Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1899-01-18
TRYING 4 DEAD MAN.
IT Is OFTEN DONE BY THE BRITISH
BOARD OF TRADE.

The Proceeding u Always I'm order
when Vessel - Lost ut Sea md
Her Captain Goes with Her 10 the
Bottom. ms He Generally Does.
AS surely as the "crowner's quest"
follows on the heels of mysterious death
so follows the board of trade inquiry ON
any great disaster at sea. Ii is proSaic-
ally named perhaps. but no trial for
murder is half SO enthralling as this
investigation, when a dead man is on
trial for the slaughter of hundreds
when the captain of the ship. though
lying fathoms deep. with the weeds Of
the ocean tangled in his hair. is yet ar
raigned before n living judge for what
he has done.
We are supposing that tho isaster TO
be inquired into Is the loss Of great
liner, with hundreds of ives-one Of
those huge floating castles TO whose
protection men and women trust them
selves as feariessly as 20 that of their
own rooftrees has been flying England
ward with its load of human lives.
when came a shifting fog. crash and
cry In the night and disaster
There is about this trial nothing Of
the impressivenesS of an inquiry ut the
criminal courts. There are no aldermen
in scarlet and fur. no sheriffs in ruffles
and sword The judge. in robes and
wig is replaced by three.Quiet men in
froCk coats They are the president and
the two naval assess ors-bOth captains
of the royal navy. The president is gen.
orally Mr. Marsham, the magistrate at
Westminster tall and dignified fg.
ure, with the whitest hair aud the
deepest bass voice i'll the world Ii IL
he who conducts the Investigation
questioning the witnesses and generally
directing, while the naval assessors sit
with arms folded on their desks and
jerk IN a question here and there on
some specially knotty point
The bench sits alOft. below in the
well are the counsel, sans wig or gown,
the solicitors and various persons inter
estcd There Is the manager of the great
line, anxious and preOccupied in man
ner. Juggling at his mUstache. and ready
20 20 into the box and swear 20 the
trust and confidence rcposed by his PEG
pie in the dead captain Nay perhaps
even the white head of the chairman
himself. baronet and VI p. may be
seen on the crowded benches 1t is per
hapS the first disaster toe Ire has sus-
tanned. and he thinks with bitterness Of
the eclipse of the an. raa lonst that
his line has 'never Lost passenger :
life" Truly, the ironic gods nave iuade
the braggart's reward pressed down
and running over
There are many uronzed and rudy
faces of seafaring men TO be soen-manv
heartrending quiet groups of people In
deep mourning. the relatives of passen-
gers. In "A pen by themselves are the
impassive reporters Messenger boys OF
the various journals and news agencies
form whispering group on the steps Of
the press box and every now and then "a
great bundle of manuscript will be
handed over the partition and seized by
its proper Mercury, who straightwav
disappears for space Perhaps if the
disaster has occurred OF "A foreign shore,
yOu may see Ole or two dark faced men
in Respondent uniforms, coast officials
| courteOusly lieut. Dv the foreign govern
ment TO give evidence.
The first day of an inquiry is general
/ ly given over to maps and charts. Huge
and rustlng sheets are opened iii the
witness box, handed up 10 the bench
and pored over 10y counsel IL j. dread
fully dry and technical and gives the
reporters little To dc. The counsel will
still be talking but nobody marks
them. There is big cOhort of counsel
counsel representing the board of trade,
counsel representing the line, counsel
representing the surviving officers.
counsel representing relatives Of the
dead
Interest revives somewhat the second
day-the dead captain : character is be-
ing proved. The officials of the line say
ali they can. Burly. husky and ruddier
than the cherry, into the box steps the
skipper of "A small tramp steamship that
sighted the big liner Just before the dis.
aster. The saloon windows were lighted
up, and he heard music, he says. The
surviving officers 20 anto the box and
are closely questioned. Interest now u
at its height, for here are the men who
grappled with death or that Keeling
deck IN the lonely ocean. aud here III
this crowded tiny court III the heart Of
London, are come 10 tell Us all about il.
Then comes one of the passengers
who survived. ana he Is the most inter
esting Of all. lie brings the scene be-
fore us-rhe gayety ol the saloon. W here
just before the captain has been toasted
and thanked for his skill and care. the
sudden alarm, the rush and confusion.
the frantic terror OF some, the cool
courage of Others. He paints also the
pale and steadfast captain on the bridge,
with his folded arms, going down &c
death.
And SO from day TO day drags on the
slow inquiry till we some 10 the find
ing. The counsel have said their say,
the assessors have retired, and now Mr.
Marsham reads in his deep bass the
judgment of the court. 1t is "a Ions
Judgment and touches on many point,
and among them the negligence o.
Captain Mainstay, the master "
Negligence! And SO Mr. Marshan
gets into his brougham and il driver
home to dinner. while afar the deep Sc,
, fishes dart III and out of the bare rib