Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-11-25 00:00:00

ROYAL .CHARTER.

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24d9

WRECK OF THE ROYAL ,CHARTER.

BOARD OF TRADE INQUIRY.

This inquiry was resumed in the Crown Court,
St. George's Hall, yesterday, before J. S. Mansfield,
t sq., S.M., and Captain Harrison, RN., Assessor to
the Board of Trade. As on previous days, Mr. O'Dowd,
solicitor for the Board of Trade, was present, and Mr.
J. B. Aspinall appeared on behalf of Messrs. Gibbs,
Bright, and Co.
William Patterson was again called and cross-
examined by Mr. O'Dowd. He stated I believe the
Royal Charter could have been classed A 1 at Lloyd's
at the time she was built. The foreman, who came
from Bristol to superintend the work, had been with
me during the time after I was building, the Great
Britain. His name was Barry. I consider that he was
a competent judge of the quality of the iron and the
work. When I say that we looked at the quality
and the work, I mean myself and the foreman. When
I took to the work, there was the whole of the
frame work, the angle iron, and floor plates on the place.
We found-some of this iron that we rejected because it
would not-stand to be wrought. I -said that the diameter
of the rivets in the keel was an ineh and a quarter, and
I consider those quite large enough for a ship of the
magnitude of the Royal Charter. I think there should
not have been more beams in a vessel of that size than
was in her: I said there were 'five kelsons, and I think
these-were large enough. lam not aware of any other
kind Of iron being used for sheathing except what is
known as boiler plate.
_ _

To Mr. Aspinal—l was asked to look at the ship by
Messrs. Gibbs, Bright, and Co. before they purchased
her. There was very little .of her put together at that
time. John Penn and Co., df Greenwich, supplied the
engines. • They cost £55 10s:per horse-power, which is
a high price, by which T mean a price that would
purchase good engines.
• James Barry was the next witness, and stated, in re-
ply to Mr. Aspinall—l am Mr. Patterson's foreman,
and I know the thickness of the iron used for the bulk-
heads was .5-„ inch. I heard the evidence of Mr. Patter-
'eon -yesterday, and I agree with what he said. I
-superintended this . work, and was constantly there.
The vessel was lengthened when I joined her at
Sandycroft. Nothing more could be done -to make
her a good ship. There were three foremen appointed
to inspect the duality, end it was impossible for any-
thing defective in strength or quality- to have escaped
them. As to the rivets an the keel, I believe they were
inch and an eighth or an inch and quarter. The rivets
in the bottom were inch. There were stringers on the
wings' and diagonal plates six inches by one on the
lower deck ; the upper deck was lighter. There was a
stringer running round the ship between the spar deck
and the main deck. There are several qualities of iron
plates, but Ido not know the whole of them. There
is best best best, Yorkshire, charcoal, and others. I can
say that the iron that was put into that ship stood its
weight well. We had sometimes to reject iron, as we
would do when we found a sand-flaw or a blister upon
it.
To Mr. Aspinall—We never had a lot of iron that
we did not reject some of it, during the building of a
large ship.
To the Court—The ordinary materials were used in
building this vessel that are used for building Nessels of
this size. I have been connected with iron ship-building
for twenty-one years, and I superintended the repairing
of the Great Britain. I was in the Royal Charter when
she grounded at Flint. I came to Liverpool in her,
where she was docked and surveyed,. and we found
that she had broke thirty-three or -thirty-ive of
her angle irons, and bent her main keel two inches
and a quarter in a •distance of about twelve feet.
This was amidships. The midship keelson was broken.
It was broken at a butt on the top and torn down the
plates at the two sides. The garboard streak •was bent
also, and I think three or four of the butts were strained.
Some few plates were bent ; these were taken out and
put into the furnace and reset. There were none of the
side plates off, and only three or four from the garboard
streak. The bilge kelsons—one on each side—were put
in after the accident to strengthen her. She was
originally built with three kelsons only. Four or five
of the stancheons in the midship body of the ship were
bent. There were some rivets squirted, and some of these
we cut out. Neither the made heads nor the counter-
sunk heads came off. There were a good many of them,
but they were all replaced. Everything was made good
and additional strength given to the vessel. There •were
stronger plates put to the sides and top of the main kel-
son for the space of probably forty feet.
After these repairs, and on her first veyage,
she
.put back to Plymouth. T superintended her
repairs on that occasion. There was nothing the
matter with the hull of the vessel, but she leaked in
her waterways. She was not put into the graving
dock. We got carpenters on board, and had the water-
ways caulked. In accordance with the directions of the
surveyor, she was lightened at Plymouth of 300 tons of
stone ballast, which she had more than she required
_ To Mr. Aspinall—l am inclined to think that-there
were only three kelsons at first, notwithstanding that I
heard Mr. Patterson say that .there were five.
Mr. O'Dowd said he was informed by the Lloyds'
surveyor, that when he visited the ship in 1857, she
had five kelsons.

