The Express.
London, England, 1853-06-18 00:00:00

Ma. Baum. MARTIN AND
aOll hums.
WRITS! AND Win f. Ka

&TWIN AT Nut

Mr. Serjeant Wilkins and Mr. %Till appeared for the
plaintiff; and Mr. James and Mr. Hawkins for the de-
fendant.
This was an action in the joint names of Henry Whitby
and his wife Emily Elise, to recover compensation in
damages for the injury she had sustained en board the de-
fendant's steamer the Duchess of Kent, whilst a passenger
from Ramsgate to London. The plaintiff was connected
with the coal department of the Great Northern Railway,
and the defendant wu one of the principal directors of the
Commercial Steam Packet Company.
The female plaintiff had been in • delicate state of health
and had been advised to go to Ramsgate, where she had
been residing a fortnight. On the 21st of July last she was
returning to London with her husband, on board the
Duchess of Kent, which came into collision with the
Ravensbourne, • large steamer, going down the River on
her voyage to Antwerp. The Duchess of Kent was pur-
suing her proper course on the north side of the River,
close in to the shore, when on arriving at a point
called Tilburyness on the Essex side, opposite Northileet,
the Ravensbeurne steamer, belonging to the General Steam
Navigation Company, was going down the river in mid-
channel. On her approaching this bend of the river the
Duchess of Kent suddenly shot across the river with her
bow towards the Kent shore, her helm having been put
'starboard instead of being kept a port, and came Into vile-
lent collision with the Raveusbourne, which was staking
for the Roahereille pier. It would seem that the persons
in charge of the Duchess of Kent were anxious to rum bar
astern of • vessel called the Meters', which was in the same
reach and athwart the bows of the Raveasbourne. There
wero 200 passengers on board the Duchess of Kent, and a
few minutes after the collision she sunk, when a Mr. Serd
was drowned. The female defendant iris thrown with con-
siderable violence on the deck, and she sustained some
abrasions on the knee and other parts of her person, and
al-o a severe shock to hersystem generally, in consequence
of which she was confined for a long time to her bed and
had not/et recovered the ill effects of the occident. A medi-
cal man was called to prove that he had been paid an
account of 21/. for his attendance on her.
The pilot, the captain, and other persons in charge of the
Ravensbourne were called to prove that they were pursuing
their proper course, and when they saw the Duchess of
Kent approaching, they ported, in accordance with the
Admiralty regulations when vessels were approaching each
other, and there was a probability of a eollision. Had the
Duchess of Kent adopted the same course, instead of going
to the starboard, she would have one quite clear of the
ltavensbonrae. The mate was in dhow of the Duchess of
Kent, the captain being below at the ftin and stated
that the mate was confused at the tiamiadtheauhinnt. One
of the main points in the plaintire sew was, that if the
Dachau of Kent had stopped and reversed her engines, she
plight have recovered herself, and then bays ported her
Wm, which the accident would have been prevented.
The defendant's case mu, that the Duchess ot Kent was
rift up the river on the north side, the tide running down
aluegly about an hour after the ebb, when, en arriving at
es point in question, the tide caught her bow, and she
mould not answer to her port helms seam of
relish they were obliged to starboard her, which t w her
bow across the river. The Ravenshoissue was owing
down at the rate of 14 knots an hour, and had she stopped
and reversed her engines when she saw the Duchess of
Kent would not answer her helm, the latter would have
gone clear of her—that in fact it was • misfortune which
could not have been avoided by the Dashes, of Kent, the
curt having done all they could, under the Umlaut:anon.
to prevent the disaster. A coroner's inquest was held at
the time at Gravesend on the body of Mr. Said, at which
the male plaintiff gave evidence, and it appeared from his
deposition that he Mated on that °masa that he tams on
the desk of the Duchess of Kent about three missies before
the collision, and he heard the mate give orders-to stop,
ease, and reverse the engines. lie further stated that the
engines of the Ravensbourne were not stepped until the mo-
ment of the collision. The plaintiff also said on the inquest
that it appeared to him the Duchess of Kent was striving
tern in between the Meteor and the Ravensbourne.
The second mate, the engineer, and other members of the
seaw of the Duchess of Kent, deposed to the fact that her
engines were stopped and reversed bears the aollisio• oc-
curred.

1,772
771

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The learned Judge having 114111801111 lAN
The jury retired for a short time, and caw into court
with a verdict for the defendant.