The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1878-09-21 00:00:00

FUNERALS IN LONDON.

One of those mournful processions which have been so
In almost every district of the metropolis through-
the past week, consequent upon the terrible disaster
iTich befell the Princess Alice, took place in Dirnheth ou
turday afternoon. Three young ladies cf the name of
°tee', who resided with their parents, and whose respective
14/es were twenty-seven, sixteen, and twelve, were among the
IXeurilionists on board that vessel, and unfortunately went
fl°,vn with her. The body of the elder sister was found some
Zan after the sad occurrence, but those of the other two were
discoVered for some time subsequently. The coffins were
eleven o'clock in the forenoon removed to St Philip's
g'l4llrch, Kennington-road, and. at one o'clock the Funeral
-tf,rvice of the Church of England was read over them by the
Lear of St. Philip's in presence of a large congregation. The
Z4uday-school teachers, as well as many of the more ad-
:peed Sunday-school girls, dressed in deep mourning, were
ZlO Present, while outside there was an immense crowd of
F°Ple. The funeral procession left the church at two
clock, and proceeded to Brompton Cemetery, where the
illterment took place.

(311 Sunday afternoon a concourse estimated at about 5 000
trtions, assembled in the vicinity of the East London Ceme-
„ry, Plaistow, to witness the interment of a family of five
Z."O perished by the recent calamity on the Thames. They
get% ; Mr. George Davies. 41 years of age, Limehouse ;
l;
,11r.abeth Davies, his wife, aged 51; and George, 17;
"Mag, 13 ; and Emily, 12, sons and daughters. The
Loclies were taken to their last resting place in five
ges,, and were accompanied by between twenty and
mourning coaches and private carriages, which
,nVeyed, in addition to the relatives of the deceased,
jjanY members of the Masonic body, to which Mr.
hztVies belonged. Flags floated half-mast high on Lime-
and Stepney steeples, and on other buildings, and at
h'flons other places on the route manifebtations of sym-
cytuY were displayed, the proces.ion being joined by many
.."0 accompanied on foot, The entrance to the cemetery
kept by mounted police, and only those immediately
Zucerned were admitted within the grounds durinz, the
i"l'ltng of the Burial SErvice, which was performed by the
Actor of Limehouse. At the conclusion the public were
Zucwed to view the vault in which the unfortunate family
wal interred.

,011 Monday a meeting of the Mansion-house Committee
"all held in the Venetian Pailour for the despatch of bust-
The Lord Mayor presided, and announced that the
ld amounted to £I7 500, and that subwriptions were still
railig in rapidly. Captain 'Jelly said that was a very large
V_Eti to have been collected in so shoit a time, and the
Z. 77. A. S. Herring observed that as the disaster seemed to
-"'"e affected all classes so the sympathy was equally wide-
Dread.

Sirßenjamin Phillips, addressing the Lord Mayor, said
Tore they preceeded with that painful inquiry he was
LIN he should have their sympathy in what he was about
saV, and he thought and hoped it would meet with their
Ordial apprec,ation and sanction, tie was convinced that
rtoi, had all felt that a great and terrible calamity had be-
lieu them. In one fatal moment all was misery, desola-
j?n, and despair; and he thought they would be wanting
;"" their duty if they did not take that, the earli
~est, op-
Crtunity of offering to those excellent men who in the
tholnent of anguish and sorrow stood forward to ameliorate
0 miseries and sufferings of the bereaved and the sur-
Ryon, In the visit that the Lord Mayor and he paid to
onlwich they satisfied themselves that there were at
men of the truest and most generous sympathy. It
was invidious, perhaps, where so many had done such good
ork, to particularise any, but he could not in his conscience
m4/I°v, that opportunity to pass without venturing to
press with heartfelt gratitude their admiration of
1. 0 truly religious spirit which had animated the
.gctor of Woolwich (hr. Anson), the Rev. Mr.
erring, Mr Churchwarden Taylor, and others in the
Zerrible situation in which they were placed. In an instant
00 a their fellow•creatures were called from their midst,
he was never more struck in his long life and exwrience
tr.. when he saw the generous character of the ministra-
r`clia of these gentlemen—duties which would long be
ernembered, and ought, indeed, never to be for-
!_ot ten. The exertions of the whole communiZy of Wool-
;Ich were worthy of lasting remembrance. When the
iVrti Mayor and he visited it they might almost have
irght they were entering "a city of the dead," but
I, en they saw the emrgetic exertions cf these good men
;118,3, were delighted, and they felt that such energy was en-
to lasting gratitude. To the Government, also,
permitting the admirable and trained services of the
E'llsary to be placed nt the service of t,-• • eish
thole thanks were equally due, 35 els, Li t;aptah..l
Z2itton and Captain O'Brien, of the Dockyard, and the
wuole of the staff. The Mansion-house Committee could
01 moo stud day without Atoll tonderlag them all their

heartiest thanks. They had within themselves a reward
which nothing could eshance—namely, the approval of a
good conscieuee and a feeling that In a great emergency
they were not unworthy of the positions in which they were
placed. In the name of the committee, therefore, and of
the citizens of London he thought their warmest acknow-
ledgments were due, individually and collectively, to these
gentlemen.

Sir Thomas Dakin expressed great pleasure in seconding
the resolution.

