THE SUBMARINE TRAGEDY.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXVI, Issue 5288, 28 May 1904, Page 7

THE SUBMARINE TRAGEDY.

(From Our Special Correspondent.) LONDON April 2L A her n full mouth of almost incessant labour, submariuo A I was raised from her .watery grave last Monday, and the .sea gave tip ils dead. The inquest on the victims of the collision which wrecked llio Al brought into prominence (he grimness of the tragedy. Captain Paeon, it appears, inspected tlio submarine in dry dock after iltf recovery, and found that Ihe injury was confined to iho top of the? conning lower. The leakage of seawater must have boon so small that it the crew hud not been stunned at their stations >r - the impact ihey could easily have planned the leak, blown, our t ho ballast (auk;; and come to 1 ho surface. Moreover,’ Captain Bacon calculated (oat if Iho .submarine had had just three seconds longer, she would have sunk right under the keel of the Berwick Castle, and escaped without a scratch. At had the choice of doing two things/’ said Captain Paeon, “first, blowing out fhm tanks, starboarding tho helm, and risking a grassing collision on, tho surface; or. second, diving underneath Urn Berwick Castle. Tho second was undoubtedly llio course selected. It (he Berwick Castle was pi; died JaOf’t oif, and if you allow five seconds for the enptnin ef the submarine io mako up his mind between the two possible courses, tho liner would have the submarine in exactly (he position 11ml she did—that is, cm the lop of tlio conning tower, 15ft below the surface. Had she had about three seconds more she nassod ekin' under Iho bottom ox the Berwick Castle.” Tnreo seconds! So scant ia the margin between safety and death in the daily work of tho bluejacket. The crow of fho submarine died each at his post, and death eamo swiftly and painlessly. AU wore stunned by the conclusion, and drowned by tho inrush of wafer before they couhT regain consciousness. Tho facer; of the eleven looked calm and peaceful ay if tho men had fallen quietly asleep. /The burial of the victims in Iho cemetery nt Tori'simniih, with full navnl honours, closed (h« tragic chapter with brick’ but: impressive ceremony. The coffins, bnriu* on gun carriages, were covered each with a Union lack and almost buried beneath a mass of wreaths. A long procession of sailors, soldiers and marines followed the euu-canhigGti, marching with arms reversed. Tho grey-hatred Admiral Churchill, following tho coffin of his only son. was (ho moat pathetic figure iu a scene full of sadness. lAt the graveside a brief service was field, and then llio firing party presented arms. Three volleys, the Inhg-dnvwu notes of tho ,f Last Dost,” and all w<us uvor.