RECENT STRANDING OF THE EASBY.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 3936, 28 September 1874, Page 2

RECENT STRANDING OF THE EASBY.

Nautical Assessor, held an enquiry.. : on Saturday, at the EesidenfeMagistrate'*Court House.iinto the circumstances attending the stranding of tbe s.s. Eeaby off VTaipapajpa,'Point on; the> 17th vast. authorities, who had instituted the investigation, and Mr: Smith for Captain Shand, of the Easbj-. WrPathgate;asked,jfrthereswas anyprelimfnary^objecUon, to which-Mr Smith-repUed-ia the

■-^Mr^Haggittr This case comes ljfefofe?your Worshipsupoa.an application/of the CoUectoroE Customs, or rather, th:e;:principal^6fficerotai» Enquiry into Wrecks Act. 1869; the object belng.to ascertain the circumstances by which the steamship Easby, of whicli Capt. Sha& wZ ma£ ter^as^toandedon-tlie-coaslhof-NewZealand on the 17th Sept .AUthe preUminaryrequir^ ments of the Act have-been compUed-withV'afia held by Mr Hatkworth; principal officer of Cos. to*} s > tt«deJ' the third<section of,the,-Act, upon, whzch he felfc it his duty to have a formal^ quiry, as.provided.for-by.tKe Sth-secfcion; of tha - Act. r -The-9th-section-provides that -in sucfe-a case: as that^whereia,;fprelfminary enquiryihaa W^Ba^» a, COP7 Pl'tte report .or statement of the case should be serveduponairofltcers oTffie vessel before the' commencement- of Jare'-mvesgr gation. That has-been done, and I. have a declaration here made'bjr the constable; proving e^}9^i9liMch,^;ngtice upon the master, the first and second officers, and the engineer* ■Mr Bathgate •^fllnderftandtho facts wlifc&. Sf-^^ andcbnteinea In the appUcatioS. are, that the steamer touched'uponthd land oS Waipapapa Poiat, the-engines were reversed, the jvessel-gpt : .off, and; pursuedtaer voyage to Por6 Onalmers, where she arrived in; safety where she has since examined; ant' it iwas-foua* there was no damage. Are these;the:factsitjfc,_MrHag^tt: TKa^;l^m not aware of. Yonr Worship-knowß more about-it than I do. I did not,kno.w.th.erehad;been : an examination yet. Mr Bathgate: Whether she has been examiaed °^ PP^yott are aware .that the vessel touched upon the ground, andparsued her vbyagd without hindrance td-Port.Chalmers. °

Mr Haggitt: That is so. .'., k, V. M.F;^thgate:~Assuming, fora momentrtlie !I?^.^|^ hfe,do: you^^thinkf^^thatsucli-facts cooie rS 1 t*?,»™t section 32 ? l It is not the word itfstraiiaea;'' bat '.TwHenever W ship.hasbeen on fire, or-Js'lbst,/stranded," .&&? :; Mr^gMr^That isinoirtheiection by^whidfc your Worships ai;e r :asked,to: act If you: will look at..the. latter part of the section to whidk you refer,;you;wm'ifirid that thaViVwhat pxOs the principal officer of Gusfo'msaii motion. Vote are asked to act upon an application o f the prin.cipal officer of Customs: . .:■ •_.;.: Mx-^thgate' said the' coinplaintwas tn^t^tfie vessel was stranded npoa the coast of New/iZealaad. The Court must inquire upoasome specific .charge. ;/!<'.■!-■-''..'• ii'iVj;.^,!'' 1 "■■*' =rv .:■ ■* ,-■■-(. o nMt Ha^gitfc: Ohßofy^Woj6hi P ;;nofri£ec4. sanly at all:- ■ I«have already'endeavoui^ to pomt out to you thatit is the-first' subisectioa that .setsf the.Kpribcipal/o'fficef-/6f Customs ia i»otiqnr.aad he sets thisi.Court in. motion under *be prpvisioii^of the"Bfch sectiqmV If. the Calicotor deems it necessary that;an!inquiry should'tie held, the Court are bound to hear the case. Mr Bathgate: Exactly'so. Suppose the facfat proyefl do not amount jtq.a.charge under Has •Act? *"*'. i -;.Vi".ii. <rij..vC A.5.'...-i).;. .A»i..-"?. ;■•-. Soa'jrisrerh^w1 your; WbrsK» can say atthis^e.oftbQproceedingff whether it does so or not. '•.?••..:;.■■-: .;f . v Vr :■. r ■■'■.'-.: ■■■

