ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 627, 6 August 1851, Page 2

ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE.

To the Editor of the Neio Zealand Spechtv! Wellington, August 5th,'1851 Sinr-Perhaps you would have the goodua to publish the enclosed in answer to Mr set’s letter, in Saturday’s Independent thalli’ Whitehouse objected to be removed to the nJ pital because he would be attended by me. I I am, Sir, I Your obedient servant, I J. P. Fitzgerald, M.D., M.R,C.Sj| Half-Way House, Poririiaßwl August stli, 3851. , I Sir, —In answer to your’s of the2ndoth| gust, I have to inform you that" !’could iJ see Mr. Whitehouse until this morning, 11 called his attention to your letter, and alsolil the two letters in the Independent. Hisw was, he wished people jvould let him die e| peace. I next asked him what was his objtt| tion to being removed to the Hospital! M then said his objection in the first place re| that he was determined not to have his legUisl off; in the next place he wished todieintbl bosom of his family ; but he wished it toll perfectly understood that he had no ohjeciicii whatever to Dr. Fitzgerald; but was rerfew satisfied with the attendance he had met A| at the same time he expressed his grateful thanhl to Mr. Cole for his kind intentions. I I remain, Sir, I Y'ours respectfully, i J. W. M'Kais. Dr. Fitzgerald, I Colonial Surgeon. I

The following deposition by C. Stewart, tkH survivor of the wreck of the Maria, gi™? l ! ■ ■ detailed account of this distressing calamitjft was made before H. St. Hill, Esq., R&E n MVUV UUb Resident Magistrate’s Court, H Wellington, July I, Charles Stewart, late an ordinary seao®g of the barque Maria, do solemnly ly declare that, on or about the 20tb (last Sunday week), the barque Marin I* Port Cooper, bound for Port about 10 o’clock in the morning. .. fair win'd when we left, but were becal® g cutside until the following morning- I Eaven brig was in company with us. g tain Plank was master of the Maria: I, 1 -s his name was William Frederick, but g not certain. We had twenty-two band | board, including the Captain and o | There were also two cabin passengers, g steerage passenger who was | passage, and three stockmen. v 0 ' | night a light breeze sprung up fro m “ ® east, which lasted until about 4 ° clo \. t( i| Tuesday morning, when it shifted ro W the south-east: it remained from *" a . ai |3 a steady breeze until night, when it to blow heavily from the same qua* ’ were steering NNW. We shortened H 8 o’clock at night : we were u jS ||| double-reefed topsails, and a 10 X staysail during the night: * 8 , ,[dgl»Eg very thick and hazy. At 10 o cl ° te j to@ I was on the look-out, and P the captain, who was then cn Li thought I saw land a-head notb aV '|| thought it could not be, for we gyp mm run across in the time. We the" ~. j ß iani ||l stood towards the shore of the * g

we marie the land of the Middle Island about four-bells (2 o’clock, a.m.): we then wore ship again, and stood towards Port Nicholson. At about half-past 4 o’clock I could see land oh our lee-bow: I was at the wlieel: we were on the starboard tack. The captain told me to keep as close to the wind as I could : our course was at that time ESE. About an hour after this we crossed a reef: but we did not ground : we were sailing then along the line of shore. About five minutes after we crossed the reef we grounded ; but the vessel still had way on her. The second mate then took the wheel from me, and ordered me to call up all hands. I heard the captain ask the second mate if the vessel still had way on her: he replied he thought she had : this was after I had called all hands. The captain said he thought the vessel would be hard and fast directly : a few minutes afterwards we struck upon a rock, which appeared to me to go quite through the bottom of the vessel. The captain then gave orders to cut away the masts : before that could be done the foremast went over, by the side, carrying with it the main-royal and main topgallant mast: the main-mast went shortly afterwards: the vessel then broke right across the waist, and separated in two halves. All hands then gathered aft to cut away the quarterboat : they all got into the boat, with the exception of the second mate and myself; we remained to lower the boat : the captain was in her: before she could be lowered the davits gave way, and the boat fell upon the quarter and smashed to pieces : all that were in her contrived to scramble upon deck again : after that the second mate was washed overboard by a sea. I then took off my oil-skins and boots and jumped overboard : I swam to the shore: three of the seamen also reached the shore on

