Wreck Aftermath

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 15, 5 June 1914, Page 5

Wreck Aftermath

CONFLICTING STORIES. AND ALMOST INDESCRIBABLE STATEMENTS. Times anu Sydney Sim Services. Received 4, 7.35 p.m. Quebec, June 4. There are irreconcilable statements concerning the disaster. It is currently asserted that not a single boat left the Storstad till daylight, when two small ones were launch--«d. On the other hand, the officers of the Storstad state that four boats were launched immediately, and were quickly : loaded to their utmost capacity. They also allege that two of the officers of ' the Empress of Ireland, after reaching ' the Storstad, refused to assist in rescuing, declaring that the lifeboats were too heavy to pull. Thereupon three of the Storstad s firemen took a lifeboat ' and rescued fifty. AN ENGLISH TRAVELLER'S EVIDENCE. PRAISE OP CAPTAIN KENDALL. SWEARS LINER WAS STILL WHEN STRUCK. < 1 Received 11.20 p.m. Montreal, June 4. i Dr. Grant Hyamson, an Engli6h tra % ( .veller, declares that the charges against i Captain Kendall are false. He says i Captain Kendall struggled to aid in the resene when in a state of collapse, and refused to leave, even s with his boat jj i VJialf full of water, in the Irope of rescuothers. Dr. Hyamson added that Captain Kendall refused to abandon the search to others, even when Hyamson and others aboard the Storstad were urging that further search was hope- « less. 2 He asserts that he can swear that the Empress of Ireland was stationary when, j the Storstad struck her. . A CRITIC CRITICISED. MR. HOLMAN TAKEN TO TASK. , AND HIS REPLY. Ottawa, June 3. ' Tbe Canadian press severely criticise ■Mr. Holman"Premier of New South Wales, for prejudicing the Empress of t Ireland enquiry. The statement that people make money hy gambling in hu- i man lives is particularly repudiated. It 1 is pointed out that the Canadian-Pacific r. Company employs only_thc best officers C and steamships it is able to procure. " The company has never had a serious r, marine accident due to negligence in its f •history. The newspapers ask for sus- c pension of judgment by all parties until judicial enquiry settles the question. Sydney, June 4- I The Premier, referring to criticisms •of his remarks on the Empress of Ireland disaster, said it did not require -expert knowledge to understand the , facts. A ship moving slowly was run -down by another ship moving in the same direction, with no head-on impact , -and no full speed smash into an iceberg, , in the case of the Titanic. If the «kill of naval architects could not guar--4Btee under these circumstances that the ship would float for half-an-hour after it was struck, if no such things as water-tight compartments or buoyancy chambers were known to naval architecture, the sooner the fact was proclaimed the better. Passengers must be made •aware by the directors of shipping com- . panies that the impact from another ' ship overtaking theirs would be followed by almost instantaneous destruction. Then perhaps they would insist on ships not travelling in fogs with 1500 lives on board. Their extreme delicacy of structure would be recognised and murderous risks not taken. THE BLOOMFIELDS. Ottawa, June 3. The bodies of Colonel and Mrs. Bloomfield hav,e been identified. The identity of Miss Bloomfield is not quite ccr- - tain. GHOULISH STORIES DENIED. THE C.P.R. CLAIMS £400,000. Received 4, 8.40 p.m. Montreal, June 3. The Canadian-Pacific Co. denies the mutilation of bodies by frenzied steerage passengers, saying that an evil imagination is the only foundation for these ghoulish tales. The company is claiming £400,000 against the Storstad, which counterclaims for £IO,OOO. Bodies identified include Lieut-Colonel Bloomfield and Mrs. Wynn-TYicc, of New Zealand, and Miss Byrne, of Brisbane. Many passengers are still unidentified. ANOTHER VICTIM. Received 4. 10.45 p.m. Adelaide, June 4. Tt is feared that W. P. Richardson, brickworks owner at Hindmarsh. was a victim of the Empress of Ireland disaster. He was making a world's tour. In reply to enquiries, his son has received a cable that a man of that name was aboard, and was not among the reseHcd. ' NEW ZEALAND CONDOLENCES. By Telegraph—Press Association. Duncdin, June 4. At to-day's meeting of the Otago Provincial Council of the New Zealand Farmers' Union, a resolution was carried expressing sincere regret over the Em- -> ' press of Ireland disaster.

CLAIM FOR DAMAGES. STORSTAD'S OWNERS' REPLY. Ottawa, June 2. The Storstad's owners have filed a reply to the Canadian Pacific's damage suit, alleging the accident was really due to the Empress of Ireland's faulty navigation. POSSIBILITY 01' SALVAGE. Times and Sydney Sun Services. Quebec, June 3. There is every likelihood of the Jimpress of Ireland being raised, She lies in 20 fathoms at low tide. Her highest , point is only nine fathoms below the surface. There is talk of numerous suits for damages against the Canadian-Pacific Railway Company. . The Lord Mayor's fund totals £IO,OOO, including gifts from 'Baring Bros, of £IOOO, Lady Strathcona and Mr. W. M. Singer £SOO each. AMOUNT OF RELEEF NEEDED. ] London, June 3. i .It is officially stated here that 1024 j were drowned and 452 rescued. Two ( hundred bodies have been recovered. f The Canadian-Pacific Company has ] contributed £IO,OOO to the London and i Liverpool funds. ( According to an estimate, based on 1 the Titanic fund, £BO,OOO will be required for the relief of the crew and i their dependents, and at least £IOO,OOO i for the passengers. LOW-LEVEL JOURNALISM. ( INVENTS MRS. ANDRESEN'S ' 2 SHRIEKS. ' Quebec, June 3. The Storstad's owners state that the Storstad's crew rendered every assistance after the accident. Mrs. Andresen never made the charges attributed to her, which were merely inventions of 1 the "yellow" newspapers.