THE LOSS OF THE CITY OF NEWCASTLE.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1367, 16 December 1872, Page 2

THE LOSS OF THE CITY OF NEWCASTLE.

The following is the report of the Court of Inquiry into the loaa of this vessel, the Court having consisted of Mr Crawford, 8.M., with Captains Johnston and Edwin, as nautical assessors :— That tbe chief cause of the disaster arose from the negligence or incosapetency, or both, of the master, John Bain, in not ascertaining the proper late at which the ship was sailing and in not making due allowance for the infloence of the tide; with a patent log on board, the omission to an it in navigating the narrow part of the Strait* is -wholly in* excusable. The chief mate, who had the watch from Bto 12 p. m. on the 13th, states that the night was clear until 11 p.m., but that be did not see any fixed light until 12 midnight. Now where the ship had been at anchor was ouly about two miles from th radios of Pencarrow Light, and in steorinp the course which is stated the ship must have passed twelve miles within the radius of tbta light ; it is therefore inexplicable wbv the light was not seen before midnight, and then taken for Mana Light. The master states that he altered his course to N. W. at 1.30 a.m., at which time the light bore E.&N. Pencarrow Light, on this bearing, cut Sinclair Head about one mile inland ;. this in volves an impossibility, and shows how carelessly the vessel was navigated. It would appear probable that no proper lookoat WM kept all through the night. The nutter also exhibited the greatest negligence in leaving tho deck, in charge of a person

unacquainted with seafaring, matters, particularly while in narrow waters. At a tiiue of danger, when, promptitude is of the utmost consequence, it is possible that the ship might have been saved by a rapid bracing up of the yards, for come time must have been loßt, however short, ingoing below to call the mater. Had a qualified officer been in charge of the deck, his suspicions would pro* baWyhave been aroused when he suddenly lost sfcht of the supposed AjUna Light (it is clear that this was the shutting in of Pencarrow Light by Sinclair Head) ; he would probably nave made further inquiry, and at feast have been very particular in his lookout. The attempt to show that Smith was second officer and in charge of the deck, seems incompatible with the position which he occupied during the middle watch, being two houTS at the wheel and two hours forward. With regard to the boats, it appears that two of them had not been in the water for a considerable period, and they were in consequence probably leaky; indeed they were said to have had. sun-cracks, although the evidence tends to show that they were otherwise kept in order and paiuted. A want of coolness and steadiness in getting them launched also seems Apparent. Either they were previously too leaky to be safe, or they were fatally damaged in launching and getting over the side. There appears to have been nothing either in the state of the weather or of the sea to have prevented all three being safely floated alongside if ordinary precautions had been taken, or if they had been in a sound state. It is difficult to say who is chießy to blame for the accidents which are stated to have occurred ttf the long boat and to the whale boat. If the master sent the women away in the best boat, he must have been aware that "the third boat was ia bad order, as the shaking in getting her into the water happened afterwards. The weather mu9t have been fine, otherwise an old ship like the City of Newcastle conld not have lasted bo long «x---posed on a lee shore ; the evidence of Fox and others shows this. After duly weighing and considering the evidence, the Court was unanimously of opinion that the cause of the disaster was to be entirely attributed to the negligence of the master ( (oho. Bain), as above stated, and to no one else, and they order his certificate of service to be cancelled.