The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-07-27
THE ONEIDA AND MIR. EYRE.

From the Pail Mall Gazette.
The question which has been raised as to
the conduct of Captain Eyre of the Bombay
in the collision between that ship and the
Oneida is important, not merely on account
of the terrible consequences of that disaster,
but of the Interpretation which is in the
future to be attached to Lord Kingsdown's
clause in the Merchant Shipping act. The
main facts of the case are doubtless fresh in
the recollection of our readers. The finding
of the court of inquiry at Yokohama, with
the sentence it passed, conveyed heavy CEN
sure on Captain Eyre. 1t decided that he
was in no apprehension as to his own ship,
that he suspected the Oneida had sustained
serious injury, that Notwithstanding
he hurried with extreme haste from
the scene of disaster, having given
no orders as to keeping a look out
for signals of distress. Accordingly the court
pronounced him guilty of a breach of that
section of the Merchant Shipping act which
prescribes the obligations of commanders in
similar circumstances, and suspended his
certificate for six months. Mr.. Eyre's con-
duct was thus formally condemned by a COM
petent British court, and, as may be easily
supposed, the language and the finding bat
family reflected the violence of American
feeling. The Secretary of the American navy
writes to the Speaker of the House of Repre-
sentatiy ss:-'There can hardly be any ques-
ton as to the conduct of the responsible
commander of the Bombay after the collision
took place, and on this subject the depart
ment is constrained to reply that it appears
to have been the result of a reck-
less disregard of human life and of the
common obligations of humanity" Under
these circumstances Captain Eyre appealed
to the Board of Trade. The reply of the
Board of Trade left him in a position con-
siderably worse than before. 1t pronounced
him guilty of a ''gross' breach of the section
of the Merchant Shipping act we alluded to
before. 1t declared its opinion that the SEN
tence he demonstrated against had been too
~lenient, and cit desired to point out that he
had been guilty not only of an offense created
by statute, but of a disregard of the natural
duties which circumstances of danger, such
as that of the Oneida, impose on those who
have been the unwilling cause of the danger"
1t is impossible to deny that as hus stated
the offense of which Captain Eyre was found
guilty was one of the gravest kind, and we
must say we agree with Mr.. Lefeyre that for
such an offense six months suspension is an
altogether inadequate penalty. At the same
time we must acquit Captain Eyre of delibe-
rate and intentional inhumanity. Short of
that, his behavior was as bad as possible. He
was careless and indifferent under circum-
stances when carelessness and indifference
became positively criminal, and with haunt
ing suspicion on MS own MIND That the con-
dition of the Oneida might be very desperate,
refrained from taking any steps to ascertain
what were the actual circumstances of that
vessel. Certainly there was no positive evil
dence before him that the Oneida was in
serious danger. This does not rest solely on
his own asseveration. It is corroborated by
other testimony on board the Bombay. The
chief officer calls the collision Hiust a
touch, a bound, and a Craze" The pilot
says:-''The shock was very light, and
the vessels came into collision in a ~glancing
way" The carpenter:-''The shock was so
light 1 hardly felt it," TIL chief engineer
''Ihe shock had no effect on me at all-did
not even stagger me-" The second engineer
did not know it was a collision till they
stopped; the bedroom steward did not feel
it at all. So says Watson, a passenger,
while the doctor swears the ladies in the
cabin resumed the backgammon it had inter
rupted for a moment. The pilot, who chances
to be an American, says, Il do not believe
that Captain Eyre had any idea of the extent
of the injury sustained by the Oneida from
the way he spoke" The chief officer heard
the captain ask the pilot, 500 you think she
is much damaged?" to which the man replied,
mo; you can go back if you like, but / do
not see that there is any occasion for it"
At the same time, it is perfectly clear that
Captain Eyre was not easy in his own mind
o n the subject. His questions to the pilot