L088 0! THE IAIIY Olllll.

Brie!" abstract ofthe Proceedings of the Public

Meeting atthe Court House in Charlottetown

on Wednesday the 19th igi-t. in pursuance of a

requisition numeroualy signed and resented to

John sinns. Esq. High siiantr or the Courtof

Queen's County. Ttin Sheriff read the Requisition and the notice sign by him in contpliarics therewith. He then laid before the meeting. anil read a copy of a letter which he had felt it his duty to address to His Excellency the Listtt. Governor, on the‘ subject or Ilse‘ Commissioners report on the capability of the Steamer Fairy Queen, and the Goveruor’s answer thereto. which are as follow.-—

harlottetown. Oct. l'Ith

Sir.—lt is the requestof several of the inhabitants of ili‘ie'I'owii and County who have - ipu-ntioii. to cause a public meeting on the subject ofthe late unfortunate loasef the Fairy seen Steam Packet. I beg leave to request your Excellency will be pleased to furnish are for the information of the meeting. (wlllcll is to be convened on Wednesday next. at 12 o‘clock noon) with a cop of the Report of those (3--ntlemen. who on behalfo iiin Government. inspect- ed and reported upon the efiiciency of that VOIIOL before the contract was entered into between her owner and the Government of this Colony.

7 r Your Excelleucy'e most obedient hutnble servant. Joisri C. Burns. Sheriff. To Hie Bxcelleacgfiir Alex. Bnnnerninu, Ito. dtc. c.

Government House. Oct. Ibth. Sir.—-Your letter of the 17th was only delivered to me half an hour . it wi be laid before the Execu- tive Council whic will meet to-niorrow at eleven o'clock. and answer sent to you before the public meeting to which you alliide takes place. I have the o to be our obedient servant. A. Barrie nnsaasi. ' at. Gov. John C. Binns, Esq.. die. die.

[Extract frost Miriam of Executive Council.) Council Clumber 19th October. I853.

A Letter a to Hie Excellenc front the High Sheriff of Queen's County, was aid before the Board, which is to the following elfect.

“ That. at the request of several ofthe Inhabitants of this 'I‘ewu sfl County, who have addressed him a requisition to convene a. Public Meetiu on ' oasof the air no at. that His Excellency will be passed to furnish him for the information of the meeting, with a Copy oi‘ the Report of those Gentlemen, who on behalf of the Government. inspected or repgrted upon the efficiency of that vessel. before t contract wee entered into tween her Owner and the Govern- iuetit of this Colony."

His Excellency informed the Board. th_et .\Ir. Binns's letter, dated the I1th inatsnt,heenly

-a (D r

oeived yesterday afternoon. and immediately: prised n

E. n.

that Gentleman, that a in ofthe we be held this morni and an ennwc sent to the Sheriff. The Counci observes that themeeting to be held to day is called for the purpose of taking into consideration the circumstances atteuditrg the loss ofthe steamer I-‘airy Queen. and the causes that led totlie catastrophe. and of adopti snob mea- sures therein. as may he eemed ex 'est. A‘ dicial investigation has taken place in tlie Province for the same object which to day'e IIIII in view, and as the result of that investigetb may involve several individuals in panel co - can the Council resolve to acquaint the that the Government moat respectfully decline tak- ing any part in to-day'e pr inge. and that no report such as the Sherri! sl ndes I-‘airy Queen, is in existence, but that Mr. Whitney's contract and all the proceedings of the Government relative to that ill-fated vessel, will in due time he laid before the Public. Ordered accordingly, A true Extract which I certify, Citannas Dnssaisav, Clerk Ex. Council.

When thin had been done and a motion made and agreed to that the Sheriff should take the chair of the meeting and John Longworth Esq. had at the general wish of the meeting consented to eel. as Secretary. Theopliilue Stewart Esq. rose and claimed the attention of the meeting for a few moments previous to their entering on the discussion of the topics mentioned in the requisi-

a

HASZARD'S GAZE'l"l‘E. OCTOBER 22.

too should be road, which was accordingly done b the Secretary frciu a copy of the Pit-ton East- eru Chronicle ; after which, James Wnlkinshnw. lIIsq.. observed, that after what they liadJiust heard read, he \!0l|(‘t5l\'t9tI that there woul be as little dilioulty in passing the resolution now olered as there had been ubout those previously. It was impossible, taking the Capmin and Crew's own statement of the matter, to avoid coming to the conclusion that their conduct had been of the most i-ruel, barbarous. and cold blooded description. After some other remarks, which we were unable to gather he handed in the following resolution, which had been seconded by the l on. Donald McDonald,

Resolved, t it is the opinion of this nreetiiig. from the published reports of the examination of W.

til en, the Master, Patrick Trennot,the .\ltrte.

antes 'I‘urner. the Clark. and James

Etigineer of the late Steamer Fairy Queen. as also of Edward Lydiard, Esq . one of the surviv' pita- sengera, taken before the legal autlioritias in icton, that the lamentable f life which attended the wreck of the said Steamer. was owing to the base and inhuman conduct of the said W. R. llulyes. Patrick Trcunev, James Webster. and others of the Crew who trcacherooal took away the two biiats capable of coutaisiiug n l the Passengers and Crew. when the Steamer was in a sinkiu state.

