THE SURAT INQUIRY.

Evening Star, Issue 3405, 20 January 1874, Page 3

THE SURAT INQUIRY.

Tuesday, January 20. At four o’clock this afternoon, in the pr> sence of a crowded Court, Mr Strode delivered the following'judgment of the above Court of Inquiry : The Resident Magistrates engaged in ti ij enquiry now proceed to express their opinion and give their decision in the matter of the loss of the ship Surat;-. The: (ship Surat, bound for Port Chalmers, arrived off the coast of Stewart’s Island between 2 and 3 p.m. on. the 31st December last, at which, time land was sighted bearing N.W. about 16 miles off. the wind blowing a fine breeze from W.N.W,, and the ship being steered a N.E. course by the magnetic compass until abreast of Bruce’s roef, off the I i*. Ast Coast of < Stewart’s Island. From this i point the ship was hauled more to the t northward, the master (to use his own words) \ “ giving instructions from time to time to man at the wheel to luff, without i noticing particularly what alteration it made |m his course,” and passed Ruapuke Island |at a distance, as estimated by the master, of i twelve or fourteen miles, but of seven jmiles, as estimated by the chief officer, whose watch it was, From thence a o nirse N.E., and gradually up to N,N,E., was isteered, the vessel going about nine knots, ) until Dog Island light was sighted at 7.30 ;p m., bearing W. by N. 4 N., at a distance, las it was believed, of 20 miles. At this time | the course was altered to N. E. by E. 4 K. by the standard compass, which the master fays had only three degrees of easterly deviation, and to N. 4 & hy the binnacle ; compass, which shows that ths latter jwas quite unreliable, and her course ; steered until eight o’clock, when, as Dog ■lsland light was being lost sight of, the vessel's supposed position was marked by the (master on a small scale chart (the only one ihe bad) of the New Zealand coast, the light (bearing W. by N., distant, as “ guessed” by > the master, 22 miles, but no effort was made jby soundings or otherwise more accurately ■to determine the ship’s position. From this jtime until within a few minutes of 10 p m. (the same course was professedly kept, j On land being reported on the port how jfor the second time by the look-out, the isecond mate, who was in charge of the deck, {ordered tie helm to be put up, the wind jbeing at this time N.W. When the (vessel was coming by the lee and the (yards were being squared, the vessel struck {heavily on some hidden danger five or six times without stopping her way, the land being from a qnarter-of-a-mile to half-a mile ;away. She was then braced up on the starboard tack, and stood out to sea for three • quarters of an hour, when she jwas hoye-to, with the maintopsail to the mast, until daylight. As little or no water (was made for the first hour, the excitement ’among the passengers consequent upon the ship s striking was very consider* iably allayed, About mid-night frequent soundings in the pump-well showed that the was making water; the port pump, and subsequently the fire-engine, were i Started and worked mainly by the passenI gera. The starboard pump, being found out t pf order, was of no service.

| Between 3 and 4 a.m. of the Ist January, there being about 7ft. of water in the well, the vessel was kept away and a course steered northward along the shore, when a steamer hove in sight steaming to the southward. As phe neared the Surat the ensign was hoisted by one of the passengers, but immediately hauled down by the master’s orders, with threats that he would shoot any man who should hoist it or fire a gun. When abreast of the steamer it was however, again, hoisted Union down, and a boat with the second mats in charge pulled towards the Wanganui,' which steamer passed within a mile and a-lulf of the Surat, without any notice having been taken, there being at the time no officer in bharge of her deck. From this time everyoa board the Surat seems to have been

in the utmost confusion and disorder -boats._were .lowered without . orders, an incompetent person permitted to steer the ship, the anchor 100 passengers landed there, and with lift of water in the hold the cable was slipped, and the vessel beached in Gatlin’s Bay, where the remainder: of the passengers and crew were landed by 11 a.m. No portion, however, of the immigrants’ luggage was saved, notwithstanding the fineness of the weather. We further state our opinion on the matter as follows :— That'the master was most blameable. . shafting from London with his ship ijh an unseaworthy condition, inasmuch as he had not provided himself with detailed charts of the coast of New Zealand. 2. In not taking, when he made the New' Zealand coast, to which' he and all his officers were strangers,, and when night was setting in, the necessary steps to. determine 1 his position , ( with ~accuracy, hot even con- : suiting {the !New! Zealand Pilot,” which work he had. onboard. . , ~ tJte master and cfiief, officer, there most, btameaMe , (l) t ,in making ho efforts todes-.en the leak ; (2) m, allowing to pass by at a time SJS?in the hold, the Wanganui, whose services they: secured.. ~; . , and second . In, rendering themselves by insobriety ' ..after the she.-,was, beached, quite unfit for the performance of their! duties. (2 ) In effort, after the beaching of the vessel and lauding of the passengers (all of which was effected, by 11 a m., the day being ffne) to save the immigrantaeffeots. 5 We therefore come to the conclusion that, oy t the wrongful acts and default of Edmund Joseph' Johnson, hiasthr, ■ > Abrath ; 'Fpi f eßhaW, chief mate, ; and Edward, Hesselton, second mate, the 1 ship ;; Surat,; was lost and abandoned in 'Oatliffs Bay ' off -®nMr 4?y ofJanuary j 1874. and we de* mde that,, the certificate ;of Edmond Joseph Johnson, as master, be can* certificate, of ; ; competency of A as master, be cancelled; and thpcertificate of competency of Edward Hesselton, as second mate, be suspended for the term of two years from;tho2l'th day of January, i ,