The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1881-10-29 00:00:00

Our Yonon Coraspoubut,

_Ma dtena it right to state that we do not at all timei
tiesitit7 ourselves with our Correspondent's opinions.

There can be no clearer proof of the way in which
Great Britain has devoted herself to the works of
peace, than in the ease which she has manifested in
forgetting the exploits of her sons in war. Those who
have experienced anything of the exeitement that per-
vades every class of the population when the country
is engaged in war, know what an absorbing topic this
is. For this there is more than one reason. Patriotism
is a very strong feeling in the human breast, and
there are few sentiments more powerful than that
of attachment to one's native land. But-when that
land is at war with another of equal calibre in
the weight of nations and in the scale of civiliza-
tion, it Ls not merely the rank and file of the
army that has to bear the brunt of the conflict. At
such a time, as Mr. Bright once declared in the
House of Commons, Death calls alike at the castle of
the noble and the mansion of the wealthy as well as
at the cottage of the humble, and there is none to
sprinkle with blood the lintels and side-posts of our
doors that he may spare and pass on. The officers
fall as well as the men ; hence the anxiety of all for
new from the scene of hostilities, and the solicitude
with which the lists of killed and wounded are
scanned. But when all is over, and peace has been
proclaimed, people settle down to their avocations;
and when the anniversary of a great battle or a
splendid feat of arms comes round, so far from their
being any national exultation at the former triumph
over a fallen foe, little or no notice is taken of an
event which at the time of its occurrence commanded
the attention and the admiration of the world, ,--
These remarks are applicable to two engagments in
the closing days of October—one upon the sea and the
other on the land—which will ever reflect lustre on
the British arms. It is a long way back to the Bat'
of Trafalgar. on the_thal.st October,-18054-ye4e4t
the last great eeafight which the British fleet had
singly with theviiinbined navies Of two nalionslat sa
and the resuieriai to make Great Britain- the tnda;
puted mistress of the waves. Yet the day now passes
with scarcely a paragraph in the newgpapers to re-
mind the public of the anniversarwand tcete4l thena,
that the few surviving officers dined together tii-cortka
memorate the occasion. 'But if we come`on nearly
half a century from Trafalgar to the Battle of
Balaklava, there is the same absence of any national'
desire to celebrate the event. Balaklava, on the
25th October, 1854, was not, of course, a Trafalgar.
Different in its surroundings, and barren in its result%
while it established no military position for Greitt
Britain as Trafalgar established a naval position, it
was a conspicucus example of British prowess and an
extraordinary feat of British arms. The same Poet-
Laureate who clothed the incidents of the day in im-
mortal verse is still amongst us; yet although the dis-
tance of time between now and then is so compara-
tively short, the day passes with few remembranees
and fewer recognitions. The truth appears to be that
the practical work of life, in this exacting age, leaves
no time for commemorative festivals which do no
good. The Germans, it is true, set'apart a day every
year for the celebration of Sedan;' but the nation
more resembles a military camp than an industrial
people.

Atle 1
WftB -

Electricity as a means of lighting has within the
past year or two commanded so much attention that
the approaching International Electric Exhibition
at the Crystal Palace will ba one of deep interest
to sciuntific men throughout the world. It will
possess a brilliancy most appropriate to the winter
season; it is to be opened in December, and will em-
brace the whole field of experiments and of new
applications. An objection to the light has been its
liability to flicker, and this result is caused by the
slightest interruption in the transmission of the
electric current. Years of patient labour have been
spent by some of the most eminent electricians in the
hope of overcoming this difficulty. It is not sufficient
merely to hit upon a brilliant idea but it must be
worked out. This is the spirit which has always
actuated great inventors, whether they have confined
themselves to the realm of thought, or have come
forth into the world of action. Newton once declared
that he had worked out his discoveries by thinking into
them. Genius was defined by Sir Joshua Reynolds
as the power of work; and Mr. Carlyle, who
was taken from us only a few months ago,
declared it to consist in an infinite capacity
to take pains. But whatever it may be, there
can be little doubt that the intellects which have been
so long at work upon the electric light will be ulti-
mately rewarded with success, and that a mighty
power will be effectually and completely brought
under the control of man.