Captain Pell), *said the extremely meritorious services of
the land and river police ought not to be lost sight of, and
Mr. Herring said thanks were also due to the people who at
great peril put off in boats to save life, and who succeeded
In rescuing 133 of the passengers.
The resolution was adopted unanimously.
Mr. Anson, the rector of Woolwich, said, on the part of
the officials of that parish he might be allowed to say that
they had done all that they had done under a strong sense
of duty, and that, though the tack was a painful and trying
one, they had discharged it as best they could and to the
limit of their powers. The eburchwardem, overseers, and
others had been very hard-worked under most trying cir-
cumstances' but especially in. the care of the dead and
the burials their duties had been discharged most tenderly
and ably. They could not adequately express what they
owed to the police and the military authorities. These had
not only done their duty, but had gone far out of their way
to aid in the recovery and identification of the bodies and to
assuage the grief of the mourners. If the disaster had had
to happen at all, it was.almost a mercy it occurred where it
did, for without the disciplined and trained aid of the
military and dockyard authorities and the police, there
might have been riot and disorder. As It was, these authori-
ties placed their whole orgaaization at their disposal.
Mr. Soulsby, the secretary, reported that to such of the
sufferers as had applied to participate in the distribution of
the fund proper forms of application had been sent. Up to
that day the applications showed 28 widows, 163 orphans, 26
aged parents, 35 widowers with families, and 44 claims from
survivors and others. The applications were still coming in
rapidly.
-

Herring said 640 bodies had been found, and over
130 people were rescued, though 16 had since died. From
the great number of h (fairies for missing relatives still
being made, lie ventured to think 130 more had been
drowned, though he feared few more bodies would be found
They could account for 786 as dead or rescued, but if his
supposition was correct there must have been fully 900
souls on board. He had only had time to investigate the
cases of people whose initials of their surname were A and
B, and of these there were 16 widows and 22 orphans and.
58 families involved in the loss. This would give the com-
mittee an idea of the work before them. The Lord Mayor
had given him £4OO to expend in the relief of the distressing
cases in need of temporary assistance, and of that he had
spent nearly £3OO. He proposed to attend daily at the
Mansion-house at 11 o'clock to hear applications for imme-
diate relief.

It was arranged that a sub-committee should meet daily at
,welve to go personally into the various cases.

The Secretary reported that there were forty-one private
offers to adopt orphan girls, and ten to take boys, besides
large and numerous offers from institutions and orphanages
to accept children, and two or three free presentations to
asylums.

Among the donations received on Monday at the
Mansion House was the sum of £25 from Prince
Leopold; also one from Madame Cldment Massier, of
VAlluris, France, who sent 400 francs, accompanied
by the following note :—" I am happy as an English-
woman far from her native land in forwarding you a
list of subscriptions cheerfully given by French work.
men employed on our manufactory in aid of the many
necessitous families bereaved by the late terrible acci-
dent on the river. The list is much soiled by clay, our
workmen being potters. These same workmen beg me
to tell your lordship that they have not forgotten that
London sent bread to famishing Paris in 1871."—In
the box outside the Mansion House £9O 9s. Bd, was
found.

In London, on Monday, Dr. Hardwicke held an
inquest at the Islington Coroner's Court, relative to
the death of Ella Hambury, 20 years of age, of No.
81, Mildmay-road, Mildmay-park, who was one of
the survivors of the late accident to the Princess
Alice, and who died on Friday in laat week.

John Hambury, a merchant, brother of the deceased, said
that the deceased was quite well when she left home to go for
an excursion. On Friday he got a telegram whilst he was in
the country, and hearing that she was at Barking, he, with
a young lady, went and found she had been saved from the
wreck; but she was in a feeble state. She said that she
had been picked up by the people of the house, two miles
from the wreck, and that she had swam there. She had
kept up for two hours. She remained at that house for
seven days, and on Wednesday she came up to tdildmay-
road in a convalescent state. The same evening she was
taken worse, gradually sank, and died on Friday evening.
He believed that death was from prostration and shock from
the accident. She was in the company of Mr. Harrison, to
whom she was engaged, and his brother. Both of them
were lost.

Esther Burdys said that the deceased and her relatives had
apartments in her house. She also told her that she sank
aown twice, and that her lover tried to rescue her, after
which she struck out, and as she was sinking again sue was
rescued. The deceased was an American lady. She told
her that when the Bywell Castle struck the Princess Alice
her lover said, "Darling, good bye: we shall meet again in
Heaven." He put her in the life boat, and frantically kissed
her, but as they were unable to undo the cords she was
thrown out, and they both sank twice.
Dr. Stevens said death was from shock and long immersion
In the water.

The Jury returned a verdict that the "deceased died from
congestion et the lungs and shock from imrnerbion in the
river Thames after a collision between the Princess Alice
and Bywell. Castle. but whether it was from accident or
otherwise there is no evidenc,e before this Court to show."

A very large number of the licensed victuallers of South
London, upon which division of the metropolis the calamity
has fallen with the heaviest weight, have placed cAlection
boxes at their bars to receive contributions towards the
Mansion House Fund.

The Mansion House "Princess Alice "Relief Fund
amounted on Tuesday night to £20,000, of which
£2,000 was paid in on Tuesday. This large sum was
received in ten days. Some donors have requested
that if there should be a surplus, it may be given to
the relief fund in connection with the Abercarne
colliery expl, sion, and it is understood that the com-
mittee will take that course in the event of a surplus
being left in their hands, which at present is doubtful.
The sub-committee met on Tuesday, and voted an ad-
ditional sum of £2OO for the relief of immediate
distress. An inquest on 41 bodies which had been
recovered at Barking was conclnded on Tuesday, and
a verdict of "Found drowned" was returned.