Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1888-09-06
FEARFUL sHIPWREcKs.
Terrible Loss OF Human Life i'm some
of the Disasters at sen.

Terrible Loss OF Human Life i'm some
of the Disasters at sen.
Loyds estimated that in 1900 the loss Of
merchants and other ships by disasters at
sea amounted to an average OF one per
diem, says the London 50 ndard.
In 1889 no fewer than 667 British ships APP
pear by LloYds' lists to have been totally
lost The year 1928 was an especially dis
hstrous one, for no fewe? than Lib vessels
we're lost on the British coast alone, with 920
lives.
In 1859 there we're ,4l6 wrecks and casual
ties on British coasts, with sacrifice of l.
B45 lives, while in 1857 there was the enor-
nous number OF L. 164 wrecks and casualties,
but only 776 lives were lost The three
heaviest years in the loss of human life on
BUR coast were 1854, with $40 1850 with
1915, and 1861 with 1888 lives lost.
In the twenty-five years from 1854 to 1879
there were AZ, 900 odd wrecks and casualties
ON The British coasts, and these were attend
ID with the sacrifice of Is 3l9 lives. III TO
This dismal record could be aided the full
tale of wrecks and losses on other COASTS,
some idea OF the tribute paid to the hungry
Sea might be formed.
In proportion, however, to the number OF
ships sailing the seas, their slz, aud the
number of passengers that they carry, there
can be no doubt that, whether 1t be due to
the advent of steam and with IL the greater
power to battle with adverse winds and
waves, or TO better legislation, or more per-
feet training OF officers and men. or other
causes separate or CONFERENCE.-The loss OF
snfn - ehnvva
most satisfactory reduction. For instance,
The disasters to British shipping during the
twenty FIVE years ending with 1912 notwith-
standing the comparatively small marine Of
those days, included at least twenty'ono IN
which the loss OF life was over one hundred.
In the like period OF 1880 10 1885, thong
with n vastly increased marine and much closer
and more reliable means of informauons, the
recoFd inclnies only twenty OF equal
magnitude in loss OF life
The first great disaster at sea recorded In
British history was the wreck OF the Blanche
Nef III November, IT'D, b. which the chill
dren Of Henry j. and their suite aud servants
In all 1863 persons, were drowned. As William,
The heir 10 the throne, was among those who
persisted, aud the result was the accession of
Stephen, II may be said that this catastrophe
changed the whole course OF English history.
Ii rs probably the want OF records rather than
Immunity from great disaster which now
causes u zap VI HhuJ years
The tale OF the merchant navys tribute
over manv years must be told, but OF neces-
slty briefly.
In 1876 the King George, packet running
from the now defunct port OF PaTkgate on the
Dee to Dublin, was lost With l25 persons, aud
In the following year the Prince OF Wales, run
Bing between the same ports, was lost with
even greater sacrifice OF life.
The year 1915, that OF tue great battle OF
Waterloo was one OF the very few which
passed without any great British disaster ut
sea- in 1922 came tho first reported loss oil n
stesmer; the unfortunate vessel was the Ell
lesmere, aud four lives were lost.
1t Is also at least remarkable that up to this
period not single maritime disaster OF mag
niiude is attributed to collision. Since then
some OF the most appalling incidents have
been due to that cause, as witness the Goven-
or Fehner aud Nottingham OF Holyhead, In
lS4i, with l22 lives lost; Lady EgIn and Au-
gusta, on Lake Michigan, ia 1850. with 2S7
lives lost; Oneida and Bombay, of Yokaha-
ma, IN 1870, with ] - lives lost; the North
feet and Muriilo, OF Dungeness In 1873, with
300 lives lost; Avalanche and Forest in the
English channel, In 1877, over 100 lives lost;
Princess Alice and Bywell Castle, In the
Thames, In 1873, nearly 200 lives lost; Cimbria
and Sultan, OH the Dutch coast in 1883, and
454 lives lost and the Stale OF Florida Gnd
Ponema, off the coast OF Canada, In 1884, 123
lives sacrificed. There were, of course many
other collislons involving equal loss OF prop
erty but fewer lives.
The most disastrous losses In the merchant
navy otherwise than bv collision, were the
following: The ROYAL Adelaide In 1859 Off
Margate, with 400 lives, and the Annie Jane
aud the Tayleur, both eIDigraut ships, in 1888,
with over 70O lives. The AusIris, AN emil
grant steamer, was burned in the mid Allan
tic 10 1858 and nearly 500 lives we're sacrihc-
ed, and 1859 brought the loss on the Anglesea
coast of the Royal Charter anl 4t6 lives
In 1861 the steamer London fouuniered in
the Bay OF Blscay with 30 persons on board.
In 1873 the emigrant steamer Atlantic weEt
ashore on the American coast aud So persons
persisted. In 1874 another emigrant ship, the
Cospstrlck, for New Zealand, was burnt at sea
and 470 lives were sacrificed. In 1888 the
steamer Daphne, While being launched on the
Clyde. heeled over, and l24 persons were
drowned.
Finally came that most distressing class Of
eatastrop hes-dlsappsarances. That a fine
vessel, with hundreds of souls on board,
should sail out to sea and never be seen or
heard of again Is one of the most painful OF
human experiences. Lloyds' records onlv too
pl aInly show how frequently this is, aud among
great losses may be named those OF the Presi-
dent steamer, from New York TO Liverpool,
In 1871: the Pacific steamer. Liverpool to New
York, In 1865, and the Citv OF Boston, from
New York 10 Liverpool, In 1870 The Cts OF
Glasgow steamer disappeared Ia 1874 with $50
persons on board and in 1875 the Queens.
land, for Melbourne, with 500 persons Oh
hoard, left London aud was not again seen.
Explosives on board were supposed to have
destroyed her. In the following year the
Cairo, another large ship. with much gun.
powder on board, also bound for Australia,
likewise disappeared.