The Portland daily press., 1899-03-30
cApr. sAaRsr censuREo.
Finding Of Inquiry Court In the Cas-
titan Court.

halifax, N. 5 March "a Tho decision
of the court Of Inquiry which Investigated
che wreck of the Allan line steamer
Castiiian on Cannot Rock lodges near
Yarmouth Was delivered At one O'CLOCK
today, being read BY the chairman o. ne
board, Commander .. v. spain, p. AZ
K 1t condemns Captain Barrett sna nas "
of1lcer MoAffer OF the Castilian, - chieny
responsible for the disaster bus tn YER
dict Of censure which Is passed upon
these officers is ltghtened BY the decision
OF the court to refrain from recommenu
ing that their certificates be suspendeu.
There IL also some consolation Tor tnelp
In the statsmsnt that ths UNUSUAL e cur Of
which Was running into the bay OF
Fundy on the night OF the wreck may
have had something to do with the steam
err being carried out of her course though
1t could not be the cause Of her going so
far astray.
The censure 10 especially heavy on
Captain Barrett whose errors OF Judgmens
are considered especially biameworthy:
The first blu nder seems to have occusIeu
when twu hours and forty minutes before
the wreck, the soundings showed os
fsthoms OF water at place where oo
fathoms or thereabouts ought TO DO e1.
pectei; this discovery causing no cnAhse
to be made IN the course wbioh tine ship
was steering. The decision OF tine coui'
reads as follows:
The court having most carefully and
completely inquired into and investigated
the circumstances attending the strano-
ing and total loss OF the Allan steamship
Cas.ilian on Cannot dry ledge on tne
coast Of Nova SCOTIA at 3 40 u. m. on the
18th OF March. 1899, having fully CON
side.ed all the evidence that IL was
possible to obtain has come to the con-
clusion that the disaster Is attributable 10
the following causes:
Not taking into sufficient consideration
the first sounding OF W fathoms AZ 1 q.
m, which naturally should have pointed
out that the vessel was not In the position
which she was supposed to be; not aceu-
rately noting the distance run by the log
when the different soundinQs were taken
and running the ship Vt too high rate Oh
speed after finding the water was shoai-
ing rapidly when the cast of 10 fAtnoms
was obtai ned the ships speed should have
been at once reduced and constant souno-
ings taken.
Instead of this having been done no
sounding after that Of SO fathoms was Cd
tanned for about half an hour, namely at
y pollock, when IL fathoms were found.
Although q similar depth 10 to Do Cd
tanned about ten and q half miles south-
east by south half s,uth from seal islanu
and the master states he considered ne
had overrun his distance and was on oesi
island bank, he altered the ships course
from southeast by east half east TO south
east or one and half points and kept on
at full speed for nearly half an hour,
when a cast of ten fathoms WAS taken
after which the ship almost Immediately
took the ground. There can be no DOUBT,
indeed 1t was admitted by the master
that had he stopped the engines ana re-
versed them when the IL fathoms CAST
was made, he would have saved the snip
Probably the after knowledge derived
from the circumstances connected with
the course the ship was steered and the
disaster which ensued, lnnuenceo the
master in confessing his error aad In the
same manner those circumstances nave.
to a certain extent, enabled the court 10
arrive at this opinion.
The court also considers taxing tine
evidence obtained from a mum Der OF well
known and responsible masters OF ships,
who were in the locality Of the csstrophe
on the 18th OF March, that there was some
peculiar current setting into the bay OF
Fundy on that day, which materially as
sisted In putting the ship to the north
ward of her course.
But this does not account'for the long
distance the vessel was out OF her position
as assumed by the master. de appears 10
have placed too much faith in his COM
passes, not taking into con sideration that
the Castilian was a new ship and IL was
the first occasion on which he was run
Mug on an easterly course. The master,
who is without doubt a most experienced
and well known navigator, having con-
stantly navigated vessels In the vicinity
Of the disaster in question for upwards OF
twenty years in the opinion Of the court
took his position too much for granted,
and although it refrains from dealing
with the certificates Of the master or first
officer, considers 1t their painful duty to
cen sure them both and the master. ReRi-
maid Barrett and the first officer, Duncan
McAffsr, are hereby censured according