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    1154 THE LEADER. [Saturday,

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    THIS WRECK OP TIIK MERIDIAN. Tmo Morning...

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  • Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.

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    Notwithstanding The Comparative Novelty ...

    Freemasons' Tavern , which was convened to extort from our Government better protection for English subjects abroad , especially in cases where they are unjustly persecuted , for Protestant opinions . The Papal aggression in Holland , the Maltese code , and the new code of Italy , with the persecution of the Madjai and Miss Cuningliame , were the prominent topics . Lord

    Shaftes"bury called upon our Government to be as told as Elizabeth , as forward as Crom well , and as fiery as America ; but the memorial could suggest nothing more energetic in realizing these vigorous suggestions than to withdraw an ambassador from any country which should resort to measures so barbarous as those of Tuscany and of Eome . This is a lame and impotent conclusion of the somewhat boastful language with which Lord Shaftesbury introduced the business of the

    evening . The fact is , that Protestants of Lord Shaftesbury ' s stamp are , we believe , not prepared to take the steps necessary for sustaining either tlieir doctrine in religion , or their claim in politics ; they are not prepared to defend the weak ; they are not prepared to be martyrs . Canon Miller , who saw the false logic of the proceeding which proposed to dictate internal laws to a foreign Government , declared that there was no hope of success by that means ; that true religion can only be sown in catholic countries by loosening the ground with the blood of martyrs . But we do not learn that Mr . Miller destines

    even one ounce of his canonical blood to that blessed purpose . Nor has Miss Cuninghame been subjected to actual depletion on account of her religious enthusiasm . These are the martyrdoms to which English Protestants safely adhere , at Freemasons' Tavern and Exeter Hall . They do not go forth as martyrs , they do not go forth as defenders either of the faithful or of the persecuted . It is not that there is no work for Protestants : there is more than one ground on which their cause is to be sustained . Piedmont has been but imperfectly supported , although it is a

    country whose position involves a species of national Protestantism , in many respects more hopeful for the overcoming of Rome than any case of individual proselytism . Borne , too , is making encroachments , as we have mentioned , on the Upper Rhine ; an ecclesiastical province , created in that jmrt of Germany , which includes Wirtemburg , Baden , Nassau , and Hesse . The church of Rome has claimed the right of appointing to ecclesiastical ' offices without consent of the State ; the Governments have resisted such acts : in

    retaliation the Archbishop of Freiburg has excommunicated the officials . Priests reading the excommunication in churches have been arrested , and there the matter stands . The arrogant Archbishop and his clergy arc sustained by ^ the active sympathy of the hierarchy in Austria , and by the- Archbishop of Posen ; bo that the contest involves a , very extensive territory ; and on this ground , again , we hoc how acquiescence in tho tyrannical presumptions of the Absolutist Powers facilitates tin ; encroachments of liomn

    Our hierarchy has been consecrating two Bishops to administer the functions of the church at Natal iind ; it Graham ' s Town ; tho Protestant Alliance meets in Frecnmsons ' -hall for tho purpose of asking Lord Clarendon to coereo the petty Grand Duke of Tuscany , and , if possible , to frighten tho Pope , or to alarm the paltry Government of Portugal ; but tho real contest l , 0-tween tho two groat principles of oppression find freedom , with Absolutism and uHra-inontsmisiu on the ( mo wide , and Constitutionalism and freedom of conscience on the other , is Buffered to make considerable way before the representative's

    of <"<> iihI ifiil , mn ; iI ; ui ( Imi-il \ r in ' IJVi-,., < . < . w . i of constitutional authority in Europo can make rip their minds to a determined stand on behalf of their principles I Our own allairs at home do not present much subject for remark . The . strike in fmiHwwIiii'o continues . \\ u inif > ht almost stereotype the statement on the subject . The contribution to the co . nnatteo at Preston keeps up ; but at Burnley and at other places the workiuP- people are accepting | , | , o o / ler of thoiiiasters convoyed in the opening of their mills for „ , short time—only four days n week , - and the attempts to procure lop the ril

    Huppor ., wueu . er H | , « , or for the proposed "labour parliament , ' iu new quarters , do noli meet with the expected response . BirmWhani , for example , responds with apathy and with Hnonoo . Tho acquittal of eight eoppor-i > lafco m-iutora

    charged with attempting to drive a fellow workman from employment , establishes the right of working people to send one of their number to Coventry ; so that they do not threaten their employers with any bad consequences for continuing the man in service . In this case the motive of , dislike * was , that " the man had acted " -for substitute in the house of Mr . Tallis , where workmen had struck for wages . The caution of Mr . Baron Aidersbn ,

    that the printers would have done better if they had acted separately instead of jointly , will not have the effect of making the working classes better understand the law , because his qualification is not positive . In fact , it only weakens their confidence in the law by making them suppose that the judge is " against" them . _ Another report has been issued by a committee of the Oxford Tutors' Association . It contains

