ACROSS THE ATLANTIC.

Wanganui Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15132, 29 January 1917, Page 6

ACROSS THE ATLANTIC.

SUBMARINE PERILS. ARRESTS OF SUSPECTS. Dr. A- S. Bowman, of Singleton, with Mrs and Miss Bowman, have arrived in England (says the Sydney Morning Herald). The doctor, writes as follows concerning the voyage from New York to Liverpool in a 1 U.S. mail steamer:—. ~ “This steamer is 10,000 tons, 25 years old, has been at the bottom of the English Channel once, has been through the Spanish-American war and shelled, and in her day could do 22 knots. She was the fastest, vessel afloat then, and now she does 18 knots, which is considered very good for a vessel of her age. To make matters worse, all, portholes have been closed since we left New York, and in the last few days all watertight compartments sealed up, so that you cannot walk along the ship below deck. The ship belongs to an American company, and, of course, sails under the Stars and Stripes. We were advised to come by one of these neutral ships, as being less dangerous than 'an English one.

“Just before we left, the Deutschland had arrived on. her second trip, and the captain reckoned that a U boat was expected to escort him back, as well as doing some ‘potting’ on the way. Our snip has large American flags painted on her sides, which are lit up with electricity every night, as also is the large flag at her stem. When we entered the war zone, i.e., near the south coast of Ireland, all our boats were swung over the sides, and every passenger had his lifebelt alongside him' at night. Besides four officers on the bridge, there were lookouts aloft and all round. In the war zone we passed several English steamers, and they all had a gun pointed out over the stern. We are now truly getting to realise the serious meaning of war- ... We have been held up by a fog at the mouth of the Mersey for two days, and made a start with the tug a few hundred yards ahead to find out the way for us. We had only 10 miles to go, but it took us 3$ hours. The whole place was crowded with steamers and • ships at anchor on account of the fog. Every one had a bell ringing, and we had our siren going, so there wag more noise than speed. * “It took two hours for all to_ have passports examined. The military, who examine the passports, had a squad of soldiers armed with revolvers, and several of our passengers were put under arrest. One was an Irish agitator, another a Bulgarian spy, a third a Germ an-American, and some others. It is pretty hard for anyone but a good Britpn to get into England now, unless he can show the reason why. Every suspect had his baggage examined, and though I believe nothing was found, a}l have to return to America ■>v the next boat. We met a New Zealander, who journeyed with us from Sydney to America. He left New York in an English boat a few days before us, and when off Ireland a ship near them was torpedoed. Whether it was our luck that submarines were afraid to touch an American ship it is hard to say, but we could not have been far off them-”