The Sun.
London, England, 1862-10-06 00:00:00

7HE ACCIDENT TO THE PANTALOON.

COURT MARTIAL ON HER OFFICERS.
The late officers and crew of the Pantaloon, 11,1
screw-sloop, having recently arrived at Plymouth
in the Exmouth, from the Mediterrane ,n, overland
from Bombay, a court-martial was assembled on
board the Royal Adelaide, guard-ship in Hamoaze,
on Saturday last, to inquire into the circumstances
under which the Pantaloon was grounded on a coral
reef to the southward of Manhaire or Devil's Point
of Pomba Bay, Mozambique, East Coast of Africa,
at about 8.15 p.m., on the sth of February lest,
Com. W. R. Hobson, Lieut. G. C. Sinclair, and C.
J. Wise, and G. H. Dominy, Esq., Master, the four
chief executive officers of the sloop, being put on
their trial for their conduct on that occasion. The
following officers composed the court :—Capt. A. C.
Key, C.B. (Indus), President ; Capts. J. A. Payn-
ter (Exmouth), L. G. Heath, C.B. (Cambridge),
T. D. A. Fortescue (Phcebe), C. Vesey (Royal
Adelaide), and William Eastlake, Esq., Deputy-
Judge-Advocate.
The letters of Commander Hobson to his senior
officers, and to the Lords Commissioners of the
Admiralty, informing them of the accident, and their
lordships' directions for the holding of the inquiry
having been read, the following officers and crew
of the Pantaloon were examined by the Court,
seriatim ; —Mr. A. A. Lyne (clerk), Mr. G. H.
Dominy (master), Commander W. R. Hobson, Mr.
G. F. Channon (engineer in charge), Lieutenant
G. C. Sinclair, Lieutenant C. J. Wise, James Mark-
, ham (quartermaster), and William Lloyd (quar-
termaster). Mr. Chas. Gahan, master of the Royal
Adelaide, also certified to his having examined and
' checked the Pantaloon's log up to four o'clock
on the day she struck, the calculations of which he
found perfectly correct. There were no course, he
said, given beyond that time.
From the evidence submitted it appeared that the
Pantaloon on the occasion formed part of the Cape
of Good Hope squadron, and was despatched into
the Mozambique by the Admiral, Sir Baldwin Wal-
ker, for the suppression of the slave trade. She had
visited Johanna, and was proceeding to Pomba Bay,
where Commander Hobson expected to obtain some
valuable information, upon which he intended to act
by equipping some of his boats, despatching them to
search inside some reefs, and then subsequently pick-
ing them up further along the coast. The Panta-

loon had on board two Government chronometers,
and a private one belonging to Commander Hobson,
which were considered to be in very serviceable con-
dition, and were rated at Johanna on the previous
28th of January. She had not swung ship since
leaving England to test her compasses at Simon's
Bay and Johanna, where she had called, having
been prevented by a variety of circumstances. Their
variations had, however, been regularly corrected by
amplitudes and azimuths, and an amplitude was
taken on the day previous to that on which the ship
struck:

