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—— ESTABLISHED 1878. s om — VOL. XXIV, No. 22. CLEVELAND -- MAY 30, 1901 -- CHICAGO. Ez i E er $2.00 Per Year. 5c. Single Copy LAKE CaRRterRs’ ASSOCIATION: To consider and take action upon all general questions relating to the navigation and carrying business of the Great Lakes, maintain necessary shipping offices and in general to protect the common interests of Lake Car- riers, and to improve the character of the service rendered to the public. PRESIDENT. A. B. WoLvIN, Duluth, 1ST VICE-PRESIDENT. Capr. J. G. KEITH, Chicago. SECRETARY. CHARLES H. KEEP, Buffalo, TREASURER. GEORGE P. McKay, Cleveland. COUNSEL. HARVEY D. GOULDER, Cleveland. EXECUTIVE AND FINANCE COMMITTEE. JAMES CORRIGAN, Chairman, Cleveland. COMMITTEE ON LEGISLATION. G1sson lL. DouGLas, Chairman, Buffalo. COMMITTEE ON AIDS TO NAVIGATION. GEORGE P, McKay, Chairman, Cleveland. RESTORATION OF AN ENGINEERS’ CANCELLED LICENSE. APPEAL TO THE SUPERVISING INSPECTOR—DECISION OF LOCAL, INSPECTORS MODIFIED—A THREE MONTHS’ SUSPENSION IN PLACE OF A TOTAL REVOCA- TION OF LICENSE. STEAMBOAT INSPECTION SERVICE, OFFICE OF SUPERVISING-INSPECTOR FIRST DISTRICT, PoRT OF SAN FRANCISCO, CAL., May 13th, 1901. In the appeals (two) of P. H. Herlihy, April r9th, 1901, to the Supervising Inspector of the First District, from the decision of the local board for the District of San Francisco, - which Board on March 22, 1901, revoked the chief engineer’s license of the appellant for inattention, and neglect of duty, which consisted mainly of being absent from his post on the working platform in the engine room, while serving as chief engineer of the steamship City of Rio de Janeiro, as it ap- pears from his own testimony, while entering this harbor February 22nd, 1901, during a dense fog, when that vessel struck on the reef near Fort Point, at 5:25 a. m. on that day, while going at half speed, about eight and one-half knots per hour, there about three knots over the bottom against a five or six knot ebb tide, rupturing her bottom or bilge plates on the starboard side to such an extent as to cause her forward holds to fill with water to a depth of about twenty- two feet in afew minutes. It is doubtful if any hull plates were ruptured as far aft as the boiler or engine compart- ments. Nevertheless the water soon obtained mastery there, driving the engineer and firemen from their stations. It is not unlikely that that water came through the open door in the bulkhead forward of the boiier room, dividing it from the bunkers, One hundred and twenty-seven of the two hundred and five people on board of the City of Rio de Janeiro lost their lives by that disaster, among whom were the master, Cap- tain Ward, her chief officer, and all her assistant engineers, the only surviving officers being the second and third mates and the appellant. As much public interest has centered in the case of the ap- pellant, I have given same long and careful consideration, and noted the argumentsin his behalf in the brief filed by his attorney, H. W. Hutton, Esq. I desire to note in pass- ing that he was convicted by the local board upon his own testimony given before said board during its enquiry as to the cause of the loss of the aforesaid steamship, he contend- ing that said Board had no authority to revoke his license without giving hima trial. The department has since de- cided adversely to his views, as it did in similar cases before. On March 28th, 1901, he appeared before said Board and demanded from it a duplicate of his license which was lost with the ship. That board refused his demand and referred the matter to me. I informed him that the local board was, under the circumstances, justified in their refusal. At the same time I informed the appellant that he would be heard by me any time on appeal from the decision of the local board, as provided for in section 4452 U. S. R. S. The appellant again on April 5th, 1901, made a formal demand on the aforesaid local board for a certificate of his lost or destroyed license, which was refused him, On the same day he commenced an action in the U. S. Circuit Court to compel the local board to issue him a duplicate of his lost license, and at the same time asked that he be awarded damages in the sum of more than two thousand dollars. On April 15th that case was heard by Judge Morrow, Edward J. Banning, Esq., assistant U. S. attorney, appear- ing for the local board, H. W. Hutton, Esq., appearing for the appellant. I understand Judge Morrow decided that the appellant should present his case to the U. S. Supervising Inspector of Steam Vessels, to whom Herlihy appealed as above stated on April 19, Igor. The hearing of the case by the Supervising Inspector was by request of Attorney Hutton set for April 29th; the appel- lant then appeared and declined to submit the testimony taken before the local board as a part of the evidence in his case, and asked for a new trial and called several witnesses who testified as to his good character and ability as a chief engineer. He produced no evidence justifying his absence from the working platform of the engine room while the ship was entering port. Superintendent Hawxhurst, of the Pacific Mail S. S. Co., one of his witnesses, testified that it was the duty of the appellant to have been down in the en- gine room on that occasion. Fox Sing, the leading Chinaman on watch in the fireroom at the time of the disaster, testified that there were one hun- dred and forty pounds pressure of steam on the boilers be- fore starting the engines, and that Second Assistant Engineer Brady, in