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JUNE 13, Igor. THE MARINE RECORD, CORRESPONDENCE. 4xg-We do not hold ourselves responsiblein any way for the views or opinions expressed by our correspondents. It is our desire that all sides of auy question affecting the interests or welfare of the lake ma- rine should be fairly represented in THE MaRINE RECORD. A USEFUL MEMORANDUM CASE. » WASHINGTON, D. C., June 11, 1901. To the Editor of the Marine Record: No mariner who reads this can be certain that in his foreign cruising he may not become the victim of some mistaken arrest, The foreign tribunal which tries him must do so with what international rules call fairness. One such re- quisite is his right to be present at all criminal proceedings against him. How this right was recéutly construed by the Court of Claims in the case of a sailor tried by naval court- martial, has, therefore, a double interest; and should be re- called when watching some hostile foreign proceedings, so as to take advantage of any misstep which the American consul or minister might not notice. The sailor sued for his pay. The Navy Department justi- fied depriving him of it by a certain ‘‘certificate’”’ and ‘‘re- cord,‘’ extracts from which read as follows: “Pursuant to sec. 882 R.S., I hereby certify that the an- nexed is a correct copy of the record of proceeding of the general courtmartial convened on the U. S. S. Texas, April I, 1897, in the case of Samuel A. Weirman, landsman, U. S. Navy. T. Roosevelt, Acting Secretary. Case of landsman Samuel A. Weirman, U. S. Navy, U.S. S. Texas, off Fortress Monroe, Va., Aoril 14, 1897. First day .. Apr. 14, 1897. The court met. Present . . mem- bers and judge-advocate. The accused . .. ap- peared before the court Second day, Apr. 15, 1897. The court met pursuant toadjournment. Present: All the members, the judge-advocate, the accused and his counsel. Third day, April 16, 1897. The court met pursuant to adjournment. Present: All the members and the judge- advocate. The records were read overand signed . . . April 17, 1897. The proceedings, findings and sentence of the general court-martial in the foregoing case of Samuel A. Weirman, landsman, U. S. Navy, are approved. Rear- Admiral, Commander-in-Chief.”’ It will be seen that the third day’s record betrayed claim- ant’s absence. The object of this session, (or its main ob- ject, without which it would not have been held,) was to prepare and complete that record, (or the smooth copy of the former, original, rough, temporary, record) which was to go before the Commander-in-Chief, and which was to be the record upon which the imprisonment of the accused for 18 months, his dishonorable discharge from the service (with its life-long effects) and his loss of $214 pay, solely de- pended. Without this record no judgment against him would have been approved. It was full of elaborate circum- stantial evidence, contained a map or diagram and was 32 type-written pages long. Unrevealed errors in copying and making it up might have determined the reviewing authori- ty to approve a sentence which he might otherwise have dis- approved. For the fleet’s admiral was not present at the trial, but depended on the record alone as his guide, as did also the Navy Department. No opportunity was given the claimant to examine the secondary, copied record, which went from the court-martial directly to the Commander.-in- Chief. The judge-advocate, who had an official pride in being a successful prosecutor, was present throughout the session. From a transaction of such vital importance the accused was absent, although the record does not allege that the session was a secret one, and although the sentence of the court had already been reached, with every vote or opinion leading up to it. (Art. 4o, Sec. 1624 R. S.) F.HOD I drafted the petition soas to have the decision upon it apply to all cases of absence and drew the attention of the Court of Claims to the Navy Department’s admission or rul- ing, that when a session of a court was held. “in conformity to order,’’the accused should be ‘‘introduced,’’and that even after sentence, the ascertainment of the correct record re- quired the prisoner’s presence, (Navy Reg. of 1896, art. 1811, 1862.) If the accused is being prosecuted behind closed doors by the judge-advocate, arguments or reading and making of record, it makes no difference whether that part of the trial is termed a secret session or the reverse. The name does not change what is being done. 120U.S. 49; 165 U.S. 179. The Court of Claims stated the question presented to it-as being thus: ‘‘The question therefore presented is, whether the absence of a prisoner or his counsel for one day during the sitting of a court-martial without request to be present, or objection by the court, sitting without the presence of the prisoner renders the sentence of the Court void.’’ Citing 86 Ky. 643, 146 U. S. 370, 18 Penn. St. 103, 55 N. 7. 