THE WAIRARAPA DISASTER.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 7130, 12 November 1894, Page 2

THE WAIRARAPA DISASTER.

The evidence of the witnesses as to the circumstances turrounding the wreck of the Wairarapa, warranta the belief, that hud ifrrater care been obeerved in the handling of the vessel from the time ahe passed the North Cap**, the awful catastrophe by which to many valuable liver were lost, would not have happened. The officer* examined stated that in ooneequanta of the thick and foggy weather they were most anxious ai to the aafety of the ateamer, and aa they were not certain aa to her exact position, they eon •idered it would be wiae to " alow down." Th«y knew that the vraeel was being driven through the water at a speed of over 12 knots an hour, and that they were unable to discern any landmarks by which they could ascertain their position. The captain was approached as to the advisability of lessening ths rats of speed, %nd he agreed to do so after ths Hen and Chickens had been passed. That be was perfectly satisfied she was oo her right course is proved by bis statement to that effect mads to ons <<f hiH officers, and when the vessel struck hift remark that she was " Either on the Heu or th« Chickeua," conclusively shows that he atill believed it, as those islands are in Ihe track of vessels making ths run down the coast from Sydney to Auckland. The captain has lost his life through bi# error of judgment, and thsrefors adverse criticism of his actions is debarred, but it is much to be regretted that the officers, who have escaped a similar fats, should have permitted him to retain command of the ship, when they entertained serious misgivings as to the consequences of steaming at nearly full speed through s fog, with a dangerous coast on the one hand, and a number of inhospitable islands to be avoided on the other. They knew perfectly well that the regulation at to slowing down in foggy weather wss not being observed; thst over two hundred souls were on board ; that heavy loss of life would be impossible to avoid in oaes of the stesmsr running on a rock ; thst the dsngsr of their position required more than usual cere in the handling of the vessel, snd yet did no more than suggest to the captain the wisdom of slowing down. They say they had the utmost confidence in the captain's seamanship— though their expressed anxiety as to the steamer's safety is inconsistent with this statement, and it is pro b*ble that their position as inferiors prevented them from boldly warning him of the recklessuess of his action in going through thick weather at the rate of a mile in four minutes. Naval etiquette is no doubt very necessary upon ordinary occasions, but tn the face of danger its observance is often fraught with frightful consequences. It is truly a melancholy tragedy to reflect on. The ship rushing to bar doom through the treacherous waters ; her offiosrs snd passengers oppressed with apprehensions of evil; her captain ovsr • ooufident in hi* own judgment —snd not an offieei with courage enough to tell him be was risking precious lives. It has been Ntated that the vessel wss not being need, that there was absolutely no reason to hurry; snd these statements, though they absolve the owners from blame, render the eaptaiu's action in steaming at nearly full speed still more inexplicable. The casuality can but be deplored, Uw bereaved families commiserated with, and the survivors congratulated oo their escape. Let us hope that it may be long ere another eatsstrophe of the kind occurs, and that the fate of the Waifarape may nerve as a lesson to masters of vessels to in future exercise the greatest possible caution when navigating in the vicinity of a dangerous coast, snd when beast with more thsn ordinary danger, to remember that th«ir judgment, though eound, is not infallible, and that by consulting with their officers, they might derive benefit by following their advice, snd possibly avert disaster to both lives and property.

Captain Edwin wired this aftemooo :— •« Indications for strong north to wtat and southwest winds. Glass falling and poor tides." By the P. and 0. tteamer Ocsui*, which arrived at Albany on October 30th, Mr and Mrs Wetbewd and infant wars passenger, for Gisborne. Mr P. Monogban, of Ormond, whilst excavating in a hUI tonnd % Urgs quantity of decayed bones, samples of which h« has brought to ibis office, where the carious may inspect them. Mr Booth, 8.M., presided at the Polios Court this morning. Patrick Monogban, charged with being drunk whilst in charge of a horse and dray, was fined £1 and costs 6s. Alexander BeaUoo, charged with ueaalting a native woman named rUwlria, pleaded not RuiltT. but the offence was proved and be was fined £\ w»d costs 7a or one week's imprisonment. Peihitnana Peireme, with three previous convictions, was fined £2 and costs 2s, for drunkenness. A fancy dress ball was held in the Ormond Hall on Friday last, and was a thorough success. The hall was well decorated with evergreens and floral wreaths, wbich. bang in festoons across the well-lighted room, miugled with the beautiful costumes dotted round the seats, and presented a fairy-like appearance. The ball was opened with the grand march, which brought about SO couples to the floor. The following were the principal cliaractert present :— Mist Moors (Daughter of the Regiment) carried off the character well; Mies « ordon (The Bleye) looked exceedingly well, and kept her chains on till the last ; lias Parsons (Cupid) ■ tot her darta fast a> d well directed, I ho] c ; Miss Bidgood (» pc). Miss ßeymour (Ron ? l Mrs Nelson (Inaococe), Mies Pritclurd (Basket). Miss Law (Joliet) wae charmingly dressed, and well suited her, Miss Ljater (S*ilor Girl), Mm Ooartney (R«np). »*iss Carroll (Reaper), Mr Harris (Turk), dr Lowe MaUese Rolgbt), Mr Hillioo (Cricketer), Mr White (Hanlamao), and m«ny others too tnmerow to mentioa. The programme was well aosuio^l throognoot, •udmach it das to Mr Cooper, MC. who made things comfortable for all. After the first part had been gone through, our jovial host (Mr Lew) announced sapper. An excellent repast was provided, and wae done full justice to If comparisons are not in this case Invidious, I should aay that Mies Lew was belle, and Mr Lowe beau, although Mr A. McKenae's character as Romeo was excellent. The brilliant music provided by Messrs Bolton and Higfina was ail that could be desired. Thia n^ht't pleasure will be long remembered by the Omasd folk.— [Communicated.]

