TO-DAY'S PROCEEDINGS,

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 12816, 16 July 1912, Page 5

TO-DAY'S PROCEEDINGS,

The Court resumed at 11 a.m. today. Mr Myers, who appeared on behalf of Captain Hart, proceeded to address the Court. "I desire to express, on behalf of Captain Hart and the officers, their sincere appreciation of the fairness with which they have been treated from the time this disaster happened," he remarked, "both m connection with the preliminary investigation with this inquiry by the Collector of Customs, and by counsel represented at this Court. They have been treated with consideration and with fairness that 1 think exteemely proper. There are cases, no doubt, when it is justifiable on the part of the Marine Department to actopt quite a different attitude, and it is only proper, where there is reason to think tihere has been impropriety or carelessness on the part of a ship's officers or there is concealment* regarding the truth. -Now there is no reason for any suggestion that there has been suppression or concealment of the truth by Captain Hart or any of those persons, aboard the ship Avho have been examined before this Court. On the contrary, I suggest that there has been an apparent desire to give the Court every circumstance and detail truthfully and honestly. "No doubt the casualty is a great misfortune — a great' misfortune for all concerned. It is true that whether the ship comes off or not, the loss to the: owners will be considerable, and probably also the loss to others, but the: greatest loss really is to the unfortunate master of the vessel. Though, he may not feel any pecuniary loss, the heartbreaking feeling that must come over him with the oss that has happened. I am sure must be apparent and realiseu by members of this Court. "Putting that aspect aside for the moment," continued counsel, he felt bound" to say there was no suggestion against the port or the officers of tlu port. They had been mett by every consideration, and so far as the port was concerned they had heard the evidence of the captain that it was a good anchorage. The captain was not complaining of the anchorage, and the port was to be congratulated that the piesent casualty was the first casualty of anything like as serious importance that had happened m the district. He considered the evidence showed that under the circumstances that existed the disaster might have happened m any of their best conducted ports. In making that point out, he submitted to the Court that Captain Hart was entitled to go out of this inquiry without the slightest stain on his character and reputation as a shipmaster. "There were certain general propositions," added Mr Myers, "that had always to be borne •m mind m an inquiry of this kind. In the first, place tne days of shipmasters casting away their ships for pleasure or profit had gone, and fortunately there was rarely now such a suggestion of anything of the sort happening. Secondly there was the proposition of the captain leaving his duty to be performed by others, which amounted to negligence. It was right and proper m such instances that a captain should be relieved for the future .of the keeping of life and property of others. Those were the two general propositions which ho trusted he might dismiss once and for all, because it could not be suggested there was any room for any such suggestion m the present case. That being so, he would address the Court upon two other points he desired to : direct attention to. If the accident happened through neglect on" the part of the officers to exercise that amount of care that was exercised by all shipmasters of ordinary skill and prudence, then it was an error of judgment. The other and the last proposition that he would discuss later was that notwithstanding the exercise of care and prudence, an accident happened that could not be foreseen by ordinary skill, and m such case the- master was m no way responsible. They knew, and all had experienced m their respective professions and ordinary circumstances of life, that accidents would happen, no matter how they tried to avoid them. His suggestion was that the present case came under the second proposition ; that the accident happened despite the exercise of reasonable care and prudence on the part of the'captain, and that it happened through a sudden* and violent squall arising that could riot reasonably have been- foreseen." Referring to the profession of a shipmaster, Mr Myers declared it was just as difficult to prepare for as any other profession. It was more arduous than any other profession. The duties were more arduous, and tliose practising it were not so Well paid as members of other professions. It was the most responsible profession, and it was the only profession he knew of m which a mistake or» error of judgment might ruin a long and honorable career. Ihe reason why he Was emphasising this point to the Court was that a Nautical Court should not find the cause of the accident due to an error of judgment on the part of the ship's officers, where the circumstances were just as consistent to satisfy the theory that the accident was the result of pure misadventure. In considering the question as to whether