LAST NIGHT'S CABLES

Star (Christchurch), Issue 10441, 22 April 1912, Page 1

LAST NIGHT'S CABLES

THE TITANIC WRECK. FRESH ACCOUNTS OF THE TRAGEDY. LOST AND SAVED. AN OFFICIAL STATEMENT. Pnited Press Association—By Electrio Telegraph—Copyright. LONDON, April 20. _ White Star officials state -that 1635 persons perished, and 705 Ivere saved. One hundred and five of .the survivors have gone into hospital. THE SENATE'S INQUIRY. MR ISMAY GIVES EVIDENCE. THE VESSEL NOT PUSHED. o SECOND OFFICER'S STORY. A MIRACULOUS ESCAPE. NEW YORK, April 20. The Senate's inquiry has been opened. Mr Ismay stated that life was asleep at the time the Titanic struck. The Titanic was not pushed, and the speed limit averaged about twenty-one knots. He only once consulted Captain Smith about the vessel's movements, when it was arranged not to attempt to reach New York before five o'clock on the Wednesday morning. He stated that he only entered a boat when there was no response to the call for women. He left about an hour after the collision. He believed the Titanic struck tho ice between the bow and the bridge. SECOND OFFICER'S EXPERIENCE.

/ Mr Lighttoller, the second officer, ' Maintained that the boats were well filled. He said that preference was given to women. He accounted for the saving of so many of the crew by stating that five out of every six of those picked up in the water were firemen and stewards.

\ He declared that there was no demonstration aboard, not even lamentation among those left behind. He dived as the vessel sank and was sucked. under and held fast against the blower. A terrific gust through the blower, due probably to the boiler explosion, blow him clear, and he reachj ed the surface near a boat.

MORE PASSENGERS' ACCOUNTS

THREE FRENCH SURVIVORS

A GRAPHIC NARRATIVE. NEW YORK, April 20. Three French survivors state that they were playing cards when they heard a Violent noise, like the screws ji;aciug, and saw ice rubbing the vessel's A tremendous list followed. ,There was a momentary panic, but it : speedily subsided, and confidence was . [restored. The Captain said: "Let , (everyone don a life-belt; it is more prudent." The band played popular jairs to reassure the passengers, none or *Vhom wanted to go in the boats, (believing that there was no risk in re'rnaining aboard. For this reason jßome of the boats had few passengers, i Their boat rowed half a mile, and they saw the spectacle of the fairylike Titanic, illuminated and stationary, resembling a fantastic stage picture. _ * Suddenly the lights were extinguished. There was an immense clamour, and\the air resounded with a supreme cry for help -and shrieks of anguish. The. Titanic sank quietly. Suction was imperceptible, but there was a great backwash, i After the boats left a group of passengers were seen with difficulty, launching a collapsible boat. They got in, but- the boat gradually filled, | and the _ majority were drowned or j perished in the cold. I The Titanic's crew showed sublime ! self-sacrifice. Much useless sacrifice could have been avoided but for the blind faith l in the vessel's unsinkableness. The sea was strewn with the dead. The last scenes presented an agonising array of horrors. As the ship split, the stern rose precipitously. Scores of men leaped overboard; others scrambled madly upwards on the stern. As the incline became steeper, hundreds lost their footing, and tobogganed downwards. The shrieking was pitiable.

i Hundreds who escaped from the vor■tex clung to wreckage and rafts. It [is believed that 800 jijmped as the vesfeel sank. _ Only the hardiest could stand the icy -water. A few vigorous .strokes and the stiffened forms floated away.

A number of foreigners made a rush, but Murdoch, the first officer, drew his revolver and shouted.. "I will kill the first man that rushes" Three rushed. One dropped shot through the head, another's jaw .was blown n.wa*, and a quartermaster felled the third.

THE CAPTAIN'S END

HEROISM COMMENDED,

"BE BRITISH."

