COLOURED CREWS.

Auckland Star, Volume XLI, Issue 231, 29 September 1910, Page 7

COLOURED CREWS.

"■*' £To the Editor.) [i *j Sir,—ln reply to P. Virtue __.ent the Jj" above, the situation, as in all arguments ;.(] of this. nature, resolves itself into two, .'tj persons viewing the matter from two -j-' entirely different standpoints. P.V. has v the laudable and humane idea of better- p ing his coloured brethern, .but wheu c these ideas clash with a ship's discipline J a situation -arises, which -will baffle a s "Socrates." All • authorities agree that ti on hoard of any ship force has to meet | refractory individuals, no matter whether - it is brute force or the power of one's 3 personality; th_ |former ds necessary s when the latter fails in dealing with J the coolie. -I have already pointed out ( some of the evils that exist, but P.V. i must bear in mind that what evils exist 1 lie in the hands of the Board of Trade, , or with legislation. The officer abides i by the law, and whatever may be done, < after the law is fulfilled, i.e., the proba- J bility of the Serang . pocketing ■ part , balance of the Lascar's pay, is_ outside i of his jurisdiction. It is not i quite "the correct thing to' ac- ; cuse officers of the -Mercantile : Marine of such practices in a public ' newspaper, even on the authority of a British-India officer, who probably said more-than he-meant, and never in practice carried out his statements. Such letters as P.V. writes excite a feeling of insubordination in the minds - 0f ... ' coolies, and where .men have: to control \ them the task is rendered more difficult ! As regards officers pocketing the .pay of '. a coolie, • the "ship's articles" must be ' shown at the shipping office, and any de- - ductions are clearly stated, and the \ reason. It is now quite apparent to any- ' one how much liberty an officer has over the pay of a Lascar. ■ I should like to , point out that boys in an English Indus- \ trial School receive more corporal punish- ' ment than any coolie ever received on a T British merchant .vessel in these later ' times, and what is good for English boya _ | must be quite applicable to ' "Lascars, > when its object'to be gained is so import- ; ant, namely, discipline,—-I am, etc., Z\ ,:• . E.F/Wi :