Wellington Independent SATURDAY, 22nd JUNE, 1872.

Wellington Independent, Volume XXVIII, Issue 3531, 22 June 1872, Page 2

Wellington Independent SATURDAY, 22nd JUNE, 1872.

TtiE letter of "A Commercial Traveller" which appeared in our columns the other day, with reference to deck loading j on steamers, should remind the Govern- , ment that their attention was called to j this subject last session by one of fche Christchurch members, Mr Richardson. That gentleman's remarks have been | quite corroborated by our correspondent. I Mr Richardson said, " The practice of | carrying large deck loads had been carried ou to a very great extent for some years past ; and during the past year there had been three or four narrow escapes from serious accidents." The honorable member proceeded to cite the case of the steamer Maori, which, from the cause mentioned, only escaped going .to the bottom by ," nothing short of a miracle." He reminded (he Government that although there were officers whose duty it was to inspect vessels before going to sea, their inspection was little more than a matter of form. The , Commissioner of Customs in reply admitted the necessity for stricter supervision in this matter, and agreed that " the subject required careful attention," assuring Mr Richardson at the same time " that steps would be taken to insure the proper carrying out of the provisions of ' The Steam Navigation Act, 1800.' " A promise was also given "that the Inspector should be instructed to see that clause enforced, and to report any breach of the Act which should arise." It hardly required the complaint of "A Commercial Traveller" to remind the public that the evil complained of by Mr Richardson is as rife as ever. Everyone who is compelled to travel by steamers is aware of the flagrant violations of the Act which are continually being practised. Scarcely a , sieamer leaves a New Zealand port but does so with her decks more | or less encumbered with loading which ought to be in the hold. The matter appears to he left pretty much to the discretion of the captains : if the weather be fine and the voyage a short one it is found more convenient to place cargo upon deck than to send it down below, entailing extra trouble in hauling it up again. So long as no accident occurs few if any persons are found to object, and so the irregularity has be come almost a prescriptive custom. But we have already one case — that of the "Maori," mentioned by Mr Richardson last session, which shows bow very dangerous the practice of carrying deck loads may be under certain circumstances, — and who can tell at what moment other cases less fortunate may not occur? It would appear fromthe reply of the Commissioner of Customs to Mr Richardson thafc there are persons styled " inspectors," whose duty it is to look after' matters of this kind ; but wo mny, without being ill nal ured, express tho opinion that their " inspection" must be taken as an article of blind faith — the evidence of things not seen — for rarely do we find positive evidence of it. The evils of deck loading on steamers were allowed to exist almost without more than the barest correction in England until the loss of several steamers in the North Sea and German trade from this cause compelled stricter supervision. It was at one time a common practice for Hamburg and Swedish steamers trading to Hull or London to carry heavy deck loads of cattle and timber, endangering the vessels and in many cases resulting in their destruction. Some of the coastal steamersmore especially those plying in a local trade — make the carrying of deck loads a practice, and it is a wonder no disaster has occurred. Independently of the danger to the vessel by the top-heaviness created by deck loading, it has the effect of so incommoding the decks that in case of accident freedom of action on the part of the crew becomes almost an impossibility. Pas-

sengers who may happen to be on deck under such circumstances in bad weather know the risk of limb they run in moving from one part of the steamer to another, whilst in many cases the decks are so crowded that access to the boats or tackling is impossible. We trust that now attention has been drawn to this subject the Government will fulfil the promise made last session and exercise a rigid inspeotion of all steamers leaving port; and also visit with the penalties provided those who infringe the Steam Navigation Act.