Assistance to French Str. Hsintien: Crew Saved with Loss of Only Five Lives Though the short delay in the arrival of the C.P.O.S. Monteagle from Hongkong, and her departure from Shanghai for Japan and Vancouver, may have caused some slight inconconvenience to passengers, they will certainly not complain, knowing of the circumstances which caused the delay—the: rescue of passengers and-~crew of the wrecked and sinking steamer Hsin-tien, off the Lammocks.
'The Monteagle, which is' commanded by Capt A. J. Hosken, R.N.R., was due at Woosung on Sunday, and according to a_ later announcement, early on Monday morning, but owing to the fog encountered during the latter portion of the voyage to Shanghai, did not reach Woosung until noon on Monday, the tender with inward passengers and mails arriving at the Customs Jetty at 2.15 p.m. The earlier prolongation of the voyage from Hongkong to Shanghai may well be explained in a summary of the report of Capt. Hosken, which is as follows:—
Sianats or Distress.
At 8 a.m. on the 8th instant, the Monteagle sighted the French str. Fisintien, of Saigon—a wooden steamer bound from Shanghai to Swatow—flying signals of distress. There was a strong northeast wind and a high sea running, and the weather was clear, but overcast. Several signals were exchanged between the Hsintien and the Mon-teagle, in the course of which the lateer was requested to send a wire-jess message for a tug and stand by in the meantime. Soon after 9 a.m the Hsintien signalled that she was sinking, and that they wished to abandon her. At 9.30 a.m, the Monteagle lowered two lifeboats, with Chinese crews, one in charge of Mr. Ferguson, chief yy 94 officer, and the other under Mr. Campbell, first officer. About the same time the Hsintien launched two boats. One of these capsized and it is reported that four of the Chinese crew were drowned.
The other got safely away with 16 persons, all of whom were Chinese.
About 10 a.m. the Hsintien anchored rather less than a mile south of the Lammock Lighthouse, her engines having stopped owing to! the water having put out her furnaces.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.