Mr. Aspinall read from the originalspecification, on
which the ship __was built,. by _which it appeared that
there was to be, a main kelson, and two sister-kelsons
on each side. He was under the impression that there
were two more put in, making seven ; but as it was
intended to hear Captain Martin, it 'was likely he would
be able'to set them right on that point.
The witness stated to Captain Harris that he was cer-
tain there were two kelsons added when she was being
repaired at Liverpool. There were no fore and aft
stringers introduced, while he belonged to her, in the
upper deck. He was not aware of any further repairs
except what he had told the court of, He had been
employed at the ship until about a month before she left
the dock in Liverpool.
John Vernon said, in reply to Mr. Aspinall, I am an
iron ship-builder, of the firm of Thomas Vernon, at
Liverpool. I put a fore and aft stringer into the Royal
Charter. I was requested by Messrs. Bright to say what
form of stringer would be best to strengthen the ship
after her first- voyage, and I suggested a fore and aft
stringer. This was put in under my superintendence.
To the Court—This stringer was introduced between
the lower deck and upper deck. It covered all the
available space, leaving only sufficient space for passing
the rivets through. Inever saw such a strong stringer
in my life up to that time. No expense was spared-by
Messrs. Bright. 'We put in some breast hooks or
crutches in the forefoot of the ship for the purpose of
giving her additional strength at that point. Floori
were flied to each frame as they mounted upwardi
likeasc roonw of steps. I might observe that if the old
iron had been defective the heads of the rivets would
have
off, but nothing of the kind took place, and
my impression is that the iron was of a good
quality: Captain Martin showed- me through the
ship, and" requested me to examine her. It was
considered in consequence of the great length of
the vessel that she required additional strength in her
upper works. There did appear to be some weakness,
but I do not think that it was occasioned by the weight
of her masts 'and rigging. I understood that this was
to meet' anything that might happen to her rather than
to remedy anything that had happened to her. This
great stringer' was much larger than anything that
t Lloyd'shatt reulewsedireeted, either at that time or up to the
present hour. I considered her a very strong ship. Of
course we are making improvements every day; but at
"nsiconesriedderhtehratthLeloys strongest ship
areshi pn
cyth
to
could be built. I
be followed with profit, as they only refer to the tonnage,
so that by following these rules you would build a short
vessel of the same strength as you would do a long one,
whereas it' is well known that a long one requires to be
inueb. strOnger. I--woidd throw the Strength in the main
body of the ship, and make her lighter at the ends. I
am not acquainted with any of the evidence up to this
time. I 'was • aware that she had some severe weather,
and that she made some water in the upper works, which
was occasioned by the channel bends being too high, but
it Bras of too little importance to go to any expense, ad

