DESERTING SEAMEN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 14567, 2 January 1911, Page 7

DESERTING SEAMEN.

«AN INTOLERABLE EVIL."

NEED FOR DRASTIC ACTION.

[BY telegraph.——press association.]

, Wellington, Saturday. More than is the case in most countries the whole system, of our commerce is dependent upon regular and adequate steamship services. Our geographical isolation throws the entire burden of our external trade upon the "men. who go Sown to the sea in ships," and any serious \ defection in the mercantile marine would threaten to paralyse New Zealand's vital- " ity as a commercial nation. During the summer season, when the productive powers of the country are at their highest activity, especially great is the need for prompt despatch of oversea vessels (says Ihe writer of an article in the Wellington Post). Huge-consignments of wool arc ' listed to catch a particular series of sales, ihe ship's passage has been calculated almost to the hour, and at the last minute

trouble arises in a quarter that has al-

ready given too much anxiety to ship- " owners, masters and exporters. The cases ■'■"of desertion that came before the Court - yesterday and to-day have re-opened a ' highly important quest ion to all concerned in the oversea commerce of New Zealand, and it is true to say that in no previous season has"the problem of desertion been so acute and of a nature such as to call for more drastic steps to provide a remedy. From inquiries made by a reporter in shipping , circles it was learned that those who have to deal with firemen and sea- ' 'men warmly; approved of the attitude taken by Dr. "McArthur, S.M., towards deserters. "He has evidently taken a more serious view of the matter than has ' hitherto been ,the case," remarked one " authority, "and the punishment of a

■i month's imprisonment is by no means excessive." Other authorities believed that

' if this penalty" were Imposed on every " deserter who was caught-, provided his

" ship was not leaving New Zealand in the meantime-;" it would have a deterrent ef- " fect. For a time, perhaps, the prisons - •would be full of deserters, but by-and-by '. the men would realise that it would be

' better to stay on board rather than go gaol. These men are all demanding "nearly £1 a day, better wages than the chief engineers.'' They see that, as far as possible, no other fireman signs on at a lower rate. Not long ago a vessel which had to catch the January wool sales paid 1? £35 each to about half a dozen firemen, and slightly more to one or two others. There was no alternative. Perhaps thousands of pounds depends on the ships reporting in the English Channel by a certain hours on a certain day, and the demands had to be agreed to. Captain Murrison, of the Drayton Grange, informed the writer that since he had been on the Australasian coast, nearly Socmen, mostly firemen, had decamped. Men cleared out at every port, and the ship's articles were just about full of new names, the wages in each case being, of course, higher. So far as Captain Murrison knew, the men had no special complaint about their food or accommodation. The . lure of a New Zealand

summer, abundant work, and the prospect

of an exorbitant wage, were too attractive. ' Often, too, the men will make complaints which prove to be groundless on investigation. Some firemen 'on the Nerehana

once. came to the port shipping-master to

■ complain about their food. , The author- ? ity went with them back to the vessel, only to find thai roast beef, bulging.potatoes, pudding, and fresh bread were prepared for them in plenty. There was a'concensus of opinion . that Chinese and Lascars - made far more. reliable workers than British firemen. They did not slip th& vessel at the 11th hour, never got drunk, nor had to be rounded . up from public, houses, were always quiet and industrious; . nor were the Orientals

. much cheaper in the long ran, because two or three had to be carried to one " Britisher. , Ail officer of the Clan liner Clan Grant, said that their ship was formerly manned by Lascars. ■On this voyage they have British hands, and trouble commences! as soon as the ship reached Aus- . tralia. Four men were fined in Bunbury, and generally the white crew is more troublesome than the black. It is asserted that there is a virtual conspiracy to keep up an exorbitant demand for wages on the Homeward run. Men are said to leave vessels on the New Zealand . coast with the' express purpose of obtaining high wages for the return trip. To-day the steamer -Drayton Grange, fully loaded for Avonmouth, was waiting in -the harbour for a couple o. 1 firemen and deck hands. There was e group of men outside the Government, ship ing- office,. watching for any firemen whe wanted to sign on.- The writer asked one or these men what he wanted for the rui Home on the Drayton Grange. Fifty pounds," was the reply.

"That's rathe high, isn't it?" "Oh, no, not at this time of the

j year." "Why. do you want so much? Have you any complaint against the ship or your treatment on board?" "Oh, rib; none at all." Sometimes, it is said, a home vessel

. will be visited by -a boardinghouse-keeper V; ashore, who will , arrange with firemen to ; provide them a'temporary home. Then ; the seafarer steals his clothing ashore little -i by little, and the next thing he is gone. ■ One authority suggested that such persons should be prosecuted, and heavily punished on conviction. In England keepers of ooardinghouses for sailors have to be u: Icensed, and anyone who has not a license i. liable to' be punished for knowingly hirbouring deserters. In view of the electric atmosphere that K'-Tictimes pervades the Government shippug office it has been suggested that a polceman might well bo stationed there, ;v.-hie firemen are likely to be signed on. ' Thii afternoon, as one man ivns being engage], about- 20 others who had no business swarmed in to ihe office to see what - the cintract was. The position was said ". to be intolerable. The outlook at present from he masters' and agents' point of view is bad enough. So long as the Courts were pppared to treat desertion a<? a heinous offence, and punish it accordingly, there is i prospect of coping with the evil. " Others t'iink' that a month's imprisonment will haveino other effect, than to make the country i dumping ground for undesirables. Greater police vigilance is wanted in tracking offenders, and placing them on board befoi? the ship sails. Yesterday no fewer than.l 2 warrants of arrest were issued for Ceserters from ships in port. Those who differ are apparently determined io ink drastic stops to cone with what is becoming an intolerable evil ; and, if necessary, special legislation will have to be passed.