H.M.S."SCOUT," AND CHINESE PIRATES.-H.M.S. Scout, on her way, to Foo chow-foo, on the 1st instant, when opposite Chimmo Bay, fell in with a fishing-boat, the crew of which pointed out two suspicious-looking junks standing off the land, which they stated had that morning attacked some trading vessels, working up the coast. The Scout immediately gave chase, and fired at the small junk, which tacked in shore. Three boats were then despatched under the command of the senior Lieutenant, E. G. Blake, which took possession of her. She was found to be armed with a two-pounder, ginjalls, matchlocks, fire-pots, &c, and carried a crew of thirty-two men, several of whom jumped overboard and were drowned. Four men were found in her hold, bound hand and foot, who said they had been taken out of a fishing boat two days previously. The Scout having secured her prize, tacked in pursuit of the larger junk, which she hailed and ordered to lower her sail: but as she still kept her course, the forecastle guns were fired from the Scout, which being returned by the junk, a running fight was kept up for nearly three hours, when the junk got into shallow water, and the wind fell. Two boats were despatched under Lieutenant Josling, who commenced firing as soon as he got within range. The boats pulled alongside under a shower of bullets and stink-pots, by which one seaman was killed, and Lieutenant Josling, Mr. Stanley, midshipman, and four seamen were wounded. The wind having again sprung up, the Scout ran alongside the junk, under a heavy fire from ginjalls and matchlocks, while numbers of fire pots fell on deck, wounding Commander Johnston and two of the crew; another seaman was wounded by an explosion of gunpowder on board the prize, which, on being taken possession of, was found to have a crew of one hundred and twenty men, with four six-pounder guns, and an immense number of ginjalls, matchlocks, and other Chinese weapons. Shortly after she was captured, she fell over on her beam ends, and went down. Only thirty-six of the pirates were secured, the rest having been either shot during the engagement, jumped overboard of their own accord, or gone down with the vessel when she sank. The survivors were handed over to the mandarins at Amoy. It appears these two pirates were lying in wait for the Amoy sugar-junks, now daily going northward; and the destruction of them by the Scout is said to be considered by the native merchants at Amoy, a most acceptable service.-China Mail. THE LECTURES AT THE POLYTECHNIC EXHIBITION.-GUN COTTON.-Our readers, perhaps, are not all aware that a new attraction now allures to the Polytechnic Exhibition, a lecture being given on each evening of the week. Mr. Hingston has lectured on gun-cotton for the last few evenings, and treated his subject in an exceedingly amusing and instructive manner, introducing a series of very excellent illustrative experiments. Commencing with a description of the elementary components of common cotton, and of the explosive substance formed from it, the lecturer alluded to the presence of nitrogen in all fulminating compounds,―gave a short description of the manufacture and properties of common gunpowder, and compared its explosive force with that of Schonbein's gun-cotton-stating that the power of the latter was to the former as 8 to 3. The mode of manufacturing the fulmi. nating cotton was then shown: portions of it were fired by being struck with a hammer, by galvanism, and by applying a light to the touch-hole of a small cannon. Not the least interesting experiment was that of firing the cotton in the exhausted receiver of an air pump-thus demonstrating that atmospheric air is not required for its combustion, while the cotton burns without noise. The uses of the material, and its application in the mechanical arts, were fully noticed; while, to wind up a very pleasant entertainment, a portion of gun-cotton, manufactured before the audience, was placed at the end of the room opposite the lecturer, and fired by means of a galvanic battery, the wires from which were carried round the apartment attached to the walls. We understand that the lecture will be repeated several evenings; and Mr. Hingston has announced that ether and chloroform will form the subjects on which he will treat during the early part of the ensuing week. The attendance at the exhibition, up to Thursday night, have been as follows: Single Admissions, 54,720; By Gentlemen s Season Tickets, 2,880; By Ladies', 1,182; By Boys', 239; By Girls', 114; First Soireé, 325; Second Soireé, 482; Third Soireé, 242; Fourth Soireé 185. NEW BOOKS. THE SAILOR'S HORN BOOK FOR THE LAW OF STORMS.-By Henry Piddington, President of Marine Courts of Inquiry, Calcutta —London: Smith and Elder. This is a valuable practical book, albeit we are somewhat disposed to complain of the title of it, which suggests to the mind, children with their horn covered alphabets as in olden time; while the Storm Book, which it really is, would clearly relate to ships, seamen, and the ocean. Besides, however unlettered the seaman may be, (and thanks to the schoolmaster and ships' libraries, he is not so bad as he was formerly,) he would rather learn the mysteries of storms under their proper name, than that of "Horns," notwithstanding the horn card from which the author has named his work. Doubtless a new science is entitled to new terms. Mr. Piddington has found one for the subject he discusses, in the name "Cyclone," from a Greek word signifying the coil of a snake, from its nature applicable to the circular storm, as not being, although circular, in the true form of a circle. But we shall not quarrel about terms. They are matters of taste to be settled between Mr. Piddington and his readers, and to be established only by custom, the most natural of all laws. We incline however, to the opinion that seamen will take some time to coil away the "Cyclone" in preference to " Hurricanes," or "Circular Storms." Mr. Piddington deserves great credit for the care with which he has here collected for the information of seamen, the most remarkable instances of Circular Storms in different parts of the world. We have full often in the pages of the Nautical endeavoured to enlighten them on these subjects, and it is now a reproach to them to be ignorant. Here is another means of their instruction in which we see our own words freely quoted, and they will do well to look to them. THE LAWS OF SHIPPING AND INSURANCE; By James Lees, Esq.