THE WRECK OF THE ST. LEONARDS. FULL AND SPECIAL DETAILS.

Evening Post, Volume XXVI, Issue 111, 7 November 1883, Page 2

THE WRECK OF THE ST. LEONARDS. FULL AND SPECIAL DETAILS.

PASSENGEES DESTITUTE. EXEMPLAEY CONDUCT. (From our London Correspondent.) (By Telegraph from Auckland. | London, 21st September. There was great excitement at all AngloColonial resortsin tho city on Monday afternoon last when it became known that a large emigrant ship, outward bound tor Now Zealand, had been run into and sunk in the Channel that morning. At first nobody seemed to be very sure what the name of tho vessel was, but on learning that the St. Leonards had just resumed hor interrupted voyage, most of us concluded it would bo she, and enquiry at tho offioo of Shaw, Savill and Co. verified the suspicion. The St. Leonards was a fino iron sailing ship of 1054 tons, built at Sunderland in 1864, and olasscd Al at Lloyds. She has for 13 years beon a regular trader to New Zealand, and was specially well-known at Wellington. The accounts of the catastrophe appearing in the London papers of tho 18th wore ho meagre and incorrect; that I shall not trouble you with them. On the 19th, the wreokod paBseneors and crew, who had been landed by the Cormorant (the steamer that ran tho St. Leonards down) at Dartmouth, came on to London, and were housed in comfortable rooms at Blackwall. I found them thankful and fairly cheerful, considering the majority had lost every stitch of clothing and woro destitute of all tho property they had in tho world. One family were in bed, absolutely unable to get up for want of wearing apparel. They had been in their berths at the time of the collision, and had to bo saved in nightgowns, which garments now represent their sole earthly possessions. When these poor folks get out to New Zealand, I trust the misfortune they have met with will not be forgotten, and a little money subscribed to set them on their legs again. I may as well perhaps mention here that the Canterbury emigrants aro to be sent forward by the Oamaru, and the Wellington ones by the Margaret Galbraith. STATEMENT OP THE CHIEF OFFICER, Tho chief officer of the St. Leonards, whom I mot rather opportunely, was at first disinclined to speak about the collision. He said he intended to reserve his account of the affair for the offioial enquiry. On my representing, however, that this letter could not possibly appear in print for six weeks to come, he relented and eventually volunteered the following : — " The St. Leonards sailed in the first instance on 31st August, but was caught in the terrible storm of 2nd Sept., and put back with sprung bowsprit and other material injuries. These took ten days to_ repair, and we did not again make a start till the 13th, when the passenger-list presented a somewhat changed appearance, owing to the absence of two of tho original contingent, and the addition of two others. Tho corrected list rau as follows :— Saloon— Mrs. E. Southall, Charles B. Southall, Stanley .Busboll, Miss Storoy, and H. Purkiss. Second cabin— W. H. Applebe, H. C. Weir, Augustus Brabury, and Mrs. SoVwßj'Bt©a!agS4iai6nata Mann, Sarah, Margaret, Sarah, and Susan Inghain ; Mr. and Mrs. William Adama,,and family (7), George Leggatt, Walter Park', James Bettell, Charles Harvey, Carl Paterson, Clyde Hoyle, Aaolph'Woiriner, Jas£ogers, T. Bace, and T. Park. A brothei: of Mr. Stanley Russell was' "also on board, having arranged to go down tho Channel with us and leave with' the pilot. The St. Leonards was- in charge of Captain Todd, assisted by Mr. Broadway, chief officer ; Mr. Alsop, second officer; and a crow of 29 all told. We left Gravosend on Thursday, 13th September, and proceeded down the Channel under the guidance of the pilot (Williams) with a light breeze and fino woathor. Everything went well till halfpast 8 on tho morning of Monday tho 17th, when wo wore, as far as I can make out, just 18 miles oast of the Start. Tho ship had all sail set, and at 8 a.m., when my watch expired, she was going about ll| knots before a fair wind. The weather had turned foggy so that you could not Bee more than 200 yards before you, and we perpetually blew tho fog-horn. Moreover tho pilot, who was on dnty with the second officer, had twe men posted in the look-out. I also happoncd to be on deck, waiting for the breakfast boll to ring, but Captain Todd was below. I don't know which of us noticed it first, but all of a sudden I saw a steamer on tho port side, apparently only about 100 yards off, coming straight into us. Tho pilot roared " Full speed astern," and some one on board tho steamer replied, "Full spoed astern it is." By this time she was nearly upon us, and the pilot seeing a collision was inevitable, gave the order " Port helm." This brought the captain on deck. He, too, realised that a bod smash could not bo averted, and told us to lower the boats. The steamer thon struok us amidships, crunching through tho eido of the St. Leonards as if sho had been a bonnot box. There sedmed to be hardly any shock ; in fact, those below Bay they did not at first think anything serious had happened. We, however, knew the vesßel would go to tho bottom in a few minutes, and no time was lost in lowering the boats and getting the passengers— first the women and children and then the men— into them. The Cormorant (for that was the steamer's name) recoiled after striking us, but eho immediately came and stood by, throwing a ropo aboard, by means of which most of the crew clambered into her. Everybody behaved extremely well. There appeared to be no hurry or panio, yet the loading of boats was managed remarkably quickly. In between eight and nine minutes after the collision the last man (Capt. Todd) left the ship, and within a few seconds the St. Leonards plunged bow foremost and disappeared. She had all sail sot, which made the site even more remarkable and impressive than it might otherwiso have been. The air in the saloon exploded with a loud noise, that made some think that the powder aboard had been got at, and the sea was covered with wreckage live stock and luggage. The Cormorant steamed for Dartmouth after making sure all iiuman beings belonging to the St. Leonards were safe aboard, and landed us there at noon. Many of the emigrants and poorer passengers have lost their little all by the wreck, and are in a deplorable condition. NABBATIVES OF PASSENGERS. The saloon passengers were mostly down below when the collision ocenrred, but Walter Park, an intelligent young immigrant, describes the scene thus : — " We steerage passengers had just finished breakfast, and were standing amidships gossiping, when a shout from aft attracted our attention to a steamer on the port side that appeared about to run us down. I heard tho pilot bawl, " Full speed astern," and a voice from tho steamer answered, " Full specd > astern it is ;" then for a few awful and interminable seconds our eyes were glued to the advancing vesssel, and at last the steamer crashed into the St. Leonards, between the galley and main hatch. I had expocted an awful shock, but the noise was less than one would have thought possible. The captain had given orders for the boats to bo lowered before the collision occurred, and tho work of getting the women and children into them was managed very smartly. No one appeared to be specially alarmed. Two young gentlemen, belonging to the saloon, named Eussell, swam from the St. Leonards to the steamer, so as not to overload the boats, and myself and nearly all the crew clambered into the latter by means of a rope. Mrs. Adams and her children were sea-sick in the cabin at the time of the accident, and had to be helped into boats in their nightdresses, but some bedding was thrown after them. The sailors had a little pet dog they made a point of saving, but the captain's hound (a noble brute) got drowned We were hardly safe aboard the Cormorant when the St. Leonards went down head foremost." Charles Rogers, a passenger, states — " I joined the ship in London, and left the East India Docks on the 30th of August. After proceeding: down the channol the ship experienced a heavy gale on the Ist September, which so disabled her that she put back to London, and, after receiving repairs, left again on the 13th in charge of a channel pilot named Williams. Everything seemed to go well till Monday morning, the 17th, when I heard a terrible crash, rushed on deck, and saw that a large steamer had struck our ship on the port side just about Plimßoll's mark. I was fearing that an explosion would take place as, just insido

