The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1898-04-01

| AT forty minutes past 9 o'clock the
vessel was suddenly destroyed.
| There were two distinct explosions,
with a brief interval between them.
| The first lifted the forward part of
the ship very perceptfbly; the second,
which was more open, prolonged and of
greater volume, is attributed by the
| court to the partial explosion of two
or more of the forward magazines.
The evidence of the divers establishes
that the after-part of the ship was
practically intact and sank in that con-
dition a very few minutes after the
explosion. The forward part was COM
| pletely demolished.
Upon the evidence of a concurrent
external cause the finding of tine our
is as follows:
cat frame II the outer shell of the
ship, from a point eleven and One-half
feet from the middle line of the ship
and six feet above the keel when in
normal position, has been forced up
so as to be now about four feet above
the surface of the water; therefore
| about fthirty-fOur feet above where 1T
would he a the ship sunk u~ninjured.
| The outside bottom plating is ben into
a reversed V shape, the after-wing of
which, about fifteen feet broad and
| thirty-two feet in length (from frame
IL W IL OLlilC -oI Ii ONct ctNCh oPOiA
itself against the continuation of the
same plating extending forward.
AT frame IS the vertical keel is brok-
en- lin two and the fiat keel bent into
| an angle similar to the angle formed
by the outside BOTTOM plates. This
break is now about six feet below the
| surface of the water and about thirty
feet above it's normal position.
I'm the opinion Of the court this eff
feet could have been produced only by
the explosion of a mine situated I'M
der the bottom of the ship, at about
frame IS, and somewhat on the port
side of the ship"
The conclusions of the court are:
That the loss of the Maine was not
in any respect due to fault or negli-
| gence on the part of any of the officers
or members of her crew.
That the ship was destroyed by THE
explosion of a submarine mine, hic
caused the partial explosion of two or
! more of her forward magazines and
tina no evidence has been obtainable
fixing the responsibility for the de-
struction of the Maine upon amy per-
! son or persons.
| 4 have directed that THE finding of
the court of inquiry and the views of
this government thereupon he COM
municated to the government of her
| IldJeSly, iUIIe QueV11-ISSSIIl, dlIo l. NV
not permit myself to doubt that the
sense of justice of the Spanish nation
will dictate 9. course of action suggest
| ed by honor and the friendly relations
of the two governments. Ut will he
the duty of the executive to advise the
| of the result and in the mean
time deliberate consideration is invoked.
TSigned1 WTLL1M M'K1NLEY.
Executive Mansion, March %, 1898.
REPORT OFF THE COURT.
The following is the report Of the court
of inquiry:
In explosion of the U. S. b. S. Maine"
Before "a Court of Inquiry,
Key West, Fla.
| United States Steamship, iowa, LIST rate,
Key West, Fla, Monday, March q,
1898.
After full and mature d%elibartion of
all the testimony before it, the court
finds as follows:
1. That the United States battleship
Maine arrived in the harbor of Havana,
Cuba, IN the tWenty-fifth day of JAN
uary, eighteen hundred and NINETY
eight and was taken to Buoy Mo-. 4, in
from five and a half to six fathOms of
water, by the regular government pilot.
The United States Onsul general ait
| Havana had notified the authorities at
that place, the previous evening, of
the intended arrival of the Maine.
The state CT discipline on board the
Maine was excellent; and all orders and
| regulations in the care and safety of
the ship We're strictly carried out.
| All ammunition was slowed i'm ac-
cOrdance with prescribed instructions
and proper care was taken whenever
ammunition was handled. Nothing
was slowed in any one of the maya
l -s,,a~ n~ -1AJ1 A0,,l- vLsoI rrro -of
| permitted to be slowed there.
The magazines and shell rooms were
always ocked after having been OPEN
ed; and after the destruction of the
Maine the keys were found in their
proper place in the captains cabin,
everything having been reported Sc
cure that everything al s I O'Clock.
The temperature of the magazines
and she'll rooms were taken daily, and
reported. The only magazine which
had an undue amount of heat was the
after 1O-inch magazine and thai did not
explode at the time the Maine was de
stroyed.
The torpedo war heads Were all stow
ed in h after-part of the ship under
the ward room, and neither caused nor
participated in the destruction of the
Maine.
! The gun cotton primers and detona-
| tors were slowed in the cabin aft and
remote from the scene of the explosion.
Waste was looked after on board
the Maine to obviate danger. Special
orders in regard to this had been given
by the commanding officer. Varnishes,
dryers, alcohol and other combustibles
of this mature Were slowed ON or above
the main deck, and could not have had
anything to do with h destruction of
the Maine. The medical stores We're
slowed aft and under h ward room
and remote from the scene OF ex-
plosfon. No dangerous stores of amy
kind were stowed below i'm amy of the
other store rooms.
THE cal fbunkers We're inspected daily.
OF those bunkers adjacent to THE for
ward magazines and shell rooms. four
Were empty; namely, "B g." 'B f."
*B g." "B g." "a Is" had been i'm use
that day and "A 49, was fun of New
River coal. This coal had been care
fully Inspected before receiving it on
: board. The bunker in which it was