    several recommendations on the subject of university education , and indulges in severe criticisms on the scheme of the commissioners , which it describes as " far too revolutionary . " The Tutors seek to develope a wider system out of the existing elements , rather than to introduce any organic changes . Their suggestions , however , do not seem to attack the great evil of the present system , which affords no stimulus to exertion on the part of the Tutors , and throws the education of the University into the hands of men whose duty it is to teach every conceivable subject , without

    leaving tune or holding out inducements for the successful prosecution of any particular branch of learning . Australian shipping has been illustrating the great defect in the conduct of emigration ships , of which the colonists , in New South Wales , are complaining . The Adelaide , not the worst vessel belonging to the Royal Australian Mail Steam Packet Company , has been abandoned by the under-writers , Tfrie- Company has been sustaining a trial , brou ght by a passenger home in the notorious steamer , Melbourne , the charge involving complaints of the most filthy condition and food

    on board . And , through the reckless sailing of the master , Mr . Hernaman , the ship Meridian has been lost , on the island of Amsterdam , on tha voyage to Sydney . This last event forms one of the most striking stories of shipwrecks in the history of the sea , excellently told by a gentleman connected with the Morning Chronicle , who took a leading part , after the shipwreck , in rescuing the people , and keeping order amongst them , and economising their stores , for the thirteen days during which they were confined on the desert island . From the initial "Jj , " and other

    circumstances , we conjecture the writer to be Mr . John Leitch , whoso name has been mentioned before , in the literary part of our paper , —mentioned for his accomplishments and his wit , but now immortalised by his fortitude and courageous humanity . Practical Positivism is making way . Even emigrant ships are better managed than they used to be , before the Passengers' Act ; for the hardships of tho Melbourne present no liarallel with the rmson ' osi liol-vifi-uillvr nn / l , i » ml ^~ parallel with the miseries habituallendured on

    y board tho North-American ships , some few years since . At homo wo are beginning to conquer the material ills , which we have suffered to conquer us so long . John Simon has been telling the City of London how to attack the cholera , at its foundation , in the sewer ; and his masterly Report has had so groat an efleet , that people are actually expecting that the City will go and do what their admirable medical officer tells them .

    1154 The Leader. [Saturday,

    1154 THE LEADER . [ Saturday ,

    This Wreck Op Tiik Meridian. Tmo Morning...

    THIS WRECK OP TIIK MERIDIAN . Tmo Morning Chronicle , published yesterday an account of a shipwreck out in tho . Indian Ocean , on a rocky inland , far away from all land . It i . s from the pen ( if a gentleman connected with thai , journal -Mr . John . Loiteh , we pi-emiine , from tho initials . Ho dateH Inn account from Port Lenin , Maurifciun , October 12 . Tho Meridian wan a iirnt-ehwH Hhip , commanded by an ablo and entima , blo man , who had boon lour times to ( S ydney . . Hut the nhi j > wan undermanned , having only ton abl « Beaman to work the Hhip , although her crew wan nominally twenty-three . OmiHequoiitly , no lookout could |> e . regularly kept . We append Homo extraetn from "L . ' - ' h lc , u « r , giving a graphic and ¦ touching account of hoiuo of the dangers undergone by tho priHHongoi'H : ¦ ¦ —

    " We bad one of tho ( incut pannages that over wan made , till wo reached tho 2 ( M , h ( legm , <> f m > uth latitude . Alltir Mm ? avo met with bnfHing winds , culms and h (| um . I 1 h , and noon afterwards a snmvt gale , winch , however , did not hint long , . ( till , on the night of | , h ( , i »; tn | ,, f August , when wo were running lor St . 1 ' aul ' n , which tho captain wished to night , in order to cor rod , u suspected error in hm chronometer , we encountered a strong gale , which induced tho captain to altor ouv courao , nud botir up for Amutordttui , un ioljmd in

    the same meridian of longitude as St . Paul ' s but jfiffv nulesto the southward of it . The gale continued all irie-hfc and the following day , in the course of which we passed tho barque John-Siigdrs , of London , bound for Sydney and whicli we ascertained * by . a printed list of departures to JiaVe left jGrrlavesqnd fourteen days before us . We tad spoken several vessels in the course of the voyage , and had invariably found , on comparing notes , that wo had made a quicker / passage than any of them . Captain Hernaman was strongly influenced by a sense of professional emulation ,- 'he could ndt bear to be beaten by another ship , and soon ' after passing the 'Jpjin Sugars , he ordered the ship ' s course to be altered a point , - steering E . by S ., so as to let thp Meridian go more freely before the windthough the

