Class GV %5C \X*CS Book -N v5"" PRESENTED MY REPORT OF THE SPECIAL COMMITTEE OF THE NEW YORK YACHT CLUB Relative to Certain Charges made by the Earl of Dunraven concerning the recent Match for the America's Cup New York Printed for the Club MDCCCXCVI v *> Gift Mrn. Julia* J»*» 1912 ©ouglas Uaslor & Co, flew H?orft LC Co ntrol Nm/ er tn >P96 026220 {Table of Contents PAGE Report of the Committee i to xxx Proceedings on the Examination of Witnesses 1 to 531 Friday, December 27th, 1895, Morning Session 1 Mr. Askwith's Opening on Behalf of Lord Dunraven. . . 4 Letter, October 25th, 1894, Lord Dunraven to Mr. Oddie ' 6 Letter, November 15th, 1894, Mr. Smith to Lord Dunraven 7 Letter, December 1st, 1894, Lord Dunraven to Mr. Smith 7 Letter, January 14th, 1895, Mr. Smith to Lord Dunraven 7 Letter, September 6th, 1895, Lord Dunraven to Mr. Canfield 8 Letter, September 24th, 1895, Lord Dunraven to Mr. Grant 18 Letter, December 26th, 1895, Mr. Kersey to Lord Dunraven, 32 Cardiff Speech 37 Declaration by Lord Dunraven 48 Lord Dunraven examined by Mr. Askwith 52 " cross-examined by Mr. Choate 54 Friday, December 27th, 1895, Afternoon Session 74 Lord Dunraven's cross-examination continued 74 " " re-direct examination by Mr. Askwith. 102 Statement of Commodore Smith on behalf of the Cup Committee 102 Lord Dunraven's re-direct examination by Mr. Askwith continued , 109 Lord Dunraven's re-cross-examination by Mr. Choate . . 114 Declaration of George Lennox Watson ... 119 " Thomas White Ratsey 121 " William Wardley Cranfield 125 " Edward Sycamore 126 " Arthur Herbert Glennie 127 Mr. Glennie examined by Mr. Askwith 130 cross-examined by Mr. Choate , 131 Declaration of William Russell 145 " Luther Gould 146 " John Clarke 147 " William Henry Greene 148 " Edward Roper 149 TABLE OF CONTENTS. Mr. Choate opens on behalf of Mr. Iselin 151 Nathaniel G. Herreshoff examined by Mr. Choate 154 " " " cross-examined by Mr. Askwith. 166 Saturday, December 28th, Morning Session 168 Mr. Herreshoff further examined by Mr. Choate 173 Latham A. Fish examined by Mr. Choate 177 " cross-examined by Mr. Askwith 196 Lord Dunraven re-examined by Mr. Askwith 197 Letter, September 27th, 1895, Lord Dunraven to Mr. Kersey 198 Lord Dunraven re-cross-examined by Mr. Choate 200 A. Cass Canfield examined by Mr. Choate 213 " cross-examined by Mr. Askwith 217 Saturday, December 28th, 1895, Afternoon Session 221 Mr. Herreshoff re-examined by Mr. Choate 221 Herbert C. Leeds examined by Mr. Choate 224 " " cross-examined by Mr. Askwith 227 Louis P. DeLuze examined by Mr. Choate 233 " cross-examined by Mr. Askwith 235 C. Oliver Iselin examined by Mr. Choate 241 " " " cross-examined by Mr. Askwith 259 " " " re-examined by Mr. Choate 270 Louis F. Merrian examined by Mr. Choate 271 Henry C. Haff examined by Mr. Choate 272 Mr. Herreshoff re-examined by Mr. Choate 274 cross-examined by Mr. Askwith 274 E. Walter Brandow examined by Mr. Choate 281 Captain Haff re-examined by Mr. Choate 282 " re-cross-examined by Mr. Askwith 294 John Hyslop examined by Mr. Choate 299 Letter, September 7th, 1895, Mr. Canfield to Mr. Hyslop 303 Letter, September 7th, 1895, Mr. Canfield to Mr. Hyslop 303 Mr. Hyslop cross-examined by Mr. Askwith. 305 Monday, December 30th, 1895, Morning Session 311 William Butler Duncan, Jr., examined by Mr. Choate. . . . 311 " " " " cross-examined by Mr. Ask- with 314 Joseph R. Busk examined by Mr. Choate 316 " " " cross-examined by Mr. Askwith 317 Archibald Rogers examined by Mr. Choate 319 Letter, December 30th, 1895, Lord Dunraven to Mr. Askwith 323 Mr. Rogers cross-examined by Mr. Askwith 325 Gouverneur Kortright examined by Mr. Choate 337 George W. Blizzard examined by Mr. Choate 338 cross-examined by Mr. Askwith 346 TABLE OF CONTENTS. Newbury D. Thorne examined by Mr. Choate 348 4 ' " " cross-examined by Mr. Askwith .... 349 Norman W. Terry examined by Mr. Choate 350 " " " cross-examined by Mr. Askwith 358 James H. Berry examined by Mr. Choate 361 " " " cross-examined by Mr. Askwith 368 George W. Conant examined by Mr. Choate 370 " " cross-examined by Mr. Askwith 377 Monday, December 30th, 1895, Afternoon Session 380 Mr. Iselin re-examined by Mr. Choate 380 " " re-cross-examined by Mr. Askwith 381 Irving G. Barber examined by Mr. Choate 386 " " cross-examined by Mr. Askwith 389 John E. Billings examined by Mr. Choate 391 " " " cross-examined by Mr. Askwith 395 John T. Staples examined by Mr. Choate 396 " " " cross-examined by Mr. Askwith 401 John E. Billings re-examined by Mr. Choate 402 " " " re-cross-examined by Mr. Askwith 403 Gardner K. Greene examined by Mr. Choate 403 " " cross-examined by Mr. Askwith 406 Michael J. O'Neill examined by Mr. Choate 406 " " " cross-examined by Mr, Askwith 409 George Francis examined by Mr. Choate 410 " " cross-examined by Mr. Askwith 412 Charles H. Billman examined by Mr. Choate 414 " " cross-examined by Mr. Askwith 418 Asa W. Hathaway examined by Mr. Choate 419 " •' cross-examined by Mr. Askwith 422 Woodbury Kane examined by Mr. Choate 423 " " cross-examined by Mr. Askwith 425 Deposition and examination of Willard G. Haskell 427 Charles Scott 430 John Pressey 432 Horace P. Davis 435 James Robbins 437 Stephen Sellers 440 Winslow C. Pickering 444 George E. Stinson 448 Thomas Horton 450 Elmer E. Hamblen 454 of Samuel Bray 459 Roland G. Small 461 Florestan McCauley 463 Harry Gray 466 Walter L. Eaton 467 Charles A. Barter 469 Ernest C. Haskell 471 Rollins Staples 472 TABLE OF CONTENTS. Deposition of Thomas Robbins 473 " Warren Bray 475 " Herbert Bray 477 " Leslie Stinson 479 " Eben Haskell 480 Photographs put in evidence 482 Explanation as to absent members of the crew 483 Mr. Iselin examined in regard to photographs 483 Closing statement of Mr. Askwith on behalf of Lord Dun- raven 493 Tuesday, December 31st, 1895, Morning Session. Statement of Mr. Kersey as to grounds of refusal to testify before the Committee 501 H. W. Taylor examined by Mr. Choate • 502 " cross-examined by Mr. Askwith 515 Captain Haff re-examined by Mr. Choate 517 re-cross-examined by Mr. Askwith 521 Mr. Hyslop re-examined by Mr. Choate 523 " re-cross-examined by Mr. Askwith 525 Arrangements made for revision of testimony 530 Appendix 535 to 556 Extracts from "Conditions of the Races for the America's Cup " 535 Letter of Lord Dunraven, 5 September, 1895 537 Letter of Lord Dunraven, 6 September, 1895 538 Extract from Report of America's Cup Committee 539 Letter from Mr. Iselin in reply to Lord Dunraven's charges. 541 Statement of the America's Cup Committee 544 Memorandum for Naval Constructor as to measurements of Defender and Report thereon 554 IReport of tbe Committee Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2011 with funding from The Library of Congress http://www.archive.org/details/reportofspecialc08newy The Committee appointed by the New York Yacht Club by resolution adopted at a meeting held on the 18th of November, 1895, beg leave to report : The resolution was in these words : Whereas, The London Field has lately made public certain charges purporting to have been made by the Earl of Dunraven, in reference to the recent America Cup Races, sailed under the challenge of the Royal Yacht Squadron, and Whereas, This Club is of opinion that not- withstanding the extraordinary conduct of the Earl of Dunraven in respect to the time and manner of making such charges, it is due to its honor and dignity that suitable action should be taken in relation thereto ; Resolved, That Messrs. J. Pierpont Mor- gan, William C. Whitney and George L. Rives, are hereby appointed a Committee, with power, in their discretion, to add to their number, to whom the matter of said charges is hereby referred ; and that such Committee shall have full power to represent this Club in reference to the matter, and to take, on behalf of the Club, and in its name, any action which may seem to them proper in the premises. At the meeting when these resolutions were adopted, a letter from Mr. H. Maitland Kersey was read which contained the following passage : I have a cable from Lord Dunraven to-day saying that while he thinks it is now too late to investigate, if a desire exists among the members of the Club to do so, he will come over 31 EEPOKT OF COMMITTEE. here and place himself at the disposal of the Club or its Committee. He says that he would not be able to get away before the 4th prox. Will you kindly inform either the Cinb or the Committee as you may think desirable ? The Committee, on November 23d, wrote to Mr. Kersey requesting that, in accordance with the offer contained in his letter, he would communicate with Lord Dunraven, and inform him that it was the desire of the New York Yacht Club and the in- tention of the Committee to begin immediately an investigation of the facts connected with the race of September 7th, and the charges made against the representatives of the Yacht Club. The Committee added that they would be prepared to enter upon this investigation immediately upon the arrival of Lord Dunraven. The Committee were of the opinion that as Lord Dunraven, in the races in question, had represented the Royal Yacht Squadron, it was due to that body to inform them of the appointment of the Committee and of the proposed investigation, in order that the Yacht Squadron might take such part in the investigation, or make such suggestions in regard to its scope and character, as it thought fit. The Committee, therefore, on November 23d, 1895, addressed to Mr. Grant, the Secretary of the Squadron, the following cable : At a special meeting of the New York Yacht Club held on Monday, November 18th, the undersigned were appointed a committee to represent the Club in the matter of certain charges made by the Earl of Dunraven in refer- ence to the recent America's Cup races, and published in the London Field of November 9th, 1895. The article in question expressly charges that after being measured for the cup races in September last, the yacht Defender was sur- reptitiously loaded so as to sink her four inches deeper in the water ; that she sailed in that EEPORT OF COMMITTEE. Ill condition on the first day's race ; and that im- mediately after that race the ballast so loaded was secretly removed, so that when measured the next day (Sunday) no discrepancy was found to exist between the two measurements. While Lord Dunraven intimates that the owners of the yacht were not personally cognizant of the fraud, the charge is none the less explicit. It appears from Lord Dunraven' s article that this statement, as published in the Field, is 14 mainly extracted" from a letter which he sent to the Secretary of the Royal Yacht Squadron on September 24th last. We there- fore beg to enquire whether the charges last mentioned have been laid before the Royal Yacht Squadron, and whether any and what action has been taken by the Squadron upon the subject. In view of the grave imputations thus made by the representative of the Royal Yacht Squadron in an International race between the two great yacht clubs, the New York Yacht Club feels that the most searching and com- plete investigation of the facts and of the charges against the representatives of the New York Yacht Club should be promptly begun. It is our purpose to conduct such investigation so as to satisfy every fair-minded man on either side of the Atlantic ; and to that end we have already communicated with the Earl of Dunraven and requested his presence in ac- cordance with the offer made by him. The result of the investigation, with all testimony taken, will be transmitted to you. J. Pierpont Morgan, W. C. Whitney, Gr. L. Rives. An answer was received by cable a few days later, which was confirmed by the following letter from Mr. Grant : R. Y. S. Castle, Co WES. 4 December, 1895. Gentlemen — You will have received my cables IV EEPORT OF COMMITTEE. of the 27th ultimo and of yesterday's date. Your cable to me of the 24th November was yesterday laid before the America Cup Commit- tee of the Royal Yacht Squadron. They re- quest me to say that The Squadron has taken no action in the matter. The complaint of the Earl of Dunraven, that the request made on Saturday, the 7th September, to Mr. Latham Fish — to have both vessels remeasured that evening, and if that was impossible, that the members of the Committee, or their repre- sentatives, should stay on board in charge of the vessels until th^y were measured — was not complied with, and all that followed in conse- quence of the non-compliance with that re- quest appears to the Committee to be purely a personal affair of Lord Dunraven's, and not a matter in which the Royal Yacht Squadron can interfere, nor does Lord Dunraven request them to do so. I have the honor to be, Gentlemen, Your obedient servant, Richard Grant, Secretary R. Y. S. The Committee, on being apprised of the deter- mination of the Royal Yacht Squadron to take no part in the proposed investigation, concluded that a full judicial enquiry was essential, and they there- upon added to their number, by invitation, Capt. Alfred T, Mahan, of the United States Navy, and Mr, Edward J. Phelps, who took part in the sub- sequent proceedings, the result of which is now re- ported. The charges referred to were contained in a pamphlet published by the Earl of Dunraven and reprinted in the London Field of November 9th, 1895, and they were repeated by him in a speech at Cardiff on the 21st of the same month. They had reference to the races sailed at New York on the 7th, 10th and 12th of September, 1895, between the yacht Valkyrie III, belonging to the Earl of Dun- raven and others, and the yacht Defender, owned REPORT OF COMMITTEE. V by Messrs. C. Oliver Iselin, Edwin D. Morgan and William K. Vanderbilt of New York, in competi- tion for what is known as the America's Cup, held by the New York Yacht Club, and subject to chal- lenge under certain conditions. Mr. Iselin was the managing owner. Lord Dunraven's statement, as contained in the publication above referred to, so far as it related to the first race, was as follows : The first race was sailed on September 7. I am of opinion that Defender did not sail on her measured L. W. L. length during that race. I should first explain that, to the best of my belief, none of the gentlemen interested in De- fender lived on board her or on board of her tender, the Hattie Palmer; that Defender's crew slept on board her and that, in conse- quence, a good deal of material, men's cots, etc , had to be transferred backwards and forwards between the Hattie Palmer and De- fender. A good opportunity was afforded ns of observing Defender when she lay close to us in the Erie Basin previous to docking after her final trial race with Vigilant, on August 31. When she came into the basin to be measured on September 6, it was plain to me, as to all on board the City of Bridgeport, that she was floating considerably higher than on the former occasion. That was, of course, quite unobjec- tionable. I may mention that according to Mr. Hyslop, the official measurer, Defender was some six inches shorter when measured for the Cup races than when measured for the Goelet Cup race. Both yachts lay inside Sandy Hook on Friday night; Defender's tender, the Hat- tie Palmer, lay alongside her, and the crew were at work from dark to one in the morning. On Saturday morning early my attention was drawn by those on board the City of Bridgeport, including representatives of her American crew, to the fact that Defender was visibly deeper in the water than when meas- ured. She so appeared to me ; but as her ten- der was alongside and engaged, apparently, in VI KEPOKT OF COMMITTEE. taking material out of her, it was impossible to form a definite opinion at that time. When I put Mr. Henderson, my represen- tative, on board Defender about 9 a. m., after the Hattie Palmer had left her, I felt per- fectly certain that Defender was immersed deeper than when measured. Not only was her bobstay bolt nearer the water, which might have been the result of alteration of trim ; but judging by the line of bronze plating, and by the fact that a pipe amidships, which was flush with the water when measured, was nowhere visible, she was, in my deliberate opinion, floating about four inches deeper in the water than when measured. I was reluctant to make a formal complaint to the