The Sun.
London, England, 1861-01-02 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, JANUARY 2, 1861,

can measure a farm by the produce of a year in '
which you have not had an abundant harvest—by
the bills that have been carried in a particular
session, yet I say that among those 150 acts that
we passed into law there will be found many which
were the result of labour and the offspring of
thought, and although they were not the subject of
party conflicts or keen disputes, nevertheless, by the
consent and co-operation of politicians of all shades,
they were inserted in the statute-book, and will, I
believe, confer lasting benefits on the whole com-
munity. (Hear.) But, gentlemen, your popular
institutions, of which the House of Commons is the
chief, and that free press which, co-operating with
them, so collects and distributes the united intelli-
gence of the whole people, that England now pre-
sents the spectacle of a country in which the reason
and enlightened conviction of the entire nation pre-
vail and govern in the last resort—l say that.those
popular institutions give to your councils in the
eye of the world a weight and a force which no
other institutions have ever given to the councils of
any other State, and which even among ourselves
were, probably, never raised to a greater height
than they are at this moment. (Hear, hear.) Gen-
tlemen, if you look to the narrative of events in
China to which my hon. friend and colleague has
referred—a narrative which, whether you speak of
its horrors or of its triumphs, is so tinged with the
colour of eastern fable that you can scarcely believe
it is a record of facts that you are reading—you
see there the energetic arm of popular institutions
carrying on almost at the antipodes a great expe-
dition with as much success as if it were conducted
at within one day's sail from our own arsenals and
sources of supply; and you see nothing left to be
desired in the skill of the commander, the heroism
of the troops, or the wonderful effect of those arms
of precision which have now been tried for the first
time, which are destined to exercise such an impor-
tant influence on the result of all future conflicts,
and of which England, the metropolis of art and
science, is so naturally the mistress, that you may
depend upon it the main command ot those weapons
will ever remain with this favoured and powerful
country. (Cheers.) But, with your permission,
gentlemen, I would touch for a moment upon other
triumphs which we have been enabled to achieve
during the past year. First, I would refer to the
treaty with France, to which my hon. friend and
colleague has adverted, and from which I sincerely
trust we are destined to reap signal advantage. It
was by an unfortunate commercial treaty which
this country once concluded that the mischievous
separation between England and France, which has
now happily been terminated,was originally created.
You know that down to the beginning of this year a
wall of protection, as impassable as the rampart
which the Tartars built on the frontiers of
China, fenced in the commerce of France, and
separated England and France, the two countries
in the world most formed for friendship and mutual
assistance. (Cheers.) Well, gentlemen, by whom
was that wall erected There used to be commer-
cial intercourse between England and France, but
the historians of the last century tell us that by a
treaty which, with mischievous ingenuity and in-
comparable skill for evil, our negotiators contracted
with Portugal we succeeded •in securing for our-
selves the commerce of that comparatively small
country, and excluded ourselves from the benefits
of that great commerce with France which I trust
is now by another treaty about to be opened to
England. But, gentlemen, great as are the mate-
rial advantages of increased trade between France
and England, in my judgment they sink into insig-
nificance in comparison with the other and higher
benefits that may be expected to follow in their
train. How can you be surprised if the experience
of the last and the early part of the present century
has been hostility between the two greatest and
foremost countries in the world, when ill-contrived
legislation shut them out from the reciprocal advan-
tages of commercial interchange? But now, break
down the barriers between them, invite the people
of both countries to increased intercourse and
freer trade, and you bind them both in the re-
cognisances of commerce to amity and concord;
and I trust the civilisation of the world is
