A "COFFIN" SHIP.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 246, 23 November 1909, Page 2

A "COFFIN" SHIP.

THE DUCO INQUIRY. SENSATIONAL EVIDENCE. ] t»y Telegraph.—Press Assuciauon. Wellington, Last iMgnt. The magisterial inquiry into the loss , of the steamer lluco \>Uo resumed lo- ( day. i John AlcLuaa, an ordinary seaman, : who was on the Duco on her previous i j trip to the Chathams, csuid 110 was | steering her. On the voyage back the , Duco took a heavy nil, and rol'cd over ; so far that she aid i»ut crme -back... Wituesa could not make out what had gone wrong. There was some sail on—a small trysail —but that was not sull'icient. lie woke up the mate } who considered the force of the wind waa responsible. Witness disagreed, and the mate went oil* the bridge to see what was wrong, lie came back in a rather excited state, and told witness to put her up to the wind. !>he was full of water from bow lo stern, with her port ■bulwarks under wash. The ports were \ lashed and the water could not get' away. -Mr. Skye gave orders for wires to be cut, and the wash ports were opened and the water got away. She wti!> a good sea boat if not overloaded. Jlenry Charles CJuthrie, bulk-keeper on the Countess of Errol, said he had been loading coal on the Duco the day sue left. They put in sixty tons and a half, and she had some on before they starti ed, about four tons. They loaded her up to 1.30 p.m. He did not hear Captain Stringer order them to cease loading at noon, but lie was told that Captain .Stringer had given orders not to pile it , any higher on deck. About four tons were put on deck after this. I r Was anything said to you l>y sir. Menard, the engineer?—lie said he wa»' sorry he had agreed to go again. James Meadows, who helped to load " the Duco, said lie thought there was ' about ten tons of eoal 011 deck. The sucks were not lashed. 3 William Williams, secretary of the Ironworkers' Union, said he was em* ployed on the Duco eighteen months ago. lie saw Iter the day before she e sailed. She seemed dangerously deep, in ( j his opinion. She was a dirty !boat at all times. She was a coffin for anyone

in her. Captain William Bendall, Lloyds' surveyor, said he surveyed the Duco for insurance purposes before her first Chathams trip. Ho and Captain Abram vvorked out the weight sho must carry to preserve her stability. They made it 130 tons. The Duco was) not lit to carry a deck cargo, which should never have been there. Had he seen it he wouid have got authority to call a survey. The sacks of coal on deck would be very 'liable to siliift and bliotck the washports. Witness considered Captain Abram, the master of the Duco, a capable officer. When he heard the' day after the gale that the Duco had gone out with a deck cargo, he told the owners if there -were 20 tons of coal on tlie Duco's decks tliey would never see her again. A clerk told him there were only five ton*'. Witness said that was better than 25. Witness was asked what lie would have done had he had that -cargo on deck.—'' I dhould ■ not (have done it, said witness.

"But if you had?" persisted counsel, to which witness replied: "I would have thrown.it overboard." Witness added that even if a captain was ordered to take the cargo on board, he was master of the situation when he K°t out of sight. The inquiry will be resumed to-mor-row afternoon.