BRITISH OFFICERS AND SAILORS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 13886, 25 April 1907, Page 2

BRITISH OFFICERS AND SAILORS.

WHY THEY ARE DECREASING,

(By Shipmaster.)

At the present time the shortage of British officers and men in the mercnnlilb marine is looming largely on the horizon and has reached a very acute state nil over the Lmpire, so if you will kindly grant- me space I purpose pointing out a few of I lie reasons why such shortage is occurring, and will only deal with | a case or two which has occurred in New Zealand during the last few months, and almost under our eyes, so to speak. In the Otago Daily Times recently there appeared the report of a sailor refusing to join a sailing vessel and being brought up before the court- for judgment. The man in question made a statement in court, which amounted to being on oath, that lie was not a sailor, but a. fireman, yel, the ruling of the Bench amounted to the ordering of that man aboard the vessel as an able-bodied sailor. Granted that the man had already- signed articles as an A.8., that point could suroly have been proceeded with afterwards, and the man charged with delaying the vessel; it certninly did not justify tlm ordering of him aboard to take up tho duties of an A.8., and was quite inconsistent with the law, which directs that a vessel shall carry a certain number of able-bodied seamen to make up her complement. In the conclusion of your report, tho following remark occurs: "You [tho ina-n in question] nui3t take tho consequences. The consequences of a sailing vessel being undermanned, or which amounts to the same thing, having an incompetent aboard, do not fall on that particular man, but they fall 011 all hands, and possibly the safety of the vessel is endangered, as sailing vessels nowadays aro cut down to the Smallest possible number of men, and one man short or incompetent is just the narrow lino between safety and danger in a tight corner, and very often' spells' disaster. This is one of tho reasons for tho heading of this article. Everybody seems to combine to make tho shipmaster, officer, and sailor tho scapegoat, and in moasurablo distance the British seaman will cease to exist, or will bs found in a very small minority. " Those that go down to tho sea in ships" will be foreigners. That this statoment is no imagination is shown by tho fact that shipowners at. Homo, and in different parte of tho Empire, are experiencing tho greatest difficulty in manning their vessels, and tho daily papers point out any new innovation, such as training ships', and all sorts of inducements for lads to po to sea.

A master mariner from tlie Old Country informed me recently that while at Home Inst year ho read in tho papers that during the' month of August, 1806, thcro ivero 8000 British apprentices loss following tho sea than there were 10 years before during tho same month—that is to say, during August, 1896,—a gravo state of affairs consjdoring how much tho British tonnage has increased during these ten years. How far this i 9 .truo I do not know, .but only givo to you what was told' me as a fact.

Another, reason against' tho sea being popular as a profession is the swooping down on tlio master and officers of vessels which get into trouble, the almost feverish haste to havo inquiry, etc., and tho shipmaster and officer must hand over his certificate to bo dealt with practically before ho is tried for his offence or mishap. This question should bo thoroughly thrashed out. Why does it become necessary for a certificated mariner to hp,nd over his certificate at all? Is it law or custom or precedent or what is it? Surely a certificate which takes so much timo'and trouble and oxpensp to gain should bo his own property, as much as any article or goods he has bought." It does not seem justice that, simply through an accident or error of judgment, a mariner's certificate should bo expended or oven cancelled. Cancelling of certificates should be dono away with; cndorsjng would suffice, bosuiso upon his certificate his success in almost' any walk of lifo depends, as it virtually acts as a rcfcrcnco, and without it to show ho i 9 denied tho chance of proving any state•ment ho may make, la there any act in force which makes it necessary for a mariner to .hand over his certificate to bo dealt with? If t.lioro is, in order to induce moro lads to follow up tho sea such, act wants amending or " wiping out," and then probably the merchant service might become more popular. Does a doctor have to hand over his certificate or diploma tn bo dealt with after an unsuccessful operation or a wrong diagnosis causing the death of a. patient, or a lawyer his when he get? committed to prison for an offence against tho law? Ho is struck off the roll locally, but cannot lie go elsewhere in the world and still carry his diploma wilh him, and so havo a chance of making bis living and starting afresh? Why should not the certificated mariner who iins met wilh a mishap have the same chance?

Hero is another reason, pulled' from the Otago Daily Times of Tuesday, 'March 12, 1907: Owing to representations made by the Merchant Service Guild of Australasia, the Marino Department is going to increase tho junior officers' wages 011 lioard the Government steamers by £1 per month, provided that they hold a foreign-going; master's cerl ifi"atc; 10s increase otherwise. It is fairly veil-known amongst naiiticnl folk that tli'o officers of the Hincmoa at present (with tho exception of the second officer, who holds a second mate's certificate, and therefore does not oomo into the £1 increase) hold only coastal certificates, and therefore none of the officers will enjoy tlio (nil bounty ('() of the Marine Deportment, so its seeming liberality faded into merely 10s per month increase. But does not this leave a permanent chance of the department escaping paying the extra 10s, for the simple reason that, it (the department) won Id make certain, in future, o! appointing to positions as officers 011 these boats men who hold only .coastal certificates, inaliing practically a gift of a first-class position to those who have not .tho energy or education to gain a foreign-going certificate.

Again, regarding the Marine Department's advertisement for an inspector of load-lines and assistant marine superintendent, for Wellington, at the munificent salary of £'220 per annum, applicants must havo been five years as master and have tile highest testimonials, mastor mariners, in tho majority of cases, looked upon it almost as an.insu.lt to tho profesand that tliero should 1 havo bson any applications received by the department at all tends to show _ that'to follow the sea as a means of gaining a living is not what it ought to be when (hero aro found those who arc willing to apply for a position of trust and very great responsibility carrying with it such a miserable pittance as that offered by tho Marine Department of New Zealand.

