THE MISSING MANCHESTER.

Press, Volume XLVIII, Issue 14400, 6 July 1912, Page 4

THE MISSING MANCHESTER.

A MAGISTERIAL ENQUIRY

THE VESSEL SEAWORTHY,

i The dredgo Manchester, which has ! not been heard of since sailing on April I 6th from Wellington for Sydney, was ' the subject of a Magisterial enquiry ' resumed in Christchurch yesterday beI fore Mr T. A. B. Bailey, S.M. The nauti- : cal assessors were Captain C. F. Post and ' Captain J. Scoullar. Mr A. Elliott ap- : peared to conduct tho enquiry on be- ' half of tho Marine Department, Mr ' George Harper appeared on bck?.lf of '• the Lyttelton Harbour Board, and Mr ; 11. J. Beswick represented the Sydney ' Harbour Trust. BOUGHT SECOND-HAND. Mr A. Elliott said that tho investiga- ! tion as requested by tho Marino l>eparuuent was applied for under Section -23-3 of the Shipping and Seamen's Act, 190-S. Tho Manchester left Lyttelton on April 4th, arrived at 'WelI iington on April sth, and left i for Sydney the next day. JSiie ; was reported to have been sighted by j the Kaitangata two days after she ! left Wellington, but since then nothing (had been heard of her. The circumstances to bo enquired into would be tho condition of tho vessel when she left, i.e., whether she was seaworthy and had a proper crew, and was in every respect properly equipped. Cyrus Williams, engineer to the Lyttelton Harbour Board, said that he had negotiated with tho Sydney Harbour Trust for the sale of the vessel at £9SOQ. Mr Christie, engineer for the Trust, took delivery on February 29th. Personally, witness had nothing to do ivith tho fitting of tho vessel for sea. He had not been at Lyttelton when tho dredgo first came out. THE ENGINEER'S DUTIES. Pei;cy M. Christie, Assistant-Engin-eer to the Sydney Harbour Trust, and superintendent of dredges, said that ho had served his time as a marine engineer, but had not a certificate. He had been instructed by the Trust's Commissioners to go through tho dredge and see that everything was in good order and condition. He had to see that the vessel was ready to go to sea. Captain Stuart of the Manchester had been conferred with on many points, and witness did all ho thought necessary. False bottoms had been put' in the Manchester, and the buckets and links were all removed, but the ladder was left in position. That was no detriment to the vessel's seaworthiness. The spare gear weighed about 52 tons, on. deck there was 33 tons. She was passed' at Lyttelton and went to se.v with that on deck. The vessel wao. insured for £11,000, tLj insurance;, having been effected at Home- Ho could not get the drodge covered ju Christchurch. The premium amounted to about £550 for the run across. THE FITTING-UP. Mr Bailey: She was insured for more than you paid for it? Witness: But there was also thb cost of fitting her for se*a—£lsßß.

To Mr Beswick:. Theso expenses for fitting did not cover the ' Crew's wages;' so there would be further expenses to add on. The crew numbered 24, and there was also a stewardess. He had two deck hands more than ret quired, and also a -steward. Tho engineer in charge had been with witness at Capetown in fitting up tho Triton, and had also made the trip on that vessel.

Mr Beswick: Would you have had any hesitation in making the trip?— None at all.

What freo board had she?— With a full load, as when sho went away, the draught forward was 9ft 10i,n, and aft 14ft lin. There was one foot sevon inches showing between the water and her Plimsoll mark. Witness said that everything was done that could possibly .be dono to get "her safely across to Sydney. She was dry-docked. Dredges were not as safe- to. travel in as cargo steamers. The probabilities wore that tho Manchester; met an exceptional storm; thdfe was exceptional weather at that time. The Trust Commissioners instituted a search for the missing vessel; the steamer Eden had been chartered, and tho warships Pioneer and Encounter had also looked for tho Manchester. The cost cf .chartering tho Eden had;-been over ,£ISOO. To iMr Bailey i! A letter had been picked" up -oh the Bulli boach, near Sydney, purporting to comei from tho Manchester;. •' ;

To the assessors: Witness could not expressman opinion as to whether it. would havo been better to have a more experienced man in command of the Manchester

Was Captain Stuart given any instructions to hurry?—No; he was not. Witness said that the Sydney Harbour Trust Commissioners had decided to assist any .of tho relatives of the crow who were in poor circumstances. THE VESSEL OVERMANNED. Captain Marciel, superintendent of Mercantile Marine, said that the Department in Wellington had given instructions in regard to what the dredgo could carry on her deck. It had been reported to him that tho instructions had licen carried out. Captain Stuart told witness that he was absolutely satisfied with the vessel, and that Mr Christie had done more than ho would have asked him to do The vessel was overmanned.

To the assessors: He could not conceive that the vessel was unseaworthy

: Phillip James Carman, : Surveyor of Ships and Inspector of Machinery, said that he inspected the hull and the whole of tho machinery of the Manchester, and gave a certificate. Tho vessel was docked, and witness made an exhaustive survey externally and internally.

