The Dominion. FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 1909. THE SAFETY OF SHIPS.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 406, 15 January 1909, Page 6

The Dominion. FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 1909. THE SAFETY OF SHIPS.

The remairkablc evidence given at thft Inquiry" into the loss of the scow Ki a Ora Should receive the attention of the Minister for 'Marine. The captain of the lost vessel was shown to have beCn ,1h intemperate man. • He was discharged from one Vessel lor drunkenness, Bill yet obtained tho command orihe fcia Ora. It is a most uflsatißfaetefy staid of affairs that is here disclosed. _ Ono of th 6 owners df tho Kia Ora declared during the inquiry that it was not the practjeo df scow owners to report the" fact that cfeftain masters and othere were addicted tb flrlflk. Personally, he would be disinclined to roporfc that any captain Was of intemperate habits j he would sooner discharge him find lot the matter end there. No doubt, there are many shipowners who, out of ail easily intelligible reluctance to destroy a seaman's ftfeans of livelihood, arc Dqjually" dlsifldirled to rbpdrt to the Marine authorities tho dismissal of any of their officers fdf drunkenness ; they aro thankful t9 get rid' of : such dangerous employees) and think no mbi'o about the matter. Most of us ( pi-o-bably, would be equally liable to allow our good nature tb dver-rulc bill , public duty in such cftsds. When a ship-owner gets rid of a drunken captaitij he naturally ftels that it would be unnecessarily crliel to follow Up his bWn ict of selfprotection by providing protection for dthel' ship-owners at thb cost bf a man ta \Vhom he probably btiafs no ill-will, and for wliotii hd may hdVb sdirie fehl fegßrd. Most men, in any (*tts6. dislike acting in a mantidl- that looks like thnlstihg theffisclvcs fbhvai'd da officious felWs full of theories abbut tho ditty si the itidlvidual to tho cotanlunity. In a word, the average man hates to act as a kind of unpaid policcilian. This is a general feeling which we can sjmpathise with while We deplore its rcdults. The owners Of ships, however, should ( rbilHsb the uhusUally heavy" responsibility that rests upoli Ihcrii when, in dismissing- itltettip'eratc omcSrs, they take flo steps to prbvehii tliosc Officers irdhi fendangtirihg the livfcß of those whom tliey may cbthmand in the future. Strict and unvarying sdbHety is the fiVst Hbccssity in a sea-captaitl. Td bu ihtoxicated 6ven brico when in chaige 6f a Vdssel at Sea should mean 'the cancellation, ,or at leilst the suspension, of the offender's certificate, not only because such :m offence is evidonco of unfitneea for commaud in

ii vital zespeci, bilt also because the extreme importance of sobriety in a shipmaster ban only be impressed UpOtl eedmen by aa extieme of stei-nness ih tlcalißg tvitli lapses frofii it. ipparcnlly there are no existing means of correcting what would appear to be a dangcroilß carelessness in the scow business, although the Maririe Superintendent expressed the orJinidn that it was the duty o£ owners of vessels to report, cases of discharge foi drunkenness. AVhat is required is obviously some statutory provision under which owners shall be liable to a penalty for failure to report such caßCs. If such a provision were enacted by Parliament, the others Tvdhld readily do-as <4h det of obedience 16 a plain law what they may be disinclined to do as a voluntary act bf abstract duty to the shipping community and tho public , gfcneially.