The verdict's conflict between obedience and initiative

Charles Beresford and Sir Geoffrey Phipps Hornby argued that Markham might have refused the maneuver but then faced a court martial without proof that he had prevented a catastrophe. Their defense treated unconditional obedience as the governing service principle. The official signal book, however, required captains to act immediately against danger when there was no time to obtain an admiral's permission. Faster, heavier, and more expensive steam warships made that independent judgment increasingly important. The court blamed Tryon's order and cleared Bourke's conduct after the collision, while regretting that Markham had not semaphored his doubts. It nevertheless said that blaming a subordinate for obeying a commander-in-chief present in person would be fatal to the service. Officers were therefore instructed to preserve their ships while service culture discouraged them from defying the admiral.