destined to receive blessings yet unimagined from
their extended relations. (Hear, hear.) My hon.
friend has spoken to you of Italy. You have
watched with interest and hailed with delight the
results of the conflict in which that noble people
have been engaged. You have seen the clergy and
the laity, the rich and the poor, side by side con-
tending to shake off the tyranny to which they had
been so long subjected. What does the great Mi-
nister of Italy tell you is his aim and object ? Why,
to raise his country after the example and according
to the model of England, which he truly designates
" the classic mother of liberty." (Cheers.) And,
gentlemen, you know that with Italy the struggle
is not over when the strife of arms has ceased, but
the real question is whether when the victory in the
field is won, her people will be able to build up for
themselves those peculiar institutions by which they
desire to be governed, which they have to create by
their own wisdom and their own exertions, and
which you, by the blessing of Providence, have de-
rived as an inheritance from your ancestors, and
mean to transmit unimpaired to your posterity.
((sheers.) So far, then, gentlemen, for the position
of this country in the face of Europe. Now let us
turn to the other side of the Atlantic. During the
past year it was your pride and privilege to have
resident among you the heir apparent of the Throne.
You watched, therefore, with special interest and
affection the visit which he paid to the colonies of the
Crown and that great Republic in another hemi-
sphere, whose origin is the same as ours, whose
laws, language, and literature have descended from
our own. You can appreciate better than others
the effect which that visit has produced, and you
will agree in rejoicing, at a time when the Ameri-
cans appear to be threatened with many dangers from
internal dissensions and disunion, that the common
feeling of the whole Anglo-Saxon race has by that
auspicious event been drawn more closely and united
more firmly to the common mother, from whom all
its virtues and all its honours have sprung. (Hear.)
Gentleman, at home we have not, indeed, been
blessed with a favourableiseasen, but such is the
industry and such has been the policy of
the country, that we can now meet an adverse
season without being shaken to our centre, as we
used to be in former times ; and, notwithstanding
the difficulties with which we have to contend, we
have on every side a loyal, a prosperous, and a
contented people. (Hear, hear.) Gentlemen, in
these blessings I era happy to tell you that the
sister island shares in a signal and remarkable de-
gree. (Hear, hear.) Ireland has been more severely
tried, perhaps, by the harvest of the year which has
just closed than her richer sister,. England. The
time is not long gone by when her warm-hearted
population had not the pursuits of industry open to
them, for there were no means of obtaining wages
for the labour of the day. But those times are now
happily past, and in Ireland there is growing up a
spirit of industry, a desire for improvement, and a
thirst after knowledge and the blessings of educa-
tion which bid fair year by year to raise her more
and more in the scale of nations. Depend upon it
that, side by side, the two sister kingdoms will
continue to flourish and improve, forming one united
empire, the envy of surrounding nations, and the
happiness of the people who inhabit them. (Cheers.)
Gentlemen, we have marked the progress during
the past year of that Volunteer movement upon
which my hon. colleague dwelt with so much force.
We have seen this country rising like ono man, de-
termined that at whatever sacrifice, either of person
or pocket, that should be done which was most
conducive to the honour of the Crown and the in-
terests of the nation. In this we have witnessed a
spectacle such as I venture to say no other country
at this moment could present. (Hear.) Gentlemen,
withn c
wn chl
iueshi oyn,
0,
uI
haventhank you heartily
recthvedme,a for
ndl tbhe egkohalllnssuerses
personaland c cordial lgi
good
01. feeling
d will,
as NVwithelWl haisChthle
havee I believe that, notwith-
onour m .
standing the short-comings, whatever they may
marks of public confidence with which you are good
reciprocatenoollugo enough
tthoeky warmour
been,
privileged to live is des-
country in which we are
to the subjects of the Queen,
expired, the favoured
just
cause of happiness
b of
theyear
tined to be more and more the
to be the object
of admiration and imitation to the other nations of 4

