The Sun.
London, England, 1863-01-10 00:00:00

FATAL COLLISION.

SOU ['HAMPTON, FRIDAY.
A frightful collision occurred this morning, at
the entrance of the Southampton water, between
the Peninsular and Oriental Company's steamship
Ceylon and the brig Ridesdale, causing the loss of
o lives and serious injury to two other persons.
The Ridesdale, Captain Reader, which was bound
for the West Indies, laden with railway iron, put
into this port a few days ago leaky, and, having
completed her repairs, left early this morning to
proceed on her voyage, being towed down the river
by the steamtug Aid, Captain Greenway, which
was lashed to her side. Two of the first-class
pilots belonging to the port were on board the brig,
one of them, W. Goodridge, being in charge of her,
and the other, Nathaniel Roberton, going down to
the Solent to look out for a vessel. When they ar-
rived abreast of Calshot Castle, the Ceylon, Captain
Evans, which was just arrived from Alexandria,
was rounding Calshot from the Solent into the
river, when she came in collision with the brig,
cutting her in two amidship, and she sank in a few
minutes. The bowsprit of the Ceylon caught the
funnel of the Aid, carrying it away, and in falling
on the deck it struck the pilot Goodridge and killed
him on the spot.
Captain Greenway, master of the Aid, has made
a statement, from which it appears that he saw
the Ceylon before he saw her lights, outside Cal-
shot Castle. It was a beautiful bright morning,
and there was so much daylight that he did not
think the tug's lights were required. He conse-
quently ordered them to be taken down, and at the
time of the accident the boy was removing the third
light, which fell from his hand in the collision. The
Aid was on the weather or Hamble shore, and not
in mid channel, the wind E.S.E. at the time. She
was so near the shore that the Ceylon could nut
have passed inside of her on account of the shallow
water, it being dead low water. When Captain
Greenway first saw the Ceylon's lights they were
in the usual form of a triangle, and immediately
afterwards her port or rea light was shut in, show-
ing that the Ceylon had starboarded her helm to
enter the river. The captain called the pilot
Goodridge's attention to this, and he replied from
the brig, " Yes, I see it," and immediately star-
boarded the brig's helm to keep out of the way of
the steamer. The collision occurred iramediat-,4
afterwards. Captain Greenway says ,oat just
before the collision took place he taw the Ceylon's
port light, which showed that the steamer had
altered her course, The captain and the others on
board the brig, seeing a collision to be inevitable,
then jumped on board the tug, and the collision im-
mediately took place.
Fortunately, the two ropes by which the tug was
lashed to the brig were broken, although they were
respectively 6 inch and 54-inch hawsers, or the
Aid must in all prob bility have gone down with
the brig, and a much greater loss of life would have
been the result. As stated above, poor Goodridge
was killed by the falling funnel. The fireman of
the Aid, named Frederick Gaston, was either
knocked overboard or jumped over, and has not been.
found. A boy belonging to the Aid jumped over-
board, but was picked up alive by a fisherman
named Yard, and the b,,y states that while he was
under water he felt the keel of one of the vessels
pass over his back, Captain Reader, who was on
the bridge of the tug at the time of the collision, was
thrown on to the deck, and had his ribs fractured.
Roberton, the second pilot, was afterwards found
on the taffrail of the Aid, with his left leg hanging
over, broken to pieces by the mainmast of the brig
falling on him, and he was taken on board the Ceylon,
where the poor fellow's leg has been amputated dur-
ing the afternoon, since her arrival in dock. Good-
ridge has left a widow and a grown up son and
daughter; and Gaston the fireman has left a widow
and two young children.
The. Ceylon has suffered no damage from the col-
lision beyond the loss of her jibboom and a portion
of the figure-head, but striking traces of the ace:,.
dent are visible in the grazed and dirty appezreance
of the paint on either side of the cut water.
the Great presence of mind was shown 3,-iy
cap-
tain and engineer of the Aid, wbo, in the excite-
ment of the moment, took steps which in all proba-
bility prevented an explosion of the tug being
added to the °than. horrors of the accident. The
captain immediately propped up the safety valve,
and the engineer went below and drew the fires,
but for which such a calamity would most probably
have occurred.

The Ceylon was in charge of Geo. Tubbs, another
first-class pilot of the port.
With regard to the cause of the collision, or the
blame that may attach to any party, that will, of
course, be the subject of inquiry hereafter.
At 4 o'clock this afternoon IVIr. E. Coxwell, the
borough coroner, opened the inquest upon the body
of Wm. Goodridge, at the Can ate Castle Hotel,
stating that, after the jury had viewed the body,he
should only partially examine one witness to enable
him to issue his warrant for the burial, and then
adjourn the inquiry to aff ;rd an opportunity for all
persons concerned to he present.

Mr. J. Sharp, jun., solicitor, attended on the part
of the Peninsular and Oriental Company, and said
he was instructed to afford every facility for the
prosecution of the inquiry in order that the truth
might be fully ascertained. Mr.J. R. Stebbing,the
chairman of the Steam Towing Company, and other
gentlemen were also present.

On the return of toe jury from viewing the body
the coroner called—

Francis Fred. Greenway, master of the steam-tug);
Aid, who deposed as follows :—This morning, at 20
minutes past 5, I left Southampton•docks and went
off to the brig Ridesdale, which was lying in the
river. I had the captain and two pilots on board,
of whom the deceased was one and Nathaniel
Raberton the other. About 20 minutes before 6we
weighed and proceeded down the river, with the
brig lashed alongside. About 20 minutes to 7we
were in collision with the steamship Ceylon, which
was then coming up the river. Just before the col-
lision took place the master of the brig, the two
pilots, and most of the crew jumped on board the
Aid. At the same moment the Aid's funnel was
carried away by the bowsprit of the Ceylon, and
fell on the deck fore and aft. A minute or two
afterwards I was called aft by my mate, when I
saw Mr. Goodridge lying by the side of the fun-
nel, with his head close to it. His head was very
much fractured, and he was quite dead, pulsation
having ceased. I sat him up, and the doctor from
the Ceylon came on board and pronounced him dead.
At this stage of the proceedings the coroner said
he had Etaken sufficient evidence for today, and
then adjourned the inquiry till four o'clock on
Saturday afternoon, when the witness Greenway's

evidence will be more fully gone into, and other

Witnesses examined,

Roberton, the pilot, died this evening, making
he third life lost by this melancholy casualty.

SUNDAY EXCURSIOA TRAINS.—On Thursday a
memorial in opposition to that from the Archbishop
and Bishops of the Church of England and other bodies
against the running of excursion trains on Sundays, was
circulated and extensively signed by persons who avail
themselves of such trains, for presentation to the directors
grailways9n which such excursion trains are run.