The Sun.
London, England, 1860-12-13 00:00:00

TILE LOSS OF THE CONNAUGHT

STEAMSHIP.

The following is a copy of the report made to the
Marine Department of the Board of Trade, on the
loss of the Connaught :

"Greenwich Police-court, Dec. 8.
"My Lords,—l have to report for your lordships' infor-
mation the result of the investigation which has been made
by me, assisted by Capt. Harris, as Nautical Assessor, re-
specting the loss of the steamship Connaught, on the 7th of
October last, on her voyage from Galway to Boston, in the
United States.
" The Connaught was an iron ship belonging to the
Atlantio Royal Meil Steam Navigation Company, butt by
Messrs. Palmer, at Jarrow, on the Tyne, was launched in
April last, and intended to form one of the line of packets
from Galway to St. John's and Boston. Her gross tonnage
was 2,963 and her registered tonnage 1,522 tons. She had
three engines of 800-horse power (combined). A very
minute description of thA ship apposrw in the evidence of
the builder, Mr. John Brough Palmer, who was examined
in order to discover whether there was anything either in
her construction or in her machinery to account for her loss.
" The Connaught left Galway for St. John's and Boston
on the 25th day of September last on her second ♦oyage,
commanded by Captain Robert Leitch, having on board
about 467 passengers, and crew, including engineers and
firemen, of 124 officers and men. She encountered some
bad weather en her passage to St. John's, by which damage
was done to skylights and other parts on dock, but nothing
apparently of a serious nature, or likely to have contributed
to the subsequent loss. On leaving St. John's she was sup-
posed to have 616 tons of coals on board, having burnt 664
tons on the passage to St John's, and having, as was be-
lieved, shipped 1,280 tons at Galway. This, however, would
appear to be an error, as her bunkers and coal reserves were
not capable of containing above 1,200 tons, and conse-
quently she could not have had more than 536 tons on
leaving St. John's. This is an important fact, as it may
partly account for the crank state of the ship as mentioned
in the engineer's log. The bottoms of the bunkers of the
Connaught, two in each wing, were at a level of nearly
two feet above the water line, and at the time she was
abandoned there were about 20 tons in each bunker. Had
these bunkers been emptied into the coal reserves below,
the ship would have been in better trim, and it would
not probably have been necessary to have recourse to the
expedients mentioned in order to bring her upright, such
as blowing off one of the port boilers, filling the starboard
lifeboats with water, bringing the ship's head to wind,
and throwing her out of her course for three or four hours.
With respect to the blowing off the boiler it is to be observed
that, besides its utter uselessness for the purpose intended,
it was an imprudent measure, inasmuch as it decreased the
stability of the ship, and deprived her of a portion of her
steam, then mach required for pumping out the water, and
being done without previous communication with the Blas-
ter it proves a want of co-operation much to be blamed.
"About 7 30 p.m. of the 6th October the water was first
observed to be gaining ground in the ship's bilge. The
joiner, whose duty it was to sound the wells, the carpenter
being disabled, states that he then found an increase since
noon of 10 inches under the fore coal reserve, while there
was not more than three inches of increase in the other parts
of the ship. It does not appear to have occurred to any one
that the increase of water in that particular part indicated
some local cause; that it might arise from a defective pipe
or outlet of the ship, quite as probably as from the starting
of a plate or other injury in her frame, and that by applying
the pumps where the great increase of water was observed,
and shutting off the communication with the other compart-
mente,:the locality, and probably the cause, of the leak might
have been ascertained. Instead of this the whole pumping
power was employed to reduce the general body of water, at
first apparently with some effect, but the leak soon got ahead
again, and by 9 a.m. of Sunday, the 7th, it had risen to the
furnaces in the port side of the fore stokehole, and put out
some of the fires from the extraordinary list of the ship.
From this time, owing to the difficulty of feeding the star-
board foremost boilers, the steam rapidly went down though
every effort was made to keep it up in the after boilers by
strongly urging the fires in the after stokehole. About a
quarter before 10 a.m, the ship was found to be on fire. It
was first discovered by one of the firemen, who gave the
alarm to the chief engineer, who told hint to be quiet, and
went and informed the captain, and gave directions about
getting the pumps ready, which took about five minutes,
when he went down into the engine-room, and noticed the
fire on the top of the boilers at the back of the superheater
on the starboard side, his impression being that it was the
covering of the boilers that was on fire. The progress of
the fire may be briefly detailed by an extract from the
ship's log as follows :
" About 9.45 a.m. (on the 7th of October) discovered
smoke issuing from the after stokehole grating and starboard
boiler. Got the hose on to the after steam-donkey, and got
the small portable engine on deck, with hose, and played
water on to the boilers behind the superheaters and into
the starboard coal-bunker.
"' About 10.5 a.m. found the smoke issuing through the
deck in the ladies' saloon. Got a large quantity of blankets
wet, and spread them on the decks and played water on them
to keep the fire under. Passengers and stewards passing
water down below. About 10 a.m. sent the third officer to
throw the powder overboard. About 10.10 tried to get more
way on the ship to bring her round on the other tack, but
could not get sufficient steam. At 10.15 set the head sails
and tried to wear her round, but the ship would not wear.
She becoming quite unmanageable, took in the head sails
and set the maintrysail, as the engines had stopped alto-
gether, and the smoke had driven everybody on deck aft.
The purser and two hands vainly tried to get the specie on
deck, but could not. Still keeping the pumps and buckets
constantly going to keep the fire under. About 11.30 a.m.
commenced with a few hands to clear away the boats,
having hoisted the signals of distress, hoisted fore and aft.'
"It may seem strange that the fire in so short a time
should have gained such a head, as the nearest wood work
of the ship was the floor of the ladies' cabin, a distance of
7 feet 6 inches from the spat where the fire was first ob-
served. But part of this apace was occupied by the star-
board wing bunker, the nearest point of which was a' out
18 inches from the:top of the boiler. In that bunker there
were 20 tons of coal in a very dry state from the heat of the
stokehole underneath and the radiation from the super-
heater. It is probable that these coals would soon ignite
and communicate the fire to the deck above.

