ITEMS BY THE MAIL.

Thames Guardian and Mining Record, Volume I, Issue 247, 24 July 1872, Page 3

ITEMS BY THE MAIL.

DREADFUL DEATH OF FIVE HUNDRED PEOPLE.

A CATASTROPHE almost unparalleled in huiTor, disclosing the gross cruellies ot the emigrant trade by one last and most terrible demonstration, happened in the China Sea last May, and is recorded in a Parliamentary report just ordered by the House of Commons to be printed. A vessel called the Don Juan, sailing under the Hag and with the consent of the Portuguese Government, set sail on the 4th of May with Got) coolies on board. These poor wretches, it appears, were kidnapped aud shipped in the most shameful manner. Once on board, this large mu.tiiude was penned on the main deck aud tasteued down by three iron gratings, winch closed the hatches, ten coolies at a time only being allowed to come on dock. The ship sailed in fair weather from Macau. On the second day of the voyage, as declared by Herker, ail Austrian seaman, the captain selected twenty coolies and put them in irons, with much brutality, as an example to the others. On the toll'd day a difficulty arose about the food passed down to the emigrants. The interpreter got angry, aud struck t.iose who complained witli Ins cane, whereupon the wretched coolies made a i ash at their European gaolers. The iron hatches were immediately slammed back upon them, aud when the poor creatures neat upon the beams and planks to get air, muskets were fired down into the crowd. It then appears that, in desperation, some few of tlie eoolies set tire to Uio storeroom forward. The sailors tried to pump water down upon the seat of the conflagration, bat the frenzied men below parsed the hose out of the port-noles, so that pumping became useless. Then the tire spread beyond all control, and volumes of thick smoke rolled into tlie main deck, choking the mass of coolies at tlie other end, who had taken no part in the previous proceedings. lied tongues of flame and sutfocatiug clouds filled the ship below hatches, wtnle tlie misoraoie prisoners beat at the iron grating, tore at the fastenings of the deck, and even endeavoured to get up to the air through tlie ventilators. The poi't-lioles, however, were fastened, the v.ead-lights were too small to allow of a man’s body passing, aud the ventilators were barred, so tliat there was no escape. In two hours’ time the fire was estaulished on the main-deck, yet the crew never took a siugle step towards saving tlie Jives of the imprisoned wretches. They merely lowerd three boats and pushed of from the burning vessel, leaving all that mass of human creatures pent up in a tloating hell of fear and agony. Meanwhile, in their .awful terror, the survivors of the Gao below found some means of bursting the forehatch. Scores were ly this time killed by the liatnes or the s voke ; scores had been trampled down in tlie frenzied ru li for life to the upper deck. About 100 iu all at last emerged from the Golgotlia of anguish, and leaped at once into the sea. A few managed to get bold of spars and floating gear, and liuug upon these till some fishing boats picked them up next morning. The majority were already mortally injured wiieu they escaped, or were drowned, ar crushed ny the tailing chains ana spars of the ship. But at least 500 were first scorched to death,

or choked and trampled dead, before the infernal prison gate was forced by the breaking open of the hatches, which the captain and crew had so shamefully left fast. MURDER IN IRELAND. Rathgar, one of the most fashionable quarters on the south side of Dunlin, has been the scene of a cold-blooded and daring murder, perpetrated on an inoffensive married lady. The circumstances of this horrible deed are as follow On the evening of May 27 a lady named Harriet Neill, residing with her husband at No. 5, Sydenham Terrace, Brighton Road, Rathgar, was sitting for some time with her husband at her parlour window. Two men had been observed hovering about the house during the day without any ostensible object. However, no regard was paid to their movements till they | were observed nc the house again in the evening. Abo. n o’clock they walked up to the door, and one of them knocked, apparently with some papers in his hands. The lady herself went to reply to the knock, and was immediately shot dead. [L r husband, Mr Daniel Neill, pursued the men, who ran in the direction of Roumltown, but he was obliged to give over the pursuit, as the men got quickly out of sight. Dr Beilis, of Rathgar, was in attendance on the lady shortly after the occurrence, but she was beyond medical assistance. It appears the lady held properly in some part of Hie country, and a dispute is supposed to have occurred between her and the occupiers, which is believed to have been the cause of the murder.

AN INTERNATIONAL POSTAL SERVICE. It is reported that a Congress will be invited by Prince Bismarck to Beilin to discuss the desirability of instituting a system of international postal arrangements. Prince Bismarck will lay before the delegates the following resolutions : 1. That all the States of Europe, Russia in Asia, Canada, the United States, and Algeria, shall form a Postal Union. 2. I’liat throughout this Union there shall be a uniform postal rate for letters of four cents pur half ounce. 3. That newspapers, printed matter, patterns, &c., shall be conveyed for two cents per two ounces. 4. That to all countries not included in the Postal Union double the above rates shall be charged. 5. The uniform registration fee for all parts of the world shall be four cents.

