THE EVOLUTION OF SHIPPING. AN INTERESTING ADDRESS.

Evening Post, Volume LXXV, Issue 09, 11 January 1908, Page 6

THE EVOLUTION OF SHIPPING. AN INTERESTING ADDRESS.

Mr. Ashcroft gave an addiess last night at Mr. Moore's Missions to Seamen Rooms. There was a large audience. He traced the progress of shipping from. 1847, when he first entered a large mercantile house in London, at first assisting, and afterwards, from 1852, being in full charge of the shipping business. Ho passed through the time of tho gold 1 fever; the size of the vessels then was from 100 to 700 tons. At the height of the fever it was very difficult to prevent being shut out. The London dock jetty was crowded) with merchandise, and bribery of the wharfingers had to be resorted to in order to got goods on board. At length, freights went up to £6 a ton, and vessels were so scarce that a number of Dutch Indiamen had to be got over to supply the demand. Tho Aberdeen clipper was then introduced, and subsequently the Liverpool clipper, the latter making passages ot sixty days to Melbourne, and in one instance, fifty-nine days. The life of a shipping ckTk w;is veiy arduous. . Mr. Ashcroft then referred to the advent ot steam, and the first screw steamer, the Archimedes, a vessel under 300 tons, launched in 1&58, four years after his biith, which was later seen by him on the Thames. Two paddle steamers crossed to America in the same year — one in fifteen, the other in seventeen days — despite the fact that Lyon Playfair had propheeied that no vessel could carry coal enough to cross th 3 Atlantic. The introduction of double and triple expansion engines had greatjy reduced the consumption of coal, and we now had j the Lusitania and Mauretania crossing the Atlantic in five days ! He believed the condition of the seamen ha-d greatly improved, though there w/;s still room for further improvement. British and American vessels, he considered, would! ooritinue to lead' the way in the regeneration of the world, bat much must depend on the character yof the seamen. He urged that there was great need! for brotherhood of employer and employed, master and crew, and pointed' out how' his heareTs could often "help lame dogs over stiles" by keeping the weak clear of drink, or looking after them when "under the influence." Mr. Ashcroft afterwards, at the request of Mr. Mootc told several yarns, which were highly appreciated, and he received a very hearty vote of thanks. The evening's talk was interspersed with songs and. recitations. Questions as to which was the preferable service — sail or steam — were answered by the seamen present, the preponderance of opinion being in favour of steam, though some of the men said they preferred sail, because it made for better seamanship. Prizes were awarded for the best answers. Mr. Moore is doing his utmost to provide plenty of amusement for those who go to his rooms, and the influence exercised must be for the good of the seafaring class. His Sunday services are made bright and attractive.

Mr. H. L. Michel, who has been connected with tho Hokitika volunteers and fire brigade for over a quarter of a century, and has occupied the captaincy for many years, has tendered his resignation to the brigade owing to his civic and fire insurance interests eing affected by the new Fire Brigades Act. General regret is being expressed at his resignation after such a long public service in one of the most popular of local institutions, says a Pre3s Association telegram. Mr. C. A. Ulrich, whose death at Scattie was announced yesterday, was one of the pioneers, of the gold dredging industry in New Zealand. He was the inventor of iomo valuable gold-saving appliances, which were used with success on the West Coast. The statement that he was a relative of tho late Professor Ulrich, of Otago, was not correct. Father and son — Herbert and Walter Cooley — were made the subjects of prohibition orders at a sitting of the Lower Hutt Court, presided over by Messrs. J. Cudby and J. Wilkin, Justices of the Peace, this morning. At a sitting of the court yesterday a married woman was convicted and discharged for drunkenness. Rev. Chas Dallastoi> will preach tomorrow at the Vivian-street Baptist Church, both morning and evening. Mr. Dallaston is at present taknif? a rest at Plimmerton, prior to hia lemoving from the charge of the Baptist Church at Napier to the Baptist Church at Alorniflgtonj 'J&lfti&fii .-, . _ '. . .!?.