On the sth of February, about noon, the land was
sighted from the mast-head, and about the same time
her position was ascertained by a meridian altitude
and by chronometer, when a current was found of
about 15 miles N.W. from the previous 24 hours.
She stood in towards the land till about 4 o'clock,
on a course. After that she was steered by the
land. Lieutenant Sinclair had charge of the two
dog-watches, and from five o'clock the master was
on deck. From six p.m. a hand was kept in the
port chains trying for a sounding, and at 7 o'clock
a quartermaster was put on in addition in the star-
board-quarter boat for the same purpose. At 8
o'clock Lieutenant Wise relieved the watch when he
found Commander Hobson and the master on the
bridge coursing the ship. It was a moonlight night,
with hazy weather and very light wind. The ship's
way had been reduced, and she was going between
three and four knots, with her fore and aft sails set.
The leadsmen were reporting 15 fathoms up, and no
bottom. There were look-out on the catheads and
on the life-buoy, but they made no special report,
and the watch were in the netting passing the line
for a cast of the deep-sea lead.
Commander Hobson having just given notice to
the engine room to stand by to stop the engines for
that purpose, when the vessel suddenly grounded
on the reef. Every exertion was immediately made
to get the vessel off, but unfortunately without suc-
cess. It was at the height of the tide when the
vessel struck, but a neap tide. After continuous
strenuous efforts the ship was at length got off on the
12th of February, with the assistance of some na-
tive dhows that had been procured, and the Portu-
guese war steamer Marianne, which was promptly
despatched by Don Joaz Tavares D'Alemeida, the
Governor of Mozambique, to assist.
During the time the Pantaloon was on the reef
they were obliged to throw her guns out on the reef
and to dismantle her, and a large quantity of her
stores were destroyed and lost. Two of her crew
were also lost on the upsetting of her boats, when
getting the crew and stores ashore on her being dis-
mantled.
The Pantaloon was then taken to Mozambique
and temporarily repaired and refitted, from whence
she proceeded to Bombay to complete.
Commander Hobson read a long and eloquent ad-
dress in defence, in which he urged that his sailing
orders, directing him to be at a certain place by a
certain time, and that time growing short, together
with the uncertainty of his whereabouts if he had
laid off during the night, as he might have been
taken considerably out of his way by the currents,
and the additional expenditure of coal incurred, had
induced Em to try to reach Pomba that night. He
pointed out, also, the favourable state of the weather
and the various cautions he had taken to prevent
such an accident occurring; and concluded by sub-
mitting to the favourable consideration of the Court
his subsequent exertions in the recovery of the
vessel. He also warmly lauded the conduct of his
officers and crew on the occasion.
Dominey read a short defence to a similar
effect.

The Court decided that, after the examination of
the witnesses, having very materially and delibe-
rately weighed and considered the evidence, as well
as what had been offered in defence, they were of
opinion that no blame was attached to Lieuts. Sin-
clair and Wise, and that the Pantaloon was grounded
in consequence of an incorrect estimate that was
made of the distance from the land,and from neglect
in not the ship's
way to endeavour to ob-
tainsstopping
o u ndings. They therefore considered great
blame was attributable to Commander Hobson and
Mr. Dominy for their conduct on the occasion ; and
further, that Commander Hobson exhibited a great
want of caution in attempting to enter Pomba Bay
after dark, considering the uncertain guides that
Hobson
on
existed for that part of the coast, the service on
which the Pantaloon was employed being also not
so urgent as to authorisead dhietnd tcuram
oincuurnsduecr llha
and in consequence, jug
and Mr. Dominy to be severely reprimanded.
On the rising of the Court the President took oc-
casion to say to Commander Hobson and the officers
1 and crew of the Pantaloon, that notwithstanding
the decision the Court had come to, they could not
separate without expressing their high approbation
of the meritorious conduct shown by all belonging
to the ship in their exertions for her recovery, and.
the Court's expressing their hope to see them again,
ere long, in active service.

- -
A. murder was committed twc;"nights
since be-
tween Ramillies and Ewers (Nord) on the person of a
farmer of the latter place, named Deneubourg. It appears
that the deceased was returning from Cambrai, where he
had bought a piece of land at an auction sale, having outbid
one of his neighbours named Potiez, who had long wished
to possess the piece of land in question. After the sale the
two men started to return home in company, but by the way
they entered a putlichouse at Ramillies, and there quarrel-
led about the land, but after dark resumed' their homeward
journey, apparently on good terms. Less than an hour had
,
elapsed, however, when Potiez returned to Ramillies, ap-
parentlyhad been assailed by four men, and that
he feared his neighbour was killed. The police at once
him lay a heavy
,
hwe and
enttoplabouring under great excitement and said that
theenesupbo°tu, rg
and found Denoubourg lying -
dead with
joisthis head dreadfully f
ter wi
th
whichth
mangled,eand near
wounds had evidently been
inflicted. A silver watch and 245 f. were found on the body
of the victim, so that robbery could not have been the mo.
tive of the crime. A=, on examining the ground in the
morning, no traces were visible of any such struggle as
Potiez described, suspicion fell on him and he was arrested,
and on searching his house the clothes he had worn on the
previous night were found to he stained with blood. Potiez
Cambrai 1 has been lodged in prison at C, and the police are
niakingevery effort to clear up the mystery which envelopes
this crime,