THE LUSITANIA

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLVIII, Issue XLVIII, 11 May 1915, Page 5

THE LUSITANIA

BY SEViBIL PASSEN6ERS ftHITHEiI ACCOUNTS BY SUSMS

LONDON, May 10. * Lord. Mersey will conduct the inquiry. .J&r? George" KessTef; the ■ so-called kmg",'' v who was the host a freak dinner at the Savoy, stated -4Uafc v saw thtf : trail -of a torpedo 30 and then felfc . the thud. Hfe i»ot believe for a moment that the sJmT wpnld sink. He was in f boat on ijie opposite side to the list ,and the imnnte After it reached the water the ifw seconds iefore,. s/semed to lurch -iway. The keel of the vessel daught the fettom of his boat,, arid the 30 oeupants ■were thrown- the-* water. , ' VI eank and thought X'was gone, but JiToee and floated for arid -ihen managed. to clamber uito a, small •collapsible lifeboat. This was overturneight times through scramilSirig .in, and - before it was gicked six out of the nine were dead. > , -'V Mr. Kessler said he considered the 3>isitania*s speed ought to have 'been greater. They expected , destroyers !%oold -.protect' the vessel when it s■2 the war zone. It was the greatest murder the world had ever known, but jjjehat could -America '• do? : How wotud .Jjfcr going to war mend iaatters. An- American' family named Gardner, consisting ' the father, mother ,and two sons, were passengers. They int«n<ked to settle in New Zealand: When and' -*»ent down with the vessel. The c father V»>nd sons were thrown into the sea: A of f sixteen was sucked down, biit-camevo the surface and was gulled into.a boat % He found' his father trate in the bottom. The father did not rrecover.' When \the lad reached Qjueenstown there was dramatic" meeting with sls. brother, aged x }2, who had been res- - «cued by another Their tickets -srere - lost, and. they x *rere pennies and : A- steward named Townsend, of the '.lmsitama, stated V^nderMt

was on deck when the torpedo struck. .Afterwards he gave the lifebelt to a lady passenger . Harrison, a young miner, who was re;turning to enlist, twice gave up his lifebelttoa youiie woman with a child. He : narrates that he saw a foreigner with five lifebelts. Another mair seized one, and the foreigner cried like a child. Harrison, when thrown into the sea, swam to an upturned boat -Which was supporting 48 others. Men, women, and children were floating head downwards all round. Many had life "belts: The forty-nine clung to the boat for two houTsl passengers state that during the latter part of the voyage the Lusitania's course was' frequently changed. A member of the crew told a pas 7 senger that the vessel had dodged three submarines. " - The Cunard Company state that the survivors total 487 passengers and 274 of the crew. • The of the passengers* opinions is that-the liner was steaming at 18 knots at the time of the disaster. Several jJassengers saw a. submarine* 300 yards off, and -discussed the object Some thought " was a whale, and another suggested tfrat it was a. It kept' pa6e with the lusitania fdt'fiilly' a minute- before it fired a torpedo. The second torpedo struck four minutes later, and the -vessel toppled over as though in dry dock and some of the under-pinning* on the starboard side had been k&ricked awav. ' ' ■

The boats on the port side were full of -women and children, but as the list prevented their being launched, practically all in them were drowned. • There was little suction when the ship ■went down. She slid into the water like a diver; otherwise many more would have been drowned. : '

Wheft the boats on the starboard side had been safely launched there was terrible danger ovr,xsg to the superstructure slowly "descending. The funnels and davits killed many, and-also fouled several of the boats. One hundred aiid five first class passengers were-saved, 93 seeond-class, and ei&ht. The only officers saved were the first and second, and also the second and third 'engineers. / • Messrs Hugh Lane, Klein, and Stackhouse are Btif missing. - There 'was-a - harrowing sight/when at least thirty babies were 'laid out on the floor of a temporary morgue at Queenstown. Though the quickness of the disaster gave "Justifioation, people pushed into the crowded boats despite cries of "Women and children first." ; 'A boat "was. lowered "containing the mails and the steerage pasengers, l>ut it capsized. - - Most*'of the collapsible boats remained