Arctic research is not less popular in the United
States than in this country; and Commander Cheyne
is about to visit the great Republic of the West, to
enlist sympathy for his scheme of reaching the North
Pole by way of a balloon from the point to which
Sir George Nares penetrated five years ago. Between
that point and the Pole lay four hundred miles of
ice piled in mountains, and as hard as rock. To
attenipt to cut through it was hopeless, and so the
enterprise was abandoned. Commander Cheyne
argues that there is no necessity for such an amount
of colossal labour, and that a balloon would take a
traveller clean over the icebergs to the Pole itself, in
the immediate neighbourhood of which many a scien-
tific man has told us there is a warm and sunlit sea.
Four hundred miles is just the distance between London
and Edinburgh, which is accomplished by an express
train in nine hours. Many a traveller breakfasts in one
capital and dines in another. It is tantalising to our
men of science to think that only the same number of
miles separates them from that which has been the
dream of geographers for centuries. 'Untold and
indescribable hardships have been undergone by in-
trepid explorers in the most frightful regions upon
the earth's surface in the cause of Arctic discovery.
Nation has vied with nation in the effort to solve
the wonderful problem. Gallant men have lost
their lives in vain over an endeavour which, by
the ordinary methods of transit has been pronounced
incapable of execution. Commander Cheyne has for
years a.voweii that, given sufficient means, there is no
difficulty in reaching the Pole by an aerial instead of a
terrestrial sy;tern of travelling, and looks forward tr,
being yet able to rouse the Anglo-Saxon race to help
him to make the attempt. The man who first reaches
the Pole will be almost as famous as the discoverer of
America.

The Yorktown celebrations have illustrated in a
remarkable way the improved relations between Great
Britain and the United States. Such an order as that
issued by President Arthur, for saluting the English
flag would, even ten years ago, have been out of the
question. At that time there had been a long con-
troversy over what were termed the Alabama claims,
Great Britain stedfastly resisting the contention of
the Americans that we were responsible for
damages. In the month of December, 1871, the United
States' Government pressed the matter upon ours
with unusual vigour; and as no agreement could be
come to between the disputants themselves, a
novel principle was introduced into the manner of
settling international controversies, and the question
was referred to an Arbitration court consisting of re-
presentatives of some of the European Powers. The
progrsas of the inquiry was watched with intense
interest all over the civilized world. It was just after
the terrible Franco-German war, and the Prussians
were still in occupation of French territory. In the
result, which was looked for with some anxiety, Great
Britain was ordered to pay to the United States three
millions and a quarter sterling, and the money was at
once paid- The two countries have since lived upon
far more amicable terms; and had the dispute been
permitted to remain open, each nation contend-
ing that it was in the right and could not possibly be
wrong, their relations to-day would have been on a
very different footing. The expression of English sym-
pathy with America in a great national sorrow has
been followed by a compliment to Great Britain
which is as gratifying to its recipient as it is honour-
able to the great nation, and the enterprising people
which paid it.
After two year of investization, the Coal Mines'
Commission has issued a preliminary report of much
public value and importance. It is clear that con-
siderable progress has been made in the safety of mines
during the past thirty years. While the number of
men employed in collieries has doubled within that
period, it is satisfactory to know that the deaths from
accidents have not increased. This gratifying result
is attributed to the application of the suggestions of
mechanical science to the operations of the mine
and to the augmented care of workmen and officials.
Ventilation has been rendered much more efficient;
and the collier has benefited not only in the extended
immunity from explosions, but in health and comfort.
Instead of, as formerly, having to descend and ascend
perpendicular ladders, the means by which the
works:ten reach and leave the scenes of their daily teil
have been gently improved, and with excellent
results. Winding engines and cages have reduced the
number of accidents, and the men can now travel
through the shafts with a minimum of risk. Electric
bells have superseded the old mechanical system of
signalling, and altogether a very marked improvement
has been effected in the direction of ensuring not only
the comfort, but the safety of those who are engaged
in a perilous calling, but one which is essential to the
maintenance of this country's position as one of the
most commanding amongst the nations.
King's College, London, is an institution, the posi-
tion and associations of which are in sit,gular contrast
with its surroundings. Wayfarers along the Strand
may notice on the south side of that btsy thoroughfare

