THE LESSON OF THE HAWEA.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLII, Issue 215, 10 September 1908, Page 6

THE LESSON OF THE HAWEA.

(N.Z.. Shipping Gazette). j Considerable relief was felt \;hrough- j out New Zealand when news arrived j from Sydney that the drifting Hawea, J which had been missing since July 30, .. reached Sydney on Sunday in tow of ; the Rakanoa, one of the steamers | which went in search of her. lhis relief and gratification, however, is checked by the knowledge that other j vessels are still drifting and undis- ! covered, and by the fact that steps, are j urgently needed which will place such occurrences, outside the region of probability or possibility in the future. All manner of suggestions have been ; made in the press of the Dominion as ' to future plans for the safeguarding of j steamers, and among others a gentleman, reported to be well versed in nautical affairs, made a suggestion that a relief steamer should be despatched in search of the Hawea equipped with a captive balloon which would command a wider view and increase the chances of finding the lost vessel. He thinks that such a deviqe would result in a great saving to the Union Company, We cannot say that'we are attracted by the contemplation of such makeshift devices; and there is no guarantee that such an- expedient would work satisfactorily. A correspondent in one of the Wellington daily papers, signing himself "Lifebuoy," suggests to steamship companies such as the Shaw, Savill and Albion Company, the New Zealand Shipping Company, and the Union Steamship Company of New, Zealand that they should instal wirer , less telegraphy ,ori their vessels to eh- ; sure relief when a vessel breaks down at sea. He further states that the ships' officers might easily be initiated into the mysteries .of the management of the Marconigraph, and thereby save the wages -which otherwise would be ; earned T>y an expert "Marconigraphi- j cian." Another correspondent, "Master Mariner," expresses his opinion; that "Lifebuoy" is "no seaman' rwhen ■ he suggests tliat ships'officers should ' take up this work, and he goes on to j point out that the masters and officers ! of the mercantile marine ar,e already most discreditably underpaid for the multifarious duties and responsibilities which they have to fulfil, and states: "I think the steamship companies mentioned above will find that twinscrews are a better cure than wireless telegraphy for such incidental mishaps as that which has recently occurred to the Union Company's Hawea, ' While we agree with "Master Mariner" that it would be scarcely fair to expect ships' officers to undertake the working of wireless installations, we do not agree that twin-screws would be a better method of meeting the case of such mishaps; and we believe that a bold move snould be made to have wireless apparatus installed on^ all vessels. We believe it to be not only necessary but inevitable, and it must be only a question of time until all steamship owners will see the necessity for such installations. We understand that the Union Steamship Company is prepared to undertake the work so far as they are concerned. But willingness on the part of the steamship companies and owners of other vessels is not all that is required. Wireless oh the boats would be useless, naturally, without stations on land. The New Zealand Government must move in the matter; and the sooner such a move is made the better it will be for all concerned. That is the lesson of the Hawea.