I Captain Turner, when, the water was i nearly f the 'wheelman arid said) try and. I save' yourself; you Mve> no business here. Good-bye." The captain're- ) mained on the b?i.dge. ' *

fastened. Captain. Turner, when, the water was nearly Tntht the bridge, trirned to the'wheelman arid said, *<Now' toy • v swad save'yourself; you" helve no business here. Good-bye." The captain'remained, on the b?i.dge. * In some instances women upon re''doi&iousness after being rescued by the 'boatfi. asked for their children, and not finding them, -#ent almost iriad. ? The crowded boats moved in the sea among hundreds who were clinging to wieckagW: """ it' was ljorrifying to see hands slip off andT the : victims disappear witfe despairing cries. ; LiadV "Allan, wife of Sir Montagu Alland, head of the Allan Line, was rescued, but her daughters, aged fourteen and one, were drowned. . - Mr Gasselier, a leading wine merchant, was rescued, but he lost £400,000 worth, of securities! _■ . _ Excepting Miss Leaioyd and her maid, all the' Niagara's list are missing. Mr and MtsJ.-C. Mackay, of Auckland, are also misisng. SCUFFLES AT THE STOCK EXGHAK6E a \r/\ -or> nTTnvf»Lm "DO '

In some instances women upon recovering after being rescued by the 'boats, asked for their children, and not finding them, vent almost inad. ? The crowded boats moved in the sea among hundreds who were clinging to wieckagW: """ it' was ljorrifying to see hands slip off andT the : victims disappear

witfe despairing cries. ; L&dV "Allan, wife of Sir Montagu Alland, head of the Allan Line, was rescued, but her daughters, aged fourteen and one, were drowned. . - Mr Gasselier, a leading wine merchant, was rescued, but he lost £400,000 worth.

of secunities. _■ . _ Excepting Miss Leaioyd and her maid, ail the' Niagara's list are missing. Mr and Mts J. -C. Mackay, of Auckland, are also misisng. SCUFFLES AT THE STOCK EXCHANGE GERMANS PREVENTED FROM ENTERING. STRONG ACTION AT OTHER EXCHANGES. (Rec. May 11, 12.25 p.m.) LONDON, May 9. British members of the Stock Exchange, after several scuffles, prevented a number of Germans entering. Members of the Corn Exchange gave Germans five seconds to quit, and threatened' to then throw them out.

Notices were posted at the Baltic Exchange and the Liverpool Cotton Exchange Austrians and Germans not to enter.

JOY IN GERMANY AMERICA'S ARROGANT FRIVOLITY.

LONDON, May 10. The 'Cologne Gazette" says the news I of the sinking of the Lusitania -was received with "unreserved satisfaction." Itr proves -to the -whole world that Germany' is in' earnest with her submarine r war. The American public have hitherto treated" the dangers of journeys to Eng-' land with arrogant frivolity, and have only themselves to blame. The "Cologne Gazette" _ concludes by recalling ifchat the I<usitania ? which' was tuilti to recover /the 'blue ribbon of; the. Atlantic from' the Dentschland, ha£ goiie to, her death/ through a torpedo.

ADMIRALTY SENT INSTRUCTIONS TO THE LUSiTANfA

NAVAL DISPOSITIONS CANNOT BE DISCLOSED. (Rec. May 11, 9 a.m.) LONDON, Hay 10. Mr Churchill informed questioners that it was premature to discuss'the Lusitania affair pending the inquiry. It was impossible to disclose the naval dispositions along the coast. The Admiralty's resources -were inadequate to supply an escort for merchant or passenger ships. The Admiralty, owing '-o ■Germany's warning, sent the Lusitania directions regarding her course. Excepting the Lusitania, the entire seaborne trads had been conducted with out appreciable loss. No exception was made in the Lusitania's case to the regular methods for safeguarding seaborne vessels. ' ' '

MR. BONAR LAW ON GERMAN

METHODS

(Rec. May 11, 9 a.m.) LONDON, -ay

Mr Bonar Law, speaking in London, said, What did. the sinking of the Lusitania mean ? It might mean that the Germans were simply running amok and their deeds were those of desperate men-; .b.ut he thought there was a method, in their madness. Germany, having failed to secure the sympathy of neutrals, was determined to ierrorise them. The Lusitania outrage would convince us that not only soldiers, hilt the whole nation, is at war, and every ounce of strength must be directed to .bringing the war to an end.

THE LUSITANIA BUILT UNDER; ' ADMIRALTY AGREEMENT.

