The New Zealand Times. (PUBLISHED DAILY.) TUESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1878.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5524, 10 December 1878, Page 2

The New Zealand Times. (PUBLISHED DAILY.) TUESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1878.

The inquiry into the causes of the wreck of the steamship Taranaki has terminated, and the Resident Magistrate at Tauranga has given his decision. It is to the effect that the compass was not true ; that probably a current setting into the bay had not been sufficiently allowed for ; that the clock had gone wrong, or had been incorrectly read ; that the master did not take soundings or steam slowly, though the weather was very foggy; and that the disaster might perhaps have been avoided if he had done so. The magistrate goes on to say that in consideration of the master’s long coasting service, and his praiseworthy conduct after the wreck, his certificate would not be suspended. We have not the evidence before us, and cannot, therefore, form an opinion as to whether the causes are correctly stated in the telegrams. We have no reason to suppose they are not, and we venture to protest against the reasons given for not suspending the master’s certificate. In dealing with that part of the business the magistrate should, we think, have strictly confined himself to the consideration of these plain ques-' tions ;—(1.) Was the wreck the result of misconduct or carelessness on the part of the master 1 (2.) If so, was the misconduct or carelessness so gross as to warrant the cancellation or suspension of his certificate 1 These, and none other, were the issues to bo tried, so far as the master was concerned. If our telegraphic summary bo correct, the magistrate, though ho did not altogether lose sight of these issues, allowed two other irrelevant considerations to influence his judgment. Ho is reported to have distinctly stated that he would not suspend the certificate, because of the master’s long and it must be supposed good service, and because of his highly praiseworthy conduct after the vessel’s bottom was knocked in. We do not allege that the master ought to have been punished, but merely that the reasons given for not punishing him had nothing whatever to do with the case, Macaulay, in one of his essays, says incidentally that a Waterloo veteran cannot on a charge of drunkenness be allowed to plead that he was wounded in the battle and can show the medal. /And so in the case before us. The master, though ho may have previously carried innumerable passengers, with safety and civility, to their destination, cannot be allowed to set off that fact against subsequent misconduct. And we may further say that if ho had not exerted himself to place his passengers and crew in security after the wreck, and life had been sacrificed in consequence of his neglect, his punishment might not have ended with the loss of his certificate. It is exceedingly difficult, and very often impossible, for either landsmen or sailors to form a correct opinion about the causes of a shipping disaster, but the public can at least insist that when the conduct of those in charge at the time is in the balance, there shall be no makeweight introduced in the shape of commiseration for generally well-conducted men,' or sentimental parade of their subsequent ■exertions to save . life.; Even in the master’s interest it may be said that, if he were not to blame for the wreck of the Taranaki, it is evident that the introduction of all this irrelevant matter was an injustice to him, for instead of a direct verdict of not guilty or not proven, the finding of the magistrate may not illogically bo taken to mean—“ Your ship was lost through your laches, but I let you ‘ 8 off because you are an excellent fellow “ and a good seaman, and because you “ did your best to prevent your passen- ‘ ‘ gers being drowned after your ship was “ smashed to pieces.” Wo are sorry to say that not only aro wrecks becoming frequent on the coast of Now Zealand, but it appears to bo a growing fashion for Resident Magistrates to base their decisions either wholly or in part on the mastor’s general-reputation, arid his efforts to mitigate as far as possible the results of the accident. On the 21st of last month judgment was given in the case of the Oity.otAuckland, wrecked on the beach at Otaki. The .enquiry had been ■ hold before Mr. Mansfoep, an excellent magistrate ; "but even ho, notwithstanding his legal training, his special aptitude for ducting such proceedings, and his reputation for the homely merit of common SC,use, allowed himaslf to be influenced by

these outside considerations. He is reported to have said, “ I feel bound to in- “ cline to the side of mercy, especially as “ Captain Rolls showed so much energy “ in landing so many passengers without “ the loss of a single life, and as he has “ borne a high character for twenty-five years.” Here again we have not a word to say against tho master. For all we know to the contrary, he may be-as great a navigator as Captain Cook, and be entitled to tho Society’s modal for saving life. But in the particular case before him the questions for Mr. Manspoud to decide were those we have stated in speaking of the wreck of the Taranaki, and he should, we think, have introduced no other element. We confess to a very sincere regard and respect for those “ that go “ down to the sea in ships, and occupy “their business in the great waters;” but our sympathies extend further than the masters and officers of the mercantile marine. It is no comfort or assistance to drowning passengers to know that they are about to undergo the horrors of asphyxia through the culpable neglect of an exceptionally good seaman, nor, if haply they escape with life, will the polite attentions of a remorse-stricken commander compensate for their moments of terror, the disappearance of their portmanteaus, and perhaps the loss of thei r wives and children. We are very much afraid that in many instances commiseration for the shipwrecked mariner may be so strong as to shut out or weaken a similar feeling with regard to the shipwrecked passenger. The latter is generally absent from the enquiry, and it present can tell little or nothing about the disaster. He knows that he has barely escaped drowning, but, not being an expert, can seldom give valuable information as to the causes which led to his danger. On the other hand, the master, if he has survived tho catastrophe, is there to speak for himself. He, as a matter of course, puts everything in tho best light, and ekes out his evidence with certificates of character and statements of what he did after the rocks were sticking through the sides of his ship. The enquiry comes to an end, a few complimentary sentences are uttered by the Court, the certificate is returned, and the underwriters pay the bill. With a view to bringing themselves into a proper frame of mind for regarding these little mishaps from a passengers’.standpoint, we would recommend magistrates about to hold wreck inquiries to read the particulars of the sinking of the Princess Alice, by which sis or seven hundred persons lost their lives. The perusal of that case would impress them, forcibly with a sense of the dangers .to which the public are exposed when travelling by water, and would show them the necessity for meting out stern justice to those against whom there is proof of culpable negligence, irrespective of character or any other consideration. We desire to repeat that neither in tho case of the City of Auckland nor the Taranaki are we desirous of throwing any blame on the master. Wo only say that in each of the decisions circumstances were taken into consideration which had no bearing on the case, and should, therefore, not have been allowed to bias or control the j udgment.