September 5, 1904.]
hurried, and were allowed to rest twice on the way, some of the Chinese being ,without shoes, and the road very stony in places. We arrived at the Tail in Port Arthur at about, I think, 3 p.m. There we were mustered in the yard, and the Chinese were divided into two lots and taken away to quarters in the Tail. We Europeans were then marched off to the Police Station, which was only a short distance away. There we were allowed to sit down on a long bench outside the Police Station. After waiting quite a time, I was called inside the Police Station, and shown into a large room, where a gentleman in uniform and wear. ing a decoration came forward to shake hands, introducing himself as the Captain of the Retvisan. He spoke very good English, and having asked me to be seated at a desk, produced pens, ink and paper, and asked me to write down answers to questions that he would ask me. These questions related to the sinking of the Hip ang and what had taken place. I did so; and having done so, he then asked me to sign my name at the end of the paper, which I did. This gentleman was exceedingly courteous and kindly in his manner, and at once made me feel
at ease.
After I had left the room the officers and engineers were called in to the same room one at a time, and I was given to understand by them afterwards that they had been asked by the same gentleman to write out answers to questions he had asked relative to the sinking of the Hipsang. After all had done so, the captain of the Retvisan asked me if we had had any food, and when I told him that we had not had anything to eat since our arrival at Pigeon Bay. where we were given some hard-boiled eggs and a slice of bread-and-butter, he said he would have some food sent to us from the club. As it was by this time getting dark, we were asked to sit down in a large room of the police- station; and later on, plenty of food and bottles of beer were brought to us. Having eaten, we
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
end of the list. But I have not seen either the documents or the dispatch box since that day. After the list had been completed, the captain of the Retvisan produced a British Admiralty chart of the Gulfs of Pechili and Liaotung, also a straight edge and projector, and asked me to lay down the courses I had steered after leaving the Newchwang Bar. I did so, and having done so, I am under the impression that he asked me some more questions, about whether I had seen any lights when pas- sing Fuchou Bay; and whether I had stopped the engines during the night; and whether during the passage up from Chefoo to Newchwang I had seen any torpedo-boats; and some other questions about the official log-book, and the deck log-book, and the bill of health; and then asked me to sign my name underneath my written answers. But whether those ques- tions were asked me during the second inter- view. or during that third interview, I cannot now remember for certain; but my impression is that they were asked me during that third interview. On the 18th July, at about 11 a.m., the Chief of the Police, accompanied by several police officers, and a civilian who spoke English and acted ຄະ interpreter. came to our quarters, and I WBS handed fifty (50) roubles in gold pieces, and informed that the admiral had sent us that money to buy clothes with. Somewhere about the 24th or 25th I think it was, as our funds were decreasing rapidly, and we needed to buy charcoal, candles, tea, sugar, and other things, I wrote a letter on a piece of paper with a pencil to the captain of the Retvisun, asking him to kindly let me know when we might expect to leave Port Arthur. The letter I handed to the gendarme to deliver when he was relieved; but I was informed the next day that it had not been possible to deliver it, as the captain of the Ketvisan had been away outside the harbour somewhere with his battleship (at least that was what we under- stood from the man's signs to talk) and the letter returned to me. I
it to gave the man again in the evening, and told him to get it along to the captain of the Retoisun somehow or other; but as the letter was never answered. I came to the conclusion that it had not been handed to the captain of the Retvisan. But a Mr. Nielsen, a Norwegian who spoke English, came to our quarters, and to him I explained that I wanted to go out and buy some things; so I was later on allowed to go into the town with a police officer who spoke a little
German, and I bought the stores we needed.
|
were then taken down the hill a bit. to an empty house that had two rooms in it, not far from the police-station; and there a bed was brought for each of us, a mattrass, pillow, and blanket, and in that house we remained during our sojourn in Port Arthur, a gendarme being on guard over us night and day during the whole of the time. Hot meals, consisting of vegetable or meat soup. and meat or fish. and a supply of bread. was supplied to us twice a day by the guards, and for the first eight days through I believe the kindness! of a Russian Police officer and his wife, who lived in the house next to ours, we were supplied with tea and sugar, glas-es and saucers, candles and soaps, from what I believe were their private stores. But when they left their house, owing to the roof leaking very badly during heavy rain, and changed into another house some dis- tance away, these luxuries came to a full stop: and although they generously left us their samovar to make tea with, and a supply of saucers and glasses and tea-spoons, we then had to provide for ourselves. On the next day, the 17th, we were again called up to the police-station one at a time, and asked further questions by the captain of the Retrisan; writing down our answers, and signing our names to our answers. And on the 18th or 19th (I forget now which day, but I believe it was the 18th) I was called up to the police-station, and entering the room, found the captain of the Retmisan there, and another Russian officer of high rank, who I understood to be by introduction a military law offices, but I may have been mistaken. There was also present a young Russian officer, and on the table, the s.s. Hipsang's dispatch box. tied up, locked, and sealed. The captain of the Retvisan showed me the seals, and that they were unbroken, and having asked me to un- lock the box, he then broke the Russian seals and untied the string, and I unlocked and opened the box. The young officer having seated himself at the desk, prepared to write down an inventory of the contents, but as he did not appear to understand much about writing Eng. lish with such technical words as manifest, cargo certificate, etc., I suggested that perhaps I had better do the writing, to which the cap- tain of the Betvisan expressed a glad assent. The captain of the Retrisan then took out the documents one by one, and I noted them down on a paper. When they were all noted down, the documents were all put back in the dispatch box, and I was asked to sign my name at the
W83
John Cartwright, 2nd officer... F. J. Collier, chief engineer...... W. Watson, 2nd engineer W. Bishop, 3rd engineer
Mr. Rosenberg, alias Serebrenik, saloon
passenger
Chinese sailors....... Chinese firemen Chinese quartermasters Chinese saloon staff....... Chinese compradore staff Chinese passengers to Chefoo Chinese passengers to
Shanghai
Chefoo and
Chinese supercargoes to Canton
171
1
1
1
16
15
4
9
17
18
ap
90 in all
Killed on board.-2 Chinese male passengers to Chefoo; 1 Chinese female passenger to Chefoo; 1 Chinese male passenger to Chefoo. supposed drowned; 1 Chinese learn-pidgin messroom boy drowned-5 in all.
