The Express.
London, England, 1866-08-22 00:00:00

THE FATAL COLLISPIA OFF THE SUFFOLK

COAST.

The constant and anxious inquiries made at
Fresh-wharf, London-bridge, respecting the passenger of
the Bruiser, indicate that there were more lost in the
fatal collision with the Haswell than was supposed. The
returns of the missing on Monday numbered eleven paean-
gees, besides the loss of three of the crew, but from what
has since transpired it is feared the number was 24 or
26. The body of one of the saloon cabin passengers, • fine
youth 14 years of age, eon of the Rev. Mr. Bird, ef Hull,
was washed ashore on the oust near Aldbormgh. He
had bem put en beard with • younger brother at Hull by
his father, and • female relative was travelling with them
to see them to school, near Chatham. The latter were
picked up-after the steamer had sunk by the host of the
schooner Perseverance, which landed them at Yarmouth.
A tamale named Sarah Bell, the wife of a sailor,
is among those lost. She and her daughter, a little girl
seven years old, were journeying to London to meet the
father, whose vessel was expected home every day. The
child was saved, how no one could tell. The two boys,
fore-cabin passengers, known to have sunk, were at the
time of the collision asleep under one of the boats, which
was crushed in two by the Haswell', bows. One of the
little fellows had with him an accordion, which he played I
to the passengers the previous evening. Their names or
home are unknown. It bas been ascertained that the ill-
fated vessel was sunk in 14 or 16 fathoms water, about
"oar miles north of Sizewell-bank, off Aldborough. Several
boats have brought in from the spot a quantity of wreckm
A lifeboat, • quantity of passengers' luggage,
bonnets, capes, dresses, parasols, chili:lien's wear-
ing apparel, toys, to., have been found floating
miles off the coast. The directors of the Gene-
ral Steam Navigation Company were engaged many
hours yesterday in making • searching investigation into
the circumstances attending the °ennui and the sinking
of the Bruiser, for which purpose Captain Harty, the chief
mate, and the whole of her crew were called before them
and examined at considerable length. Their statements,
we understand, fully bore out the details which have been
published. Every attention appears to have been paid to
the lights during the night. This is admitted by the
second mate of the Haswell, whose watch it was on
dcdr, as he admits that he saw the Bruiser's lights full
twenty minutes before the collision. From the moment
the Haswell was first seen from the Bruiser she was sup-
paled to be • sailing vessel at anchor' with her mast head
light exhibited. All the crew of the Bruiser who were on
deck at the time assert positively that no other light was
viaiblafrom the Haswell until they were close on to her, when
they could just discern a dim green light. The Bruiser had
already starboarded her helm to go northward, and almost
instantly afterwards the collision took place. The com-
pany yesterday forwarded • report of the accident to the
marine department of the Board of Trade.
Mr. William Stout, jun., one of the passengers on board
the Bruiser, has written to a contemporary as follows :
" I was on the deck when she sank, and had • very narrow
escape. lem of opinion that this calamity, attended with
great loss of life, was caused by gross neglect and careless-
nue ; and therefore • few particulars may be interesting
to the public. We left Hull about 11 o'clock on Saturday
morning, with • heavy cargo and • considerable number
of passengers. There was some defect in the engines of
the Bruiser, which caused a delay on two occasions
during the day. I noticed at night that the lights of our
boat were very bed—a miserable glimmer, only to be
seen a very short distance. The lamps had not been
properly attended to. About 1 o'clock on Sunday morn-
ing, while in the cabin, I was startled by a loud crash.
On reaching the deck, I found • large screw collier had
come into collision with our boat. The Bruiser was
struck on the starboard side abaft the bridge. The bow
of the collier penetrated • considerable way into the aide
of the Bruiser; in fact, the Bruiser was nearly cut in
two. The collier lowered a ladder, and now commenced
a fearful scene. The crew, saving themselves first, made
no attempt to save the passengers. Many lost their bold
and fell overboard, others were pushed over by the
crowd. If boats had been lowered from the collier soon
after the collision, all on board the Bruiser might have
been saved ; and there was nothing to prevent this being
done. For over twelve minutes the struggle at the nar-
row passage up the ladder continued. It is impossible to
give an idea of this scene. Many lost their lives by falling
in the sea ; others, after fruitless efforts to gain the ladder,
gave up in despair. The crew of the Bruiser were among
the first who got safe on board the collier : why did they
not lower the boats? What was the captain doing? Some
of the passengers shouted,' Lower your boats !' but neither
of the crews on board the collier paid any attention to this
request. When the collier backed out of our vessel we had
over thirty persons on deck. The Bruiser sank immediately,
stern first. I was then at the fore part of the vessel ; I
clung to one of the large moveable seats, and floated with-
out injury. All the other passengers went down with the
vessel, and two only besides myself were saved. We were
nicked up by the boat of • email schooner. After the
Bruiser had sunk, the two crews on board the collier found
time to lower two boats, but too late to save anyone. The
Bruiser sank before 2 o'clock. That this calamity was
caused by gross neglect on the part of the Bruiser's crew
I have no doubt. The collier had brilliant lights ; how
wss it the men in charge of the Bruiser did not see
them? The lights of our vessel were a disgrace, yet the
collier saw them." _ _ .

