The Sun.
London, England, 1866-01-18 00:00:00

Extensive Damage to Shipping.

The Mercantile Marine and Courts of

Inquiry.

A meeting of shipowners, commanders, and others
interested in the welfare of the mercantile marine,
was held at the London Tavern yesterday afternoon.
Mr. R. W. Crawford, M.P., presided.
Letters were read expressing the regret of the
writers at their inability to attend ; among them
were letters from Mr. Graves, M.P., and Mr. Laird,
M.P.

The CHAIRMAN said the subject was important to
all interested in shipping, and he gladly presided.
The state of the law regulating the inability of
masters wogld be found in an act of Parliament
passed in 1854, and in an amended act of 1862. The
objections to the present system do not apply to the
gentlemen who act as assessors. One of them, Capt.
Baker, he knew very well, and had every confidence
in. The objections, then, were not of a personal
nature. But there was great objection to the ar-
rangement that cases of every description should
come before only two men, because it was not to be
supposed that any two gentlemen would be possessed
of all the information necessary to qualify them to
judge of every case likely to come before them. The
mercantile service, he believed, wanted what he
might term a variety in judgment, that they would
like to see a jury of nauitcal men sitting upon such
cases—(cheers)—so that nautical questions may be
considered by competent persons, who would have
to give their opinion upon the questions under their
oath. It was also wanted that, when a man was
brought before such a court in the case of a wreck,
and was tried and acquitted, he should not be
brought to account again, as was the case of the
captain of the Duncan Dunbar.
Mr. GELLATLY, the owner of the Duncan Dunbar,
remarked upon the manner in which the courts
of inquiry were conducted. In his opinion they
more resembled courts of prosecution. He moved
the first resolution as follows : " That this
meeting has heard with surprise and concern
of the course pursued by the Board of Trade in
reference to the result of the inquiry into the loss of
the Duncan Dunbar, and that the commander of
that vessel having been honourably acquitted, after
a lengthened investigation by a court of competent
jurisdiction, of having contributed in any way to
the loss of his ship, and subsequent attempt on the
part of a public department to reflect on the finding
of that court, or on the evidence on which its con-
clusions were based, or on the reputation of the ac-
cused, is repugnant alike to the principles of na-
tional justice and the maxims of English law."
Mr. M‘CuLLAGIE TORRENS seconded the motion.
He proposed as an amendment to the present law a
jury of three or five to sit on a case, and if their
judgment were disagreed with power should be given
to the parties to appeal to the Court of Admiralty.
He would assist the chairman, or any other member
of influence who would introduce the matter to the
notice of Parliament. (Cheers.)
The motion was then carried unanimously, and
with cheers.
Captain EwEN proposed the second resolution :-

" That the existing constitution of the courts of in-
quiry into the wrecks and casualties at sea is un-
satisfactory in practice, and. this meeting pledges
itself to employ every legitimate effort to reform the
construction and mode of procedure of these courts,
or to procure their total abolition, in order that a
more satisfactory tribunal should be constituted."
Mr. AYRTON, M.P., seconded the motion, and
promised his support to the movement in Parlia-
ment.

This motion was also carried.
Capt. WATERS moved the third resolution :
" That this meeting sincerely believes that justice
can never be done to shipmasters, whose conduct
may become the subject of judicial investigation, so
long as that investigation is conducted by officials
directly connected with the department from which
the inquiry emanates, and whose decisions are liable
to review by the said department "
It was seconded from the body of the meeting
and carried unanimously.
Capt. P. CAMPBELL moved the fourth resolution:
—" That the nautical assessors who assist at these
courts of inquiry should in no case be salaried offi_
cials of any department, but that they should be
selected by rotation from a list of shipmasters, who
have passed examination for competency prescribed
bye allowed from
the Board
theTr findingof h
Trade; and thtat
eau appeal should
b court of inquiry
ose decision
to the High Court of Admiralty, wh
should be final."
i
Motion, which was
carried
moved the fifth resolution, as
follows
:-46 That the westerly route pointed out by
Mr.
‘ r.
t .
JACKSONunanimously.LoNG 3u ii seconded
eap
the
Commander Maury, for vessels crossing the lino,
offering as it does occasionally many advantages,
may be safely left to the discretion of individual
commanders."
It was seconded by Capt. KING, and carried.
Capt. SELWYN moved—r' That in the opinion of
this meeting a lighthouse established on the dan-
gerous reef of Las Roccas would be a great boon to
navigationnteres
t of
humanity."alldcomlnerce, and is demanded iu e
i
Mr. REARDON, M.P., seconded the motion. He
thought its nature demanded the consideration of
every one who felt a desire to prevent the sacrifice
of life.

The Attaché of the Brazilian Government in this
country supported the motion. He would welcome
the construction of the light.
The motion was carried, and a committee was
then appointed to wait upon the Board of Trade
and represent the feeling of the meeting ; and also
to take other steps to carry out the resolutions
which had been passed.

A vote of thanks was then presented to the chair-
man on the motion of Mr. NORWOOD, M.P.

TOTAL WRECK OF THE SHIP ROYAL ALBERT.
LOSS OF ALL SOULS.
LIVERPOOL, Wednesday.
As our Liverpool parcel left this evening intelli-
gence arrived of the loss of this vessel, bound from
Calcutta to London. The disaster took place in
Bude Bay, Cornwall, and the report states that
every soul on board perished. The captain's desk
and writing materials were washed ashore shortly
after the wreck, and the cargo is strewn about the
coast. The Royal Albert left Calcutta on the 14th
of September, and was owned by Messrs. Fcrnie
Brothers, of Liverpool.
Accounts still continue to reach this port of the
disastrous effects of the late storms. We learn that
the ship Andaman, bound from Glasgow to Bombay,
had been compelled to seek shelter in Holyhead
Harbour. The captain states that he actually
reached the Tuskar Light three times, and each time
was blown back. The Fannie Scott, from Balti-
more, has been forced into Belfast Lough, after en-
countering terrific weather. He decks were swept,
sails and spars carried away, the cargo shifted, and
a portion of it thrown overboard, and, unfortu-
nately, one of the crew swept away. The Glee
Maiden, hence to Melbourne, has been also unfor-
tunate. She left Liverpool on the 12th inst., and
for two days encountered terrific weather. On the
evening of the 14th, when off the Skerries, she was
run into by another large ship on the starboard bow.
Her anchors were carried away, the forecastle
smashed up, all the starboard forerigging destroyed,
the deck butts and the windlass bitts were all
started, besides other damage, which left no option
but to return to port.
The ship Constantine, hence to New York, has
put back to Queenstown, after being at sea 43 days.
Her sails were all torn to ribbons, her decks swept,
besidesbeing very leaky. The Cordillero, also hence
to New York, has turned up at Gibraltar in a dis-
abled state, having experienced very bad weather ;
150 tons of cargo was thrown overboard ; the re-
mainder is so damaged that it will have to be dis-
charged. The Thurcaston, from Quebec to Queens-
town, was abandoned at sea on the 2d instant, but
the crew were saved by the ship Tricolor. The
ship P. M. Miller, from Quebec to this port, is also
reported to have been abandoned at sea, but the
crew are reported safe. Storm signals have been
hoisted.