DANGEROUS CARGOES

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 307, 23 September 1919, Page 4

DANGEROUS CARGOES

The tragedy in which eight members of the crow of the coasting steamer Tainui lost their lives has painfully emphasised the necessity of improving upon existing regulations governing the carriage of benzine by sea. The matter so obviously calls for'p.rompt and drastic act tion trjat strong public support will be given to the demands which the Seamen's Union has made in this direction. At the same time the rather truculent tone taken by the union secretary when he waited with a deputation upon the Minister of Marine on Saturday seems to have been'hardly warranted by the facts. As was pointed out by Mn. Hehries, who lately took over the portfolio of Marine from Me. T. M. WHiFORD, the existing regulations in legard to the sea-carriage of benzine were intended to be effective. Presumably if the members of the Seamen's Union had not believed them to be effective more wpuld have been heard on the subject from that organisation before the Tainui tragedy came to N stir it to action. The problem of establishing conditions in which bctfzine would be carried safely seems to refer chiefly to ships of small size, out the whole question, of course, calls for expert consideration and treatment. It is the plain duty of the Government to seek promptly the best advice that is available, and to sec, to it that nothing practicable is left undone which will make for she safe transport of a, particularly daneerous cargo Tlie Minister of Marine promised on Saturday to go carefully into the matter, arid to make the regulations effective if they were not, so already. On this last point, only one opinion seems possible. The country, a« well as the Seamen's Union,^> will expect the Minis,ter to oarrv out his promise, in letter and snirit Whik early action is desirabV , , it may bp ndyieable. without. cWorring such vetion, to institute inonirios ratrarcline: the coastal transhipment fine' carriage of benzine in other countries.