THE GLOBE. MONDAY, MAY 15. 1882. THE TIMARU SHIPPING CALAMITY.

Globe, Volume XXIV, Issue 2527, 15 May 1882, Page 2

THE GLOBE. MONDAY, MAY 15. 1882. THE TIMARU SHIPPING CALAMITY.

The deepest sympathy will be felt for all connected with the terrible disaster which has just taken place at Timaru. First and foremost it will ho felt for the relatives and friends of those brave men who lost their lives in the fulfilment of their duty, or in obeying the dictates of humanity. The account given of the way in which boat’s crew after boat’s crew risked almost certain destruction in hastening to save their fellows in danger will fill readers with admiration for the heroism displayed. And then there is the loss of two fine vessels, following so closely on the loss of another one, all three having been lying at anchor off one of the principal shipping places in the colony. It would be strange indeed if the public were not moved by the frequent recurrence of these disasters at Timaru, and if they were not roused to asking whether such occurrences are altogether unproventable. It would appear, from first accounts, that the crew of the City of Perth wore quite justified in leaving their vessel, and that the late Capt. Mills was perhaps a little hasty in his brave endeavour to save the vessel, but the principal point lies in the question as to whether the ships need ever have been placed in such a perilous predicament. “ The presence of a tug boat would have insured the safety of both ships and no lives would have been lost,” says our correspondent. Everybody by this time knows the nature of the Timaru roadstead, and is acquainted with the fact that when a heavy swell is rolling in towards the shore, and there is no wind, the position cf vessels lying off the place is very critical. It is at such times that a tug boat is absolutely invaluable, and yet nothing has as yet been done towards procuring one. The minds of the Harbor Board appear to be solely bent on perfecting the breakwater. That body seems to overlook the fact that, even supposing everything goes on satisfactorily in the construction of the work, it must yet be a length of time before large ships can avail themselves of its shelter. In the meantime the vessels

taking in and discharging cargo are often in grave peril, and the reputation of the port suffers. It is surely false economy to stint the port in such a necessity as a tug boat, while large suras are spent on, and borrowed for, a work that cannot under any circumstances be completed for a length of time. But the fact of the matter is, the Timaru Harbor Board aro not a united body, and it can hardly be expected that they can bring a fair and impartial judgment to boar on tho existing state of affairs. For instance, at the last meeting of the Board party warfare among tho members raged freely with respect to the appointments of Engineer and Harbormaster, and the scene is described as anything but creditable to a public body. At last, after threatening to “ stonewall ” the business, one section of the Board abruptly left the room, and the remaining members finished what was to be done. From a house so divided against itself much cannot he looked for, but still a large disaster like tho one that has just occurred may succeed in bringing them to review in unison tho state of their port in a common sense light. The question they will have to decide on will be this—Are they prepared to let Timaru remain without a tug boat till the breakwater is completed ? A tug could always lie at safety under the breakwater, and tho amount of property and the number of lives it would save would certainly be large. Nearly all the shipping accidents that happen at Timaru might be obviated if such a boat were on tho spot when 1 wanted. Of coursej it will cost money, ] but the Board are free enough with their means and credit when the breakwater is < concerned, and, when no longer required, | the tug boat might he sold, while certainly the breakwater would not be a 1 marketable commodity if it were swept f away. Wo have no wish to boar hardly | on the Harbor Board, for their feelings at the present juncture cannot be pleasant, t but we do hope that the lesson taught by r the deplorable disaster of yesterday will 1 not be thrown away. THE BOROUGH OF KUMARA. , f

When individuals commit suicide they either do so because they have become pecuniarily embarrassed, because they hare been crossed in love, or because a profound melancholy has overtaken them ■which they are unable to account for. When public bodies commit the “happy despatch,” it is by reason of their practical insolvency, or of the fact that their raison d'etre has ceased to exist. But in the quiet town of Kumara they have changed all this. The Councillors have not been crossed in love, they are not more melancholy than usual, nor is th* body to which they belong at all insolvent. Still the Borough Council have passed a resolution that the borough be abolished, and that they themselves he relegated to the cool shades of private life. And why? As the “Kumara Times ” wails :—“ As a town Kumara will compare most favorably with many others of much older date. It baa been well laid out, and the streets are formed and drained in a style that reflects the highest credit upon those who planned and carried out the work. Our municipal institutions have worked with a very fair degree of smothness,” and so on. And then the Kumara Thunderer proceeds—“ No reason has yot been given for the course which has been taken, except that publicans’ license fees are higher in a borough than they are outside of it.” And so it is proposed to abolish such a flourishing municipality solely from love of the publicans! What will the Good Templars think of this P Their wailings over the hackslidings of that beautifully laid out and drained little town will ho something terrible to contemplate. But one hope yet remains for the borough. The ratepayers have not been consulted. Perhaps the body of the citizens are not so handed over to the publicans’ interests as are their elected representatives in the Borough Council.