The Sun.
London, England, 1864-12-29 00:00:00

The Loss of the Seahorse,

The following is the report of the Marine Court
of Inquiry held et Singapore into the circumstances
attending the loss of the British ship Seahorse of
Liverpool :—We, the undersigned, having inquired
into the loss of the British ship. Seahorse, of Liver+
pool, official number 27,666, burthen 866 tons,
Robert Francis earthy master, find—That the said
vessel left Liverpool on the 4th of June, 1864,
bound for Shanghae, with a cargo of coals, Passed
Anjer on the 4th of September, and made Maceles*
field Channel, Gaspar Straits, on the 10th, when
at about a quarter to 9 a.m., the weather being fine
and the ship going about 1 knot, she struck on a
coral rock, said to be about two miles E. N. from
Jelaka Island, and in 45 minutes had 12 feet of
water in her hold—the tide fell, and the vessel be+
came firmly fixed on the rock, which, from the rePi
port of divers sent down by the Dutch president of
Billiton, appears to be a small pinnacle with deep
water all round. Any attempt to save the vessel
became useless, and she became a total wreck. The
master was on deck, the second mate in charge of
the lead, and a man on the forecastle on the look.
out, but no danger was observed. The ship was
being navigated by a general chart of the East
India Archipelago, sheet No. 1, published bylames
Inaray and Son, Minories, 1864, a chart on too mai
a scale for such a dangerous passage as Gaspar
Straits. Many of the dangers are not laid down, and
from the smallness of the scale, no correct bearings
could be taken. A dangerous reef called the
Discovery Rocks, is placed in mid channel, and
it was to avoid this reef the master ventured
too close to Pulo Leat, not seeing the danger be
incurred, as the rock on which the ship was lost iS
not marked on his chart. The only channel for
which his chart was applicable was the Carrimatta,
and this channel the master should have taken, and
we cannot fully accept his explanation for not doing
so, viz., easterly winds and a S.W. set. He would,
in our opinion, have shown a wise discretion in sub*
witting to some delay, instead of attempting a pas'
sage for which his chart was so obviously inade4
quate. Although in this the master was no doubt
guilty of a serious error of judgment, we do not
consider it a case of culpable negligence deserving
of punishment, as from the evidence adduced he
appears to have been very careful in the way he
conducted his vessel, and had he been supplied with
a proper chart on a larger scale, such as the Admi-
ralty chart of 1861-2, No. 2,137, of Gaspar Straits
we believe he would not have lost his ship. We are
of opinion that the loss of the Seahorse was owing
entirely to the want of a proper chart of Gaspar
Straits. We would also beg to observe that not
only was the vessel despatched from Liverpool 1114
sufficiently supplied with charts, but great remisa•
ness appears to have taken place regarding the,
compasses; they do not seem to have been adjusted
in any way prior to leaving port, or any deviation
table to have been supplied, the standard compass
on the bridge being of the commonest description,
and quite unfit for the delicate observations requalte
to determine the deviation which always occurs in
iron ships.—Dated at Singapore this 17th day of
October, 1864. W. W. WILLIAMS,- Magistrate 0'
Police ; JNO. LAURENCE KIRBY, Officiating Master
Attendant, confirmed ; ORFEUR CAVENAGII, COlOlOl9
Governor Straits Settlement.

ROYAL DRAMATIC COLLEGE.— GENEROUS Al°
SEASONABLE GIFT.—At the meeting of the Council Yes.
terday, the Master (Benjamin Webster, Esq.) received
from Charles Loftus Thorpe, Esq., a cheque for £5O ell
behalf of this most excellent charity.
CHRISTMAS AT CLARE• MARKET RAGGED SCIIOOI,B'
—On Tuesday evening last about 100 of the elder girls and
boys attending the above schools were regaled with a annaP,
tuous Christmas dinner of roast beef and plum pudding',
the presence of their teachers and other friends. Jn'tiee
having bean done to the excellent fare provided, the tabl!s
were cleared, and preparations made for exhibiting a ntag_! I
lantern, which had been kindly lent for the occasion by INI
Baker of Holborn. The views included the popular leggin:
dary stories of " Jack the Giant-killer"
and "Jack ands
the Bean Stalk," and a miscellaneous collection of viev,,
and humorous sli:es, which were described by Mr Palniceerr
the secretary of the schools. Some songs and school
pla
were then sung by the children, and a distribution of
brought this interesting gathering t 47 a C 10603,