The Hon. E. Palmer then iuforined the tneeting. that there were several persons present who had crossed in Ihe boat lntely, who would be likely to give the meeting acute additional information ; when, after a use, I} L. I.ydisrd, I-‘.sq.. rose. and nttem ted to read the Resolution which was afterwards ad)opted, but the circumstances of the recent severe struggle for life he had undergone, and the harrowing scenes that he lied been cotupelled to witness, came, mt-at bably, to hie recollection, in much of their terrible vi- vidnesa. and ii ec im so much. that he was com- pelled to sit down ; but the Resolution having been read by one of the meeting. he rallied, and spoke somewhat to the following purport :-

he evidence given by me before the Magistrates, at Pietou, contains the principal part of what occurred. and is correct, so ar an it goes; there is one part. however. not there. lam rfectly convinced now, in my own mind. that the Capt. was drunk. I would not swear that he was so, but I will state it as my opinion. l'trr he had been drinking, that morning , in Charlottetown ; so that when the catastrophe hap- pcned. I have not the least doubt that he did not know what he was about. a to the vessel, she was totally unfit for the service; her up r works were out o oportiou to the depth of her hold and breadth of earn ; the heavy machinery and enormous paddle boxes above deck, combined with the inimertee height of the veuel, rendered her ungoverntihle in a gale of ind; and, from her make, the sails were of no use.

e one counteracted the other,—thia was made evi- dent when the jib was hoisted, after she had broached to are was no order kept up—iio subordination on the part of the crew. The Capt. had no control over the men—not seen the sligbtest—be was treated by them with o no contempt. In the scene of con- fusiorr which followed the breaking of the tiller rope,

othing be found. After a great deal of diffi- culty, in gettinga lantern. I had. then. lo loolt fore “die. I, fortunatel , was enabled to

get sotne. and for fear of loci t in put them is my pocket—one of them I e3es% to eat, the next morning, for my breakfast, vvh on the hurri- eaire deck as a raft There never was, rpbtibly, a

seat to see out of this or any ot er port,so badly furnished or so imperfectly equipped. There was not a spare inch of rope ; there was no axe on

toiuregartd to tie‘

rd—-at least none to be found—so that if it were neceesar to cut any thing away. it could not be done. I hen it was proposed to lower the boat and let her ride. at a long painter, nstern. I assented to it. I then gave the men especial directions as respected the placing the oars under the seats. and jamming in in so as to prevent their being washed out, or rolling out. I did not dream but that I had men to deal witlr—l did not contemplate that they would ve eserted us as they did. or I would have pre- vented it. for I would not have hesitated to pitch the Mate overboard. hen the Capt. succeed’ in getting on board the host. I chnlle ed the men in the hours, but received no answer ; t ey seemed to be ashamed to acknowledge that they were there. afterwards went to the painter of the boat, and pulled it, to try if the boat was there, and while I was holding it in m hand. the painter was cast oil’, or c on board the bout. In answer to a question from Mr. Lawson :—The was no spare tiller rope ; the one that broke was of manilla. and had parted about six weeks previously a had been joined; there ought to have been a new one ; or rather. there ought not to have been rope at all, but chain. He was atandin

tinii. He observed that when the requisition was 3°" ll" ‘fill!-5084. Willi 000 °l “'0 in the course of being carried round. the rson Pf“ °"- 7?" “W “"0" ,l’°P° l"’°k°- '5'“ 5° to u hour it had been entrusted was asked w ther l'°"" ‘"“ ‘°.l‘“" ' '“"‘ "l"°'.' °l’°“°d ‘l '°"‘ 6"

- aches. and said. at the same time. I have heard of

it was intended to be a meeting for the discussion of political matters or not, to which the gentle- man had repeatedly and emphatically declared that thi-re was no such intention, now it was evident to him Mr. Stewart that this was not correct, and that several persons had been deluded into putting their names t ante them. name them. in several plaoes.] 0 he would. It was his opinion that it was entirely improper to mix it politics with the melancholy circumstances nn er which the Fairy Queen had met her unfortunate end, and so many valuable lives lost to the community. -_—Mr. I.nwsou—Wlret motion do you intend to make. That would be seert presently. and as the learned gentleman was proceeding to unfold his views a general exclamation arose on all sides that no politicalldiscuasion was intended, and Mr. Stewart was informed through the chair, that he had bettc wait until sorttethirig of that kind was iairod : after some further attempt to make himself heard Mr. Stewart sat down, observing that he would keep a watchful eye over the cecdings and claim the right of interfering if politics were nttem ted to be introduced.