where sho was struck a quantity of gunpowder was stored in casks, and if tlii a bad happened scarcely a soul would havo been left to tell the talo. Howover, onr captain, with great coolness, gave orders to lower the boats, which was done with a deal of smartness, and all the passengers placed in them. One lady passenger and her children had barely time to save themsolves, and had only their nightdresses on, although she managed to grasp an old coat beloncring to me which was lying on the forecastle. After all the passengers were in the boats, the crew then pot into them. After pulling a Bhort diatanco away, I saw the St. Leonards go down, stern first. Three loud reports tollowed ; her decks apparently were blown up, and the water was covered with wrcokage. Sheep, pigs, and stores wero picked up by the Cormorant, which brought us into Dartmouth, where we received every kindness." The passengers by the St. Leonards were unable to save even tlio smallest artiolo. Three of the emigrants — Weir, of Colchester; Bradbury, of London; and Applebe, of Cork — who wero among the second-class passengers, lost close on £300 each, besides a quantity of goods of a valuable character. Adams, formerly a corn and hay merchant of Newbury, Yorkshire, who was acoompanied by his family of six children, lost considerably ovor that sum in hard cash, and an omigrant named Harvoy lost the savinps of fivo years. THE PRESS ON THK DISASTER. Tlio Morning Post, in a leader that has been very generally approved by the wrecked passcngors, draws the following conclusion from the catastrophe : — " In looking at this unhappy collision it is impossible not to sco that it was mainly duo to the impossibility of the Bailing ship getting out of the way of steamer, whether the latter was going at a greater Bpee*d than was justifiable in a severe fog there is no evidence to show ; bnt it is certain that when the St. Leonards became first aware of her approach she was bearing down upon her at a rate whioh it was impossible to control. When tho mischief she was bound to do bocamo apparent, the terrified peoplo on board the St. Leonards could hear tho order of the captain of tho Cormorant to stop her to pro astern full speod, and so on, and must havo known what their peril was, but thoy wero powcrloss to uttor a word, to mako any signal, or to get out of tho way. It thus bocomes a very serious question whether sailing vessels should be allowed to carry passengers. Wo are not, of oourse, speaking of yachts and vessels carrying merchandise only, but of possengor ships. In a certain sense a sailing ship is an anachronism — a thing obsolete. Steam has superseded the wind, has given an inoroased Bpood, in» creased power, increased moans of signalling, and inoreased facilities of handling tho ship. Why, then, are ships freighted with prooious lives allowed to go on their voyages without any one of these anplianoeß of modorn science ? This collision should serve as a warning, but it is almost too muoh to hope that proper hood will bo given to it. Yet we ventnre to insist once moro that captains of steamers are under no oironnutanoos justified in going full speed in a fog, or at any time when it is impossible to boo anothor vessel or its lights. The blowing of a Bteam whistle is utterly ineffectual to warn out of the road sailing ships that havo no means of instantly arresting their speed if going with tho wind, or of indicating in a fog what oourse they are about to take." " Englishmen," says the Standard, commenting on the dieaator, " may all read with a feeling of pride tho acoount of the coolness and proßcnce of mind displayed alike by the officers, orew, and passengers of the emigrant ship St. Leonards. Struck amidships, in a thick fog, she sank in a fow minutes, but the whole of her passengers and crew, numbering 62 persons, were saved. The wreck of the St. Leonards may be cited as a modej of what Bhould take place on suoh an occasion. Calmness and coolness prevailing, boats are rapidly lowered ; first tho passengers, then the crew, lastly tho captain, take their plaoos in them, and they row off just as the ship goos down. High credit is due to all concerned."