New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1873-07-16
THE LATEST SHIPWRECK.

So far as it has gone, tho official investlga-
ton into the causes which led to the wreck
of the City of Washington have already de-
yeloped the main facts involved. The vessel
was well fitted in every respect; her equip
ments, provisions, and coal were ample for
every emergency. This time, at least there
can be no question as to the responsibility OF
the officers in charge of the ship, provided
the disaster is due to causes within their con-
troll. Of these officers, three were making
their first voyage on the City of Washington
at the time she was wrecked; they were
the captain and first and second officers.
The testimony of all these seems 10
concur in several important PARTICULARS: The
weather was thick from the beginning to the
end of the voyage; no observation of the
heavenly bodies could be taken; no change
was observed in the appearance OF the water
as the vessel drew near land; the position OF
the ship by dead reckoning was not noted IN
the log; the error made in the reckoning is
attributable to considerable variations Of the
ships compasses these variations were prob
ably caused by the proximity Of quantity
of steel and iron in the cargo ; none of the
officers knew where the steel was slowed on
fact that any such cargo was in the ship;
and no sOundings were taken during the
voyage.
This is the case as presented in the evil
dence Of the leading witnesses. Ii there had
been no such continuously foggy weather as
that which prevailed during the voyage, we
should not now have to discuss the causes Of
the wreck. But there may be just such long
foggy spells in the track Of other sea-going
steamers; and must their commanders learn
nothing by this dsaster9 The officers unite
in putting upon the compasses the blame of
their error in dead reckoning. If these in
struments had been accurate, they soy, their
calculations would not have been all wrong,
as they were. They were so confident that
they were at least one hundred and fifty miles
south of what proved to be their real position
that they never used the lead az all. The
second officer said eve did not heaye the
"lead, because we did not think it worth
"while" Yet, as we have once be-
fore shown, if the ship was kept on O
westerly course during the few hours which
Immediately preceded the wreck, she must
have traversed shoal on which the soundngs
are not more than ffty-six fathOms and
steadily grow less. Capt. Phillips says, in
effect that he had no idea that he was any
where 80 near the shore. The fog which pre-
vented him from taking observations, also
made it impossible for him TO see whether the
water changed in appearance as the voyage
wore away. He had been out long enough,
according to his dead reckoning or guess work,
10 be somewhere near the shore of this CONT
nent; but his cOmpasses being out of order,
no could not guess that he was 30 far
north. The cOmpasses in an iron ship
are peculiarly liable to disturbances, and
various methods have been devised to couD-
teIact their inevitable irregularities. In this
case, the variations were more marked ON
account Of the metal in the cargo. Capt
Phillips ought to have known chat large guam
titles of iron and steel were on board; and
he should have known just where they were
slowed. He went laundering on in the fog,
trusting to compasses subtly turned from their
true position by the metal slowed under
the deck. There is no good reason why the
variations should not have been dis
covered before leaving port. Nothing
of the sort was observed while the
sbp was passing down the Channel if
there was an attractive force in the cargo
strong enough TO derange the compasses, why
was it not discovered at the beginning of the
voyage ., ,..as,3. ....I
But allowing all that has been or may 10