The pot! for the Makauri Special Lmo will be taken to-morrow at the Road Hoard* office, Maktraka. At the Opotiki police Court recently, before l>r Reid tad Mr Bates. Jaitioca. ThomM M. Humphrey*, solicitor, we* charged with perjury on the information of Mr Hemoel Moody, J.P. Defendant did not Appear, and hu affidavit firing reasons for not attending being considered unsatiafac tory, a warraot wu issued for hie arrest. The Appeal Coart is engaged bearing ao action by the Commissioner of Taxes, who claims that certain deeds made ia his lifetime by Mr John Chambers, sheepfarmer, Hawke r s Bay, art intended to trade pay meat nf succession doty, Mr Chamber* having died in IRB3. The estate is rained at £75.000 to £100.000, and a Urge amount of duty is involved. The men employed by the Cbristcharch Muslim aathoriues to dig oat the moa bones at the Kapua settlement, near WeimaU, have for the promt completed their work, and a truckful of bones has been despatched to Christchareh. It is stated that tbe boae* of 300 moas have been found, as wall as specimens of ao extinct eegk and goose. By the Mooowai frosn Baa Freodeeo thcrs has arrived a novel vessel to tbeas oolooies in the shape of a launch 22* feet long, fllUd with a foorborte-power vapoar eagiae (marins type). No engineer is rsqairea, as there is neither fire, heat, boiler, pumps, or other appliances that are of necessity used with a ■team engine. Farther subscription* received in aid of the Wairarapa relief fund bring Urn total up to £60 9s 6*l. The amounts now to be acknowledged are: D. Dougherty £1 Is, W. Picken 10s. At the Validation Court to-day the bearing of evidence ia Ibe Wberekata No I Block, which occupied the Court all last week, was ooaciadod aad judgment was reserved. VN hit* a little boy was atraggtia« ia the water, after being washed overboard from ths Wairarapa, a man swam up and took bold of him. " Hold oa tm me, boy," be said, and as the lad clung to him be strack out for the rocks. It was a long swim, aad Urn rescuer grew weary. And than Urn HtUe lad said theee heroic words— •• If yon can't get bm along, drop me." And tbe pasting rescuer, who was only a stowaway, answered, " No, my boy, if joe go, 1 go," aad struck not again. The UtUe boy was raecoed and U*ea care of. So was his deliverer. An extravagant letter in tbe Auckland Herald from its Poverty Bay correspondent has been taken as serious by Urn Hawks's Bay Herald, wbicb imagines toa>t Urn oorrespeodeat it voicing Urn feeling of the people in this district. Oar Napier namesake says : " Gisborae is getting ambitious. It wants a railway." The paper then goes on to point out Urn Absurdity of the correspondent's arguments in favor of a railway from here to Auckland, and says : " 8o we fear oar neighbors will have to do without a railway and tbe lotked-for ' boom ' for some generations yet to come. On the other hand, if they would join Wairoa in pressing tbe claims of the East Coast for a substantial grant for roads they might get something. There ia already an excellent coach road from Gisborne to Wairoa, and a road with splendid gradients has been laid off between Napier and Mohaka, and a commencement made with the work of construction The Mohaka river is also being bridged. There is no reason to suppose that an equally well-graded road could not be got from Mohaka to Wairoa : indeed, tbe country between Napier aad Mohaka is far rougher. With that gap filled in, a coach could be driven at a trot almost every yard cf the way from Gisborae to Napier. To work to get that pieos of road made would be far more sensible than agitating for an unattainable railway.