To the Assessors: Witness was thoroughly satisfied that the vessel was seaworthy. Ho had no idea as to what could have happened.

Wallace Hagor Wilcox, surveyor of ships, and superintendent of marine, said that all the distress signals were in accordance with the regulations; tho boats on tho port side had accommodation for 2S persons,- and those on the starboard side for 32 persons-—in all for more than twice the number of persons on hoard.

Mr Elliott: In your opinion was the boat quite seaworthy? Witness: Yes. And everything was done to make her so.

To the Assessors: The life-buoys were mostly round the bridge, hanging in clips. The sea anchor was not made before the boat left, but everything was there for it. He could not form any theory to account for the vessel's loss.

To Mr Elliott: Under the regulations she was not required to carry a sea anchor. Claude Ferrier, acting Lloyd's surveyor, said that he inspected the,vessel whilst afloat and in dry dock. Ht» supervised the work while she was being prepared for the voyage to Sydney- Everything was done that could possibly be done to make her seaworthy. To Mr Beswick: Captain Downey (who went with the vessel), was a reliable man. To the Assessors: Captain Stuart would not have gone if witness had been conducting affairs at tho final change. Mr Elliott: Why was that? Witness: • A man that was drinking, I would not put in command of any .vessel. EVERYTHING SECURE. Malcolm J. Miller, shipwright, gave particulars in detail of the work carried out on the Manchester before the vessel sailed for Sydney*

t To Mr Beswick: The Manchester when she left in April, was in a better condition to take a voyage than when she came cut trom Home. To Captain Pest; The weather after the vessel left was very bad.. Everything had been made secure before zko vessel left. Frederick Arnst Hutchinson, master mariner, said that he had supplied the coal to the dredge but he had not seen to the stowing 0 f it. Tho vessel, he considered, was seaworthy. William James Toomey, a sailmaker, said that he liad been working on the Manchester. He had made covers tor ail the hatches, tarpaulins, boat sails, and sea anchors for the-boats. To Captain Post: There was nothing peculiar about the boat. Robert Hatchwell, master mariner, said that he had adjusted the compasses on the dredge, and they were in good order wnen she left Lvttelton. John Hill, tide-surveyor for the Customs Department at Lvttelton, said that he had cleared the' Manchester before she left for Sydney—he had had no hesitation in clearing the vessel. Sydney Gilbert Stringer, surveyor of ships at Wellington, and assfstant-supr-rintendent of marine, said that tho Manchester called at Wellington to replenish her bunkers. He inspected the equipments and the deck cargo fastenings; she had about 12 tons of coal on her decks when she left. He thought she was perfectly seaworthy, and allowed her to go to sea. She had a good free board; he estimated it about two feet. The weather was fine, but gloomy when she left. Ho had had no misgivings as to whether she should leave- 'mc captain considered he would have a good run over, and said the dredge had behaved admirably on the voyage from Lyttelton. To Captain Post: lho coal taken on at Wellington would be- consumed before the vessel was out of Cook Strait.

Geoffrey S. Morris, superintending engineer for dredging, said that at one time ho had been engineer on tho Manchester. He had dismantled her. She was a very wet boat. He cculd not speak as to her seaworthiness when sho left. ;

To Captain Post: "Witness would have sealed the hoppers, making them watertight, before sailing for Sydney. That was only his own opinion, lie did not think tho finding of the life-buoys was of any material importance. It would not have taken a very heavy sea to wash some of them overboard. To Mr Beswick: The hoppers on the Canterbury were not sealed when that .vessel arrived. A HEAD WIND. Charles J. Hatfield, recently .third officer on the Kaitangata, said .thafc tho Kaitangata had passed the Manchester off Farewell Spit on April 7th, at b a.m. There was a fresh nor'-westerly breeze, and a heavy swell from tho same direction. That would bo a head wind for her, as she was heading west. Tho wind, died away towards evening, and the next day (Monday) was calm. On Tuesday it set in from the southwest, and then veered round to the north-west, and kept blowing hard for two days. The dredge was going from four to five knots an hour.

To Mr Beswick: He would judgo that the dredge had a bad time of it; the weather would be abnormal in the Ta«man Sea. The Kaitangata wa3 barbound for two days at Westport.

George F. Whit-aside, managing clerk for Messrs Beswick and Harris at Lyttelton, said that he had been instructed by Mr Christie, of the Sydney Harbour Trust, to get Captain Stuart to cancel his engagement, "as he would not pull himself together." Tho engagement was cancelled, and Captain Stuart was allowed to explain it as ho wished. Captain Stuarfc wished to keep on tho Manchester.

Mr Elliott: Did you hear a rumour that Captain Stuart purposely got on tho "spree" so that he would be relieved of his position?

Witness: Ono could write a, book on tho rumours about, the Manchester. That ono is easily explained. There wore no more witnesses, and tho enquiry was adjourned. The Court announced that its decision would be given in due course.