The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-03-01
IS LA BRETAGNE GUILTY ?
CAPTAIN ROBERTS BELIEVES SHE
 PASSED LA CHAMPAGNE

At the Time Red Fires of Distress Were
 Burning on the Steamers Decks and
 Rockets Were Firing in Rapid Success
 sion-Statement Causes a Sensation-
 Steamers Belong to Same Line.
 Halifax, N. S., Feb. 2S.-La Cham pagne, the crippled French ocean steamship which was lowed into port yesterday by the Warren liner Roman, was visited to-day; by many curious persons. A sensational piece of in- formation has developed to the effect that the ship that passed La Cham pagne without needing her signals of distress was La Bretagne of the same line This information is founded upon a statement by Captain Roberts of the Roman In the stories told last night of the events and the picking up of La Champagne it was made known that two steamers came in sight of the help less ship about the same time. One, the faster of the two, was a little in advance of the other It was near midnight and red fires were burning on the deck of La Champagne and rockets were being fired in rapid suc- cession to attract attention. The sig nals for assistance must have been seen by officers of both steamers but the Roman was the only one which bore down on the cripple. The other seemed to swerve slightly from her course at first, but soon it was per ceived that she was proceeding on her way at full speed without any intention of coming to the rescue.
 The general opinion aboard was that it was an American liner from South
 ampton to New York When Captain
 Roberts of the Roman entered the sa- loon of La Champagne last night an
 eager group of ladies and gentlemen
 asked him about the other steamer which had passed just before the Ro- man bore down upon them. In answer | to a question from lady passenger, | Captain Roberts said: "As far as I | could make out, it was the French line | steamer La Bretagne of the same line l as the one on which you now are" | Captain Roberts statement created a sensation among the passengers. La | Bretagne was due at New York yester- | day. La Champagne was picked up | seven hundred miles east of Halifax. l She was in the ice center and conse- quently missed passing steamers which | are taking the southern course on ac- | count of the ice. It was fortunate that l when she broke her cable she drifted | southward, for she was carried right l into the course of the westward bound l steamers.
 ] This morning her decks resembled a little city. The crowd, however, was considerably diminished by the depart l ure of the ffrst-class and intermediate passengers, who left this morning for l New York by rail. The passengers who | left to-day will arrive in Boston to- l morrow morning and expect to reach
 New York at o'clock in the afternoon.
 Just what will be done with the steam
 CT remains with the owners. She is in | badly damaged condition, with the loss of her propeller and damaged ma- | chinery At 10 o'clock tonight her Halifax agents were unable to state | whether she would remain here for re- | pairs or be lowed to New York for that purpose.
 The body of Major William Dundas, who died in Nice December 22, was taken ashore to-day. The fact that | there was a dead body on board the French steamer was not generally
 known among her passengers, but the
 crew were aware of it and the super
 stitious sailors among them found it an
 easy matter to connect the corpse with the ill-fortune which had befallen their
 ship.