Cup Committee on a matter which it was, of course, impossible for me to verify ; and in any case nothing could be done before the race was started ; but as soon as Mr. Latham Fish, a member of the committee, came on board Valkyrie as Defender's representative, and before the race was started, I stated the whole case to him ; told him I thought some mistake had been made, and that all the weight put into Defender, after measurement, had not been taken out before the race ; that I was positively certain she was sailing at least a foot beyond her proper length, and I requested him to take the earliest opportunity of mentioning the matter to the committee. Mr. Fish asked me what suggestions I could make, and I re- plied to the effect that I wished the committee to put one of their members, or some reliable representative, on board of each yacht immedi- ately after the race, and to have both vessels remeasured, if possible, that evening. If that were impossible, then that the members of the committee, or their representatives, should stay on board in charge of the vessels until they were measured ; that the L. W. L. should be marked on both vessels externally in such a way as to be plainly visible, and that the com- mittee should take any other steps they thought desirable to ensure that the yachts should not exceed their L. W. L. length when racing. I put Mr. Fish on board the commit- tee boat immediately after the race. No action was taken that evening beyond ordering REP0KT OF COMMITTEE. Vll the vessels to be remeasured and marked ex- ternally on the day following. No members or representatives of the committee were placed in charge pending remeasurement, as I had requested. Had this been done, my contention that Defender exceeded her measured length, and the extreme limit of length imposed by the agreement and deed of gift, namely, 90 feet, would have been proved or disproved. De- fender lay Saturday night at Bay Ridge, with the Hattie Palmer alongside of her. Both yachts were measured on the following day, (Sunday afternoon), when their L. W. L. length was found to be practically the same as when measured on the Friday previous ; but ob- viously that fact affords no proof that either or both of them had not exceeded their measured length when sailing on Saturday. Lord Dunraven's pamphlet, besides the charge of secret alteration of the water line length, contained various criticisms of the competence or good judgment of those who were charged with the management of the races on behalf of the New York Yacht Club. The Committee have confined their enquiries solely to the question of the truth of the charge of surreptitious changes in the ballasting of the De- fender on September 7th, not deeming themselves authorized or called upon to investigate any other circumstances connected with this or the subse- quent races between the same yachts, except so far as they might assist in determining that question. The Committee met at the club house of the New York Yacht Club, in New York, on the 27th day of December, 1895, and sat from day to day, with the exception of Sunday, until noon of the 31st, for the purpose of hearing evidence upon the subject of their enquiry. The Earl of Dunraven appeared before them, with his counsel, Mr. Askwith, and produced his own Vlll REPORT OF COMMITTEE. and various other evidence in support of the charge he had made. He declined to undertake to sub- stantiate or prosecute the charge, but said that he felt bound to attend and make his statement, and to furnish to the Committee, in aid of their enquiry, such evidence in support of the charge as he pos- sessed. Mr. Iselin, the managing owner of the yacht Defender, also appeared with his counsel, Mr. Choate, and testified before the Committee, and in- troduced evidence to disprove the charge made by the Earl of Dunraven. It was the purpose and the effort of the Commit- tee to avail themselves of all existing evidence on both sides of the case, so far as it was possible to obtain it. They believe that with some slight exceptions hereafter mentioned, and not in their judgment material, they have been furnished with and have heard and considered all the evi- dence that would tend to throw any light upon the issue. Lord Dunraven' s statement before the Committee was contained in a statutory declaration given by him in London, and also in his oral evidence. The substance of it was, that on the 31st of August, 1895, from on board the Valkyrie, he observed the Defender very closely as she lay near by in the Erie Basin, and noticed her trim, her line of immersion and general appearance. That on the 6th of September, when the Defender was again in the Erie Basin for the pur- poses of the official measurement above re- ferred to, he again saw her from the Valkyrie, and noticed that she was floating much lighter than on the 31st of August. That he specially noticed on the port side of the Defender an outlet hole about amidships, which was just cut by the water a little above the base, and which (he thought) was rather more than one inch in diameter ; that he also noticed the line of bronze plating REPORT OF COMMITTEE. IX on the side of the Defender, and the bobstay bolt, and its height above the water. That both yachts lay inside Sandy Hook on the night of that day, and that he slept on board the steamboat City of Bridgeport, a short dis- tance from the Valkyrie and about 200 yards from the Defender ; that about half-past six in the morning of the next day (Septem- ber 7th), being the day of the race, he was awakened by Mr. Glennie, and requested to come up and look at the Defender ; that he looked at her through a pair of glasses, and was convinced that she lay deeper in the water than when meas- ured. That he rowed up to the Defender in his gig that morning, to put his representative on board of her for the race, and had a further opportunity to observe the vessel in the particulars above stated— coming up on the starboard side under the stern, then along the port side and round the bow ; and he then inspected her with care to see whether the pipe hole and the other marks which he had observed on the previous day were in the same position as when she was measured ; that the hole was nowhere visible above the water, and that in his judgment and belief the line of bronze plat- ing and the bobstay bolt were nearer to the water than when she was measured. That judging from the fact that the pipe hole was immersed, and from the apparent distance of the bronze plating and bobstay bolt from the water, he came to the conclusion, which he still believed to be true, that the vessel was immersed three or four inches deeper in the water than when she was measured the day before. That he also looked carefully at the general trim of the Defender, and she was lying true on the water, and had no list to port or starboard. That in forming his conclusion he also took into account the general appearance of the Defender and her trim, in addition to the other matters be- fore mentioned. X REPORT OF COMMITTEE. Tbat afterwards, and when the Valkyrie was towing out to start in the race, Mr. Latham Fish, a member of the Cup Committee, came on board as the representative of the Defender ; that Lord Dun- raven then stated to Mr. Fish that he was sure the Defender was not sailing on her measured length, but was more deeply immersed, and was sailing at least a foot beyond her proper length of load water line, and gave Mr. Fish his reasons for that con- clusion. That he said to Mr. Fish that he wished the Committee to put one of their members, or some reliable representative, on board both of the yachts immediately after the race, and desired that the yachts should be remeasured the same evening, if possible, but if impossible, then that the repre- sentatives of the Cup Committee should remain on board the yachts until remeasurement took place. And that the load water line on both yachts should before the next race be designated by plain exter- nal marks. That Mr. Fish promised to lay the complaint and request before the Committee, and that immedi- ately after the race Mr. Fish was put on board the Committee boat for the purpose of so doing. Lord Dunraven also stated that the Hat tie Palmer lay alongside of the Defender the night before the race, and that work was going on till one in the morning on board the Defender. It appeared, and was not questioned, that the Defender crossed the line on the completion of the match at 5:29:30 o'clock in the afternoon ; that both yachts went up to Bay Ridge to pass the night ; that from the place where Mr. Fish was put on board to the Erie Basin was about twenty-five miles, and that it would have been impossible to reach the Basin, which was the only place where a measurement could be had, until long after dark. And Mr. Fish so stated to Lord Dun- raven when his request above mentioned was made. On the following morning, Sunday, at about ten o'clock, the Defender was taken into the REPORT OF COMMITTEE. XI Erie Basin and remeasured, upon notice to both parties and in presence of their representatives, and the measurement of the load water line was found to be substantially the same as at the previous measurement on the 6th, the variation being too trifling to be material. The accuracy of neither measurement was questioned. And on the same occasion the load water line so measured was plainly marked by a paint mark on the stem, and a red disk on each side. Upon cross-examination Lord Dunraven admitted in substance, that he judged by the eye solely and that the Defender might not have been sunk more than two inches ; that he could not be tied down to a definite statement in this respect ; that the dis- charge hole mentioned was the only mark by which he was enabled to verify the accuracy of his observation ; that in observing the vessel on the morning of the 7th, through the glass, he saw only her starboard side, the pipe hole being on the port side ; that there was then a rip- ple on the water of three or four inches ; that at the distance of 200 yards he could not accurately estimate a difference in immersion ; that the only other opportunity he had of observation that morn- ing was when he rowed out to the Defender to put his representative on board, and passed round the port side ; that he thought the bobstay bolt was about twelve or fourteen inches above the water on the 6th, and some eight or ten inches on the 7th, judging from observation alone ; that he thought the load water line was lengthened by the increased immersion about one foot, though he did not judge from that, but only from the apparent depth of the vessel in the water as compared with his recollec- tion of her in the basin the day before. The testimony of Mr. Glennie, who appeared be- fore the Committee in person, and of Mr. Ratsey, whose ex parte statutory declaration was read, was also produced on the part of Lord Dunraven. These witnesses spent the night of September 6th on board Xll REPORT OF COMMITTEE. the City of Bridgeport with Lord Dunraven, and at about six o'clock in the morning of the seventh they rowed around the Defender in a small boat. Their evidence was to the same general effect as that of Lord Dunraven, on the point of the appar- ent increase in the immersion of the Defender. Mr. Glennie placed the apparent immersion at about one and a half inches more on the 7th than on the 6th. Testimony to the same effect was also introduced in the shape of an ex parte statutory decla- ration of Mr. Watson, the designer of the Valkyrie, who testified that on the morn- ing of the first official measurement, at the Erie Basin, he plainly saw above water the pipe hole mentioned by Lord Dunraven, but did not see the Defender on the morning of the race, and that on the day of the re-measurement he again saw the pipe hole above water. Similar ex parte declarations from Captains Cran- field and Sycamore of the Valkyrie were also read. They confirmed from general observation the state- ment of Lord Dunraven as to the apparent increased immersion of the Defender, but neither of these witnesses saw the Defender except from the deck of the Valkyrie, at a distance of about 300 yards. Three other witnesses were mentioned by Lord Dunraven to the Committee, as persons whom he thought would give evidence to the same effect as above stated : Mr. Kersey, a resident of New York, who had been the representative of Lord Dunraven in the United States in matters connected with this match; the captain of the steamer City of Bridgeport, which was used at the races as a tender to the Valkyrie ; and the pilot of the Valkyrie. These witnesses were not produced. It was not claimed that their evidence would be other than cumulative to that given by the other witnesses on the part of Lord Dunraven, and of the same character. Never- theless the Committee, on their own account, not being authorized to issue compulsory process for KEPORT OF COMMITTEE. Xlll the attendance of witnesses, invited the attendance of Mr. Kersey, which he declined to give, stating as his reason the objection of those for whom he acted in his business. And they made such efforts as they could to obtain the other two witnesses, but without success. Mr. Young, the pilot, was at sea. Cap- tain Parker, of the city of Bridgeport, though quite willing to appear, was so engaged as to be unable to attend. It will be perceived, therefore, that considering this case, in the first place, upon the evidence introduced on the part of Lord Dunraven alone, the only proof in support of the charge it involves, consists in the opinions of the witnesses above re- ferred to, formed merely by looking at the vessel in the water on two successive days, that on the latter day she was from an inch and a half to four inches lower in the water than on the former. And that these opinions were based solely upon the general appearance of the vessel as apparent to the eye, and upon no measurement or other data whatever by which they could be verified, excepting only that a pipe hole of about an inch in diameter, which on the first day was just at the water's edge, was the next day not to be seen. The committee attach no importance to the opinions of the witnesses who only saw the Defender from a distance of two or three hundred yards. There remain therefore but three persons, Mr. Glennie, Mr. Ratsey, and Lord Dunraven himself, who ever got near enough to the Defender to see the pipe hole, even if it had been visible. It is obvious that a very slight list of the vessel to starboard might have made this pipe hole visible on the first day, and that a similar list to port might have made it invisible on the second, quite irrespective of its actual position in reference to the load water line. A difference of three or four inches in the distance of the bobstay bolt from XIV KEPOET OF COMMITTEE. the water might, if it existed, have easily occurred from a change in the trim of the vessel in conse- quence of the presence of the crew and their be- longings in the forecastle, or other temporary cause bringing her a little down by the head. Lord Dun- raven himself says in his publication above quoted, that the difference in the height of the bobstay bolt above the water might have resulted from an alteration in trim. The Erie basin where the Defender was observed on the first day, is a small entirely closed space where the water is practically smooth. On the second day the Defender lay inside of Sandy Hook in the lower bay of New York, a large body of water, open to the ocean for five or six miles on its easterly side. Its surface is necessarily at all times in motion, and during the night between the two days the wind had been blowing heavily. It is obvious that the difference in the condition of the water in which the Defender lay upon the two days, might well have produced a difference of apparent immersion. The fraud that is involved in the charge thus made, if it is found to be true, is a very grave one, utterly destructive to the reputation of all who should appear to have been concerned in it, and especially odious under the circumstances of a friendly contest between citizens of different coun- tries, exciting international interest, and supposed to be conducted by gentlemen, upon a high plane