The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1873-02-08 00:00:00

THE DUNGENESS COLLISION.

The Special Correspondent of The Tinto, in an in.
terekting letter written under date Lyda, near Dunge-
ness, Sunday, writer :

An analysis which I have made of the list of passengers
and crew of the Nonluteet shows the following result. :—Of
officers and crew there were 33 all told, of whom ten were
saved ; Including Mrs Knowles and the pilot, there were 312
passengers, of whom 75 were saved. Thus the total number
saved was 85 out of 375 souls, and 290 persons have perished
of the 342 passengers, 227 were males over 12 years. Out of
this number 176 perished and 72 were saved. There were 41
adult woman only two of whom were asset. Of 34 children
between two and 12 years of age, the only one rescued was
little Marla MOM, who has since been adopted by Mr. and
Miss Pi:matte, of Dover. There were also 19 infants under two
years old, many of them babies In arms, all perished with
• single exception, and there, mother, father, and child had
the exceptional good fortune to "ewe the sudden death
which diviehil so many other families or entonibed them
altogether. The proceedings at the inquest yesterday
showed how grcss and how criminal was the negligence
which hurried all these poor people to the spirit ss orld.
Again, it was established on the evidence of experienced
Channel pilots that the Northfiret was anchored in what
should have been a perfectly sate position In the roadstead,
from 1 to 2 miles inside the track if steamers passing
up and down the Channel. The riding light of the
Northrtert was clearly visible and though at times
the night was dark and thick, this light, at the time of
the collision, might have been seen by the look.out men of
a steamer coming from any direction. According to the
boatswain, John Easter—s fine young sailor, who gave
his evidence with great bell' g and also with great
I clearness -the watch on the deck of the Northfieet, as well
as the paisengers who had hurried up on arch when the ship
reeled under the shock of the collial,B, Baled the steamer
with shouts and entreaties which must have been heasd by
the people on board her Besides this, whoever else doubted,
she, stall events, could have been in no doubt as to the
meaning of the rockets and blue lights sent up from the
Nortloiert directly alter the collision So taro a resod 44
the aheamer, standing much higher out of water their the
°rill& et sa the boatswsin deposed, might have laid along-
aide the Norelteeet "without fear of the suck," which is the
dread of seamen to such cases " She might have thrown us
a brace," iii the boatswain, "and their we could easily have
pease I on to her decks the greater number, If not all the
people we had on board."
A deep, stern Indignation showed Itself among the people
present at the story ot this shocking inhumanity, as again
told op one of the men who had so narrowly escaped from
the wreck. This feeling changed to one of emotion when
the boatswain spoke admiringly of the courage and self
possession shown by Captain Knowles, hi. anxiety U rousible
to save the women and children, and his noble but in-
effectual efforts with that end When speaking of the con-
duct of the male passengers Easter could not restrain his
anger asel impatience. It, he said, they had listened to
reason, and if order could have been teetered on board,
the boats might have bees got out and might have made, at
least, two trips to the steam tug. which was then at the
distance of only about live minutes' pull. They crowded
hito the hint which till Ca9ta'n ordered the boat-
swain to c'ear for the women and children. It was
E. ester's business to throw them ba.k again from tho boat
into the ship, and he did throw misty of them, but as
fast as one was tints disposed of his phice nsa taken by
another, and the navvies even crept under the thwarts—the
seats which stretch scrims • boat—in order to resist being
(m.0.,' out. In this way preciaai n., nem. were no doubt
lost, and is the slocat space which remained the ship's rpm.
pail was reir'ered almost powerless to save either them-
selves or the emigrants Easter told how the Captain first
snapped a cap at the men who refused to obey him, and how
he then shot at one man, whom he hit in the leg But the
navvies had lost all self control, and, being strong. rough,
resolute fellows, were quite able by thslr superior nun;' en
to shoulder the crew aside and set at naught the Captain's
order.. " Nothing else would do for them," said E aloe
bitterly, "but having the boats to thenaselves." 'they did,
in fact, get possession of • secon I boat, into which not orw
woman or child could penetrate. In Ode boat they
put off hurriedly from the ship, with only one oar,
having neglected to put the plugs in. 'I shouted to them,"
said the boatswain, "but they did not hear me, they were
shrieking and raving so." The result was that their host
soon became in a sinking state. The water rose to the
thwart., andathey could barely make their way to the King-
ston lugger, which again hut valuable time on its way to the
wreck, because It had to stop and take in those men. They
left the Northfret sinking themselves and pursued icy shrieks
They were crying "Save us. save us," when they reached the
bows of the lugger, and they were saved, I fear at the price of
better lives. Easter also recounted the Captain's last words,
lie hail ordered the boatswain's crew to molt off from
the Northrteet and lie on their oars within hail In
Iwo or three minutes he crone to the ship's side and
asked how things were with them, lii lowering the boat
It had been badly stored, and Easter therefore told
him it was in a sinking state. "Shove off, then," said
the Captain "God bless you." It was hardly pos-
sible to liaten without emotion to this simple advice
given by that noble fellow, who turned away hi the
sight of his young stile in order ti die at. hlapost. When

