The Monmouth inquirer., 1898-03-31

Gated to the government of her majesty
the queen regent, and do not permit
myself to doubt that the sense of jus
tice of the Spanish nation will dictate
course Of action suggested by honor and
the friendly relations of the two gov
ernments. 1t will be the duty of the
executive to advise the congress of the
result, and in the meantime deliberate
consideration is invoked"
The following are the findings of the
court of inquiry:
After full and mature consideration Of
all the testimony before it the court finds
as follows:
ship Maine arrived in the harbor of Ha-
vana, Cuba, on the 25th day Of January,
1898, and was taken to buoy No. 4, in from
515 TO 6 fathoms of water by the regular
government pilot.
The United States consul general at Ha-
vana had notified the authorities at that
place the previous evening of the intended
arrival of the Maine.
Second.-The state of discipline on board
the Maine was excellent, and all orders and
regulations in regard to the care and safety
of the ship were strictly carried out
All ammunition was slowed in accord
anee with prescribed Instructions, and
proper care was taken whenever anmuni-
Nothing was slowed in any of the mag
aZines or shellroomS which was not per-
mitted TO be slowed there.
The magazines and ShelrOoms were al
ways locked after having been opened
and after the destruction of the Maine the
keys were found in their proper place in
the captains cabin, everything having been
reported secure that evening at p. M
! The temperature of the magazines and
+ shellrooms was taken daily and reported.
! The only magazine which had an undue
J amount of heat was the after 10-inch mag
azine, and that did not explode at the time
the Maine was destroyed.
The torpedo Warheads were all slowed in
( the after part Of the ship under the ward
Z room and neither caused nor participated
/ in the destruction Of the Maine.
4 The dry gun cotton primers and detona-
4 tors were Slowed in the cabin aft and re-
mote from the scene Of the explosion,
! Waste was carefully looked after on the
Maine to obviate danger. Special orders in
regard to this mad been given by the COM
manding officer.
Varnsnes, driers, alcohol and other COM
bustibles of this nature We're slowed on or
above the main deck and could not have
I had anything to do with the destruction OF
the Maine.
The medical stores were slowed aft un-
der the wardroom and remote from the
scene of the explosion
No dangerous stores of any kind were
< slowed below in any OF the other store
I rooms
Coal Bunkers In Perfect Condition.
The coal bunixers were inspected daily.
Of those bunkers adjacent to the forward
! magazines and shellr0oms four were empty
( namely, B3, B4. 10. B6-
Ais had been III use that day, and All
was full of New river coal. This coal had
been carefully inspected before receiving
4 it on board. The bunker in which it was
slowed was accessible on three sides at all
times, and the fourth side at this time on
account of bunkers Is4 and B6 being empty
This bunker Ai6, had been inspected that
day by the engineer officer on duty.
The fire alarms in the bunkers We're in
I working order, and there had never beer
a case of spontaneous combustion Of Goa
ON board Of the Maine
The two after boilers Of the ship were in
use at fhe time of the disaster. but fol
auxiliary purposes only. with a compare
lively low pressure Of steam and being
tended by reliable watch. These boilers
could not have caused the explosion Of the
ship. The four forward boilers have since
been found BY the divers and are in fan
/ condition.
On the night OF the destruction Of the
Maine everything had been reported secure
for the night at q. m. by reliable persons
4 through tile proper authorities to the com
mandfng officer. At tine time the Maine
was destroyed the ship was quiet an6
therefore least liable to- accident caused bS
movements from those on boafd
Third.The destruction Of the Maine oe
Cured at $40 p. m. on the 18th day OF