New-York tribune., 1891-05-03
WORK AT THE NAVY YARD.
AN INTERESTING CoURT-MARTIAL.
MAK1NG THE LANCASTER READY FOR SEA-
WORK OF THE YANT1c.

MAKING THE LANCASIEh HShDN
WORK OF THE YANT1o.
The trial of an officer of the Navy, especially one
of the rank of Lieutenant Commander ueoie0 "
Bicknell, who has spent thirty years In the acti'e
sor,,ice n the Navy and maintained @ good recolu
,brouehout has an unusual interest with the puDhc'
and II is only natural that people are anxious 10 TOOK
unon the accused man and to witness the proceeohss
~ q general court martial. The court Is conposeo
Of nine officers, all of them, excepting the Juueo
ahvocate being senior in rank TO the accusou n"i
and the president Of the court being an ocef OF RANK
corresponding TO that of colonel in the Army captain
Robert F. Bradford The laws Of the Navy require fuV
NOT more than one-haf of the officers Of the court
exclusive of the president, shall be junior 10 .ne
oe1cer TO be tried am hence Secretary Tracy mas
ovoided any possible exception to the court on uis
ground by detailing as officers OF the actuai cur.
all who arc senior to the accused man. inc cour.
is enioned TO sit day by day, Sundays excepVed uh
sentence is given. 49, y,
rvorvthjng connected with a courtmartial Is OF
severe military tone. The walls OF the room IN WHICH
tho trial Of Lieutenant Blclen is taking place are
covered with American ensgns and other hags'
and the windows are also draped with bunting. Inc
officers assemble promptly at the hour named lot te
trial 10 be resumed, and each Is oresseu III '' ~ -a
Uniform of his particular grade ana rank ino
accused officer attended By his counsel, William H.
stayton, who recently resigned his once OF heu-
law in this city, sits and listens attenuVeiy
t tbo testimony ard no one about him can interpret
what his thoughts and feelings unless ne mas oce
through the same mill He knows ohat the onarso -
serious one and that If he Is judged guilty te coU
NAV decide that he be dismissed from the serVce' 10
snspeuded from rank and duty for term OF years. UT
sonIv receive reprimand from the Secretary OF the
Navy. Or, on the other h"nu' ''' ''"'' ''
him. , n,,o,
rhe facts are that Lieutenant Commander BicRnel
vos ordered TO take the warvesscl Galena TO the
Portsmouth Navy Yard in tow OF the Navy Jug ENiia
that he neglected 10 have the conpasses Ns8u ioi
verncaton before leaving New-York that the VeSselS
ran into stormy and thick weather ana that 'he
courses steered took them ashore at Gay Head VINE
ward Sound The testimony OF LieutenantOohiilaii
Biclnel and other officers with him on the "acn"
roabes the pot T. NJ Smith, who was In charge ot the
Nina responsible for not steering the proper COURSE
But Smith and Others on the Nina gave WstliioIS -
tbo Court of Inquiry conflicting WIN that VI oo
Calena,s officers. The prosecution hnlsheu "ni"e
testimony on Friday and the defence opened yes'eruay
prt another board of an entirely different chai"-
for is now in session az the yard. This Is the
newly.appointed Board of Examination 10 examine
candidates for various important mechanical pIdCes
In the Yard The Examination Board, wMch Is COM
posed Of five officers, met on FRIDAY IN Duiiuine ~
: and beean its work First 1t wns O!1ain@cu' % a,
.bon tbc duties connected with II were begun lhe
hon
mill its duties arc completed. But theso ooarus ar
No, Tho only things OF interest or OF Importance III inc
W., Ward = There arc several vessels now there'
although the last week has seen oiie departure Va Vn
vosso, from IT, The dynamite cruiser Nesu'lus ci' V
ward on Thursday and started Tor Noiloih " "u's0
the trials of her dynamite guns. A., ,
The wooden war-shfp Lancaster went 10 the Sdru
oo noro TO be completed and made ready for sea-
Ono imnortant thing which the ship lacked when she
came 70 the ward was her battery, and part OF s las
been nut on board her in the last week. her primary
battery vii! consist OF eight s-nch muzzleioadlhs
hroadside pivot rifles the main deck ana TWO guns
of a like kind central pivot on the spar Deck ule
secondary battery will consse of two 6pouhuer dpu
1rnp C1,ps and four 37-millimetre revolving cannon
here viii also be 3inch rifle for fiedp piece ana
Cat,nc qrn While the vessel is here there are many
iobs of various kinds needing to be done on hcr 10
make her ready be absent for three years on CRUISE
The Lancaster is big wooden vessel OF the old syle
and is of $3.50 tons displacement. There Is ram IN
her bow She is fitted with steam, although thls Is
more Of an auxiliary than power, she can make
only a speed Of nine knots at the largest estimate
Althousa d se eSSfHrtsbe for oceT and men to nat
Near TO the Lancaster lies the cruiser Remington
G e a he has not vet been accepted by the Government
the yard work has not been begun Arrangements arc
bnin made so that the Government may purchase the
@ which is now In her bunkers thereby saving the
trouble and expense Of emptying the bnkes ana tnen
filing the ass snd belongs 70 the Contractors When
the (iovernment has accepted the Bennington shc
net receive masts and spars and battery, ana be
Gtted ont in the same manIer as the Concord ,
The Yantic is another vessel that has como TO the
NayT Yard within the last few days. For two or
three months the vessel has been engaged in excellent
service blowing up wrecks along the coast and now
after her hard and dangerous duty, she has re
turned in safety 10 TIE yar. In her absence. many
wrecks have been destroyed and distractions to
NAVIGATION removed by the vessel doing much TO make
navigation safer. She IS now in the dry dock having
her bottom repaired. ,
The Fern has gone to Newport ard has brought bach
a draft If apprentices for the Lancaster in re last
week IL is said that the Fern is not at all tug, as
She has been called, but that she is really fourth
rate vessel She is to be used dispatch and trans
port vessel The Fortune, whose place the Fern will
take is To lie used Navy Yard tugbOat
one of the turTets on the monitor Terror has been
In place on the vessel for several months. The Other
turret Is being put together in the open air neal