it could not have added much to her strength. I was
called upon, in. October, 1857, to repair the ship, be-
cause of a hole that was stove in her bow, about two'
feet square, by the fluke of the anchor going through
when she came in collision with another vessel, and I
had then an opportunity of seeing that the material was
of good quality. I put in new plates and angle irons.
When she was being launched at Sandycroft, and while
hanging on the stocks, I went to see her, and as a
builder she appeared to me to be in very good order.
To Mr. Aspinall—Something of the same kind of
stringer as I put in was adopted hy other vessels of that
class. I am not aware that this was the first of that
class of stringer that was introduced, but if not the first
it was among the first. I have seen none so strong as
the one that I put jute the Royal Charter. I might •
observe that in building a large vessel recently, we
adopted the same principle. The Royal Charter was a
ship of very great strength, but liable to straining, be-
cause of her great length and fine ends. The iron and
rivetting was very good indeed. With the stringer
in most undoubtedly I considered her a very strong
ship.
To' Mr. O'Dowd—l have spoken of an edition of
Lloyd's rules, published in June this year, which super-
sedes those of 1857. I think that Lloyd's rules are
capable of very great improvement.
To the Court—ln regard to the specific arrangements
for building a screw steamer, I would take especial
pains to incorporate into the ship's propeller screw port
frame the great strength, and make the upper'works as
light as possible.
John Jordan agent to the Liverpool Underwriters,
said—l am a shipbuilder and engineer. I have examined
the Royal Charter after each voyage, as it is my duty
'to de with every ship that comes into. the port,.
She was an average specimen of the usual class of large
screw steamers. She had a three quarter shell, double
rivetted, composed of plates about thick, in lengths of
about six feet, and breadth two feet six. She had a
vertical iron, frame thraughout. Every alternate frame
had three beams upon it. The frames, beams, and
floor were not connected longitudinally. On the top of
the floor there was a box frame about half a foot wide
and six feet deep. There was a bilge stringer rivetted
to the beams. On the ends were flat stringer plates,
about 27 inches broad by thick. There was a vertical
stringer joined to these flat stringers. There were
diagonal tie plates on.each deck from stringer to stringer.
These were running fore and aft. After the first
'voyage I found her, as I 'find alllong ships that have not
been stiffened spring amidships in the butts. The plates
had to carry the whole of 'the strain, or nearly so.
After straining, we find that the butts work the edges away.
In this 'fore peak we found that she worked something
like a pair of bellows, so that some of the rivets in the
frames Were loosened. A double five-eight stringer was
put in as de.scribod- by the last witness. One way of.
strengthening is to double the bilge and top streak, so
as to scarf the butts. Another way is to give additional
breadth to stringer-plates in the top of the beams. I saw
her on her second voyage, and if it had been required to
have the working of the butts stopped, she would then re-
quire additional stiffening. I think the plates of the Royal
Charter were quite thick enough. I do not approve of
the whole strength being in the shell as laid down by
Lloyd's rules. I consider that there should be an interior
strength. I believe if you put in too thick plates, the
work will give way before the plates. I think in every
large ship there should be girders on the ends of the
beams, so as to take the strain off the shell.
To Mr. Aspinall—l considered the Royal Charter
as an average iron ship. The symptoms of weakness
are shown by the cracking of the paint, and the rust-
ing of the butts, which .if allowed to go on will wear
away the ends of the butts. I will not say if that has
shown itself in the Great Eastern.
To the Court—l consider the great strength of the
Royal Charter to have been in her box kelson, and I
consider it was a _good job.
To Mr. O'Dowd—The object of bulk-heading iron
ships is, in case of accident, that if one compartment be
broken into, the rest may be sufficiently buoyant to
float the -ship. The number of bulkheads is always
regulated according to the capacity of the vessel.
Wm. Gilmour said to Mr. O'Dowd--I was for two
years surgeon on board the Royal Charter. I was not
on board during the last voyage, having left her in April
last. I have written to the Liverpool Hereury, stating
my opinion of the sea-worthiness of the vessel.
The first paragraph contains my opinions on this point,
and it is as ;follows :—" First, the ship.—At sea, with a
good breeze on the quarter, which was her. best sailing
