EMPRESS DISASTER

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2202, 15 July 1914, Page 7

EMPRESS DISASTER

•STORSTAD'S CAPTAIN DISPLEASED ■WITHTHEVERUICf.": By Association—OopyrisK Quebec,' July 13. ' Captain Anderson, of the Storstad, • expressed the opinion that Lord Mersey was a fool for holding him responsible for tile Empress of Ireland disas- . tor. Any reputation Lord Mersey had lie was sure to lose through such a decision. Captain Anderson added that. Lord Mersey really had favoured the Canadian Pacific Railroad Company throughcut. He announced his intention of starting a suit against .the Canadian Pacific Company on behalf of the Stor- . "statl's owners, and also to begin a suit against the British Admiralty Court. Captain Anderson promised that there would be much litigation before things were settled between him and the Canadian Pacific Company. : As a result of tlio Court's judgment, Captain Kendall, of the Empress of Ireland, remains in the employ of the Canadian Pacific Company. PROCEEDINGS FOR DAMAGES. (Rec. July 15, .0.15 a.m.) Ottawa, July 11. As the own the collier Storstad it -is impossible for the Canadian Government to act on the verdict of the Mersey Commission and punish the first'and third oiiicers, as the legal authorities have decided they cannot prosecute the officers criminally, but it js tmdorstoed 'tliat legislation will bo . submitted during the next session of Parliament to make officers of foreign steamers amenable to Canadian laws ■ whenever lives ar'o lost in Canadian . j waters. '• j The Canadian-Pacific Company's legal ,:j representative lias been instructed to . ! proceed immediately against the Storstad's- owners to recover damages for '. -j the loss of the Empress of Ireland; J The Canadian-Pacific Company claim ■ ~1 that Lord Mersey's decision relieves ■ • .;j them of the responsibility of paying .; damages to'the relatives of the drowned . . ;.J and injured passengers. , COMMENT BY "THE TIMES." - "Times" apd Sydacv "Sun" Service*. (Rec. July-14, 5.45 p.m.) , . ; London, Juij; 13. ! ."The Times," in a'leading article en the''verdict returned by the; Mersey , i Commission as to the cause of the Em- ■ press of Ire'land-Storstad collision, says that it offers an adequate and intolli- V.j gible explanation of the disaster, which ; was attributed to human error, and is satisfactory because it does not leavo : ; obscure or unexplained the danger over- , j hanging vessels navigating the St. Law- , ' l'cuco River. It disposes of the sus- . i picion that a thousand people were >; 'sent' to their deaths through deliberate"- . wrong-doing arid neglect due'to base .! 'motives. An error of judgment is no crime,- < and Mr. Tuftness (chief office]- of tlio. .•] Storstad) will meet with more sympathy . :-j than condemnation.