Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1904-11-16
British Inquiry on North
Sea Incident Opened.
Russia Not Represented. Fact
Of Firing Being Established.
Hearing Aftert This Session Will Be
Adjourned to London.

Great Britain conducts on her own be-
nan INTO Inc -softh sea incident open
eo. ;oday- \'se Admiral Bridge and
hutler ASmhaH, an admiralty court
lawyer, who WFre appointed to conduct
me inquiry al& who's" report will form
the basis OF tfF British case before the
international commission ut Paris, sat
al large taHie surrounded by maps
showing the f)ogSer Neck and tn
North sea III front was an array of
/ counsel and government officials.
The correspondent of The Associat-
ed Press learned At the outset that the
| Board of Tralle solicitors who have
been preparing the case found no evil
dcnce to suggest the presence OF torpe-
=" boats among the fishing fleet
The inquiry will therefore be merely
an amE,ihcatiOn OF TN evidence at the
| inquest and il will be adjourned to
London III the course of a few day.
! the proceedings here \, ing confined to
f; n narrative OF the shooting The as
| s.ssment OF damages which will be
| dealt with IN London. cannot be COM
plcted for some time. as many of The
trawlers are still at sea.
The findings of the court will be sent
10 the Board Of Trade and will be sub
! mitted to the Internal ional commission.
| 1t is not likely that they will he pub
| iShed before the commission COM
mences its session but with the excep-
/ ton of the amount Of the damages it
can scarcely add to what is already
known, a careful examination of all
| the witnesses in private having sub
Stantiated in all essential details the
! story tht fishermen originally told.
| The Russian government was not
represented 1T today's hearing. which
created even locally barely any inter-
est.
Admiral Bridge started matters with
: business like promprness. briefly an
nouncing tn. method of procedure and
stating that there should be no
4 speeches. Various counsel representing
the tr;tw,er companies and the victims
received nepuission 10 examine the
Witnesses and Mr.. Pickford. counsel
: for the Board of Trade. summarized the
facts connected with the ''!amentabie
occurrancc. saying there was nothing
connected with the TRAVELLING fleet which
! could possibly account for the shoot
! ing We added that in addition To the
witnesses TO be called a careful inquiry
had been made among the entire neet
and the statements made agreed IN
all essential respects. Mr.. Plck1ord
highly commented the pluck shown by
the men of the traEler Gull in saving
the wounded from the sinking trawler
! Crane.
The first witness was Mr.. Beechl1S.
MANAGING director of the Gamecock
fleet. He testned that for - to AZ
wears the fishing fleets had been trawi-
ing off Dogger Bank.
one hole was caused by 6-inch
shell. The home Office has secured
all the fragments of the exploited
shells and has caused them TO De
placed together. Therefrom an eX-
re,t related their origin. the angle or
firing. c;.libre. etc. concluding with
4, n scientific demonstration from the
fragments that the tiawler Minto
could not have been hit. unless the pro-
iectiI.. had been deliberately aimed ut
her.
The skipper of the trawler keith,
in reply, to questions. declared that
Their. were on Japanese trhWlers and
no Japlnese present and that no aJp-
anese agents made any suggestion 10
him. whatever. 1t would have been
impossible for the tTawl"lS. he added.
to screen Il torpedo boat.
DR.. Wodhouse elected from the wit
ness that the traWlers did not attempt
to show distress or other signals with
the Wow of getting the Russians to
cease firing. The skipper of the Snipe
related how his vessel had been hit.
Or. Woodhouse questioned him closely.
He asked Why he had not stopped when
the first shots We're fired or III least
raised signals of distress.
There was some amusement when DR..
Woodhouse asked
Did you want To get hit again."
TIE skipper. in tn" broadcast York
shire dialect. replied:
"Noa That's Why | kept agning."
Counsel tor the Boa; d OF Trade sug-
gested il was rather hard to say what
would have made ;he Russians stop.
Admiral Fridge pointed out that the
Snipc was technically rot in distress
as She had not been hit below the
water-ine.
Another skipper caused laugh when
he declared he never saw a japanese
N his life.
This was the tenor of the evidence
throughout the afternoon, DR.. Wood
hous@ eliciting that it was the general
belief on the part of the fishermen
that they first thought the vessels were
British warships maneuvering. 1t new
er occurred to the trawlers to stop. but
when they were hit they ran.
What would you have done?" asked
one burly fisherman amidst laughter.
DR.. Woodhouse replied he was not
the skipper of trawler
A surgeon of the North sea hospital
ship Alpha was the last witness ana
brought out the later important state
ment that all the ships lights were ex-
tinguished as sooa as the firing COM
menced.
The inquiry was then adjourned.
At the conclusion Of the hearing the
(COntinued On mage 2.)