of honor and mutual confidence. From the magnitude and difficulty of the oper- ation necessary to its consummation, it must un- avoidably, if it occurred, have been participated in, not only by Mr. Iselin and those concerned with him in the management of the Defender, but by all the officers and crew of that vessel, and many others incidentally employed. It appeared from the evidence of Mr. Herreshoff, the designer of the Defender, confirmed by other witnesses, that to have produced an increased im- EEPOET OF COMMITTEE. XV mersion of one inch on the Defender would have required 7135 pounds of additional weight, or about three and a quarter long tons ; that to have produced such an immersion of three inches would have re- quired about nine and three-quarter tons; and an im- mersion of four inches, about thirteen tons; and that an immersion of one inch would have lengthened the ]oad- water line eight inches, and in the same pro- portion for each additional inch of immersion. If such a result was produced, therefore, all the weight thus shown to be required must have been removed from the vessel before the first measure- ment on the 6th, replaced during the night of that day, and again removed during the night of the 7th, in time for the remeasurement on the 8th. And this was Lord Dunraven's theory as finally stated upon cross-examination. Such a fraud should not even be charged without due regard, first, to the established character of those upon whom the imputation of guilt must fall, and, second, to the kind and degree of the evi- dence on which it rests. To justify even accusation, suspicion must at least be reasonable ; yet upon the hearing before the Committee, the evidence above summarized (and hereafter appended in full), so slight, so extremely liable to mistake, is all that is offered in justification of the charge publicly made in the London Field. It is not readily to be believed that any expert, however skillful, could determine by the eye, between one day and another, and under circumstances so diverse, a difference so trifling in the displacement of a vessel, especially one with which his previous acquaintance was small. Lord Dunraven himself had the candor to say that he did not claim that this evidence, even irrespective of anything that was shown to the con- trary, established the truth of his charge ; he did claim, however, that the omission of the Cup Com- mittee either to remeasure the Defender on the evening of the race, or to put a representative on board to remain during the night, so far prevented XVI REPORT OF COMMITTEE. the proof or disproof of his claim, as to justify him in renewing it after the matter had been revived by the Cup Committee's report of October 24th; and that point will, therefore, be specially consid- ered hereafter. But the case was not left to stand upon the evi- dence thus far reviewed. On the part of Mr. Iselin there was introduced the testimony of a large number of witnesses, in- cluding, besides his own, that of the designer of the Defender, the official measurer, the captain, all the officers, and all the crew of the Defender numbering thirty in all (excepting five seamen, who were shown to be at sea and therefore inaccessible), all the gentlemen who were on board the Defender at the time of the race, and all other persons, so far as the Committee could learn, who had such means of observation as enabled them to know any facts material to the issue. These witnesses were personally present, except thirteen seamen, whose testimony was taken by ex parte affidavits. By this evidence there was established, to the entire satisfaction of the Committee, the facts now to be stated. The Defender, by her original design, was built and intended to sail without any loose ballast whatever, all weight thought necessary being in- troduced into the keel by a single casting, to the amount of about eighty-five tons. This calculation was based upon the rule of the New York Yacht Club, requiring yachts to sail in such races with their tanks, fittings, bulkheads, etc., on board, as when prepared for ordinary use. During all the sailing of the Defender after her completion down to the time of this race, includ- ing various trial races with the Vigilant, to deter- mine which of those yachts should be entered in the competition for the Cup, the Defender had sailed without any loose ballast whatever, but with REPORT OF COMMITTEE. XVU her tanks, fittings, etc., onboard. She was meas- ured officially for the trial races on the 31st of Au- gust, 1895, and her length on the load water line was then found to be 88 T 8 -^- feet. She sailed at this length in all races prior to the Cup race now in question, when her load water length was found by the official measurement of September 6th, to be 88^q feet, a difference of but four inches and eight-tenths of an inch in length, corresponding to three-fifths of one inch of immersion. She is a boat of unusual stability and power, and all the evi- dence, both scientific and practical, was to the effect that additional ballast beyond what she originally contained was not required, and would certainly have diminished rather than improved the speed of the boat. Such was the opinion at the time of the race of Mr. Herreshoff, the designer, Captain Haff, her sailing master, and Mr. Iselin. It is plain, therefore, that no motive existed for increasing the ballast of the Defender. It cannot be supposed that there could have been an intention to place the vessel upon a different trim from that previously determined by her designer and manager to be the best. After the arrival of the Valkyrie in the United States, it was found that she was stripped of her fittings, water tanks, bulkheads, etc., and not in a condition to comply with the rule of the New York Yacht Club above mentioned. A clause was accordingly introduced in the detailed agreement for the Cup races, executed on September 4th, waiving that rule. On the 4th and 5th of September the Defender, while at New Rochelle,was stripped, and had all her fittings, water tanks, bulkheads, etc., taken out of her, which were weighed and found to be about seven thousand pounds. Before this material had been removed from the upper part of the vessel, Mr. Herreshoff and Mr. Iselin had estimated that its weight could be efficiently replaced by two tons of loose ballast in the hold. Two tons of lead, xviii report of committee. consisting of forty-two pigs, were therefore ob- tained from New York, carried by steamboat to New Rochelle, and there put in the hold. The weight of the material removed proved, however, to be greater than they had anticipated, and they accordingly decided to add one ton more of lead ballast ; and another ton was thereupon sent from New York to the Erie Basin. On the 6th of September, the day of the first official measurement, at the Erie Basin, and prior to the measurement, this ton of lead, consisting of twenty-one pigs, was placed temporarily on the cabin floor of the Defender, above the place it was to occupy in the hold. On the evening of the 6th of September, the day before the race, it being found that this lead could not be stowed in the hold without the pigs being cut in two, it was carried on to the Hattie Palmer, her tender, which was alongside 3 and each of the twenty-one pigs was cut in two, carried back again, and stowed in the hold of the Defender. About five tons of lead ballast were in like man- ner put on board the Valkyrie shortly before the measurements, some portion of which at the time of the first measurement was temporarily placed on her cabin floor. It was very clearly proved that the Defender had not been lightened in any way before the first official measurement on the 6th of September, except by the. taking out of the tanks, fittings, &c, above mentioned (the weight of which had been replaced by lead ballast to the extent indicated), and by the substitution of a steel boom and gaff for the wooden spars .theretofore in use. Nor was any other ballast', or weight, of any description, put upon the Defender after the official measurement of the 6th of September and before the race on the 7th, or taken out of her after the race on the 7th and before the remeasurement on the 8th. There were no tanks left in the boat into which water could have been introduced as ballast, and KEP0RT OF COMMITTEE. XIX the hold was examined and fonnd to be dry, imme- diately before and during the race. Lord Dunraven admitted that water could not have been used as bal- last without tanks to contain it. After the De- fender's bulkheads were removed at NewRochelle, she was open from stem to stern, so that no ballast conld have been concealed. Mr. Iselin personally examined the hold before the measurement on Sep- tember 6th. Immediately before the race on Sep- tember 7th both Mr. Iselin and Mr. Herreshoff ex- amined the hold again to see how the twenty-one pigs had been stowed the night before, and the condition of the hold as to water. No bal- last of any kind, to any material amount, could possibly have been put on board or taken off the Defender, as the Committee believe, without the knowledge of all the officers and crew, and of Mr. Iselin and his guests. The work referred to by Lord Dunraven as done on board the Defender the night before the race, was the moving and cutting and replacing of the lead before-mentioned ; and likewise work done by a party of riggers, in fitting new wire ropes forming bridles for the main sheet blocks — several riggers from New York, as well as the officers and crew of the Defender, testifying before the Committee that they were engaged on such work that night, and that it lasted until three o' clock in the morning, and was of a nature to make considerable noise. The Hattie Palmer after lying a short time alongside, left the Defender for the night before ten o'clock both on that evening and the next, and did not return to the Defender on either night. In respect to the pipe hole on the port side of the Defender, noticed by Lord Dunraven at the time of the measurement the day before the race, and which proved to be the discharge of the bilge pump, it was shown by a careful measurement and survey made XX REPORT OF COMMITTEE. by Mr. DeLuze, a civil engineer experienced in such work, assisted by Mr. Hyslop, the official measurer, and testified to by them, that when the vessel lay in still water, trimmed and ballasted as she was on September 8th, the discharge hole would not be visible, being entirely below the load-water line as defined by the external marks affixed on that day, as above stated ; and this was shown upon a drawing prepared by Mr. DeLuze. This hole was not, as thought by Lord Dunraven and his witnesses, about an inch in diameter, but was two and one eighth inches in diameter. It is not disputed that the Defender was in sub- stantially the same trim and the same degree of immersion on both the sixth and eighth of Septem- ber. And Mr. Hyslop testified positively that the marks which had been painted on the Defender in his presence by Mr. Watson were still visible at the time of the hearing before the Committee, iden- tically as they had been put on. The Committee had no reason to doubt the ac- curacy of these measurements, or the correctness of the evidence in respect to them. But they deemed it most important that it should be settled beyond any possible question, whether the discharge hole of the bilge pump was or was not visible above the load water line, if the vessel was upon an even keel. At the request of the Committee, therefore, Cap- tain Mahan kindly undertook to make a further examination of the Defender, now tying at New Rochelle, with reference to this point. He made a visit to the yacht in company with Mr. Iselin and Mr. Askwith, but found that under the uncer- tain weather conditions prevalent at this season, a measurement direct from the water surface was scarcely practicable, and recommended that the matter in question should be settled by measure- ments starting from points of origin within the yacht herself. He therefore obtained from the Brooklyn Navy Yard, through the kindness of REPORT OF COMMITTEE. XXI Naval Constrnctor Bowles, the services of Mr. Hibbs, an Assistant Naval Constructor in the United States Navy, who, without being apprised of the result reached by Mr. DeLuze and Mr. Hyslop, or seeing the drawings, went to New Rochelle and made a careful measurement of the location of the bilge pump discharge in reference to the load water line as marked on the Defender externally by Mr. Watson. The request made to Constructor Bowles for the Committee, was as follows : The Committee would like to have accur- ately determined by measurement, the exact position of the bilge pump hole on the port side of the yacht Defender, indicated in plan submitted, so as to show conclusively the ver- tical distance of the lower rim of the hole from the racing water line ; two points of that line being shown at the lower edge of the red disk and of the mark on the stem. These two marks were placed by the meas- urer when yacht was in racing trim, and on even keel. Committee would also like to know the vertical drop of said hole, corresponding to 1°, 2°, and 3°, of list to port. Also, would noticeable trimming by the head be produced by shirting thirty men — say two tons — from centre of gravity to the men's berthing quarters ? N. B. — Note if red marks are of some standing. (Signed) A. T. Mahan. Mr. Hibbs reported in writing to Constructor Bowles, by whom the report was trans- mitted to the Committee through Capt. Mahan, that the lower edge of the discharge hole was 2J§ inches below the load water line, thus confirming the accuracy of the previous measure- ments by Mr. De Luzeand Mr. Hyslop. Mr. Hibbs followed a different method of measurement from that adopted by the others ; for he ascertained the position of the bilge pump hole entirely by measure- XX11 EEPORT OF COMMITTEE. ments starting from within the yacht herself and not from the water. It follows, therefore, as a mathe- matical certainty, that upon an even keel, in the Erie Basin, this discharge hole would have been be- low the level of the water . By further experiments made at the same time, Mr. Hibbs also ascertained, that 1. A weight of two tons moved from a position amidships through a distance of 13.75 feetathwart- ships, would incline the Defender one degree, and would drop the discharge hole two and a quarter inches. 2. That a weight of ^ve tons similarly moved through eleven feet would incline her two degrees, and would drop the discharge hole four and a half inches. 3. That a weight of ten tons similarly moved through a distance of 7.25 feet, would incline her three degrees, and would drop the discharge hole six and three-quarter inches. 