■■■_, Mr Batbgate:- I.was.onlyjassuming the fact. I did not say it was so. Assuming that tae> snip touched and. got"T>ff. again—we are nofe justified in saving that such'isfthe. 'case —is tfiere any reason fonany > enquiry, under the Inquiry intorWrecks Act?' It'is not like "the Surat, as -there tfie-vessel-remained stranded... ;■ _; Mr Haggitt: Most undoubtedly. I apprehend that if a ship touches she strands. So long as she touches the ground,-if. only fora second she stranded—it dpes^not^rnatter how long, she remains on it. ■(^/>Xi:;:v:>v l; Mr Bathgate: 3l:"ypuja6ticej 2 the 16th section contemplates that firat damage must be proved. Loss; abandonment,' seriousdamage 'i>&~ an v- snip, or loss of life:

Mr Haggitt: That is-what you have to decide on.before you can. takeaway acertificate. "---Mr'-Bathgate v: 3 O'ri Before i you!can"tepmnaMi spmething.must begroved. We have no jtuas^ "idictton'uhle^s'yotiiprbwa.;'-<:i:'-'i'''';-;;'':" a<- jjjt Mr Haggitt:.l don't taow at .the present tune what f shall prove. •-■•:-- i;.^ ■'■! i>-■•->•-'-Mr Bathgate: Well, jf you do not know whafe you shall prove, we cannot proceed. . > Mr; Smith that had ; a right to call'upon Mr"Haggitt to state' "what he' "intended _io prove.--; ; When-asked r by.His r^orsbip^yruafc preliminary objection he had to'tak'e^ situated as he was, appearinffon behalf of; accusedi'he-said he had none, because the report of the Chief Officer of Customs averred that such aa act was done by his client, which^raised the presumption, that he was brought within the jurisdiction which their .Worships were ..led^ to., exercise, viz.* that through' sbihe' act of: his!''tlie vessel hai sti-anded. The wording of the chief officer's re-port-was not-sufficient,. _but. taking it .to.mean, that ,the vessel; was; in-the situation cqntemplatedl by the 3rd section^of.the, Enquiry" into Wrecks Act, as the captain ;didiao't'shrink from enquiry into his conduct, he (Mf Smith) raised no preKminary objectibnVib'ut relied upon the "Collector's report, reserving.to'Hmself.the.rightofisnowing after the case, was goue into that the necessary ■ ingredients did/not exist.; After, this preliminary conversation,-:he;thought it hi? duty to.call upon, his learned friend to state specifically j.whafc charge he intended to establish against the captain and dffinersi-because'ifithere.was no distincfc charge clearly their "Worships wouldrhave no" jurisdiction. . ..„.

..• Sir Haggitt: My, learned, friend ■, is entirely under a misapprehension';''there is no "charge against th'e'captain,' .7/ .Mr;. Smith: Then I should like to know whafe your "Worships are sitting-there for. Surely yao. are not sitting .here, upon .a roving .enquiry..... Mr Haggtttattempted ah!explanation. "■ ;"' Mr Smith : Tarn in possession, and hare the right to address: their; Worships. ;.: ;-/v ■'. ■ - •; ; Mr Haggitt .^/But you,are improperly in possession. -■•'■• -• ■••-•-...■. . ,

Air Smith: I have risen to speak to a 1 point of law, and intend to exercise that right until stopped by the Bench, Your Worships constitute a_ Court, the proper function of which is, I. take it, to enquire into some specific charge. The gentleman whom I represent here—the captain of the Easby—is styled " the accused." : - Mr Haggitt: Who styles him ? 1 Mr Smith: One of your Worships. This enquiry, mayjresult in most serious consequences to the captain and one or more of bisbfifcersv and I have therefore on his behalf the right to ask my learned friend who conducts the: enquiry on behalf of the "Government as represented by the Customs, what is the correct charge intended to be brought against the captain and his officers ? Your Worship remarked just now that the charge'was sufficiently indicated by the report of Mr Hackwortn," but E submit it is not so. It does not clearly appear that the vessel is hi the situation it is required to be by the said section of the Act—that the vessel is stranded at the present moment. In. fact, it shows in the past tense, that she "has been" stranded.. . .■•.':.

Mr Bivthgate: Mr Haggitt is right in what Ec says. . There may be an accusation the result of: that enquiry, and power is given by the statute to make further enquiry, and all concerned may be rbade to give evidence, and then see who is responsible for it ■

Mr Smith : Responsible for what your "Worship? ■

Afr Bathgate : It must be an enquiry relative to the consequence?of tins stranding. Mr Hackworth's report sufficiently indicates that by the negligence of the captain at all events, it says broadly, this vessel stranded off Waipapapa. Point, and the cause of the stranding, so far as at present gone into, unknown. Assuming, merely to save time, that there had-bran no actual stranding at this n omenfc ; Uiat tie vessel

.joifter touching the ground, proceeded.on her voyage and reached Port Chalmers in safety ; assuming these facts had been: proved, was that strand- •- ing in terms of the section ?

