TIMARU HARBOR BOARD.

Timaru Herald, Volume XXXVI, Issue 2412, 15 June 1882, Page 8

TIMARU HARBOR BOARD.

A Committee of the Timaru Harbor Board rnet_on May 22, to enquire into certain matter* -m connection with the less of -life m the ; harbor" on the 14th init. Present— Mr F; Archer (Chairman), Messrs T. W. Hall, W. Moody, K. F. Gray and R. A. Barker. Some ! gentlemen who are not members of the Board were appointed members of this Committee, but none of them attended: ' THB LIFBBOAT. The Chairman first read the resolution of the Board by which the Committee was appointed, and also Captain Sutter's remarks at the last meeting of the Board, as reported m the Timaru Herald, m which he alleged that - the lifeboat was Unfit to go to sea when wanted, having beert stripped of oars and other requisites for her safe and satisfactory working. ■ After a short conversation among the mem- -. bers, W. Collis, acting Harbor Master, and " the late Captain Mills' coxswain, was called m, and the Chairman bating stated the points 'upon which information was wanted, Mr Collis made the following statement, m reply to the request of the Ohairman, or m answer to questions put by members of the Committee : — . Absut two months ago I went into the shed myself to sweep the lifeboat out, as dust sccu-mul-ited m her. There were then eight palling oars (seven for uss and a spare one), with lanyards attached ; two steer oars,- tow locks, and everjthing that was required. Th» lifebelts were not m the boat, but hung on a line m the rope shod. The lanyards were fast to the oars but not to the boat. It is not usual to keep them fast to the boatt when not "m use. There were two keys to the door of the lifeboat shed. I kept one and Captain Mills the other. I have made enquiries since, and am told that all the oars were m her when launched. There were six men pulling, and there were two spare oan. lam told - that there were plenty of lifebelts thrown into the boat, but they, were not put on. As to a proficient crew, most of the men belongisg to the Service were out either m the boat with Captain Mills or m the surf-boat. The crew of the lifeboat was therefore a scratch crew. As far as I conld learn the lifeboat was not touched till the men were m the -water, and it was qnite untrue that the oars ' and lifeboats were taken out of her, as stated by Captain Sutter. Everything required was m the boat. Mr Moody: There seems to. have beep a feeling on the part of Captain Mills against using the boat if he could avoid it. Do you know any reason why the whaleboat should have been used m preference to the lifeboat m case of anything happening ?— The lifeboat is a good boat m a sea, but if there is any ' wind, she is to buoyant as not to be so easily ' Itept under control as a whaleboat. It is difficult to pull her m a wind, bnt m calm weather she is as easily managed as any " other. ■ ' ■ To the Chairman : To do the tame thing as -we did on Sunday, to go to a ship under the same circumstances, I would myself prefer a wbaleboat, with a similar sea running ; but to go to. save life I would prefer the lifeboat. ;Mr Hall : How did the third boat come to grief ?— I cannot tell, except it .was that she ' got into a bad position from being inefficiently handled. When we left the ship we gave them instructions to follow us, and we sung out to them several times to come on, and we waited for them several times. .They must, have been inefficient m some way and they got far down into the bight. As soon as we got into smooth water I waited to see if they came m safe, but they came to grief. We ' could have gone to the snip several times safely enough, but they got down the bight into the broken water, and going down to help them was a different thing from going out to the ship. . ' ' Mr Barker; Why did the third boat Start? . . The Chairman ; That is easily explained. When the captain, went off his crew would naturally follow him. ' ' Mr Gray said the enquiry into the state of the lifeboat need . not ba prolonged. It had been shown that the reports abroad about the boat being m an inefficient state were quite without foundation, and there was evidently no blame attributable to any of the officials m Connection with her. Mr Moody said he, would Hie to have the evidence of someone who was m the boat on her first trip. It wonld be more satisfactory, seeing that Mr Collis was not m the boat. Mr Collis then left the room, promising to send up someone who went out m the boat the first time. While waiting for this witness,, the members of the Committee held a desultory conversation upon the subject under enquiry, during which. Mr Moody remarked tbat there were one or two lessons to be drawn from the occurrence of the accidents which it was the duty of the Board to take note of. One was ..that while the Harbor Master should be perfectly free to go to sea m cases of emergency, . but if he did so some person, second to him, should have authority to oontrol matters on shore., A second lesson was tbat such large vessels should not be allowed to lie were the Benvenue and City of Perth were placed. The Norwegian vessel rode it out safely, and the others . would probably have done so if they tad been further out. , The formation of a lifeboat crew was also spoken of, and the proper means of providing for its maintenance. Messrs. Gray and Moody stated, that at Home, at any rate m Scotland, the • lifeboat crews were paid by Government, and they considered that the same