IRELAND.
The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Sir Edward M'Donnell, gave his inaugural banquet on Tuesday. The Lord-Lieutenant and Mr. Shaw the Recorder made speeches: each admitted that pauperism was decreasing, and agri- culture and commerce increasing and spreading on every side. Mr. Shaw thought he saw the dawn of a day when Ireland would be one of the most prosperous portions of the United Kingdom. Their motto must be "self-reliance and independent industry."
Recruiting for the Navy is in active progress on the Irish coast. Sir Duncan M4Gregor has just issued a circular directing the Police to afford every information and assistance to the naval officer beating up recruits on the Western coast.
Foremost among the disasters of this fatal winter will be the record of the loss of the emigrant-ship Tayleur, on the Irish coast. The Tayleur was a noble vessel of nearly 2000 tons burden, built of iron, and only recently launched ; commanded by Captain Noble, and bound for Melbourne, with 660 souls on board including the crew. But in consequence of the demand for seamen, the Tayleur is said to have been inefficiently manned : there were on board but few ablebodied seamen, the remainder being Chinese and Lascars. Be that as it may, the Tayleur was towed out from Liverpool on Thursday sennight, and went away down the Channel at great speed. Off Holyhead, she encountered a stormy head-wind ; all Friday she struggled with the wind; the crew could not manage the sails, "the ship was at the mercy of the winds and waves," and it began to be whispered about among the passengers that they would never reach their destination. Baffled in going South, the captain endeavoured to make the North channel. The morning of Saturday brought thick weather ; the compasses, though fitted with a self-adjusting apparatus, got wrong ; and the apprehensions of the passengers continued to increase. As the day wore on, the weather thickened, until "you could not see a cable's length ahead." The man at the wheel thought he UM land ; the watch at the bows saw nothing. At twelve o'clock land was evident enough ; the bleak island of Larubay was close. The vessel was quite unmanageable. An attempt to wear her was made, but too late ; she drifted towards the rocks with fearful speed, ran broadside on, and upwards of 300 persons perished. The scene that followed the striking of the ship has been vividly narrated by several persons who escaped. - "And now began a scene of the most frightful horror : some running be- low to get what they could ; others praying, and taking leave of their friends, wringing their hands, and beseeching them for help. The vessel, after striking, lay so close upon the rocks, that several persons attempted to jump ashore. The first person who jumped on the island struck his head against the rocks, and fell back into the water with his head frightfully cut, and, after struggling a short time, sank. The next person who jumped from the vessel made good his footing, and was followed by several others—I be- lieve the Chinese and Lamers belonging to the crew. They also succeeded in making good their landing ; and as soon as they had done so, scampered with all haste up the rocks, never attempting to assist those on board. Several now swung themselves on the rocks, which were but a few feet from us. I managed to swing myself on shore, and retained the rope in my hand ; I passed the end of it up to some of those behind, and by this means a great many were enabled to come on shore. To attempt to paint the heartrend- ing scene on board the ship would be impossible: wives clinging to their hus- bands—children to their parents—women running wildly about the deck, uttering the most heartrending cries—many offering all they possessed to per- sons to get them on shore. Among some of the earliest of the females who attempted to get on shore, were some young Irishwomen: most of them lost their hold of the rope, and fell into the sea. The doctor of the ship, a most noble fellow, struggled hard to save his wife and child : he had succeeded in getting about half to the shore on a rope, holding his child by its clothes in his teeth ; but just then the ship lurched outwards, by which the rope was dragged from the hands of those who held it, on the lower rocks, and was held only by those above, thus running him high in the air, so that the brave fellow could not drop on the rock. Word was now given to lower the rope gently, but those who held it above let it go by the run and the poor