lost seen he was on the poop along with Mr. Brand and the
surgeon. An extract yon published fr..m a medical paper
spoke of the surgeon. and in this sad narrative his name
should not be forgotten He was a German, named Her-
mann Kunde, and along with Mr, brand he appears to have
stood by Captaln Knowles to the last, in the hopeless at-
tempt to preserve order among the emigrants. Heaven
knows, these men most not he judged harshly at no supreme
a crisis, but among them the brute instinct of salf-preaerva
Lion had obtained entire mastery, leaving uo room tor either
the reason which would have tJili them how alone all could
be saved or the mercy and manliness which would have sug-
gested consideration for the weak and helpless.

So completely out of her course was the steamer which
ran tb.wn the Noll/Vert that, according to the evidence of
Mr. Rogers, a Trinity-house pilot, who was examined yester-
day, if this steamer had kept her course after the collision
she would have run ashore at Dungene.s Point tin this case
there appears to be abundant testimony. The Northfreet
was run down when she might have been supposed to he al.
most as safe as though she were In the dock. Frosts witnesses
show bow remarkable was the chain of fatalities which, when
once this unexpected estsotrophe, occurred stopped the
means of escape. By roost of the people who saw them
the rockets sent up were believed to be mere signals fir •
pilot. Then, in sponging the ship's gun, the head of
the sponge came off, and in trying to extract this
the head of the worm came off, Thus the gun, which
could hardly have been disregarded by neighbouring
ships or by the Coastguard ashore, failed at the critical
moment, but I am assured here that a gun Is sometimes
fired by • vessel which merely wants a pilot, and may be
either short of rockets or finds It more c nvenient to dis-
charge a gun than to send up rockets and blue lights. lam
further told that a homeward bound vessel, in the J ly of the
captalb's heart et reaching home, or wishing to go% rid of an
old stock, hoe been known to send op. many saul rockets,
though merely waiting a pilot Farther, it was stated by •
pilot yest, rday that the Bremen boats are in the habit of
saluting each other as they pass ; "and" said the wit-
ness, "I think it thee to nut a stop to this practice."
The signals of the Norfhfleet were set down on
board the Kingston ingeer to an exchange of
rockets between the Bremen boats, and the master, who had
I been deceived before, refused at first to waste his time In
I what he declared would be a fruitless chase. Ilass tivo

m- 17,u-

'fret, and on this fatal night every minute was I, at at the
cost a human flees. In short, the old fah'e seems to have
been exemplified other vessel. In the Downs have cried
Wolf, en the poor people lu the Nortkfleot suffered
through false alarm, by whl,ll the pilots sod Vourtunard had
ceased tube alarmed, even when there was terrible reason

forihurrying to the rescue. The Board of Trade will, Co
doubt, consider whether this practice of firing rockets indis-
criminately and without check should be allowed to con-
tinue, or whether • distinctive light should not be intro.
duced and restricted under penalty to use as a danger signal.
-•. . .

ilorkpalnhil and mar.e.usw-f,!....k,-...".rare (tie
mince and apathy among the shipping which war anchored
near the Surailert. It is generally right to say that, as the
wind blow off the shore ant the Northiret was, with one
exception, the outside ship of the fleet, the scream. and
cries for help might be carried seaward without reaching
the ears of the drowsy watch on board the hishore.ly lug
vends, some 20001 which were in the 11.ithis. But the Corona,
a large suite' belonging to Dundee, was anchored within
400 or GOO yards et the Northiteet. and there is evidence
that the anchor watch on board the Corena not only flaw the
rockets and blue lights, but heard the screams, and were too
Icy to report the fact to the captain. The chief boatman at
the coastguard station said he was told by the captain that
ff he had known of the collision he could,have saved the liven
of at least 100 of the passengers In his boats. . . . Perhaps
the e1...R.131e Interpretation is that the watch on board the
Corona and other vessels anchored close by were more than
11.1 f asleep at the time, and listened in stupid wonder, with.
out understanding what they only half heard.