system should prevail here j urging that as' volunteers for another purpose were subsidised at great coat, so, and especially so, should volunteers for life-saving be. If, however, the Government do not maintain a crew, the Board itself ought to do so. This led to . an explanation by Mr Hall of the reason why the old lifeboat crew was disbanded. The Government used to pay the subsidy, but soon- after the Board took charge of the port that subsidy was discontinued, and the Board, having no funds, no dues being collected, they were unable to assume the liability. ThU was m June 1877. J. Macintosh, coal merchant, one of the crew of the.j.lifeboat on her first trip, then entered the room, and the Chairman having informed him that the Committee were inquiring into the condition of the lifeboat when launched, he m«ie the following statement)— When ye got into the boat there, were eight rowing oars m her, and two steer oars. Six men were pulling and there were two spare oars. A number of life belts were tossed into the boat. Ido not know how many, bnt we never stopped to put them on. There seemed to be plenty for all. Everything wanted was m the boat. The oars had laayards to them, bat m the rush, of the moment we did not stop to tie them. We lost our oars when we upset, because we did not take the precaution to fasten the lanyards. I do not think there was anything deficient. We had heaving lines to throw to men m the water, and everjthing else. I do not know of anything that could have been asked for if we hid. had any amount of time. We bad two spare oars and plenty, of belts, but we. trusted to our swimming and did not put them on. Mr Moody : Was the flrit craw a good one ? Were there any landsmen m it ? — Not one. I . was the only landsman, bnt I have been a boatman and am. thoroughly familiar with .boat*. The Committee then thanked Mr Macintosh and he withdrew. Mr Hall said one of the men told him that aftsr the capsize they only picked up three oart, and they double-banked these and one of them broke. A farther discussion took place as to the duty of the Board to subsidise a lifeboat crew, the conclusion come to being tbat if a crew conld not be otherwise maintained the Board should subsidise one, and, at any rate, should take the initiates and organise a trustworthy crew. Mr Hall explained the constitution of the former crew and of similar crews at Home, showing tbat it was not only customary but necessary that m the first instance the men must choose each other, so to speak, and afterwards fill up any deficiency m their numbers, it being impossible to keep a crew together unless each bad the fullest confidence m his m»tes. ••::.. THB TUG QtTBSTIOIf. Mr Barker asked if the Committee could take into consideration the matter of providing a tug, and it was replied that the Committee wm appointed for • different purpose, and that there was a Committee who were doing their utmost to arrange for the services of a tug boat.^l . '

THB, LATB CAPTAIN MILLS. Mr Hall suggested that the Committee should recommend the Board to vote one yew'» salary to Mrs MilU, and . other member* concurred, Mr Moody adding that the Boarc should do all they could' to get any arrears' o? pension for service under' QoTetiiment«oqrti< ing to Captain Mills. - ■'-'"*-■ . " BBOOMMBSCATrOKB. • ■■■■■' ! The Committee then-decided to report to; the Board ai follows :— - ■ ; "The Committee " recommend thai the; Board grant Mrs Mills one year* salary, £800, m recognition of their sense of the l»t« Captain Mills' worth, and also assist m reeotnmending the Government to' grant the allowance forhie term of service before h» entered the>Board's emplbjmentJ'' - ; ■; ! - " They also recommend, that arrangements be made to subsidise a lifeboat crew who trill practice regularly." ; CAPTAIH M AODONALd'B KABBATIVB. ■ : j The Committee then adjourned to the Boyal Hotel, -where Civptain Maodonald is confined to his room, to hear from bis own lips his narrative at the events connected with the subject of the enquiry. Mr W. Evaris ; was present at the interriew. ... • • The Chairman read an extract from" the Timaru Herald to show Captain Macdonald the purpose for which the Committee waited upon him,' emphasising the two leading questions,—What induced Captain Macdonald to go off to his ship after coming on shore ? and, What induced him and Captain Mills to leave the' Vessel again? He, then said to Captain Mscrtonald : I suppose yon hod good reasons for leafing your vessel ?■ .. : Captain Macdonald : Yea. I had lost two anchors and was only riding by a hawser, and that was stranded. I left Her for the safety of the men on board, I could see nothing elie to be done. What induced you to gcon board again ?