The Hon. 1‘. II. vilsud, then rose and said, that he held in his hand a resolution to which it was impossible there could be a dissentient aoica. A post public cslamityhsd occurred, the clrcuinsmncasofwhiekandal _the caisson that had led thereto, the were now met to investi- gate. Nine indi ' unis, some of those well

nown and highly respected in this community. had not an early anduntlmely end, there were other-eossef now present. merciful-

shoee he were u wo ld, therefore, without further comment, move that it be

thinss w’ :z|l?:ra (nine in aIrnb:r‘,) who

“‘l'i°l. at... «$3 b:"’J-mu no-an §‘}':"" "".a'..,°‘".i$l.c brieil iisiii tint he hit but that the resolution b‘e was .|¢ngfl ' ‘ lib‘ ‘ tedt tons unenl-

Ilt, submitted the resolution, whim v -

I vessels working. before now. but Idoubt if the like of t is was ever seen before. As to the character of the host, it may be inferred from her bei disabled in live minutes after the breaking of the iiller rope. and after riding at anchor something like five hours. lite- rally been iug to pieces under our feet. A ilsy or two after the wreck, the shore at Me mislr was strewn with pieces in shore from two inches to 20 or so feet of the main deck, and a foot passenger m‘ almost tread on a piece at every step.

e desultory conversation ensued dnrin which Mr. Stewart again rose, when Lt. Co . Gray, with it voice and energy that eleotrified the whole meeting. called for n lrearin and

e chairman to the following e

Mr. Chairmsrr,—It is charged against this meeting by the learned gentleman who has just spoken, that he has been informed by two or three persons, (whose names he declines giving) that we have assembled bare to day from political motives. But I cannot allow such an accusation against in fellow townsmen stid myself, to ass without istinctly dieclainring it; ask ist ere one among us, calling himself a man, who can contemplate the situation of those hapless fe- males on the deck of that illfsted sinking steamer —the wretched creature who was bound to pro- teot them, reptile-like streaking into his boat and leaving our to their fate—yes. I would ask, is there one of us, who can do otherwise than _atep forward and express the horror and deteatation he feels at this atrocit , and if—-aswe hear every where stated,-—it as made fully aware of the disgraceful and wholly inelloient state ofthat steamer, and yet permitted the lives of our wives, our children, and all dear to us, to be thus wautonly perilled, can we call ourselves men and allow such conduct topsss without giving utterance to our indignation. I have served in country for twenty~lvs years in the four quarters of the globe. and set I now to be told that I are here to-deylfrem political mo- tives! are the lives of this community to be

entrust our safety, and are our mouths to be shut. I am of no party, I am. and ever will be of sideoely. which best secures the fare of ray native laad.I will giveat ocrdal support to t Gov inset long as airtaln tlreriglit, but I will as aestitedly express my lionestdisa

