CHANNEL DISASTER.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 109, 10 May 1928, Page 7

CHANNEL DISASTER.

Inquest On Death Of Greek Victims. ACCIDENTAL DEATH VERDICT. i Australian and X.Z. Tress Association.) (Received 1 p.m.) LONDON, May 9. The second mate of the loaunis, l'iifalois, tlic Greek steamer which was rail;':io>! ami sunk by the naval supply ship Ba.clms on May 4, in giving evidence at the inquest on two of the victims of the wreck, said that there was a thick fog, and a number of wlnstles were heard round about. 1 he engines were stopped five minutes before the collision, and the vessel kept her course, exchanging blasts. They had not seen any vessel until they saw the Bhcclhis a few yards awav.

T lie captain of the Bacchus said that the vessel was doing five knots, and she ■•hanged her course three times on hear■:i . blasts, which, be said, were now on this side and now on that. When the iircvk steamer loomed up in the fog he re pil his engines, but the other ■ -.•ossvd him at an excessive speed. He u led to avoid her, but failed. He stopped <.lie engines, hoping to lock the vessels orcl !:er, but the other's speed pulled her out and she sank. A verdict of accidental death was rt urncd. " WHO IS MR. SHAW ? " House Of Commons Laughs At Famous Writer. COMMENT ON MURDER TRIAL. (Australian Press Assn.—Baited Service.) (Received 1 p.m.) ~~ LONDON, May 9. In the House of Commons, Mr. E. H. G. Roberts (Con., Flint), called attention to letters in the Press by Mr. George Bernard Shaw, dealing with the trial of Browne and Kennedy for murder. Mr. Shaw alleges that false evidence had been invited by the offer of a reward in the event of the conviction of the prisoners. Sir William Joyuson Hicks, the Home Secretary, said he could not comment on part of the letter, because an appeal was pending. The offer of a reward was made by a newspaper. It was not the practice of the Government or the police to offer reward* for the detection of crime. Mr. Johnson asked whether the appeals could be fairly heard if the accused's police and other records were published while tlie appeals were pending. The Home Secretary pointed out that appeals never went to a jury, but to a panel of High Court judges who were not likely to be influenced in the least by what was published in the newspapers. Sir A. Hopkinson (Con.): Who ie this Mr. Bernard Shaw? (Laughter and cheers). The Home Secretary: I understand he is - writer. (Renewed laughter).