THE FEARFUL CALAMITY AT MASULIPATAM.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume V, Issue 253, 17 April 1865, Page 3

THE FEARFUL CALAMITY AT MASULIPATAM.

The following interesting account of the fearful calamity at Masulipatam, of which meagre and imperfect notices have appeared in this country, is contained in a letter from a young gentleman in Madras, a native of Arbroath to his friends at home :

At present the great topic of conversation here is the Masulipatim calamity, an account of which you have no doubt read by this time. Masulipatam is a large town on the coast, some 200 miles north of Madras It is principally inhabited by. natives, there being only a small sprinkling of Europeans. Suddenly, at the dead of night, the wind rose and the sea began to roar, common enough incidents iu that locality, and not therefore calculated to alarm any one. But the wind increased to a hurricane, and one mighty wave rose and rolled in upon the devoted city, drowning 40,000 of its inhabitants like so many, rats: in a trap. So sudden and unexpected was the visitation that, only a few escaped. There was a great cry, “ the sea is upon us'” and the next moment Masulipatim was submerged. The wave rolled back again, the sea fell to its accustomed place, and left a scene of desolafion scarcely paralleled in history. The ground was covered with the dead .bodies of men, women, and children, and animals of every description. Wherever you went death stared you in the face, and there were no means of burying the bodies, the living were so few. When the sun rose that morning the whole city was in ruins—trees torn up by the roots, houses laid level with the earth, the crops on the fields rendered utterly useless. All provisions were destroyed, and the wells of fresh water filled with salt water. Th» Collector telegraphed to Madras, and 3000 coolies were sent to bury the dead, and provisions were also sent. A subscription has al_sp,becn started in Madras for the relief of. the. sufferers, and a large sum has already been scraped together. It is muoh feated that a pestilence will dirbak out, -caused vbythe effluvium from the rotting of the dead bodies.

New Post-ofto'e Reotteatio ka.— Tho New Zea land Examiner, January 13th, says:—“ The new Post-office regulation with reference to the forwarding of patterns or samples of merchandise fay post from England to New Zealand came into operation on tho Ist inst. The rates which must be prepaid by means of postage stamps, are aa follows: Via Southampton:—For a packet not exceeding 4 oz., 4d.; above 4 ozs and not exceeding i lb., Bd.; above £ lb. and not exceding 1 lb.. Is. 4d.; above I lb. and exceeding lb., 25.; above 1 k lb. and not exceeding 2 lbs, 2s Bd. Via Marseilles:—For a packet not exceeding 4 ozs., 6d.; above 4 ozs. and not exceeding \ lb., Is.; above klb and not exceeding 1 lb., 25.; above 1 lb. and not exceeding £ lb., 35.; above 1 $ lb. and not exceeding 2 lbs., 4s. No packet of patterns or samples exceeding the weight of three pounds can be sent to New South Wales ; but on patterns or samples- addressed to at.y of the other coloines above mentioned, the'postage for heavier packets will increase by two rates of postage for every half pound or fraction of half-pound, without lim it. Special attention is directed to the following rules and regulations, which will be strictly enforced : 1. No packet of patterns or samples must exceed two feet in length, breadth, or depth. 2. The patterns or samples must not be of intrinsic value. Tins rule excludes all articles of a saleable nature and, indeed, whatever may have a value of its own apart from its mere use as a pattern or sample : and the quantity of any material sent ostensibly as a pattern or sample must not be so great that it can fairly be considered as having, on this ground, an intrinsic value. 3. There must be no writing or printing other than the address of the person for whom the packet is intended, the address of the sender, a trade mark and numbers and the prices of the articles. 4. The patterns or samples must be sent in covers open at the ends, so as to be easy of examination. Samples, however, of seeds, drugs and so forth, which cannot be sent in open covers, may be enclosed in bags of linen or other material, tied at the neck ; bags so closed that they cannot be readily opened, even although they be transparent, must not be used for this purpose. Non-compliance with any of tlie foregoing rules will subject the pattern or sample to be treated and charged as a letter. In all other respects the regulations of the colonial book post will apply *o the pattern post with the above colonies. Under these regulations, in order to prevent any interruption to the regular transmission of letters, a packet of patterns or samples may, when it is necessary, be kept back for 24 hours beyond the time when, in the ordinary course, it would bo forwarded. N.B.—The rule which forbids the transmission through the post of any article likely to injure the contents oi the mail bags or the person of any officer of the Postoffice is, of course, applicable to tire pattern post, and a packet containing anything of the kind will be stopped and not sent to its destination.” A musical gentlemen while performing lately, was arrested by two bailiffs, who requested him to join in a trio.—“ [ should rather imagine,” said the unfortunate gentleman, “yon wish for a catch.” He might have given them a few notes and satisfied them.