South Canterbury Times. TUESDAY, AUGUST 31, 1880.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2326, 31 August 1880, Page 2

South Canterbury Times. TUESDAY, AUGUST 31, 1880.

It seems a pity that in an age of boasted enlightenment and humanity such differences as have lately taken place at Lyttelton and Timarn between the captains and officers ol; vessels should be possible. A mutinous crew at Lyttelton objected to trust their lives in a vessel which was proved to be gone at the knees and in a terribly leaky condition, but which in spite of her sad plight, had weathered many a storm and might probably float a little longer. The crew of the Parcora, which sailed jmstorday morning, did not so much object to the age of that vessel as to the fact that she was loaded with grain to an extent which they considered dangerous. In. consequence, when the time for sailing came, on Saturday, they refused to proceed on a voyage which they deemed perilous. Mr LeCrcn, the local agent for the New Zealand Shipping Company was consulted, and he in turn applied to Captain Mills, the Harbor Master, whovainly tried to calm the fears of the troubled tars by assuring them that Plimsoll’s mark was an inch above the water line. The seamen would seem, to have been ballasted with a more than ordinary degree of caution were doubtful about sailing to London in a vessel which was not built by any means yesterday, within an inch of their lives. Probably they thought that an inch out of danger was rather a narrow margin, while an indifferently balanced cargo made the risk somewhat too imminent to he undergone at the usual rate of wages. But a little coercion succeeded in doing what calm argument failed to accomplish, anil by dint of threats of running them into Lyttelton and getting them permanently lodged in gaol for mutiny on the high seas (viz., the port of Timaru), they were finally prevailed upon to set sail, man the halyards, and proceed to sea yesterday morning. This mild kind of mutiny onboard of the Parcora is a fair sample of a new kind of disaffection which is rapidly springing up on board of merchant ships. It is bad and dangerous enough to have collisions between rival vessels at sea, but collisions between shipowners and masters and men in port ought, if possible, to be avoided. A quarter of a century ago, when the Pareora was a young vessel and in splendid trim, a mutiny in port was a thing unheard of. When sailors displayed a spirit of fierce lawlessness it was on the high seas, out of sight of land, and often under the influence of rum. The object of refractory tars in those days was usually plunder, andin the determination to get what they coveted they often exhibited a desperate disregard of life. Since that time —and the period is not a long one —the

qualities o£ the British seaman appear to have undergone a singular change. He no longer emulates the Indian fanatic, by rnnning-a-muck of captain, mate, and boatswain, pitching them overboard and then sailing for some desolate -island, and finally getting hanged. On the contrary he is all docilty and trained diligence at sea, and when he shows signs of a rebellious spirit it is in port. But how does he rebel ? No longer is the savage, dare-devil spirit of the old sea-lion displayed ; another disposition has taken possession of the once stout-hearted but now cautious seaman. His wages and his rum arc no longer a primary consideration. Life and safety before money, is his motto. He keeps a strict record of the age and condition of the vessel to which he is bound, he examines the cargo with the eye of an expert, and if everything is not up to his standard of safety, there is trouble forthwith in the forecastle. Of course it must bo a matter of surprise to some people that sailors, who like soldiers arc supposed to carry their lives in their hands, should he so careful over their carcases. It would probably be unfair to those concerned to say that fear is the only consideration, although even in that case a selfish regard for life might be pardonable. But sailors in these degenerate days are becoming domesticated, and a regard for the interests of those who depend on them, stands in the way of the duo performance of dangerous duties. Another great cause of unfriendly collisions between seamen and their masters is the conflict of interests. While it is essential to largo dividends that vessels should bo loaded to the utmost limit allowed by law, the. intelligent animal who has no stake in these dividends is usually disinclined to risk the loss of his life in contributing to the profits of benevolent shareholders. In the interests of shipping companies it seems a pity that automatic ships, capable of navigating themselves, cannot he constructed, or that seamen whose occupation renders it desirable that they should he utterly devoid of fear, should like other mortals be endowed with reasoning faculties. Unless the merchant shipping regulations arc speedily altered for the bettor, something like a dead-lock on hoard of some of the cranky old liners which do eminent service in the transit of grain will probably occur some fine day, and Plimsoll’s Act will he set at defiance by intrepid directors and shareholders putting the timid and refractory tars to shame by undertaking the navigation of their deeply laden tubs themselves.