— > I went because I taw another boat going off to my ship. . ' ' I The boat containing Captain Mills and his erew — they reached the - vessel before you did ? — Yea ; a couple- of minute*. Mr Evans suggested that Captain Macdonald should make his statement of what occurred without being Mked any questions, and he then proceeded : I left the ship because I did not consider it safe to stop on board with such a sea running. I was afraid that when she broke adrift, as soon as- she touched the ground the lea wbuld sweep the deck, and perhaps turn her broadside over. I thought it most prudent to Oome 'on chore. We all came oa shore, and I went up to McClatohie's office. I was telephoning to Mr Cunningham, the agent at Chriatchurcb, when a friend of mine, from Dnnedin, who had been on board from Saturday night till we left the ship, oame to tell me a boat's crew was being pioked up quietly to go off to my ship. I had only • been ashore twelve or fifteen minutes, and- was speaking through the telephone when he came, aad I left off before I had finished speaking, and -walked with him to the corner of the store and then ran down to the landing steps. Captain Mills was m a boat a little way off, the men lying on their oars, they had not pulled off then. I stood on the top of the steps and called to them to come and take me, but I cannot say whether they heard me or not, or whether they made any sign. They could icaroely help hearing me. My own lifeboat was lying dote to them when I hailed, and the men m it heard me. But there was a crowd, on the wharf at the time, and I cannot fay whether Captain Mills, or his men heard . me. My gig was ' lying nearer the steps,- manntd by shoremen, the Bradleys and McLaren, and I called them to take me off to the ship. My second mate Was beside me, and ho taid he would oome too. I s»id he need not; but he said be would go.' The carpenter had oharga 6f i the ship'e lifeboat* and directly he saw me go off he followed with three others of my men. -The whaleboat with Captain Mills got alongside about two minutes before I did, and we were pulling pretty smart m our boat — she was pulled very well. When we left the ship I had HB up (the signal for assistance), and the. ensign upside down. As soon as the wbaleboat touohed the ship,- one man ran to the poop and pulled the ensign down. What would any seafaring man infer from that ? ■ Mr Evans: Wh&t did you infer from it P — I could not infer any good: from it. Captain Mills' crew went np the -ladder ; I went up a rope's end. I ■ said to the man who pulled the ensign down— l don't know who he was— "l snppoie you think you are doing a grand thing m pulling my flag down?" He did not ■ answer. I heard Captain Mills give order* to clew op the foretopßail, and I walked along the deck to him, and asked him what he intended to do. He said they were trying to save the ship, without any bad in-. teßtioa towards me. He asked me if we had a kedge en deck, and said they- .would try: to put a kedge out. I took him to the forecastle head, and showed him that the hawser was stranded, and said, "I think if it holds half an hour it will be-a mercy." We 'then- went to look at the kedge,. aad I said, "You have hot men enough to handle it. You don't expect to work my ship with four or five men. when I had to leave her with twenty-six? It is all nonsense. .No one could do anything with her. If anything conld bate been done I would not have left her myself." Wethen went to look at the hawser again, and found it had parted. I said " We'll have to go now." The boats wore alongside, and I said to Captain Mills " I'll go m your boat." Before we left the ship I saw the sea was rising, and I said I did not believe any. of ns wsuld see the shore; My ship was -drawing only 14ft, and the water was coming right over the fore: castle head. We pulled away, and my gig got away ahead; The other boat was inshore, that is, to the northward of ns j we kept well out. We met some very heavy rollers while the lifeboat was following us, but while -we kept our bow on to the- sea,' they took them stern on, and were driven to leeward by them. Two big rollers carried- them- a long way to leeward. Captain Wills and I etood m the boat watching them. .We saw her mounting a terrific wave and then saw her go over. Captain Mills said " Good God ; we must ; go to the resoue, and try and save their lives at the risk of our own." Ha told the men to strip, and put on the cork jackets. The other boat got dowa first, the men pulling very fast, and they - were picking up some men while we were still to windward, and they went over. We came close up to them, coming up to my carpenter first, and be sung out to us to go further and pick, np some who could not swim. A big ware came on us and took the stem clean out of the boat, and split her from end to end. . I managed to get on to a portion of- her, and held oaf pr about an hour till the lifeboat took us off. I had no belt on, and I cannot swim. I paddled .about with a bit of wood m each hand till I got on the wrecked boat, and then my second . officer came to it, and others.folio wad till there were five on it. McLaren and two men who went off m the whaleboat, and also. the- second officer were among them. Shortly after I saw Captain Mills and Collis and two of my men, on the ship's, lifeboat. I sang out to Mills to come and tako me off, for the lifeboat though swamped, having buoys m her, was safer than the pieoe I was on. Then the lifeboat came to us and picked us up first, as they thought. Mills and the others, on the ship's lifeboat safer than we were. Directly we got on board the lifeboat capsued, and I was wnder her till the righted. She capsized before Captain Mills was picked, up. . . , ' ■ Mr Hall t Then it wai the action of your lifeboat's crew that throw her to leeward ?— Yea. The big rollers threw har a, long way to leeward, and'; she got worse afterwards. The papers say we were, inside the Breakwater when we turned to go to their reioue, but we were not- The little boat (the gig) was if anything farther ia than we ware. She did well, though she had nothing - to steer with but a rudder. ..'..'' Mr Barker: Did Captain Mills «ay any* thing about sticking to the ship to the laic s I understand that, he always > advised people, to stick to the ship* t — He said nothing to me about sticking to. the ship. It is all very well to say stick to the ship, but whsn a man sees destruction before him. he. will take what seems the easiest way out of it. I do not think Captain Mill* would have left the ship m the boats if he had not thought it was the best thing to do. To Mr Archer: We agreed that it was better to leave the ship. Oaptaip /Mills and' 1 were of one mind about that. I said when we saw .the hawser, had gone— "There's' nothiag for us to do now," and Captain Mills at once, said, to his own men — "Go into the boat*, men | we oan do nothing else." He said nothing to any of my men. He did pot speak to anyone on board except mys«lf. If

