A Sailor.

Manawatu Herald, 8 May 1902, Page 2

A Sailor.

Referring, in his judgment in the Port Patrick case, to the bravery _of sea-faring men, and to the fact that they never seem to think that daager la a tenth as great as it really is, the Chief Justice of Victoria gave an. mstance which came under hie netlc* officially a few months ago, A British; Bailor is now under sentence at Pentridge for taking part with others » doing grievous bodily harm to another sailor at Williamstown Pier. It appears that the German Go vein meat were searching the world for a H ero who had under exceedingly dangerous circumstances, rescued from a watery grave no fewer than ten German subjects. And it turned out that the sailor recently sentenced was the man who was being sought tor. The story of bis bravery, as the y Chief Justice told it was that some time ago a German ship was in a helpless condition somewhere in the North Sea. The mao now in Pentridge was a member of the crew of a British ship not far off. Though the only boat that the British ship had was a flabbottomed 10ft dingy, this man, with two of his fellow-sailors, put • off in it to the German ship, and made ten trips to and from her, bringing oft each tune a sailor, until all had' been saved. “ And still,” said his Honor, 1 concluding the incident, “ when that man was tried here it never suggested itself to his mind that he had done an heroic deed in saving the lives ot ten men in this way. To a sailor such conduct seems only to be part of a day’s work. I hope this man is no longer in gaol. His record tells its j own story. If you wlnt to leara of deeds of bravery, the sailor who performs them is the last man to go to.