Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1873-07-16
THE WRECKED STEAMER.
Official Investigation at Halifax-Exam-
nation Of the Principal
Officers.
Nobody to Blame-HeaVy Fog and De-
rangement Of the Compass By
Cargo Of Iron.
THE WRECKED STEAMER.

HALIFAX, July I4.-An official inves-
| tigation into the cause of the wreck Of
the City of Washington opened to-day
| By Captain Scott, of the royal navy.
Captain Phillips was the first witness
and testified that after the first two days
| from Queenstown he was unable to take
astronomical observations; winds west
erly; head wind the entire passage; no
sOundings taken; did not notice the
least change in the color of the water;
were eight days in the fog; ship struck
at LIS on afternoon of the ninth; was
not going at full speed, as it was time
to clear fires; don't know at what speed
We were going, but suppose about
nine knots; was on deck when
the vessel struck, and Immediately
ordered signal-guns fired; boats were
lowered promptly and without con-
fusion, and sent to shore in per-
feel order; the ship was in first-elass or
der with full complement of men, pro-
visions and coal. On leaving LIVERPOOL
1t was well found in all respects to the
general instructions. The company are
of the opinion that the meridian of
Cape Race is to be passed about
latitude 420. l adhered to these instrue--
tons.
Captain w. ]. Hammond, a passen-
ger, testified that>he never saw better
discipline on q steamship. There was
no confusion in lowering the boats, and
never saw an officer touch a glass Of IL
quOr.
John Shean, the firsC-officer, testified
that he never saw a ship steer better,
and had no reason to suppose that she
was making more than she should have
done. The lead was hove every hour,
but the fog was so dense we could
not tell the proper color of the
water. When the ship grounded the
engines were stopped.
John Flaherty, second officer, testified
that the lead was not hove during the
voyage. We didn't heave the lead be-
cause we thought it would be useless.
l never crossed the Atlantic when the
weather was so continuously thick. Our
reekonings were made with more than
usual care, on account of the thickness
of the weather. My reckoning agrees
with the captains within a few miles.
According to my reckoning, the ship
should have been very much farther
south than she was. I attribute this to
either northerly current or an error in
the compass. have been crossing in
these steamers for four years, and we
have ALWAYS stood them in the same
course, which has taken US clear Of ey-
erything. There was three-quarters of
a degree difference between the compass
on the bridge and the standard compass.
a. M. Anderson, the third-officer, had
not the slightest idea the ship was going
more northerly than she would by the
course steered; noticed no diseOlored
water which would lead US to believe the
ship was not going right. My reckon
ing of this voyage was over one hun
dred miles out of the way. do not re-
member who it was. l attributed the
large deviation to an error in the COM
pass, and this error to a large amount of
iron and steel forming part of the cargo.
We steered so as to go to the south award
of forty-tWo degrees latitude ia passing
Cape race, as the instructions of the COM
pany require. We took the tempera-
ture of the water every two hours.
Thomas Bruce, engineer, testified:
The engines were not slowed down or
stopped during this thick weather, but
l was always ready to do 50. When the
ship struck | was ordered to stop the en-
gines. The average steam gauge was
twenty-seven pounds.
The court of inquiry into the wreck
Of the steamer City of Washington re-
suned its sitting to-day. A variety of
evidence was taken, but to the same
general effect as that of yesterday, UiS
that the officers were sober and that
the fog was dense during the most of
the voyage. The ship was in good or
der and lOOkouts properly maintained,
etc. The purser related an instance
where the presence of twenty-seven cases
of sewing slowed on another
vessel caused great deviation on the
part of the compass. Court adjourned
to Thursday, when judgment will be
given.
The bodies of men, women and child
rem, steerage passengers, Were recovered
from the Atlantic wreck On Friday last,
in decomposed state, and have arrived
at Prospect.