The Wanganui Herald. [PUBLISHED DAILY.] THURSDAY, JULY 31, 1902. THE MISSING "QUIRAING."

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXVI, Issue 10710, 31 July 1902, Page 2

The Wanganui Herald. [PUBLISHED DAILY.] THURSDAY, JULY 31, 1902. THE MISSING "QUIRAING."

It seems to be an accepted "practice to relegate to coal-carrying vessels which have grown old and out-of-date for pas■enger and general cargo purposes. Why such worn-out crafts should be put to so trying a task as coat-carrying is one of those things that can only be explained on the supposition that their owners are utterly callous on the subject of the safety of those who are^xjm-, palled to risk their lives in such' marjnt' death-traps, some of -which' are\utt»rly, unfit to be employed 1 in' any trade, ■ let alone that of coal carrying*, Take:'tho~ oase of the s.s. Balmain, which not long since brought a cargo of coal front Newcastle»(N.B.W.)Ato Gisborne. When she was i^ Wanganui .a fewrtaoiithk ago* It was. freely stated that, ne&her, the> ship nor her hull were in proper con,-' dition for such a voyage. ' That there were ample grounds for such an impression has just been proved, as on her arrival at Auckland she had to be docked, as the tubes of her boiler were leaking badty and had to be replaced with new onek. The authorities in Auckland being more solicitous for the safety of those on board vessels trading out" of. that port than for' owners' pockets, insisted on the vessel's huir being closely examined, with- the. result that some of her plates w ( ere found to have worn so thin that they Would not stand anything like -thVr, official test, and crumpled up, leaving a hole .big enoii&h. for a man to crawl through. If this had occurred at sea through strikiug^at heavy piece of driftwood, or being struck by a 'bad sea, the result would' in all probability have been that the steamer and all on board.. her would have been lost. As it is she will have to be repaired and renewed sufficiently to satisfy the Marine Department in Auckland that she is fit to. go^to sea •g*»n- „, . '; Tho missing steamer Quiraing isi an old passenger boat, built in 1882, wn|ch' for years ran in the Queensland coastal trade. She was, built in 1883, and wajjv of a gross tonnage of 1166 tootCh^r net tonnage being 653 tons: that is to say, the difference was occupied byma-' chinery, coal, bunkers, and cabins. As she carried 1100 tons of coal - carfep when she left Newcastle six weeks ago it is quite certain that she must have •been deeply— nay, dangerously— laden, and that her failure to reach' her destination in due course can hardly be wondered at, as a former chief engineer' who had onl ylately left, the Quiraing stated that, "he did not like the ite} of her when she was loaded down as she was sometimes." With 1100* tons of-coal-inyher, it may well be imagined \th>t the Quiraing did not exhibit much I buoyancy, and gave those on board her ■ the very uncomfortable feeling of being .on a water-logged ship. As' she carried 22 people on. the voyage, it is no doubt," a matter a' great anxiety, to" their relatives, her non-arrival, .and of some surprise that the Admiralty 'authorities in Sydney were so slow in seeding out a couple' of cruisers to search for her. Bed tape, we suppose, ' delsyed this being done. When the warships were sent they did not spend much time looking for the mlssingp steamer, which may be drifting about the Tasmjut Sea with a starving crew on braird, m she «ras only provisioned for a month. Id all probability, however, she met the bao! weather, which hag been frequent in the Tasman Sea of late, and .being overloaded, like the Ohau, went down head foremost, leaving no trace of the disaster. Her owners and consignees, no doubt, are well insured; but how about the widows and orphans of those on board? They get nothing, and are left to the cold charity of the world'," to exist as^besf' they "can. < Some day owners of ships will be compelled to insure not only the hulls but the lives of the crews, so that in caje of .shipwreck and loss of life those dependent on those swallowed by the sea will have something to keep the wolf of starvation from their doors. .. - ~ v",- -" ' With respect to the way colliers afcea over-loaded in some parts, it is becoming a gross scandal that vessels that are barely seaworthy in ordinary weather should be Jet leave port coal-laden down to'fthiV coverings boards, a^id the questioa-Jnat^rally-; arises * whejje the

"Plimsoil of "such vessels — or, rather^ the eyes of the port officials — could have been? It is an old sailors' joke that the ''mark;', of ißal^and North American -~tintberHßarryfiig* ships is generally in the rigging! The vessels in" question, it may be explained,--carry aeclfloads of many feefhfgß;*which* seriously endanger them when they encounter very bad weather, when, to save tha ship, the deck cargo lias to be quickly jettisoned, if possible. With coal below the deck, there is no chance of easing the ship by this method, as to open the hatches would be to admit deluges of water and hasten the foundering of the over-burdened collier. There is, therefore, the more reason why suoh i cargo-carriers should be strictly inspected before sailing, and not allowed to leave port either loaded too deeply or in an improper state of repair, and with insufficient or worn-out machinery aria goar.

