22 THE FREDERICK G ERRING, JR. ^ 



head sails down and her foresail and mainsail set, with the l)Ooms 

 off to starboard (thus showing the wind was from the east) and her 

 head off shore, or in other words, she was heading to the southward. 



It is true Knowlton says he took the bearings at the time of the 

 seizure and marked them on the chart. Is it not a strange and 

 rather a suspicious thing that when the chart is produced at the 

 trial the bearings were laid down on it not by Captain Knowlton 

 but by Captain Spain, the day after the seizure, who was not present 

 at the time and was away in another part of the province, and this 

 is sworn to by Captain Knowlton. It may be said it was done 

 under his direction, but surely, when an important seizure is made 

 and liy that act a person is to lose valuable property and be in- 

 volved in ruin, the man who is to determine the spot where the. 

 offence is committed should himself (if he is capable) lay down 

 that place on the chart, especially as he says "at the time I took 

 the cross bearings I laid them down on the chart." Where is that 

 chart? It was not produced. 



But did Captain Knowlton take the bearings? He is asked 

 (p. 27, 1.27): "Who took the bearings?" "My chief officer took 

 them about the same time." Q. "Then did you take the chart?" 

 A. "Yes, I laid it down on the chart." — ^Q. "On your own chart, 

 on board your own ship before the seizure?" A. "Yes."— Q. 

 "And this is what you put down at that particular time?" A. 

 "These are the bearings." — Q. "When did you put these marks 

 in red ink on this chart? " A. " I did not do that."— Q. "Who did 

 it?" A. "Commodore Spain did it." 



Captain Morin, first officer of the Aberdeen, in his direct exam- 

 ination says, (p. 32, 1.21): "Q. Had you anything to do in regard 

 to taking the bearings?. — ^A. The Captain (Knowlton) called m.e 

 on the bridge, and asked me to ascertain by the com.pass the 

 bearings of Liscomb Light. Q. Did you take the bearings of 

 Licsomb light? — A. I did. Q. How was it bearing? — A. It was 

 bearing N.E. f N. Q. What did he say then? — A. He said take 

 the bearings of Big White Island, and I did so. It was bearing 

 W.N.W., i.e. the N. W. part of the island. Q. What did you 

 do after you took the bearings? — A. The captain said she (the 

 Gerring) was inside the limit." It will be thus seen that from this 

 testimony and what follows, that Captain Knowlton never took 

 the bearings at all, that it was done by one of his officers, and that 

 he was on the bridge at the time they were taken, and this is also 

 testified to by his third officer, and yet upon the testimony of this 

 man the Gerring is to be forfeited and the owner ruined. 