Having read over what I have already written. I find that I have not explained how it was that the torpedo-destroyer No. 7 came alongside the Hipsang and rescued all the survivors. The ship's hull having been destroyed aft by the shell or torpedo, and the ship settling down by the stern, I gained the impression that the Russians meant to drown the lot of us. So having given the two life-belts to some Chinese, and got my boats off. I got up on the boat-skids and started in to cut the forward starboard boat gripe lashings adrift, 88 I reckoned that the boats would float if the ship went down under us, and we'd have something to swim for when we came up to the surface again: there being a bit of a scare on amongst the Chinese, one crowd hustling around one of the port boats getting it out, and another lot having let, the working-boat go down by the run end up, and all of them clinging to the forward fall, the European passenger among them. It appears that the French engineer having taken all his clothes off, jumped overboard and swam toward the torpedo-boat destroyer. Getting near her, he called out to those on board that there were Englishmen on board the ship and to go alongside and save the people. The Russians then lowered their boat and picked him up, and then the destroyer was steamed alongside the ship by the starboard forerigging. and the rest of the people were got on board of her. When I gave up the 4th gripe lashing as a bad job because of the seizing, and jumped down on deck. I saw the destroyer alongside the ship, so I hurried along the Chinese to her as before related.
The authentic list of the people on board the Hipsang at the time when she was torpedoed by the Russian destroyer No. 7 is. I believe, as follows:
Robert C. D. Bradley, captain A. G. Smith, chief officer
Died in hospital at Port Arthur.-1 Chinese No. 3 compradore; 1 Chinese male passenger to Chefoo-2 in all.
t
Left wounded in hospital at Port Arthur.-1 Chinese male passenger to Chefoo; 2 Chinese female passengers to Chefoo; 1 quartermaster ; 2 compradore tallymen; I supercargo to Canton--- 7 in all,
John Cartwright, the second officer, according to the Mercury, deposed that it was a torpedo that struck the dipsang, after several other shots had been fired.
The Court also said:
It is
It is evident that the lipsang had her lights alight, and after the first shot her colours were immediately hoisted, but notwithstanding this. the destroyer fired a torpedo and struck the vessel, thereby causing her to sink within the space of half an hour, viz., at 4.40 a.m. evident that there was sufficient light to see both the class of vessel, the nationality, and whether the steamer had stopped, day having broken and there being no fog in the vicinity. Boats were then lowered and the destroyer came alongside and assisted to save life, but the crew and passengers were kept prisoners until their release on August the 2nd.
INQUESTS.
A TEAM ACCIDENT.
An inquiry was held by Mr. H. H J. Gompertz, on the 31stult.. into the circumstances of the death of one Lum Luk. a Chinaman, recently killed by a tram fccident at Wilmer Street. The following gentlemen were sworn as jurors: Messrs. E. C. Georg. Julius Focke. and J. B. Scott.
A Chinese tram-conductor said: On the Wo 21st inst. I was in charge of car No. 18. were at the entrance of Wilmer Street to the Praya at 11.55 a.m.; the car was going east towards Wing Lok Street. There was another car in Wing Lok Street coming towards me-- could not see the number. A man was on the line of the other car, and he ran on to the line I rang of my track; he was holding a pickaxe. my bell, and, as he did not move, slowed down, putting on the brakes to stop the car. however, struck the pickaxe the man carrying. The car could not stop in time. I rang my bell several times, but he would not get away. The pickaxe, which he was carrying on his right shoulder. broke his head, and he fell down.
The car.
Was
I told the ticket-collector to blow his whistle and call for the police. The car stopped. The ticket-collector blew his whistle. The police came, got a chair, and the` man was carried away.
Mr. Gompertz. Did the car touch deceased? Witness: Yes, it touched the axe and the man. It stopped immediately afterwards.
Mr. Gompertz: If I ask any questions likely to incriminate you, you may refuse to answer them. How did you stop the car?
Witness: I put on the brake first, but that would not stop it, so I reversed the motor.
Mr. Gompertz: How far off was deceased? Witness: A few feet.
Mr. Gompertz: How far off was he when he crossed on to your track?
Witness: A few cheung.
Mr. Gompertz: Was he looking towards your car?
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