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fellow, with h child, was buried in the waves : but in a shore time he again appeared above the water, manfully battling with the waves and the portions of the wreck that now floated about him. He at length swam to a ladder hanging by a rope alongside the ship, and got upon it. After he had been there a minute or two, a female floated close to him : he immediately took hold of her, and dragged her on the ladder, tenderly parted the hair from her face, and appeared to be encouraging her ; but in another minute she was washed from his hold, and sank almost immediately. He then got up again into the ship and tried to get his wife on shore : but they both perished. He deserved a better fate ! The scene was now most truly awful. The most desperate struggles for life were made by the wretched passengers : great numbers of women jumped overboard, in the vain hope of reaching land ; and the ropes were crowded by hundreds' who, in their eagerness, terror, and confusion, frustrated each other's efforts for self-preservation. Many of the females would get half-way, and then become unable to proceed further ; and, after clinging to the rope for a short time, would be forced from their hold by those who came after them. Three women only, out of two hundred, were saved. One of those had got part of the way across when her legs fell, and she hung some time by her two hands over the foaming waves; her husband then came on the rope, and managed to assist her to the shore. Two men came on shore with children tied to their backs ; but of the whole who fell into the water not above five were saved. I saw one fine girl, who' after falling from the rope, managed to get hold cf another one, which was hanging from the side of the ship, and which she held on to for more than a quarter of an hour, the sea every moment dash- ing her against the side of the ship: but it was impossible for us to lend her say assistance. Some one got a spar out, by which several got on shore; but it soon broke ; and now might be seen hundreds hanging to the bul- warks of the ship, each struggling to get on shore. I saw one young woman hanging on the middle of the rope for some time by her two hands ; but those pushing to get on shore soon sent her to her doom. The ship's stern now began to sink; the ship made a lurch, and all the ropes were snapped asunder. The scene now was most harrowing. Every wave washed off scores at a time—we could see them struggle for a moment, then, tossing their arms, sink to rise no more. At length the whole of the ship sank under water. There was a fearful struggle for a moment, and all, except two who were in the rigging, were gone. The Coast Guard, who had been apprized of the wreck, now came up; but all they could do was to attempt to save the two who were in the rigging. They managed to get a line to one Of them, by fastening two lines, at the and of each of which was a piece of wood, to a single line, and guiding it from the rock to the spot where the poor fellow was, so that he could reach it. They then dragged him ashore. There was one fine young man left on the top; but they could not reach him, and when he saw them going away his cries were heartrending. About
two o'clock next morning the Coast Guard managed to reach him, after he had been in the top fourteen hours. You may fancy the poor fellow's joy at his deliverance."
Another passenger states that several escaped across a plank run out from the ship to the shore. The name of the surgeon who struggled so bravely was Cunningham. On the rude island of Larnbay the unfortunate wretches found shelter in the house of Lord Talbot and in the Coast Guard Station. Many were almost naked, and half-starving ; many had sprained their legs and bruised them- selves. They got potatoes and oatmeal ; and some slept at night on straw strewed on the floors. Others encamped in a hollow. The next morning, Sun- day, the beach presented a harrowing scene. "Bodies were lying piled one over the other, most of them almost naked ; and several persons were getting all they could from the dead bodies." [This has been denied.] About six in the evening, the Prince steamer arrived from Dublin. Lord Talbot de Malahide and Sir Robert Palmer sent provisions and spirits. Boats were sent from the steamer ; but as the weather indicated a storm, the sufferers could not be taken on board until Monday. They were then, 283 in num- ber, fetched off by the boats of the Prince, and carried to Dublin. Of the surviving passengers there are 225; of the crew 57, including the captain. But of 200 women and 60 children, only two women and two children were saved.
Up to Thursday, the weather was so boisterous that no inquest could be held. The Coast Guard were very busy in recovering the bodies from the
sea. To effect this, they had to "rig a derrick"—that is, set up a mast with a rope and pulley depending over the rocks, as a makeshift crane; while adventurous men descended the rocks and fastened the bodies to the rope. In the South, the weather has been very tempestuous, and some places have been visited with thunder-storms.
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