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a dark building adjacent to Somerset House, the en-
trance to which leads into a large quadrangle over-
looked by a uniform range of buildings suggestive of
the study and the cloister. On the north side of the
quadrangle, the noise of the Strand's rushing traffic

can scarcely be heard, for there the quiet and darkened
rooms overlook ths river, upon the everflowing tide-
way of which the voices of London life are hushed.
A student with rooms in King's College is as far re-
moved from the world's noists and turmoil as though
he was on the banks of the shallow Isis or the slowly.
moving Cam. Those who were there in former years,
and have now an opportunity of revisiting it, will see
that considerable improvements have been made. The
College Chapel, which was so long an object of
solicitude, has been completely redecorated and with
admirable effect. Means for defraying the costs have
been drawn from various sources, and amongst others
from the students who take part in the ministrations
conducted in the sacred edifice.
The Great Eastern steamship, which was a few days
ago offered for sale at Lloyd's Rooms in the Royal
Exchange, occupied a verz
,considerableAhw /in the
public attention nearly alv-ijuagtO of a4entalgo.',
Her Vast size was the thellei o‘xiniverstlinteres fer'
she was nearly twice the size of any other vessel,
being 692 feet long and 83 broad. Next to her came
the Persia, 390 feet long by 45 broad. The Great
Western, which made her first voyage from Bristol to
New York in 1838, occupying fifteen days—nearly
twice the time now taken IT gtotniscs÷-*as;
236 feet long by 35 broad; ana was therefore small in
comparison with the Great Eastern, which will ever
be remembered as having rendered a conspicuous-Ber-
vice in the laying of the Atlantic cable.

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`;

FOUNDERING OF THE STEAMER
"CLAN MACDUFF."

The steamer Clan Macd4fleft Liverpool on Tuesday
in last week with a valuable general cargo, chiefly con-
sisting of Manchester goods, and nineteen passengers,
all for Bombay. It was cloudy when the pilot left
them, which was near Holyhead. The wind, which
had been veering from southward to westward, began
to freshen on Wednesday morning (19th), about half.
past nine, from the south-east. The sea was likewise
running high, and wind and sea grew fiercer in the
afternoon, and the vessel experienced the full fury of
the gale. Some time afterwards it was found that
there was a leak into the engine-room, and, though
all the men on board were kept at the pumps,
and baling, the water gained upon them. This
continued until one p.m. on Thursday. The wind
and sea went on increasing. The vessel rolled
heavily, and was being swept from forward of
midships to aft by tremendous waves. Soon the
water made its wayln t,o tile engine-rooms, and the
few fires OW hadip lteenVut out by the roll were
speedily quenched. V oti4 o'clock there were six
feet of water in the engine-room and stoke-hole.
Shortly after one the Captain saw that the vessel must
founder, and gave, the, order-ter get out the six
11.oftts. -,Theleesiad, boats erek,first prepared. The
lierger lifeboat was Taunche lobgaide, but was dashed
' to'precet.against the side of the ship. The scene was
agonizing, the women and children yielding to heart-
rending terror, while the shouts of the officers could
barely be heard above the roar of the gale. After
an interval an effort to launch the gig was
safely accomplishade-and at Oh time -it. Waif de-
cided to place in the boat a complement_ of
fow :Able \ set,men ; the 'fourth officer,' 'T. IV.-
Barclay, and Mrs. Barclay and child, wete also
lowerea into her. She soon dropped astern, and held
on by ropes until the third officer gave orders for the
painters to be cut, when. she dropped out of sight,
i being lost to view n a few minutes in the appalling
breakers. The next' boat to be launched was the
cutter, and previous to being carried across the deck
and lowered from the starboard gangway, the third
officer, the second cook, and two able seamen were put
in her. After she had safely dropped alongside Mr.
and Mrs. Mayer, Miss Hayes, Mr. Aklaurst. And Mrs.
Jacobs were equipped with life "buoys mid/jumped
from the deck into the water. Each of these was; also
secured with a line from the ship, and by these means
they were secured until safely pulled into the boat.
Then one of Mrs. Jacob's children, a little girl of four
years, was thrown to her, but a sudden roll severed
the ship from the boat, and the little one, falling into
the water, was drawn out of sight by the suction. In
another moment the boat rose to the side of the ship,
and instantly the captain threw her second child, a
boy, safely into the arms of the frantic mother. The
bbat then dropped astern, cut away, and was also lost
to view.
There now remained but one boat to take off the
whole of the other people on board, forty-five souls in
all. During the progress of the gale the other three
boats had been smashed to atoms. The remaining
boat, the small lifeboat, would but hold thirty, at the
utmost. The second officer and two of the men got
into her and were lowered with her. Then the re-
mainder of the passengers, the chief cook, five
stewards and the stewardess were drawn into the boat
in the same way as before. Captain Webster, having
seen all the passengers into the boat, placed a lifebuoy
on himself and jumped, being hauled on board by the
occupants of the boat. The chief engineer and one of
the crew followed his example, and the boat was at
once cut away. This boat, which was without a
rudder, also drifted with the wind, and was lost sight
of in the blinding spray.
Immediately the last boat disappeared the chief
officer took the command of the Clan ifaccluff, which
was labouring in the trough of the sea. 'Light rockets
and cannon were prepared for signal purposes, and as
soon as darkness set in various illuminations were
burnt and the fog-horn was sounded during the night.
The vessel lay completely at the mercy of the storm.
Her decks were washed from stem to stern and she
gradually dropped by the head. As morning broke
the Ctan Macduff began to settle down aft, the water
pouring in- from between decks through the saloon.
The crew once more betook themselves to baling.
The officers bravely cheered them on, but the water still
gained and was forcing its way into the store-room
from amidships. At noon on Friday the decks were
level with the sea. At this time a steamer was
sighted. Two of the men ascended the main rigging
and hoisted sheets and flags to attract attention.

