274 THE SEA. 



The writer of the critical article from which the above quotations are taken* shows, 

 firstly, that there was not at that time a life-boat station at Harwich. It had always been 

 considered that the sands were too distant from that port for the successful employment 

 of such a boat, and that, in the event of wrecks upon them, the numerous hovelling smacks 

 would have anticipated its services. There was, however, a small but serviceable steam-tug 

 not, be it remembered, Government or town property, but that of a private individual. It 

 is right that this should be fully understood. The circumstance of this tug, the Liverpool, 

 not going off instantly on perceiving the rockets thrown up by the Cork light-ship was 

 much criticised by some ignorant persons at the time. " Fortunately, she was commanded 

 by an able and experienced seaman, Captain Carrington, who knew what he was about ; 

 who knew the difficulties of navigating in the intricate passages between the numerous 

 shoals off the port on a dark night and gale of wind, and he could only do so at great 

 risk of losing his owner's vessel and the lives of those intrusted to him ; that he might 

 spend the whole night in vainly searching for the vessel in distress, and, even if he should 

 find her, that, with the small tug's boats, it would be quite impossible for him to render 

 any assistance to a vessel surrounded by broken water, in a dark night and heavy sea ; and, 

 moreover, that if any mishap should disable his own vessel, the only chance of saving the 

 wrecked persons might be destroyed." He judiciously waited till shortly before daylight, 

 and then proceeded, first, to the Cork light-ship, where he ascertained that the Sunk light- 

 ship had been firing all night. He then steamed to the latter, and was misinformed (uninr 

 tentionally) regarding the locality of the wreck. He, after searching in vain for some little 

 time, steamed for the Kentish Knock, and when half-way to it saw the Deutschland on 

 that sandbank. He then went to the Knock light-ship, and hailed her, inquiring whether 

 those on board knew anything about the wreck, or whether there were any people remaining 

 on board her, but could get no information. He soon proceeded to the spot, and, finding 

 there were a large number of persons on board her, anchored his vessel under her lee, at 

 about sixty fathoms' distance, and sent his boats to her. After taking off three boat-loads, 

 he weighed his anchor, placed his vessel alongside the ship, and took off the remainder of 

 the survivors 173 in all. In spite of the time which had elapsed and the great dangers 

 to which the vessel had been exposed, the loss of life had not been so serious as might well 

 have been anticipated. Fifty-seven poor men and women had, however, perished in the 

 raging waves. The tugf had done her work of saving nobly and well, and had performed it 

 at a time when the hovelling smacks could have done nothing at all. On the same occasion 

 the Broadstairs life-boat proceeded as soon as possible to the scene of the wreck, twenty 

 miles distant, but too late to be of service. In these days of nearly universal telegraph}', 



* The Lifeboat, &c., February 1st, 1876. 



t Shortly after the wreck of the Deutschland, the same tug-boat, the Liverpool, rescued from certain death the 

 crew of another foreign ship, this time a Norwegian vessel, wrecked on the Ship-wash sandbank ; and the Ramsgat 

 life-boat, summoned by telegram from Harwich, was towed by the steam-tug Aid no less than forty-five miles to the 

 scene of the disaster only to find on arrival there that the shipwrecked crew had already been saved by the Hanviel 

 tug and then another forty-five miles on her return. The fifteen poor fellows on board had then been fourteer 

 hours sitting in their boat, with the seas and spray breaking over them through the whole of this terrible voyage in 

 freezing atmosphere. They landed in a benumbed and half -frozen state, from the effects of which some of thcr 

 were sure to suffer severely afterwards. 