the* 1 captain had committed an error of judgement, lie submitted that very weighty consideration should be given to the fact that Captain Hart is, and was known to be> a cla-reful shipmaster. He submitted that weighty consideration must be given to his past career, because a man who for over twenty years had been a careful, prudent, cautious shipmaster did not m a moment throw by his caution and prudence. Then again, he submitted it was impossible to reproduce now the conditions of that night, and it was all very well to discuss matters of tin's kind arid be wise after the event. It was all very well for people to say he should have gone out to sea, but what would they have done under the circumstances, and he submitted the Court should not give weight to the fact that the accident had liappened. There was not the slightest reason to suggest that had the captain thought there was the slightest risk m lying there he would have remained five minutes. Had he consulted his own personal comfort his course would have been to have put the vessel's head to sea and gone to rest. The evidence, he submitted, showed conclusively that at 11 o'clock that night there came a squall of hm-ricane violence — a squall that no reasonable man, having regard to the general m« dictations of the weather, could reasonably have expected. If the Court came to that conclusion, then he submitted it was quite plain that the result of tho investigation must be that this accident was the result of a pure accident and misadventure and that no one on board was to blame. He did not think it necessary to trouble^ the Court with any of the facts as brought out m evidence, except to point out that the ship was anchored at the best anchorage m Gisborne, and that m the opinion of the harbormaster, from personal experience, it was good enough to hang on m any weather. Notwithstanding that, Captain Hart was watching and had Ins vessel prepared so that, if necessary, he ■might go out- to sea. Counsel emphasised tli© fact ftiat only that morning the ;Maui, after waiting a favorable forecast, had been despatched to Auckland, (and it was quite clear that at 8 o'clock that night there was no reason what•ever for Captain Hart to leave his anchorage. Turning to the evidence of the harbormaster, he said no one was better able to express an opinion than Captain .Gumming , who affirmed that the coniditions were the same right up to 10 jp'clock. His evidence quite confirmed fthe evidence of the officers of the ship pn that pojnt. Emphasising the cauiion the captain displayed, he referred Sbo the orders that had been given to the officers on watch by Captain Hart when he left the bridge at 10.30. He was called and returned to the bridge imnediately and even then he did not see k-ny reason for going out to sea, but he made up his mind to leave the anchorage. It was oxcessivo caution on his part. There was comparatively no sea,

the glass was rising, and the sky was becoming clear, so there was every illdi- 1 cation that the we»ather conditions were ' going to improve. There were no indications for the extraordinary squall that subsequently came soon after 11 o'clock It was a very different squall m character and violence from any other squalls that preceded it, and m a moment the whole mischief was done. There had been some discussion as to what had happened to the starboard anchor, and he had already explained the efforts that had been made to ascertain really what had happened. At this stage Mr Myers was handed a note from Captain Taylor, representing the London Salvage Association, which stated that as a result of further, investigation this morning the diyer stated that both anchors were there, and that they were both intact as far as he could see. t Mr Barton : If that is so, then she must have dragged her anchor. Proceeding, Mr Myers added that such a thing might have happened m any harbor- 1 -^ Wellington for instance. . Mr Barton : Captain Chrisp it. has liappened there. Continuing, Mr Myers said what really had happened- was that a squall had struck the yessel, she had-, broken her .shear*- the anchor was ripped out and the whole damage was done. He "did not think he could assist the Court much, further at tjhat .stage. He"would> however, submit " certain evidence that would strengthen his contention that the finding of' the Court must be that the casualty was the result of a pure misadventure. ■ . Captain John "Henry Hawkes, masterof the Union S.S. Co.'s tender Tuatea, stated that he had had 10 years" ex-: perience at this port. Mr Myers : Do you remember Sunday, June 23rd?— Quite well. Were you about the wharf that day and evening? — Yes. Until about what time? — Until about 9.30 p.m. What were you doing down there m the evening? — We were expecting the Mokoia, and I was there attending to the passengers. Passengers were about the wharf? — Yes; they began to assemble from 8 o'clock. There were men, women and children. What time was the Mokoia due? — According to the time she passed the East Cape she was expected about 9. Did you ascertain at 9 or soon after whether the boat had bean sighted from Tuahine?