The Ashburton Guardian. Magna Est Veritas Et Prevalebit. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 1883. The Triumph Disaster.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1017, 5 December 1883, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna Est Veritas Et Prevalebit. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 1883. The Triumph Disaster.

What were the exact circumstances attending the lamentable accident to the steamship Triumph cannot be known until an official enquiry is held, even if the affair is made clear then. Wrecks are not infrequent in this part of the world, and the coast line of New Zealand is so rugged that the most experienced navigators have to exercise the greatest possible care. But so far as we can make out the facts of the case this accident to the Shaw-Savill-Albion Company’s steamer is unique in the shipping annals of the colony. That a vessel should on a clear starlight night be thrown ashore upon a rocky island on which was situated a lighthouse is so extraordinary that it would be idle to speculate as to how the mistake occurred. One message we received from Auckland spoke vaguely of the immigration officers being so dissatisfied with something that had taken place on the voyage from Home that the usual gratuities given to officers had been withheld, but since then we have learnt that no reflection was intended to be cast upon Captain Brotherton and those under his command. Indeed, so far from this being called for, it appears that the master of the vessel has never previously met with a mishap, and much sympathy is felt for him in his present misfortune', Still the fact remains that when the Triumph struck she was sailing in almost a diametically opposite course to that taken by the pilot when he returned to shore. Whether the disaster was due to a fatal error of judgment, or whether the evidence at the enquiry will disclose some graver fault on the part of the officers remains to be seen, and although it is impossible to conceive that any rational excuse can be put forward, it would be unfairly prejudging the case to say at this stage that the captain cannot reasonably explain how the event occurred. But the featuie in this sad affair which interests the people of this colony more than the relative amount of blame to be attached to the men in charge of the ship; is that the enterprise of the Shaw-Savill-Albion Company in instituting a direct steam service between England and New Zealand should at the outset receive such a heavy blow. As we remarked the other day, the New Zealand Shipping Company were the first in the field, but their great rivals were not slow to follow the example set them when it was shown to be a profitable speculation, and as competition could not fail to do good in this as in any other trade, we were glad to welcome the Triumph to our shores. Judging from the first voyage of the latter vessel, she could not compare with the Doric, lonic or any of the other ships chartered by the rival institution, but she was nevertheless a valuable addition to the mercantile fleet sailing to this colony, and everybody will sympathise with the owners in their loss. At the same time it is to be hoped that the enquiry into the mishap will be a most searching one, and no effort should be spared to make clearly known who was to blame. However sorry we may feel for Captain Brotherton, it is of far more importance that the port of Auckland should not have to bear a stigma which will undoubtedly cling to her if the true cause of the accident is not clearly made manifest.