the globe, and to be—thanks to its popular and
free institutions—the ark of rational and well-
ordered liberty. (Loud cheers.)
Several other toasts appropriate to the occasion
followed, after which the company separated.

TILE LATE SHIPWRECK llf PLYMOUTH SOUND

Yesterday afternoon an inquest was held on the
bodies of Edward Hosken, James Toms, David
Libby, Waiter Hosken, and John Crapp, the crew
of the schooner Speedwell; which was wrecked on
Saturday afternoon, between Redding Point and
Hooe Lake, just under Mount Edgcumbe.
The inauest was held at Maker Farm, before Mr.
J. Jagoe, county coroner, and a respectable jury, of
which Mr. Webber was the foreman. After the jury
had viewed the bodies of the deceased, which lay
in a barn belonging to the Maker Farm, they re-
turned to the house, when the following evidence
was adduced:—

The first witness called was Wm. H. Williams,
who said—l am a master in the Royal Navy, and
chief officer of the Coastguard station at Cawsand,
in the parish of Rame. About 8 o'clock on Satur-
day morning I was at Cawsand, and saw the Speed-
well at anchor between Redding Point and hone
Lake, under Mount Edgcumbe. Just about 10
o'clock a steam tug cam( out and took hold of the
schooner with a rope. The tug, however, shortly
after left, and went towards Plymouth, but I can-
not say whether or not the rope parted. When I
saw the perilous positioa the schooner was in, I
sent round two of my men to watch her, but it was
impossible fo assist her; although I sent two lines
in case the men on boarc the schooner should take
to their boat. I went stortly after them, and saw
the sailors take the boat on board, and bail her out.
The vessel was then at anchor. The crew in the
course of the day pulled down the burgee from the
maintopmast—a small narrow flag, bearing the
name of the ship Speedwell, and put it in the
fore rigging. The whole of the crew, comprising
four men and one boy, then took to their boat
and pulled towards Redding Point with the
head of the boat to the eastward. They evidently
tried to weather Redding Point, but the first surf
they entered swallowed the boat up. The men were
all immersed in the water, and only two of them
appeared again. One of my men got within a
distance of four yards to one of them, when the sea
cut him down, and it was as much as we could do
to haul him in. (The coroner here praised the gal-
lant conduct of the man referred to.) The whole
of the crew were lost to sight in less than five
minutes. I then left my men, and went on my
station to make a report of the matter. When the
men ieft the vessel it was half-past 2 by my watch.
When I first saw the vessel in the morning she had
a pilot jack at the forecrosstree, and a burgee at
her maintopmast. There was no signal of distress ;
for what we consider a signal of distress is au en-
sign turned upside down. But she had no ensign
on board at all, and I considered from the fact of her
having the pilot jack flying that she wanted a pilot
to come to her; but it was impossible for a pilot to
go near her on account of the boisterous state of
the weather. When the steamtug left I thought
she was gone in to Plymouth to obtain assistance,
but I did not see her return,
One of the jurymen here asked whether if the
Coastguard had been supplied with a rocket appa-
ratus the deceaseds' lives would not have been
saved

The witness, in reply, stated that it would have
been perfectly useless in this instance ; for even if
they had had one at their disposal the surf was so
great that the men would have been drowned if
they had attempted to drag them through the heavy
sea that was running at the time.
Mr. Carne—Was it not your duty to telegraph P
Witness—l have no telegraph.
Mr. Carne—l think that as this is one of the
greatest harbours, and there being so many Govern-
ment men here as there are, the five poor fellows
drowned were five lives entirely thrown away.
Witness—The men left the vessel themselves on
their own account.

One of the jurors here said he saw a signal of
distress flying all the day from the masts of the
schooner.

Witness—The ship came to sea with no ballast,
and without a signal of distress on board; so that
it was entirely their own fault.
Mr. Carne was here about to dictate to Mr.
Williams as to the course he should have adopted,
when he was interrupted by the coroner telling him
it was not for him to tell the witness what he ought
to do ; but, when consulting as to their verdict, he,
or the whole of the jurors, 'if they liked, might
blame the Government, the Coastguard, or any one
they pleased, but at present he (Mr. Came) must
confine himself to the evidence as given by the
witness.