31, it decided that the sentence was void where the charge ren- dered the prisorer liable to the punishment of death, or to the imprisonment allowed “‘in cases of felony. The opinion of the Court covers three pages and will be found in the next volume of its reports, to be issued next January. GEo. F. ORMsBy. rr THOSE LARGE FORE AND AFT SCHOONERS. BUFFALO, N. Y., June 12, Igor. To the Editor of the Marine Record. I have read with a good deal of interest the newspaper de- scription of the seven-masted steel schooner to be built on the eastern coast. Last fall the newspapers had a good deal to say of our exporting coal to Europe and other foreign ports. It strikes me that the large steel schooner with seven or more or less masts would solve the question of cheap transportation for our coal, for the methods of handling in the foreign ports areso slow that the steamers cannot afford to carry coal except at very high rates. Such a schooner as the one recently described will carry an immense cargo, and carry it very cheaply, and her expenses in port would be small, as she would carry not only a very much smaller crew than a steamer of the same capacity, but the wages per man would a'so be much less. As to the seaworthiness of such a vessel, there can be no question. Notwithstanding the prejudice of old sailors against fore-and aft schooners for loug voyages, the vessels encounter quite as bad weather on our coast as they do any- where in the world. One of the chief objections to the fore- and aft rig is the swaying of the gaffs in light weather with arollofaseaon. That could be overcome in a measure by giving the schooner bilge keels, which would not only to some extent prevent the rolling, but they. would make her much more weathery, and to give her intermediate keels, that is, keels between the center keel and the bilge keel, she would scarcely make any more leeway than a railroad train, and such a vessel as has been described, on long voyages might carry a steam launch for use in the calms and baffling light winds of the ‘‘horse’’ latitudes, as well as in the belt of equatorial calms. Iam of the opinion that she would make the passage from New York to San Francisco in less time than a square-rigged clipper, for she would not have to go so far to the eastward to clear the easternmost part of South America, Cape something,* the name of which I have for- gotten, but she would have her greatest advantage in work- GE &l ing to the westward to double Cape Horn in the westerly gales that prevail there. “PAUL Pry.” * Probably Cape St. Roque on the Brazil coast, in Lat. 5° 29/'N., Lo 35° 16’ W.; also Betiahdo Noronha. . To aN % . The newspaper description to which our esteemed cor- respondent refers is no doubt the following: ‘A schooner, the greatest in the world, built entirely of stee!, with seven masts, also of metal, steered and heated by steam and electrically lighted, having a gross tonnage as great as that df the ordinary battleship, will be built on the- Atlantic coast during the cuminy season. “B. B. Crowninshield, designer of the Independence, pre- pared the plans for this monster freight carrier, and the vessel will be cunstructed by a syndicate, at the head of which is Cipt. J. G. Crowley, of Taunton, Mass. The craft will cost when ready for sea about $250,0co, divided into sixty-fourths, and there are about twenty persons who have subscribed the sum necessary for her construction.” rr a SUN’S AMPLITUDES. The following approximate amplitudes of the Sun’s rising or setting will be given each week in this column during the sesson of navigation. A second bearing may be taken by compass at sunset, by reversing the east bearing given for the nearest latitude, as the change in declination for a few hours makes but a slight difference in the true bearing of the Sun’s setting. The bearing may be taken when the Sun’s center is on the horizon, rising or setting. The ele- ments which may be obtained by taking these amplitudes are the quantities known as local attraction, variation and deviation, or the t tal difference between compass and true, or geographical bearings. LAKE ERIK AND S. END LAKE MICHIGAN, LAT. 42° N, Date. Amplitude. Bearing P’ts. Bearing Comp. June 15....E. 32° N.=N. 5% HE. =N, E. by E. % EB. June 22,...H. 32° N. = N. 5% H. ==N. E. by E. % E. LAKE ONTARIO, S. END HURON AND CENTRAL PORTION ' LAKE MICHIGAN, LAT. 44°.N. Date. Amplitude. Bearing P’ts. Bearing Comp. June 15::..-E.°33° N. = N. 5 EN. E. by EB. June 22....E.34°N =N.5 HEH. = N. E by E: N. END LAKES HURON AND MICHIGAN, LAT. 46° N, Date. Amplitude. Bearing P’ts. Bearing Comp. June.15)....5. 34° No== Ni5. 3 = Nob. by. Bb. June 22....E. 35° N. =N.4% HE. =N.E. %.E. LAKE SUPERIOR, LAT. 48° N. Date. Amplitude. Bearing P’ts. Bearing Comp. June 15....H. 36° N. = N. 4% BH. = N: EB. 34 BE. june 22:...8. 37° N. = No.4 BR: = N. E. 34 OE. With a compass correct magnetic, the difference between the observed and true bearing or amplitude will be the vari- ation for the locality. Should there be any deviation on the course the vessel is heading at the time of taking the bear- ing, the difference between the observed and the true ampli- tude after the variation is applied will be the amount of de- viation on that course If the correct magnetic bearing is to the right of the compass bearing, the deviation is easterly, if to the left, the deviation is westerly. ( MARVEL THE NEW BAUSCH & LOMB-ZEISS STERE Binocular Glasses. Used by the Armies and Navies of the World. Invaluable for Tourists, Sportsmen and Every-day Use. Booklet Free. Bausch 6 Lomb Optical Co., Rochester, N. Y. New York. Chicago. 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