my vessel had been deep Idaded and heW'on she would have sunk where 'she wtis, "No vessel could have stood 1 the,' knocks the -Was setting. The seas struck her stern -with suoh force air to turn a heavy; medicine^dhest'e'tfd over end. '' '■ '' ' " ;; ■•' "•"" ' ','■'"'' Mr Hall : Do you think a tug would ham been of any 'use ?-^No tug m the. world could hare taken the ship to sea that day.' I have been ten voyages to Calcutta, where there is theheaviestto'wingin the world, and they never attempt to take s ship through a breaking sea. They will take a ship ' through very heavy rollers, but will not attempt it if the sea is breaking. , They have tugs of 600 h.p. there. ~80 tug m the world could have faced that sea. Mr Brans i But it was smoother at times.— Yes, it was smoother when We came on shore; but then one cannot tell what it is going to be. . Mr Evani : If you had had a tug' when it was smoother could, you have got out P — l do not know, I would not risk much upon it. I ha.ye been kept fourteen hours m tow of a tug off Holyhead, one of the best boats m Liverpool, with a mooring chain (a comparativelysmall chain) rove through the eye of the towline and nothing gave way, while here my heavy cables went. Of course a .tug would yield a little under extra strain, while the anchors do not. But no tug could have done anything m suoh a sea unless she were backed like a whale. , .- . .'"',' i Mr Barker: If you had been farther out where the sea' was not breaking, arid where the C. SVFunoh was, would you not have been safer ?— Yes ;' we were more m a ourrent, and I could see that she kept stern on, while we were turning round. To Mr Hall i lam sure no tug. could have taken her oa6 when we. came aihore. Look at the height of my ship ; yet the seas came right over her. ' Then where would, a tug have been with only nine or ten feet of freeboard. She would have been buried continually- When my vessel, standing so high out of the water, took' seas over her forecastle head, what ohance. could ,a tugboat have ? If my ship had been loaded down she would have gone down at her anchors. Several of toy men said she had struck the bottom, and they were knocked off tboir feet, but I said it was no such thing} it was only the blows she was getting on her quarters from the seas. she got broadside on the men bad to take to' the rigging several times. , Mr Barker : Could you have got out if there had been any wind ? — I set the topsails once because I thought I was getting too close to the Benvenue, and I thought there was a little breeze coming from the north-west. If the breeze had got up we could have .drifted out. I had tho sails set a long time, but the breeze did not come. If the wind bad come when I was on shore I had my crew ready, to go on board again,' I was as much alert for tbe safety of my ship as anybody could be' — of course I was, she was my home. Mr Moody : I should, like to ask. you, after all you have jseen, are you satisfied that. Captain Mills had so bad intention m going on board ? — I cannot cay ; but I should think tbat he was a man who would not do anything of the kind "himself. We were very good friends,, and I do not think he would do such a thing. Mr Hall : As Harbor Master he could not constitute himself a salvor. ' ; Captain Mncdonald : But why did that man ran up the poop and pull my flag down P What could any seafaring man infer from that? I do not know what he could infer but bad intention. "-' ' "' '. Mr Hall : It might have ine»nt that they did not want any more assistance from. shore. Mr Moody: Before you went back 1 to the snip, did you hear anything about her being taken to Ljttelton, or anything about.ealvagi ? —No ; I heard nothing. I had not time. Mr Moody: Were jou surprised to hear that Captain Mills wss going off? — I was surprised. I thought they must be going off to take my ship, and I thought the same when I saw them taking down my flag. I would not have gone off but for the other boat going. If Captain Mills had taken me m his boat probably no other boats would have gone. Mr Barker : 'But what made tbe third boat go off? — There were some of my own men m her, and the carpenter was' m charge of her, and sceirjg me go I supjose they followed me. This closed the interview, and the members of the Committee thanked Captain Macdonald and withdrew. This also. closed the enquiry. After the close of "the official interview, Captain Mttedonald informed bur representative that he had omitted to state to the Committee that, on getting on board, Captain Mills askod him if he did not get the meisajre sent by him through Mr Hamilton, to which he replied that "he had not got any message, and had seen.no one bearing any message from him.