THE OTAGO PILOT SERVICE.

Southland Times, Volume 2, Issue 92, 22 September 1863, Page 6 (Supplement)

THE OTAGO PILOT SERVICE.

[from the Otago Daily Times.) The necessity for the early establishment of a local Marine Board or some similar body of men as a court of inquiry into shipping and harbour matters, lias been illustrated by two cases which have, during'the past week, occupied the attention of the Superintendent. In both the cases referred to*-members of the pilot service were concerned. One of them had been suspended from duty and the other dismissed, and their complaint was that the, steps taken against them, wera adopted without reasonable grounds or due inqui.y. In the. first case the complainant was Captain P. J. Allardyce, who has .officiated for some time as a pilot in Port Otago. He had received from Captain Thomson, the Harbor Master, a letter iniimatina; the censure of the Government, and his suspension from duty for. fourteen days, for his " conduct in visiting the quarantine island on the 26th ultimo " Captain Allardyce, denying the charge of having visited the island, or of having in any wav attempted a breach of quarantine regulations, refused to accept his suspension, as a means of bringing before ihe authorities and the public the fact of his condemnation and censure without grounds or inquiry. He subsequently addressed the Superintendent, submitting that these steps on the part of the Government had been taken without his being afforded an opportunity of defending himself against the charge, the correctness of which he denied, having, as he alleged, never visited the quarantine islands, and only approached them in the necessary discharge of his duties as a pilot, or when, as an ordinaiy citizen, he paid the most strict and implicit attention to the instructions *>f those in authority. Soon afterwards he received from the Harbor Master intimation of his dismissal by authority of the Superintendent, and, simul-taneou-ly, his Honor, in another communication, gran'ed nn inquiry into the complaints which had been made. This inquiry took place on Thursday last, Captain Robertson, of the General Marine Board, Captain Thomson, and Mr Mansford, It. M.., who was the informant against Captain Allardyce, being present. At this inquiry Captain Thomson referred to Mr Mansfield as his authority, and Mr Mansfield stated that, having; rfiason to believe that some one had visited the island, he had instituted inquiries, and had ascertained that Gaptain Allardyce had done so. Captain Ailardycc denied that such was the case, and explained the circumstances which had been made use of as a reason for his suspension. On the date, referred to he had in a boat, been in the neighbourhood of the island, but had held no communication,' had been careful to hail the officers in charge at a distance of two or three hundred yards, and had paid delicate and respectful attention to all quarantine regulations, keeping at a proper distance from the shores of the island which was subsequently declared to be in quarantine, and then only to low water mark. He referred to the officers in charge, and others, as witnesses of these facts. On consideration of the case, the Superintendent cancelled the order of. dismissal ; but Captain Allardyce having admitted an act of insubordination on his part, by refusing to be suspended, His Honor intimated to him, for that breach of discipline, suspension from duly for two months ; an intimation which Avas followed by Captain Allardyce res:gning his appointment as pilot, in consequence of the circumstance of the '«original charge and suspension being thoroughly ungrounded and unwarrantable," and of the " impossibility of him fulfilling his duties with due respect to his superior officer, the present Harbor M aster .^ The case which has thus terminated, has been a source of considerable interest to the members of the service, and others connected with shipping —the pilot concerned being one of the most trustworthy and efficient members of the harbor staff, and it is generally hoped that such a change may ensue that quarantine regulations and impositions will in future be carried out in the regular way, and that the officers of an important service -may have the ordinary advantages of similar services elsewhere in the form of a Board of Inquiry, upon whose report any decision will be based. The other case is that of Captain Irving, pilot at the Taieri. With his solicitor, Mr Barton, and a number of witnesses, he has been before the Superintendent in reference to the cause of his dismissal, but Ills Honor's decision is not yet understood to have been intimated. |