The Canadian inquiry into the loss of the Atlantic has
ap- parently proved that the stock of coal with which the ship sailed was not 967 tons, as stated by the Company here, but 887 tons ; at least, that is the evidence of the chief engineer, John Foxley. He also states that in the previous voyage he had 1,200 tons of coal. Quartermaster Thomas gave evidence that half an hour before the ship struck, he told the second officer that the course ought to be changed, since she had run the distance necessary to reach Sambro' Light. The reply was that he (the second officer) was not the captain or the mate, nor would the fourth officer even sanction expressly the quartermasteringoing aloft to look out for land. Evidently there was very grave mis- management. On such a coast the captain should never have gone to his berth ; nor do some of the other officers appear to have been in the least impressed with the responsibility of their position.
Previous page
