Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1850-12-20

termine at in which direction the sail he saw
was heading. zsS
2 But on the other point, have no difficulty
The evidence is that the night was clears and it is
the opinion of the sklfnl shipmasters who heard the
case with me assessors that in such night, a
vessel keeping proper look out, should have seen
another approaching her, Ii point off her bow at a
much more considerable distance. have myself
made the trial; and though not by any means per-
son of more acute vision than landmen generally,
have no difficulty in discerning objects against the
horizon, not larger than the Mission appeared seen
obliquely, at distance nearly the double of 800
yards And agree therefore with them in thinking
that the fault in which this collision had its origin is
imputed to the want of proper look out the part
of the steamer.
have thus far discussed the case upon the prem
ises put forward by the Respondents All the evil
dence, indeed except that of the schooners helms
man, the only survivor of her crew, who saw moth
ing and from his position could see nothing till the
steamer was cutting through his deck all the rest of
the evidence is from persons board the steamer.
and OF these only the lookout and the mate saw
the schooner before the two vessels were in contact
ltcoud scarcely be expected that the lookout man
should attest his own want of vigilance; and it is
not to make serious imputation against him. to ad-
NIT that he cannot now recall with unbiased
racy the collateral incidents of a catastrophe, to
which he was at least painfully interested witness,
if not responsible party.
confess, that after looking carefully through all
the testimony, am not without my doubts, whether
the schooner was seen at ALL until she approached
nearer than the witnesses represent There is moth
ing about which honest men swear so vaguely and
conradctorily the times which mark the progress
of an exciting incident, and the distances at the
particular moments of such Incident, between
objects that both of them in motion especially
on the open sea, where there fixed OBJ ects
intervening, and at ight when even the waves
not be 1t is often safer, in such case to
fer back to the action which the circumstances Of
the moment suggested, in order to determine their
character and force, than to seek to recall by d
rect exercise of memory the precise circumstances
themselves. Our best reasonings will be apt to mis-
lead if undertake to criticise the policy OF our
past actions, when time has begun to obscure the
motives that led to them. On the other hand, what
we call impulse is frequently nothing else than rapid
f deduction from observed facts.
Now, the mate of the Columbus is represented,
and have no doubt truly, as an excellent seaman.
From the moment the collision took place, nothing
could be better than his management of the steamer
and the efforts he made to the crew OF the sink
/ ing vessel. How such seaman, in command for
the time of the steamers deck should have content
ed himself with stopping and reversing the engine,
without shifting his helm if there time to do sO
| am altogether unable to understand. If he was
nearing the schooner for than a minute after
his attention called to her. it is incredible to me
that he could have omitted to put his wheel to port
to starboard. To have done would have dimin-
ished the force of the collision, if collision
avoidable. hardly be mistaken in saying that
it might have prevented tit could under aspect
have done HARM and it was the manoeuvre enjoined
by the rules of navigation.
9 There are other considerations which have the
same tendency. have already adverted to the fact
that the steamer had not overcome her Roadway
f when the encounter took place. Yet she had re-
versed her engine at the moment of the alarm Can
: it be that steamer whose machinery is capable OF
impelling her 9 miles an hour with the wind abeam
is unable by reversing its action to arrest her course
S in less time than minute and an eighth 1t has
been said, arbitrarily perhaps, that steamer can
o bring herself up in her own length, must assume
: that the Columbus cannot do in less than three
times that space or else, We must admit that the
witnesses have overestmated her distance from the
r schooner when the schooner seen first.
Another circumstance still appears to me scarcely
reconcileable with the idea of the schooner having
a been approaching so long; it is that she was
e not hailed by any one on board the steamer 1t Ii
said that the weather was too to allow hal
to be heard and it may be that such was the fact
But it seems strange to that the trial at least wa
not made can scarcely realize that right hearted
men could be schooed into such confident certainty
of the ruitlessness of effort, and could have the
it instincts of manly sympathy well under control
e as not to call out when they saw for more than
% minute vessel with her crew moving onward stead
lily and with seeming Inconsistencies to inevitable
vt destruction.
The gentlemen who assisted me at the hearn,
have presented the nautical views of the question
well in the report with which they have favored N
e while this opinion has been preparing that do no
e think it worth while to pursue the subject father
n The report is in these words:
lie Sanderson VS.. Steamer Columbus-The undersign
ed Assessors in the above case have duly and
fully considered all the facts in evidence before tn
Court of Admiralty relative to the collision of Steam
" Ship Columbus, of Philadelphia, and Schooner Mis-
lie sion of Edenton, N. c., which occurred Decembe
ut 3d. 1848, near Cape Lookout Shoals the coast
North Carolina, and of opinion that the means G
if avoiding said collision possessed exclusively b.
r the Columbus. That the Mission was pursuing he
he proper couse, by the wind, the larboard tack
1t heading to the Northward, and that any change il
her course for the purpose of giving way to the Col
y umbus uncalled for, and ought not to have bee
he expected. That it a clear starlight morning
l. and the wind moderate. That vessel of the size
H. the Mission could have been at the time suff
Gent distance to have been safely passed eithe
lie side had proper look out been kept on board tn
IS Columbus and that the neglect to do in on
judgments the cause of this most disastrous collision
in and to which it is to be entirely attributed
y Respectfully submitted
re CHRISTIAN GULAGEs
,e SILAs PEDRIcK.
" Philadelphia, November 22d. 1850.
ne Honorable John K Kane,
II Judge of District Court, U. States.
k decree for the Ibellant and refer it to Nj
he Commissioner Heazlitt to ascertain the amount
n damages, costs to follow the decree.
#, P C. Decree and order accordingly.
ne
OF rousy bad character was to-day arrested in Han
y burg s. c. at the instance of two citizens of Thoms
O. county, Georgia. McLendon and James, charge
IN with the murder in Thomas county, about the l
ID instant, of young man and woman, supposed to
;n husband and wife, and, from papers found abol
ne Them to be named Durin Moore and Charity Cor
ID (probably her name before marriage,) from Brun