THE COLONIST. MONDAY, JULY 17, 1916. THE SOUTHERN ISLE INQUIRY.

Colonist, Volume LVII, Issue 14140, 17 July 1916, Page 4

THE COLONIST. MONDAY, JULY 17, 1916. THE SOUTHERN ISLE INQUIRY.

Thk facts adduced at tlie inquii-y into the wreck of the scow Southern Isle, and the finding of the Court, furnish abundant justification for the demand that the circumstances surrounding that lamentable disaster should be pub* hcly investigated. This desire, which was strongly held in shipping circles, and found expression in our column;? shortly after the wreck, was not primarily nor even largely related to the considerations which usually engage the ( attention of nautical courts in such inquiries. The seaworthiness of the vessel under ordinary circumstances was I not in question, nor was it suggested that the mishap could have been due ,to any default or lack of skill on tho part of hor master and crew. What j agitated the public mind was the fact that a wreck could occur in the frequented waters of the Bay and almost a week elapse before the fact became known in Nelson and steps were taken to ascertain the idcntity'of the ship and tJie-fato of the crew; and this although the upturned hull had been sighted off Farewell Spit two days previously. There is hardly any doubt- tWarfc the Southern Isle came to disaster in the j storm in tho Bay on the night of Sunday, May 28th, and it has been definitely established that her bull came into view off the Spit on the followingWednesday, being visible both from the •lighthouse and from passing steamers. It was not, however, until the. following Friday evening that any information was received in Nelson, and even then it came from an entirely unofficial source. It was not until the Saturday forenoon that a launch left for tlie scene, the wreck being reached on the Sunday morning, a full week after the occurrence of the disaster. Even after the wreck was reported the measures taken to ascertain the identity of the vessel and the fate of the crew followed a. leisurely official course, the departure of the launch party being unnecessarily delayed for twelve boursT When tlie derelict was eventually secured it had drifted away fiom the Spit and was floating awash in the Bay, an dbject of danger to shipping. The inquiry has established two facts which urgently require attention. Firstly, the reporting of wrecks or sup-'1 posed wrecks is left to the judgment of; those who discover them, and, as ha 3* been seen in the case of the Southern Isle, ; the judgment of even experienced persons may sadly err in such matters. In the second place, machinery is lacking outside the principal ports for ex-| peditiously inquiring into such reports. It is the practice of the Marine Department outside the chief ports where there are Superintendents of Mercantile Marine to place departmental affairs in the hands of the Collector of Customs as agents, without, however, empowering them to act upon theirown initiative in cases .of emergency. 15 is plainly not in the public interest that agents of the Department should be fettered by the necessity of referring to the head office for authority to take obvious measures where possibly lives ynay depend upon prompt action. There i.s no reason to .suppose that the loss of the Southern Isle's crew could have been averted, but under other circumstances the delay that occurred might have directly contributed to such a

disaster