John Leith, examined by Mr. Smyth, stated: I am a master mariner. At the present time I am captain of the S. S. Maitland. She is engaged in the regular trade between Melbourne, Port Albert, and the Gippsland Lakes. I went to sea in 1857. I was master in 1871, and have been sailing out that way since 1880. Southerly bursters come in that trade pretty nigh any time. Mr. Justice Williams: I wish to goodness you would bring one along now. (Laughter.) (Here it may be stated that during the time this trial was going on, a very hot northerly wind was blowing, making the court as warm as an oven.) The witness continuing, said: I know the Alert, and have been down the Bay a number of times in her as a passenger. She was always well down by the stern. She was long and narrow, with no great depth. She had one mast only, and the engines were well aft. She was not fit to be in a gale of wind, and gales do come along in Bass Straits.
Q.—Assuming that she had an iron grating open about twelve feet athwart and four feet fore and aft, was that a proper thing to leave unprotected in a sea-going vessel of that kind? A.—It was not in a vessel down by the heels as she was. In a gale of wind, or any heavy sea, everything would sweep over her, and fill the stoke-hole and engine room. In my opinion, provision ought to have been made for covering that grating before going outside. There ought to have been something over it, and a very good strong arrangement, such a thing as a skylight with flaps, that could have been opened and shut. A tarpaulin might stand a little time, but it would not stand many seas. I knew the alleyways between the bulwarks and the casing of the machinery. I also remember seeing the pantry window. It was open when I saw it in Hobson’s Bay, and they were passing food through it into the cabin. It was right enough for the Bay traffic, but for a sea-going vessel it should have been secured so that it would stand the same weight of water as the bulk-head. The glass should have been protected the same as port holes are protected, with a cast iron port either inside or outside. I cannot bring myself to think that a piece of glass is sufficient protection against a heavy sea. The hole that was there was big enough to fill the saloon with water, and cripple the ship. I could not say how many tons would go through, but when water runs through a hole in a ship, it goes with a great rush. With only a piece of glass between her and filling the saloon, it is a dead certainty she would founder. I never saw a bunker-hole with a lid resting by its own weight. It should be dropped into notches. Forty-four tons of cargo was not sufficient ballast for the Alert. At the same time I should say that one ship acts differently to another. One could go empty, while another would require a lot of cargo. The vessel that would go empty would have more beam and a flatter floor, or bottom, than the Alert. Amidships was the best place for the cargo, but I don’t think the Alert had stability enough for a gale of wind even if she were fully loaded. I knew the late Captain Mathieson, and thoroughly agree with the statement that he was a skilful seaman and a good master of a vessel. If she had a second mast and canvas aft, the Alert would have kept to the wind, head on to the sea, with less pressure on the screw propeller. The wooden awning, when the vessel was laid down on the starboard side, would assist in keeping her over to leeward.
Cross-examined by Mr. Purves: The steamer I am in, the Maitland, is not flat. She is round, and is a sea-worthy vessel. She can go to sea in any ordinary weather. We trade to the Lakes, the same trade in which the Alert was when she was lost.
Q.—The Maitland knows how to roll, does she not? A.—She does not.
Q.—Does she not belong to some bill-sticker? A.—No, unless you call the Commercial Bank by that name. There may be some bills sticking in there (Great laughter). I remember taking the Maitland down to the Heads on the afternoon the Alert was lost. I did not go outside because a strong ebb-tide was running. A gale rose with the ebb-tide, and made the “Rip”[1] dangerous. The wind was from the south-west, but it was not that I feared, it was the “Rip.” Had I been able to get the ship down to the Heads earlier, I would have gone on outside to sea. A south-west wind would not give smooth water under Point Lonsdale. The bunker lids of the Maitland have catches. They fit in notches like the top of an iron tank.
Q.—Supposing your gratings were open, and the ship taking water on board, what would you do? A.—We have none on the Maitland.
Q.—But if you had a grating, how long would it take you to put a spare jib over it? A.—The spare jib might be stowed away in the fore peak and not easily got at. It might take a lot of time to get a spare sail, and then it would not be fit for the purpose.
Q.—Would it not be prudent to make everything snug in a gale? A.—We always make everything snug before we leave port. We don’t wait for a gale to do that. The Alert was not a fit vessel for the trade she was engaged in. She was a ship never meant to go outside the Heads. She was not sea-worthy.
Q.—Did you have any night-caps last night, Captain? A.—No, I don’t like them.
Q.—How is that? A.—Ever since I was with you, I gave them up (Laughter).