Morning journal and courier., 1880-07-22
a)ep a5aren @ailg gturning gonrnal and Courier.

and several New Haven and Derby people. At the Ocean View are number of notab1es, including Judge Harlan, of Kentucky, with his family; Judge Joseph H. Bradley, of Washington, (not the 8 tor Bradley), Judge H. w. Blodgett, of Chicago; Judge Miller of the to '; Judge Davis, of New York and Miss Emma Abbott, the vocalist. Miss Abbott will not sing for the delight of the visitors because she is under contract not to sing when off the stage.
 Codfshing at Block Island is lively. The shoals where the fishing banks are lie a dozen miles off, April and May were the best cod fishing season Still many boats go out Day before yesterday sixty-one of them left the island Swordfsh are plenty. They are taken now in large numbers out on the cod fish grounds, great fellows weighing 200 pounds or more The fishermen sell them in bulk at two cents pound. Hence the fish erman who captures two swordfsh per day and gets $4 to S$5 apiece for them is doing 8 good business so long as the catch continues Bluefishing and mackerel fishing are fair to middling. There is no finer sport, particu- larlV when the tSl are pl6nGy.
 The Narragansett Investigation. Interesting Testimony from the Engi-
 neer of the StoningtOn--Other Evidence
 Taken.
 At the opening of the Narragansett investi- gation yesterday Samuel J. Walden testified that he was master of the Narragansett, but was called away on the day preceding the night of the collision to attend the United States Court at Hartford. He considered that on the 10th of June the Narragansett was in perfect order in every respect, con taining all her boats, rafts, life -preservers and other ife-saving equipments required by law. There were seven ife-boats, six metallic. Five were on the falls, the other two lay right abreast of the cranes, so that they could be easily hooked on to and lowered. The fire apparatus of the steamer was perfect in every respect He often examined the boat to see that the requirements of the law were com piled with He would occasionally find that a strap to lfe-preserver had been cut of, and in these cases they were repaired at once The Narragansett was allowed to carry few short of six hundred passengers, according to her certificate. The boats were sometimes swung off to see that they were in the right shape. The davits, falls, blades and cranes were examined every week regularly. He saw no necessity for more than one pilot. In bad or foggy weather he was always in the pilot house himself.
 George Brainerd testified that be had been chief mate of the steamer Stonington for the past five years, and was on her the night of the collision. He was in his room, on the port-side of the hurricane deck, when the collision occurred, and immediately got up and went below to see what damage was done, but found he could not reach 1t below, and then went outside and partially repaired the damage with canvass /; he afterwards assisted in lowering the boats, having told the cap tain that he considered it safe to do so, and believing the Narragansett needed them more than the Stonington.
 John A. Smith, of Brooklyn, engineer of the steamer Stonington, testified that he was on duty at the time of the collision. They left Stonington at 9:30, and when abreast of CornfeId, as near as I could judge slowed up and stopped on meeting the Boston. The next signals he received were a little before 11:25, just prior to the collision, and were to "a slow" ''stop," and Ego back, " there be- ing an interval of two seconds between each. While in the act of answering the last signal he got two more bells, which were to stop backing and go ahead. The collision oc- cured just as he was answering the last sig ud1 l IO 4toG OS14 A1C SOG 1AIth1 A1Shb "d5 6AO jingle bell which was to go ahead strong. After the collision he received no signals and did not work the engine until the boats start ed to return to Stonington. I did not make moro than half turn back, and not more than four or five turns ahead just previous to the collision. Peter Freeland was in the en- zine room with him, but he handled the en- zine alone, and could handle her quicker alone than with assistance. After the col ision he ordered Freeland to examine the bilge and see if there was any water, and he reported that there was none.
 Mir. Smith stated he had been engineer for thirty-two years licensed engineer for twenty seven years and engineer of the Ston- ington for seven and one-half years. He had frequently known mistakes made in ringing bells from the pilot house, but had no reason to believe any were made on the night of the collision He spoke through the tube to the captain after the collision, telling him the boat was making no more water than usual, but receiving no response went to the pilot house to report this information He then asked the captain what he should do, and was told to look out for his engine; whereupon he returned to the engine room. He was positive all the pumps were in good order on the night of the collision In the revolutions made when we went ahead just before the collision the steamer probably went once and @ half her length Smiths statement was the dearest made thus far by any officer of either
 
 boat
 Samuel c. Wa1dron the clerk of the Ston- ington, testified that he rescued some thirty passengers from the Narragansett and placed them on the Stonington. All but dozen of those he picked up had on life preservers.
 James P. Murphy, the second steward of the City of New York, testified that the City of New York took back 338 persons who had Stonington tickets and 89 who had Narragan- sett tickets, and at least 100 more who had no tickets Mir. Waldron said the Stonington carried back to port the dead bodies of Mrs. Check1ey and Rev. E. B. Lockwood, and those picked up by him and his crew had life preservers except perhaps six persons. One man had three strapped upon his body and sev- eral others had two each. He heard no com plaints from any of the rescued that there were not enough life preservers. Soon as he reached a person in the water he cut the straps of a preserver and threw it back into the water that the rescued person might be more easily landed within the boat. Mir. Waldron says complete passenger list is seldom, if ever made on a Sound steamer. The clerks take the names only of those who apply at the ticket office window for their tickets. The fact that 'tshake-downs" were put up on the Mar ragansett would not indicate that state-rooms and berths were full, for passengers often ask for a bed of that kind, preferring it to berths or State-rooms.
 Charles E. Chappell, second pilot, Eaton Nichols, first officer, and James P. Murphy, second steward of the City of New York, which lay by the wreck of the Narragansett testified, but threw no light upon the cause of the disaster.
 Churches for the Spiritualists.
 The late Calvin Hall, of Somers, was pos sessed of mania for building churches for the Spiritualists He built one at Williman-