NEW YORK, April 20. Survivors state that the Titanic was steaming twenty-one knots, according to instructions to lteep up the speed ftnd bre'ak the first voyage record. All commend the captain's heroism. They say that he was literally washed from his post. When the boats were clear of the fhip, the captain said: "Men, you have done your full duty; you can do no |nore. It's every man for himself." M Before the vessel sank the captain megaphoned to those on deck, "Ho British." Later the captain was seen helping those who were struggling in the water, and he refused an opportunity to save himself. ! A LADY'S STATEMENT. Mrs George Widenor, whoso husband and son were drowned, states that she saw Captain Smith jump from the bridge into the sea. A moment previously she had seen another officer commit'suicide, shooting himself through the brain. ! THE WIRELESS OPERATORS. AT THEIR POST TILL THE END. A LIFEBELT INCIDENT. Phillips, the wireless operator, stuck to his post till the dynamo ceased to work and the water invaded the operating room. With Bride, his assistant, he was washed overboard. Brido was saved. ' Bride had both feet injured. He bora testimony to Phillips's courage. Bride strapped a lifebelt on Pfiillips while the latter was informing the Olympic of the accident. Water was then entering the wireless room. A stoker attempted to remove Phillips's belt, but Bndo knocked him down. iPhillips went aft to the bridge and clung to it until he was washed overboard. The sea was dotted with people Who had to depend on lifebelts. Another witness says that he saW Phillips die on a raft from exposure. I Comtan, wireless operator on- the Cnrpathia, states that Phillips's last

message was, "Come qmckly; engineroom filling to boilers." COLONEL GRACIE'S EXPERIENCE. PITEOUS SCENES. Colonel Gracie declares that when he reached the surface he found the second officer and Mr Thayer, junior, swimming near him. One of the funnels fell, scattering bodies in the water. The explosion blew the ship's barber off the deck. When the rafts were full several men piteously begged for help, but the crew for self-preservation refused to permit more aboard. All on the raft praved throughout the weary night. CALMNESS OF THE PASSENGERS.

After the collision many passengers retired to bed convinced that the ship would not sink. Others stood at the rail ridiculing as land-lubbers those who were taking to the' boats. IN THE BOATS. WOMEN AT THE OARS. Countess Rothes, who is an expert oarswoman, practically commanded her boat. When it was found that tho men in it could not row properly, several women took the places of the weak, unskilled stewards. A GRUESOME INCIDENT. Lady Gordon states that a few men rushed her boat, but an officer drove them off. One who persisted was shot dead, and the body remained in the boat till the Carpathia picked it up. DISQUIETING RUMOURS. There are rumours of atrocities by frenzied, members of tho crew, including the shooting of passengers in the boats and the braining of swimmers who were trying to enter the boats; but the majority of the witnesses do not confirm them. CAPSIZE OF A BOAT. The boat commanded by the purser capsized, owing to three women rushing to the side to say farewell to relatives. It is believed that none of the thirty wpmen in this boat survived. CHINESE STOWAWAYS. Six Chinese hid under the seats of a lifeboat prior to the launching and were not detected. MR ISMAY'S RESCUE. Mr Ismay. was rescued in slippers, pyjamas and an overcoat. He was dazed with oold. Several narratives describe his active assistance in filling and lowering the boats. INFANT SURVIVORS. Seven nameless infants were rescued. One is suffering from scarlet fever and another from meningitis. Several of the survivors have contracted pneumonia. « A child named Allison, on© year old, the son of a Montreal banker, is the sole survivor of a family of four. SAVED AND LOST.

Charles Williams, the racquets champion, was rescued. Among the lost are Mr Julian, a well-known metallurgical engineer,' Mr Case, managing director of the Vacuum Oil Company, and the Rev E. C. Carter, tiear of St Jude's, Whitechapel, and his wife. .Some survivors think that Colonel Astor and Mr Stead reached a raft, but succumbed to the cold and dropped off.

