THE Temuka Leader. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 13, 1894. THE WAIRARAPA DISASTER.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2750, 13 December 1894, Page 2

THE Temuka Leader. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 13, 1894. THE WAIRARAPA DISASTER.

The Court which iuquired into the Wairarapa disaster has thrown all the blame on the late Captain Mclntosh. The Court was safe in doing so. There was no one.to dispute it, and it appears to us that no one could. Captain Mclntosh was undoubtedly to blame; he was in charge of the ship, and no one had a right to dispute , his authority. Any of his officers who interfered with him, or changed the course of the vessel, or slowed her down, or did anything contrary to his orders would have been guilty of mutiny, and liable to punishment. The officers apparently did all they could. They talked of slowing down, but the captain declined to do so, and in violation of his instructions drove his vessel at full speed in the darkness of a foggy night, and neglected to blow the log-horu. His action was not that of a sane man. Captain Mclntosh had the reputation of being one of the most careful and cautious of men, and his whole career was so ffOo from any suspicion of recklessness that one is driven to the conclusion that he was not in his right frame of mind at the time. There was evidence which tended to show this. He had only just recovered from a severe illness, and those most intimately acquainted with him said that they had noticed a change in him. There can be no doubt but that it was not negligence on his part that led to the disaster. He was at his post all the time, giving the whole of his care and attention to his work. Ho did not neglect his duty, but he erred in his judgment in such a way that only a man deprived of ordinary reason could have done. He was to blame for the disaster, but was he a responsible being at the time I And would it not have been in better taste if the Court had toned down the severity of its . • ; -’•es on his conduct with a reference This state * hiß health? , Either Captain Mclntosh wa*" uisane or he was racing, and what was his moJ ve , 110

latter I Would the Union Company have appreciated his efforts had he made a successful short and beaten the rival steamer '! There was evidence to show that this would not be at all distasteful to the general manager. Several other captains had raced, but were not reprimanded for it. Tu the decision of the Court there is no reference to this. Such a possibility is not even hinted at, although the public cannot rid themselves of the impression that the rivalry between the Union Steamship Company and the competing steamers, which had previously led to several races, may have had something to do with the disaster. At any rate the point has been freely discussed. There is another matter. At the inquest on the bodies at Great Barrier some of the relatives of the deceased complained very bitterly of the sqpiuoness of the Union Company in forwarding a vessel to the scene of the wreck. It was alleged, in fact, that the company refused to send one of their vessels which was in Auckland at the time, and so well grounded did the complaint appear to be that the general manager of the company thought it necessary to explain the reason why. This is not referred to. Not a single word is said for or against the company, although public opinion expressed in the newspapers has demanded it, and this leads to a suspicion that the matter has been overlooked or glossed over. Too many accidents have happened to the Union Company’s boats during the last few years, and the public mind is not altogether free from suspicion that most of them were due to what is known to sailors as “ hugging the shore,” that is is keeping too close to land, so as to make short journeys and save coal. As for the censure of the first officer, it was richly deserved. On him developed the captain’s duties after the disappearance of Captain Mclntosh, and he appears to

have performed them very badly. The remainder of the crew are blamed, but when allowed to drift without a head to guide them there was nothing more natural than that the instinct of self-preservation should have asserted itself. The proportion of crew to passengers drowned shows that the former acted on the self-preservative impulse, and considering there was no one to direct them they can hardly be blamed for it. The blame certainly rests on the chief officer, who appears to have been seized with a fit of indifference as to what happened to passengers, and we are not satisfied that to censure him alone was sufficient. Life was undoubtedly lost through his negligence, and for this he deserved greater punishment than mere censure. As for the part played by women in the tragic affair, their conduct contrasts most strikingly with that of the men. The heroism displayed by some of them, and their complete disregard of self while death was staring them in the face deserves to be placed in the same category with the noblest and the bravest of human actions, and we are glad that the Court has adequately expressed its approval of their conduct. Miss McQuaid and the other stewardesses of the Wairarapa by their noble couduct have reflected honor on their sex. Their heroic conduct is the only thing connected with the sad affair to which one can turn with a feeling of pride and pleasure. On the whole the decision of the Court is just and fair, but we think that some notice ought to have been taken of the Union Steamship Compaup’s position in relation to it.

BANK FAILURES. The terrible financial strain put on the whole world at the present time has reached Newfoundland. There the banks and private firtps have suspended payment, and the panic has paralysed business from end to end of the colony. Newfoundland is a British colony in North America with an area of 42,200 square miles, and a population of about 200,000. The Government is administered by a governor, Sir J. T, N. O’Brien, seven ministers, a Legislative Council of 15 members, and a House of Representatives of 86 members. The chief industry is fishing. There are. 60,419 engaged in fishing, 1685 farming, 3628 mechanics, and 3360 miners. St. Johns, the capital, has a population of about 30,000, Harbor Grace 8,000, Oarbouear, Twillingate and Bouavista about 4000 each. Newfoundland, of course, is a small colony, but the influence of its financial disruption will be felt outside its own territory. When we reflect on the terrible consequences of a financial crash like this, and what a narrow escape we have had from it, the bold and dashing policy of the Government who saved us from it becomes the more pronounced. Only for guaranteeing the Bank of Now Zealand the terrible financial disaster which ruined Australia, and is now paralyising Newfoundland would have been experienced here, and we feel that the people who have been saved from such a calamity, by the courage and tact of the Colonial Treasurer and his colleagues, cannot ever thank the Government sufficiently for the prompt manner in which they averted the impending crisis. The shareholders of the Bank of New Zealand we hear intend to resist the call just now made on them. Only for the action of the Government they would have to pay three times the amount with no hope of getting any return for it, for the bank would have had to have gone into liquidation. As for offering resistance to such a demand the shareholders would do a very foolish thing. The result would be that the Government would put in a receiver and seize all, and then the shareholders would not only have to pay the present call but also a sufficient sum to make up any deficit which might arise in the course of liquidation. No doubt the present call will come very hard on many of the shareholders, but they ought to pay it and feel thankful that the bank is not in the same position as the banks of Newfoundland are at the present time. New Zealand ought to feel for ever grateful to the Government that saved it from the fearful calamity which threatened it.