— There was m, sign of a boat from Tuahine at 9 o'clock. Did you telephone the lighthousekeeper? — I was m frequent touch with. Capt. Ware. the Mokoia was not sighted what did you decide to do? — We decided to put the launch off until 6 the next m!orning. Mr Barton : What time did you decide that?— At 9 o'clock. Continuing, witness said m ordinary weather the boat could be sighted 15 miles off, but on a night like the 23rd June a boat would be almost abreast before being sighted. If she was abreast of Tuahine at 9 o'clock they would expect her up to the anchorage &t 10. Had tme- Mokoia been sighted at 9 o'clock she would have been tendered that night. Mr Barton: You did not think the weather was too bad to prevent you from doing that? — No. As there was no sign of the boat at 9 o'clock they had to consider the passengers. Mr Myers : Was that the reason why the launch was put off till next morning? — Yes, that was the only reason. And you went home, I suppose? — Yes I left the wharf at about 9.30. Was there any sea at that time to speak of? — Comparatively little. And what about the wind? — The wind was moderate, but there were strong gusts at times. Mr Barton: In what direction? — S.W. and S. Mr Myers: Not S.E.?— No. When did you come out again? — I left the house at 1 a.m. on the Monday morning and came to the slip, arriving there about 1.15. What was the weather like then? — There was considerable sea at that time. Much more than at 9.30? — Decidedly more. , What about the wind? — The wind was very strong. Mr. Barton: From what directi6n? — Varying from S. to S.W. Mr Myers : How would you compare the wind at 9.30 and what it was at 1.15? — There was a considerable difference m the force of wind. Then the weather conditions had very much altered? — Very much. Was there anything up to 9.30 to compel a ship to go out? — Up to that time a ship would be justified m lying at anchor. . . Mr Nolan : At the time when you left the wharf at 9.30 what .were the general indications of the weather?— l considered the conditions would improve by 6 o'clock next morning. That was your conclusion when you left the wharf?— Yes. Mr Myers said it was undesirable to bring the diver away from the ship, but Captain Taylor was present and he could state what the diver found. He was quite prepared to accept Captain Taylor's statement. Mr Nolan said he had no objection to Captain Taylor giving hearsay evidence. Captain Taylor said he was a salvage officer, his residence being m Britain. He was m Gisborne acting on behalf of the London Salvage Association. Mr Myers : You have been endeavoring by sending divers down to assist Captain Hart m trying to locate the anchors ? — Yes. On July 13 he received the following report: ''Diver's report. — I, Frank Walters, diver, did at the request of the salvage officers on board the s.s. Star of Canada this day endeavor to locate the above steamer's anchors, and I now report : I went along from the hawse pipe to the starboard anchor, along the chain right to the anchor, and saw the shackle at the end of the shank and the chain shackled on. Then I followed from the port hawse pipe and followed the port chain along, but it is buried m the broken papa rock, broken by the ship ; this broken stuff extends for about 25 or 30 feet. Th.c starboard chain is buried m the same kind of. stuff, but when the starboard chain gets through the soft stuff the chain lies right on top of the hard rock, right out to the anchor. I dug ; out about half way, through the broken rock covering the port chain, but darkness coming on I could not finish, but m my opinion tho port anchor is good, as the chain runs nearly parallel with the other one as far as I dug out, and that I i cached all outside the broken stuff .and I could only find the starboard chain. — Declared before me this 14th day of July, 1912, —(Signed) R. S. Taylor." •Did you this morning send the diver down again ?— Yes. Was that m consequence, or partly m consequence, of the expression of the Court— the desire to locate the anchors if possible? — Yes. Wijl you tell us shortly what the diver found this morning ?— Shortly , he has found both anchors, and they are buoyed. • ■ Do you know whether he was able to ascertain if the anchors are intact? — They are intact as far as a man can feel or see,. Mr Barton : A diver can see can he not?— Oh, yes m that depth. Mr' Nolan : Could you say whether there are two anchors? — The anchors were traced from the hawse pipes. Mv Barton: Would it be possible for a diver to see if the flukes were intact? — It would bo impossible to see the flukes if they were holding. Mr Myers said they were indebted to Captain Taylor for the trouble he had gone to m the matter. Mr Barton said the Court desired -to express its thanks for the trouble he had taken m the matter of trying to locate, the anchors. Captain A. Martin, master of the Gisborne Harbor Board's launch, stated that on June 23 he was on the wharf at 5 p.m., and again at 8.45 p.m., being there to attend the Tuatea, but she did not go out; He y irfade occasional visits to the signalling station, finally leaving the wharf shortly after 10.30. Mr Myers: Had youi immediately before that been to the signalling station ? — Yes..

Did you have the bearings of the Star of Canada? — Yes, from the time she was anchored.

