The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-07-27

prove as much; and Lieutenant Clements
states that when he went on board the Bonn
bay, Immediately on its arrival at Yokohama,
Captain Eyre informed him that he had cut
off the quarter Of a Yankee frigate, adding,
Serve her right; she crossed bur bows with
q starboaFd helm" 1t is impossible to con-
ceive how Captain Eyre could suppose that
he had cut off the quarter of a Yankee frigate
and yet not know that she was in con-
siderable danger. Moreover, a mo-
ment's reflection should have shown
him, as Admiral Bedford remarks, that
if a vessel which gave the other her bow and
stern could be injured, much more must that
vessel have been damaged which received the
blow abaft the mizzen chains and at such an
angle of incidence. With regard to the look
ing out for signals of distress, Mr.. Eyre
swears he was on the watch for them for a
quarter of an hour, and remarks, plausibly
enough, that he relied on seeing a blue light
if not hearing a gun; for in all we'll ordered
ships light signals are kept ready for kindling
at a moments notice, as they were in his
OVID. AS it happened, and most unfortu-
nately, by the confession of the Americans.
their blue lights we're slowed away where no
one knew to look for them in an emergency.
On the other hand, the evidence is conclusive
that the Bombay did not wait for more than
five minutes, as was proved by the engineer,
who kept a reckoning of the time on his
slate. AS to Captain Eyre's idea of risk to
his own ship, we do not believe
he could seriously have appre-
hended any. The chief officer indeed told him
she was making water forward, and the car
penter ''could not say with what a force the
water was coming in" But if he believed
there really was danger, it would, as Mr..
Lefevre observed in the debate, have been
better to have remained where he was, close
by the Taratogu Spit, where the Bombay
could have been safely run ashore, than to
run twelve miles to Yokohama; and Just in
proportion as there was fear for the Bombay,
there was reason for greater fear for the
Oneida, which received IN her quarter the
blow. Even holding as those on board the
Bombay did that the collision was a slight
one, it became Captain Eyres duty to stand
by and exhaust all ordinary means to assure
himself of the condition of the other ship.
The amount of injury he suspected in his
W ship ought to have suggested the posi-
bility of grave damage to the other, nor
should he have satisfied himself lightly with
negative assurances to the contrary.
Under such circumstances as these, to
whitewash Captain Eyre would be, it seems
to us, practically to abrogate, or at least
greatly to diminish the value of, Lord Kings
down'sc clause requiring assistance to be given
in cases of collision. We have no desire to
bear hardly on Captain Eyre, whose fault was
rather one of judgment than intention, but
it is most important it should be understood
that the duty of commanders at such times
is not to speculate on the possibility of the
vessel struck not having been seriously in
jured, but to ascertain positively what is her
condition, and render any assistance that may
be needful.