In two hours the Cork Liner Upupa had reached
within hailing distance of them, and launched two
boats.

The whole of the seventeen survivors were kindly re-
ceived on board ship by Captain J. M. Brown. The
Upui a stood alongside the Clan Illacde until nine,
when she suddenly disappeared. The Uptipa bore up
for Plymouth, where she arrived on Sunday evening,
after weathering the fearful gale on Saturday night,
during which two hundred head of cattle were washed
overboard.

The survivors of the crew, before leaving the Upupa, drew
up and pre' ented the following address —"S.: S. Upupa, Oct.
23, 1881. To the captain, officers, and particularly the boat's
crew, who picked us up. We, the undersigned, the members
of the crew of the late s.s Clan Maeda (f. of Glasgow, do hereby
offeryou our individual and collective heartfelt thanks for the
saving of our lives, 17 in number; also for the extreme kind-
ness which has been shown to us by all on board, through
whom we were provided with dry clothing, conifortable,ac-
commodation, and good food. We all particularly thamk
Captain J. Maxwell Brown, of this ship, for the kindness
and attention shown us by himself personally, and the
thorough seamanlike manner in which he handled his ship
under most trying circumstanced, and rescued us under such
unfavourable and very bad weather. Also the boat's crew
for the good management with which they picked us up
after jumping overboard, their conduct in every way being
manly in the extreme. We trust Captain Brown, his officers,
and crew, will long live in good health; and to their
present employer we wish every success." Signed by all the
survivors.

Late on Saturday night the Warren Line steamer
Palestine landed at Liverpool eleven of the rescued
passengers of the Clan Macduff. One of the pas-
sengers, Mr. L. J. Ward, has given a narrative of the
hairbreadth escape of himself and companions, from
which we give the following extract
"I am a comedian, and am one of a dramatic com-
pany of eleven persons who sailed in the Clan ilacduff
to perform an engagement in Bombay. The other
members were Mr. and Mrs. Mernr (the latter
professionally known as Miss Kate Tholburn), Miss
Dore, Mr. and Mrs. Turner, Miss Ada Leiter, Mr.
Ackhurst, Miss Lizzie Hayes, and Mr. J. Hewitt.
There were in all 20 saloon passengers. We went on
board on Monday; left dock and anchored in the
river on Monday night to take on board coal; sailed
on Tuesday night."

