The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1904-11-16
INQUIRY BEGUN
BY THE BRITISH
Evidence of the IrawIers Being
Taken at Hull.
NOBODY SAW JAP WARSHIPs
ROCKETS PROBABLY CAUSED
THE RUSSIAN PANIC.

Huh, England Nov .-fJ.--The inquiry
which Great Britain conducts on her
own behalf in the North Sea incident
opened today Vice Admiral Bridge
and Butler Aspinwall, an admiralty
court lawyer, who were appointed to
conduct the inquiry, and whose report
will form the basis of the British case
before the International commission at
Paris, sat at large table surrounded
Dy maps showing the DOggeTbank and
the North sea. In front was an array
of counsel and government officials.
The correspondent of the Associated
Press learned at the outset that the
board of trade solicitors who have been
preparing the case have found no evil
dence to suggest the presence of the
torpedo boats among the fishing fleet.
The inquiry will therefore merely be
an application Of the evidence at the
inquest and il will be adjourned to
London in the course of "a few days,
the proceedings here being confined to
narrative of the shooting
Damages Not Yet Assessed.
The assessment of damages. which
e'ill be dealt with i'm London. cannot
be completed for some time as many
of the trawlers are still at sea-
The findings of the court will be sent
TO the board Of trade and viii be sub
mltted TO the International commission
1t is not likely that they will be pub
hshed before the commission COM
mences its sessions, but with the eX-
ceptiOn 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
stantlated in all essential details the
| STORY the fishermen originally told.
Admiral Bridge started matters with
ousmesslike promptness, briefly an
nouncing the method of procedure and
stating that there would be no
speeches Various counsel representing
the trawler companies and the victims
received permission to examine the
! witnesses and Mr.. Pickford, counsel for
the board of trade, summa rized the
Iacts connected with the '1amentable
occurrence" saying there was nothing
connected with the trawllng fleet which
could possibly account for the shooting.
He added that in addition to the wit
nesses to be called a careful inquiry
had been made among the entire fleet
and the statements made agreed in all
essential respects. Mr.. Pickford highly
commended the pluck shown by the
men of the trawler Gull in saving the
( FfNNA4NSQ 4lOll the SINKING IfdWler
| Crane
Russian Consul Present.
The Russian consul, who was accom-
mOdated with seat on the platform,
| asked the first two witnesses if the men
OF the trawler fleet had reported see
ing other warships besides the Russian
vessels, but apparently only the Rus
sian vessels had been met.
Some interest was added to the pro-
| ceedings by the introduction of tiny
Kind Of trawler. Photographs showing
the large lettering and numbers OH the
| tunnels and sides of the trawlers at
tackled were also presented.
A suggestion by the Russian consul
that the Smelling was due TO the traw-
| lers falling to stop when blank shots
were fired, and the fact that the lights
were extinguished on at least one
| trawler, is considered here to in some
degree explain, though not to excuse,
the attack by the Russi9ns.