QUESTION. (Hansard, 11 February 1859)

§ MR. BUXTON

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he had received any explanation of the conduct of Commander Dunn, of Her Majesty's steam sloop Virago, who saw the Czar screw storeship go ashore off the Lizard at 2.15 on Saturday, January 22, but continued his course without making any attempt to succour the crew (twelve of whom perished, besides the master and his wife), upon the ground, as he alleges, that he thought very little assistance could be rendered. He did not doubt that the conduct of Commander Dunn would turn out to have been perfectly right, but he thought that the matter ought to be thoroughly cleared up, in order that merchant captains might not be able to allege the example of a commander in Her Majesty's navy as a reason for neglecting to assist a ship which was in peril.

§ SIR JOHN PAKINGTON

said, that he was not surprised that the hon. Gentleman should have wished for some explanation of the circumstances which attended the wreck of the Czar and the melancholy loss of life which accompanied it, and with the permission of the House he would state the facts which were immediately reported to the Admiralty. The Czar went ashore in the middle of the day upon a rock very close to the Lizard Point. At that time Her Majesty's steam-sloop Virago was between ten and eleven miles directly to the 277 eastward and leeward of the Lizard, and the persons on board of her distinctly saw the calamity which had befallen the Czar. The weather was then very bad, it was blowing a gale, and the sea was very heavy. In addition to the usual responsibility resting upon the commander of a ship, Commander Dunn was responsible for the safety of 200 of Her Majesty's troops, whom he was conveying from Cork to Plymouth. Under these circumstances, and seeing another steam vessel much nearer to the Czar than he was, and steaming towards her, he deemed that it was his duty not to attempt to render her any assistance, but to proceed at once to Plymouth. These circumstances were at once reported to the Admiralty, and he was bound to say that the impression of the Board upon receiving the statement was that it was not satisfactory; that the duty of an officer in command of one of Her Majesty's ships to render assistance to a wrecked vessel, if it was possible, was so imperative, that Commander Dunn would have exercised a sounder judgment if he had at least made an attempt to succour the Czar. In consequence of this being the impression of the Board of Admiralty, orders were sent to Plymouth that there should be a court of inquiry into the circumstances. Three very experienced and able captains held that inquiry, and arrived at the conclusion that although any attempt to render assistance to the Czar would have been attended with serious risk, the attempt should, nevertheless, have been made by Commander Dunn, though, according to the evidence, it would have been attended with no good result. That was the opinion of the officers who made the inquiry; and he was hound to add that the Board of Admiralty had concurred in that opinion, and had communicated to Commander Dunn that, while recognizing the responsibility and difficulty of his position, they thought he would have acted with a sounder judgment if he had at least made the attempt to rescue the crew of the Czar.