The Sun.
London, England, 1866-01-06 00:00:00

four miles. The value of the whole of the work
executed is about £178,421, of which the sum of
£5,321 is due to the progress made by Mr. Webster
in the past month.

" Alhey Mills Pumping Station—The brickwork
of the whole of the footings of the buildilig has
been got in, and the outer walls all round brought
up to a height of sft. above them. The quantity
of Portland cement concrete deposited i 52,517 cubic
yards, and the number of rods of brickwork laid
100. There is a large quantity of stone on the
ground, which is being dressed. The value of the
completed work is £14,132, of which £2,132 re-
presents last month's progress. Portions of the
machinery- continue to arrive from Messrs. Roth-
well's foundry.
" South Side of the Thames—Thames Embank-
ment (Contract No. I)—Mr. Webster has completed
I,oooft. run of piling for the dam and 1,250 ft. run
in staging have been driven to an average depth
of 16ft. About 95,000 cubic feet of timber have been
used in these works, and about 75,000 ft. are upon
the ground ready for use.
" J. W. BAZALGETTE, Chief Engineer."
Mr. Roam complained of the very slow progress
which was made by Mr. Furness with the Embank-
ment work No. 1, and said that he should move
that this subject be referred to the Thames Em-
bankment Committee. The time when this work
ought to be completed would be August in the pre-
sent year ; but, in his opinion, two years would not
be sufficient to see its completion.
The ENGINEER said he was unable to fix a time
when he could say the work would be completed.
Mr. ROCHE said he hoped that Mr. Furness would
be informed that, unless the work was done in a
reasonable time, they would consider whether the
penalties for delay should not be enforced.

The motion of Mr. Roche was put and agreed to,
and the report of the engineer was ordered to be
printed and circulated.

The other business of the Board was then disposed
of, and it adjourned.

The late Fatal Collision in the Channel.

THE BOARD OF TRADE INQUIRY.
DOVER, Friday.
The Board of Trade inquiry into the late fatal
collision in the Channel was resumed this day in the
Town-hall. The Court was similarly constituted
as yesterday.
Mr. O'Dowd stated to the Court that he thought,
in the absence of the Captain of the Belgique, who
was lying at Ostend unwell, and who was incapable,
accordißg to the doctor's certificate, of attending the
court to give evidence in the matter, that they
should hear the evidence of the first officer of that
vessel.
The first officer was accordingly called into the
witness-box, and his evidence was occasion4lly de-
livered in French and interpreted by Mr. Latham,
the Dutch Consul.
Charles Acrebiss, examined by Mr. O'Dowd, said
—I am a first-lieutenant in the Belgian Royal Navy
and I am first officer on board the mail packet
Belgique. She left Ostend on the evening of the
13th of December last about 8 p.m. The weather
was dark and hazy. We reached the Admiralty
pier about 1 o'clock. Between 11 and 12 o'clock I
could discern the Calais and Cape Grisnez lights.
This was before I paseed the South Foreland. I
saw the Foreland lights afterwards about two or
three miles off. e went at least at 13 knots an
hour. This is our usual speed. I was on deck be-
tween Dunkirk and Dover. Captain Owen, the
captain of the Belgique, is unwell, and has' been so
for some days. I saw a steamer's light during the
voyage, about half-past 12 o'clock. First a mast-
head light, and subsequently her port red light. We
heard the steamer's whistle. We could not see her
hull. When I first saw her red lights she seemed to
be about half a mile off. We did not see the hull of
any vessel between Dunkirk and Dover in crossing
the Channel. We always go at the same speed ex-
cept in foggy weather or a heavy sea. I did not
consider it necessary to slow the engines that night.
They were not slowed. I was merely acting as
first officer, and was not in the command of the
vessel. We received intelligence of the accident as
soon as we reached the pier, and we went off to the
Samphire's assistance directly. We went of our own
accord to her assistance ; we were not sent, as it has

been stated in some of the papers. We did not stop

to unload the baggage. We found the Samphire
about 20 minutes after we started. We made 600
revolutions, and that is why I calculated we reached
the Samphire in 30 minutes. The Samphire bore
from the Admiralty pier S.S.E.. We took the pas-
sengers on board and landed them at Dover. We
went out again about half-past 4 o'clock in search

of the Sarnphire, and found she had altered her po-
sition. She was 12 miles from Dover, close to the
Yarn light. It was thicker and more hazy in Dover
Bay than it was out at sea.
By Mr. Edwards—We could not see the Sam-
phire's lights when we started from the Admiralty
pier, nor after we cleared the pier. We went in
search of her according to the course she ought to
have been in and the current. The tide was setting
to the westward. This was the first time we went to
her. The tide had been setting eastward from about

5 o'clock and turned ebb at midnight. I can't tell
how far the Samphire was off when we first caught
sight of her. The maximum speed of the Belgique
is about 14 knots an hour.

By Capt. Harris—The Belgique belongs to the
Belgian Royal Navy, and the speed of the vessel is
left to the entire control of the commander, and in
case of any accident he woukl be tried by a court-
martial. No one on board the Belgique heard any
cries from the steamer which we saw on our voyage,
or we should have gone to her assistance. Wepassed
the steamer about half a mile distant, as near as I
can judge. I supposed by the steamer's whistling
she was in want of a pilot. We did not pay much
attention to her, and did not observe that she was
waving her lights. We did not see the South Sand-
head light, as wepassed it at a considerable distance,
and it was too hazy to see it. Probably had it been
a fine clear night we should have seen it. Ido not
know at what distance we usually pass that light.
By Captain Baker—lf a vessel had happened to
pass us that night it would have been very difficult
to avoid her, as she could not be perceived in suffi-
cient time to get out of her way, owing to the haze
and darkness. I did not see the hull of, the Sam-
phire as we passed her.
By Mr. Fox—We steered west, three-quarters
north, from Ostend.
Mr. Churchward—That would bring the Belgique
from eight to ten miles distant from the South
Sandhead light.
By Captain Harris—That is the usual course for
that tide.

By Mr. Knocker—The head of the Samphire was
to the north.

The Mayor addressed the witness before he left
the box, and said before he left the court he wished
to tender his thanks and the thanks of his brother
magistrates to him and all on board the Belgique
for the promptitude and kindness with which they
went to the rescue of our fellow-countrymen on
board the Samphire, whose lives were endangered
through coming into collision with the bark
Fanny Buck.

Capt. James Pitlock, examined by Mr. O'Dowd—
I am captain of the Maid of Kent. I have a certificate
of competency. I crossed the Channel from Calais to
Dover about 2 o'clock on the morning of the 14th.
Mr. O'Dowd here addressed the Court, and said
he did not think the evidence that would be adduced
by this' witness was of any value, because he could
only give evidence of the state of the weather after
2 *lock, which would affect the case.

John Sharp, examined by Mr. O'Dowd—l am a
leading man of the night quarters of the London,
Chatham, and Dover Railway Company, stationed
on the pier. I was on the pier on the night of the
13th of December when the second boat of the
Samphire arrived with three of the crew, the mail
master, two of the bark's crew, and some passen-
gers. After the passengers were landed I handed a
light to Datland to look for the plugs of the boat.
I saw him pick the two plugs out of the boat. They
were fastened to her lanyard. There were a rag or
handkerchief in the plug hole. There was three or
four inches of water in the boat. I took another
shore hand in the boat, and sent the boat to try
and find the Samphire.
By Capt. Harris—l could not see the lights of the
Samphire, because the -weather was hazy. We heard
the whistle of a otearam blowing an how before the