the bar; the force having sustained the following loss-comparatively small when the number of the enemy is taken into account, and when it is considered that, in adddition to their force of half a dozen large guns, and as many swivels, which were constantly served, almost every house was a fortification. Killed.-Mr. Dyer, Mate of Niger; Mr. Hall, Mate of Niger. Wounded.-Charles Hancock, Serjeant, R.M.A., of Niger, seriously; John Goulding, Gunner, R.M.A., of Niger, dangerously; Urbane Collet, Bombadier, R.M.A., of Niger, severely; William Hall, Seaman, of Niger, severely; John M'Carthy, Seaman, of Niger, severely; Richard Gomett, Seaman, of Niger, severely; J. Todhunter, A.B., of Niger, severely; a Quartermaster of Philomel; two men of Volcano, severely. In addition to the above, others received hurts from spent balls. The Niger took the wounded to Sierra Leone, and proceeded in search of the Commodore; and it was understood that Commodore Bruce had proceeded to Lagos to organize such a force as would compel the King of Lagos to submission; the Harlequin, in the mean time, by her presence off the coast, preventing the King of Lagos from forming any new expedition against the missionary establishment at Badagry. NAUTICAL NOTICES. TORRES STRAIT BY BLIGH'S ENTRANCE. [We lose no time in giving_publicity to the following account of a passage made by the ship Gambia, of Liverpool, through Torres Strait by the northern channel, called Bligh's entrance; as the recommendation by her master of that channel added to Captain Blackwood's previous account of it, and the excellent chart bid fair to establish its adoption in preference to any of the intricate channels hitherto used. Captain Blackwood's account of this channel was published in our volume for 1845.] SIR.-Having followed the late sailing directions of Captain F. P. Blackwood, and route through Torres Strait by the coast of New Guinea, entering north of the Barrier reef, I beg leave kindly to submit to your notice an account of our passage through in the ship Gambia of Liverpool, from Sydney to Calcutta. August 9th, 1851, at 6h. 45m. P.M., started from Sydney Cove with a strong breeze from south-west, at 7h. 30m. cleared the heads and steered a N.E.b. E. course by compass, until in 155° east. On the 13th at noon being in lat. 24° 2' south, long. 155° 48′ east, steered a true north course with the intention of seeing Kenn's reef next day, as we did not wish to lose time by waiting for daylight to make Bird Isle, we ran on with a good look out from the mast head, and at noon on the 14th placed the ship in 21° 11′ south, and 155° 49′ east, by a good observation, which is two miles (true) south of the postion of Kenn's reef on the chart (general chart of Terra Australis, corrected up to 1843). The day being tolerably clear, we had a particular good look out from the mast head for the said Rock, but nothing whatever could be seen as far as the eye could reach. From the uniform rate and correctness of my chronometer, I am very strongly of opinion that this danger is placed at least seven or eight miles too far east on the charts, and from the reason of its being immediately in the track of ships steering for Torres Strait deserves further attention, and a more correct position assigned to it. We now altered our course more westerly, and followed along the Cumberland track on the chart, keeping from twenty to thirty miles more easterly than it. The trade wind being very strong and a hazy atmosphere rendering the horizon at times very uncertain, besides, being an entire stranger to Torres Strait, I determined to follow what appeared to me (from an impartial and careful inspection of the latest Admiralty charts of these parts) to be the clearest and safest passage through, (notwithstanding that I had been cautioned by some old hands before leaving Sydney, not to attempt it,) and accordingly steered to pass through by Bligh's entrance, as recommended by Captain Blackwood in his most excellent work on the subject. On the 19th of August at noon, our position by good observation was 9° 33′ south, and 145° 20′ east; having passed the eastern fields between four and five o'clock in the morning at the distance of about ten miles without seeing them, and at five P.M. saw the breakers on the northern extremity of Portlock's reef, bearing south by east by compass about five miles. At 6h. 45m. P.M. hauled off E.N.E. close by the wind. At midnight sounded in 55 fathoms coral and shell. Wore round on the port tack, courses hauled up. At 3h. A.M. lat. by stellar observation was 9° 21' S. Bore away and steered in W 4S. by compass under easy