The Sun.
London, England, 1863-11-20 00:00:00

THE CASE OF THE AFRICA.

On Wednesday a public meeting, very numerously
attended by merchants, shipowners, and others of Liver-
pool, was held in the Cotton Sales-room, Exchange-build-
ings, for the purpose of considering the present system of
Board of Trade inquiry as affecting the interests of British
mariners and engineers, and also to express sympathy with
the case of Captain Stone, late commander of the Royal
mail steamship Africa, in the recent decision against him
by the nautical assessors.
Major WALTER, in taking the chair, said that the present
mode of conducting Board of Trade inquiries had been long
objected to as one of gross injustice, and that the recent
case of Captain Stone had called forth a protest on the sub-
ject from all the captains, mates, and engineers engaged in
the mercantile service. Those who were best able to judge
of the conduct of Captain Stone maintained that the non-
heaving of the lead by him, the sole reason for his condem-
nation, was no blunder, and that the sole cause of the ship's
stranding was a change of current.
Captain JUDXINS said he appeared as senior captain in
the Cunard service. He had navigated in regular succession
every vessel belonging to that great company, and had no occa-
sion to dwell on the experience he had had. He was as well
acquainted with the North Atlantic as any man, and he
believed the decision regarding Captain Stone to be utterly
unfair. Those present who, like himself, were experienced
commanders would, he believed, fail in their duty if they
allowed the statement that northerly currents regularly
exist at that part of the ocean referred to to pass un-
challenged. This was not the case. From a longitude of
46 on the Flemish Cape up to Cape Race there is a southerly
aet summer and winter, and at all seasons of the year, so
much so that in the course of the voyages that he had
made ho had found it necessary always to allow one
quarter of a point more than the actual course to the south-
ward which the vessel had been steered. He took Cap-
tain Stone's position, and he said that it was the right
course, and that the course which he steered was perfectly
correct for six hours previously. It was not the. bugbear
of Cape Race they feared ; it was a greater bugbear—that
of the Virgin Rocks. Formerly many people doubted the
existence of these rocks, but he had no doubt the assessors,
if they had gone to able authorities, would have learnt their
position very definitely. He never sounded off Cape Race,
but he hove to to the eastward of Cape Race when he found
he had been beset by a current so far southward that it was
necessary for him to look out for the Virgin Rocks, and
round which he had reason to find whether he was in its
vicinity or not, by the depth of water and from other circum-
stances. If they looked at the chart they would see that if
Capt. Stone had stopped his vessel and sounded upon the oc-
casion in question he would have been in a position where
there was no mark to tell hiva, should he have got to the bot-
tom, that he was in his proper pbsition-18 or 20 miles south
of Cape Race. The resolution he had to propose was,—

" That this meeting views with indignation the principles
and practice of the conktitution of the courts of inquiry into
wrecks and casualties to British merchant ships. It believes
these tribunals, which have the power, and exercise the
power, of inflicting the most severe and penal sentences, de-
priving men of their certificates, and thus of the means of
living, are opposed to the fundamental principles of the
legislation of this country and to the rights of Britons."
Mr. H. T. WILSON seconded the resolution.

Capt, PAToN, the commander of the Great Eastern, said
that what Capt. Judkins said about the currents was borne
out by every practical man. They set to the southward.
Taking the depth of water by the lead would not always
tell them the position in which they were. They would not
know sometimes by sounding whether it was at this end of
50 miles or at the other end that the water was shallow.
There were places where the water deepened towards the
shore. He proposed the following resolution :
" That every constitutional means be taken during the
next session of Parliament to procure the abolition of the
present courts of inquiry, and to place the masters and offi-
cers of the mercantile marine in the same position as all
other classes of her Majesty's subjects. rhat the chairman
of this meeting be authorised to sign a petition to Parlia-
ment for this purpose."
Mr. CHivrox seconded the resolution.
Captain DAVID REES then proposed, and Mr. N. DUCK-
WORTH seconded, the resolution :
" That every effort be now made to obtain the immediate
return of Captain Stone's certificate."
Captain BALLANTINE rose to propose the next resolution.
He asked what was all this row about among public gentle-
men and the Board of Trade, and the 'limes in particular ?
Where did the mischief all lie ? What did they want ? If
they looked in the Times of yesterday they would find a
very able leader upon the Africa case. He was not able to
chop logic with the writer, but conclusions drawn from false
premises must of themselves be false. The whole question
centred upon this—Was Capt. Stone justified in attempting
to pass Cape Race without using the lead ? He appealed to
any seaman to take up the chart and tell him how to deter-
mine any position by the soundings there laid down, He
then proposed a resolution pledging the meeting to use every
exertion to carry out the foregoing resolution, which was
seconded by Mr. J. JACKSON and carried.
Captain JuuKiNs again addressed the meeting. He had
one subject more to advert to, and that was the necessity of
slowing the engines. He coßtended that, to be constantly
slowing the engines of such a steamer as that which he com-
manded would be a downright piece of nonsense. Were he to
slow his engines to stop to take soundings so constantly as
the assessors of this Court would require, it would place him
in such a position that he would never find where he was.
It was folly to tell him that because it was foggy he must
keep his vessel going slow, slow, slow. He should never get
across the Atlantic it he did. It the British Government had
done what it was wished to have been done by the merchants
of New York, who subscribed money to place at Cape Race a
whistle which would be constantly going, and one similar to
which he had heard 12 miles off, it would have been a most
commendable act, inasmuch as it would have warned vessels
from the port. But the Government did not want to intro-
duce this on Government soil, because it was an American
invention. (Hear.) He asserted that had an air fog whistle
been allowed to be placed in position when advocated, the
stranding of the Africa would not have taken place. (Ap-
plause.)
A vote of thanks to the chairman closed the proceedings.