NAUTICAL INQUIRY.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 166, 13 July 1907, Page 5

NAUTICAL INQUIRY.

TAVIUJU-PENIXLE HILL COLLISION. "AJT ERROR OP JtTDGMEKT." Mr. C. C. Kettle, S.M., and: Captains Schofield and Reid continued the inquiry this morning into the facts connected with the collision between the Taviuiu and the barque Pen'dle Hill in tie harbour. Mr. S. Mays appeared for the Collector of Customs, Mr. Endean for Captain Lindsay, and Mr. McGregor for the owners of the Pendle Hill. Mr. Mays said since the inquiry was adjourned, he had seen the .Port Health Officer, and was quite satisfied that there was no evidence whatever of drunkenness. This appeared to be a question of fever, and the drugs taken as a remedy. Captain Lindsay deposed that for two days before the occurrence he had been suffering very much from abdominal pains. He had had something of this kind before. He himself had directed the course, and had received no assistance from the officers. Witness attributed his illness to dengue fever, probably contracted at Suva. He knew he had taken something on Friday that had disagreed with him. He would swear that the illness was not caused by liquor. The only remedies used were hot fomentations and some medicine, which witness took to be ehlorodyne. He did not know in what quantity. On Sunday he did not feel quite so bad, but i was still suffering from sickness and pains in the abdomen. On Sunday night he was often on <the bridge for short periods. Witness believed that, on entering the harbour, he must have been worse than he thought, considering what he had passed thro'agh since. He was still bad on Monday morning. He remembered hearing the anchor lieaved. He could not swear as to what exactly took place during the nest quarter of an hour. He could not recollect the officers telling him about his dangerous position in making for tne Bean Rock lighthouse. He reported the collision on Monday afternoon both to the owners and to the Collector of Customs. His illness must have affected his head, although he thought he was in full possession of his senses at the time. He had never had any illness of this kind before. He could not remember any conversation with officers on the night of the collision. He recognised now that it would have been better to have left the chief officer on the bridge. By Mr. Endean: So far as he knew he had no intoxicating beverage on the whole trip from Suva. He had been practically a teetotaller for the last seven years. This was his first accident. Thomas W. Bailey, of Westport deposed he was a passenger by the Tavium. He went right round the Islands in that steamer, and saw a good deal of the captain. He had not seen the captain take any alcoholic drink at aIL On the Saturday night before coming into the port of Auckland, the captain was suffering great pain, but attending to his duties all the time. He saw the captain on the Sunday, when he was really ill, and the chief steward was prescribing for him.

Dr. Sharnian, Port Health Officer, deposed that on Monday morning, at about S a.m. he saw Captain Lindsay, who appeared to be strange in his manner. The impression on his mind was that the captain was ill. He considered the possibility of alcohol, but was unable to find any trace of it. He had heard that the captain had suffered from denq\ie fever, and believed that that might have had something to do with the illness. The chief steward had administered an opiate, and as the captain . had eaten little for 48 hours, the opiate would naturally have more effect upon him. The captain subsequently consulted him on Thursday, and was then almost a physical wreck, restless and nervous. He had known Captain Lindsay for many years, and had never seen any signs of alcohol on him. By Mr. Mays: Witness did not think the captain was in a condition to realise the seriousness of his condition. Dr. P. A. Lindsay deposed he saw Captain Lindsay last Saturday in Mount Pleasant private 'hospital. Careful observation enabled him to say positively that the bodily and mental state of the captain was not due to alcohol- His condition was one of extreme bodily, aiid mental depression. Dengue fever was raging in Fiji, and the captain might have had itMr. Endean: Is the captain fit to carry on his duties? Witness said he is on a fair way to recovery, and with a little care and rest, should be quite competent to resume his duties. Walter William Hender, second officer of the Tavinui, deposed that he called the captain's attention that they were running inside Bean Rock. The ship was then put astern and went up the Harbour. The captain had a dazed look when witness spoke to him, but he fixed the position right away and went to Chelsea. Kext day the captain was in his bunk most of the time, and witness say very little of him. Witness knew that the eapiain was practically a teetotaller. By Mr. Endean: Captain Lindsay was as good -as any shipmaster witness had ever been under. He was strict in discipline and attentive to his duties. Evidence was also given by Joseph William Jacobs, chief steward of the Tavinui, as to the state of the captain's health. I DECISION OF THE COURT. The Court found that the master of the Taviuni committed an error of judgment in passing too close to the Pendle Hill, and that a strong ebb tide running at the time caused the vessel to go to port, causing the collision. That for some time before the collision the master of the Taviuni suffered from extreme mental depression, and that such depression was not brought about by indulgence in alcoholic liquor. The master of the Taviuni was ordered to pay the costs of the inquiry. His certificate was returned.