The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1873-04-04

tors acquainted with this coast as very dan
gerous port, as It wears at it's entrance, right
OH Mars Head, avery rugged and broken
appearance. Whenever rough weather oo.
ours, the reefs, though submerged, are very
dangerous, and must have been doubly sc
10 such heavy gale as that encountered BY
the Atlantic.
just off Cape Prospect, or the Head, lies
huge rock, commonly seventeen feet under
water. It's position is due south of the Head,
and nearly .one-third of mile from, the
shore. 1t Is believed that IL was this rock
that caused the wreck of the Atlantic. The
navigation manuals direct masters Of vessels
10 keep outside OF this reef, and cautions
them not to 40 between it and the shore
These directions probably proved futile in
the gale, and the Atlantic went inside.
TIE laRBAT DISASTER OF THE HALF-CENTURY.
from the New York Tribune, April AL
This Is the great disaster Of the half-oen.
fury; notsince the British frigates st. George
and Defence we're wrecked off the coast of
Jutiand, In 1911. has any such frjghtful loss
Of life been added to the sorrow Of the sea.
In that wreck 1000 men were drowned.
The sinking Of the Royal George off Spit
head, In 1882, when Admiral >Kempenfeldt
went down with his 600 men, was long cele-
DRAFTED In song and story as the great catas.
trophe by sea for many generations. The
wrecking Of the Royal Charter, on the An
glesea coast, in 1863, when 446 lives and
much treasure were lost, sent thrill of horror
throughout the civilized world. That same
year. too, the Pomona was cast away on
Blackwater Bank, and 305 men were drown
ed. The Austria, burned in mid.ocean, the
year before, lost 461 persons. On the Pacific,
which disappeared in 1856, there were 1856
people and on the City of Glasgow, never
heard Of since 1864, there were $50. OF the
Arctic, we In America have still Borrowftll
secollecttons; 800 men, women, and chill
dren were lost on that ship, off the coast of
Newfoundland, In 1854. On the same dread
line of coast the Hungarian, with 220 PEG.
pie, was cast away in 1855. The sinking of
the Northdeet In the English channel last
January was the latest great sea disaster un-
til that W ich we now record. By the wreck
of the Northfleet 325 persons were swept
out of the world; but the story Of the hero
ism, chivalry, and dauntless courage Of
Knowles and those who went down with
him will endure so long as men love to talk
of bravery in the face of death.
; ECONOMY Az AN EXCUSE FOR MURDER.
One of the principal causes for, the loss of
the ship may be set down to the lack Of coal
to reach this port. 1t is a well.known fact that
the price of coal in England is very high,
and that the transatlantic lines buy largely
on this side, and endeavor to take over some
thing of supply to bring them back to this
side. 1t is also true that much of the coal fur
nished Mt the present time on the other side
is of q very poor quality, and will not make
o. olry ha oil
furnished to the frst-class steam lines.
Another cause for the disaster is that the
vessel was considerably out of her true
course, either for Halifax or New York, and
the captain evidently had been running well
north to shorten up bis longitude. This
practice has long been discountenanced by
The principal lines, and In some instances the
capt,tins positively forbidden to take the
high latitude route which the Atlantic evil
IDENTITY had taken.
OPINIONS OF TaE PRESS ON TIE DISASTER.
The New York Times calls attention to
the fact Of it's foresight in its former strlc.
lures on the unseaworthy character of all
vessels which had departed from the old
standard of the proportion Of six to one IN
the length to breadth of beam, and states that
I'm point Of fact the length of the Atlantic
was eleven times her breadth, and greater
than that of the Easily, upon which the
structures were made; and If, in addition to
the enormous length and disproportionate
narrowness, sacrifice of coal-carrying
capacity to the demands Of freight accommo'
dation was made, the responsibility of the
company for the calamity will be very severe.
The New York Herald thinks that it is
very curious that in vicinity SO dangerous
O mistake could be made in taking Prospect
light for the other, and next to this blunder
in seamanship, the loss OF the seven or eigbt
hundred lives will fall upon the heads OF
those responsible for t. shortness OF coal.
1t scouts rs preposterous the idea that the
captain sailed in ignorance Of the shortness
of coal, and attributes it to contemplate
avarice and criminal rapacity.
The New York World thinks that the
statement that the vessel was short of coal SO
extraordinary that it inclines to doubt it.
The New York Journal Of Commerce says
that there is evidently room for inquiry as
to the conduct of the officers, and thinks it
ought to be made.
The New York Commercial Advertiser
says: "ft is impossible to resist the conyic-
ton that the lives of seven hundred human
beings have been recklessly and shamelessly
sacrificed. This is hard thing to say, but
the facts of the case, although still imper'
fectly revealed, justify such a verdict. The
whole history of the voyage Of the illfated
ship, from the time of her departure from
Liverpool to the moment Of the fiual catas'
trophe, Is record of ineXcusable blunders,
pitiful economies, neglect Of duty, and In
difference to the value of human life.