The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1876-02-26 00:00:00

is to be continued on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Satur.
days until it is concluded, and a certain restriction is
placed upon the players as to the length of time to be
taken in deliberating over their moves. Who was the
primordinal chess-player, and taught the people first
to play with rooks and pawns, bishops and queens?
Well, like the inventor of the lathe. he appears to have
flourished seven hundred years before the Christian
era. Sir William Jones referred the origin of the
game to India. It is noteworthy that one of the works
printed by Caxton when he set up his press in West-
minster Abbey, was "The Game and Playe of
Cheese." The automaton chess player, a piece of
machinery, was exhibited in E—,glancl in 170. More
than twenty years before this, however, a chess_ club
had been formed at Slaughter's coffee house, in St.
Martin's-le Grand. The London Chess Club was
founded in 1807, and half a century afterwards a Chess
Congress was held at New York, followed by an inter-
national gathering of a similar character in London in
June, 1862. Whatever may be the difficulties of the
game, it is one in which a keen delight has been taken
by some of our most eminent men.

One effect of the Queen's opening:Of ParAiabuint in
person has been to bring the aristocracy to town at a
much earlier date than would have been the case had
the duty been performed by'a Royal Commission. Of
late years it has been more and more the custom for
them to remain away from London until after the
Easter Recess, and as they were off again when the
scorching heats of July set in, the season had be-
come rather a short one. Of course by remaining in
the country until Easter, they enjoyed the full
glory of returning spring, and were enabled to mark,
if so inclined, the progress of the fresh and opening
vegetation. And as London has the reputation of
being a peculiarly dismal place in the winter, few
were inclined to find fault with those who remained
away from it if it was in their power to do so. This
time, however, the capital, westward at least, is more
lively than it has often been so early in the year;
while eastward the people are gladdened at the thought
of the approaching visit of the Queen to the London
Hospital. Meanwhile every weeknow lessens the period
of dreary winter, the days are pulling out, and we are
all looking forward to the time when the trees in the
parks and gardens, no longer swinging their long
gaunt arms in the inclement wind, shall be clothed in
the rich new foliage which constitutes one of the
greatest charms of spring.

The COLLISION BETWEEN the" STRATH-
CLYDE" and " FRANCONIA."

A dreadful collision occurred between the above two
steamers at Dover on Thursday afternoon in last week,
resulting in the sinking of the steamer Strathclyde, Capt.
Eaton. The following particulars are given :

The Strathclyde was an iron screw steamer of 1,255
tons register, 180 horse-power, and belonged to Messrs.
Burrell and Sons, 141, Buchanan-street, Glasgow.
She left London on Wednesday (the 16th), bound with
a general cargo for Bombay, landed her pilot in Dover
Bay at about four o'clock on Thursday afternoon, and
was about to proceed on her journey, when, so
far as can be ascertained, she was run into
by the Bremen steamer Franconia, bound from
Hamburg to Havre and New York. She was
so seriously damaged that she went down in about
eleven fathoms of water a mile from the Admi•
ralty pier. As the Strathclyde sank her boilers ap-
peared to have burst, as the sound of an explosion was
distinctly heard from the shore, and a cloud of steam
wax observed to arise from the vessel before she dis-
appeared. There were on board a crew of 47, and 23
passengers. The chief mate of the Strathclyde and
four of the crew saved themselves by getting on board
the Franconia, and they were subsequently landed in
Dover by the steamtug Palmerston. The captain and
eighteen of the passengers and crew were picked up by
the boats of a barque and a pilot cutter and landed at
Deal.—The Franconia proceeded to the Downs, her
bow seriously injured.

The passengers, who were all first-class, were as
follows :—Captain and Mrs. Beckett (since saved),
Miss Forsyth, Mr. J. P. Wills, Mrs. Tul3'), Mrs.
Stuart, Miss llorsford, Mrs. Stockwell, Miss Gilmore,
Lieutenant and Mrs. Groves, and Miss Bowring
(sister•in-law), Mr. E. Weatherdone (one of those
landed at Deal), Mr. and Mrs. Bussell (landed at Deal,
Miss Young, and Mr. and Mrs. Fogerty, Major and
Mrs. Loughmann, Mr. T. Quinlin, Captain and Mrs.
Green—in all twenty-three passengers.

