The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1869-04-23
From tic Daily Telegraph, Noc. 80.
81 SaEnEen Treasure.


81 Stsnlcen Treasure.
SPECIE IN THE ZUYDER ZEE-4N At
TEMPT TO RECOVER THE RICHES OF THE
DEEP.
On the night of Oct z, 1909, Her Males
TVS ship Lutine, freighted with an enor-
nous amount of specie, varying from e1,-
$4,000 to e3,000,000, foundered on the
sand-banks off the northwest coast of Hob
land, and the greater bulk of that treasure
still lies buried with but nine fathoms wa
ter over it. The Lutine was bound to
port in the Zuyder Zee, and the 81 100000
she had on board was subsidy money for
the English troops who were then serving
under the Prince of Holland-Holland be-
ing at war with France. She had also on
board large assignments of specie for mer-
chants in the country, as we'll as for bullion
dealers and bankers at Hamburg, to which
port she was to have proceeded after land
ing the Government subsidy money at the
port in the Zuyder Zee There were also
on board the Crown jewels of Holland,
which had been sent to this country by the
Prince of Orange to be reset and polished
by Messrs. Rundell s. Bridges, the then IA
nous jewellers to the English Court, on
Ludgate Hill. They had been placed in
strong iron case, Theoretically sealed, and
were shipped on board the Lutine at Low
estoft, few days before she sailed, on the
morning of Oct. g.; and it is alleged thas
the commander was 80 elated with his i'm
portant commission from the bankers that
the night before the vessel took her depar-
ture ON her .atal voyage he entertained all
&ha II, To- <f T foff 30
grand ball on board. Of the circumstan-
the fact that, on the following night, the
Lutine, in making for the entrance or the
Zuyder Zee, encountered fearful storm and
and was driven on sand-bank between
the Islands of Tarschelling and Vieland,
subsequently foundered, all her officers and
crew, except one man perishing. The
survivor however, only lived few hours.
He was picked up by some Dutch boat
man who found him floating on some spars
and after stating the facts Of the dreadful
wreck he died. Nearly 200 persons perish
ed in the illfated vessel. After much ex-
ertion the sunken wreck of the Lutine was
discovered lying in nine fathoms water with
in three miles of the western portion of the
Island ofTerschelling; but no attempt VIC
believe, was made to recover the
sunken treasure for one or two years, ow-
ing in great measure to the shifting sand.
banks and the rapidity of the tide which
swept over the spot. The Dutch Govern.
ment offered q reward of $4,000 for the re-
covery of the Crown jewels, which, with
other j n d u EN- N t held out in Eng
land, led to company being formed, who
commenced operations, and in o few years
they recovered about 100000 of the spe-
Gle, of which the Dutch Government claim
ed 100000 as royalty. Subsequently
their operations were stopped by the wreck
becoming embedded in sand, and in that
state it continued for three years and the
consequence was that the Company became
bankrupt, and the salvage operations
ceased. Since then several other di-
wing companies have been formed, and
they all failed after series of years work
ing. The last operations on the wreck
were about three or four years since, when
the divers found that the bottom ofthe ship
with the keel, where the bulk of the treas.
ure is, is entire, with the skeleton of her
ribs remaining. The sand buried her from
time to time, but as certain currents set in
the sand-banks shift, and the wreck is ex-
posed. 1t was only for an hour, or half an
hour, that the divers could remain down,
at the slack Of tides, and only in very fine,
calm weather, and even then they could
hardly keep footing ON account of the rap
id current. In addition to the e160, 900 an
mother 100000 was recovered by the COM
panies. r. ~,.s.,4 rS4
The last recovery took place recently and
abo ut 100000 was paid as royalty
to the Government, who, up to that time,
had repudiated all claims on the wreck by
the English underwriters and marine insu-
rance companies who had taken lines of
insurance on the specie, and had paid the
81 100000 as a total loss. The English
underwriters were prepared with bet
ter appliances to work at the wreck but
all offers were refused, and it is only lately
that the Dutch. Government admitted that
they had no right to the wreck whatever,
and if we are correctly informed, the rep
resentatives of Lloyds have now full power
to take possession of the wreck, together
with its treasure. All the underwriters
who were interested and paid on the total
loss have been dead some years, and it be-
ing impossible for any claim to be set up
by any surviving relatives of the under
writers, Lloyds, it is said, intend to apply
to Parliament for power to appropriate all
moneys recovered from the wreck for pur-
poses named in the proposals. Of the
G8O, 900 which the Dutch Government for
merly received as royalty money, no por-
ton has been returned but of the second
amount of $50, 900, this was made over to
Lloyds few years since by order of the
King of Holland, which sum remains un-
touched by the managing committee, and,