A large quantity ofiinteresting reading matter will be found on our first

The House of Representatives had an all-night Bitting on Tuesday, and did not adjourn until d o'clock yesterday morning. , t The Westinghouse brake was the means of preventing an accident on the Wellington-Manawatu line a few days ago. A metal team was crossing the line when the train was only a few chains away, 'and the engine-driver p-wrMv applied the breaks to their full. • ..10, stopping the train within a few j-.-r ~s of the team. The pis^engers received a shaking by the sudden stoppage. r -- At the Police Court yesterday, Thomas Wilson was fined 20s and costs 6d, for trespassing in pursuit of game on the property of Mr John Mo'Gregor at "Auchmore-," Matarawa,on the 22nd June. Two other informations laid against 3. Simon »nxL W. 'Phillips for trespassing on the property of E. E.^Fletcher at "Gracefield ' on the 6th July were dismissed. At the Court this morning Sarah Sweeney was fined 20s for drunkenness. In connection with the anniversary of the Bethel Primitive Methodist Chapel, Burnley, a souvenir handbook containing copies of old records has been issued. A minute passed in 1834 reads: "That we do not allow young men and young women of our society to court with each other on Sunday; neither do we allow our single men and women, to walk in the street together arm in arm at any time; neither do we allow them to stand at street coruors chatting together." By another resolution the chapel authorities forbade <?ir! choiristers wearing bows in their bonnets. According 1 to an English paper, a rough estimate of the losses that can be calculated upon with some basis of fact to follow the postponement of the coronation, makes the appalling total .21,000,000, and this does not include ijOjat has boon spent for robee, jewels, coaches and horses, and for decorating and renovating houses by the nobility. In the first place, Lloyd's, underwriters, lose, at a conservative - estimate, .£200,000 on policies which covered the risk that the festivities would not take nlace on Thursday and Friday, June 26 and 27. They stand to lose half as much again on those policies which covered the risk that the coronation will not take place' at all. Next come the seat speculators. Insurance policies taken out by them amount to some .£120,000. Now, the erection of stands and the advertising and the paying for liirhUi involved an expenditure of at Ic.iet .£500,000. Supposing one way or tbe other they retain £100,000 out of the money paid for tickets, and they receive ,£120,000 for insurance, they are still losers of £280,000.

Tho now Victoria Wart of too Wnoftatiul BoaplUL now in process of building, will be completed within two months. ,\ > The Manawatu Time* commends the Wanganui Borough ConncU'a decision to reduce the number of Councillors from twelve to nine. During the past three years the quantity of, China tea offering at the opening sales in Sydney has decreased from about 19.000 to 3000 packages. The H-BiTHeraTd states that' althouß-fr' diligent search has been made by th? police and^the relatives ot Mr John, Mcr. KenjfieT wh6 'disappearea last 'week, rib bSe? *&&? J&BMrJ&^-XltJfitte There appears to be a general clash, ing of dates for agricultural shows. Christchurch and Palmerston have fixec on ■ the same dates for their annua gatherings, and the Timaru and Oam aru tahowai dates dash, the- latter al" leeing^hat.the'North\Otigo Association n*» jumped -the; Oamiru dates. Amongst thoseCwljb haVo left during the weft or:£rhorjargleaVijig Wanganui to-day *bouua£ior South Africa, may be mentioned Mr and Mm Lloyd (late of the Commercial Hotel), -Mr Both The Tjier line ».». Star of New Zea land left the roadstead at 9.45 a.m. this morning for London, via Napiei and Wellington, having on board the following cargo shipped from this oort : —9,496 carcases of mutton, 1,282 car- ' oases 1amb.1,828 chates, 1,016 ouartert sidev'tlie meat the Teasel ahipped a general cargo confuting: of. 175 oaiki tal low, .83 casks pelts, 366 bales wool, anc 60. sacks gross seed. — j > „ , ,_ A fortnight ago las^^^JW it'was announced in those' ''columns tfi&t Captain DuatittTh»d'*>:resign«d:hj#'-po«itlon, in 'the Wanganui* Guards. In the meantime a petition waa <drawji, .up ,»»d, unanimously signed by members of the corps' asking Captain -Dustih" to 're-* ■consider such resignation- and to withdraw the same. This was pre- ; seated on Tuesday 1 last to Lieutenant- [ Colonel Newall, V.D.', 'officer-command- : the district, who immediately wired the Commandant of the Ford**' (who had already received Captain DustihTi resignation) and on' the '-recom- ! m^ndation of Colonel Newall,'. the resignation was accordingly' withdrawn," Intimation' concerning ' which'- was received this 5 morning;- <■.-»•-