point, she was the best sailer I ever saw. We used to
pass an thing we came up with. I have known her to
sail eighteen knots an hour, and.yet go steady through
the water; but in very rough weather, with a head
wind, she laboured very much, and shipped a great deal
of water, which made her a very uncomfortable ship for
passengers, more especially the third-class. I have very
often seen the water knee deep between decks, and in
sloppy wet weather the main deck always leaked; sup-
posed to be from the working and straining of the ship.
Indeed 'I have seen the boards of the deck working up
and down like the keys of a piano, and the seams all a
mass of froth. This I have frequently pointed out to
the captain and first officer. I have also seen and felt her
vibrate from bow to stern, like a fishing rod, and have often
heard the rivets rattle in her sides ; but I must say I never
saw her leaking in any part only once, and that was a
small one in the bow. These things I have more par-
ticularly noticed during the last two or three voyages,
before the unfortunate one; and I am thankful to God
that I was not in her the last one. During those two
voyages, but more especially the last one, I lost much of
the confidence I had in her, and determined to leave her
as soon as I could get a chance of settling down on land ;
in fact, such was my anxiety to be out of her, that I
had a presentiment which haunted me continually that,
sooner or later she would be lost. This I have often
told to Mr. Stevens, chief officer,
,Mr. Rogers, chief
engineer, and Mr. Lewis, purser. I never had the same
confidence in her that I had in the Great Britain, of
which ship I was surgeon at the time she was engaged in
her Majesty's transport service during the Crimean war,
which was a period of eighteen months, and all that time I
never saw her decks wet by a wave, but the Charter's
decks I have many times; indeed, I once nearly lost my life
by a huge wave, containing many tons of water, which
nearly washed me overboard one night when I was
going to the surgery.. I thank the boatswain, whose
name was Albond, for saving my life. I may have
exaggerated a little when I say that I saw the planks of
.the deck work like the keys of a piano, I merely make
mention of the keys of a piano as a simile.
To Mr. Aspinall—l did not exaggerate when I said I
felt her'vibrate 'from stem to stern like a fishing-rod. I
have told 'this to Mr. Stevens, the chief officer, and
others, who I am sorry to say are now dead. I never
told it to anyone who is now alive. That is my hand-
writing.
Mr. Aspinall then read thefollowing letter :
_
"Ball's Cottage, Buckingham-road, Aylesbury,
April 25th, 1859.
Gentlemen,—l beg most respectfully. to tender you
my resignation of the situation I have filled for some
time as surgeon of the S. S. Royal Charter, and to
say that the only reason of my doing so is, that by and
with the, advice of my friends, I am going to commend
the practice of my profession in Aylesbury.' I may
succeed, and I may not; if the former, I will be
delighted to be in the bosom of my young family ; but
if the latter should occur, might I hope that my
services, while in your employ, will not be forgotten,
and that should I ever find it necessary to seek employs
ment, and you should have a vacancy, might I hope you
would giye me a berth. Wishing you every success to
the two splendid shiPs, Great Britain and Royal Char-
ter.—Believe me, gentlemen, to remain, your very hum-
ble servant, WILLIAM G mmo en."
Another letter was also read, which the witness ac-
knowledged to be in his handwriting, in which he stated
that he was glad to see the Great Britain and Royal
of
coldehad the
oe r
of
his bunk
water thanh Charter so highly spoken of in the papers. In referene
to the following paragraph :L--" And now for the one
s tunr ail orphan.
solitary middy on board, whose name was Frederick
Foster,
punishment,
and
deck, and many an hour he has spent at the mast head
a
manyHe wasa
bucketfnd
about him to waken him up. He was also very fond of
st
' ToXing,' or feigning ill when he came under my notice.
He never would have made a sailor ; but' now his trou-
bles are over." He (the witness would have written
that about him if he had not been an orphan, and did,
not consider there was a want of Christian or gentle-
manly feeling shown by it.
George Barber, in reply to Mr, O'Dowd, said—l
am a surveyor to the Board of Trade, and it is my duty
to survey passenger ships. I have had considerable ex-
perience, both at this port and at Hull. I have
examined the Royal Charter on four separate occasions.
I gave her a certificate in May, 1857. I first saw her
in 1856. I examined her in the Graving Dock after
being• strengthened, and I found that all the require-
Ments of the Merchants' Shipping Act had been com-
-1 plied with. I am required by the act to look to the

