The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1853-10-20
TIE HENRY CLAY STEAMBOAT CALAMITY.
United states Circuit Court.
Before Hen. Judge ingersoll
SFgDND nav

not appear 1.-The juror empani elled YESTERDAY being
called answered to their The other petty urers
IN attendance were discharged until Monday morning. at
10 o'clcck.
CASE FoR INK PROSECUTION.
NJ. Cunning, the Associate District Attorney opened
ths case Tor Tie prosecution. lie said;-rhe deien.
dants have been indicted under the provisions cf
the twelfth section nf The act Of Congress approved
july 7, los entitled An act to provide for the better
security OF the lives Of passengers board OF
sels propelled in ~ o. art by steam That sec
ton says" And be il further enacted that every cap
tia engineer, pilot, other employed on board
Of suy steamboat propelled in whole or in part BY
steam By whose misconduct negligence .. 70
his their respective the life or lives Of per
persons board said vessel may be destroyed
shall he deemed eulty Of ma slaughter anu upon conyic
ton thereof before any rcuit Court in the Unit States
shall sentenced confinement at hard labor for pc
OF not more than tea years The indictment in this
case contains various counts and in substance charges
that defendants, the 18th day Of July 1882 were
persons having charge Of and ployed board
steamboat Henry Clay vessel propelled by steam that
John T. Tallman the captain John German engineer
Edward Hubbard pilot, James l. Jessup clerk James FL
n.endorf fecond pilot, snd Thomas Colyer acting as
captain, that by the mis- conduct negligence, and
nattention to their respective duties, the lives of
Stephen Allen, A. j. Downing Abraham Crest. and divers
other persons were DESTROYED will appear that the
morning Of the 2sh July, 1852 the Henry Clay left Alba
hundred passengers boar bound for this city, while
her passage down the river about three O'Clock the
afternoon, when nearly opposite Workers she disco
vered to be fire and rapidly did the flames spread
that they soon gained the mastery, and it found to
be impossible to txtnguish them; the boat at this time
near the middle OF the river but headed
for the Shore which she succeeded in reaching her bow
being aground, her stern remaining water.
Then ensued of horror that battles all desert ption
At the time the reached the Shore OF the
were on the after part Of the boat having
been directed to go there BY those in command The
wind blowing from the shore and the fire. which ori
ginated the middle Of the boat raging such
extent to render almost impossible pass il.
In their attempts reach the Shore than eighty
of the passengers board, with moments
warning, hurried into eternity. The fearul
alternative of perishing by the flames the
presented TO OF the of that
Inflated vessel and each element the lire and water
% II in
life escapedthe mother and her infant the old and the
Young the man of four score wears and the youth shared
common fate For u time the sad tidings this catas-
trophe spread gloom the land, and well they
might for thew brought sorrow and anguish to many
heart, and desoation to many home. 1t j. charged
that this sacrifice of human life caused by the negi
gence careessness and natenton of the defendants and
Will be for you whether this charge is well
founded. Your position therefore, gentlemen OF the
jury, is important and responsible one-important
for the defendants, important for the community. You
stand between the living and the dead for although your
verdict cannot reanmate the dead it may save the liy
ing prevent the occurrence OF similar caamitie;
may teach lesson those who have the charge and
nagement Of steamboats, much needed to be taughthat
the safety and lives Of passengers committed to their
charge not to be ried with taken with mpunity
The frequency Of of this character may well
excite alarm Scarcely day passes but we receive M
tegence through the public prints that life has been
destroyed by the criminal recklessness
Of those having charge Of railroad locomotives and
steamboats,. And where shalwe look for corrective, if
not to jury, when proper case is presented for their
consider on Let the law be rigid enforced and such
i'll cease. Let courts and jurors ministers
o. justice alter il the proper discharge Of their respec
tive duties and such will be frequent
still | have said thus much, gentlemen to show you
the importance Of the position you occupy ask you
weigh the evidence for the prosecution calmly and dis
passiona ely and render such verdict as will satisfy
minds under the circumstances. shall not attempt
minute statement of the evidence that will be intro
duced prefer that you should listen to the state
ments OF the Witnesses and take the evidence
it shall fall from their lips, rather than any state
ments or conclusions of ny own We shall produce