4. A weight of two tons was moved from the center of gravity of the water plane, forward on the middle line to the horizontal position of the center of gravity of the crew's berthing quarters, a distance of thirty- two feet six inches. The change of trim thereby occasioned on the water line was as fol- lows : Forward, 2J inches down. Aft, 2 inches up. Mr. Hibbs further stated that he carefully ex- amined the paint marks on the stem and side of the Defender, and that it was evident that they were of some standing. The proof showed, that as the vessel lay in the Erie Basin just before the official measure- ment on the 6th of September, she had a slight list to starboard, probably occasioned by the movement of the crew to that side of the vessel be- fore they were put in position amidships for that REPORT OF COMMITTEE. XX111 measurement. And it was further shown that the quarters of the crew were in the forecastle ; that their cots, bedding, &c, there, were of the weight of about forty pounds to each man ; that those cots, &c, were taken out before the race and trans- ferred to the Hattie Palmer, and returned to the Defender after the race ; and that their presence on board at the time she was seen bv Lord Dun- raven and his witnesses early on the morning of the 7th, or the congregating of the crew forward for any reason, might have brought the vessel a little down by the head, as shown by the experi- ments of Constructor Hibbs, and so have brought the bobstay bolt nearer the water. On the occasion of Lord Dunraven's coming alongside the Defender in his gig, there was a gen- eral and perfectly natural movement of nearly everyone on board, to that side of the yacht. If, as Lord Dunraven suspected, the Defender had entered upon the race of September 7th with her racing line increased by the addition of ballast after the measurement of September 6th, she would have been violating the rules of the N. Y. Yacht Club, under which the race was sailed, one of which is as follows : If any yacht, by alteration of trim, or im- mersion by dead weight, increase her L. W. L. length, or in any way increase her spar measure- ments as officially taken, she must obtain a remeasurement. This rule is specifically reproduced in the special agreement of September 4th governing the Cup Races. Lord Dunraven did not make any written or other communication to the Cup Committee or to Mr. Iselin on the subject of the increased immer- sion of the Defender, except that made to the Com- mittee through Mr. Fish. XXIV REPORT OF COMMITTEE. The rule of the New York Yacht Club on the subject of protests for violation of the rules of a race is as follows : A yacht having cause during a race to pro- test against any other yacht for a violation of these rules, shall display flag B of the club signal code, which shall be known as the Pro- test Flag, and keep such flag flying till an- swered from the judge's boat, by the answering pennant. A protest must be supplemented by a written statement of the facts, which must be sent to the Regatta Committee before 6 p. m . of the day following the race. Lord Dunraven did not raise his flag, as required by this rule, nor make any protest at all against the Defender on that race. "With reference to the suggestion of Lord Dun- raven that the omission of the Cup Committee to remeasure the Defender on the same day of the race, or to put a representative on board of her to remain during the night, justified his suspicion that her displacement had been tampered with be- tween the race and the remeasurement on the fol- lowing day, a few words should be said. It has already been pointed out that a remeasure- ment of the Defender after the race and on the same day was impossible, because the Erie Basin, where alone it could take place, was too far distant to be reached until too dark to make it ; and that Lord Dunraven was so informed by Mr. Fish when the request was made. It was fully proved that such a measurement could not be made by artificial light. The remeasurement that took place on the next day (Sunday) at 10 o'clock in the morning, was therefore the earliest possible. In regard to the request, which Lord Dunraven states that he made to Mr. Fish for transmis- sion to the Cup Committee, namely, that each of the two yachts should be taken into the charge of REPORT OF COMMITTEE. XXV the Committee for that night, it is conclusively shown that no such request reached the Committee. Mr. Fish denies that any such request was in- cluded in the message with which he was charged. That he did not understand that it was in- cluded, is shown by the fact that in delivering the message a few hours afterwards, gravely impressed as he says with its importance, he made no mention to the Committee of such a request. It further appears that a memorandum of the message sent w r as made by Mr. Fish in writing, which was produced and put in evidence, and contains no allusion to the request in question. Mr. Fish testifies that he made this memoran- dum in Lord Dunraven's presence, because unwill- ing to trust his own memory, and in order to be sure that it should be accurately conveyed ; that he read it over to Lord Dunraven, who suggested a cor- rection, which was interlined ; and that this memo- randum contained the whole message as given to him, and as delivered by him. Lord Dunraven remembers that some memorandum was made by Mr. Fish at the time, concerning this message, but does not recollect that he himself suggested any cor- rection. But even upon his own recollection of the facts, the written memorandum seems strongly to confirm Mr. Fish's statement. It is testified by the Cup Committee that the memorandum was delivered to them by Mr. Fish as the message he had received, and it is clear that it was acted upon by them as such, and that the publication by Lord Dunraven in the Field was the first knowledge that Committee had of any alleged request that they should take charge of the vessels pending remeasurement. It is also to be observed that Lord Dunraven in his letter to Mr. Kersey of September 27th makes no mention of such request; for all he there says is, U I don't know whether Fish ever told the Committee I wished the ships measured immediately after the race." It was shown that the message from Lord XXVI REPORT OF COMMITTEE. Dnnraven as to the increased immersion of the Defender, and the reason for his request for a remeasurement of the Defender, were not communi- cated to Mr. Iselin by Mr. Fish or by the Cup Com- mittee, and did not come to his knowledge till long afterwards. It has not been suggested that the members of the Cup Committee, or any of them, were or could have been parties to any tampering with the water line of the Defender. The complaint of Lord Dun- raven, made through Mr. Fish, was not stated in such terms as to suggest to them, in the absence of any definite request, that they ought to put a rep- resentative on board the Defender that night. This is apparent from Lord Dunraven's own statement of it in his publication in the Field. The Com- mittee have not been referred to any precedent for such action, nor to any rule of any yacht club in which such a remedy has been provided for. It necessarily implied distrust of all persons con- nected with the management of the Defender, and from their knowledge of these gentlemen it would doubtless never have occurred to the Cup Com- mittee unless specially demanded. But whether the Cup Committee should of their own motion, upon the suggestion that was in fact conveyed to them by oral message from Lord Dun- raven, have taken that step as a matter of precau- tion, becomes now in the present case totally im- material to consider, because, as has been shown, the evidence is conclusive that nothing did take place, or under the circumstances could possibly have taken place on board the Defender that night, tending to support the charge made by Lord Dun- raven. A representative of the Cup Committee, if he had been on board, could therefore have dis- covered nothing, and prevented nothing. The only other circumstance that the Committee deem it material to allude to, is the omission by the REPORT OF COMMITTEE. XXV11 Cup Committee, until after the first race, to cause the load water length of the competing yachts to be marked externally on the vessels. This was indicated on both yachts by the measurer at the time of the official measurement, by means of copper tacks placed in the decks. That these marks were accurate is not questioned. This method of marking the water line length was in accordance with the uniform practice of the New York Yacht Club. At the last race for the America's Cup, which took place in 1893, and in which a yacht belonging to Lord Dunraven took part, the load water length was so marked, and without objection by him. On the present occasion, the first request made by Lord Dunraven for an external marking was contained in a note dated September 6th, 1895, the very day upon which the boats were to be measured, addressed to Mr. Canfield, the Secre- tary of the Cup Committee. That Committee with- out delay convened a meeting and acted favorably upon the request, provided Mr. Iselin consented ; his consent being necessary to any modification of the terms of the agreement. He at once assented, and within a few hours after the receipt of Lord Dunraven' s request the Committee had sent a sub- committee to the Erie Basin where the boats were to be measured, to see that they were marked ex- ternally as requested by Lord Dunraven. But the Valkyrie had already been measured, and had left the Basin, and could not return on ac- count of the tide. It was therefore arranged that the marking should take place on the 8th of September, the day following the first race. And the measurer was ordered to preserve the bat- ten used in the first measurement, and to take steps to make sure that the yachts should be at the same point of immersion. It is apparent, therefore, that the reason why the external marking was not made until after the first race had been sailed, was because Lord Dunraven XX Vlll REPORT OF COMMITTEE. was so late in his request for a method of marking not customary and not provided for in the agreement for the race, that it was impossible that it should be had any sooner. Lord Dunraven must be in error in his recollec- tion that in his conversation with Mr. Fish, he de- manded, and as a result, secured, the external marking of the boats. And the suggestion that Lord Dunraven had repeatedly asked to have the vessels marked externally before the first race, is not sustained by any evidence. It is very much to be regretted that, if Lord Dunraven' s suspicions were not dispelled at the time of the remeasurement of the Defender on the 8th of September, he did not say so then, instead of accepting in silence the result which verified the previous measurement. The remeasurement was the Committee's response to the communication which they had received through Mr. Fish. In connection with their knowledge of the circum- stances, which made it impossible that the im- puted fraud couJd have been perpetrated without Mr. Iselin's concurrence, and their knowledge of Mr. Iselin, it satisfied them ; and, as we have seen, it justly satisfied them. To all appearance it satisfied Lord Dunraven. He was present at the remeasurement, and met there the members of the Committee and Mr. Iselin. He made no request for further action. He made no objection to proceeding without further action. He made no inquiry as to how or how fully his oral message through Mr. Fish had been delivered, and no suggestion that any request which he supposed to have been contained in that message had not been complied with. He sailed the next race in the series that had been agreed on without protest or objection on ac- count of the change which he had told Mr. Fish REPORT OF COMMITTEE. XXIX lie believed to have been made in the load water line of the Defender before the first race. And he testified that his belief that such a change had oc- curred did not influence him in his final withdrawal from the match at the third race. The Cup Com- mittee seems to have been warranted in supposing that Lord Dunraven' s suspicions were allayed, and that no further steps were necessary to settle any question of fact or to vindicate any one's reputation. Upon a careful consideration of the whole case, the Committee are unanimously of the opinion that the charge made by Lord Dunraven, and which has been the subject of this investigation, had its origin in mistake ; that it is not only not sustained by evidence, but is completely disproved ; and that all the circumstances indicated by him as giving rise to his suspicion, are entirely and satisfactorily explained. They deem it, therefore, but just to Mr. Iselin and the gentlemen concerned with him, as well as to the officers and crew of the Defender, that the Committee should express emphatically their conviction, that nothing whatever occurred in connection with the race in question, that casts the least suspicion upon the integrity or propriety of their conduct. And the committee are not willing to doubt, that if Lord Dunraven had remained present through- out the investigation, so as to have heard all the evidence that was introduced, he would of his own motion have withdrawn a charge that was so plainly founded upon mistake, and that has been so unfortunate in the publicity it has attained, and the feeling to which it has given rise. The Committee append a full stenographic report, revised by the counsel on both sides, of all the evidence laid before them, and of all the proceedings on the hearing, and likewise copies XXX REPORT OF COMMITTEE. of all the documents and papers introduced on either side, as considered by the Committee. And they ask to be discharged from further con- sideration of the subject referred to them. The Committee cannot take leave of the case without expressing their regret that a part of the evidence now annexed should have been surrepti- tiously obtained by a New York newspaper owned by one of the oldest members of the Club, and published with comments very adverse to one of the parties, on the morning of the 20th of January. They had deemed it important, under the pecu- liarly delicate circumstances of this case, and the interest it had excited both in England and the United States, that no part of their proceedings should be laid before the public, or become the subject of discussion, until the whole evidence and their conclusions upon it, could be made known in both countries. Their request to this effect was so obvious in its propriety that it was most honor- ably observed by all the many persons who had ac- cess, in a greater or less degree, to the proceed- ings of the Committee. It was therefore in spite of the Committee's efforts, in opposition to their well understood wishes, and in disregard of the best in- terests of the Yacht Club, that this premature and imperfect publication was made. January 21, 1896. E. J. Phelps, J. Pierpont Morgan, W. C. Whitney, A. T. Ma han, G. L. Rives. proceebings on tbe £yamination of Wlitneaeea New York, Friday, December 27th, 1895. The Committee met at 10 a.m. in the Model Room of the Club House at 67 Madisou Avenue. Present : Hon. E. J. Phelps, Chairman. Mr. J. Pierpont Morgan. Hon. William C. Whitney. Captain Alfred T. Mahan. Mr. George L. Rives. Also present : The Earl of Dunraven, accompanied by his counsel, Mr. G. R. Askwith. Mr. C. Oliver Iselin, accompanied by his counsel, Mr. Joseph H. Choate. The Chairman : Gentlemen : The resolution un- der which this Committee has been appointed, adopted at a meeting of The New York Yacht Club on the 18th November, is this : " Whereas, The London Field has lately made public certain charges purporting to have been made by the Earl of Dunraven in reference to the recent America Cup Races, sailed under the chal- lenge of the Royal Yacht Squadron, and u Whereas, This Club is of opinion that not- withstanding the extraordinary conduct of the Earl of Dunraven in respect to the time and manner of making such charges, it is due to its honor and dignity that suitable action should be taken in re- lation thereto ; " Resolved, That Messrs. J. Pierpont Morgan, William C. Whitney and George L. Rives, are hereby appointed a Committee, with power, in their discretion, to add to their number, to whom the matter of said charges is hereby referred ; and that such Committee shall have full power to represent this Club in reference to the matter, and to take, on behalf of the Club, and its name, any action which may seem to them proper in the premises." Under the power coDf erred by that resolution,, the Committee originally appointed have invited Captain Mahan of the Navy and myself to sit with them. It is hardly necessary to state, but I am de- sired by the Committee to say, that t they pro- pose to confine the inquiry strictly to the subject embraced in the resolution. Beyond that they are entrusted with no duty and with no authority. On that point — that is, the truth of the charges that are understood to have been made by Lord Dun- raven — the Committee will be glad to hear any- thing upon either side that is pertinent. The Committee is not authorized, under the laws of this State, to administer oaths, and therefore the testimony will have to be taken — so far as it is taken here — without being under oath ; and, while we shall be guided by the general principles of the law of evidence, we shall not feel bound to enforce strict legal rules, but shall feel at liberty to hear anything that the Committee deem they ought to hear, that may be offered on the one side or the other. The affirmative of this proposition being upon Lord Dunraven, we shall expect first to hear from