sufficiency of the, hull, and on two occasions I have
objected to plates that were being put into vessels that
were being built. There is no person bound to comply
with my wishes, but I may object to give him a
passenger certificate when he comes. In May, of the
present year, I examined the Royal Charter's bottom,
and I was struck with the excellent appearance she
presented. I found only one slack butt, it was amid-
ships on the starboard side, on the fiat of the floor. The
certificate is only in force for six months.
To Mr. Aspinall--It is my duty to see that a ship is
fit to carry passengers before granting a certificate. I
made a very careful examination in May, 1857. Ix
May, '59, my colleague and I went together, and he
wrote the certificate. lam satisfied that she was
entitled to it.
To Mr. O'Dowd—lf the ship appeared to me to be
good, it would be my duty, as the shipwright surveyor
to the Board of Trade, to grant a declaration that she
was sufficient.
To the Court—We always examine when we have
any doubt.
' James Myrter, surveyor, corroborated the evidence of
the last witness.
The court then adjourned until to-day at one o'clock..

LIVERPOOL POLICE COURT.-YESTERDAY

(Before J. S. MANSFIELD, Esq.)

DASTARDLY ASSAULT ON A WOMAN. William.
Williams was brought up charged with having com-
mitted an assault on a young woman named Ellen Rigby.
The ptosecutrix stated that the prisoner met her about
ten o'clock last night in Edmund-street, and offered to
treat her to some drink. They consequently entered
into a public-house, where they had some ale. On
leaving the house, they proceeded along Oldhall-street,
when the prisoner, without any provocation on her part,
knocked her down. The plea raised by the prisoner
was that he had done so in self-defence. Mr. Mansfield,
however; characterised the conduct of the prisoner as
cowardly and brutal, and ordered him to pay 40s. and
costs.
ASSAULT IN AN EATrNo-TrousE.—Thos. MTaughlin
was charged with having entered the cook-shop of Mr.
Wilson, in Park-lane, and asked for a bowl of stew, but
was refused, on which he thought proper to attack in
the most ferocious manner Mrs. Wilson, her daughter,
and husband, .and break several articles used in the
trade. He was ordered to pay 10s. and costs.
A VETERAN THIEF.—An old, ragged, and miserable-
looking woman,_ named Bridget M'Coll, apparently
between seventy and eighty years of age, was charged
with stealing from the shop of Mrs. Burns, broker, No.
4, Derby, a brass kettle or urn. The prisoner pleaded
that she was so drunk she was not aware of what she
was about. The policeman who apprehended her, how-
ever, deposed that she was perfectly sober. The prisoner
was accordingly committed for trial.

ROBBERY FROM THE PERSON.—AIice Molloy was
placed at the bar on the charge of robbing Jas. O'Brien
of five sovereigns. Mr. Bluck appeared for the pri-
soner. The prosecutor stated that he was proceeding
along Marybone on the previous evening, about twelve
o'clock, when the prisoner, with a child in her arms,
met him, and offered to sell him an article of dress for a
baby. He would, however, have nothing to do with it.
She then asked him to treat her. lie accordingly went
into a court with her, and gave a small sum. She.
immediately went off, leaving the child in his charge..
He gave it to the first policeman he met, and also-
informed him that he had been robbed of £5 in gold
The woman shortly afterwards came to the policeman
seeking her child, and was immediately apprehended
Mr. Bluck contended that there was no evidence to
prove that the prisoner was the_ woman who had com-
mitted the, robbery ; that there were plenty of people in
the court besides her, any of whom might have been.
guilty of it. Mr. Mansfield, kowever, considered there
was sufficient evidence to warrant him in committing-
her for trial.
(Before Mr. Wm. EARLE.)
CONTRAVENTION OF THE BYE-LAWS OF THE
MARKET —Michael Kearney, a dealer in fish in St.
John's Market, was summoned on the charge of ob-
structing the avenue of the above named market, before
his stall, by allowing a quantity of fish to lie in it for an
unreasonable length of time. The deputy Town-clerk
appeared for the prosecution, and Mr. Blackhurst con-
ducted the defence. The latter contended that the fish
did not cause such an obstruction as to come under the
25th article of the bye-laws; he also took objection to
the mode in which the bye-laws had been made, which
he maintained was not in conformity with the provisions
of the 90th section of the Municipal Act of William
IV., which provides that no bye-laws can have force
unless agreed to by at least two-thirds of the Council.
Now those for the regulation of the public markets
had been framed by a committee, and there was 40
proof that they had been sanctioned by the Council.
It was not, moreover, clear that the Fish Market was-St.
. John's Market. A long debate ensued on these topics,
and it was finally determined to adjourn the case till
next Wednesday.