"In this perilous condition the Connaught was observed
by Captain Wilson, or the Minnie Schiffer, an American
brigantine of about 200 tons burden, bound to Boston, to
whose great zeal and intrepidity the passengers and crew of
the steamer were in all probability indebted for the preser-
vation of their lives. Coming almost alongside and taking a
hawser from the deck of the flaming ship, Captain Wilson
was enabled safely to convey every ono on board his
little craft. Except L4'.-•
from on board the snip. 510,000 in specie, and the whole
of the cargo and baggage of passengers and crew were aban-

doned with the ship at 10 p ui., tho master, Capt. Leitch,
being the last person to quit her. She was last seen about
2.30 aan., of the Bth, burning terrifically, apparently fore
and aft.

" On a review of the facts from the time of the ship's
leaving St. John's, so far as they can be collected from the
imperfect and often contradictory statements of the wit-
nesses, there is nothing to prove that the ship was lost

through the wrongful act or default of any person holding
a Board of Trade certificate, though it may be thought that
a little more intelligence might have been displayed in the
endeavour to detect the probable cause of the leak and to
apply the most effectual remedy
" Here, therefore, the investigation a 9 directed by the
Merchant Shipping Act might have terminated. But it

appeared desirable for the sake of the private interests con-
cerned, as well as on public grounds, that the lose of a ship
of so great value and apparently so complete should, if pos-
sible, be accounted for.
" Aminute inquiry, therefore, has been made as to the
construction of the ship and her machinery, and the details
aro very fully set forth in the evidence of Mr. Palmer. It
will be necessary at present to refer only to those portions
of the description of the ship which are connected with the
supposed origin of the leak and of the fire. It may, how-

ever, be observed, that according to the evidence of Mr.
Palmer, the Connaught appears to have been built with

great care and without regard to expense, and to have been

altogether seaworthy and fit for the purpose for which she
was designed. It i■ due to the contractors and to the com-

pany to express this opinion, as unfavourable reports of the
ship have been circulated, and one witness, the chief officer

of the Connaught on her first voyage, has stated in his evi-
dence that he considered her unsafe, and would not again
go to sea in her, but the only proof given by him in sup-

port of this opinion was the trifling defect 'he mentioned,

which only resulted in personal inconvenience in his cabin.

Tho character of this Witnems's evidence, and the feeling

under which it seems to have been given, coupled with
his improper conduct in taking away the ship's log when
he left the service, render it impossible to attach any value

o his statements.

" With regard to the supposed leak, Mr. Palmer's sug•
g,estion is that by reason of the labouring of the ship, or

from some other cease, the lead waste-pipe leading from

the officers' water-closets through the ship's side, under