The Lyttelton Times. THURSDAY, JAN. 23, 1879.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LI, Issue 5589, 23 January 1879, Page 4

The Lyttelton Times. THURSDAY, JAN. 23, 1879.

Those who remember the great Cospatrick disaster will readily understand how narrow was the escape of the ship Piako. Those who admire calm courage, indomitable presence of mind, forethought, and adequate provision against disaster in ships, will have read the story of the more fortunate vessel with great interest and much appreciation. The opportune and unexpected appearance of another vessel at the critical moment was no doubt a great factor in the successful working out of the difficult problem with which Captain Boyd suddenly found himself called upon to cope. But this assistance, it is probable would have been unvailing, but for other circumstances which the perusal of the story of the struggle for life brings into strong relief. If the master of a vessel carrying 300 souls has a clear head, a stout heart and habits of command on which he has taught all around him to rely, if his crew are under strict discipline, and his passengers are under his control, and trust to his seamanship, the sudden outbreak of fire is a severe strain on this combination of the good qualities of many people. That terrible strain was successfully resisted on board the Piako. The first thing that strikes the reader of the captain’s narrative is its tone of modesty and calmness. It is evident that the traditional best qualities of the British seaman are present in Captain Boyd in a high degree. Early in the forenoon, the Captain was informed that fire had broken out amongst the cargo; in five or six minutes the alarm had been rung, the flames discovered, and a hose set to play upon them. In two minutes more the men were driven on deck by the dense smoke. At once a desperate attempt was made, headed by the Captain in person, to get at the fire by another channel, and. failed. Without delay the hatches were battened down and the scuppers stopped, the main deck was flooded, one engine was throwing water down the foreshaft, another pouring it through holes cut in the upper deck, and the donkey engine sending a stream down the air-shaft. The fire thus promptly dealt with, the ship was headed for the nearest port —Pernambuco, two hundred miles distant—the boats were got out, and what stores were accessible were put into them. The man who arranged all this must have been of a magnificent stamp. No description, and no panegyric can give half the idea of his bravery, coolness, readiness of resource, and power of command that is conveyed by the simple narrative of his achievement. Each of the operations required organisation of the most prompt and complete character. There must have been responsible men in command set over gangs of men at many stations; order evidently reigned supreme throughout the ship, though every one of the three hundred knew that the hold was on fire from the fore to the after hatches. We read of the officers at their posts; we know that the men must have been energetic and fearless, and no one requires to be told what English sailors can do with these qualities; and we can appreciate the fact that in all the crowd of passengers none were found to rush into the boats pell-mell. When the time came for taking the passengers off to the other vessel, the fact that the transhipment was done in two hours is not astonishing, for it fits into the noble story. And when after this the captain determined to take his burning ship into port, neither his tenacity nor the courageous determination of his crew to stand by him move our wonder, because the display, fine as it is, is nothing to what these men have just gone through. This grand story of the sea is happily of a kind not rare in the maritime annals of Great Britain, but such stories will never fail to move men to appreciate the dignity of human nature, and admire the qualities of the British seaman. It is pleasant to realise that, while the weather favoured him, a strange ship coming fortunately near him, his own stout heart never failing him, and his brave officers, crew and passengers seconding him, Captain Boyd had one other resource at his command without which the rest would have been employed with less complete success. The Piako was evidently well prepared for emergencies of fire.

The emigrants once safe, no pains appear to have been spared for their comfort and health. Placed on an island, they were supplied with bedding and clothes at the expense of the owners of the Piako; they wore placed on an island, whore comfortably housed, strict supervision—sanitary and otherwise, we presume—was exorcised over them. At Uiis point the Agent-General interfered. The reason given in the correspondence, a summary of which wo published yesterday, is that Sir Julius Yogel was informed that the emigrants feared an attack of smallpox or yellow fever. He at onoe authorised the British Consul at Pernambuco to arrange for their passage by steamer back to England. The representatives of the Shipping Company in London urged that these fears wore unfounded, that the emigrants were comfortably housed and properly isolated, and that a vessel had been chartered to take provisions and cloth-1 They represented' that, as the return of the emigrants

would prejudice the Company s claims against the underwriters, it was expedient not to interfere until the actual outbreak of disease, of which there was no likelihood at the time. The AgentGeneral evidently thought himself responsible for the safety of the emigrants. under their altered circumstances, and there is no doubt that if anything had happened to them he would have been very sharply criticised. Such criticism would undoubtedly have affected public opinion unfavourably towards emigration to a country whose representative was supposed—however wrongfully—not to be alive to his proper responsibilities. Sir Julius Vogel could know the situation of affairs but imperfectly, and he probably felt that the knowledge of the representative of the Shipping Company in London was nearly as imperfect. But he knew that Pernambuco is in the tropics, and not over healthy; he was aware that yellow fever, if it once got amongst a body of emigrants, would make fearful havoc; and he was informed that there was danger of the outbreak of this fever, or of small-pox. He may likewise have felt some natural misgivings at the notion of allowing emigrants to be sent on a long voyage in a vessel which for two days had been a prey to fire, and on the third had been actually scuttled. He no doubt realised that a thorough survey by competent authority was the necessary preliminary condition to the embarkation of human beings on the Piako, and he may be pardoned for doubting the possibility of getting such a survey effected in Pernambuco. Under the circumstances, he acted for the best in making up his mind to give the emigrants the opportunity to return. If anything happens, and they do not avail themselves of the passage offered, they will have themelves to blame. If they remain, and nothing untoward happens, as the owners of the Piako honestly hope and believe, nothing more will be heard of the matter. It would be a pity if the bright drama of the escape of the Piako should be dimmed by an after-piece of tropical maladies or other disaster. Whatever happens, the Agent-General’s conduct relieves him from further responsibility.