"No recent event in the shipping world has excited nearly so much general interest as. the completion and entry u£K>h" the Atlantic, service of the two new express Cunarders Lusitania, and Mauretania," said a Home shipping journal just after the vessels had commenced running, in 1907 "The performances of both vessels have demonstrated not only that in them Britain possesses two ships capable of beating all Atlantic records, but that their superiority in. speed is so great that it was not likely to be challenged for many years to come. Thi& success is a crowning tribute to the enterprise which has distinguished the Cunard line from its inception, 67 vears agf, to the present time." 'When it is considered what excellent use can bo made of- high-speed liners as armed; Cruisers' in time of -war, continued the ■writer, it ia not surprising that, early in tie present century, there "vvas a strong feeling in that the t.m'e had arrived'f or Britain to augment the number of vessels available for • uc-h. service. It -was with this powerful argument in his favour that the late J crd Inverclyde approached the British Government with- the object of : securing its co-operation in the construction, of two new ships of unprecedented speed and dimensions, and carried his project through, The conditions laid down, in the agreement entered into- in 1303 between the British Government and the Cunard Company required the construction of two steamships "capable of ma : n taining during a voyage- across the Atlantic a minimum average speed of from 24 to 25 knots per hour in moderate weather." The vessels were to be coii structed to the requirements of-the Admiralty as auxiliary cruisers, and the Government was to have the right to require their services in time of war. I'n Order tP meet the cost of the sh'-ps, the , Government agreed to oro7 le a sum I not exceeding £2,600,000, at 2| per ;eri* ; interest, and an additional annual su.'- i sidy of £5150,000. The agree raent a'so ' stipulated that' the line should remain j entirely under British conVoi.

"MADMAN OF EUROPE"

NEUTRALS SHOULD TIE HIM UP. EXTREME GRAVITY OP THE SITUATION. r NiEW YORK, May 10. Germany is generally described as the "madman of' Europe;'" It is suggested that neutrals should combine to tie him up.- ' The "Tribune" demands that Ger- : many should renounce the' policy of assassination; ' "Otherwise-' she must be forced to do so/ not to avenge the dead but to defend the livin^. • Mr Wicker sham,. ex - Attorney-General appeals'to the' people of the United States to abandon their present sexless policy and cancel relatione with Germany. He extra session of Congress should appropriate an extra 250 million dollars -to put - the country in a condition to protect her tights as a neutral and civilised Power. The. "New York Herald" say?, the gravity of the situation is unmatched in American history'"since the Civil War. This colossal and cold-blooded, outrage will such a blinding white light of indignation in : fejie neutral world that there caniiot conceivably be any. thought of Washington's turning back froin the Note of Feibruary 10th. TRANSYLVANIA A FULL SHIP. NEW YORK, Slay 10. The Cunard Company's Transylvania is sailing with 87Q" pasengers. Only 12 cancelled th,eir passengers. • ; ; The German •advertisement yarning passengers has reappeared in the newspapers. • ahericFsTttiiuoe NOT LIKELY TO GO TO WAR. ' LONDON, May 10. "Daily Chronicle's" sTew ."JTprk. correspondent opines that' President' Wilson will not ask Congress to go to war with Germany, but he may notify that upon a recurrence, of attacks upon noncombatants America, will. withdraw every -restriction hitherto placed upoii the supply of anna and ammunition, and even facilitate it, or ere may. witlyinaw the hospitality ajjarded t<> Germany's shipping. / ■___ ' AMERICAN SUGGESTIONS SEIZURE OF INTERNED GERMAN VESSELS. WARSHIPS AS~CONVO YS. <Rec. May 11, 1.20 ; - WASHINGTON, May IQ. A suggestion that the United State# should seize Germany's intern.ed ships in revenge for the loss of the Lusitania is seriously mooted in the American press of all shades of "politics. suggest that American warships be allowed to convoy' all snips oU which American passengers are sailing for Europe. j NO WA3 BETWEEN AMERtCh AND GERMANY j A (DEFINITE INDICATION/ ! (Rec. May 11, 1.26 p.m.) j WASHINGTON, May 10. | President Wilson allowed it to. be known that, he does not intend to call ,a special session of -Congress. This shows clearly tliat United States intends to. avoid: war with Germany, as Congress must be consulted before war is; de ? clared.