"DROWNED GOLD."

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 274, 19 November 1927, Page 26

"DROWNED GOLD."

SEARCH BY SOVIET.

ATTEMPTING TO SALVAGE

millions,

SUNKEN SHIP IN BALACLAVA BAY.

From the depths of Balaclava Bay the other day there -was brought to the surface a gold coin. Its date was the year 1821 and it bore the inscription of George IV. Here, many felt, was tangible evidence that the rotting hulk of the British cruiser Black Prince, sunk in the great storm that swept over the harbour when wtt C " m ® a " War w »s in progress, still holds fast to its treasure of a half milion pounds sterling. One more chapter was being, added to the old, old tale of the quest for "drowned gold"—a quest which goes oil all over the.world. Sometimes lost treasure ships are not found; sometimes, if found, it proves impossible to bring up their cargoes. It took two years of submarine search for the Soviet Government to discover the timbers of the Black Prince. Within three months from the time of commencing work the Japanese company to which the contract for salvaging had been let brought up its hrst coin.

The treasure galleons of Spain that sank in the Carribean, the strongrooms of the majestic East Indiamen that perished many years ago, the precious freight of many an ill-fated liner of modern times, all have their seekers. Untold millions lie in the wrecks of argosies sunk by storin or war. Syndicate after syndicate has been formed to find them and every appliance of the diver has been brought to play. The Lusitania's Treasure.

The Lusitania, victim of a German submarine, lies in 285 feet of water with £1,000,000 in her hold: yet it is doubtful whether any attempt will be made to raise her for years to come. The working depth for divers, it is estimated, is limited to 300 feet at present, and the zone of peril commences at 100 feet. Even a prize of £1,000,000 might not be worth recovering in view of the expenditure entailed. The British Admiralty has already refused a number of offers from Germans desirous of raising the Lusitania. They were anxious to prove their contention that she carried ammunition and was therefore a vessel of war.

One of the greatest feats in the salvaging of sunken treasure was the recovery of £7,000,000 from the Laurentic, which was torpedoed in 1917 and sank in ninety feet of water off the north coast of Ireland. Dredging proved too slow, and the crashing force of dynamite was applied to the plates of the wreck. Everv coin in the strongroom was recovered by divers.

; More than £50,000,000 in bullion has, -it is estimated, been recovered from the' wrecks of treasure ships by French and English syndicates, which sell shares in the ventures to the public. The total of unrecovered treasure, however, exceeds this sum many times over. The locations of, many of these fortunes have been known for years, but the treachery of the sea and the impossibility of working beyond a certain limit have prevented salvage. Beaten by Winter's Storms.

When the steamship Merida went down off the Virginia Capes in 1911 she had on board as passengers many Mexican notables who had left their country for political reasons. They were carrying with them jewels, cash and securities valued at millions. The crown jewels of the ill-fated' Emperor Maximilian and the collection of rubies made by the Empress Charlotte are said to have sunk with the liner. An attempt was made to salavage the Merida's treasure about two years ago, but the storms of winter came sweeping down upon the salvage vessels and the quest, called off, was not renewed.

Will the greatest prize of all—the treasure of the Vigo Bay plate fleet—ever be recovered from Spanish waters? Far down among the charred timbers of the burned and shattered galleons lies the largest known lode of "drowned gold." Four millions in gold and silver ingots went to the bottom of the bay amid the flames 1 of burning ships and the roar of battle —the costliest single blow Spain received in an attack on her New World commerce.

For three years no plate fleet had sailed for home from the West, when in 1702 the Vigo flotilla put forth from Cartagena, Porto Bello ahd Vera Cruz, laden with the overdue bullion and guarded by twenty-three French ships of war. „ British war vessels were out, combing the high ■ seas for this glittering argosy. On reaching the coast of Spain, the galleons and their convoy took refuge in Vigo Bay, but that haven, although fortitfied by land and blocked by a great boom across the harbou/, proved of no avail. The British hurled grenadiers against the forts and with the Dutch fleet as their allies smashed through the boom and into the bay. In half an hour the treasure ships were ablaze. Flaming pitch flung from ship to ship created an inferno. Seeing that capture was inevitable, the Spanish Admiral ordered the remaining galleons set on fire. One by one they disappeared' under the water, where for more than | two centuries tlieir booty has been held i safe. . I

The Spanish Plate Fleet. There is n'.jo the treasure lost in Navarino Bay, in the Mediterranean, a hundred years ago, when the Turkish fleet bearing its loot from Greece was met by a combined French, English and Russian armada. Ouly £20,000 of this £10,000,000 treasure has been recovered to date. Not long ago the Greek Government called for salvaging bids for the treasure, which is scattered among sixtythree ships.