The Patea Mail. Established 1875. MONDAY, OCTOBER 16, 1882. THE WAKATU DISASTER.

Patea Mail, 16 October 1882, Page 2

The Patea Mail. Established 1875. MONDAY, OCTOBER 16, 1882. THE WAKATU DISASTER.

The misfortune which has overtaken the shipping trade of this port continues to be the theme of general conversation. Everybody admits it to be a bad job and appears anxious for a remedy without delay. There is no telling indeed, at present, the amount ot injury that will be entailed upon the district by this „„tviuiri""’ occtnTciicer -me-losses' to importers are severe enough, and amount in the aggregate to a very large sum indeed. A good deal of sympathy was felt for the victims, and most deservedly so, for in addition they were at once called upon to pay what is known as a “ general average” contribution. It turns ont, however, upon enquiry, that the present case is not one to which general average can be made to apply but for the benefit of those interested, we give a brief resnm* of the meaning of the term “ general average. General average is an indefinite phrase used in practical life to denote three things, namely, the act of making the sacrifice, the v . • i it utrllU(s .. A . , of that act, and the contribution levied on the adventure. The definition of the term “adventure” is given by Arnold in his exhaustive work on Maritime law as follows : “ The law relating to general average regards ship and cargo combined as one adventure comprising a variety ot interests all exposed to the perils of the sea and equally concerned under a common danger in the averting of a total loss; and it prescribes in case of sacrifice of part for the preservation of what remains of the common adventure, that the loss accruing by reason of the general sacrifice shall be assessed upon the value of what remains together with the value of the thing sacrificed, in order to recoup the loser and place him once more on a footing with his co-adventnrers.” Hence it was at first thought, that the Wakatu having sustained damage by the perils of the sea and part of her cargo damaged and having to be beached to save the whole the consignees being joint adventurers should be called upon to make good, not the expense of repairing the ship, but the value of the damaged portion of the goods not covered by insurance, together ' with such general charges as might have been incurred by reason ot the accident. The cost of repairing the steamer would devolve npon the owners, as according to the writer quoted above “ the cost of repairing damage accidentally caused to the ship, can never, on principle, give a claim to contributions.” It must be noted that accidental damage does not entitle the owners of a ship to claim general average. Had the masts been ent away to preserve the ship, or bad even a small portion of the cargo been jettisoned, then the case would have been different, and consignees would have been ‘ liable. It must not be supposed, however, that the whole weight of the _ average would have fallen upon the owners of cargo. That would be equally borne by the ship, freight, and cargo because the leading principle of general average is that all the parties interested in the adventure should be sufferers by the loss in exact proportion to the extent of their respective interests. The principle is fair in the extreme, and its existence is a matter of necessity as preventing the endless disputes that would arise in almost every case o.f accident, and subsequent damage or ‘ loss. Suppose, for instance, that owing to stress of weather it becomes imperative for the safety of the ship

to jettison part of her cargo. On arrival in port, A, whose goods have been thrown overboard, says, “ Why did yon not throw over those belonging to Bor 0 ? They can afford to bear the loss better than I can.” Here is an imaginary case, and instances could be multiplied by the hundred. But to avoid the confusion inevitable from such a petition, general average has been adopted, and has been found to be the means of settling commercial problems of that nature with the greatest degree of equity possible under the circumstances. .. We hope that our importers will never again bo called upon to contribute towards an average, or any other loss in connection with this port. Trade has suffered enough already, and we fear it is likely to suffer more by the withdrawal of the Wakatu altogether, for such we learn to be the Shipping Company’s intention. Under the circumstances we think that they are acting wisely in not incurring further risk—of loss to themselves and opprobium to the Port. We shall have to wait patiently until the new steamer now building is ready to commence running. During that interval the value of regular steam communication with outside ports will he felt to the fullest, and as a consequence wo shall expect to see a determined effort towards harbour improvement. With a new and suitable vessel, and th<? resumption of works at the heads, we should soon have no bar to our progress.