A Juror (to witness)—Was it possible for you or
any other man to have gone off in a boar to render
the men any assistance ?
Witness—No. In answer to a question from the
coroner, he replied that the vessel rode safely at her
anchors for several minutes after the men left her.

The Coroner—Were there any large ships of war
inside the Breakwater?

Witness—One man-of-war and a steam sloop.
The Coroner—Could they have seen the perilous
position in which the schooner was ?
-Witness—lt is most likely, if she had had a pro-
per signal of distress flying ; but, nautically speak-
ing, the pilot jack and the burgee were not a signal.
A Juror—Row did you know she was in a peril•
ous position ?

Witness—l only judged so from the fact of the
steam-tug being alongside of her, and on account
of the heavy sea that was running at the time ;
there was also a gale of wind blowing.
A juryman here said he considered the burgee
flying from the fore-rigging was a signal of distress.
Another juror said he should take any flag flying
from the fore-rigging as a sio•nal of distress.
Witness—l can't make that out.
One of the jury observed that he never saw the
bargee flying at the cross-tree at all; it was at the
fore-rigging all the day.
Witness—l never saw it at the fore-rigging
until a short tire before the men lilt the vessel.
What could have; been the intention of the crew
in leaving the vessel ?

Witness—l have not the slightest doubt that they
thought they could round the point, which they
would in all probability have done had they con-
tinued in the same course. But if they remained
on board the ship they.would all have been saved.
The Coroner—lf the men had hoisted a signal
would you have had any means of saving them ?
Witness—Nothing other than throwing the lines
to them. It would have been impossible • for any
lifeboat to have pulled the vessel off. I have no
lifeboat at my station, but I should say there was
one at Plymouth; but I could not telegraph there
with my flags, for I could not say the vessel was in
distress when she had no signal flying. irlrhat I did
was on my own responsibility ; but I never dreamt
of the men leaving their ship. I knew, however, all
I could do would be to take a few lines, in case
they should leave their ship.
If you see a ship in a perilous position, is it not
your duty to relieve them ?
Witness—Yes; whether it was a man-of-war, a
merchant ship, or a foreigner. The schooner would
never have been lost if she had had ballast in. It
was a calm on the previous evening (Friday), and,
after coming down from St. Germans, the vessel
was obliged to come to an anchor on account of
having no wind. The weather came on very bad
early on Saturday morning.
In answer to another question, witness said he
had been in the navy some 35 years, and lie knew
of no other signal of distress than that of the ensign
turned upside down.
The next witness called was

Robert Bennett, who said—l live in Kingsand,
and am a mason: I was employed on Sunday
morning by Mr. Gillard, Lloyd's agent, to go and
look after the wreck. I went, and after being
there some time I saw the body of a man in the
water, but I did not touch it then, and in an hour
and a half after it washed ashore, when it was dis-
covered to be the body of Captain Hosken. It was
removed away some distance, and then handed
over to the charge of a policeman. In about an
hour and athalf after that the whole of the bodies
washed in.

Edward Bowden was next called, and deposed as
follows :—I am brother-in-law to Edward Hosken,
deceased, and reside at Looe. The deceased was
captain of the schooner Speedwell, from Looe. I
saw the body of my brother on Friday morning at
Looe. His vessel sailed from St. Germans on
Friday evening. The crew consisted of a mate
(James Toms), aged 34, who is married and has
one child ; David Libby, 36, able seaman, with a
wife and three children ; Walter Hosken, 19, ordi-
nary seaman, unmarried ; and John Crapp, a boy,
17. The bodies 1 have seen in the barn are the
same as comprised the crew of the schooner
Speedwell.
The Coroner then addressed the jury as follows :
—He said—l don't think it necessary for you to go
into any further evidence. It is your duty to ascer-
tain the cause of death, which you have obtained
from the first witness. The next thing for you to
consider is, whether this could have been pre-
vented by any efforts on the part of the Coast-
guard, or on the part of the authorities of the
Government at Plymouth, or on the part of
the vessels in the neighbourhood. There were
two of her Majesty's ships inside the Break-
water, and also a steam-tug which came out to
the assistance of the crew, and there were also a
number of people about the shore, and it is for you
now to consider whether any or all of those parties I