g a part of the wreck ; but at that moment they were overturned on'the wreck, and I saw no more of them. The captain was standing on the rail of the quarter-deck when I jumped overboard : I saw no more of him, I should think we were about half a mile from the shore when the vessel struck: it was just get- • ting daylight. There was a Malay who also reached the shore alive : all the others must have perished: the Malay still remains at in the house of Mr. Macmanaman. | 1 here was another boat in the vessel, besides | the quarter-boat that broke away with the | davits; but that boat was stoved in, and un- | seaworthy. There was no long-boat; the | long-boat was sent from Cloudy Bay to' Pom | Nicholson for provisions and fodder, when we I were on our passage from Port Nicholson to i **? rt hooper. I came over in her to Port J Nicholson, and returned to Cloudy Bay in a _ cutter with what we? required, leaving the Is long-boat behind : the weather was too bad to allow us to take her back to Cloudy Bay: I do not think it would have made any difference had she been in the vessel when she struck, for we should not have had time to

ciear her away before the vessel went to pieces Ihe vessel broke across the waist about i quarter of an hour after she had struck ; ] should think it was. about three-quarters o an hour after she had struck that thi stern part of the vessel broke to pieces it broke in pieces before I reached the shore, As far as I can judge, I think I had to swim about half a mile. Ido not know the names of either of the cabin passengers : the steerage passenger’s name was Mitchell M'Kelly ; he | had come from California in the vessel with I ns. One stockman was named Robert Souel ’ |another, Henry Sole; and the third. Lowe : aao not know his Christian name. The chief mate’s name was Price; the second mate, John Turner: the carpenter, Robert Williams, 1 think;’but lam not certain: we had no boatswain : the cook, William Stock • the steward, William Taylor : an apprentice, Walker; Ido not know his Christian name. Ihe crew were, William Smith, Henry Walter Thomas Brown, and a fourth whose name g co not remember, able seamen : Charles IP ICe ’i Ge ° rge H ° ne Newson > and Alexander glatmlton, ordinary seamen. Ido not rememgher the names of the other seamen. There was janother able seaman, but I cannot think of his same. I remained in the neighbourhood of | e wreck until the following morning, before gMaw any person ; about 10 o’clock oh'that a orning I saw Mr. Macmanaman’s house | 01 ? r e . bl “ which I had ascended, and I I?/! 0 * h accom panied by the Malay. Ido ttC \ u “ lK an y persons of the vessel, excepting i tree men I have before annkon of nn<i

|>e Malay, reached the shore alive. I was t-- u. lue wreck the whole of the Wednesday, King out to give assistance where it might ?as f ede l'i 1 think the bod ? of the ca Plai“ estenl 8 Mao " *’ 1 did Uot know « " ntil ak no& th T at ° ne ° f liis fi “g ers had ine •k : 1 never noticed ‘bat he wo™ « |”ot Uni ? 8 ? d t 0 wear a g° ld wa ‘cb: Ido iody was nwi?/ aS °t his person wlien bis beLdv w’?f when 1 heard Rim: Ann f ° und ’. lf tke gold watc b *•’ on [bne af ter 1 i°°. d U " SS DOt: “ Was s °™- Ido not i i y WBS found that 1 saw k: | know when it was found; but 1 did L I

not see it until Friday morning last. I did not observe any bodies washed on shore on Wednesday during the time I was near the wreck on the beach. It was blowing fresh from the south-east on Wednesday ; it was not blowing very bard. We were to windward of the Haven when we last saw her: we lost sight of her on Tuesday night. We were off Cape Campbell on Tuesday night, when it began to blow fresh from the south-east. — And I make this solemn declaration, conscientiously believing the same to be true; and by virtue of an act of Parliament passed in the sth and 6th years of the reign of William the Fourth, c. 62, intituled, “An Act to repeal an Act of the present Session of Parliament, intituled, *An Act for the more effectual abolition of oaths and affirmations taken and made in various departments of the State, and to substitute declarations in lieu thereof; and for the more entire suppression of voluntary and extra-judicial oaths and affidavits, and to make other provisions for the abolition of unnecessary oaths.’ ” C. W. D. Stewart. Declared before me, at Wellington, this 30th day of July, 1851, Henry St. Hill, Resident Magistrate.