THRILLING SEA STORY.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1713, 2 April 1913, Page 8

THRILLING SEA STORY.

♦ . CAPTAIN WHO FLAYED UPON SODIUM ..WITH THE HOSE. . A thrilling story, of the experiences of ,a, ship's crew on a burning' vessel' was re- , In ted before Mr. Justice Scrutton in London- recently. V On .December 11, 1911, the steam ship Hardy, owned by the Services Maritime du Treport, left that port on the north coast of France for- London, carrying! in addition to other cargo two tons of metallic sodium stowed upon the fore hatch. A. heavy sea struck the vessel, and water got into the:sodium, causing a series of explosions. Following this, fire brake out in the hold. , The captain, unaware of-the nature of sodium, played upon the remaining cases with the hose. The result was a further series of explosions. Then it' was decided to heave the lot into the sea, but when this was done.jSo'it was stated, some-of the'cases jumped back on-board! As the fire was gaining, the. captain gave the order to take to the boats. Tho mate was cut off by tho flames, and, jumping overboard, was drowned. Tho crew got away, but several sustained injuries. The Hardy foundered. The action upon which those incidents centred was a claim by Messrs. Ingrain, and Royle, Ltd., of Belvedere Road, Lambeth, against the owners oMhc vessel for the loss of 1135 cases of mineral waters, which formed part of the cargo. Judgment was given -for the plaintiffs for ,£1368. with costs..

At tho Ashburton Baring Square Church on Thursday evening last tlie' chairman (tlio Rev. W. J. Elliott), on behalf'of the Church and Sabbath School, presented a purse of sovereigns to Mr. E. Page, who is leaving Ashburton to go - through his course at the Auckland Training College, with a view to joining tho Methodist ministry. There was a - large gathering of past nud present teachers nnd senior pupils of the Sydenham School last Friday afternoon, to wish good-bj-o to three of the teaching staff, who are severing their connection with the school. Miss N. Harrison lias been at the Sydenham School for a period of 26 years, and is retiring on superannuation, and Mr. S. J. Irwin, who has spent the last eightr years there, is leaving to take charge of the Doylcston School.,; Miss. I. Morrison has been appointed to a' jio6ition in the Akaroa School. The chairman of the committee, the Rev. P. J'. ' Cocks, on behalf of tho committee, teachers, and senior scholars, presented Miss Harrison with a pair of field-glasses, Miss Morrison with a set of brushes, and Mr. Irwin with a travelling bag.. On Wednesday evening last a number of residents of the Woodend and Waikuku districts paid a surprise, visit to the Wesleyan Parsonage, Woodend, for tlie purpose of making a presentation to tho , Rev. J. T. Haslam, who. after four years.' service in their midst, is leaving for Palmerston North. After tho presentation, which took tho form of an address and purse of sovereigns, was made,'- a very ■ pleasant oveniug was-spent in music anil : song. . ~ The number of .books published since [ printing was invented, said Mr. R. Peddie in a lecture on-"Bibliographical Re- , servo" at the British Museum, had been: , estimated at - something like forty mil- ( lions. About fifty thousand book, swere - published-a year, apart, from fiction, chil- | dron's books,. and "books (that are not i books." i No. 32 Company, Thonulon • Senior ' Cadets, are holding a social evening at . the Sydney Street Schoolroom, on May 14, j in aid of the company's bugle and drum baud.; and gymnastic club.. X.. ! Southwark Bridge (Londofi) lias been j closed to vehicular traffic, and tho.work ] of rebuilding, which will last Ihrro and ( a. half years, has been commenced. j For his discovery of the new star in tho t constellation of Lacerta. and - his spectra- f scopic work, the Rev. 'I'. 11. Espin, vicar t of' Tow Law, Durham (sou of the late 1 Chancellor Espin), is to be awarded tlio Jackson-Gwilt medal by the Royal Astronomical Society.