MARINE AFFAIRS

Greymouth Evening Star, 13 September 1924, Page 2

MARINE AFFAIRS

DEPARTMENTAL REPORT.

(Per Press Association).

WELLINGTON, September 11. In the House of Representatives this afternoon the Hon. G. J. Anderson asked leave to lay on the table the annual report of the Marine Depart-

ment. , . Mr P. Fraser raised the question of ambulance provision at the wharves in case of accident, and asked the Minister to say whether these appliances were adequate. Mr M. J. Savage asked what was being done in the matter of ensuring the safety of workers on the waterfront. Mr D. G. Sullivan contended that a harbourmaster should have power to present vessels leaving port if, in his opinion, the weather outside was such as might endanger their safety. Mr Wilford argued that this would be unwise, because, after all, the captain of a ship must be the best judge whether his ship should or should not go to sea. Even captains might sometimes make errors of judgment, but that was not sufficient to alter the general principle that the captain was the best judge. Much had been done in the direction of protecting men on tjie 'waterfront, but much still remained to be done, and he commended these problems to the earnest consideration of the Minister.

Mr W.’ H. Field agreed with Mr Wilford that a captain must be the judge whether or not his ship should put to sea, but when a captain thought he should not go to sea and his owners thought he should, there should be some authority to which the captain could appeal. He thought no single screw steamer should be allowed to put to sea without sails ready bent. Had the Ripple been so supplied ,he felt confident that .she would have weathered the storm in which she was lost.

Referring in his reply to the point raised by Mr Sullivan, the Hon. G. J. Anderson, said he did not see how it was possible to get behind the captain of a ship. The captain was responsible for the lives of those aboard, for the navigation of' the ship, and. its .safe arrival at' its destination, and if anyone interfered with the’ man in supreme command there would be chaos, a,nd, likely, more accidents than at present. It might be that in isolated cases a company interfered and insisted on a captain sailingi If such a thing happened frequently—and he did not think it did—he would introduce, legislation protecting the captain and making it possible for him not to sail against his own judgment. Such legislation would provide for the punishment of a company that interfered.

Dealing with the question of purse seine fishing, the Minister said it was quite evident that old methods of fishing had been discarded all over the woiTd. Without up-to-date methods it would be impossible to supply the fish required for the market. The opinions of experts were varied on. the question of purse seine fishjng. Mr Ayson, Chief Inspector of Fisheries, who had made a study of'the subject, considered it ridiculous to think that trawling or purse seine fishing was going to affect the supply of fish in the sea, because the small quantity of fish caught by these means was a mere nothing compared with the destruction of fish by other means in the sea. He agreed that the matter had to be settled one way or another by competent authoritly. Scientific experts, at any rate, were agreed that purse seine fishing and trawling did not affect the position, but line fishermen and others were just as convinced the other way.

The Minister concluded by stating that he would endeavour to go into the matter, because he recognised that it had to be sifted to finality. Replying to another question, the Minister said he bad promised to have a conference of all parties interested in the matter of wireless on vessels. He now found, however, that such a conference was Impossible) and he proposed ts consult the parties individually in regard to the regulations that were being adjusted, and afterwards whatever alterations in the law were required would be made. It was proposed greatly to advance the equipment of wireless on coastal vessels, but he did not wish to mislead the House into thinking that they would be able to put wireless in the ordinary sense of the word in the smaller ships running round the coast. That would be impracticable unless conditions of employment were arranged by which the ordinary crew could look a'fter the wireless. The report was tabled.