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THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
if you could port your lielo below the Woo-them we had the Feima channel marks open. sung Creek. What lights did you see? Captain Hards--Green and white. Captain. Whittle-You would not consider porting to a green light proper, would yon?
Captain Hards—No, sir.
Captain Whittle--Where did you put your engines half speed?
Captain Hards-Between Woosung Creek and the Kwashing.
Captain Whittle--Where did the collision
occur?
Captain Hards-200 or 300 yards past (above); the Kizashing.
Captain Whittle-Regarding the spend at time of collision, how long had you been going at half speed?
Captain Hards-Three minutes. Captain Whittle-When you put the engines half speed, what lights did you see of the Oato? Captain Hards-The green light of the Oniro was about 14 points on our starboard bow.
Captain Whittle-Did you anticipate any danger of collision at that time?
Captain Hards-No; not at all.
Captain Whittle-The Ono's green light heing to your green light, you considered it the proper thing for you to keep your coarse.
Captain Hards-Yes: perfectly safe. Captain Whittle-How long before the col- lision did yon anticipate danger?
Captain Hards-Not before I saw his re light.
Captain Whittle-After you saw his rel light, how much time elapsed before the colli.
sion?
Captain Hards-Less than a minute. Captain Whittle-Under the conditions do you think you could have done anything to “prevent a collision ?
Captain Hards-Nothing.
Capt. Whittle That is all I have to ask. Mr. McNeil--What were those lights you saw first before the collision?
:
Capt. Hards-I have them here (produ-ing | a paper in which some notes were made.j
Mr. McNeil then asked when they were made, and being answered a day of two age, and being told by the Court that Captain Hards had a right to refer to his notes which were i only an extract from the ship's log and to re- fresh his mind,
Mr. McNeil then asked-When you first saw the light of the Outen, was she crossing the bar:
Captain Hards-I believe so,
Mr. McNeil-Hor green light then was ou your port side; did you form any opinion as to her future course?
Captain Hards-- No, I coulquot; I was amongst the shipping at Woosung,
Mr. McNeil Is it possible to tell which side of the river the vessel crossing the bar was likely to keep to?
Captain Hards-No. quite imposible. I did not know what she was going to do,
Mr. McNeil-You said that off the Woosung Creek the green light was ou your bow aud then crossed over ?
Captain Hards-No, it was ahead and then crossed over.
Mr. McNeil-Which side of the channel did you keep?
Captain Hards--The port side all the time. The President-I understand you are asking any questions Mr. Cooper wishes to put.
Mr. McNeil-Yes.
The President-There is one question I wish to ask Captain Ilards. What was your draft?
Captain Hards-10 feet 10 inches, sir. Captain Fergusson, of the Glengarry, was then called and sworn and deposed as follows:- President State exactly what you saw on the night of crossing the Woosung Bar. Whether you saw a steamer ahead of you. Particularly as regards the steamers in the collision that afterward occurred.
Then I had to put the helm hard-a-starboard aud go full speed ahead to get the ship, onl the bar marks again.
Then I pro- ceeded up the Feima Channel.
I could see there was something the matter with the other steamer, but of course I could not tell what it was. My attention was taken up in looking after my own ship. I asked the pilot at the time what water the ship (the Ouwe) was in and he told me 20 feet, not more. I could see she was pretty well on the other shore. She was heading down the river at the time in the op- posite direction to niy ship. I saw the steamer fill we got round the bend of the river. That I would be about ten minutes afterwards. could
not say exactly: I did not look at the time.
The President-Will you show the exact position of the ship on the chart. [Here Mr. MeNeil prodneed a chart that had been made by Captain Fergusson the morning of the collision, and the exact positions of both steamers were on it] The President asked Captain Whittle whether he had any objections to it being produced, and on his (Captain Whittle) saying he had no objections, the examination of Captain Fergusson was proceeded with.
¦
Witness-When I was coming up the river there was a steamer ahead of us. Just before she got to the Woosung Creek I could see that he had starboarded his helm. I could see the two masthead lights together, but I could only see the black steamer. He (the black steamer) immediately went ashore about Pheasant Point. I stopped the ship and I could see the other steamer's masthead and red lights. I still kept the ship stopped and drifted up past them with a strong flood tide; then just after we passed
The President-Could you see the hull of both steamers:
Witness-Yes, sir, I could see them distinctly The President. Was the Onwo on a level keel? Witness-No, sir, she was by the head and had a slight list to port.
The President -How far off were you pass- ing the steamers ?
Witness-About two ship's lengths.
By the President-Did you hear any con- fusion?
Witness I did hear some confusion-the Chinese taking a noise.
The President-Yon had no idea the ship was sinking?
