TOLL OF THE SEA.

Otago Witness, Issue 3031, 17 April 1912, Page 53

TOLL OF THE SEA.

THE TITANIC SUNK. 675 PEOPLE SAVED. HEAVY LOSS OF LIFE FEARED. ENORMOUS ICEFIELD. OTHER VESSELS DAMAGED. Press Association —By Telegraph—Copyright. LONDON, April 15. The Titanic struck the iceberg on Sunday evening. She had 1380 passengers aboard, incuding 300 in the saloon, and a crew of 650. The"" Virginian received the Titanic appeals at a distance of 170 miles. The Olympic and Baltic have also gone to her rescue, but it is doubtful whether they will arrive in time, as the last signals were blurred aiid ended abruptly. The women were put into lifeboats. The weather is calm. The passengers included Mr W. T. Stead, Mr James Ismay (of Ismay, Imrie, and Co., proprietors of the White Star Line), Colonel Jacob Astor, and several New York bankers. HALIFAX, April 15. All the passengers left the Titanic by 3 o'clock this morning. MONTREAL, April 15. The Titanic is steaming slowly towards Halifax. LONDON, April 15. Several liners have recently encountered an icefield 100 miles long and 35 broad off Newfoundland. There hove been numerous perilous voyages. The liner Niagara had two holes knocked in her, and others have been damaged. COLLISION WITH AN ICEBERG. NEW YORK, April 15. The steamer Titanic, which is inward bound, has sent a wireless message stating that she collided with an iceberg and is in need of assistance. The liner Virginian is hastening to the steamer's aid. LONDON, April 15. The Titanic, which is off Cape Race, is sinking by the head. The women on board are being taken off. This i 3 the Titanic's first voyage. She left Southampton on Wednesday with nearly 3000 people on board. THE FINAL SCENE. LONDON, April 16. (Received April 16, at 5 p.m.) The Titanic has sunk. Six hundred and seventy-five people have been saved, but it is feared that many have perished.

THE TITANIC. Tho Titanic was a sister ship to tho Olympic, and was admitted to bo one of the finest vessels ever built. Her tonnage was 45,000 tons, and her dimensions were—length, 882ift; beam, 92£ffc; depth, 59ft; and her speed was knots under average conditions'. This monster ship was only completed r ecently, and if placed on end she would easily exceed in height the highest structure in the world. The Titanic was fitted with three electric elevators, which gave easy access to all the passenger apartments, and, in addition to a very largo dining room, she hod an elegantly appointed restaurant, where passengers could dine throughout the voyage without ever entering tho dining saloon. In addition there were a reception room (for afternoon teas and musicales), extending the full width of the vessel; a verandah and palm court on the promenade deck ; a " lounge " or draw-ing-room, with a decorative scheme copied from the French palace at \ r ensailles; a smoke-room, decorated after the style of the early Georgian period; a sumptuously appointed Turkish bathroom, fashioned according to the luxurious stylo of Oriental art; a salt water swimming pool, 32ft by 13ft, constructed of glistening white tiles; a smiash recquet court and a gymnasium, the latter being in charge of an expert, and equipped with all tho latest essentials in the way of dumb-bells, Indian clubs, bar-bells, rowing machines, punoliing balls, mechanical horses, etc. Instead of the familiar portholes, all the large apartments were fitted with large windows in keening with the stylo of art adapted to highest requirements of architectural beauty, being distinct in its colour scheme and decoration. The staterooms de luxe were all equipped with beds like a private dwelling, and in the best parts of tho ship they were adjacent to everv modern luxury and formed portion of an elegant suite of rooms, wnich could be placed at the disposal of tho wealthy traveller, who could afford to pay from £250 to £B7O for his or her oxclusivr-ness. The cheapest saloon, rates were about £27

J per adult, being at the rate of nearly £6 j per day for the voyage across the Atlantic. The Titanic had embodied in her construction all known factors of safety, her | 11 steel decks being divided throughout the j ahijp by 16 watertight bulkheads. Tho I height from her keel to the top of her funnel was 175 ft, and her rudder alone j weighed 100 tons. The vessel had acoom--1 modation for 2500 passengers, and a crew of 850. ' It has been the custom of the White Star i Company to insure its own vessels, and the company's insurance business is said to keep i busy a staff as La.rge as that of any insurance I company in New Zealand, so that tho total j loss of tho Titanic, which is said to have cost fully £1.500,000 to build, will fall very heavily on tho company if it has not distributed its immense risk with other underwriters. The loss of Ihis magnificent liner recalls the loss of the White Star Company's steamer Naronic, which occurred a few years ago. She was a vessel of 5780 tons, and was commanded by Captain -William Roberts. Tho Naronic had eight watertight bulkheads, and was regarded as being the finest vessel of her class at that time. She made six round voyages from Liverpool across the Atlantic, and on her last voyage she carried a crew of 60, and 14 cattle men, all of whom disappeared with the ship. A few weeks after she was overdue one of her lifeboats was found- floating upwards of south-east of St. Johns (New Brunswick), but concerning the cause of the vessel s total disappearance no other clue was ever found, and. as in the case of the Waratah and within the past- few months, tho ocean has kept its secret well.