HELP FOR SURVIVORS

' Philanthropic people have provided outfits for the 210 members of tho crew who were saved.

BRITISH RELIEF FUNDS

LONDON, April 20.

The Women's Fund totals £7OOO, the Mansion House Fund £40,000 and tho Southampton fund £6200.

TRIBUTES OF' RESPECT. NEW VORK, April 20. Congress adjourned as a mark of respect to tho Titanic's dead. The American newspapers unanimously pay a tribute to the valour and discipline of the crew, but complain of the inadequate boat accommodation for a vessel driving at twenty-one knots in the region of icebergs. THE ATLANTIC PASSAGE. OFFICIAL PRECAUTIONS. NEW YORK, April 20. Tho American Hydrographic Office has ordered the lanes for Atlantic liners to be moved 180 miles southward of the track followed by the Titanic. ICEBERGS TO BE SHELLED. WASHINGTON, April 21. The House of Representatives adopted a measure to provide for the shelling of icebergs by warships for the purpose of target practice, as well as to clear dangers from the paths of navigation. REFERENCES IN THE CHURCHES. In many of the city churches yestsrday references were made to the loss of the Titanic, one of the most appalling disasters of modern times.

At the Cathedral Dean Harper, at the morning service, briefly referred to the disaster. In the evening the Rev Canon Carrington, in the course of a sermon on the Resurrection, referred to the hugeness of the catastrophe, coming as it did at one fell blow. All the resources of science had been brought to bear to make the Titanic thoroughly seaworthy, but still she had been wrecked, and a realisation of this brought all face to face with the fact of human mortality.

In the Roman Catholic Cathedral, reference was made to the disaster by Bishop Grimes at 9.30 Mass. At the morning service, Fatlier Price also asked the prayers of the congregation for victims and mourners. He said that although there were many conflicting reports of the occurrence, it was boy on d doubt that it was the greatest disaster in the history of the mercantile marine service. While the shocking loss of life was deplored, the event had afforded a display of n6ble heroism on the part of many men. At St Paul's Presbyterian Church, the Rev T. Tait referred to the disaster, and at the conclusion of the service the congregation stood while the " Dead March" in "Saul" was played. At Knox Church, special prayers were offered, and the choir rendered a suitable antnem. The "Dead March in Saul" was played at the conclusion of the irmrning service. At St Andrew's Church, the Rev J. Mackenzie referred to the disaster, and the "Dead March in Saul" was played, played. At the Sydenham Baptist Church the Rev T. A. Williams referred to the disaster, and the congregation stood in silence for a few minutes as a mark of sympathy. During the evening service at the Oxford Terrace Baptist Church the Rev R. S. Gray said he had been asked to speak about the appalling calamity which had occurred in the North Atlantic. After a short exposition of portions of Psalm 77, "Thy way is in the sea and Thy paths in the great waters and Thy footsteps are not known" and "Thy way is in the Sanctuary," the preacher called attention to the charge of the lack of Divine providence made by a certain lecturer in the supposed permission of such .a calamity by Almighty God. "Where is God?" and "Would a good God allow such things \to happen?" were questions that had been asked.' MiGray declared that even out of the horror of it all a groat tribute had been paid to Christianity by the men who had met death like heroes in order that women and children might be

6aved. Moral restraint had triumphed over the strong love of life. Though the faith of some might suffer a shock in that God did not act with untrammelled will.in His world., and that the endowment of mail with a free will often led to mistakes, moral wrong, oppression and sorrow, yet there was a brighter side to it all. In such dire calamities, did not nations draw nearer to each other? All devout hearts would pray for the cementing of the two great nations, America and Britain, represented in the terrible accident, and would this not mean the maintenance of the peace of the world and thus in the infinite mercy of God goodwill and peace would come to the world out of that which for the time being seemed only evil. The great lessons, so liard to learn, of the brevity of this life, and the smallness of temporal benefits could also be known in the face of this awful calamity.

