The Lords of the Admiralty have issued a remarkable Minute
on the grounding of H.M.S. ' Assistance ' in Tetuan Bay last October. The Assistance,' the steam repair-ship attached to the Atlantic Fleet, was riding at anchor with four other ships, and after dragging her anchor, grounded off Cape Negro. A Court-Martial, presided over by the second in command of the Atlantic Fleet, was held at Gibraltar in November, and acquitted Commander MacHutchin, of the Assistance,' of the charge of "negligently or by default suffering the ship to be hazarded or stranded." The Lords of the Admiralty, however, on reviewing the Minutes of Proceedings at the Court-Martial, have dealt in the most drastic fashion with all concerned. They regret the fact that the Commander-in-Chief chose a bad berth ; they have severely consured Commander MacHutchin for his lack of seamanship and disregard of the sail- ing directions given in the "Mediterranean Pilot" ; of the four Captains present, they have relieved the senior of his command, and severely reprimanded the other three, for failing to appreciate their responsibilities and to show proper seamanlike precaution ; and they have superseded four Lieutenants,—the officers of the middle watch on board the several ships. We are all for rigorously maintaining the efficiency and discipline of the Navy, but, speaking as laymen, we find it difficult to understand why, if the subordinate officers were to be so severely punished, the Commander-in-Chief, who was responsible for the first of the four causes specified by the Lords of the Admiralty as having led to the disaster—i.e., the choice of a bad anchorage—was let off with an expression of regret. We may note that the Globe, usually well supplied with information on Service matters, asks whether it is the fact that a request for more suitable anchors and gear for the 'Assistance,' made before she left England, was refused by the Admiralty.
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