him. Before that, if any gentleman has any sug- gestion to make in respect to the procedure before the Committee, we shall be happy to hear him. I am desired further to add, that it is the intention of the Committee that its sessions shall be private, and it is particularly desired that no part of the proceedings here shall be given ont to the public, or to the press, until the conclusion of the inquiry. The testimony will all be taken down and when a decision is reached the whole testimony will be given to the public ; but in the meantime, it is thought' very desirable that it should not go out by piecemeal to be discussed in the newspapers, and perhaps mis-stated. Mr. Askwith : I am here to assist Lord Dunraven in this inquiry, and it is proposed that, if Lord Dunraven has to return to England on account of important engagements taking him back there be- fore the conclusion of this inquiry, that I should remain as his representative during the remainder of it. And it appears that before Lord Dunraven gives evidence in the matter, it might be a useful procedure if, on his behalf, I made a short, plain statement of the position that he takes in the matter, to show what he desires to do to assist the inquiry. The Chairman : We shall be glad to hear it. Mr. AsJcwith : I think it might be of advantage if I gave to the Commissioners a copy of the pamphlet in question, upon which this inquiry is made. Mr. Choate: This is not new at all? This is an authentic reproduction of the article in the Field? Mr. AsJcwith : That is the pamphlet that Lord Dunraven published. Mr. Choate : What is referred to in the resolu- tion as published in the London Field f Mr. Askwith : An advance proof of that copy was sent to the Field. Mr. Choate : Are there any material changes? Mr. Askwith : None whatever. Lord Dunraven has nothing to do with any comments that may be made by the editor of the article in question. There have been various newspaper reports that investigation of the charges had begun. I under- stand from what the Chairman of the Commission says, that that is not at all the case ; that the Com- mission really is only beginning to-day, have made no former inquiries, and that it is commencing with the evidence of Lord Dunraven. Tli e Chairman : Commencing now. There has been no previous inquiry by the Committee. Mr. AsJcwith: I shall make this statement as short as I can, under the circumstances. The position that Lord Dnnraven desires to take up is very simple. That is that these charges, or alleged charges, are no new matter. It is but a re- iteration of statements that were made by him as long ago as September 7th ; that were published subsequently to that date, before this pamphlet appeared in the Field, and that the opportunity of investigating the truth of whether the Defender, upon September 7th, was upon a longer load water- line than when she was measured in the progress of the races, was a matter which could only be proved or disproved at the time when Lord Dnnraven asked that the inquiry should be made, and when in- quiry was not granted. He is now in the position of being called upon, at a time when lie has most definitely stated that it is not possible for him to adduce proper proof, or when an inquiry into the truth cannot clearly and well be made of the mat- ter which he desired to be investigated at the time when he first made the statement. He has now come, with great personal inconvenience, offering by telegram, directly he heard that this inquiry was to be made, to give all assistance he can to the Com- mittee in the inquiry they are going to make, and he is here now to do so. He is also here to answer what he considers to be an extraordinary attack made upon him for the reiteration of statements that he had made previously, at a time when he had left the country and real I \ was unable to be present and answer. And also, he desires most em- phatically to protest against the manner in which these statements have been mixed up with a sup- posed attack upon the American people, an appeal to patriotism, and suggestions of that character, which can only have the effect of preventing evi- dence that might be forthcoming on the part, per- haps, of any American citizens being possible to be brought clearly before this inquiry. At the time when the publication in the Field first reached America, there was an outburst of feeling which is perhaps extraordinary. At any rate it is extraor- dinary from his point of view, because he had felt that he was merely re-stating, as I said before, re- marks which he had made on several occasions before. He resents strongly the imputation, al- though he cares nothing whatsoever for the per- sonal insults that may be heaped upon him in the newspapers, but he resents strongly the imputation that he has made any charge behind any man's back, or that he has desired, or indeed done, any- thing to insult a people, for whom he has always had great feelings of respect, and whose country he is now^visiting, I believe, for the thirty-third time. His object in making these statements was, as far as possible, to support the best interest of yacht racing, and to point out clearly and plainly what he considered to be the incompetence on various occa- sions, of the Committee that had to deal with the races that took place in September last. Well, gentlemen, it is rather important I think that we should consider what were the exact words upon this matter that Lord Dunraven did say, and why he said them. It has been for a long time one of the things to which he has paid great atten- tion, in the course of his yacht-racing experience, to have rules clearly laid down for the conduct of yacht racing. It is to his mind as important that yacht racing should be conducted under strict rules as racing upon the turf, and that every precaution should be taken in yacht racing that no oppor- tunity, in the interest of the public, should be 6 given for wrong dealing, or any evasion of rules. It is in the interest, not only of the competitors in a race of this kind ; but it is also in the interest of the public generally that they should feel that they are bound by rules which are so stringent that evasion is impossible. And, in the course of the last two years, the rules, that have been adopted in America, are themselves a proof that the matter which he has so earnestly advocated, has been believed to be a proper matter to be taken up by important clubs who are interested in yacht racing. Prior to the race which actually took place on September 7th, this question of the meas- urement of yachts had been the subject of consid- erable correspondence which had passed between Lord Dud raven and the members who were repre- senting this Yacht Club. As long ago as October 25th, 1894, I find in a letter from Lord Dunraven to Mr. Oddie, that he desires that the terms and conditions which have governed the Vigilant and Valkyrie matches should be modified. He writes as follows : ' ' The terms and conditions governing the Vigi- lant-Valkyrie matches would be quite satisfac- tory to me, with the following modifications : "First. — As by length on the L. W. L. is ob- viously meant length on which a vessel sails, I think yachts should be measured with all the weights on board, dead and alive, which they in- tend to carry during a race and should be marked ; that no alterations should be made in the amount of those weights and no ballast trimmed without notice given to the Sailing Committee not less than 24 hours before a race ; that the Committee should be entitled to take any steps they may think fit to ascertain that the vessels do not, when racing, exceed their measured length, and that a limit — a generous one — to the number of persons on board, should be fixed according to L. W. L. length or rating." Now that letter, and many other letters that subsequently passed, shows that Lord Dunraven knew well that it would be most important to make more stringent rules upon the measurement, in order to prevent any evasion, and in order to insure that vessels should sail upon their proper water-line length. Upon November 15th, 1894, an answer came from Mr. Smith, in which he says, "as to that portion or paragraph of your letter marked first, relating to limiting the live weight and measurement with all weights on board, the Committee are unanimous in its favor and will recommend it to the Club ; in fact, the propriety of adopting some such regula- tions has for some time past been under discussion by a Committee on the Racing Rules. ' ' The other points of this paragraph we think you will find already practically provided for by referring to page 30 of the report of last year's match, copy enclosed, under supplementary and final conditions." The correspondence went on by letter on Decem- ber 1st, 1894, in which Lord Dunraven replied to Mr. Smith and said: "I am glad to find, as I ex- pected, that on the question of measurement and weights we are in complete accord. The supple- mentary conditions set out on page 30 of the re- port of the America's Cup Committee to the New York Yacht Club are not, I think, quite satis- factory ; but the points involved are merely details which can easily be settled by further correspond- ence, or after my arrival." On January 14th Mr. Smith replied to that, and said: " We strongly recommend, unless you specially desire otherwise, that any other question be left until your arrival in this country." Therefore, in January, 1895, the question of measurement having been raised by Lord Dunraven, some suggestions that he made having been ac- ceded to, any further details were left over until his arrival in the Autumn of this year. At a meeting of the Cup Committee, which took place on August 30th, these matters were discussed, Lord Dunraven being present, and then, for the first time, he heard that the custom of the New York Yacht Club was that no mark should be placed upon the side of the vessels, but that a copper tack should be placed upon the deck to mark the load water line. It might just as well have been placed on a blackboard in the centre of the boat, for all the effect it would have for show- ing how the vessel lay upon the water. Well, Lord Dunraven said that if that was the custom of the Club, he did not wish to interfere with it, although I believe he expressed his opinion that it was a most important matter, and that it was a pity that this procedure should be the only one governing the course of marking the load water line. On September 4th the agreement between the Valkyrie and Defender for the sailing of the races was brought before him, and subsequently another suggestion was made that Mr. Iselin, on behalf of the Defender, desired that a week day should in- tervene between the races. Lord Dunraven, on that occnrring, wrote, on September 5th or 6th — the date seems to be rather doubtful — a letter, in which he refers io the marking — a letter following another written upon September 5th, the first one, September 5th, appearing at page 85 of the report to the New York Yacht Club. The letter, which is here dated September 6th, in Lord Dunraveu's pamphlet is dated September 5th, It occurs on page 36, and is evidently following upon the previous one : "DEAB Mk. Oanfisld : I have received your Letter notifying me of the alteration of dates. That question having been reopened, 1 wish to call your 9 attention to another matter which, on reflection, I do not consider satisfactory. " This contest may possibly extend over a period of ten days or a fortnight. It is obvious that alterations in the L. W. L. length of a vessel may, under present conditions, be made without an owner's knowledge, and without possibility of de- tection." I may remark that there again Lord Dunraven shows that, according to his experience as a yachts- man, and according to notoriety, there had been instances in which yacht racing had not been conducted upon perfectly clear and clean lines. And upon that point, too, he objects to it being suggested that this statement that he made upon the evening of September 5th was so utterly pre- posterous and absurd that there could not be any- thing in it, or that it was a matter which was so utterly unknown in the history of the world. " It is, of course, impossible, to guard absolutely against such an occurrence. But these contests cannot be compared with ordinary races ; and in the interest of the public, and of the owners who have to do their best to see that rules are obeyed, it is surely right and necessary that the Cup Com- mittee should take every precaution to see that the vessels sail on their measured L. W. L. length. " For this reason I request that the measurer be instructed to mark each vessel's measured L. W. L. length on the stem and stern, and to take any steps that he or the Committee think advisable by re-measurement at any time, or any other means, to ascertain that the L. W. L. length as measured is not exceeded in sailing. To mark the vessels is a perfectly simple matter — a scratch with a iile or chisel and a distinct paint mark would suffice." Then he goes on upon another matter. No written answer was sent to that letter. The Com- mittee, or rather Mr. Canfield, received it, but it 10 was not acknowledged in a written document, and apparently the Committee did not take any par- ticular notice of it. Lord Dunraven's remembrance is that he met Mr. Smith upon, I think, September 6th, and that Mr. Smith, when informing him of the arrangement which had been come to with re- gard to a week day intervening between the races, and being asked as to this question of the load water line, told him that the Committee had decided to take no further steps in the matter. Well, so it stood upon September 5th. All this care that Lord Dunraven had taken upon the question of the load water line showed that Lord Dunraven had no preconceived idea that the load water line would necessarily be exceeded in a race, but what he desired was that in an important race of this kind every care should be taken that the load water line was not exceeded, and that, as in horse racing, a jockey, after he has ridden his race, is most carefully guarded and looked after until the weighing has taken place, so the same proced- ure should be followed with regard to yachts. And as to his being guided in anything that he did subsequently by any preconceived notion that he intended to say that the load water line was longer, that fact will be shown not to exist, because Lord Dunraven was not the person on board the City of Bridgeport the tender of the Valkyrie, or the Valkyrie, who, on the morning of September 7th, first saAv that the Defender was, as he stated, and as he still states, lower in the water than she was at the time when she was measured, but Mr. Glennie, who is here to-day, and will give evidence before you to show that he saw it ; that he went and informed other persons upon the boat ; that they went and examined the Defender; that they then in- formed Lord Dunraven ; that Lord Dunraven him- self also went and examined the boat; and that upon what they saw, they, independently and to- gether, formed the strong opinion, to which they 11 still steadfastly adhere, that the boat on September 7th was lower in the water than at the time when she was measured. Now the actual facts which he will tell to you are his justification for the statement that he made on September 7th. He felt very strongly that this was a matter which it was his duty to complain about, and he did so complain. The boat, after he had seen what he will detail to you, almost immedi- ately afterwards proceeded to the starting point. The representative of the Defender, Mr. Latham Fish, came on board the Valkyrie. As soon as Mr. Latham Fish came on board the Valkyrie, Lord Dunraven told him that he desired to speak to him upon a matter of grave importance, and what he said is detailed, according to Lord Dunraven' s ac- count, on pages 8 and 9 of the pamphlet, beginning at the top of page 8 : ' ' On Saturday morning, early, my attention was drawn by those on board the City of Bridgeport, including representatives of her American crew, to the fact that Defender was visibly deeper in the water than when measured. She so appeared to me ; but as her tender was