These latter reasons speak for themselves, as there certainly, ig no inducement for a lad to go to sea and gain foreign-going certificates when the Government positions for nblc and efficient men arc practically closed to them.

Now, following out tho heading of this article wo oomo to the s.s. Port Stephens,' which in itself constitute.'! a vory good reason why the British seamen, master and mail, arc decreasing.- Where is.the vessel now? Have not events fully justified tho master in his decision to abandon the vessel? Had Captain Jolly refused the ■usisljinco oll'orod by the barque, and she had continued on to New Zealand (carrying possibly a few of the Port Stephen's crow) and reported the breakdown of the. steamar and the predicament of tho crew, the vessel not having been found by the numerous vessels sent to search for 'her, by this time Captain Jolly would .have been condemned on all sides. By saving all lives aboa.rd tho Marine Court of Inquiry condemns him also, and the press condemns him likewise, which way is the unhappy shipmaster who has a mishap to turn? There is no night way, lie is wrdng whatever position he takes up, according to Now Zealand Courts of Inquiry. As far as tho press condemning Captain .Tolly rocs, ihis is what happened: One of tho daily papers made a comparison between the fire on tho s.s. Tarawera off the Bay of Plenty and the case of the Port Stephens. One vessel almost' in- sight of land, with smooth water and well found boats, and right in the beaten tracks of vessels, when, if the worst prevailed, the ship's company would have been ashore before tho next mailt had they pulled the boats to land. The other, drifting away to the desolate south, in a most tempestuous sea, and in icy climate, with absolutely no hope of a rescue, and no. provisions aboard. Comparisons arc indeed odious.

Tlio foonor Mto proper parties fake slops to rcco.anise tlio protest sent in by tlio Shipmasters' Association of Now Zealand ns to (lie findinsr of that particular Court of Inquiry 'the belter for the self-respect of tlio colony. Another, mid almost, tlio chief, reason of all. is the carrying of foreigners and others with a river or an extended river certificate, nautieally known as a "do? license," and denying the British or colonial born the ripht to sail in his country's ships after lie has (rained his foreign-gome: certificates. This carrying of foreigners is very prevalent round (lie New Zealand coast.; ami they have got a firm foolinp in many of tile small vessels, which, beincf roallv " home " jobs, or snu? billets, should, nrouerly speakinfr. 1» in the hands of the Aritishei's, as an imluccment.that, after tol-

lowing the eea in all its moods and hard times, there is "sticking out" for his future the chance of sailing in a "homo job" vessel, with fresh food and short trips, and largely (Auckland way) smooth water.

As tho few reasons mentioned in this article aro suggested by what has occurred here or in and about New Zealand during tho last few months, the question rises uppermost,• immediately: What a vast number of other reasons "why tho British certificated mariner! and sailor is decreasing " there must be throughout tho Empire and extending over a period of, say, 10 years. Collectively summed up, the position stands thus: Is there any inducement whatever for a British lad to go to sea. and to ecintinuo at it. under present-day conditions in comparison with almost any other occupation in life?

Tlicro does not «cm much chance at present of an increasing number following tho sea, nor will there be, until the conservative past bo wiped off tho slate and the conditions surrounding' the seafarer's life be made more in keeping with tho ordinary demands of the twentieth century. In these days of enlightenment, boys will not go to sea to live amongst tho surroundings which prevail on board a. large, percentage of cargo steamers and almost all sailing vessels. After a lad lias served four or fivo years at soa and ho desires to oontinuo upwards as an officer, it, must bo shown that it, is worth his white by giving him a reasonable ehanco of rehiring in comfort after a certain period of service through having been in receipt of a wage throughout such service which should enable him to do so. His position must bo more sccure, ospcciaTiy in the case of a shipmaster, for whei. a man, reaches that position, after probably many years of faithful service, 1 ho is nearer the "dismissal stage" than over lie was as a-n officer, and probably few people ashore know what it means for a captain to lose his command, start afresh, low down the ladder, if a young man; but nobody wants an elderly man, and he, poor chap, has very often lo go before tho mast in a hard-tip "windbag," stuck up for the want of hands. Imagino that unfortunate's lifo! It scorns scandalous that these things aro occurring to-day simply through the apathy and indifference shown by the British nation as to how its men in the mercantile marino are paid for tho responsible work they perform, and under what, conditions thev labour, and how thev fare under British legation. Until this national indifforcnco is removed tho probability of British seamen increasing will not heave iti sight. "Wholesale retiring of masters and officers for very minor accidents, for every small point which must .arise in euch a varied and responsible career from which tho element of datiger is never absent—this will have, to be dealt with in a different way' to encourage tho lads to go to sea.

Tho various ' rules and regulations of private owners and companies surrounding ihe British mariner require a deal of curtailing and, in several eases, weeding out entirely, and the' wholesale suspending and cancelling of certificates wants looking into, and, in fact, tho "period of persecution" into which the British mariner has been drifting of late years wants throwing overboard, and a "fair and square start" between owner and employee mode afresh, in keeping with the spirit of the age. All this and a. great deal more require} overhauling ere there will bo an increaso '"nstcfid of a decrease, and after these reforms are carried out and Britain realises what it means to the nation to keep her ships fully manned by her own seamen, then, perhaps, will the British father look with favonr on his son entering upon tho carocr of a sailor, and the ideal of British ships manned entirely with British sailors be once more established. ■