154 



CONGRESS. (CUBA.) 



The " Maine " < ontimied in the li-xrbor of Havana 

 during the three weeks following her arrival. No 

 appreciable excitement attended her stay; on the 

 contrary, a feeling of relief and confidence fol- 

 lowed the resumption of the long-interrupted 

 fri.-ndlv intercourse. So noticeable, was this im- 

 mediate effect of her visit that the consul general 

 strongly urgeil that the presence of our ships in 

 Cuban waters >h.Mild be kept up by retaining the 

 Maine" at Havana <>r. in the event of her recall, 

 by M-nding another vosel there to take her place. 



'At forty minutes past nine in the evening of the 



l.'jth <-f February the "Maine" was destroyed by 



osion. by which the entire forward part of 



the ship was ut'terly wrecked. In this catastrophe 



' oflieers and -Jf.l of her erew perished, those who 



..t killed i>ut right by her explosion being 



|N-nned lietween decks by the tangle of wreckage 



and drowned liy the immediate sinking of the hull. 



Prompt MBfoance was rendered by the neighbor- 

 .iichored in the harbor, aid being espe- 

 rinllv given l.v the boats of the Spanish cruiser 

 - Alf< n-o Ml " and the Ward Line steamer "City 

 wf Washington," which lay not far distant. The 

 wounded were generously cared for by the authori- 

 llavana. the hospitals being freely opened 

 to them, while the earliest recovered bodies of the 

 dead were interred by the municipality in a public 

 cemetery in the city. Tributes of grief and sym- 

 pathy were offered from all official quarters of the 

 island. 



The appalling calamity fell upon the people of 

 our country with crushing force, and for a brief 

 time an intense excitement prevailed, which in a 

 community less just and self-controlled than ours 

 might have led to hasty acts of blind resentment. 

 Th:- >pirit. however, soon gave way to the calmer 

 processes of reason and to the resolve to investigate 

 the facts and await material proof before forming 

 a judgment as to the cause, the responsibility, and, 

 if the facts warranted, the remedy due. This 

 course necessarily recommended itself from the 

 outset to the Executive, for only in the light of a 

 dispassionately ascertained certainty could it deter- 

 mine the nature and measure of its full duty in the 

 matter. 



The usual procedure was followed, as in all cases 

 of casualty or disaster to national vessels of any 

 maritini'- state. A naval court of inquiry was at 

 once organ i/ccl. composed of offleers well qualified 

 by rank and practical experience to discharge the 

 onerous duty ini|osed upon them. Aided by a 

 strong force of wreckers and divers, the court pro- 

 eei-deil to make a thorough investigation on the 

 -p"t, .employing every available means for the im- 

 partial and exact determination of the causes of 

 tli.- explosion. Its operations have been conducted 

 with the utmost deliberation and judgment, and 

 while indc|MMidcntly pursued no attainable source 

 of information was neglected, and the fullest op- 

 portnnftf WM allowed for a simultaneous investiga- 

 tion by the Spanish authorities. 



Th<- finding of the court of inquiry was reached, 

 ifter twenty-three days of continuous labor, on the 

 21st of March instant, and. having been approved 

 on UwtM by the commander in chief of the United 

 State* naval force on the North Atlantic Station, 

 wan transmitted to the Executive. 



It is herewith laid before the Congress, together 

 with the voluminous testimony taken Injfore the 

 court. 



It- purport is. in brief, as follows: 



When the "Maine" arrived at Havana she was 

 epBdoetod by the regular Government pilot to buoy 



.4. to which she was moored in from 5i to 6 

 fit homs of water. 



The state of discipline on board and the condi- 



tion of her magazines, boilers, coal bunkers, and 

 storage compartments are passed in review, with 

 the conclusion that excellent order prevailed and 

 that no indication of any cause for an internal ex- 

 plosion existed in any quarter. 



At eight o'clock in the evening of Feb. 15 every- 

 thing had been reported secure, and all was quiet. 



At forty minutes, past nine o'clock the vessel was 

 suddenly destroyed. 



There were two distinct explosions, with a brief 

 interval between them. 



The first lifted the forward part of the ship very 

 perceptibly. The second, which was more open, 

 prolonged, and of greater volume, is attributed by 

 the court to the partial explosion of two or more of 

 the forward magazines. 



The evidence of the divers establishes that the 

 after part of the ship was practically intact and 

 sank in that condition a very few moments after 

 the explosion. The forward part was completely 

 demolished. 



Upon the evidence of a concurrent external 

 cause the finding of the court is as follows : 



"At frame 17 the outer shell of the ship, from a 

 point 11| f ee t from the middle line of the ship and 

 6 feet above the keel when in its normal position, 

 has been forced up so as to be now about 4 feet 

 above the surface of the water, therefore about 34 

 feet above where it would be had the ship sunk un- 

 injured. 



" The outside bottom plating is bent into a re- 

 versed V shape (A), the after wing of which, about 

 15 feet broad and 32 feet in length (from frame 17 

 to frame 25), is doubled back upon itself against 

 the continuation of the same plating, extending 

 forward. 



"At frame 18 the vertical keel is broken in two 

 and the flat keel bent into an angle similar to the 

 angle formed by the outside bottom plates. This 

 break is now about 6 feet below the surface of the 

 water and about 30 feet above its normal position. 



"In the opinion of the court this effect could 

 have been produced only by the explosion of a 

 mine situated under the bottom of a ship at about 

 frame 18 and somewhat on the port side of the 

 ship." 



The conclusions of the court are : 



That the loss of the " Maine " was not in any re- 

 spect due to fault or negligence on the part of any 

 of the officers or members of her crew. 



That the ship was destroyed by the explosion of 

 a submarine mine, which caused the partial explo- 

 sion of two or more of her forward magazines ; and 



That no evidence has been obtainable fixing the 

 responsibility for the destruction of the "Maine" 

 upon any person or persons. 



I have directed that the finding of the court of 

 inquiry and the views of this Government thereon 

 be communicated to the Government of her Majesty 

 the Queen Regent, and I do not permit myself to 

 doubt that the sense of justice of the Spanish nation 

 will dictate a course of action suggested by honor 

 and the friendly relations of the two governments. 



It will be the" duty of the Executive to advise tin- 

 Congress of the result, and in the meantime delib- 

 erate consideration is invoked. 



WILLIAM McKiM.i.v. 



EXECUTIVE MANSION, March 28, 1898. 



No course of action was recommended by the 

 President, and there was no disposition to consider 

 the destruction of the ' Maine" as more than an in- 

 cident in the great issue of intervention in Cuba : 

 but it was an incident of overmastering influence 

 in hastening national decision. April 11, the Pres- 

 ident sent to Congress the following message giving 

 in detail an account of his negotiations for peace. 



