The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1874-08-01 00:00:00

FATAL COLLISION in the CHANNEL.

The Times gives the following account of a frighthd
chipping catastrophe which occurred in the Channel early on
Tuesday morning. of/ Dungeness, and within a few miles of
the spot where the ill-fated North fleet was rim down last
year;—
DOVER, Tuesday Evening.

A collision occurred early this morning off Dunge
ness between the Milbanke, a homeward-boun-
eteamer, and the Honkow, an outward-bound steamer
the former being lost, together with 12 of her crew
and two female passengers, the wives respectively of
the captain and chief mate. The Illilbanke belongs to
Sunderland, to which port she was bound from Carta-
gena, in STain, with a cargo of zinc ore. She was
commanded by Captain J. H. Smith, and was 843 tons
register and 150-horse power. The Honkow is of 2,332
tons register and 500-horse power, belongs to Mr. E.
H. Watts, of 75, Gracechurchatreet, London, and was
bound for China with a valuable cargo.
According to the particulars which have reached this
port, the Milbanke was five miles off Dun;eness at 1.30
this morning, the electric light being plainly visible
from the deck and the weather line and cliar,
and there being every promise of a speedy termination
of the voyage, which coming,nced on the 19th of July.
The Ha skew, in steaming down the Channel, caught
the Milbanke stern on, and, striking her amidships,
penetrated half-way through her hull. The alarm was
given to the watch below, but before they could get on
Jerk the Milbankr sank, and only those of the crew
who were in the cabins on deck appear to have been
saved. Twelve of them contrived to climb on board
the Hankow before she was able to back out, and four
' more were subsequently picked up by one of her boats,
which was lowered OH quickly as possible after the
accident. The crew numbered 28 hands, exclusive ef
Mrs. Smith, the wife of the captain, and Mrs. Neill,
the wife of the mate. They, although aroused from
led immediately after the collision, were drowned,
with their husband, no that, with 12 of the crew, 14
lives in all were list. _ . .

Two of the survivors, Robert Bird, the second
mate, and Mr. Hall, the chief engineer of the
Miliotake, saved themselves by climbing up the sides
of the Ron koll., and they were landed in Dover this
morning, proceeding, at once to the National Sailors'
Home. Later in the day Bird made a formal de-
position before Mr. Raggett, the Collector of Customs
at Dover, by whom it was transtnitled to the Board
of Trade in London. Ile subsequently gave the fol-
lowing brief account of the collision:—
.. • .

'My name is Robert Bird, and I was second mate of the
MUNI eke. We left Cartagena on the 19th of July, and had
a favourable passage until we roweled Ushant, everything
going on favourably. At twelve o'clock on the night of the 2-ith
1 reheved the man in charge of the deck watch, although the
captain still remained, which is always the rule when a
steamer is near land. At the tints I went on deck the
stennier was off Ilastlnga, awl we continued on our passage
mall 1 30, when Dungeness Li,ht wan bearing ahmt
north. I cannot be confident, however, to half a point.
We were about four or five miles front chore, and the
night won fine and calm ; indeed, as we had pretionsly
passed a fleet of swell craft, we thought we should
not have roneh to trouble us afterwards on our voyage
home. At half-past one the man MI the look-out the
captain, myself, and the man at the helm were on the bridge
—tetiorted a light ahead After the lapse of about five
minutes iv, showed a green light, and we soon made out the
vats-el aplnwchiog tint he at steamer. ate starboarded our
helm two phi ts, and three or four minutes afterwards we
saw the red light of the steamer. We then knew that she had
ported her helm, anal three minutes after that she struck us
stem on, right in the waist of the Al inanke. The force of
the collision was so great that the mainmast was knocked
down and fell with a heavy crash over the aide. So far
as one could make out in such a montent, the steamer
tried to ha, k out instantly but the Milkinke sank almost
Inn moment About a miente ova minute and a hal, after
the collision some one shouted out to the watch below deck,
and gave the alarm to the inmates of the cabin on deck,
a,, at some of the crew saved themselves by climbing up the
sides of the lia,aow before she got clear of us. I waited
until the water was on the deck, when I climbed up the
head gear id the big steamer. Altogether twelve men
-were saved in this way, and afterwards a boat of the
Flaskow being lowered, of which I was one of the crew,
four more men were picked up, making in all sixteen per-
sons rescued. When the eallision occurred. I ran aft and
called the officers, the mate, and the third mate, who
lived in a house on deck aft, as also did the engineers, their
cabin being near the engine-room skylight. The captain
had called his wife and the mate's wife, and the last I Saw of
them was when the ship went down. They were then stand-
ing aft, the captain between the two woolen, who were in
Mir nightdresses, and they all three went down with the
steamer. I never saw the mate. I went into his berth to
look for hint, but he was gone. Some nights he slept below,
as his wife auffered front sea sickness, and then occupied a
berth on deck. The survivors, with the exception of the
chief engineer anal myself, were taken to London by the
Hankow, which hail to put back disabled. She landed us
here at eight o'clock this morning with her mate, who
wished to telegraph tO London to Iner owners.

It may be added to this account that Captain Smith,
in command of the Mao tow, a Sunderland man, had
made several voyages with this vessel, and was regarded
as a"good seaman. His wife had accompanied him
out to Cartagena. Her body was plrked up at day-
light by the fishing-smazk England's Glory. The mate
came from the Isle of Man. and his wife, who had gone
out to Marseilles on a pleasure excorsion, and had met
him at Cartagena in order to return to England with
him. Her body has not yet been recovered.
The following is a list of men saved :---Robert Bird,
Mr. Hall, Frederick Hodge, George Foster, W. Sea-
ton, J. Black, Charles Bigman, Edward Schultz,
Robert Bryant, W. Ransom, John Mooney, Fritz
Ellick, Henri Bomet, Thomas Rogers, Thomas Hyde,
and H. Latham.