LOSS OF THE AORERE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17954, 5 June 1920, Page 9

LOSS OF THE AORERE

OFFICIAL INQUIRY.

(Pee United Press Association.)

_ _. , WANGANUI, June 4. Iho official inquiry into tile loss of the steamer Aorore on IWigitikei Beach on i; ay today. 'i'he magistrate, Mr \\ yver.i Wilson, presided. Tho aasessow wera Captains White and M'Nab. Captain Crotts eaid 'he had been in aharge of the steiiifir for about a month. Ho left Blenheim for Wanganui 011 May 2L uoing from W angamri to Bletiihoim pre\iousiv tho vessel touched, after crossiiig u i' l Blenheim, wh«t witness thought was a big boulder. She made water going up the river, and tho engine pumps wero always going. She was a dry ship after reaching tho wharf at Blenheim, bun next morning it was .reported to him there wrro two feet of water in the csn-gine room, but sho wa3 again pmnped dry with hand pump®. No more water was made wliilo lying at the wharf, but when going down tho river tho pumps had to be used frequently. Ho did not know much about tho ship, bat thought that with .1 favourable trip across ho could reach Wanganui. He knew before crossing the Wairau bar that she leaked and tliat tho engine pomp was defective. The weather was favourable when ho left Jackson's Head. Iho engine pump ' worked all right till about 10 o'olock at night, when the engines stopped. Ho learnt from tho engineer that this was done to enable the water to be pumped out. As soon as the vessel got into lough weather sho opened up and made waiter. The after engines stopped and the vessel continued tinder sail. About niidB'S'H fclra engines were got going again, and th-a water was kept •under. Land was sighted off Turalcina about 7 o'clock in tho rnormng. About 10 o'nlook he sent for the engineer and told him he would have to ma-ko for Kapiti as tho wind was increasing and steam decreasing owing to the coal in the bunkers being wet. Instead of getting 501b of steam they were ° n -j Siting about 251b. Captain Crotts said that about two hours after leaving Jackson's Head the stokehold plates were awash in one or two feet of water. He dad not turn back because he thought it advisable to como across even if he had to run to Eapiti. At 10 o'clock 011 Sunday morning there were about 19 bags of dry coal in tho forohold This was used as soon as witness put tho ship's head towards K&piti. A man could not work the deck pumps as the seas "were going over them. By noon ho was 14 miles south of Wangamri. The engines were still working, and he then headed bock for Wanganui, but an hour later tho chief ofijccr came up and said the men were exhausted after having pumped for about 21 hours, and they had asked him to give them a sporting chance and to bcach the vessel in daylight as they did not want to drown in the dark. About 1 o'clock he again turned towards Kapiti, but an hour and a-half later the engineer said that steam had left the vessel, whioh was then under sail. He asked the engineer to give him 101b of steam, hoping to mnko Foxton. The men came to him again asking for a sporting chance, so lie decided to beach the vessel. Sho drifted broadsido on. He attributed the . Ices to springing an excessive leak. He did not. report at Blenheim that tho vessel had struck a boulder. Ho was waiting till he got to Wanganui. Witness said the seas were enormous. . Mr W. 0. Jarma", who was mate of the vessel sino9 tho-end of January, said he was on tho vessel when she touched Farewell Spit in February. In March, on the way from Groymoath, they had: thrown part of the timber cargo overboard due to the vessel leaking badly. He thought tho engines stopped. When the main engine pttmp used to get choked with coal they usually relied on the hand pump. The vessel was overhauled in March. The bottom was then thoroughly sound. After leaving Jackson's Head the ship started to roll. The engine pump was blocked with coal and the whole crew had to work the hand pump. The wind shifted and' the sea increased, and the water gained on the pumping. The engineer all tho time was endeavouring to clear the stsam pump. The coal started to wash out of the bunkers. When land was sighted on Sunday morning there were four or five inches of water above the stokehold plates. ' Tho pumping was continuous, and tho coal was taken from the fore hatoh. Tiis cabin was dismantled and tho flooring of the after, hatch and after galley was used in trying to gel up 6team, but they could not raise a pound. He attributed the abandonment to the leaky state of the vessel, as it was impossible to save tho ship. William Hislop. engineer, said that the vessel always leaioed more or less. The steam had failed when the vessel was at Waagamii owing to the coal being washed from the bunkers into the bilges where they 0011] d not reach it. James White, a seaman, said that when in the ship's bunker prior to the stranding he saw the floor lifting eveiry time the vessel heeled over.

,Tc>lm Horn, A.8., said -the vessel had leaked after coming off the "dip at Wangamii.

Three witnesses gave evidence and stated that the vessel was properly repaired at Wanganui and came off the slip in a seaworthy condition. The inquiry is proceeding.

COST OF LIVING

ACTION BY RETURNED SOLDIERS'

ASSOCIATION.

(Phb Urited Press Association.) \ WELLINGTON, June 4.

A public meeting called by the Returned Soldiers' Association considered the cost of living question, and passed several lengthy resolutions, including the following:—

" That this meeting believes that the intolerable increase in the cost cf living is largely duo to conditions' that can be oontrollea by the _ Government, and therefore caTis upon Cabinet and Parliament to take immediate steps to reduce the paper currency, to impose a levy on all war profits, and to grant by legislation the right to duly authorised officers to inspect the invoices and books of any trader, so as to ensure immediate detection of any profiteering. " That this meeting calls upon the Government to control profits by fixing a standard rate of interest for each class of business and industry, to reduce Customs duties on the necessaries of life, and to increase duties on certain luxuries; to cheapen by means of an export tax, and the control of prices, the cost of butter and meat, and to plaice an export tax on wooL " 'that the income tax on companies manufacturing the necessaries of life be abolished, and that a yearly bonus of at least £10 for each child bo paid to families having incomes under £250 per year." Other resolutions called upon the Government to appoint a Minister for Housing to stop land aggregation, and increase the land tax; to acquire qompulsorily land suitable for settlement; to revalue all land for taxation purposes, and to stop all speculative trafficking in land. iTne local president of the Returned Soldiers Association said that the association would take charge of the resolutions and press them persistently on the attention ot tho Government.