alongside and engaged, apparently, in taking material out of her, it was impossible to form a definite opinion at that time. "When I put Mr. Henderson, my representa- tive, on board Defender about 9 a.m., after the Hattie Palmer had left her, I felt perfectly certain that Defender was immersed deeper than when measured. Not only was her bobstay bolt nearer the water, which might have been the result of alter- ation of trim ; but, judging by the line of bronze plating, and by the fact that a pipe amidships which was flush with the water when measured, was nowhere visible, she was, in my deliberate opinion, floating about 4 inches deeper in the water than when measured. " I was reluctant to make a formal complaint to the Cup Committee on a matter which it was, of 12 course, impossible for me to verify ; and in any case nothing conld be done before the race was started ; but as soon as Mr. Latham Fish, a member of the Committee, came on board Valkyrie as De- fender's representative, and before the race was started, I stated the whole case to him ; told him I thought that some mistake had been made, and that all the weight put into Defender, after measure- ment, had not been taken out before the race ; that I was positively certain she was sailing at least a foot beyond her proper length, and I requested him to take the earliest opportunity of mentioning the matter to the Committee. Mr. Fish asked me what suggestion I could make, and I replied to the effect that I wished the Committee to put one of their members, or some reliable representative, on board of each yacht immediately after the race, and to have both vessels remeasured, if possible, that evening. If that were impossible, then that the members of the Committee, or their representatives, should stay on board in charge of the vessels until they were measured ; that the L. W. L. should be marked on both vessels externally in such a way as to be plainly visible, and that the Committee should take any other steps they thought desirable to in- sure that the yachts should not exceed their L. W. L. length when racing. "I put Mr. Fish on board the Committee boat immediately after the race. No action was taken that evening beyond ordering the vessels to be re- measured and marked externally on the day fol- lowing. No members or representatives of the Committee were placed in charge pending remeas- urement, as I had requested. "Had this been done, my contention that Defender exceeded her measured length, and the extreme limit of length imposed by the agreement and deed of gift, namely 90 feet, would have been proved or disproved." Now, sir, from that conversation, judging by 13 what I may call the defense of the America's Cup Committee, which I received late yesterday after- noon, and which purports to be dated December 14th, there appears to be a conflict of evidence. Another account of this is given on page 30 of their defense, in which the conversation with Mr. Fish is detailed in another form. The state- ment that is there made is: " Prior to the start, on September 7th, the day of the first race, Lord Dunraven stated to Mr. Latham A. Fish, a member of the Committee and the representative of the N. Y. Y. C. that day on Valkyrie, that he, Lord Dunraven, and some four or five others whom he named, were confident from their own observation, that Defender was 3 or 4 inches deeper in the water than when measured the previous day. He stated that he believed this alteration had been made with- out the knowledge of the owners of Defender, but it must be corrected or he would discontinue racing. ' ' Now that remembrance, " It must be corrected, or he would discontinue racing, ' ' — supposing the statement previously made that an arrangement for September 8th had been decided upon before the first race is correct, — would seem to be perfectly superfluous. "It must be corrected or he would discontinue racing." Lord Dunraven could never make a statement of that kind, except on the sup- position that no such an arrangement had been come to, as is here stated on page 29. Lord Dun- raven states, as a matter of fact, and we have in- formation that Mr. Watson also knew nothing about an arrangement that the yachts should be marked on the morning of the day following the first race. We know nothing about that. After the word " racing " it goes on. ' ' He said he did not wish to say to the Commit- tee what action they should take, but he desired a re-measurement that day, after the race. Mr. Fish remarked to Lord Dunraven that, in his opinion, it 14 would be too dark after the race to re-measure that day. " The first intimation that the Committee received of this conversation was when, in response to a hail from Valkyrie, Mr. Fish was taken on board the Committee boat shortly after 6 p.m. Mr. Fish immediately reported to the Committee. Ow- ing to the lateness of the hour it was a physicial impossibility to take Defender to a proper place and re-measure her that day. The Committee took steps to ensure that a re-measurement the next day, in connection with the marking, should be thoroughly done. This re-measurement showed less than one -eighth of an inch difference in the L. W. L. length of Defender, as compared with Friday's figures. " And thus the matter ended." As to that, I may ask, why? It would have been perfectly simple for the Committee, receiving a complaint of this kind, to have put somebody on the boat; and I should say that they ought to have done so, whether Mr. Fish reported the con- versation with Lord Dunraven accurately or not. " It is proper to note here that Lord Dunraven is in error in asserting that he asked or suggested that a watch be placed on both vessels until measured. " We do not make this denial as a defense of the Committee's action, or as implying that such a re- quest or suggestion would have been followed." The Committee states here that Lord Dunraven is in error. The only evidence upon which they could have acted would have been the statement of Mr. Latham Fish. We, of course, do not know exactly what Mr. Latham Fish said to the Com- mittee ; but what Lord Dunraven made as his state- ment to Mr. Latham Fish is not only put forth in his pamphlet in fall detail, giving the conversation which took place, but Mr. Glennie, who was upon the Valkyrie, had a statement made to him by 15 Lord Dunraven immediately after the conversation that he had had with Mr. Latham Fish, in which he told Mr. Glennie that he had requested Mr. Fish to inform the Committee that somebody should be put upon the boat the same evening, and that charge should be taken until the next day. Whether Mr. Latham Fish reported that or not, as I say, we do not know ; but the fact that Lord Dunraven, if you believe the weight of evidence upon his side, had that coDversation and made those statements to Mr. Latham Fish, exonerates him from any suggestion that upon November 9th he for the first time made a statement which came as a blow to persons who were interested in the Defender. Mr. Latham Fish was there as the representative of the De- fender, and it is difficult to define his duty, per- haps; but as representative of the Defender there was nobody else to whom Lord Dunraven could appeal, open and fearlessly, at a time when he was in this country. To a representative of the Defender, Lord Dunraven made that state- ment, asked that precautions should be taken, re- quested that they should be, and no notice was taken of it. Possibly Mr. Latham Fish may not have accurately reported the statement; he may not have perhaps gauged its importance. The Committee states that they did not know it, but the very next paragraph in this statement of this Committee appears to show that they did consider that it was an important matter, and that they did nothing. "As will appear from what follows, the Com- mittee decided upon a course of action which did not involve proving or disproving Lord Dunraven's implication of fraud." Well, sir, it seems that Lord Dunraven, in at- tacking the competence of the Committee after- wards, was justified in showing to the world, after they had made a perfectly different statement on October 24th, that in his opinion he had made 16 as fully as tie could a statement at a time when it could be proved or disproved and when not only it could be established in the interest of Defender, but the owners of Valkyrie, if the opportunity had then been taken ; that he made this statement, and the Committee took no notice of it. Then the statement goes on to give a sort of ex- oneration of Mr. Fish, as if the Committee had some sort of idea that he had not fully represented what the conversation between him and Lord Dun- raven had been. " As bearing somewhat on the case, it is only fair to Mr. Fish to say that he was in no way acting as a member of the Committee that day on Valky- rie, but merely as a representative of the N. Y. Y. C, to see fair play during the race, and his only function in this matter was that of a trust- worthy messenger." Mr. Fish cannot be a member of a Committee one hour and drop it and take it up again. His func- tion may possibly have been that only of a messen- ger, but it would be difficult to see that any one who was present at the races could exactly have consid- ered that that was his only function, if he was there ostensibly as the representative of the owner of the Defender, and also happened to be a member of the America's Cup Committee too. But as a matter of fact it is at once stated that he made his report. The only thing the Committee did was to order remeasurement on the next day ; as if remeasure- ment on Sunday could prove, necessarily, a matter that occurred Saturday morning. Lord Dunraven had asked that precaution should be taken ; that the boat, in the interest of the public, in the in- terest of the owners of both vessels, should be looked after until the weighing in, as I might call it, had taken place; according to his request no notice was taken of this, and the Committee took a futile course for the purpose of satisfying the public, or Lord Dunraven, or the owners of the Defender. 17 Lord Dunraven subsequently, being here as a member of a great yacht club, wrote an account of the various proceedings that had taken place in America to Mr. Grant, the Secretary of the Royal Yacht Squadron. That document I will put in. This is a correct copy of it; and it is word for word, I think, the same as the pamphlet. Mr. Choate : Has that document ever been printed ? Mr. AsTcwith : I think not. It was a letter that was sent to the Secretary of the Yacht Squadron, communicating the same to the Yacht Squadron. I don't know that it is necessary to read the whole of that statement that is made. The Chairman: What is the date of it, Mr. Askwith ? Mr. AsTcwith : September 24th. He details the conversation with Mr. Fish in the same way as he has put it in the pamphlet, and I will ask my friend to go through and correct it with the pamphlet. If he finds any difference in the wording of that and the pamphlet I will call attention to it. Could we have a second copy of the defense of the America's Cup Committee? Mr. Rives : I sent three copies of it to Mr. Kersey. I think I have some more, however. The Chairman : Do I understand you that that is the same as the statement in the pamphlet? Mr. AsTcwith : I think it is word for word the same. I have asked Mr. Hamilton to look through to see if there is any actual difference in the word- ing. The Chairman : Will you furnish us with a copy of it? Mr. AsTcwith : Yes ; directly I find there is any difference or not. Mr. Morgan : Is not that a report to the Royal Yacht Squadron? Mr. Askwith : Yes, sir. 18 Mr. Morgan : Then it should be exactly in ac- cordance with that report, and not corrected by the pamphlet? Mr. AsTcwith : It is only a matter of comment really, to see whether the letter to the Secretary of the Royal Yacht Squadron is exactly the same as what Lord Dunraven published on November 9th in the pamphlet. I think they are the same. It is only the letter to the Secretary. The letter is as follows; the pencil correc- tions made by Mr. Hamilton being enclosed in parenthesis. "439 Fifth Avenue, New York, September 24/95 " My Dear Mr. Grant: " On the 30th August, I met the America Cup Committee, at the N. Y. Y. Club, and after some conversation, mainly on the question whether races should be stopped and declared off, at dark, an agreement was come to. " On the 4th September, Mr. Smith, Chairman of the Committee, informed me that Mr. Iselin was anxious that the agreement should be amended so as to ensure that one clear week day should inter- vene between each race. I told Mr. Smith that I was opposed to working on Sundays except in case of necessity ; that, as there was nothing more to be done to either vessel, unless work was rendered necessary to repair damage caused by accident, in which case the Committee had power to grant any amount of time they thought necessary for repairs, I saw no object in the proposed amendment; that I preferred to sail the races off as quickly as possi- ble ; but that I would do whatever Mr. Iselin and the Committee wished in the matter. The corre- spondence will be found in the last paragraph of letter No. 3 and in letters No. 4 and 5. " On September 5th, I wrote letter No. 7, reiter- ating opinions previously expressed. To that let- 19 ter I received no written reply; but was given ver- bally to understand that the Committee saw no object in re-considering the points involved. I did not further press the matter, as I considered the Committee responsible, and that unless necessity compelled I had no right to insist. ' ' On the 5th or 6th September, the agreement was signed by Mr. Smith and myself on board the City of Bridgeport, Valkyrie's tender. "The first race was sailed on September 7th. I am of opinion that Defender did not sail on her proper L. W. L. Length during that race ; and for the following reasons : I should first explain that none of the gentlemen interested in De- fender lived on board her or on board of her tender, the Hattie Palmer; that Defender's crew slept on board her and that, in consequence a good deal of material, men's cots, etc., etc., had to be transferred backwards and forwards between the Hattie Palmer and Defender. A good opportunity was afforded us of observing Defender when she lay close to us in the Erie Basin previous to docking after the final trial race on the 31st August. When she came into the basin to be measured on the 6th September, it was plain to me as to all on board the City of Bridgeport, that she was floating many inches (con- siderably) higher than on the former occasion. That was, of course, quite unobjectionable. I may mention that according to Mr. Hyslop, the official measurer, and to Mr. Iselin, Defender was some six inches shorter when measured for the Cup races than when measured for the Goelet Cup Race. Both yachts lay inside Sandy Hook Friday night. Defender's tender the Hattie Palmer lay along side her and the crew were at work (in moving material from one vessel to the other) from dark to one in the morning. " On Saturday morning early, my attention was drawn by those on board the City of Bridgeport 20 (representatives of her American crew), including her captain and my pilot (an unusually well in- formed man), to the fact that Defender was visibly deeper in the water than when measured. She so appeared to me (but as her tender was alongside and engaged apparently in taking material out of her, it was impossible to form a definite opinion at that time). (When) I put Mr. Henderson, my representative, on board Defender, about 9 a.m.,. after the Hattie Palmer had left her ; and felt per- fectly certain that Defender was immersed deeper than when measured. Not only was her bobstay bolt nearer the water, which might have been the result of alteration in trim ; but judging by the line of the bronze plating and by the fact that a pipe amidship was flush with the water when she was measured, was nowhere visible, she was in my opinion floating deeper in the water (than when measured). I was reluctant to make a formal complaint to the Cup Committee on a matter which it was, of course, impossible for me (personally) to verify ; and in any case nothing could be done