MARINE DEPARTMENT

Southland Times, Issue 19347, 12 September 1924, Page 5

MARINE DEPARTMENT

DISCUSSION ON REPORT QUESTION OF CAPTAIN’S AUTHORITY WIRELESS ON COASTAL VESSELS (Per United Press Association.) WELLINGTON, September 11. In the House of Representatives to-day, Hon G. J. Andenson asked leave to lay on the table the annual report of the Marine Department. LABOUR MEMBERS’ QUESTIONS. Mr P. Fraser (Wellington Central) raised the question of ambulance provision at wharves in case of accident, and asked the Minister to say whether these appliances were adequate. Mr M. J. Savage (Auckland West) asked what was being done in the matter of insuring the safety of workers on water fronts. Mr D. G. Sullivan (Avon) contended that a harbour master should have power to prevent vessels leaving a port if in his opinion the weather outside was such as might endanger the safety of such vessel. LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION. Mr T. M. Wilford argued that this would be unwise, because after all the captain of a ship must lie the best judge as to whether his ship should or should not go to sea. Even the captains might sometimes make errors of judgment, but that was not sufficient to alter the general principle that a captain is the best judge. Much had been done in the direction of protecting the men on the waterfronts, but much still remained to be done, and he commended these problems to the earnest consideration of the Minister. REFERENCE TO RIPPLE DISASTER. Mr W. H. Field (Otaki) agreed with Mr Wilford that a captain must be the judge as to whether or not his ship should put to sea, but when a captain thought he should not, go to sea and his owners thought he should, there should be some authority to which the captain could appeal. He thought that no single screw steamer should be allowed to put to sea without sails already bent. Had the Ripple been so supplied, he felt confident that she could have weathered the storm in which she was lost. \ THE MINISTER’S REPLY. Referring in his reply to the point raised by Mr Sullivan, Hon G. J. Anderson said he did not see how it was possible to get behind the captain of a ship. The captain was responsible for the lives of those on board, and for the navigation of the ship and the safe arrival at her destination, and if any one interfered with the man in supreme command there would be chaos, and likely more accidents than at present. It might be that in isolated cases a company interfered and insisted on their captain sailing. If such a thing happened frequently, and he did not think it did, he would introduce legislation protectig the captain and making it possible for him not to sail against his own judgment. Such legislation would provide for the punishment of a company that interfered. Dealing with the question of purse-Seine fishing, the Minister said it was quite evident that the old methods of fishing had been discarded all over the world. Without up-to-date methods it would be impossible to supply the fish required for the market. Opinions of the experts were varied on the question of purse-Seine fishing. Mr Ayson, Chief Inspector of Fsheries, who had made a study of the subject, considered it ridiculous to think that a trawler or purse-Seine was going to effect the supply of fish in the sea, because the small quantity of fish caught by these means was a mere nothing compared to the destruction of fish by other ineans in the sea. He agreed that the matter had to be settled one way or another by a competent authority. Scientific experts at any rate, were agreed that purse-Seine fishing and trawling did not affect the position, but line fishermen and others were just as convinced the other way. The Minister concluded by stating that he would endeavour to go into the matter because he recognised that the matter had to be sifted to finality. Replying to a question, the Minister said he had promised to have a conference of all parties interested in the matter of wireless on vessels. He now found, however, that such a conference would be impossible, but he proposed to consult the parties individually in regard to the regulations that were being adjusted, and afterwards whatever alterations in the law were required would be made. It was proposed greatly to advance the matter of wireless on coastal vessels, but he did not wish to mislead the House into thinking that they would be able to put wireless in the ordinary sense of the word on the smaller ships running round the coast. That would be impracticable unless conditions of employment were arranged by which the ordinary crew could look after the wireless.