The following are Lloyd's telegrams :
Deal, 11.0 a.m.—The passengers saved and landed here
are Captain Beckett, Mrs. Beckett, Mr. Weatherdone, Mr.
William Busse'', and one other passenger, who died shortly
after belpg brought ashore. Two lady passengers and three
gentlemen—names unknown here—are reported to have been
picked up by Messrs. George Thomson's barque Queen of
Nations, and taken to London.

Dover, Feb. 18, 9.0 a m.—Strathayde's masts stand about
twenty feet above water in the Fairway, about two miles
from shore.

Dover, Feb. 18, 4.20 p.m.— Twenty-two persons safely
landed at Deal. Seven died in addition since collision, five
of which bodies are on board the barque Queen of Nations.
In Dover 37 (thirty-seven) supposed drowned.

A telegram, dated Deal, Saturday, says: The fol-
lowing is a complete list of people rescued by the Deal
and Walmar boats :—Captain Eaton, Harry Hindley
(butcher), John Smith, William Hall (surgeon), George
Pearson (third officer), John Davidson (second engineer),
Arthur Rolland (third engineer), Alfred Potice (second
cook), Jesse Noyer, William Mather (first cook),
Edward Harris, John Trevellion, David Crawford,
John Hollyman, John Norman, John Jobs, Peter
Taylor, Philip Macray, Richard Jarman, Alfred
Podegar, James Tuckerman, Stephen Hill, Mr. Stanton
Weatherden, besides Thomas Quinlan, William Russel,
and James Sullivan (since deceased).

The Correspondent of the Standard, writing from
Dover on Friday, gives the following particulars :

The collision was witnessed by a large number of persons
from the promenades on the sea front at Dover; but of course
It is impossible to say where the blame lies. Both vessels
were large outward bound steamers. The Strathclyde was a
Glasgow boat bound from the Thames for Bombay, and was
heavily laden, and the other ship, the Franconia, was a
North German Lloyd or Bremen boat. The Strathclyde was
struck by the Franconia on her port quarter, and, as stated
yesterday, she sank almost immediately, her boilers ex•
ploding as she went down, The Franconia's bows, it is said,
presented a fearful rent. Very little time passed until
the Franconia steamed into shallow water, but before she
could be hailed she turned up the Channel. The Dover
life boat, the .Royai Wiltshire, was immediately launched by
Mr. Marsh, who hastily collected the crew and proceeded to
the scene of the collision, and the Palm; ston, which hap-
pened fortunately to have steam up, was also immediately
boarded by the receiver of wrecks, Mr. G. B. Raggett, and
Mr. Irons, the harbour master, and likewise started for the
scene of the collision. As the Palmerston got into the
Channel the Franconia was observed to be dipping her flag
in signal that she was in distress. The Palmerston was soon
brought alongside, when the captain asked Mr. Irons to
stand by him, and that gentleman offered to see him to safe
anchorage in the Downs, and ultimately did so. it was
afterwards found that on board the Franconia there
were five of the crew of the Strathclyde—Mr. Bevan, chief
mate ; Luke Short, the quartermaster ; Charles Chescoe, and
George M'lntyre, engine Men ; and George Crooker, seamen.
These, it appeared, leaped on board at the moment of the
collision An attempt was made to launch the Franeonices
life boats, but before these could be got out the Strathclyde
had gone down. . . . Immediately after the collision a
thick fog set in, which rendered the duty of looking
for the survivors extremely difficult The life boat
cruised around the spot, but there was nothing to be seen
except the masts of the Strathclote and Berme pieces of
drift timber. Fortunately the crews of some of those Deal
loggers which have so often done gallant service, as in the
case of the Northfleet, were on the spot, and they at once
put off for the purpose of rendering assistance. One, a punt,
veked up three men, and landed them at Deal. The North
Deal lugger early in the ramming picked' up abort* twenty-
five others. . . . Of those rescued three have since died. The
men found on board the Franconia were brought to Dover
in the tile, and landed at the National Sailors Home. It
seems impossible, from the information possessed in Dover,
to arrive at the exact number of passengers on board the ill-
fated vessel, but it was evident that there were fifty or sixty.
Twenty-five of this number were saloon passengers, many of
them ladies about to join their husbands or relatives in
India. The crew numbered twenty-live. As in the case of
the Northfleet. the weak and delicate women have been lost,
and the majority of the saved are robust men and hardy sea-
men. In this case it could hardly have been otherwise. At the
time of the collision, in all probability, the passengers were
below, with the exception of a few who were taking a fare-
well look at the "white cliffs" of their native land, which
they were never to see more. Of the ladies but one has been
saved, Mrs. Beckett, who was on her way to India. This
lady is niece to Captain Saunders, of Liverpool-street,
Dover, and has also other relatives in the town. The
returns up to the present show that 28 persoi, FS were brought
ashore alias ;_ that seven died afterwards; and that 35q11ave
been drowned, making a total of 70. Those of the crew who
have been saved are very reticent as to the circumstances
attending the collision, but one of them, Charles James
Chescoe, the pantry steward, has made a statement, in
which he says :