before the race was started, but as soon as Mr. Latham Fish, a member of the Committee, came on board Valkyrie as Defender's representative, and be- fore the race was started, I stated the whole case to him ; told him I thought that some mistake had been made and that all the weight put into De- fender after measurement had not been taken out before the race ; that I was positively certain she was not sailing (on her) (at least a foot beyond her) proper length ; and I requested him to take the earliest opportunity of mentioning the matter to the Committee. Mr. Fish asked me what sugges- tion I could make, and 1 replied to the effect that I wished the Committee to put one of their mem- bers (or some reliable representative) on board of each yacht immediately after the race and to have both vessels remeasured ; if possible that evening ; 21 if that were impossible, then that the Committee men, or their representatives, should stay on board ,in charge of the vessels until they were measured ; that I thought the L. W. L. should be marked on both vessels externally so as to be plainly visible ; and that the Committee should take any other steps that they thought desirable to ensure that the yachts did not exceed their L. W. L. length when racing. I put Mr. Fish on board the Committee boat immediately after the race. No action was taken that evening beyond ordering the vessels to be re-measured and marked (externally) on the day following; no member or representative of the Committee were placed in charge pending re- measurement (as I had requested). (I greatly re- gret that my request was not complied with.) Had (this) it been (done), my contention that Defender exceeded her measured length (and the extreme limit of length, imposed by the agreement and deed of gift) would have been proved or dis- proved. Defender lay Saturday night at Bay Ridge with the Hattie Palmer along side of her. Both yachts were measured on (the following day) Sunday afternoon. Their L. W. L. length was practically the same as when measured on the Fri- day previous, but obviously that fact affords no proof that either or both of them had not ex- ceeded their measured length when sailing on Sat- urday. " During the first race tha starting line was so encumbered with excursion steamers and press tugs that we could not at times see the markboat; crafts were constantly passing in front of it. It was impossible to pick up the starting line accu- rately, the markboat being hidden from our view at gunfire, and there was not sufficient room to manoeuvre such large vessels in reasonable safety. During the reach home from the weathermark we were much hampered by a great body of excursion steamers. It was not until they had drawn out a 22 little wide that we got anything like a true wind and sea. This was in accordance with my former experience that the vessel behind got much the worst of the wash. "The second race was sailed on the 10th. The starting line was again blocked and crowded to a dangerous extent. While manoeuvring for the start a foul occurred which led to a protest by Defender against Valkyrie, and a decision of the Regatta Committee awarding the race to the Defender. ' * On the reach from the first to the second mark we had fairly clear water to sail over ; but on the reach from the second mark home the steamers in- terfered with us to an extent unprecedented in my experience on this occasion or in 1893. Some eight or nine vessels crossed our bows, and a large num- ber packed closely together and steaming at a high rate of speed kept level with us to leeward, their wash running up against the wind and natural sea giving us heavy broken water to sail through. I make no accusation of partiality, I only say that whereas the ship, which was behind on the first day, got much the worst of the wash, the ship which was in front got much the worst of it on the sec- ond day. I made up my mind that it was per- fectly useless to sail under such circumstances and communicated my decision to the gentlemen on board Valkyrie. On my return to the City of Bridgeport that evening I wrote a letter to the Committee giving my decision and my reasons for arriving at it. On the following morning I wrote a copy of it and handed it to a third party, Mr. Kersey, with written instructions to deliver it after the protest had been heard and decided. The corre- spondence will be found in letters No. 8, 11, 12, 13 ; but I may recapitulate. Finding soon after my re- turn to the City of Bridgeport that a protest had been lodged against me, and believing that the Cup Committee heard the protest, I did not think 23 it right to hand them my letter declining to sail again under existing circumstances, pending their decision. I wished to avoid the possibility of ap- pearing desirous of influencing them, or of being myself influenced by the fact of the protest. On the following day I ascertained that the Regatta Committee heard the protest. I asked Mr. Can- field, Secretary of the Cup Committee, at about noon to call a meeting of his Committee imme- diately to consider a letter of importance, but re- quested him not to open it until the protest was decided. On reflection I thought it might be read at once, but, owing to some mistake of time it was not opened until 2.30. The Committee did not meet until some time later, and that delay was therefore immaterial. At about 9 p. m. Mr. Can- field and Mr. Busk called upon me at the Waldorf, where I was at a dinner party, and we had a short conversation on the subject of my letter. I under- stood their proposal to be that if I would sail the following day the Committee would not start the vessels until the starting line was clear, and that the dates and times of starting any other race should not be published. I did not consider that satisfactory and asked for a little time for consid- eration and for a written proposal. I begged that the next day's race might be postponed and of- fered to sail if the Committee would undertake to declare the race off, if, in their opinion, either vessel was unduly crowded. At 10.80 I received Mr. Canfield's proposal in writing. It was to the effect that the Committee would only undertake to postpone the start until the line was clear. At 12.15 my reply declining to sail the course, but saying I would cross the line, was delivered at the N. Y. Y. Club. I am in ignorance as to what fol- lowed. I do not know whether my decision was communicated to Mr. Iselin, or whether any steps were taken to inform the public. I was in hopes until the last moment that the race would be post- poned. I do not wish to comment upon the action 24 of the Committee, but I must express my extreme regret that the race was not postponed. Had that been done I cannot but think that with a day's con- sideration means might have been found for ensur- ing a reasonably clear course and fair conditions of sailing the third and any other races. ' ' As regards the foul : I do not for a moment impugn the action of the Regatta Committee ; but I think myself entitled to call your attention to the Protest, to a written statement handed in by me to the Committee before giving verbal evidence, and to the terms of the decision of the Regatta Committee. " To my statement I have little to add. I know that when we luffed to try and avoid a foul we were in danger of running into the Committee boat. I could see her just to leeward of our bowsprit ; and so close to that I was within an ace of ordering the helm hard down instead of hard up, fearing we could not clear her, but eventually we just scraped clear by putting the helm hard up. " Neither vessel had her sheets in, this I can swear to, so can my representative on Defender, and the enclosed photograph proves it ; both were well off the wind immediately before the foul. I stated and still hold that Yalkyrie was pointing just well clear of the weather end of the line, namely, the Committee boat ; that we did not bear down, but that Defender luffed into us. But assuming me to be wrong, I fail to see what rule was broken. "The rule that a vessel is not allowed to bear another vessel off her course in order to prevent her passing to leeward is, I apprehend, intended to apply to a vessel sailing a definite course to some definite point. How can it apply to vessels manoeuvring for a start? Under such circumstances the only course that can be said to be given them is to get to the starting line. Both vessels were off the wind, Valkyrie about half the length ahead to wind- ward. There could not be any possible question of 25 endeavoring to prevent Defender passing to lee- ward, as both vessels were practically at the line, the foul occurring about 15 seconds before gunfire. " Defender had the whole length of the line clear to leeward. She further had the two minutes additional handicap time which her manager specially insisted upon, of which to avail herself. I fail to see how any rule could be broken unless we had borne her down on top of, or to leeward of the lightship which represented the other or lee- ward end of the line. " The protest states that Mr. Iselin shaped his course for the line ; he does not say what part of it ; and that he gave orders that under no circum- stances was the course to be altered. Such action it surely incompatible with yacht racing, especially during the start. He adds that we bore down upon him with wide sheets and fouled him by luffing. I cannot reconcile these statements. The Committee say the foul occurred through a miscalculation of distance, if true a pure accident; but add that Yalkyrie broke Sec. 11, of rule 16, an impossi- bility, as it seems to me, as Defender had the entire line to cross in. " While accepting the verdict of the Regatta Committee without demur I am bound to say I think their judgment was given on a mistaken esti- mate of the circumstances, of the relative position of the vessels in respect to the direction of the wind and the starting line. I may further add that being in the best possible position in a weather berth (of which we could not be deprived) we had noth- ing to gain and everything to lose by causing a foul. I considered Defender responsible for the foul and I ought perhaps to have protested. But I thought it possible the foul at the last moment was accidental and I refrained from protesting. " I saw no protest flag shown on Defender, nor, I may add, did Mr. Henderson, my representative on Defender. Had I been aware that Defender 26 had protested I would certainly have done the same. ' ' My declining to sail that race over again after it had been awarded to the Defender has excited considerable comment here; and the case that occurred in Puritan-G-enesta races has been quoted against me in reference to it. There is nothing in common between the two cases. Genesta on the starboard tack struck Puritan trying to cross her on the port tack. " The Committee then and there offered the race to Genesta, saying she might walk over or not. Sir Richard Sutton refused to accept the race ; there was no protest and no defence. In the present instance a protest was made. It was not withdrawn. It was disputed. The proper authority investigated the case and gave their decision. It was absolutely impossible for me to resail a race at the personal re- quest of Mr. Iselin after the Committee had given a verdict against me. Even had I been willing to do so I doubt if it was within the power of Mr. Iselin and myself to resail the race ; or within the power of the Regatta Committee to permit it. I had no desire to interpret the N. Y. Y. Club rules, but as I read them the Regatta Committee could under Article X. have ordered the race to be resailed without taking evidence. They could have done so after taking evidence on the ground that it was in- conclusive or that the foul was on both sides acci- dental; but having once heard the protest and de- cided it their decision was final and could not be revoked by any private arrangement with or with- out their sanction. When I went before the Re- gatta Committee they asked me, on their own initi- ative and without any authority from Mr. Iselin, whether I did not think it would be a good thing if the race could be resailed by mutual agreement. I replied to the effect that I thought they had power to order the race to be resailed ; that a defi- nite protest having been made and not withdrawn I supjoosed they ought to hear it, and that as far as 27 I was concerned I was perfectly willing to have the case decided on its merits. I do not see what other answer I could possibly have returned. The correspondence on this point is contained in letters No. 19, 20, 21, 22. " As my action on the 12th September, when the last race took place, has been much misunderstood, and as a desire to act in a way discourteous or even insulting to the Defender, the Committee and the American people, has been very wrongfully attrib- uted to me, I may be permitted more fully to ex- plain. " Having rightly or wrongly made up my mind on Tuesday the 10th to sail no more under the cir- cumstances that had prevailed during the race of that day and of the previous Saturday, I endeav- oured to carry out my determination with the greatest courtesy and the least possible annoyance to any one. The circumstances attending the de- livery of my letter of the 10th, No. 8, have been already explained, and I need not repeat what oc- curred at the short interview between Mr. Canfield, Mr. Busk and myself at the Waldorf on the night of Wednesday, the 11th. But I wish to add that when I went to Sandy Hook on Thursday morning I was in ignorance as so the intentions of the Com- mittee, but thought and hoped they would postpone the race, by the simple process of hoisting letter *G'(see sailing directions). I crossed the line because I thought the agreement demanded it; because I thought it the most courteous thing to do, and because I had told Mr. Canfield and Mr. Busk I would do so. Having crossed the line and re- turned I considered the match over, took down my racing flag and hoisted the burgee of the N. Y. Y. Club, of which I have the honor of being an hon- orary member. I hoped that would have been con- strued, as I intended it to be, into a sign of friend- ship and courtesy. It appears to have had an op- posite effect. I had no idea, until the starting gun 28 was fired, what the Committee intended to do, or whether the Defender was aware of my decision, or whether any notice had been given to the public. I may say that my letter of the 10th, let- ter 8, had previously been given to the press. If any annoyance or inconvenience was experienced, I greatly regret it, but it was unavoidable on my part. " On the first race we made a bad start. We lost sight of the mark-boat when close to the line, bore up without, as it turned out, any necessity for doing so, and lost our weather berth, but the ship sailed remarkably well, especially considering that the conditions we least desired prevailed, namely, a very light wind and a good deal of swell. She worked out clear, very fast from under Defend- er's lee, and we were in a very good position and would, I am convinced, have rounded the weather mark well ahead had not the wind northerned three or four points, and broke us off badly. We made two palpable mistakes. When we stayed to the eastward to fetch the mark the wind broke us off about three points, and when we stayed back to port tack to cross Defender on the starboard tack, the wind broke us off again and freed her, and we were forced to stay again for her. Against all that, of course, there is nothing to say. It was bad judgment on our part or bad luck; but I am perfectly satisfied with the way the vessel turned to windward. As to the reach home it is impossible to judge, owing to the crowding of steamers already alluded to, but my belief is that Defender would have reached us in any case, though certainly not to anything like the same extent. " On the second day, I did not think that the fact that Defender carried no jib-topsail to windward made any difference. We carried a jib-topsail be- cause we had it set at the start, and as it was no detriment, we did not risk losing time in taking it 29 in, but Valkyrie would have got to the weather mark as soon without it. ' ' On the reach from the