    , night was very dark , the gale increasing , and he himself believed that his clirpiiorneter required correction . He told his passengers that he expected to make Amsterdam about twelve o clock at night , and-he contented himself by telling . Mr . Ijarnburd , the first mate , whose watch on deck commenced at six o ' clock , to keep a good look-out It is but justice to that officer to state , that he , as well as ' the rest of the officers and crew , had been up all the preceding night , and was , no doubt , much fatigued ; but it is equally due to truth to add , that there was no look-out on the forecastle , and that he and the whole of his watcli ( except the man at the wheel ) were engaged a little before seven , o ' clock in baling the water out of Ins cabin which had been partially inundated by a sea , which had just

    before then burst over the vessel . After this the course of the vessel was altered , by the captain ' s direction , to east . The tea-things in the cuddy had just been cleared away , ' and many of the children were being . undressed , when a smart shock shook the vessel from stem to stern . At first I believed that we had run foul of another vessel , but in a minute or two after wards five or six more violent shocks , accompanied by a peculiar grating sound at the bottom of the vessel , left no room tor doubt upon the nature of the misfortune which had befallen us . Mr . Tulloch , ' second mate , who came shortly afterwards into the cuddy for an instant , told me in plain terms that the vessel was on shore , and for a time all was confusion , terror , and despair .

    " The moment that the vessel struck , Captain Hernaman , who was standing in the . passage leading to the cuddy , rushed up the poop stairs , exclaiming three times , ' Where is Mr . LamburdP' ( Mr . Lamburd , as ho himself told me afterwards , was going- at the time towards the galley fire , on the main-deck , for the purpose of lighting his pipe . ) As the captain , gained the quarter-deck , the awful truth burst upon him , and , with another exclamation of ' My God ! it is the island ! ' he seized the wheel , and put the helm hard a-starboard . He then stripped off his coat , waistcoat , and trousers , shouted ,

    ' Wow every man for himself , ' and bade one of the hands , named Charles Snow , assist him in casting off one of tho hen-eoops . While they were thus engaged a heavy sea burst over the poop , and swept him and Snow overboard , but Snow caught a rope as he foil , and climbed up again into tho mizen rigging on the port side , and thence over to the starboard side of the poop deck , from whicli he descended to tho main deck , and sought a temjiorAry refugo in the main rigging-. Mr . Lamburd and some of the crew climbed into the maintop , others held on to other parts of the rigging , exposed , of course , to the fury of tho waves , which repeatedly washed over them .

    " Meanwhile , the situation of tho passengers in tho 'tween-decks was awful in the extreme . The vessol lay very much over on her port side , towards the shore , and every boh that swept ovor tho dcckH deluged the second cabin with water , and broke in the cabins on the lee sideiu less than five minutes after the vessel had struck . In a i ' ow minutes afterwards , the water rose ko high that it reached to the waists of thoso who . had cabins on that side , and Home were immersed almost as high as their necks before they succeeded in climbing over tlio tables and reaching 1 tho Htarboard nido of the vessel . There they remained in the expectation of instant dou ( Ji , clinging to every projection that offered itself , lest they should ho washed away by the seas which came pouring down tho

    hatchway , till about half-pant nine o'clock , when Mr . Worlhin ' gton , the third mate , and Snow , the sailor already mentioned , assisted by Mr . Tulloch , the second mate , oarne down at the risk of their lives to extricate the wretched reaturus irom their perilous position . With great dilliculty and danger—for tho cargo wan now floating about m the ' tween decks , threatening destruction to all with whom it came in contact—this object wan accomplished , alter tho lapse of about an hour , when tho breaking up of the vessel tweined imminent . The lower deck had given way , and one poor woman , tho last who cue-aped , foil into tho hold among the provision tins , but whs dragged out , drondlully bthu

    bruised , by two of her children , and passing along y sills of tho cabin doom on tho starboard side , whicli still stood firm , they were helped up the companion-ladder by the nailor Snow . The mother , bruised as she was , came up last , and she bad hardly placed her foot on tho ( leek whoa the ladder was wattlied away by a sou . As the seconucabin passengers cmne up from below they were passed into the cuddy , where tho chief-cabin paBsongerH were nearly nil assembled , or they huddled together in groups by the steward ' s pantry , presenting a most pitiable spectacle . Many of them " , the younger children particularly were in their night drcMHon , having retired to bed before tho vessel struckand all were drenched to 1 , ' ho nlii »> « "i <

    , shivering with cold . They wore ml her excited at first , 1 'U '' soon , however , became calm , and neoined prepared lo "" , " '' the fate which ( hoy fell , tiwaitcdthciu , sooner or Jater , wiMi becoming resignation to the will of ( lod . s " In the chief cabin , tho situation of most of the imishohgers , though equally alarming , was yet comparatively comfortable . All the ladion , and some of the gentlemen , m " n ( aliened themselves on tho Htnrboard side , and . ' ' escaped tho heavy seas which poured every oilier hiuui ¦• through the skylights , and drenohod to tho nldn thoso goi » - tleinon who we ' re compelled to stand on tho port Hid " , « ri < lo cling to tho table for ammort . Ono oi ! the lampa wa "

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Dec. 3, 1853, page 2, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_03121853/page/2/