The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-06-02
Immediate Action Will Be Taken to Fix Responsibil-
 ity by Government
STORSTAD OWNERS
 WILL OFFER BOND
Becond Step of Legal Battle for Ac- cruing Damage Will Be Taken To- day-Quebec Sad Scene as
 Bodies Are Identified

Montredl, June I-NoW that the first burst of excitement and grief over the sinking of the Canadian Pacific liner Empress of Ireland has partially spent itself, the public generally Is settling down to await the result of the govern
 ment inquiry to fix the responsibility for the disaster that resulted in the loss of nearly 1000 lives. A royal commission of three was appointed today to investigate i4he ramming and sending to the bottom sof the St. Lawrence river early Friday smorning of the Empress of Ireland by the
 rollier Storstad.
 i. The members of the tribunal are Sir Adolph Routhier, judge of the court of Admiralty of Quebec and the Hon. Eze- kield Mcleod, chief justice and judge of the admiralty court of New Brunswick, appointed by the Canadian government and George L. vaux of the legal staff of the British board of trade. Mr Vaux oailed from England today to be pres- ent at the. hearings which will begin June g. Pending the converting of the commission of inquiry Captain Lindsay, dominion wreck commissioner, will con tinue the preliminary investigation begun today by taking testimony and assembling evidence for the commissioners.
 The second step in the legal battle arising out of the sinking of the Empress of Ireland will be taken tomorrow when attorneys for the owners of the Storstad will offer a bond of s240.0O0 and ask that the collier be released from arrest The $240000. which is based on the tonnage of the collier. represents, according to the contention of counsel, the maximum la- bility of the Storstad for the damage ac- cruing to the Canadian Pacific railway The depositing of the pond will be in no wise an acknowledgement of responsibi-
 by the owners of the Storstad for the disaster. It will simply be formality usually followed in such cases. The bond will remain in the possession of the court
 until the merits of tAe controversy be- tween the two steamship companies are legally settled.
 Until ths, arrival of Mir vaux a decision as to whether the inquiry is to be held In Quebec or Montreal will not be made
 It iis probable that a representative of the
 British admiralty will make the fourth member of the commission.
 Quebec. June 1.--Identffication of the
 dead recovered from the scene of the
 wreck of the Canadian Pacific steamer
 Empress of Ireland, Is proceeding more
 orderly than was expected.
 Nearly 100 of the 1SS bodies brought
 here yesterday by the tender Lady Grey
 have been identified. This is in addition
 to the Is bodies identified and claimed at Rimouski.
 Some of the dentifications include per- sons of prominence whose lives were lost
 1I the collision between the Empress of Ireland and the collier Storstad early Friday They are Sir Henry Seton-karr, the big game hunter pr. E. A. Barlow, a leading geologist of Canada, and Mrs. w. Leonard Palmer, wife of d London news paper man. Nearly a score of Salvation Army members have been also identified The funeral ship, Lady Grey, escorted
 by the British warship Essex, arrived in
 Quebec Sunday early, and soon there-
 after blankets from the Essex were used
 as stretchers in carrying the bodies ashore. The bodies were placed on long tates draped in black and white in the funeral shed which had been prepared for their reception.
 Pier Shed Draped The pier shed was heavily draped in black, and over the windows sheets were fastened to shut out the view of the cu- Eious On the wharf as the ship docketed was q throng of officials newspaper men, while outside sorrowing crowd awaited admittance to search for their dead.
 A number of survivors of the disaster were in the crowd answering questions and hoping to find the bodies of loved ones.
 Among the disappointed ones in this l group when the people were finally ad- i mtted to view the bodies was H. Luren, Norwegian. He and his wife were
 bound to Norway to visit their old home after a l5 years stay in the United States. If I only had died instead of her." I he said. We slid down the deck into the water in each others arms, and then the force of the explosion as the < ship went under parted us. For mo- & ment I was stunned and did not know n what happened, but very soon I knew 8 that l was alone.''
 % One section in the shed contained 25 VI little white caskets. each enclosing the
 body of child Person after person
 turned away in tears from this sad
 collection
 Several Bodies Recognized # Several of the bodies ,f the recog- # nized were badly gashed. probably VI killed in their berths by the force of # the Stortad's bow as 1t crashed into M the Empress of Ireland's side, while "A nearly all were bruised and battered & from contact with debris.
 Additional bodies arc being recovered # but slowly at the scene of the disaster, M reports from Rimouski and Mantane 14 cay. force of men is patrolling both W sides of the St. Lawrence river for s& u,iles. but thus far with little success. 2# KY (Continued on Page Eight)