sail. At 5h. A.M. observed lat. by Moon's meridian altitude 9° 20' long. by Rigel east of meridian 144° 17′ 45′′ east. At 6h. A.M. saw the breakers on East Cay from the topsail yard bearing south by compass, about four miles. At 7h. 15m. A.M., Anchor Cay S.E. by compass, two and a half miles, got a sight for the chronometer which made our long. 144°2′ 45′′ east. At 9h. 30m., a sand bank south by east of us four miles, which we rounded and hauled up S.W.b.S. At noon of the 28th was abreast of Stephens Island. At 4h. 30m. P.M., anchored under Arden Island in 13 fathoms. At 7h. A.M. next morning, weighed with a fresh wind and hazy weather. At noon of the 21st, passed between Poll rock and a sand bank south of it. At 2h. P.M. passed between Double Island and Monday Bank. At 3h. P.M. passed Wednesday Island, and at 7h. P.M. anchored for the second time off Booby Island in seven and a half fathoms, thus making in twenty-one hours under sail from Anchor Cay, and twelve days from Sydney Cove. I am so satisfied with the great advantages of this route over any other through the Barrier reef, (so far as safety is concerned) that were it generally known to masters navigating through Torres Strait it would invariably be adopted: in my opinion there is very considerable less risk in entering by the route (where we have soundings to help as a guide by night-if waiting for daylight and a clear stretch to the north,) than running down for any of the openings through the Barrier, more particularly with a light ship and strong wind, as she would find it difficult to beat to windward; but let every man judge for himself, a mere glance at these new and excellent charts of Captain F. P. Blackwood will at once satisfy on this point, for my part I am so decidedly in favour of it, that I think vessels taking this route should be insured at a lower premium than those going through any part of the Barrier. Trusting you will give this publicity through your far famed volumes. I am, &c., HUGH ANDERSON, Master. Calcutta, November 20th, 1851. ROCK IN THE China Sea. Singapore, 30th October, 1851. SIR. I have to inform you that when beating down the China Sea, from HongKong to Labuan, with single reefed top-sails, the wind at south-west, and a considerable sea on September 7th, at 8 A.M., just after we had sights for the chronometers, breakers were reported to leeward-they were barely distinguishable, and standing on to the southward we soon lost sight of them, at noon we tacked to the North-west in lat. by observations, 11° 25′ N., and at 4 P.M. passed to windward of breakers plainly seen extending about two miles in a N.N.W. and S.S.E. direction. We passed not more than half a mile to windward of the broken water, and at one time saw the bottom under the ship, but before we could sound passed on to deep water. These breakers had been the same we had seen at 8 A.M., as our reckoning now placed us in about the same position This shoal we place in lat. 11° 38′ N., long. 114° 40′ E. or about N. 60° E. 22', from the northernmost dangers of Horsburgh, which he says are islands, so that this shoal is very dangerous-the position here given may be assumed as pretty nearly correct. Our chronometers appeared right, leaving Macao August 23rd, and off the Paracels (Bombay Shoal) September 4th. I may also observe that, on September 17th, we passed over the position of the George and Abercromby Shoal as placed on Horsburgh's chart, corrected to 1846-and the same day passed between the Seahorse breakers and the Luconia breakers, both of which we saw from the masthead-we passed over one shoal patch about three miles to the west of the Seahorse breakers, on which we had 3 fathoms, and between these two shoals. we saw several shoal patches, but avoided passing over any of them. These two shoals appeared pretty correctly placed on the chart according to our observation. We arrived at Labuan on the 19th and found there the surveying ship Royalist and H.C.S. Pluto. I have further to report that when leaving Labuan, on Sunday, October 12th, the Trident grounded on a knoll of light-coloured sand, near where 9 fathoms is placed on the Admiralty chart of Labuan, by Captains Bethune and Belcher, The following are the bearings from where the ship lay aground:Kim Sam point or S.W. end of Labuan, W.b.N.IN. R.N. Point Enoe (point Papaan of Belcher) N.E.b.N. The ship was drawing nearly seventeen feet water, we grounded at about 2h. 30m. P.M.. and hove off about 9 P.M. The ebb tide setting to the north-west and the flood to the south-east it appeared to be low-water about 5 P.M.-After grounding the tide left us about a foot. |