[May 13, 1896.
showed, that was at the time the captain blew one whistle,
By the Court-State where you were. Witness I was on the forecastle deck; the man on the look-out, the boatswain, carpenter, and rest of the crew handy on the forcastle. On blowing one blast, it was immediately au- swered by two-too late, for she immediately crashed into us, striking our bow about 20 to 25 feet from the stem, the ships striking at an angle. as near as I could judge, from 45 to 50 degrees from the bow of the ship. I was knocked down by a blow from a block or frame. 1 immediately jumped up and ran on the bridge. The captain turned round to me quite calmly and said "Cooper, time?" I took the lamp from the telegraph aud looked at my watch and said 2.30. The vessel which had run iuto us parted, and we sank immediately down to the top of the stem, which was just... showing above water. The captain cried out See what water she has got." I jumped down into the lead box hanging over the side, and took a cast as near as I could judge 16 to 17 feet. I immediately climbed.. on the She is bridge by the rail. The captain said all right, Cooper." The chief engineer came running along. He said the engines were going full speed, speaking generally, not to The captain said, any one in particular.
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the tele-
Stop the engines," and I tried graph handle and found it broken. The captain also tried, but it was broken. I then ran along to the engine-room skylight and lifting it up called down" Stop the engines, Allan.” The third engineer and
a inau were working at a wheel, immediately below me. I then went back to the bridge. The ship had heeled over to about 45 degrees immediately after the other vessel left On reaching the bridge all hands got on the rail and held on to the spar which the awnings are laced Witness I had no idea the ship was sinking. to. Some of thein called out Blow the whistle; President---Did the Onwo show any signals of the awning and pulled a long blast till some I think it was the captain. I slid down on top of distress i
one called to me to fool it, which I kept on Witness-No. uone whatever, only her spal doing till it (the lanyard) gave away. Į
lights.
The President-Did you hear any whistles? Witness-No. none; only my own, which I blew when off the Onio.
The President-How far do fon estimate the Newchiedag was ahead of you.
Witness-I could not say. just as I love my anchor up. and I let him get She came along ahead. I could not judge the distance.
The President-Were you close enough to
hear her whistle?
Witness Yes; I think we should have heard her whistle
Mr. McNeil What was the state of the weather?
:
Witness-It was a fine, dark night; there was no moon or stars; it was cloudy, but it was clear enough. It had been raining, but cleared off. There was no mist. I would not have come up if it had not been a clear night.
The President-What part of the ship were
on the bridge, which is
you in?
Witness I was situated andidships.
The Prekident-Would it have been possible to render any assistance without endangering your own ship
Witness--No, my ship is 360 feet long; she was drawing 21 feet, and was being swept up river by u.strong flood tide.
Mr. McNeil-The witness said it had been raining?
Witness-It had been raining, but not at the time I pasted the Onwo. It was raining at a quarter to two o'clock when I got underweigh, but it was not raining at the time of the col lision. This ended Captain Fergusson's evidence. Mr. Arthur Cooper was then called, and, having been sworn, the President allowed him to sit down, while he gave his evilence, which was as follows:-We left the wharf at 1.5 a.m. and proceeded down the river. crossing the Feima Channel. When just about abreast of the light ship, being on the port helm. I saw the red and white lights of a vessel slightly on our pert bow. I heard the captain give the order to port; and we were still on the swing then. hard-a-port, blowing one whistle: almost inime- diately afterwards we saw the red light of the steamer: it was shut in, and the green light
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then
climbed back to the rest of them, and Scott, the pilot, sang ont Are there no guns on hoard? I said The guns are in the saloon, the cartridges in the chief officer's room," which was immersed. The captain then said, "Take a cast of the lead.“ I went down into the lead
stage, standing to my knees in water and coast the lead, but got no ground. The captain, chief officer, Scott, the pilot, and Chinese pilot, were standing above where I Was. I said No ground," the vessel passed underneath me, and I was sucked down; whilst under water I got most of my clothes off. At the time of the ship going down I had on sea- boots, monkey jacket, and oil skins. The reel cover came floating towards me. I kept turn- ing it over and as there was a body inside I cast it adrift. I then tried to swim for Pheas- ant Point; something struck me, so I turned towards the Woosung side and I tried to make the shore.
At this stage, 0.15 p.m., the Court adjourned till 2 p.m.
Mr. Arthur Cooper, the second officer of the Onto, continued his evidence after tiffin. He stated that the captain was in charge of the ship at the time of the collision, that she sank within ten minutes, her fore-foot resting for some time on the ground and eventually slipping off into deep water. The crow cleared and the passengers crowded round the boats, none of which were lowered; that the Onwo had four boats, six life-buoys. Captain Slessar had on the bridge with him the Chinese pilot; that the ship had, he believed, two hundred passengers on He was cross-questioned by Captain board. Whittle and examined by Mr. McNeil.
Captain Arthur was then called and he stated that he was pilot of the Glengarry, and gave similar evidence to Captain Fergusson. He was cross-questioned at great length both by the Court and Mr. McNeil, in which a lot of very interesting information was obtained. The pilots accept the harbour regulations only as recommendations and abide entirely by the international rule of the road, save while on the Woosung Bar, where the vessel with the tide has the right of way, but this does not apply to any other part of the river. At the conclusion of his examination
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For whown to the to
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