The maiden voyage of the White Star liner Titanic, the largest ship ever launched, has ended in disaster.
The Titanic started her trip from Southampton for New York on Wednesday. Late on Sunday night she struck an iceberg off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. By wireless telegraphy she sent out signals of distress, and several liners were near enough to catch and respond to the call.
Conflicting news, alarming and reassuring, was current yesterday. Even after midnight it was said all the passengers were safe. All reports, of course, depended on wireless telegrams over great distances.
Late last night the White Star officials in New York announced that a message had been received stating that the Titanic sank at 2.20 yesterday morning after all her passengers and crew had been transferred to another vessel. Later they admitted that many lives had been lost.
An unofficial message from Cape Race, Newfoundland, stated that only 675 have been saved out of 2,200 to 2,400 persons on board. This was in some degree confirmed later by the White Star officials in Liverpool, who said they were afraid the report was likely to prove true. Assuming that only 675 of the passengers and crew have been saved, and taking the smallest estimate of the number of people on board, the disaster is one of the most awful in the history of navigation, for at least 1,500, and possibly over 1,700, lives have been lost.
The stories of the disaster are more than usually conflicting, and it is indeed quite impossible to reconcile the bulk of the earlier and optimistic reports with the sinister news received after midnight. There is unfortunately only too much reason to believe, however, that the latest and worse news is nearest the truth, for none of the later cables contradict each other. It is an ominous fact, too, that all the later messages agree that the Titanic sank four hours after she struck an iceberg. If that be the case neither the Virginian nor any of the other liners could have reached her before she foundered.
The main hope that remains is that the Virginian or Parisian may have picked up more of the passengers and crew than those saved by the Carpathia. As to this there is no news at the time of writing.
 A list of the first class passengers (who are reported from New York to have been all saved) appears on page 6.
HOW THE NEWS OF THE END 
CAME TO HAND.
WHITE STAR STATEMENTS IN NEW YORK.
(REUTERÕS TELEGRAMS.)
New York.
 The following statement has been given out by the White Star officials:-
 Captain Haddock, of Olympic, sends wireless message that the Titanic sank at 2 20 a.m. Monday, after all the passengers and crew had been lowered into lifeboats and transferred to the Virginian.
 The steamer Carpathia, with several hundred passengers from the Titanic, is now on her way to New York.
8 40 p.m. The White Star line now admit that many lives have been lost.
8 50 p.m. The White Star officials now give out the text of Captain HaddockÕs message as follows:-
ÒAt 2 20 a.m. the Titanic foundered. The Carpathia is proceeding to New York with passengers.Ó
In giving out the earlier version one of the White Star clerks said, ÒThe Carpathia is proceeding to New York with survivors.Ó
9 10 p.m. The TitanicÕs survivors on board the Carpathia are stated at the White Star offices to include all the first class passengers. She 
is expected to reach New York on Friday morning.
No information has been received from the liners Parisian or Virginian at the White Star offices, where it is still believed that many of the TitanicÕs passengers are aboard these 
vessels.
9 35 p.m.  Mr. Franklin now admits that there has been horrible loss of life. He says he has no information to disprove the press despatch from Cape Race that only 675 passengers and crew had been saved. The monetary loss could not be estimated to-night, but he intimated that it would run into millions.
ÒWe can replace the money,Ó he added, Òbut not the lives.Ó
Mr. Franklin continued:- ÒIt has been rumoured from Halifax that three steamers have Titanic passengers on board, namely, the Virginian, the Parisian, and the Carpathia. Now we have heard from Captain Haddock that the Carpathia has 675 survivors on board. It is most difficult to learn if the Virginian and Parisian have any survivors on board. We have asked Captain Haddock and our agent at Halifax. I fear there has been great loss of life.
 ÒThere were a sufficient number of life-boats on board the Titanic to take all her passengers. I was confident to-day when I made the statement that the Titanic was unsinkable that the steamship was safe and that there would be no loss of life. The first definite news to the contrary came in the message this evening from Captain Haddock, which was given out to the public immediately.Ó
9 50 p.m. The White Star officials now admit that probably only 675 out of 2,200 passengers on board the Titanic have been saved.