28th Aug.
Te first thought of anyone who reads the report of the Board of ade Enquiry recently held into the loss of the Drummond Castle will be, how very much more complete these enquiries at home are than the Naval Courts which are held from time to time in Shanghai, In opening the Drummond Castle enquiry, Dr. Raikes, who led for the Board of 'I'rade, said that there were two points to which enquiry should chiefly be directed, which were: "How did the ship get into the position in which the catastrophe occurred and, "How was it that there was such a terrible loss of life?" and he elaborated this into a list of twenty-three special points to which, subject to amendment or addition by the representatives of the owners and by the Court, enquiry was to be directed, Now, " somewhat similar accident occurred recently in Shanghai, the similarity being in the suddenness with which the vessel sank and the great loss of life that ensued. We allude, of course, to the Onwo, the Naval Court of Enquiry into whose loss was one of the best conducted that we have seen in Shanghai for a long time; and yet it is interesting to see how many questions were gone into in the Court in England that were passed over altogether in Shanghai, It will no doubt be remembered that there was not even an inquest held on the English officers of the Onwo who were drowned and their bodies recovered.
We trust not to be accused of tedionsness, in view of the importance and interest of the matter, if we reprint in full the list of special points prepared by Dr. Raikes 1—Wuas the Drummond Castle in good and seaworthy condition, and was she fit for the service upon which she was employed? How many bulkheads had the vessel, and were they sufficient to prevent her from foundering immediately after sustaining damage in any one or in any two compartments 2.—What was her value, and for what amount was she insured 3.—Was she supplied with the boats and life-saving appliances required by the Statute, and were the boats kept so as to be at all times fit and ready for use?
4.—Was the vessel supplied with the necessary distress signals 5.—What compasses were on board the vessel, and was there any reason to suppose that the master was unacquainted with their errors?
6.—Did the vessel carry a patent log, and was it approximately accurate in
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.