DETAILS OF THE ICEBERG DISASTERS.—LOSS OF 45 MEN.-THREE STEAMERS AND 17 SAILING VESSELS WRECKED. St. John’s (Newfoundland), May 14. —The steamer Ni nrod has brought us tidings of disaster from the ice-fields. She reports the loss of the sailing vessel Huntsman, commanded by Captain Robert Dawc, of Bay Roberts, on the 28th of April, near Cape Charles, on the coast of Labrador. The Huntsman, in company with three other vessels, found herself in a most peiilous position, beset in a drifting pack of heavy ice, the savage shore of Labrador close under her lee, and a furious northeaster driving the ice-floes upon the shore. For a time she battled bravely with the floating ice-mountains, which were dashing against each other in wild uproar. Before she could accomplish this night set in, dark and tempestuous, with driving sleet and rain. About nine o’clock a tremendous sea struck the ill-fated Huntsman, and flung her bodily with a fearful crash upon Fish Rock,' where she immediately began to break up. Just before she struck three of the crew jumped over the weather-side with the hope of escaping, but they were struck by a large floe and killed. The remaining fifty-nine men took to the rigging, as the sea was breaking over the ship. The}' had been but a few minutes there when both masts went overboard, hurling them into the sea amid the terrible ice masses. Forty-two of the unfortunate men were drowned or were crushed to death by the floating ice. Seventeen managed to scramble upon the floating ice, only three of the whole being uninjured, the rest having arms, legs, or ribs broken. Thus the poor fellows spent the long, weary hours of that lerriole night,.almost envying the fate of their comrades who were now at rest beneath the waves. They knew that not far off was a vessel bearing tlie auspicious name of the Rescue. With day light they were able to make out tbe ship; and the forlorn group, helping one another as they euitlil, managed to crawl nearly a mile over the broken ice, and at length reached the Rescue. The recovery of many is still doubtful. Four days atterward one poor fellow who had managed to scramble on a rock was taken off alive by the crew of the steamship Wolf. In the same terrible gale in which the Huntsman met her doom, steamers Bloodhound and Retriever were crushed by the enormous ioeb rgs and sank. The Bloodhound was the first to meet her fate, striking heavily on an ioeuerg at midnight. The crew abandoned her, and took to the ire with nothing but thu.r clothing. The men made tliuir way to the Retriever, which was in sigut; hut to their consternation found her in a sinking condition, in cunsequeuje of a blow from tlie same ice monster, winch was half a mile in length. Witniu half an hour after reaching her the Retriever sank, i'll rue hundred and fifty were thus left on the ice with uotniug but their clothing. The steamers Nimrod and Mastiff took off the shipwrecked men, and brought them to St. John’s. By telegram we are informed that the American steamer Mouticello, engaged in the seal fisuery, sank when on i>er way to Boston. Toe crew and passengers were taken off and brought to St. Peter’s.

A FROZEN BOAT’S CREW IN MIDOOEAN. [From the New York Herald.'] The recent gales have caused a number of serous .disasters along the coast, and much suffering lias been experienced by the sad catastrophe which befel the schooner Henry Conrad. The sufferings of her ship wrecked crew are harrowing in the exireine, and had it not been for tlie humane and manly action of Captain G.M. Walker, commander of the steamship Albermarle, of the old Dominion line they must have been lost. The Albennarle left Norfolk on Monday evening, at 4 p.m. Four hours later it commenced to blow a gale from the north-west, and continued in violence until the following evening. xYbuut 1 p. m. on Tuesday, Captain Walker, when off Cape May, sighted a three-masted schooner sunk. Tlie captaiu at once ran down towards the schooner, aud to his surprise found a small boat made fast to one of the masts, containing sixmeuand one woman, all of whom were stark amt stiff, while the little boat was constantly shipping water, and tossing about at tlie mercy of the waves. The occupants of the boat were rapidly sinking into a state of unconsciousness, and it was evident that, if not already gone to their last home, their hours were numbered.

It was perceived that every_person in the boat had a coating of ice on over half an inch thick, and benumbed and frostbitten, they were for a time deaf to all interrogatories. At length Captain .Valkcr came up quite close to the sunken schooner, and, with stentorian voice, hailed them to cut adrift. As if roused from deep slumber, simultaneous effort was made to obey tho kind command. But their powers were got?e, and in the effort to relieve themselves, they fell back in tho boat in a senseless condition. One man, however, roused to a last desperato attempt, seized an tfxe with his frostbitten hands, and, by one vigorous stroke, cut the rope 1 hat so long enchained them to death. Thus freed, the little boat, with its perishing occupants, dropped alongside the Albemarle, and they where taken through the port on the Ice side. They presented a most helpless and forlorn spectacle, and it was thought that very few of them would survive the terrible ordeal through which they had p‘ ed. But the usual rotneiidies were quickly applied, and with the great and unremitting attention bestowed upon them by Captain Walker and the purser of tho Albcrmarle the poor uatieuts gradually returned to consciousness.