THE WILTSHIRE WRECK.

Grey River Argus, 24 June 1922, Page 4

THE WILTSHIRE WRECK.

INQUIRY CONTINUED. Till’ FINDING AGAINST THE CAPTAIN. AUCKLAND, June 23. At the Wiltshire inquiry this-morn-ing. Mi- Meredith pointed, out that a consid(‘iabi»‘ .-.mount of evidence had been called to confirm the prevalence <>f a sei in the coastal area about Cuvier mid Great Barrier Islands. He had other evidence on the point, but did not wish to waste time if the Court were satisfied about the set, and he could apply himself to the matter of whether the master was justified in not turning immediately he gut a doubtful sounding. Mr Uutten, after consulting his colleagues, s;tid there was no objection, counsel knowing what was in the mind of the Court. What they were troubled : bout was that according to the captain s own evi<leiic<‘, and the course set, he was within range of the light at Jo p.m., and expected then to pick it up. He proceeded at full speed for an hour, when he had failed to pick it up. Secondly, there was the matter of t’n? doubtful sounding. When he got a sounding indicating danger, merely because there was no material on the arming of the lead he did not accept it, and act immediately, by turning the ship, while he checked the sounding, notwithstanding that the chart showed a clear bottom at the point where he made the sounding. Mr Meredith replied that apparently iher. was no need for him to deal furl fit - with ihe question of the set. “You viil be very clever, if you get any expression of opinion from the s.-’," stated Mr Cutten. “ That does not bother us ut all. There are two points on which we require to be satisfied. The first is the action in continuing at full speed when the master had. failedto pick up the light when he expected it. TJhe second is th: t, when shown the necessity for immediate action before checking the sounding, he didn’t take immediate action, but proceeded with the cheek first. Mr Meredith stated he would not go further with the evidence as to the set. and 1.. was granted an hour’s ad;:oui (■ i.u iii to consult with his client cn th-- ! <>:..! mentioned by the court. On th*.- lusumption of tiie Wiltshire Inquiry, Meredith stated that ho Had con.- ii ; i. d ('aptain Hayward, who had not been present earlier in the morning, and was under medical attention. Hayward had stated lie was satisfied to let the matter stand : t the issues indicated by Mr Cutten, S.M. ( Olinsel said that he would not call fun mor<- e\id«-nr<*, and he inquired if the < oiirt desired anyone to be put in the witness box. Mr Cutten: We have no one we want to hear. Mr Mays stated his appreciation of the clearness of the mrnner in which the Court had reduced the issue, because it was the finding of a clearly defined cause that made such inquiries as these of value to the maritime world. On the humanitarian aspect of the inquiry, he wished to say that he appreciated that to a man at Hayward’s age who had reached the apex of his career, no greater punishment could be suffered than the loss of his ship and nearly.the loss of ninny lives. Mr Meredith then proceeded with his address to the Court on the evidence. After Counsel addressed the Court, the following finding was delivered: “The cause of the casualty was that the xessel struck the rocks on that portion of the southeast of the Great Barrier Island to the northward of Rosalie Bay. W'e are of opinion that the casualty was due to two errors of judgment of the master. Had the ship made the course set, and travelled at the speed estimated by the Master, the ship would, according to the Master’s own evidence, be within range of Cuvier Light at 10 p.m. The light was not picked up. We think that for the ship to continue at full speed for an hour after this time, while unable to pick up the light, was an error of judgment. The fact that the ship was unable to pick up the light could only have two explanations, either that the visibility was not good, ior that the ship was not in the position expected. It is the duty of a master, in such circumstances, to give due weight, not merely to the question of visibility, but to the possibility that this ship is not in the position, expected, and to proceed with caution. Further, at the end of an hour a sounding was taken, which indicated danger, and the necessity for immediate action. The failure to accept the notification of danger that the sounding implied, and to act accordingly, because the arming of the lead brought up nothing indicating the nature of the bottom, was a grave error of judgment. The casualty might have been avoided by proceeding with greater caution when unable to pick up Cuvier Light, ns expected, and later, by acting immediately upon the indications of danger given by a sounding taken about 20 minutes before the vessel struck. We have found the Master made two errors of judgment,, one very grave error. There is no reason to deal with the master’s certificate. It will be returned to him, but he will be ordered to pay the costs of the enquiry.” Mr Cutten added that th-e Court would like to express its appreciation of the conduct of the Master and the officers, who did their very best after the ship was stranded, and showed a very excellent example to the men. Ho further made reference to the very great work of the rescuers.