I was below in the pantry reading a paper when I heard a
great confusion on deck of people running about and crying
cut, I at once ran up, and in doing so felt the shock of the
collision, and on going up the stairs I could see the black
hull of the German ship over ours. When I got on deck
most of the passengers and crew appeared to be there, and
the passengers were all running about in great agony and
fear, some stretching out their arms and crying for help,
others tearing their hair and burying their heads in their
hands in despair. I saw all this at a glance, and I saw too,
that the only chance of life was to jump for it. I leaped
on to the German ship and, getting safe on board,
I at once turned my attention to their boats. No
one on the vessel seemed to be trying to launch the
boats. The chief mate went to the bridge, and he also
sang out to the crew, 'lf there's any one here that under-
stands English, come forward and help to get these boats
launched. Then we saw the other three men of our crew
who had climbed up the side of the ship, and we tried to
launch the boats. I seized a hatchet, and cut away at the
boats, but everything was so stiff that before we got a boat
loose our ship was going down. I saw the handrail on her
port side under water just as we were getting the first boat
free. We did not launch any boats after our vessel sank.
The German vessel steamed away to the Downs, when we
were put on board the tug and brought to Dover."
George Croker, seaman, says :—" I thought that both of
the vessels were going down, and I first tried to launch our
boat, but seeing that there was no chance of life that way I
leaped, and had to climb up the bide of the German steamer,
which stood tremendonsly high out of the water." All speak
in the highest terms of the conduct of the chief mate, Bevan,
in his efforts to launch the boats of the Franconia. They
swiaythtthheey eszacwepLtioonoonfethinemtsheelvwesatweerr,ealno(kiFagined that all,

Several acts of great endurance are narrated. Captain
Beckett, on the steamer Strathclyde, as the vessel was
going down, was thrown on one side aid Mrs. Beckett on
the other. Captain Beckett, on seeing his wife, immediately
swam.over to her, and held her up till both were pullPd on
board the lugger. Mrs. Beckett behaved with the utmost
Coolness, and by her presence of mind probably saved her
life. It is said of Mr. Quinlan that, when in the gig of the
Strathclyde, he told the men not to rub him, saying, "I am
all right," but immediately afterwards he expired, probably
from heart disease. Messrs. Gellatly s clerks state that, only
for Bird's, the second mate of the Strathclyde, coolness in
manning the gig of that ship, and helping the boats of the
lugger and the Early Morn to pick up the submerged men, a
much greater number of the passengers and crew would
have been lost.

DEAL, Friday Night.
At the inquest here to-day very little light was thrown
upon the Q 4111.143 of the accident. It appears that directly
atter the disaster occurred three boats were lowered, and