The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-07-11

| Master S, S. Paris.
| Appended to the foregoing is the con-
sular affidavit.
| Report OF Inspectors.
| The report Of the United States local
| inspectors of the steam inspection SER
vice to George H. Starbuck, supervising
inspector of the second district of New
York, is as follows:
I'VE have the honor to report that we
| have carefully read over the report
| made by Captain Watkins, late COM
| mander of the steamship Paris when
she was stranded on the English coast
between the Lizard and the Manacles
on May 81, 1899, at about 1:l9 a. M, a
copy of which is hereby attached, IN
which Captain Watkins takes the en-
tire responsibility of the disaster upon
himself in making a mistake in the time
when he passed the Casquets and there
by overrunning his distance.
The Report Very Mengre.
1--WE find that the report is very mca-
gre in detail, inasmuch as he merely
states that he made mistake in tax
ing his departure from Cape La Hogue
at G:3S, when he was actually abreast
of the Casquets at that time, distance
Of about sixteen and a half miles, This,
Of course, would put him sixteen and
half miles ahead of his rccokniNg, but
would not account for his being set
into the northward of his course seven
miles, although his intention was to pass
the Lizard at a distance of three miles.
AS Captain Watkins does not make any
80 1T, oil If,tp pfNa
the tide we are of the opinion that he
had not taken the matter into consider
alton, whereas when he approached the
English coast he must have encounter
ed the flood tide on his port bow, setting
him in towards the land In addition to
this he makes no mention of having
used his lead and he only discovered it
was thick over the land when the ship
was ashore
Suspended.
"Giving all due consideration to these
matters, we are of the opinion that
Captain Watkins has not acted with
the necessary care and attention requir-
ed in the navigation of his vessel which
master should have used, and we
therefore suspend his license as master
of ocean steamers for a period of two
years as per authority conferred upon
us by section 4439 of the revised statutes
of the United States.
Respectfully yours.
Thomas H, Barrett,
peter Petrie,
United States Local Inspectors"
Clement Acton Griscom, Jr., vice pres
ident and general manager of the Amer
lean line, when interviewed, said: Cap
tain Watkins sentence seems a little
severe. Other men have lost ships
through what was afterwards proved
their own carelessness, and only had
their masters license suspended for six
months or a year at most. Personally
We feel for Captain Watkins. He has
been half century a sea without the
slightest accident before, and it seems
very hard upon him. | am very sorry
it occurred for his sake. We are all LA
BILE to error, and it seems too bad that
the accident should have happened, and
the mistake made on a night when the
atmospheric conditions were such that
he received no help from the landlight.
Had the same error been made at any
other time in ninety mine out of one
hundred cases the landlights would have
saved him. The captain has many
friends who constantly stop me upon the
street and express their regrets at the
misfortune. All this is very gratifying
to both the company and Captain Wat
kins."