Henry Cadogan Rothery

In 1860 he was made legal adviser to HM Treasury in questions and proceedings arising out of the slave trade.

On account of his large experience gathered in the court of Admiralty, in 1876 he was appointed commissioner to inquire into the causes and circumstances of shipwrecks, and to conduct investigations into casualties at sea.

[2] His judgments on fire at sea in coal-laden vessels, on certain methods of stowing grain, on ship stability, and on overloading were especially valuable.

The inquiry sat initially in Dundee to hear eyewitness accounts of the accident, and then at Westminster Hall in London for expert evidence.

Although they all agreed on the root causes of the disaster, his fellow judges Yolland and Barlow produced their own final report which hesitated in placing the blame on the chief engineer, Thomas Bouch.