charge of the watch, ordered one hundred and fifty pounds of steam, which pressure was maintained through- out until the ship struck the reef. It appears from the testimony that the City of Rio de Jan- eiro anchored on February 21st, 1901, at about 5:40 p. m., during a fog inside the San Francisco bar, in thirteen fathoms or water, with forty-five fathoms of chain to the water, and lay there until 4:35 the next morning; the fog, which had continued until a little after four o’clock, lifted so as to ren- der visible from the ship the light on Point Bonita and the lights at the Cliff House, which bore respectively N. by E. and EB. by N. % N. magnetic, which placed her about one and one-eighth miles outside of a line drawn between said points and about three and three-eighths miles S. W. by W. from Fort Point Light. The pilot testified that at that time the tide was running ebb about three knots per hour. State Pilot Jordan was on deck, Capt. Ward reached the bridge a moment later, and gave orders to Second Officer Coghlan, in charge of the watch, to notify the engineer to get ready for going ahead. Mr. Coghlan proceeded -to the appellant’s room and knocked at the door; getting no re- sponse, he tried to openit, but found it locked. He then went down into the engine room and gave the captain’s order to Second Assistant Engineer Brady, in charge of the watch, who, about fifteen or twenty minutes later, gave notice that he was all ready. Orders were then given by the pilot to get the anchor and when considerable of the chain was hove in, the fog closed in again, and the pilot gave orders to stop heaving. Capt. Ward, who meantime had gone below, returned to the deck; and the fog, having just then lifted a little, the anchor was hove up and the ship proceeded under a slow bell a minute or two, long enough to get the anchor up clear of the fore- foot. Meantime the fog again closed in and Capt. Ward, as testified to by the pilot, said, ‘let her go.”” The signal was then given to go ahead at half speed; and the course given, as testified to by the pilot was ‘‘N. E. until we got abreast of Point Bonita and from there N. E. %4 N. a few minutes, — and then N. E. by N. and finally N. N. EB.’ The time of changing these courses varies with the time given by second officer Coghlan, who conveyed the pilot’s orders to the quartermaster at the wheel, and who testifiad positively as follows: “‘When we started up, the course was made N, E. by the compass; that would be on the deviation N. E. a small eighth E. approximately. A point N. E. was almost neutral. We have had westerly and easterly, but the last was easterly. That course was held on till 5:19, which was the time by the wheel-house clock when the first alteration of the course was made and at the time the order was given to starboard halfa point, making the course N. E. %N. This was almost im- mediately followed by N. E. by N. probably with one minute intermission. This was again followed by starboard % point, and then hard-a-starboard, and then she struck;’’ at that moment Surgeon O’Neil noted the time to be 5:25 a. m. by his clock, which he set San Francisco time by Capt. Ward’s watch at noon the day before, at - which time the captain also gave the time to Mr. Brander, whose watch stopped after he went overboard at 5:38%. Mr. J. K. Carpenter testified before the local board that his watch, also set by the captain’s watch the day before, stopped at 5:37; so that it could not have been more than twelve or thirteen minutes from the time the ship struck until she disappeared beneath the waters and was carried out by the tide into possibly fifty fathoms of water; her resting place has not yet been located, (Continued in next issue.) OO SO Oe THE CANADIAN SHIPPING CASUALTIES ACT. This Act, which has been passed at the present session of the Dominion Parliament, for the purpose of settling the law regarding inquiries and investigations into shipping casual- ties, was drawn up after consulation between the Canadian Marine Department and the British Board of Trade, and assimilates the Canadian law to that of Great Britain. In the event of a casualty occurring in Canadian waters or near to the Canadian coast to any Canadian or British registered vessel, the principal officer of customs, or other officer specially delegated, shall make an investigation and report to the Minister of Marine. Upon such report the minister, if he deem a formal investigation is necessary, can appoint an officer, of the Government, a County Court Judge, a Judge of the Superior Court of Quebec, or a Stipendary Magistrate to be a commissioner for the holding of a court of inquiry; and such legal officer shall be assisted and advised on nau- tical points by one or more nautical or engineering officers, who shall be appointed for three years. The court cannot hold an investigation into any case already dealt with or into any case under investigation in the United Kingdom. The findings of the court shall be reported to the minister, and the certificate of any officer implicated shall have been issued by the British Board of Trade, or by any of the British posses- sions other than Canada, such certificate, together with a full report of the evidence and the findings of the court shall be forwarded to England or the Governor of such British pos- session. The Minister of Marine has power to order a rehear- ing of a case under certain conditions. 2 a a ee VESSELS from Copenhagen, entering or clearing in Eng- land during a voyage to the United States, are subject to tonnage due on entry at a port in the United States.