The Sun.
London, England, 1865-08-16 00:00:00

The Loss of the Margaret Kerr.

OFFICIAL REPORT.

Report of the case in the formal investigation at
the instance of John Nelson Beaumont, Collector
of Customs and Receiver of Wrecks at the Port of
Greenock, against James Macdonald, presently in
Greenock, as Master of the Margaret Kerr, of
Greenock, for the loss of said ship on the Crocus,
i.e., Croker Reef, off the coast of Florida, on the
21st of February, 1865, which investigation took
place in Greenock, within the Court-hall, Bank-
street, on the Bth and 9th days of August, 1865,
in presence of Andrew Tasker and John Neill, two
of her Majesty's justices of the peace for Renfrew-
shire ; and of Renry Harris and Robert Baker, As-
sessors of the Board of Trade. The said J.
Macdonald appeared, along with William Lewis,
solicitor in Greenock, as his agent, and the investi-
gation on behalf of the Board of Trade was con-
ducted by llargrave Hamel. The said James
Macdonald having been called on to produce his
certificate, stated that he could not do so, and
that said certificate was on board the vessel Ad-
vance, of Port Glasgow, in which he had engaged to
go as mate when the proceedings connected with
the investigation were intimated to him, and which
vessel is at present at sea. The witnesses examined
were—Robert Cuthbert, lately mate, and Joseph
Brunsden, able seaman, both of the Margaret Kerr.
The mate, in his examination, stated that he was
mate of the vessel on the voyage on which she was
lost ; that the vessel sailed from Matanzas on Mon-
day, the 20th February last, at noon, laden with a
cargo of sugar, for Greenock, well found, and draw-
ing 17 feet 10 inches of water aft and 17 feet forward,
the wind being from the S.W., squally and unsettled;
that after leaving the harbour the course was N.E.
by N. until 8 o'clock, when the wind shifted to
E.N.E., and the course of the vessel to N. E.,
the speed of the vessel being about three knots per
hour ; that at 8 o'clock p.m. there was a violent
head sea, the ship straining and labouring, and on
sounding the pumps 14 inches of water were found
in the hold ; that the water gained rapidly about 9
o'clock, and, although the pumps were kept con-
stantly going by hand and steam, there were three
feet of water in the well about four hours before
the vessel struck ; that the wind and sea increased,
and about midnight they took iu all small sails and
double-reefed the topsails ; that at four a.m. of the
21st February the course was shifted to N. by E.
E. till six o'clock a.m., the vessel making a point
and a half lee way ; that from six o'clock a.m. to
eight a'clock a.m. the course was N.N.E., and
from eight o'clock till noon it was N. by E. E.,
and this course was kept till the vessel struck, the
wind and weather being the same as formerly; that
at noon of the 21st an observation was made by the
master, and the ship's latitude was found to be 23
27 N. ; that at four o'clock another topsail was
bent, and about six o'clock land was seen on the
lee bow about 9 miles distant ; that about seven
o'clock he suggested to the captain to put the ship
about, but the captain said he would clear the reef
if the wind would hold ; that the captain and he
consulted the chart about eight o'clock, and he said
to the captain that he thought the vessel should be
put about, but the captain told him to mind his
own business, and that the vessel's course was quite
correct ; that ho went below after the expiry of
his watch at eight o'clock, and the vessel struck
about nine o'clock on the Crocus, i. e., Croker
Reef ; that at daylight he saw the remains of a
beacon about 150 yards from the ship, Plantation
Quay being about seven miles distant ; that the
ship could not be got off the reef, and was finally
abandoned on the 7th of March. This witness
stated that the captain was partially intoxicated
from the time he left Matanzas, but that he was
quite competent for his duties, and that he (the
witness) was of opinion that the captain would have
carried on the course he did although he had had
no liquor. On his re-examination, however, after
the witness Joseph Brunsden had been examined,
he stated, after great hesitation, that while he was
on the wreck he had mentioned to some one that he
threw two bottles of rum overboard to keep the
captain sober. Joseph Brunsden concurred with
the mate as to the time the vessel was lost. He
stated that he sighted land about four o'clock of the
21st, and reported it to the mac, who told him to
keep the ropes clear for going about, but the vessel
was not put about. He further stated, that at the
time the vessel was lost the captain was incapable of
giving orders, having been intoxicated, and that he had
been intoxicated from the time he left Matanzas,
and he mentioned circumstances showing the state
the captain was in. Among others, he mentioned
that he and 16 of the crew left the wreck on the
evening after the vessel went ashore, and that when
he came back to the wreck, 36 hours afterwards, and
asked a glass of rum from the mate, the mate told
him that he had thrown the rum overboard to keep
the captain sober, and the mate admitted this, as
before stated. Under these circumstances, the sen-
tence of the justices, concurred in by the assessors,
was, that the said James Macdonald had been guilty
of drunkenness while in command of the said ship
when she was lost, and that the loss of the said ship
was caused by his aggravated default, and they
therefore suspended his certificate for three years
from 9th August, 1855. A. TASTIER, J.P.
JOAN NEILL, J.P.
We concur in the above report,

Hr. HARRIS,/
Nautical Assessors.
R. B. BAKER,