New Zealand Times (PUBLISHED DAILY.) MONDAY, MAY 22, 1899. THE ROMANCE OF THE SEA.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXIX, Issue 3746, 22 May 1899, Page 4

New Zealand Times (PUBLISHED DAILY.)

MONDAY, MAY 22, 1899. THE ROMANCE OF THE SEA.

WIXB WHICH is Ikcokpoeated the . Wellinoton ' iNDEPteHDENT, BBTABEISHBD 1815

Kipling betrays his consciousness of the vnstness of the subject when he makes his pious marine engineer, McAndrow, pray : for a poet tit “to sing the song of steam.” There is poetry, and there is romance too, in the story of steam navigation— iii, the exciting possibilities in connection with the iron leviathans that plough the seas in every direction, and in the actual incidents, “stranger than fiction,’” that arejrom time, to time recorded of them riu the columns of tho ..daily press. : The • steamship .Perthshire, the mystei-y 6f ,whose; temporarydiiLppoaranco has just been satisfactorily explained, has, -doubtless, during the past fortnight or so ;passed through experiences that might; well form 1 the basis of a thrilling novel.'. Her case exemplifies a constantdanger that attaches to the huge iron steamers of to-day. Let tho machinery of oiie of these monsters break down soiionsly, and the “thing of life” that bo fore so proudly dashed through tho opposing seas becomes/a'’well-nigh helpless mass of floating iron,'that maybe tossed hither and thither., for weeks on tho waste of waters, until repairs can bo effected; or until she is picked up by some vessel sent in search of her. And there is' the dread 'possibility of the break-down,taking plaice during a storm, when, the romance would become a tragody, the details of which would never he kuoWrij but the horrors of which can be faintly,imagined.. Happily, the Perthshire has been fortunate in escaping disaster!;''but::the plight to which she was 'reduced is painfully suggestive of the fate that might,.; under less favourable circumstances,'have befallen her.

Tdb qfteiij indeed’,' the “soiig-of sto un” ia cqimccfcioii' witli marine, travelling lias .to take theiform of a‘dii-ge for the victims'l <of storm "dr •'accident; There is ’only'too nihchheasou, to fear that the Ohiiu, "one ;df the smaller stehmefs of the Union Company’s-fleet, went down with aIF.-Bafadd during the wild weather' of, a ’ week-’-'ago.’ '-She was 11 seen,, one hour, labouring,'.heavily laden, against a. terrific gale and sea, near, tlie eastern entrance' to .Cook Strait; the next she was nowhere visible; pnd,no sigh Of wreckage 'from per,-,0r,,0f the bodies,of her officers • anil-;cre>v,-:hasi,yet been discovered. Whether' l the 'machinery of the Ohau broke* ddtyij at'aeritiCAi tiihe, or whether 'the^yessei l was simply overwhelmed by ■the-tremendous' seas that were running, will-probably never bo known. Tlie fate ‘of the vessel, like that of many another, • may ;be summed up in the’lines : “Wo /only* knoiv she sailed away and she was nevferiheafd pif more." It would be only cruelty, to, the relatives or the men who went' down' with the ill-fated steamer to hold out-delusive hopes that all may bo well I ;"pith''; her—that she was perhaps driven",dut to sea and may be drifting about, in the case of'tne .'Perthshire. The ievideiice is clear that the Ohau was seen close inshore, and apparently making for--the shelter of, the land,-not long before! she! disappeared;, and in view of the certainty of ;her fate/it but remains for. ns' to eipreaS sympathy. with those w r ho ; afeybereft .and, sorrowing, and to hope," that the company, and if need be the public, • will’see that the'dread of want beckuse bf thd loss of their breadwinners,. will no the added, to the pangs of grjef;.'' '. Another tragic incident of the recent'Storm was;the 'loss of the seaman Hughson, from the steamer Takapuna, Just at tpe entrance.to the harbour. His end''emphasises the uncertainty of the sailor’s! calling; ;and the treacherousness of the Wa.' , - ; ,

’ inhere.are various lessons to be drawn irom; these > incidents/ 5 <■ The 1 Perthshire's adventdre suggests that greater provision should be made j against, the e veiitua li ty of■ a . of, .fnachihery, whiffi might .leave a largo steamer, with hundreds of souls on, board, at the mercy : f the winds' and waves. All such i esse!s should be .compelled to .carry duplicate machinery, and sufficient of Sail to enable them to be navigated in the dveht Of their engines or gear becoming unworkable. In the* case of t-ho Oharr,.it is, toi be feared, the-only lessen to be drawn is that Such 'steamers should not Venture'but of port in weather'iiho that of - Tt 'now-seems obvious that she was unfit, ;full loaded as she was, to ‘cope hvith tbe wind and : sea, and that she should 1 hayie ruii into a harbour, or sheltering; point, .of, land, much earlier than-she attempted to-do. If in their over-zeal in"thei interests of their 'empToydrsJ and in scoramf,personal danger, .the,, officers, committed, an , error of Judgment,! they will' not 1 be harshly'condemned now when' they nave lost their lives jar a hopeless struggle with the ; raging ' elements.' The unfortunate seaman

Hughson was simply swept from the Takapuna’s deck by a huge sea that temporarily engulfed the steamer. His fate was one to which sailors will ho liable as long as men go to sea; and in the circumstances nothing could ho done to save him. In none of the cases we have instanced does it seem that a system of wireless telegraphic communication between tbo ships and the shore would have been of any avail. 'i'he storm and its incidents may, however, serve to push home a “moral” in connection with the subject of in competency. Seeing the casualties that arise when men of the highest qualifications and experience are in command of seagoing and coastal steamers, the public are reminded of the need there is to see that incompetent persons are not given certificates that might place them in positions for which they are unfitted. There must ho no repetition of the “marine scandal.”