used their utmost exertions in attempting to save
the crew. It appears that it is the duty of the Coast-
guard to give every necessary assistance to all boats
or vessels in perilous situations, and it would seem
that Mr. Williams did his duty as far as possible in
going to the spot when the accident took place. He
also sent his men and lines for the purpose of assist-
ing the poor unfortunate fellows out of their diffi-
culty. From the evidence of Mr. Williams, it
appears that a steamtug came to the assistance of
the men on board the ship, and was attached to the
schooner, but from some cause unknown to us she
left the schooner and went to Plymouth, but what
about we cannot ascertain. I regret we have no
opportunity of ascertaining that, and I also regret
that the steamtug did not communicate with the
admiral at Devonport, so that he might have sent
assistance. But we must look at it in another way,
and must not attach all the blame to the Admiralty
or the Government men. When Mr. Williams got
to the place he found the vessel was not in that peri-
lous position he afterwards imagined she was. The
first thing he saw was the men bailing the boat
out, and then his attention was directed to the posi-
tion they were in then, and found it was more
perilous than before from the fact that the five
men shortly after got into the boat and pulled
away from the ship. He said they pulled away
eastward, and ho thought their Jives would have
been saved, but unfortunately they turned in
a different course and were destroyed. In
this instance I do not fancy there was so
, much blame attached to the. Government officials
I as to the poor men themselves, because it is evident
they ought not to have left the ship, for if they
had not they would not have lost their lives.
The law upon such matters is that if any one
is placed in a post of responsibility, and he
fails, either through negligence, or wilfully, or
through ignorance, to perform his duty, he is
guilty of a criminal offence ; so that if a Coast-
guard man does not do his duty to the extent he
ought, he becomes culpable. But Mr. Williams,
who is the responsible person at the Coastguard
station, did do his duty; and he told them that the
surf was so great that no men could have gone out
in a boat to the assistance of the shipwrecked crew.
It was of no use for him to throw the lines out,
because the men would have been drowned in pull-
ing them through the sea ; therefore I think, so far
as Mr. Williams and the coastguard are concerned,
he has done his duty so far as Government will call
upon him to do so. I think the principal censure
you have to cast upon any one is on the officers:and
men of the steamtug. I believe she is not a Govern-
ment steamer, but a common harbour one that goes
up and down for the purpose of assisting vessels in
the harbour. Still he could not help thinking that,
if the men in the steamer had understood that the
crew of the Speedwell were in a perilous position,
common humanity would have compelled them to
return again to their assistance in order to get
either the vessel off or to have taken out the crew.
Therefore I will readily give them credit for huma-
nity, and will believe they did not think the schooner
was in peril. But any one would have thought it
was their duty either to have communicated with
the Government officials, in order to get something
sent out to their rescue, or else to have returned
again themselves. However, you can give no other
verdict than that of " accidental death," but it is
for you to admonish those officers of the steamtug,
or to make any remark upon the officers in Ply-
mouth and Devonport.
The Coroner then dismissed the jury to another
room in order that they might consider their yen
cl ; and after an absence of about ten minutes
they returned again into court, smell
The Foreman, addressing the Coroner, said—
The verdict we find is that of " accidental death,"
and we wish to say at the same time, that Mr.
Williams and his men did the utmost in their power
to rescue the men; but we think that a great cen-
sure should be laid on the commanders of the men-
of-war in the Sound, and also to the harbour-
master, for it is evident that the ship, having laid
where she was for so many hours, must have been
seen by the harbour-master and the commanders of
the vessels.

The Coroner—l think you are perfectly right. I
shall take your verdict.
One of the jurymen said he thought great praise
was due to the Preventive men, who acted so nobly
on the occasion.