THE S.S. WANAKA.

Auckland Star, Volume XXI, Issue 215, 11 September 1890, Page 5

THE S.S. WANAKA.

DISCUSSION IN THE HOUSE.

Id the House of Representatives yesterday afternoon, Mr Joyce asked whether the Government would institute an official inquiry as to whether there had been an infraction of the law on board the steamer Wanaka on her lasb voyage from Wellington to Lyttelton. He said that since giving notice of this question he had learned that tho facts set out wore substantially correct. The lamp trimmer of the vessel put the lamps in the wrong position. The engineers had to go into the stoke-hole to get up steam, owing to the firemen being incompotent. Scarcely any of the seamen had been ab sea before. One of them wae a well-known umbrellamaker of Wellington, and another was a member of a rowing club, and most of them were thoroughly incompetent to belong to a vessel. The eteamer was full of passengers, and had only two boats. If the Minister of Marine promised that an inquiry would be held into these allegations, he would furnish him with the names of disinterested persons who were passengers by the Wanaka on the occasion referred to.

Hon. Mr Fergus promised to cause inquiry to be made as to the side lights, but said the Government had no power to hold an inquiry as to whether the engineers had to enlighten the stokers in the art of firing. The number of boats required to be carried by each steamer was regulated according to the tonnage, and not to the number of passengers carried, but he would undertake to find out whether tho regulations had been complied with in this instance. Aβ to the weighing of the anchor, to which Mr Joyce had also alluded in his question, that was a matter in the hands of the captain, and any of the passengers were ab liberty to assist him in the operation if they wished.