—The number of lives lost are given as fourteen ; but it is
feared that some others may have gone down in the vesseL
The following are the names of the passengers who were
rescued :—Mr. Dewhurst (his wife was lost), Alfred Rudy
John Bellingsby, William Liston, Mrs. Gorbold and Son
George
Rook, Sergeant Clinton,Glinton, John Webber, Alfred
Moseley, Robert Neel, Thomas Cooper, Frank Buchannan,
James Cousins, Robert Green, Thomas Bftve, George
Blackburn, D. Holmes, George Young, WMiam Dicken-
son and wife, M. Bomijos, John Thompson, Benjamin Ben-
nett, William Jack, G. Jose, J. Romour, J. Idenwell, Wm.
Hill, C. Appall, G. Appall J. Mountain, William
Jennin, Thomas Johnson, Abraham Wilkie, Alfred God-
son, W. Nqrhore, Mr. Toft, Henry Pleseet, E. Finch, Mr.
Grannie sod wife, William Ash, F. Booty, J. Fisher, John
Harrison, G. Leeson, John Cliff, John Halliday and sister,
John Weatherhead, John Watson, Joseph Fry, John Dol.
mard, James Grimon, E. Ellis and wife, J. Middleton
(boy), C. Cran, H. C. Sun, lira Tremblin, Miss
Lavinia Volok, Anne Watson, Mrs. Cradick, Mrs.
Knox (her husband was drowned), Catherine Hodges ;
George Hoosett, staff sergeant, with five recruits ; Owen
Italy John Hinton, Michael M`Mahin, William Prit-
chard, sad Peter Hannan ; Miss Bell, a little girl ; her
mother, Mrs. Sarah Bell, was drowned. This amounts in
all to 73 passengers who were saved by the Haswell, ex-
clusive of one man, one lady, and a child, picked up by
the Perseverance schooner.

THE LATE MCILDER OF Two CHILDREN IN
Sonnas-rown.—At the Clerkenwell Police-court, yester-
day, Nary Butcher, aged 39, described on the charge-sheet
as a married woman, having no occupation, and residing
at 67, Wileteadotreet, Somenetown, was brought up in
the custody of Inspector Fraser, of the Y division, and
charged with causing the death of her two children, Emma
Butcher, aged 3 years, and Agnes Butcher, aged 1 year
by drowning them. The prisoner was further eha
with attempting to commit suicide by drowning herserie
No. 67, Wilideadotreet, Somers-town, on the 21st of July,
1866. The circumstances of the case have already been
fully reported in our columns. Evidence having been
gives, the prisoner, who was so weak that she had to be
seated, and who, during the whole of the proosedinp,
appeared quite unconscious of what was going on, swooned,
and Mr. Barker said he would go no further, and remanded
the prisoner to the House of Detention for a few days. Kr.
Supenntendent Webb asked for leave to convey the pri-
soner at once to the infirmary of the House of Detention
in a cab, and the request being granted, the prisoner was
then removed. _ _ _

THE SUFFOLK CHILD MURDER. —Mr. J. Allo-
way, governor of the Suffolk county gaol, hu received a
communication from the Home Secretary, granting a re-
prieve to Hannah Colthorps, the young woman under sen-
tence of death for the murder of her illegitimate child,
at Sproughton, near Ipswich, in October, 1865. She is to
be kept in penal servitude during the term of her natural
life. . _

One of Lord Portsmouth's gamekeepers has been
seat for trial on a charge of manslaughter in North Devon,
for muffing the death of • farmer's son in a brawl on •
country raw-coarse.
The adjourned inquest on the body of a female
child, aged two months, which was found dead—having
been suffocated by a bandage tied round the nose and
mouth —on the steps of a house, No. 6, Eton-read, Hamp-
stead, was resumed yesterday afternoon, and resulted in •
verdict of " Wilful Murder against some person or per-
son unknown."