Yesterday the Rev C. E. Ward, in the Primitive Methodist Churches at Sydenham and Linwood. made special reference to the appalling disaster. Speaking from the text, "Abide with us: for it is towards evening; and the day is far spent," Mr Ward made special reference to the heroism of tho sailors, their splendid courage and manly fortitude. The ,conjrregations stood with bowed heads when the "Dead March" was played.

At the conclusion of Mr W. TV. Collins's lecture at the Choral Hall last evening on the wrpck of the Titanic, the following resolution was carried, the audience standing:—"That this meeting expresses its profound sorrow at the overwhelming disaster which has overtaken the Titanic, and expresses ■ its sincere sympathy with those so suddenly plunged into irretrievable bereavement." > stitZ~btgoer LINEBS.. SOME EXPERT OPINIONS. Questions relating to the size of steamships were discussed recently by a correspondent in the " London Shipping Gazette." At the International Navigation Congress. which is to ba held at Philadelphia in the summer, he wrote, one of the principal subjects of discussion is to be the probablo further increase in the size of ocean-going vessels. Mr E. L. Corthell, an American who has written very learnedly on the subject on several occasions, and illustrated his observations by jneans of much statistical matter, has compiled a paper in which ho predicts that in 1948 we shall have ships of 1100 ft. Lord Pirrie, who. is well on his way to 1000 ft in 1912, will probably consider that to be a pessimistic estimate, although, I believe, it is based on the rate of progress in the past. Mr C. Leemans, of Amsterdam, is, at any rate, much more heroic in the estimate which he has prepared, for his belief is that in a' few years there will be Atlantic liners of from 70,0C0 to 75,000 tons gross, and in a generation Inters of 100,000 tons gross. Mr J. Foster King, the chief surveyor of the British Corporation, is also amonget the prospective contributors of papers; but I have not yet heard how far he is inchned to go in an estimate of the probable increase of liner dimensions. Ship-canal experts liko Herr von Thierry, of Berlin, who is a member of tho International Technical Commission of the Suez Canal,.and M. Quellenac, of Paris, consulting engineer to the Suez Canal Company, are also, curiously enough; convinced that ships are in the comparatively near future to be very much larger They do not think that the Panama Canal, whoso locks will take vessels 1000 ft. long, 110 ft broad, and over 40ft draught, is excessively large. All this must be disquieting to port and harbour authorities, whose efforts are already almost overtaxed in a financial sense to provide for the big liners of the moment. Their expenditure on dredging and dock works" is very heavy to-day, as tho cases of Liverpool and Southampton go to show. But obviously if the money is spent in stages the burden will not be unbearable in the day of the 100,000 tons gross ship. If, therefore, they are wise, they will buckle to now and cease from grumbling. As the world is aware, the Suez Canal is being deepened at an expenditure of roughly 150,000,000 francs. What its depth and width of navigable channel will be when that money is spent I do not know. But it occurs to me to suggest that an increase in this way of the capital value of the Suez Canal is less likely to be remunerative than a corresponding expenditure would be on the Panama Canal. It is not easy to estimate at the moment the volume of shipping which the American waterway is likely to attract. Several people are doing so, but it will be wise, I think, to wait until the projected services take more definite shape. It is passible that part of the Panama Canal's gain will be the Suez Canal's loss. That is not, however, tho reasons why I suggest that the Suez Canal may eventually become less profitable to develop for big ships. The reason is the emergence of South Africa, South America and Australasia as maritime countries of first-rate importance. What the effect on South American shipping of the opening of the Panama Canal will he remains to bo seen. But the Royal Mail Company's absorption of the Union-Castle fleet, and the reported arrangements on the subject of mails between the Commonwealth and the Union Governments suggest that bigger ships may he built rfor the Australian service ,than the Suez Canal Company will care to accommodate.