Untitled

Auckland Times, Volume 2, Issue 58, 20 February 1844, Page 4

The loss of the Pegasus steam-boat*, trading between Leith and Hull, in July last, by which lamentable affair upwards of sixty lives were sacrificed, has been detailed iu most of the Colonial journals : we do Tot, therefore, give a detail of iSta circumstances, but the following extract from the London Journal of Commerce, itt allusion ip the circumstance, may he interesting’ to our readers :

‘’With r-gard to the Pegasus, it would appear that site Captain was on tit* look out at Hia iiu.e the accident, and that'her sinking in deep wat* r *.juse iron* lbe feet of'liec ores b*\v.g 'put out by the water the v;ssel immediately after Mo? crime nlf the rus k ; attd b- nce her present inability to tu-sir the Captain Mi'ler is stated to be a man of some eStperivoce, and vra regret in hi, trj mg fiitnb’ivfl, tbot he lied n >t power to control thd'pas-engers in some degree, as the great loss of life was occasioned by the rush to the boats, which of couike sWabsped, cuttisg off all pro«nect of salvalion to the ujtmeroutt passengers. The committee now sitting to exam ne into shipwrecks should inquire how many hoata these vessels had, ano of what dimensions they were; »mi there i» another point, to which their attention should be drawn, which is, the praeiabilßy of h«vit.-g water-tight bulkheads, which in this case,' would have saved some sixty lives. Practicable they are, because they have been- adopted in Chinese vessels from time immemorial,and are now always used in iton vessels, aoo Stave frequently saved them wlten lor want of tliem rhey would have gone down, it instated that the vessel was about to be replaced by a new one, and that she had been running for long time; this le«ds to the inference that she was an old ship, *' The bill before'tbe shipwreck committee, foi the examination of masters aud mates, has lost an able advocat e ; its promoter, Capisid* F.itzroy, being obliged to feavs England, having been appointed Governor of. New Zealand ; but these two losses should open the eyes of Lite committee to the fact* that such a measure as Captain Fstzroy’s has n strong reason for its adoption—namely, tS.a* it cannot be accused of doing any harm, and there is no doubt lhat it would make those in responsible charge, however capable, more eautioiis in the discharge of their duties than they frequently now exhibit themselves. There is scarcely a profession a man can exercise wherein he is not subjected to an excutin&tioa a» to bis qualifications ; for instance, the physician and surgeon,for whom, U oot satisfied, the patient can soon obtain another’s advice, but in the case of a ship, yon canuoi embark upon your voyage and get another captain. It requires not a seer to know that now when au exanunaikm is not compulsory, iioyd’s give >s preference to those ships which are navigated and Controlled by parties holding the beg* and proudest evidences ot a good man—a known deter ruination to exercise the best ot his ability to perform what he Undertakes.”

A gentleman of Exeier has now »n !us possession a pair of skylarks, which have hatched four broods of young this season* The hen is new sUtiflg lot the fifth time. Many naturalists have doubted the fact of skylarks breeding at all when in confinement, and it has b un genet ally supposed that even itt their natural state they have but two broods- a-year.- 4 IFes? of England Comer endive.