- -;. Mr Smith : I submit I have a right to ask Mr ■ Haggitt to state specifically what charge is being . laid against the captain. Mr Haggitt: There is no charge at all. That construction ot your Worship of the sub-section three is the most absurd and ridiculous imaginable to put upon it. According to your ¥oi • ship, if the vessel had been materially damaged and repaired no enquiry could be held. Mr Bathgate: There is what I consider the * policy of the law—the policy of the law is to protect the public. While the injury cannot "be so great, it may he sufficient to cause the cap- . tain's certificate to be' suspended to justify the ; p\iblic, while it may be ''quite sufficient for the . owners of the vessel to dismiss him. I draw a ■clear distinction; for if a ship touches land she is undoubtedly in peril. ■ Mr Haggitt: The public are not injured by the vessel touching ground.

' Mr Bathgate: Oh, yes; it becomes a quasi•crime, and the public interest requires that the ■certificate be taken away from the captain or from his officers. But tins argument is to a certain extent irregular, because it is assuming a state of facts which must be proved. Mr Haggitt again referred to his Worship's mis-interpretation of the Act, after which evidence was taken. :

Captain Shand, master mariner, handed in his -certificate, No. 28,<>75. He had been commander -of the Easby since January,. 1574. - She left Syd•ney on September; 9th with, a crew numbering "28, heing bound for Dunedin, the mates and •engineers holding certificates of competency, and ■was supplied with all necessary charts, com•passes, &c; She was last swung in March last, -and had on this occasion a cargo of 700 tons, and bo'ftts sufficient for sfll: on board. The •usunl formal questions regarding the condition of -the ship's gear, &c, were all answered satisfactorily. The ship touched about two or three miles oil Waiapapapa Point on September 17th, 'the buoys, &c., near by being marked on the -chart, and the chief officer in command, and she was steering by land, her head being swung to the southward. The compasses were last ad . justed when the vessel was about eight miles off the land near Stewart Island. Before striking Dog Island was the last' landmark. The compasses deviated through . their approaching so near the land. He generally steered by the land, even at night, the compasses' being used only for steadying "the vessel. He came out of his cabin two ; oi\ three minutes before the vessel struck, and,seeing they were too close to the land, gave orders to the man at the •wheel to put the helma-port to keep the vessel's head off tho land.- -Before-that, he had given the second mate instructions as to how uear the land he was to go, which; he would be expected .to repeat to' the first mate. The instructions ■were to. give the land, a wide berth xintil Dog Island light had been: passed. Himself and the two mates had-vheen on this coast.twice before. The ship was going at the rate of seven knots an •hour when she touched, and continued an her course until, after the. engines were reversed. There were five or seven fathoms of water round the ship at this time. The.pumps were sounded every half hour, the report being that she. was making no water, and she proceeded safely on her voyage to Port Chalmers. . . i '. •Mr Haggit: Now, can you. tell me what you was doing in your cabin 'during the two hours you were not on deck?. ~..„,.

Witness could not state exactly. He believed he was reading and smoking; ... By Mr Smith : There jvas a window in the cabin, which was on deck, which looked on to the ;Whe«.l. :;..-, . .. , " . , -. .

Mr'Kaggitt: Will'your Worship hear any otherevidence to-day? , , . Mr Bathgate : The Bench don't think it necessary to go any further. '."; ; Mr Haggitt: You must go on; you have not heard anything yet. : ■• > Mr Bathgate: I would like to hear the evidence of the Government Surveyor,-. if he is in attendance;. ,: ~ ■•-.■ ■ .•-••.--..■ r.. ■

Mi; Smith,:,lfc appears to me to be an enquiry about nothing. Mr Haggitt': I entirely disagree with my learned friend. I'think gross negligence has been shown:. . : :: .

Mr Bathgate said the Court were of opinion that, unless it was-proved damage, had been ■•■-done,'-'they could not proceed ;with the case tinder the Enquiry into -Wrecks Act. Other procedure might he taken; proceedings might - be laid under the Merchant Shipping Act, to . enquire into the conduct of the captain. ■■ There •was no wreck, and appeared to he no damage; 'hence they would like to hear .the evidence of the Surveyor, to see whether there was really • any damage. - .'■;'■ . ; :..'. . , ; Thomas Burt; engineer by trade, was then Called and said he was employed, by' Government as Surveyor and Inspector -of; Steamers. He inspected the steamer Easby, lying at Port Chalmers, on the previous day. The whole of the damage was amidships. -When he inspected the --.vessel, three.monthsago/itwas sound. :: ..:• i Cross-examinedrlt would cost £15 to repair r: the vesseL " He did not. consider her '■■ materially damaged. . Touching gtound -or going over "a reef would cause such damage. ; • Mr Bathgate: Do you wish the enquiry to go on?

MrHaggittrOhyes. I wish to;call tlie diver The enquiry was adjourned until Monday. :