first to the second mark Defender, I think, lost somewhat by not carrying a larger jib-topsail. But on the other hand we lost a good bit by having to shift sails. I think the tug employed to lay down the mark made a mistake in the course, or that her compass had a larger error than was allowed for. I had Val- kyrie's compasses adjusted to every point by Mr. Negus, who attends to all the compasses and in- struments of the White Star Line ; and I had them tested with special reference to the possible effect of the steel boom in various positions ; Mr. Harri- son, the navigating officer, verified the adjuster's work by a number of asimuths. " We steered the course given us, namely, N. E. by E. (magnetic) at first, and then N. E. |E. to allow for tide. ' ' Defender for some time steered identically the same course that we did. Having covered some 6 or 7 miles, as we estimated, we were much puzzled at seeing no sign of the tug of mark. There was a tug steaming along to windward of us, and our attention was especially called to her by seeing Defender haul her wind a couple of points or so, but we concluded that this could not possi- bly be the mark boat, as she was not displaying the Club burgee ; was not steering the course given us, and was not far enough ahead. Shortly afterwards this tug steamed ahead to wind and let go the float about 1 or 1-J miles from us. (See letters No. 30 and 32.) We were then so much to leeward that we had to take in the bowsprit spinnaker and set the jib and jib -topsail to fetch the mark. How much we lost in handling these big sails with a crowd of men out on the bowspirit and forward, I cannot say, but we lost considerably through the inefficient marking of the course. Of the reach home it is unnecessary to speak further. On the 30 whole, judging to the best of my ability, I would say that Defender is the better boat on a reach, at any rate, on anything except a close hauled reach, and that Valkyrie is the better boat turning to windward and running. " I have seen in the newspapers (letter 23) that Mr. Iselin made two propositions to the Committee, either to call the last two races off and resail them, or to call the races off and commence the series again under any condition I might approve of. No such proposal has been made to me by Mr. Iselin or either of the Committees. I need not say that I would have seized, with alacrity, any oppor- tunity of entering into the contest again with a reasonably clear course and a fair field assured. " The contention that I broke my agreement by allowing Defender practically to walk over for the final race is scarcely worth considering. It was the business of the Committee to keep a reasonably clear and safe course. It was not my business to dictate to them the means they were to employ. I could only warn them and ask them, and that I did over and over again. Failing a reasonably safe and fairly clear field I was not bound by any agreement to sail the ship round a course under circumstances which gave her no fair chance. I fulfilled all strict liabilities by crossing the line. " I have written in what you may consider un- necessary detail ; but I am most anxious that you should be placed in full possession of all the cir- cumstances of the case, and I hope that the corre- spondence read with this letter will make them clear. " In conclusion I beg to say that under circum- stances of some difficulty, and with a full sense of the responsibility involved, I acted according to the best of my judgment and ability, not for a moment forgetting that I was in charge of a yacht repre- 31 sen ting the R. Y. S., and I have seen no reason to regret my action. " Yours very truly, " (Signed) Dunraven." Mr. Aslcwith: (Continued) After the races Lord Dunraven started for England, arriving September 18th on board the yacht Yalhalla. Mr. Rives: September 18th? The letter was written September 24th. Mr. Aslcwith: I will give you the exact date. On Saturday, September 28th, he left Newport on the Yalhalla and the Yalhalla arrived at Cowes on Friday, October 18th. Lord Dunraven left matters of detail here in the hands of Mr. Kersey, of this city, and this matter of the load water line being known to Mr. Smith and the members of the America's Cup Committee, Mr. Kersey and Mr. Smith had a conversation on that point, and it was more or less arranged between them that nothing should be published upon the question of the load water line by either side. Mr. Kersey has written, dated to-day The Chairman: Will you repeat that remark again? I did not quite catch it. Mr. Aslcwith; After Lord Dunraven had left for England, the interests of Lord Dunraven in matters of detail here were left in the hands of Mr. Kersey. Mr. Kersey met Mr. Smith and in conversation with him an arrangement was made between Mr. Kersey and Mr. Smith — or so Mr. Kersey under- stood — that no publication with regard to the matter of the load water line, or the re-measure- ment, should be made by either side. Mr. Kersey has to-day written a letter stating what his remem- brance of the matter is, to Lord Dunraven, in which he stated this : 32 " 40 East 25th St., December 26th. " Dear Loed Duneaveist: " With regard to the matter of the non-publica- tion of your complaint of September 7th here, on or about September 25th Mr. Smith, of the Cup Com- mittee, stated to me in his office in the city that he did not think he would say anything further to the Club about the matter. I quite agreed with him that the less said the better and I very distinctly concluded that no mention would be made of the subject, at any rate as far as the Chairman of the Cup Committee was concerned. I communicated this to you in Newport and Monday the 30th, I received a letter from you written on ' Valhalla ' the 27th asking me to cable Grant to omit all ref- erence to the L. W. L. question if publishing your report to the Squadron in England. I cabled him to this effect October 1st. I was very much sur- prised to see in the morning papers of the 25th that the matter had been laid before the Club on the previous evening. " Yours sincerely, "J. Maitland Keesey." The Chairman: Will you furnish us with a copy of that? Mr. Askwith: That letter I will put in. Mr. Choate: The letter should be proven of course. Mr. AsTcwith: If it is desired to prove it formally, we will. Mr. Choate: I do not mean now. Mr. Askwith: On September 26th — I have a copy here — Lord Dunraven cabled to Mr. Grant, the Secretary of the Squadron : " 26th September, '95. " Geant, R. Y. S., Cowes, England. Kersey will advise you as to publication. Duneaven." 33 On the 1st of October, 1895, Mr. Kersey, after Lord Dunraven had started for England on board the Valhalla, telegraphed : ' 'Grant, Squadron, Cowes. Dunraven thinks best not publish letter Defender's measurement until he arrives. " Kersey." Mr. Rives : What is the date of that? Mr. Aslcwith : 1st of October. I hand in the copy. On October 24th there was a meeting of the Club. At that meeting the statement which appears in the report of the America's Cup Committee, on page 37, was made, and in the communications, which were all that Lord Dunraven could see or had infor- mation of, in the papers, the sole quotation, accord- ing to the three papers I have here, which was made, began with the words, "On Saturday, Sep- tember 7th." Nothing was said in the papers about the rest of the report, and no copy of the re- port was obtained by us until yesterday. The previous portion or paragraph of the report, stat- ing, "Valkyrie had been already measured and had left the Basin, and on account of the tide could not return in order to be marked that day. It was, therefore, arranged with Lord Dunraven, Mr. Iselin, the representative from each side, Mr. George L. Watson and Mr. Herreshoff and the measurer that the yachts should be marked on the day following the first race, that is, on September 8th," and the rest of that paragraph was not put in the newspapers. I don't know whether this is the original report or an amended report. Mr. Rives : It is the original report. It has only been printed within two or three days. Mr. AsTcwith : That statement was not known to Lord Dunraven at the time he published his pam- phlet. And also he says that, as far as he was 34 concerned, no arrangement of that kind had been made or ever reached him. Now, that statement on page 37, beginning, " On Saturday, September 7th," down to the end of the page was published in the newspapers. It appears to have excited little comment by the newspapers as a whole. It appears to have excited some com- ment at the Club, but nothing of any very great importance. One or two newspapers, however — I have a copy of the Sun of Friday, October 25th — put at the head of their statement these words, "Dimraven cried fraud," so that, in the estima- tion of certain people, an implication of fraud had been made, and according to the defense of the America's Cup Committee they considered that an implication of fraud had been made; but no par- ticular notice or excitement seems to have occurred until Lord Dunraven, having received a cable mes- sage as to this statement, a statement contrary to what he understood was the agreement, contrary to what he knew in his own mind to be the facts, and making it appear that he had frivolously and ab- surdly made a complaint, which he did not think anything of and which he did not believe to be true, knowing that the evidence of his senses was that on which he founded this fact, published his pamphlet. In that pamphlet he complains of the action of the Committee, and re-states and reiterates what he had already stated on September 7th ; what he had already stated to Mr. Grant, the secretary of the K,. Y. S. ; what was apparently known to Mr. Smith ; what the Cup Committee themselves con- sidered to have been an indication of fraud, and what some, at least, of the newspapers also con- sidered to be an implication of fraud. Whether it was an implication of fraud is another matter. There is the plain statement, showing what he had done, and that statement he had made previously, and he again made it in this pamphlet, which is an attack, in a sense, if it is an attack of any kind, 35 upon the action of the America's Cup Committee. The pamphlet consists of 71 pages, and prior to the Appendix there is a portion of it — 33 pages — de- voted to the races, and upon each of the races he alludes to what he considers to be the grand motherly action of the America's Cup Committee. The first 13 pages'are those in which he deals with this particular matter of the load water line length in the first race. That is the mode in which this pamphlet came to be published, and it is important, as dealing with the importance which the Committee them- selves attach to this question of the load water line, to note that in the arrangement made with Mr. Rose, who had issued a challenge for the America's Cup in 1896, the rules as to the measurement were altered ; and the America's Cup Committee proposed in the arrangement which was to be made with Mr. Rose, that the very proposals that Lord Dunraven had suggested should be carried out. Those con- ditions are put forward in several newspapers, of which, if desired, I can put my hand upon a copy, but the Club will have in their own possession the terms of the arrangement which was made with Mr. Rose. The reasons why Lord Dunraven published this pamphlet, following upon this account of the facts which had been made by the America's Cup Com- mittee, and with which he did not agree, are put at the first page of it, in which he says : ' ' I would confine myself to the cause of my with- drawal, namely, the overcrowding of the course, were it not that other matters have been alluded to in a report to the New York Yacht Club made by the Cup Committee." Now, at the present time, the proof or disproof of the statement made on September the 7th, that Defender exceeded her measured length, is ex- tremely difficult, in his view impossible; as he says, on page 10 of this pamphlet : 36 " Had this been done " — that is to say if investi- gation had been made at the time — "my conten- tion that Defender exceeded her measured length, and the extreme limit of length imposed by the agreement and deed of gift, namely, 90 feet, would have been proved or disproved." Now the proof or disproof is, in his view, im- possible. It is a position that is disagreeable, to say the least, on both sides. It is hard upon Mr. Iselin that, from his point of view, this statement of this fact cannot be proved or disproved. It is still harder on Lord Dunraven that he should be asked to come here, months after the date, to try to assist this Committee to find out the proof or dis- proof of a matter which he asked to be investigated at the moment. It may be that the inquiry this Commission will make will be futile upon the point of proving absolutely the cause of the fact as stated by him. Lord Dunraven is here now to give such evidence as he can to assist this Com- mission. I do not think it would be of any ad- vantage for me to lengthen my statement upon the subject, and I propose that either he shall give his evidence viva voce to you, or that I should read to you a sworn deposition, which he had prepared in England, when it was doubtful whether he could come out himself or not. Upon that the Commis- sion could ask such questions as they may de- sire. Either procedure will be satisfactory to Lord Dunraven. He will add any further remarks that he may consider advisable to the statement I have made, and state whether he indorses my view, or the view I have given to you, of his position in coming to this inquiry, and of all the matters of prior prejudice, as I may say, that have led to these strong attacks that have been made upon him, in answer to which he appears before you. After this Commission had been appointed, he had an opportunity in England of explaining more 37 fully his position, and he made a speech at Cardiff of which I should like the Committee to have this copy. It is a typewritten copy, with alterations made by Lord Dunraven's secretary, of what he said, or rather prepared for making the speech; what he wrote as to what he intended to say, and what I believe he did, word for word, say. It shows pretty clearly his position upon the matter and his view of the importance of his having taken the action that he did take. Mr. Rives : What is the date of that? Mr. AsJtwith : This was on November 21st. Mr. Choate : I have what purports to be a copy of that speech in the London Times of the 22d. Do you know whether that is authentic ? Mr. Hamilton : It is a fairly correct report. It is very much shortened. Mr. Askwith : I think it is a fairly correct re- port. Lord Dunraven says this : ' ' I wish to speak quite plainly my opinion on this matter. The America's Cup has been erected into a great international trophy ; the contests for it have gradually acquired in America the dimen- sions of a really important international event. Excitement runs high ; very large sums of money are involved ; vast crowds of spectators throng the scene. ' ' But the care and attention of those responsible for the conduct of these contests has not increased in proportion with the increased interest felt in them, and with the greatness of the issues in- volved. When great masses of people are so in- terested, all responsibility should be assumed by those in charge. It is not fair upon the public or upon any of the parties concerned that there should be any question of A's honor or B's integ- rity, of one man's accuracy or of the keenness of another's moral conceptions. Take any other sport, racing, horse racing I mean, for instance. Does any- body feel aggrieved because the strictest precautions 38 are taken to insure the fulfillment of strict rules? Certainly not. Can a finer specimen of a sporting man be found than the late Lord Falmouth? Yet I never heard that he, or any one else, considered themselves insulted because they raced subject to the severest supervision. What is there so essen- tially singular in yacht racing, especially in yacht racing developed to these huge proportions? Nothing that I know of. Such contests ought, in my judgment, to be conducted under the closest official scrutiny.