The Sun.
London, England, 1863-06-06 00:00:00

THE LOSS OF THE ANGLO-SAXON.

LIVERPOOL, Friday.—The official inquiry into
the loss of the steam ship Anglo-Saxon was re-
sumed to-day before Mr. Raffles and Capts. Baker
and Harris. The first witness examined was W.
Jenkins, purser of the Anglo-Saxon, who said that
of the passengers on board at the time there
were saved 33 cabin and 104 steerage, 71 officers
and men of the crew, and one mail officer, mak-
ing a total of 209. There were drowned 15 cabin
and 208 steerage passengers, and 15 of the crew,
including the captain—total, 238. Witness was
below when the vessel struck, and so slight was
the shock, that he scarcely noticed it. He heard
the captain then cry out " Hard a starboard;"
witness then went on deck. When he reached
the deck, he heard the captain giving instruc-
tions to back the ship at full speed. After this wit-
ness went forward and helped the captain to get a
rope ashore. In their first attempt the rope slipped
from their hands, but ultimately two ropes were
secured to the locks, and by these a number of
steerage passengers were conveyed to the shore.
When the ship began to settle down there was a
great rush to the shore side, and the people jumped
into the water, but as there were 30 feet of water
space between the ship and the shore a great number
of the passengers were drowned, although a few
were rescued by being pulled out of the water with
the ropes. Whilst the ship was breaking up the
mainmast fell seaward. There were a number of
persons clinging to it, and they were carried over
the ship and drowned, it being impossible to render
assistance from the shore. Witness saw No. 3 boat
capsized with about a dozen passengers in it. The
boat struck on the rocks bottom upwards, and was
dashed to pieces. There were some people in the
fore rigging, but only two were rescued, and a
number of passengers in the other parts of the rig-
ging were also drowned. When it was impossible to
save any more lives some of the crew were sent in
search of human habitations, and the people busied
themselves in securing wood and other necessaries
for an emergency. Before the vessel broke up wit-
ness saw Capt. Burgess, who was at the gangway
assisting passengers into the baskets, and saw him
again on deck about five minutes before the ship
settled down. Capt. Burgess was a second officer in
the Montreal service from 1856 to 1859, and a first
officer from 1859 to 1861, after which time he sailed
as a master. The captain was up night after night
whilst the ship was approaching and in the ice, and
he appeared to do everything that was right. Wit-
ness had the highest opinion of the captain, both as
a sailor and a man. Voyages to Quebec had been
made earlier in the season than when the Anglo-
Saxon started. He (witness) had gone a week
earlier in 1858. During that voyage the St. Law-
rence was found clear of
quan-
tity of field ice was passed in the Gulf Stream. The
of the ice, though a great
10th of April was about the usual time the spring
persons in it.
eg voyages commenced.at
sa
landing
dn g
wiWthiotnnelyssfinveever heard of one
Wm. M'Master, first engineer, was next ex-
amined. He described the voyage until Sunday the
26th April at 2 p.m., when the ice off Newfound-
land was cleared and the engines were worked at
full speed. The engines were kept at full speed
until eight o'clock the next morning, when the fog
became very dense, and the captain ordered them
to be put at half-speed. At half-pest 11 a.m. was
standing on the bridge with the captain, when the
first officer reported that he beard the sound of
breakers. The captain said, 4, It cannot be; it must
be ice." Shortly after this the look-out shouted
" Breakers a-head." The captain then ordered the
engines to be reversed at full speed. This was done,
but the vessel struck on the rocks astern. Witness
then ordered the second engineer to stand by the
bilge pumps, and the ship was then turned ahead at
full speed, in compliance with the captain's instruc-
tions. 'Witness again felt the ship strike forward,
and finding the water rising in the stokeholes,
ordered the safety valves to be opened. The men in
his department then went on deck and assisted in
getting the boats out. He concurred in the state-
ments made by the last witness relative to the land-
ing of passengers, &c. Witness explained that he
assisted in towing No. 2 boat to Cape Race. He
had been sent off from the ship to look for a landing
in a boat which contained but few persons. She
was in charge of a merchant captain named Craw-
ford, who was a passenger on board the Anglo-
Saxon. The boat was unable to find a landing, and
also, on account of the fog, was unable to return to
the ship.
Mr. O'Dowd said he was glad that this statement
had been made, as it set at rest an allegation that
the boat was capable of containing 40 persons, and
through some carelessness had Only a few people
in it.

assisisstatanttepmuernstear,c7O:ained no fact
the next wit-
ness Gilbert
examined.e,
His
of interest.

adjusts the com -
paMrsses. JoofhntLehefepyrrien, pcoiptaielisatne, who adjusts
companies, de.
posed that he adjusted the compass of the Anglo-
Saxon supplied by Mr. Gray on the Ist of Novem-
ber, and he found it perfectly correct. The compass
was a new one at that time.

Samuel
of T. Green,
27thmembered the
morning
n the evening of
m
Sunday witness had a conversation with Captain
the mail
of a
April. officer,
o, remembered
Burgess. He was aware of the distance they were
from Cape Race, and the rate the ship was going—
twelve miles an hour—and he made a calculation,
and found we should be at Cape Race about eight
o'clock on the following morning. Witness met the
captain, and said, " Captain Burgess, " I suppose we
shall be up at the Cape at about eight o'clock to-
morrow morning." The captain considered a
moment or two, and then said, yes, about eight
o'clock." Witness was aware of instructions having
been given to call at Cape Race to learn the state of
the St. Lawrence, and whether the ship should pro-
ceed there or go to another port. He expected in-