The Nelson Evening Mail. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 1866.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume I, Issue 222, 21 November 1866, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 1866.

The loss of life by drowning every year iu New Zealand is considerable, and is beginning, as it ought to. do, to attract the attention of the public and the various Provincial Governments. It appears from a late return furnished by the Eegistrar General, that during a period of eight years, out of a total ol 12,379 deaths, there were no fewer than 601 deaths by drowning, or very nearly five per cent. Life is perilled, not only by the passage of the numerous rivers which intersect the country, but in the passage to and from the steamers on the coasts that are not favored as this is with safe and convenient harbors. The fearful loss of life at Pakihi, a few days ago, calls for prompt attention from the Government, with a view, if possible, of providing remedial measures. Considering the frequency of bad weather on the West Coast and the precarious nature of the transit to and from the steamers in the various roadsteads, it is remarkable that loss of life is not more common than it is. This is no doubt owing to the caution all captains of steamers are compelled to exercise, aud the judicious restrictions imposed by the authorities, who prohibit the owners of the steam tugs and other small craft from venturing out of the harbors when the weather is so bad as to render the risk dangerous. Every time a steamer arrives iu this port with passengers whom it had bargained to land at one of the ports of the West Coast, but to avoid endangeriug whose lives, it has subjected to all the inconveniences of loss of time and absence from business, we more aud more regret that there is not inland communication between Nelson and the West Coast, and urge it as a potent argument why the railway affair should not be allowed to sleep.

The frequent loss of life caused by crossing the rivers iu the Canterbury Province has induced a member- of the Provincial Government to introduce a bill in reference to the establishment and management of ferries on the West Coast, '^he object of the bill is to empower the Superintendent to establish ferries on all the rivers and lakes where they are needed, and to secure the efficient management of those already in existence. It is proposed to reserve land for the purpose of establishing these ferries, on which to erect accommodation houses for the use of the public. The ferries will be let to competent boatmen only, who will be required to used sound and safe boats, keep them iu good repair, and charge such rates as shall be fixed by the Provincial Government. The great increase of population iu the Canterbury Province, their migratory character, and the great danger of leaving the crossing places of rivers iu the hands of inexperienced men, justify the introduction of the measure referred to, which will no doubt receive the sanction of the Provincial and General Legislatures. It was found necessary iu the Southern Provinces, where the rivers are particularly dangerous, for the Government to take the management of the ferries into their own hands ; since which time the loss of life by drowning has not been so frequent, and the public convenience has been greatly promoted. Boats, hoAvever, are but an imperfect means of crossing dangerous rivers ; and we were glad to see, from the speech of the Superintendent of Otago, at the recent meeting of the Council, that° ferries were beiug rapidly superseded by bridges of solid construction, and that only one river in the province now remained to be bridged, and the means of constructing that work, notwithstanding the bad times, were at the disposal of the Provincial Government.

The recent loss of life by drowning at Pakihi, brings the subject nearer home, and

shows the necessity of interference on ft part of the authorities, to prevent similar calamities. The use of ordinary watermen's boats, at such a place, is perilous in the extreme, and safety under any circumstances must be set down to good fortune or providence, in such a dangerous roadstead and treacherous sea. Any one who has seeu much of the colony, and witnessed the tiny skiffs in which boatmen will venture the lives of themselves and passengers, knows that nothing but the stringent power of the law will compel the use of boats adapted to the circumstances of the coast. The surf boats used on the Taranaki and other coasts, are precarious euough in bad weather ; but what confidence can there be in the safety of such frail barks as were swamped a few days ago before the eyes of more than one of our feliow townsmen, who are happy in the reflection of how small were their chances oi escaping a watery grave. In all cases where the navigation for boats is dangerous to human life, the Government should step in, and, by the enforcing of proper regulations and the employment of safe boats and experienced seamen, prevent calamities which no regrets can recall, aud human grief is powerless to atone for. In places where uo danger exists, the boating arrangements may be left to private speculators ; but, at such dangerous inlets as that of the Pakihi, the strong arm of authority should interpose to prevent such disasters as those referred to, by the compulsory substitution of efficient means of taking passengers to and from the steamers for the present imperfect appliances which are so fatal to human life.