Did you notice how she was bearing i the last occasion you were at the flag--1 staff at 10.30? — Her position had not altered. Was she riding easily and quietly? — Yes, I could see that from her lights. There were squalls up till 10.30? — Yes. How would you describe them? — An ordinary, rough winter's night; nothing alarming about them. How would you describe the sea? — It was choppy, buit had no drift. Mr Barton: Was it a heavy sea? — No ; there was no sea or swell from the ocean. Mr Myers : Up to 10.30 did you see anything m the weather conditions to prevent a vessel from remaining at anchor where the Star of Canada was? — Nothing whatever. Have you seen vessels lying at the same anchorage m worse weather? — Much worse and m a worse sea. Mr Barton : Were there any other vessels anchored m the bay then? — No. Mr Myers : When did you visit the wharf again? — At 6 o'clock next morning. In reply to Mr Nolan, witness said at 10.45 there was an occasional clearance of the sky to the south-west, as if the weather was going to clear. Mr Nolan : What do you mean by that? — Sometimes there would be signs m the south-west of the weather breaking up, when a squall would suddenly come from the south. Was there anything to lead you to believe that the weauier would become more severe m a short space of time? — Nothing whatever. Does that mean that the weather was moderating generally, and that there was no appearance of it increasing? — \ There was no appearance of the weather j increasing. Captain J. B. Rainey, marine super- . intendent m New Zealand for the Tyser Line, Ltd., stated that the Star of Canada was running under his company's auspices. j Mr Myers : You have known Captain ; Bart for some years? — Yes, I have been closely associated with him for eight i years. | Have you had opportunities of judg- j ing as to his qualifications as a ship- ' master?— Yes. " And what is your opinion as to his caution and prudence? — A most careful ■, seaman and navigator. Can you say that is his general reputation? — Yes, it is m our company. Would you personally have any doubt as to his ability to judge when to leave . an anchorage and under what conditions? — None whatever. At this stage (12.30) the Court adjourned till 2 p.m., as Captain Palmer, who was to be called as a witness by i Mr Myers, was, not m attendance. j Captain Palmer, master of Messrs Nelson Bros.' launch Hipi, stated that he had had experience m the port of Gisborne for 16 years. He remembered June 23. He had made arrangements : to do some work m connection with the , Star of Canada that night. At 11 1 o'clock they loaded a barge of meat at ' the works, with the intention of taking it out that night. He ordered steam ■ for 1 a.m., and would have been along- j side at 1.30. He was dovvn at the wharf from about 8.30 or 9 p.m. to 11. j At 11. o'clock there were rain squalls, and as they did not load meat m the i rain he then ordered that steam be still ! kept up till 1 a.m.. About 1 o'clock some very severe rain squalls came up. He did not decide not to go until some time later. About three-quarters of an hour later he sent word to the engineer that they would go out at 6 a.m. Mr Barton: Were you. not aware that at that time the Star of Canada was ashore?— No; I did hear of it, but I did not believe it. Mr Myers : What time did . you hear she was ashore? — A little after one. Do you remember anything particularly about 11 o'clock, anything particular about the weather? — Well, rain squalls from the southwardi came on more severely than previously. And what about the ..wind? — Well, it increased to between fiftyr.and sixty miles an hour. { N Mr Barton : How long did it last? — Well, up till half an hour. Mr Myers : That is your idea of it ? — Yes. . I think at a later stage you went out m the Hipi?— Yes, about 2.30. What was the sea like?— l found no difficulty m getting out. And what was it like' outside? — 'Well. I kept close alongside the reef, and there was a big sea running along there. Captain Chrisp: What was the direction of the sea? — Southerly, or to the west of southerly. It was not a south-east swell — No. Captain Post: During-- your experience with Nelson Bros, you nave tendered all their steamers?— Yes, and for several yearsi previously with the Gisborne Sheepfarmers' Company. Have you known ships to lie out there m weather like that?— Yes, certainly. We have had ships lying out there when we have had to stop working, and they have remained there all the time until the sea moderated. Mr Barton: And you have seen ships lying at anchor m worse weather than when the Star of Canada went ashore? — Yes. I might say that I had more difficulty in'' working the Star of India on Jtine 29 and July 2 than I expected to experience with the Star of Canada. We had to stop for a day while the ship waited for the swell to go down. Captain Post : And it came to you as a very great surprise when you heard the Star of Canada was ashore? — Yes, I would not believe it. Captain Chrisp : Was there any easting m the wind at 2>3o?— No. Mr Myers intimated that iihati-con-cluded his evidence, and Baid the snip's log and books were available for the Court if required. In reply to Mr Barton, Mr Nolan said he did not 'desire to call any further evidence. ' ■ Counsel did not address the Cx>nrt, stating that the facts were all before the Court. , . . . M The Court reserved its decision until 2.30 p.m. to-morrow. • .-