New Zealand Times. FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 1874.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 4127, 12 June 1874, Page 2

New Zealand Times. FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 1874.

Some lato disasters at sea, attributable to causes altogether apart from careless navigation, or overloading, or bad stowage of cargo, draw attention to a now and unsuspected source of danger, and at the same time forcibly illustrate the necessity for much more searching investigation into the state of ships before they arc permitted to go to sea. The cases to which wo allude are those of throe Atlantic steamers, two of which foundered, and the third only reached port in a condition that rendered it providential that she over reached harbor at all. The two lost ships wore the Amerique and the Europe, of tho French Transatlantic lino. The first was disabled in a hurricane, when on her voyage from New York to Havre, and sank on the 14th of April, when within a little more than a hundred miles from Brest, her crow and passengers being happily rescued by vessels which happened to bo near ; tho Europe—tho loss of which was not heard of until after that of tho Amerique—went down about the 4th of April, her people also having been saved by a passing steamer bound, like tho Europe, for Now York. Both of those vessels wore very largo and powerful ships; but both had undergone tho now favorite process of lengthening, to increase their carrying capacity ; and their loss is attributed primarily to that fact. Tho Amerique was not overloaded, and when overtaken by the gale in which she was strained she was four hundred tons lighter than when she left Now York. She had not previously shown indications of weakness; but she had been lengthened so lato as the latter part of last year, and was returning from her first Atlantic voyage after that operation when she was lost. Tho only conjecture that can* bo formed from tho available evidence as to the causes of her wreck is, that there was a want of homogonousnoss between tho now and tho old plates, and that she strained at tho point of junction of tho now and tho old work, and so leaked, and that, tho'strain increasing with the working of the engines and tho pitching of tho ship, so tho inflow of water increased, and tho Amerique

wont down. In tho case of tho Europe, the theory, though still presumptive, is based on better evidence. Though it is some years since sho underwent the process, it is clear that the weak part of the ship was where tho new and tho old iron were joined. She had only been a few days at sea, and of course had all but her full weight of fuel on board, and in the heavy weather she encountered tho hull strained, the water found its way slowly into the engine-room, and afterwards into one or more of the other six compartments into which tbe ship was bulkheaded. Sho sank literally under the foot of a gallant volunteer crew of salvors, who attempted to sail her to Liverpool after sho had been abandoned by her French officers and crew. In this case there is scarcely room to doubt that the fatal leak was duo to the partial parting of the newer plates from the older ones. But there was also offered in her case proof that she had left Havre in a most inefficient state to meet •such an emergency as a serious leak; and wo presume that, being a foreign ship, tho authorities of Liverpool —into which port she had to put for repairs —had no power to inspect, her, or insist on apparent deficiencies being supplied. The prize crew found that the ship’s pumps, which were of French construction, were toys. One pump was found stowed away in the store-room, never having been put in ils place. The volunteer crew, who were forced afterwards to leave the Europe and go on board a steamer which carried them to Now York, state that had the vessel been properly found with pumps she could have been easily freed from tho water in her to a sufficient extent to have kept tho ship afloat, oven without tho use of steampower. It is a very serious reflection, however, that a ship should have been permitted to leave a European port with four hundred souls on board, and a valuable cargo, and so ill-furnished with pumps that after straining in a gale, and only leaking slowly, her name would have been added to the long list of vessels that went to sea and were never heard of more, while numerous widows and orphans would have been left to lament the loss of missing husbands and fathers, but that she was seen and her crew and passengers taken off’ by a more seaworthy vessel. But the case of the third vessel alluded to the steamship Pennsylvania —is almost worse, from the evidence brought out as to her state, in a civil action for salvage. The Pennsylvania is owned by an American company, and traded between Liverpool and Philadelphia. She sailed from tho Mersey for the Delaware early in the present year. She met with severe weather as she approached the American coast. One enormous sea struck her, and washed away the deck-house, with the master and the first and second officers. An old shipmaster, named Brady, who was a passenger on board, was solicited by tbe chief engineer, the purser, and crew to take command of tho ship, which he did, and succeeded with difficulty in carrying her into port. Had the company —who assert that the ship was sound and strong before the disaster —been ordinarily liberal, tho public would have learned nothing as to tho real state of their vessel ; but they attempted to recompense Captain Brady with a paltry cheque, which he' returned, and commenced tho action referred to. In the course of the case some extraordinary evidence was given as to tho condition of the “fast and powerful” steamship Pennsylvania before the sea struck her which was fatal to the officers. One of tho seamen, who had made four round trips with the vessel, swore that he and the carpenter went below soon after tho commencement of the storm, to examine the state of the vessel. They wont into tho lower peak, and found that four or five of the iron beams that wore fixed across the ship to strengthen her were working backwards and forwards with the straining of the hull; tho bolts had given way, and the beams were drawn out and in from four to five inches at each lurch of tho vessel. Fresh bolts were put in by the carpenter and the witness, but as fast as they wore fixed they were again broken by tho excessive straining. Tho men concluded to inform the Captain, and suggest that the vessel should be driven at easy speed, else sho would never roach her destination. They did so, but were told to say nothing about it, and tho ship wont on at full speed. From that time, however, the forward part of tho ship was visited by the carpenter and the witness every hour, for the purpose of wedging the beams, and they were so engaged when tho fatal sea struck the vessel. The effect of that sea on tho previously weakened part of tho ship was to indent some of tho plates on the starboard side to a largo extent, the heads of many rivets were broken off, tho ship’s skin was fractured, and tho water came in between the butt ends ; the wooden bulkhead was broken, and the floor of tho oilop deck pitched up by tho vibration of tho weakened bows. The witness added under cross-examination, that two days before the gale tho ships’ knees were found to bo broken, and most of tho beams fractured ; and tho ship leaked so that tho store-room could not bo used, and one of tho cabins had to be appropriated for tho stores. And this was the condition in which an American passenger steamship, of largo size, left an English port, in winter weather, for an Atlantic voyage, with a crowd of passengers on board! There can bo no doubt that evidence is daily accumulating to substantiate the statements of Mr. Plimsoll, and to prove that the inspection of passenger vessels is still far from being so searching as it should be. In tho cases referred to it is, of course, not to be forgotten that tho vessels were French and American ; but they traded partially or wholly with Britain ; and in any amendment of tho laws on tho subject which it may bo found desirable to make, it would bo well that tho concurrence of foreign powers should bo obtained. It is not a now idea that lengthening iron ships also weakens thorn ; but that operation has become so frequent, ns new ideas on the modelling of ships come into acceptance, that it would bo well if tho subject wore thoroughly examined.