The Evening Star THURSDAY, MAY 15, 1873.

Evening Star, Issue 3193, 15 May 1873, Page 2

The Evening Star THURSDAY, MAY 15, 1873.

Whether Mr Barton’s motion asking tlie Provincial Council to express an opinion in favor of inquiry into the allegations made by Mr Plimsoll, M.P. for Derby, respecting British shipping, and contributing towards the cost of his defence, will be favorably entertained, it is impossible to say. That it should meet with cordial and hearty support, scarcely needs to be proved. Wc have from time to time given ‘extracts from the evidence that Mr Pllmsoll has laid before the public, showing that vessels have been sent to sea for the express purpose of their destruction, in order that underwriters may be defrauded. It has been proved that in the minds of the mercenary wretches who could deliberately plan and cany into execution their designs, tho Merchant Seamens’ Act has been made the means of compelling men, who, trusting that all was right, had signed articles, to sail under circumstances that should have not only laid the shipowners open to a charge of defrauding the underwriters, but of deliberately committing murder. The term may sound harsh, but wc hold it to be aggravated imirdei to compel men to go to sea in a vessel known to be so loaded, and in such condition, as not, by any appreciable chance to be able to live through tho voyage. We dare say there are many who, through the uprightness of their own minds, cannot be brought to believe so badly of human nature as to accept Mr Plimsoll’s statements as true. We grant it probable tint, could the destruction of the ship be effected without the sacrifice of life, and secresy be preserved, even tho Shylocks who comped tho doomed seamen to abide by their bond, might prefer not having the sense of crime on their consciences. But unfortunately this is oftentimes impossible. Good seamanship occasionally saves both ship and men; and should there be in the minds of the captain and crew a suspicion that foul play was intended, their mouths are closed through fear of consequences. In what we are now saying we are not speaking through merely having Mr Plimsoll’s reports before us. The practice which he is unravelling, and prosecution for exposing which lie is braving, is not new, but has been aggravated through the rapid improvements made in the merchant navy, whereby many vessels, once considered first class, have become dead weights upon their owners. We have known instances, before steam communication with America was established, in which vessels fitted for the conveyance of passengers from the East Coast of England across the Atlantic, and in which numbers of intending emigrants had actually embarked, were purposely run ashore on the coast of Holland or of Franco, as best suited the exigencies of the moment. In some of those cases—we believe in all—the captains were part owners of the ships, the vessels well insured, and no Jives were lost ; but not a paiticle of passengers’ property was recovered. Men talked about the matter, canvassed it, and shrugged their shoulders, but the swindle could not be proved; and the captains were appointed to command superior ships replacing the old veterans they had contrived to get rid of. At the period of which we speak the temptation was not so strong as it lias since become. The unwise interference of the British Government with regard to measurement, and the absurd monopoly created by the navigation laws, for many years prevented improvement in the build of British merchant ships. They were slow sailing, bui'den-carrying tubs; and when, on the repeal of the navigation laws, it was found that swift-running clippers, making two or even three voyages where they made one, were cutting them out, instead of breaking them up at a loss to the owners, the practice has been growing up of contriving to lose them, so as to pocket the insurance. British shipowners, in the prosecution of Mr Plimsoll for libel, are precisely inviting what they wish to avoid. Like many great sinners, they wish to be thought saints, and instead of courting inquiry into the alleged misdeeds, they strive to crush it. But it is for the benefit of the world that the question should not be burked, and we in these Colonies are specially interested in the matter. The use of steam in crossing tho Atlantic has put an end to the temptation of wrecking or sinking passenger ships in that quarter. Heavy cargo may and still is sent across by sailing vessels, and it is seamen and underwriters there that arc mainly concerned in the investigation. In our direction tho temptation is about to be intensified, for the struggle of steam versus wind is at its commencement. A line by the Cape, a line by Cape Horn, a line by San Francisco are on the tapis, and iiPproport&n to their success will be the comparative deterioration in value of those splendid vessels that have hitherto served our purpose. It is therefore our duty, as well as interest, to support Mr Plimsoll in his arduous task, if not on the ground of sympathy with humanity, for the sake of selfdefence. Friends, relatives, immigrants, property —may be sacrificed at the shrine of gold, and we must remember that the greater the security of the passage, the more likely are we to have a stream of immigrants flowing in. We trust Mr Barton’s motion will secure intelligent consideration.