pvoval when I led it in the wrong. min vlng thipkrpnnrkds tit’:-fell hora

. , w we o meinory,we

the exact word,

or order ly;Ehw b ' of in

r

"_ tion of these me be

wnntouly risked by the guardians to whom we Itrrowedgadagss

I aanordowe ' ioitis if

the purpose of having her boilers rt-pnirod ntid t-It-tttrotl. that he tooltia look at tho l-ltigillfl. which did not seem to him in the best possible trittt, that on Saturday morning as ho stepped on the deck of the Steamer. is perceived tin- urup lying on the deck, and having oxitntiued into its state of elllcienoy he romerltoil, to it lriend that before that pump could lreiuitde available in case ofexi ncy it ought to undergo a thorough repair. it going into the gen- tleman's cabin about two hours rior to the departure ofthe steamer he foutit binisi-ll‘ to his surprise, ankltrdecp in water: ll roll incu- tiotiitrg this circumstances to ’l‘nrnt-r t It‘ vlcrlt. and agent of the boat. he at once rt.-plieil. it is nothing; the men were our irrg waiter into the boilers and b mistake left some vnlve or sto i-ock open, no t tan fast as the men pumped the water in it went out, and found its way here. but he had given orders to have it pumped out. The Rev. Dr. went on to say that though satisfied at the moment. he was afterwards convinced that the whole titer was a fabrication, as that the true cause of t to water lining our the cabin floor, was from some leak in tho bottom of the boat. which, from the circuiustanoe of the pump being itnsliipped, they had no means of removing, and he wiis the more convinced that this was the cause, for he ttftcrwiirtls learneil that the Fairy Queen, had been on shore tit Shcdinc. a fiw days previous, nnd hit rt-ntly strained herself. 0n the vo go from ictou to Charlottetown, on Mon ay, Sept. 26th, he observed that there was it considerable lifting of the deck forward, when the bout met the wave, he had the curiosity to take art obser- vation, which he did by standing firm with his bend erect and fixed against the bulk head of the state-room, and bringing a stationnr object on the dgck, to range with the wintloiv just abnft the forecastlc deck ; the result of his observation was, that there was it rise and fitl of as iuucb as cleven inches from the level of the centre of the ship. He also observe that where the ends of the deck planks ttbuttcil upon each other, about midshi , at such times the small seam o nod to snot it degree that he could have put in arid vvitbdratvn his lingi-r with impunity. It was blowing very hard, dciid ahead, and he was satisfied as were others also who were with him. that the boatlritd not made more headway than half ii tnilc in four hours. The cngine, had stopped two or three times. Several of tho ssengt-rs wcro anxi- ous that the Captain should put back to Pictou. The Captain was afterwards walking, cou- tinucd the Rev. Doctor, with me on the deck, when he obsvervcd, the passengers did not know what they are talking about,I dare not put back, if I were to attempt to turn this boat about she would go)» pieces “ great sensation." In relating another conversation which he had with Capt. Bulyea, the Rev. gentleman said, he did not think that ho was iilty of any breach of confidence, for altho_ug ho supposed that at the time the Captain mentioned the circum- stances he did not pet-ltttps expect that they would again be-related, 'el lib‘ trlint Capt. Bulyee, then told him he made it great ini- pressiou on his, Dr. Evens’ mind, and served to account for some part of his the Captains uent conduct. and inclined him to think loss linrslily of the unfortunate titan, and as the disclosure could do iiiui no injury, he would ineution it. As Captain of this ves- scl, Sir, said lie to me, I am nobody, there is it n on board whose authority is superior to mine, and as the crow know it, all my exertions are therefore neutralized, and the consequences are t re is no stibordinnlion among the meii—thcy not only, do not res t my authority, but set no at ce. 0 since, something went wrong with the engiue,I remonstruted with the engineer, and his answer to me was “ you be damned, on and Whitney and the steamer may go to cl ." (great sensation.) Icitnuot, con- tinued the Captain even command it fathom of new rope when needed; as to tho crew, I have but two with me, who have been on board above twelve days, there is but one man I can trust with the helm. I have often been obliged to pick up men just as I was leaving the wharf, an then to take whom I could find. The truth is, the owner will not give suficicnt wages, and I am therefore in want of it com- petent crew. Dr. Evans went on to say that on looking at the pipe connecting the boiler and the steamohcet, he noticed that it worked in the joints as much as two and a half or three inches, and apprehending least it might be parted, he call the attention of the engineer to the circumstance, who told him that the length of the insertion was about five inches. He also suited that the steamer stopped four times on the vo age, and on making enquiry as to thb cause, a found that the vessel leaked so bsdl , that the water washed up a inst the bars the test each roll of t c vessel and so darn the fires, that they could not raise suflcient steam to keep her ngoing. On his arrival in Charlottetown he made men- tters in quarters in which be it hoped some attention would have been paid to his statement, but he regretted to say that his views of the matter were of little weight with those to whom the were communicated. He supposed they eonsi cred him somewhat of an alarmist, blinded perhaps by his own fears. He did not hesitate to an , that the boat was in his ppiuion totally on t for the u for which e had is employed,and at she was deficient in her cqui meats, and t though the engineers were a le, he believed the crew were decidedly not. Added to which the were in a state of general insubordinstion.— e are well aware. and dncerly regret that we have not been able to do that justice to the Rev. tluInn’s race that it so richly merited, c more especiall as in conjunction with that of Mr. ydiard w ich had proceeded it, it af- brded fu I conviolon to the minds of every one that, to use the . Doctor's words, " a fear- ful ntaonnt of responsibility rested somewhere wiim, it was the duty of this meeting to find out and to lace where it on ht to rest." on. W. . I4ssd.—Ir. 8 rifl crave to be heard for a few minntea, I do not come here. Sir. as

a member of veenrirent for the purpose of de- f tbelr inreapsctof their having am- the for they do not In my

I defend my character from the snmaritsd raproschaa that Ilnbeel heaped upon . anrent as muc this ream er in this Island the melan-

vses led of the beat, and the aireaatstaees or the water beta cabin leer. with regard to the firlt I differ