Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1870-04-07

THE ONEIDA TRAGEDY.-A Yokohama
letter of Feb. 23d states that the British
Naval Court of Inquiry has rendered its
| decision, which has made its name and
memory hateful to every American in the
East; for although it deprives Captain
Arthur WELLESLEY Eyre, of the Bombay, of
his certificate, on the ground of inhuman-
ity in leaving the gallant boys of the
Oneida to perish, that tribunal said to the
world that the British ship was right and
the American wrong. in the matter of the
collision, while the evidence was conclusive
to any unbiased mind, that had the
Bombay kept its own side of the channel,
and followed the law of maritime roads,
the terrible accident could not have &C.
Cured.
While from the Russians, French, Ger
man and Americans come bitter denuncia-
ton of Capt. Eyre, there is but little less
feeling against the American Admiral
who refused to give or buy the Oneida
her complement of boats. If she had
had them it is beyond doubt that nearly
every man in that Inflated ship would
have been saved On the 9th of February
the body of Commander Williams was
was picked up by the Aroostook. 1t was
denuded of clothes, with the strange ex-
ception of the shirt collar, which bore his
| initials 1t was recovered we'll out of the
channel, many miles below the wreck.
On Wednesday the funeral took place,
and the remains of the dead commander
were followed to the grave by large
concourse of friends, citi4ens and Army
and Navy officers and their several corps.
A few days later the body of the ships
carpenter was found, but none of the rest
have been recovered, and as month has
elapsed it is not probable that any more
bodies will ever be found.
The decision of the court upon the con-
duct of Captain Eyre after the collision
is as follows:
We find from the evidence before rs
that on dark and starlight night, the
gath of January last, the steamship Bonn
bay, through no fault of her commander,
Mr. Ayre, came into collision with the
United States cutter Oneida, in the close
vicinity of Saratoga Spit, situated some
ten miles from Yokohama that the effect
of this collision on the Bombay was COM
paratively slight that guns were fiFed
from the Oneida as signals of distress
from ten to fifteen minutes after the col
lision took place; that the report of the
/ SlShdls " as nov hOaiAA, tibl viz IAfAohNo SCCi
on board on the Bombay; that after the
collision the fact of the Bombay having
been hailed from the Oneida VAS reported
to Mr.. Eyre that Mr.. Eyre only knew
that some of the upper works of the
Oneida had been carried away, and was
unaware of the amount of injury sus-
tanned by her; that the Bombay was a
mail steamer carrying passengers and
| h,,ilt in ar%y Re
only one of which was reported to him as
making water fast, that the whole extent
of the injury sustained was not ascer-
tanned till the day following the collision (;
that Immediately after the collision it
was not considered to be serious for had
it been 80, it is natural to suppose that the
knowledge of the pilot would have been
availed of, and the Bombay run on to the
Saratoga Spit that in our opinion no
danger to the Bombay, her passengers and
cargo was apprehended by Mr.. Eyre; that
from the questions he asket the pilot, he
evidently thought that the Oneida might
possibly have sustained serious injury
that he waited at the most five minutes
after the collision to see if signals of dis
tress were made from the Oneida; that
after his ship again proceeded he gave no
| OrOerS tudG q lUOhOut Dc hcpt III
the direction of the Oneida; that had he
or any one else been keeping a proper
lookout, the flash of the Oneida's guns
must have been seen, though their report
might not have been heard. Under all
these circumstances it becomes our duty
to pronounce whether in our opinion, Mr..
Eyre was justified in proceeding on his
voyage without waiting to ascertain
| whether the Oneida was in need of assist
| ance.
We recognize the fact that he was
placed in a position of great difficulty and
| doubt, and the circumstances under which
he was called upon, he was called to de-
eide promptly; but we regret to have to
record it as our opinion that he acted
hastily and ill-adyisedly, in that instead
of waiting and endeavoring to render as
sistance to the Oneida, he, without hav-
ing reason to believe that his own vessel
was in perilous position, proceeded on
} his voyage.
This conduct constitutes, in our opin-
ion, a breach of the 33d section Of the
! SD chapter of the Merchant Shipping
; act, amendment of the act OF 1867, and
we therefore feel called upon to suspend
Mr.. Eyres certificate for six calendar
months from this date.