Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-11-24 00:00:00

body of Captai

was upon

stopped. He had seen three or four other watcheS th
had come ashore .on other- bodies, and they had stopp

at about twenty Tninu

past. seven and from that t

Mr. Mellor, asked"permission to put a questh
Smith as to what means had been used to recover the
bodies; but the court said as that had been already

answered it could not be allowed.
John Shepherd said—l am the master of No. 4
pilot-boat. There are twelve pilot boats in Liverpool.
My boat is a slocip-rigged boat, and is registered 73 tons.
We carry a mast-head light, and use the flush every
fifteen minutes. There are always six out and six in

I remember Tuesday, the 25th; we were out
day, add were cruising between Middle Mouse.
and Puffin Island the whole of the day and night.
The weather in the afternoon of that day about
seven o'clock was -blowing strong, and increased
very much after eight, and there was rain and lightning.
About eleven p.m. the weather was so bad that we could
not hear ene another speak on deck at a distance of eight
feet. The boat was nearly under water. The wind
had got to N.E. to E. and by N. It had bees E. The
lights were put out. Vessels seldom come to Liverpool
without taking a pilot on board. Foreign vessels do
not come 'to Liverpool Without a pilot, if the weather is
so that they can get one on board. We lighted our
lights several times, but they were put out. We were
not able to tell our position.. In the morning, about
half-past seven, we•sounded and got twenty-five fathoms.
At that time we could not see the length of the
pilot boat for-the sea drift. After we had sounded we
got a sight of land fora few seconds, but lost it again.
About eleven_in the-day we- saw Lynas, land being
sontli-wett. W 6 were then on the port tack; licading
about E. and by N. We had close reefed sails. Daring
the night we lost our small storm jib, and split our stay
foresail, and drifted about eight miles during the night.
We were not able to set another storm jib the gale was
so wild, until daylight came. '
To Mr. Aspinall—l have been a pilot thirty-nine
years, and about twenty-nine years master pilot. During
my experience I never knew of such a hurricane, the
wind blowing from that point of the compass—that is,
from east to north. It is more usual on' this coast for
an east wind to back to the south than to the north.
know the place and the kind of rocks where the ship
got ashore. I. do not think it was possible for any
vessel to hold together when she got on those rocks,
with such a sea running. I never saw such a sea
in my life. There is no worse place along the coast.
To Captain Harris—On' the evening of the 26th,
about ten o'clock, it was high water at Holyhead. A
ship bound N. would get the flood tide about three
o'clock. At half-past seven that night, Point Lynas
bore west-north-west, about five miles distant. At five
o'clock I telegraphed to Point Lynes to know if there
were any ships along the coast, and received no answer.
We lost sight of the Point Lynes light about eight
o'clock, and it became so dark that we could see nothing.
Assuming that the ship let go her anchors about five or,
six miles to the eastward of Point Lynas, and in about
fifteen or sixteen fathoms of water, I think, though the I
ground is middling holding ground in ordinary cases, no
ground would have held on that night. We had a bit-
:light and a mast-head light that night, for our own
safety, though the Admiralty order is only to carry a
bright light at the mast-head.
Richard Parry, master of pilot-boat No. 11 was
next called. - He -said—On the evening of the 25th of
October, he was at Point Lynas about seven o'clock.
He 'had been at Holyhead, and left it about a quarter
before three, the wind then blowing about' E.S.E.
About seven o'clock I saw what I thought to be a blue'
ight from a vessel about four or five miles off. About
half-past six one of the apprentices 'reported to me
having seen a rocket, that must have been let off below
the ply Fries. When I' saw the blue light I was about
three piles off Point Lynes. About seven it was blow-
ko' lard that we had all the reefs in. The wind
began blowing E. and by S., and' veered round to N.N.E,
the ivind increased so fast that we felt it More forcibly
every-few minutes. It came on to rain about eight
o'clocliAnd we saw nothing more till about eleven o'clock
the next day.
To Mr. Aspinall—l agree with Captain Shepherd
that k. winds usually back to the S. Nobody but those
who were at sea that night can form any opinion as to
what the hurricane was. The'; place where the Royal.
Charter went on the rocks could not be worse for break-

port.
on that

ing up a ship. _ _ _
To Capt. Harris—When we left Holyhead the weather

The frame irons were five
sby three, by three quarters. She had five kelsons,
She had one at the bilge, and one half-way between the
bilge and the'middle kelson. The lower tier of beams
to Mr. were ten inches by five-eighths, with a swelling out on