THE WAIRARAPA WRECK.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 7137, 20 November 1894, Page 2

THE WAIRARAPA WRECK.

ArcKLAND, to-day— Sam ael Allen, the captain's steward, deposed that all the Uqoor the captain had had nan lunch tv two glasses of whisky. Never at any lane to witness* knowledge had be drank to excess. He bad never —mad tfcs aame tn&n aiaoe his Ulneatu A quantity of evidence was taken about a piece of paper, sappoaed to have been picked op at the Barrier, showing the coarse ran by the ship, bat it turned oat to be merely a piece of note paper on which the third offioer had jotted down the ooorses be hid steered in ordur to assist his memory. The paper was erentoallj found, and Mr Johnston said he would give erideace about it> next day. At the enquiry this morning, James S. Adams, cantata of the Dingadee, said he had reeeired a norms every six months apon lha safe navigation of the vessel and careful attention to paetenfcre. He never had mstraetions to make fast pssasflrn. and wu never foaod fa alt with for being late. The bonas had nothing to do with rapid passage*. William Waller, captain of the le An*u, gave similar evidence. Ue denied that masters of intcrooJooiaJ boats have so little time for rest that their health sailers. The intercolonial trade was, be considered, the easiest for masters. Id thick weather he would slow down, at the risk of not keeping op to time. He never heard of a master in the company's service ceosured for not keeping ap to time. He knew currents to exist in the vicinity of the Three Kings and North Cape. The officers hare no control over the captain while lie is attending to his dutiea. Captain Sinclair, of the Tarawera, which arrived this owning, gave evidence rt the practice of giving a bonas, etc., in the Union Company. He said that on the preeent trip he met the curreot referred to »y the other witnesses, from Hick's Bay to Red Mercury. It made a difference of over ooe knot per hoar. He considered it existed with northeasterly winds and was ro new thing He believed the wind banked op the water till it got to land,, when the water had to flow oft, forming a current generally parallel with the wind,

Commenting on the disaster, the Melboarne Argiu «yi : — " One* more tbe point arises v to whether there v doe aeoae of impossibility in the condoct of intercolonial trade. Following ao closely upon the wreck of the Rodondo— which wm a great many mile* oat of her coarse — the low of the Wairarepe saggests doubt on Urn matter. It cannot be overlooked that casualties very seldom happen to the great steamers of the mail and cargo lioes, which visit these waters in large numbers. Indeed, eren an accident is of rare occurrence. The disaster of the Qaetta in Torres Strait* is almost the only one recorded of any magnitude, but it was proved that it was due to a sunken aad nacbaxtcd rock, and was therefore unavoidable by any act of num. Tho position is vastly different, however, in respect of tbe locally -owned vessels, ana it is quite unnecessary to quote instances to illusUate the point. They are tamiliar to all. According to the law of chances, of coarse there should be mere wrecks «tf intercolonial steamers than of vessels eoesiag from abroad, seeing that the ■amber of voyages Is co Bench larger in the one case than in Urn other, bat the disparity is resjly striking. If there were any practicable way of discovering the cause of the difference, w» wooid strongly recommend thai an enquiry be made. Unf ortonatel v , no mean* readily suggest themselves, and it sseeae impossible to do more than direct attention to the matter. It goes without saying, however, that uneasiness moat be engendersd by sneh wrecks as that of the Rodoodo, especially having regard to the defence mad4> by the captain as to the existence of a current. The Court of Marine Enquiry rejected his theory and punished him for losing the vessel. Bat it cannot be contended that that decision reassured the public mind. The reasonable view is that there should tie immunity in sea travelling from accident* that can be avoided, and the Rodondo and Wairaraaa incident* nhake faith. '•

A clrrgymim near Punedin wasgi\i&ga Jj very juvenile class instructions in the cate. ■ chsMß. Hauling the Ninth Commandment, ■ " Thou shah not be*r false wirnr—." he fl went on to lay, M 1 don't suppose that any W of you know wbat a witness v? " A pause, 1 and then a tiny mJt« said, " Please, sir. I do." *; WtO, what is it ! " •• Ptoass, sir, the ( Otago Waoaa, a newspaper," CoUapee of clergyman.