EUROPEAN EXTRACTS. THE FALL OF MESSINA.

New Zealander, Volume 4, Issue 287, 28 February 1849, Page 3

EUROPEAN EXTRACTS. THE FALL OF MESSINA.

The following account of the fall of Messina is com- ! ,'nnihic'a<ed by an eye witness to a mercantilecorrespou1 dent in London :— " MessiS'A, ScrT. 12. — You will, no doubt, have heard of the honors committed on thm ilKated town during the last ten days ; any accounts you may have heaid cannot be exaggerated. ()u the morning of the 3rd instant, ten itam-fiigttes, and nineicinnun-boats, commenced a murderous fire on the town, which wa? answcied by our batteiiei, and the same morning a landing of noops from thecitdel was attempted, but they were diiven back by the Sicilians with Ims ; subsequently the citadel kept up a heavy fue on the town, the whole of the 3rd, 4 h, and sth with shell, scarcely leaving a house in the town uninjmed, and killing and wounding an immense number of people. On the morning of the 6th the whole of the Neapolitan expedition, coniUting of three large frigates, thirteen steamers, and nineteen gunboats, came over from the opposite coast, and effected a landing a few miles south of the town. A Sicilian squadron of aimed men went out to meet them almost without leaders, and what few they had quite inexperienced. However, up to 2 o'clock i\m , ttie Sicilians had the best of it. Somehow or other they Were seized with a panic, and the whole of the National Guards flsd wi bout firing a shot. The Swiss and Neapolitan troops, as they advanced, Bet fire to every house and hut : the appearance of the town at night was one mats of flame. " The Sicilians in small parties still fought bravely ; the troops did not effect an entrance into the town tontil the evening of the 7ih, when about 400 Neapolitans were blown up into the air, the Sicilians having previously prepared a mine with powder tor the purpose. The Sicilian batteries kept up a smart fire on the 4th and 5h ; a few shot* on the 6th. The citadel never ceased throwing shells into the town the whole of the three days, up to the 7th. We and all the English residents were received on board her Mujesty's ship Gladiator, where we have been ever since, having bnly landed at the Rings this morning. " The loss of property it incalculable. You may rememb-r the hardware shop of M&nganaro, below the QuaUurufuiitano ; from this shop until beyond G»zzi, where Mr. Halla u had his filanda, a distance of at Jeast three miles, and very thickly popuhtted, is entirely burnt, and many thoiuands of innocent persons are now houseless and penniless. The Neapolitan Cenciui confesiea to the loss of 1600 men, beiides what were killed in the citadel by our batteries. The lots of the Sicilians will never be ascertained, ai thty arc all dispersed in the country j but hundreds of poor people were butchered and burnt to death. Ido not suppose th&t Messina will be able to lecover itself for ninny, many years. ; anil who have they to thank for a'l tbit>? I greatly fear Fiance and England, who hastened them on to name a king, and acknowledged their impendence by saluting tueir fl»g, both at Palermo and Messir.a; and afterwards abandoned them to their own resour :es. 11 The English and French commanders received orden yesterday to put a stop to turther atrocitirs of this kind, even by lorce of ara>s it required, and affairs are quieter. " Many thousands of kiuuses are burned, and for two miles out of the town the whole countiy , from the t-ea beach to the mountains, is completely destroyed. You may fancy business cannot be talked of; arid I much doubt if any will be tiansacteil for months to e>me. We calculate Mr, UuUum's lost by fiic in the iiiandn,

at Gazzi, about £2000 or ,£2500. Although two British flags were flying upon it at the time, they were torn down by the troops. ,1 hare not yet been into the town myself, neither do I feel courage to go in. My house and property have not suffered much, having only had two shells in the counting house, one of which did not burst. The Bulldog steamer took about 400 refugee", and landed them at Catania last evening, aa it has not yet surrendered to the Neapo itnns. " Mi. HalUin and Charles landed on Sunday, and walked out to Gazzi. The accounts they give are awful; the stench of burnt bodies unbparable, &c« In fiic, such honors could never have been dreamt of ill any civilised country."