THE SHIP KNOWSLEY HALL.

Marlborough Daily Times, Volume II, Issue 97, 24 February 1880, Page 3

THE SHIP KNOWSLEY HALL.

By the English files we are made acquainted with the steps taken by the Agent-General, Sir J ulius Vogel, to clear up the mystery hanging over the fate of the ship Knowsley Hall. He has addressed himself in the first instance to the Lords o~ the Admiralty, inti eating their a’d in examining the Crozet Islands, and also in establishing a depot of provisions and necessaries of various sorts in that group. The Loris of J e Admira'ty have granted t e first request, but they deed e to aid in form Tig a dr pot o’ p’Oyj .ions, on the gro md tha > they desire to discourage v'ssels from making high latitude passages, and that with the knowledge that biscuits, pork, blankets, and brandy were conveniently laid up at the Crozets, temptation io run unnecessary riskw ould be greatly increased. As soon as the decision of the Admiralty was known, the He' - Zealand Shipping Company, who cl .rtered the Knowsley Plall, set to wo ’k, and in the co irse of a few hours, arranged with the various shipping companies trading to Australia and New Zealand for a supply of provisions, clothing, utensils, and tools, but no wines or spirits, and these the Admiralty has decided shall be carried by the Comus. Because the shipping companies have so liberally and promptly subscribed for the stores it must not be considered that they favor high latitude passages. They do not; and we may mention that the New Zealand Shipping Company’s instructions to the captain of the Knowsley Hall were to avoid i o-oin" into a higher Southern latitude | than 42 to 44 degrees, the higher ! parallel being, in the opinion of Capj tain Brine, of H.M.S. Wolverine, which vessel last visited the Crozets, the extreme degree to which merchant ! vessels should venture. The manager I of the New Zealand Shipping Comi pany. Mr V. R. Strickland, in a letter ’ to the Times says :—“ As the charterers of the Knowsley Hall, it may he some source of consolation to . those whose friends embarked in that | ship to learn that not any portion of

her cargo consisted of gunpowder, explosives, or anything known to be of adangerous orinflam.cable nature.” It is to be hoped that H.M.S. Coin us, now on her way to China, will be successful in her search at the Crozets for the missing vessel, and in landing her stores of provisions. Various suggestions are thrown out by correspondents in the English Press as to the best method of maintaining a depot of provisions on the Crozets in the future. The following is thrown out by “W. IS. In the event of the Government declining to provide a permanent supply of provisions on these Islands, or to allow a periodical visit of Her Majesty’s ships when bound to Australia, I would suggest that Sir Julius Vogel should place himself in communication with the American Government, or with those engaged in the American fisheries at Desolation or Kerguelen’s Land, about 500 miles only distant from the Crozets, where there is a permanent fishery established, and with little trouble or expense the small vessels engaged in the trade, and which hail from New Bedford, United States, would call at the Crozet group occasionally and replenish the stock of provisions at the Crozets, which are now quite deserted.” The AgentGeneral, in his letter to the Lords of the Admiralty, inclines to the opinion that, of the four causes which have led to the loss of the Knowsley Hall —viz., foundering, lire, iceberg, or wreck off the Crozets—the last is the; most probable. It appears that one of the officers of the ship, by a singular coincidence, was one of the officers in the Strathmore, who, in 1875, was rescued from the Crozets, and therefore would be familiar with the character of the group and their resources. It is known that, in spite of the warnings of the Admiralty, a number of merchant captains persist in making high latitude passages, on the ground that a passage even South of the Crozets is smoother and healthier than one to the North of 45 degrees, and it is calculated that at least a ship a week passes within 300 miles of the group, which the Admiralty are now solicited to examine for tidings of the missing passengers and crew of the Knowsley Hall.—Auckland Weekly News.