We have received, in a long letter from a correspondent,
who gives his name and address, (but whose communication, though dated the 8th instant, only reached us this week,) an account of the disastrous voyage of the Royal Victoria Leith steamer, from Leith to the Dogger-bank and back, instead of from Leith to London. The particulars are not with- out interest ; but as it is more than a month since they occurred, the time for publishing them in detail is gone by. The substance of the statement is, that the Royal Victoria was to have left Leith harbour at two o'clock on Saturday afternoon, the 13th of February, but that, in consequence of low tides and a heavy cargo, she ran aground, and with difficulty got to sea at half-past three on the following Tuesday afternoon,—the passengers, with marvellous patience, remaining on board in the harbour or in the Frith all the while; that when she did get to sea, her decks were piled up with baskets of game, three or four tiers high, hogsheads of ale, three mail-coaches, two horses, &c. although there was every appearance of stormy weather; that on the Tues- day night, the Captain became alarmed, and endeavoured to put back into the Frith, opposed by the remonstrances of some nautical.pas- sengers, who said it was impossible ; that the gale became a hurricane on Wednesday, and that the deck cargo was then thrown overboard ; that the weather moderated on Wednesday night, and the vessel was Jut about to the westward, being then in danger of getting on the Dogger-bank; and that, after being thrown on her beam-ends in the process of wearing, she bent her course back again to Leith Roads, which she reached on Thursday noon. It is stated, in addition, that there was no complete set of nautical instruments on board ; that there were only a few dead-lights, so that when the windows were broken the cabin was deluged with Water; and that all the fresh water was consumed before the passengers landed. Of course we cannot guaran- tee the truth of these statements; but if they are correctly given, the Inattention and imprudence of the parties who had the management of the Victoria must have been very gross. Our correspondent, however, admits that the Victoria, when relieved of her deck-cargo, proved her- self to be a capital sea-boat : the misfmtune was that she had been sent to sea provided only for fine weatiwr.
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