saw the whole occurrence We insist and think it will
appear from the evidence that the 2Sth July 1852
the day which this awful calamity occurred the Henry
Clay was engaged in fearful race-a trial of speed with
the Armenia-and that from that the catastrophe
resulted. The vessels left Albany nearly the
time the Henry Clay being few minutes in advance of
the Armenia. That there race, shall call
variety of testimony to prove the witnesses viii detail
the that took place on that and that
the for supremacy contemplated before the
sells left Albany, viii also be apparent So evident it
to the passengers board that the boats racing
and much their fears excited that they
strated with the officers and Mr. Collyer the captain
being sick and not deck they besought them to de
but in vain; their circumstances UNDECIDED and
the race continued. Many o. the passengers who had
kespsie and other points of stopping, being fearful
to proceed further in the boat and pursued their journey
by other conveya ces This apprehension of the passen
gers-ths deseron OF the boat would scarcely have
Cured unless they satisfied that there a
We shall show also that the boat that day did not make
all her usual landings they anxious to succeed in
the they passed the landings to which OF the
passengers had paid The vessels we're in such close
proximity that time the Henry Clay into
Armenia One of the fremen, who went up to Albany
the Henry Clay the 27th, refused 10 return the
actually happened. That the boats were engaged in
fearful contest for supremacy will think, abundanty
appear from the evidence: and that each and all
OF the defendants contributed their efforts to enable the
Henry Gay to succeed will also be fully established
Mr. Cunning then proceeded TO state the other facts that
he would adduce ia evidence for the prosecution; that
the race continued notwithstanding the remembrance
of the passenger that the vessel was certified to carry
thirty pounds Of steam TO the square nch ard that she
had much more; that the vessel not provided with
the necessary of escape-wh life boats, life pre-
servers or the number of buckets in of fire.
each OF these deficient in number and that the
catastrophe resulted from want Of care in this respect
that the vessel was the day before this caastro
phe that she fire earlier period the
day and that she had been frequently fire before the
Sth of july ano these facts though not bearing on this
tilted not only at earlier hour the same day. but
they had been frequently notified previously The pas
sepgers would tell the jury Of these facts and that
of them counted the number of revolutions the
sci made, though they may not be able to tell the
not material it will be for the jury to determine
whether the defendants caused this destruction of lives
ment may be ten years imprisonment, is within the
discretion of the court TO reduce it to one day 1t was
necessary for the prosecution TO show that the de-
PENDANTS any Of them, intended this calamity it
enough for them to show That it the result Of
misconduct carelessness negligence The learned gen.
teman then referred to the able and elaborate charge of
his honor Judge Belts in the case OF Capt Farnham, OF
the Reindeer, in which he says =" The indictment
charges the master of the Reindeer the c me OF man
slaughter; because by his misconduct negligence or in
attention at the time place alleged the lives OF many
on board destroy ed The question at ISSUE
on this Indictment whether the government have by
legal and sufficient proof convicted the defendant oil the
crime of manslaugher In the first place the law does
not require the public prosecutor to wilfu misma-
nagement maconduct by the accused You are not to
INQUIRE If he guilty Of Intentional negligence or mat
tenton but only if he did what is forbid by the law
The point of inquiry before you IL whether ne was guilty
Of misconduct negligence or inattenton and whether
the exp and destruction of life from either Of
those causes In order to determine that we must have
a clear and accurate understanding OF the meaning OF
the terms used by Congress in this lew By misconduct
negligence or inatenton in the cement OF steam
boats undoubtedly meant the omission or commission
OF any which may naturally lead to the Consequences
made criminal and il is matter what may be the De
gree Of misconduct, whether it ~ slight or gross me
proofs satisfy you that explosion Of the boiler was the
necessary or most probable result Of it,
Mr.. Dunning concluded his address which was listened
to with marked attention by crowded court, by saying
that IL neither the duty the inclination of the
prosecution to urge the conviction Of the defendants
less the evidence shall be able TO introduce shall
tsfy your minds of their guilt We not here urge
the conviction of the innocent the law neither nor
seeks ssch victims II will be purpose introduce