-London: Simpkin and Co.; Liverpool: G. Philip. Among the principal qualifications of a good shipmaster is an acquaintance with the laws affecting his ship, crew, and cargo, in which it is the object of this little book to instruct him. Law is an awkward thing to a skipper; there is something in blue water and blue jacket altogether averse to the letter of the law, and yet how frequently he is compelled to resort to it; and the very nature of his employment risks it every moment of his command. The work before us places in the hand of the shipmaster the intricate subject of law in its most amiable shape, at once intelligible, divested of technical phrases, and even attractive. So that like his chart which shews him how to avoid the rocks and shoals of the ocean, he may consult the "Laws of Shipping and Insurance," and avoid the equally dangerous rocks and shoals of legal liability. Each subject is carefully separated from the rest, which includes all that can possibly affect him in his responsible station, and is at once available by means of a good 1. dex. No skipper should be without it. A DESCRIPTIVE ATLAS OF ASTRONOMY, AND OF PHYSICAL, AND POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY; by the Rev. T. Milner; M.A.-London: Orr and Co. The first four numbers of this work are before us, and promise to supply a highly useful and instructive work on most of the numerous subjects which intimately concern us. At the same time it must be added, the information is occasionally superficial, such as that concerning longitude and the chronometer; but we see quite sufficient in the few numbers that have appeared to convince us that such a work ought to succeed. TALES OF A TRAVELLER; By Washington Irving.-London: John Murray. A welcome addition to the pages of the "Home and Colonial Library," wellknown to be full of humorous and winning anecdotes, and just suited to the spirit of the times. NEW LIFE OF LORD NELSON.-We understand that Messrs. Boone of New Bond Street, are preparing for publication Memoirs of the Life of Lord Nelson, which will contain upwards of 600 Letters and Documents, which have never before been printed, and the existence of which were scarcely known, which have been written with the view of completing the history of one of the bravest and most patriotic Admirals that ever adorned the British Navy. TOTAL DESTRUCTION OF THE OCEAN MONARCH Packet Ship, and great loss of Life. The splendid American ship Ocean Monarch, of 1,300 tons, burthen, belonging to Train's line of Boston packets, which left the Mersey early on Thursday morning, with about 360 persons on board, including the crew and emigrants, is now a floating hulk, burnt to the waters' edge; and, it is melancholy to add, that as near as can be calculated, about 100 of the passengers, who, but a few hours before, were buoyed up by bright anticipations of the future, have met with a watery grave. Children have been snatched from their parents, wives from their husbands, and husbands from their wives. The flames burst with immense fury from the stern and centre of the vessel. So great was the heat in these parts that the passengers, male and female, men, women, and children, crowded to the fore part of the vessel. Their piercing, heart rending shrieks for aid were carried by the breeze across the blue waters. In their maddened despair, women jumped overboard with their offspring in their arms, and sunk to rise no more. Men followed their wives in frenzy and were lost. Groups of men, women, and children also precipitated themselves into the water, in the vain hope of self-preservation, but the waters closed over many of them for ever. No pen can describe this awful scene. The flames continued to rage with increased fury. In a few minutes the mizen-mast went overboard-a few minutes more, and the main-mast shared the same fate. There yet remained the foremast. As the fire was making its way to the fore part of the vessel, the passengers and crew of course crowded still further forward. To the jib-boom they clung in clusters as thick as they could pack, even one lying over another. At length the fore-mast went overboard, snapping the fastenings of the jib-boom, which, with its load of human beings, dropped into the water, amidst the most heartrending screams, both of those on board, and those who were falling into the water. Some of the poor creatures were enabled again to reach the vessel; others floated away on spars, but many met with a watery grave. BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH.-Liverpool, Friday Night The Prince of Wales steamer, from Bangor, arrived this evening, and brought seventeen persons rescued from the Ocean Monarch. The total number saved is 225, the number not accounted for 173. Kept at Croom's Hill, Greenwich, by Mr. W. Rogerson, of the Royal Observatory From the 21st of July to the 20th of August 1848. JULY 1848.-Mean height of Barometer-30 010 inches; Mean Temperature=62·1 TO CORRESPONDENTS. We received our INDIAN LETTER too late for this number. HUNT, Printer, 3, New Church-street, Edgeware-road. THE NAUTICAL MAGAZINE AND Nabal Chronicle. That future pilgrims of the wave may be OCTOBER 1848. THE ISLE OF PINES, Pacific Ocean. THE Peak of the Isle of Pines is situated in lat. 22° 38' S., long. 167° 25' E. The island is forty-two miles in circumference: the north-east part is clear of reefs, with the exception of a fringe reef extending about 100 yards from the shore; but from east, round by south and west to north, the island is connected to and surrounded by coral reefs, with many small islands which form several good harbours inside. None of the small islands have any permanent inhabitants; but they are resorted to occasionally for fishing and catching turtle. There are also many detached shoals and coral patches within the barrier reefs. The reefs and shoals extend from the Isle of Pines in a westerly direction to the south-east end of New Caledonia, which is about twenty-eight miles distant, and in sight in clear weather. Near the shore the land is generally low and rocky with little soil, but very thickly wooded: about two miles inland the soil improves; and from that to the centre of the island (on the north side) the ground rises with a gentle ascent, with very little timber, and a rich alluvial soil, forming a large clear space of hundreds of acres. From this clear space the land rises gradually towards the peak (which is situated on the south-east part of the island,) and is thickly wooded to the top. There is good fresh water at the foot of the hill; but it is not convenient for shipping. Being situated within the southern tropic, the prevailing winds are from south-east, veering round at times to E.N.E. and N.E., and geneNO. 10.-VOL. XVII. 3 т |