Continuing his narrative, Mr. Ward gives a descrip-
tion of the heavy weather experienced after leaving
port, and proceeds : 4
" By this time all the males were in the hatchway and
the females in the cabin, and the captain then told us
to prepare for the boats. The ladies all prepared
as well as they could, and I went down to my
cabin and got my watch, pocket book, and other
things. The lifeboat was then lowered on the star-
board side, but something went wrong in one of the
tackles, and the boat was smashed to atoms againetthe
ship's side. No. 3 boat was then launched also on the
starboard side, and the second mate and an able-
bodied seaman got into it all right, and the painter
was paid out, and she floated astern. She was then
pulled up again, and Mrs. Turner was caught hold of
and thrown into it. Excellent discipline was pre-
served by the crew' who all stood back and allowed
the passengers to take to the boats. They were a
brave lot of fellows. There never was a murmur.
Our boat, No. 5, was then lowered from the
starboard side with Mr. and Mrs. Barclay and
their son in it. She floated well. The carpenter
of the steamer took Mrs. Mercer and put
into
the life-buoy round her neck, and threw her
the water. As she fell she let go the buoy
and went under water, but as she was going fortu-
nately managed to clutch the buoy again. There was
an able-bodied seaman in the boat named Ingram.
Seeing Mrs. Mercer fall into the water, I lost my head
for a moment, and jumped wildly into the boat, but it
was well 1 did so for I was the means of saving Mrs.
Mercer's life. Ingram had caught her, but she had
pulled him over out of the boat, and he only had hold
of the gunwale by one hand. Ingram and I helped her
into the boat. Mr. Mercer jumped in afterwards, and I
Miss Dore was thrown over by the captain with a life.
buoy. We got her into the boat. We got eleven per-
sons in all into the boat, and then Ingram called out
to cut the painter. Some one did so, but before this
I saw the captain take hold of a little child and
place a life-buoy round her, and throw her over, that
she might be got into the boat. She fell out of the
life-buoy, however, and was instantly swept away by
the waves and drowned. We got away from the
steamer about two o'clock, and in half an hour, such
was the force of the wind, we were out of sight of her.
The last we saw was Turner [the stage-manager of the
Comedy Company] standing by the rail of the steamer
with a life belt round him, ready to jump. 'lhe
storm seemed to rage worse atter we got nto the
boat, and how the little craft stood it I can't tell. It
was God that was with us. The boat was, as I after-
wards found, 21ft. long by 6ft. brt ad. The waves
were something like St. George's Hall coming down on
the top of us, but by aid of Ingram, who acted as our
captain, we mounted them safely. Ingram was a
grand fellow, a noble fellow. We had only one oar,
the other having been broken in keeping the boat off
the side of the steamer. The night came on; we had
sighted nothing, and we all expected each moment to
be engulphed. The ladies, who were four in number,
crouched down in the bottom of the boat in six inches
of water and we covered them as well as we could
with what wraps we had. Ingram rigged up what he
called a sea anchor, made of a couple of buckets let
out astern with a rope, and very well it acted, for we
took comparatively little water on board. Then he
said he was going to turn in, and went forward and
-went to sleep, lying quite comfortable in the water,
and slept well. I remained on watch. Heavy rain
fell in the night, and seemed to calm the sea a bit.
The night passed rapidly as it seemed to me, and at
daybreak it was blowing less hard, and Ingram sug-
gested trying a sail. We accordingly rizged up the
broken oar and a blanket, and our spirits rose as the
Loat drove before the wind, for we thought we must
be Bailing towards the land, though we did not know
where. Everyone suffered dreadfully from thirst, hut
we moistened our lips with our tongues, and did not
speak of it. We had no fcs,d on board—only a bottle
of brandy, and that would have parched us more. We
were going along merrily, when Ingram, with his sharp
eyes—God bless him—shouted, 'There's a steamer ! '
and we saw one sure enough about five miles off. For
the first time we tacked the boat and went against
the wind, steering her by rudder, and helping the
sail by the one oar we had, and she made
fair way to moss the steamer's bows. The steamer,
praise God, saw us and hove to, and we got alongside
and were taken on board, about ten a.m. on Thursday
afternoon. We had been twenty hours in the boat.
Ingrain had no shoes on, and his feet were dreadfully
swollen with the exposure to the water. We were
all nearly dead with cold and exposure. I can't say
how kind the captain of the steamer was. She turned
out to be the Pcz'estine. He gave us the free run of
his saloon and cabins, and looked after us in every
way. Of the fate of the other boats I have heard
several accounts since I landed, but I don't know any-
thing myself."

Mrs. Mercer, the lady alluded to in the above mars-

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