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1098 TH E • Ij E A_ D _gj R;____ - V* 0 ...
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SHIPWRECKS AND SOME OF THEIR. CAUSES. 'T...
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FRENCH SHIPS IN THE TAGUS. Why have the ...
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Young Whigs And Old Tories. A Morning Co...
So long , however , as one set of politicians remain dumb , it is no wonder that their traditionary rivals should appear , doubtful as to the course they are to follow . Hesitation and reserve may not , perhaps , win much favour . for Lord Derby and his friends in offiee . But the fact that respectable elderly gentlemen , clerical as well as lay , whom no persuasion or ridicule , could ever move before , are everywhere now to be seen in the vicinity of political railway stations , with tickets in their hands , is uncommonly strong presumptive evidence that the said worthy and ¦ weighty individuals have made up their nimds to travel ere long in some direction , and not at their
old-fashioned speed . How far they may have respectively determined to go—whether , once in motion , many of them may not go further than they meant when they set out—whether some may not stop short of their original purpose , aud whether a few may , at the last moment , change their aninds and refuse to move at all—it were waste oi time to discuss . Enough , that on all sides we hear of bonfires having been made of fine old Tory principles ; even though as yet no others of any describable pattern have been ordered by the lord of the manor . Exceedingly shocked and scandalised no doubt he would be if he were congratulated on ( having deserted his party , or gone over to the Whigs . The truth is , however , that he has really done nothing of the kind . It is his party that is _ - ~ - —— ^^— - —— — - --. ^ wm « w * . * M *~ m ^ -m «* i- **« * " » 4 * J ~ \ * v * f ± fx ^ r / " ! ^ % TA T Y "\ a ft V \ V" \ /*\ C ? I T * C ^ V \ J
. &~\ JlXll ± UVCJj \ Ji . piCpdlllli ^ gKJ VJVOJ . , UU fciivj W | 7 ^ Udn-v side of the stream , there to occupy , if fortune will have it so , the position long weakly and waverangly held by their hereditary antagonists . If the Whigs do not ' speedily waken they-will find themselves fairly outflanked , and it is not impossible that under such leaders as those they have recently followed , they may actually find themselves occupying the abandoned camp o * f the Conservatives , and ¦ practically thwarting progress and reform . It is . not necessary for this that they should alter the facings of their political regimentals or trample their ' old - party symbols - under foot . These may be retained in all their entirety , while every party , -weapon is aimed at national honour abroad , and popular right at home . JMen who for three years ¦ sustained the Palmerston Cabinet in its alliance with
Austria , and its postponement . sine die of every extension of the franchise , need not affect surprise at being deemed capable of acting as we have indicated . They would do so to-morrow if occasion served . Let this be clenrly understood in order that it may be prevented . Many zealous Tories have long held and avowed the conviction that ah extended electoral franchise would not , in the main , work injuriously to Conservative interests . We have abundant reason to believe that this sentiment is rapidly gaining ground ; and we may rest satisfied that the suffrage will not form any essential difficulty in the way of a new Reform Bill , if the present administration oontinues
in power . Hitherto , however , the Ballot has been supposed to be a shibolcth which would prevent the co-operation of Tory and Itadical influences ; so much so , that a trading use . has recently been mndo -of it by certain Whig lawyers who wish to keep these two great sections apart . The remarkable ¦ speech of Sir Henry Straoey , delivered the other day at a Conservative celebration at Norwich , will rather tend to confound these disinterested gentlemen's politics . Sir Henry was beaten at the last election , ho says , by the intimidation of Whig proprietors . He means to contest East Norfolk again ; and next time he tells his Tory friends that he intends to advocate the Ballot 1 What next ?
1098 Th E • Ij E A_ D _Gj R;____ - V* 0 ...
1098 TH E Ij E A _ D _ gj R ;____ - V * ' *^ OcI ( y ^^ JG i 1858 . ¦ — ¦ - ¦ — " ~ ™ ' _ ¦ —^—^—^^^^—^ i «^^^ i ^^—^^^^ Mi ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^ " ~ ^^*^^^ m ^
Shipwrecks And Some Of Their. Causes. 'T...
SHIPWRECKS AND SOME OF THEIR . CAUSES . 'The publio at largo will , we suspect , only regard 4 he unspeakable horrors disclosed in the reports of the burning of the Austria stcam-paoket , und tho saorifioe of whole hecatombs of human lives as a fearful romance of reallife , and another well-spiced illustration of the " dangers of- the sea , " to be commonlod upon one day arid forgotten tho next , A
few will bo disposed to take a deeper view of the subject , and to ask whether tho calamity was inevitable , and whether ordinary or extraordinary precautions could not have prevented , or at . least anitigatqd much of tho dreadful 'details . ' Wo 'do uot propose to entor upon a minute investigation of this special caso , our purpose boing of a wider character . We shall content ourselves with remarking that tho particulars of tho loss of the
Austria , as far as they have readied the public , disclose pretty nearly the same features which accompany all similar catastrophes , whenever any one is spared to " tell the tale . " Here we find , first , that the most incredible carelessness was the cause of the fire ; next , when , it became known that there was no possible hope of saving the ship , a rush was made to the boats , that the boats were not immediately accessible , that when launched they were instantly swamped , and that , even had the boats been available and fairly stowed with passengers , they would not have held one-half of the unfortunates who trusted their lives in this ill-found and ill-fated vessel . ___ ..
-We have before us tho " Wreck Register foi 1 S 57 , " published by the National Life-Boat Institution . We copy the following figures : — Totally wrecked 384 Seriously damaged 4 S - Totally " lost in collision 58 Damaged seriously by collision ..... — 224 The loss of lives is estimated at 114 S Now it must be recollected that this table is at best only an approximation to the truth—the numbers cannot be reduced , but may be largely increased . The casualties refer only to those that take place on our own coasts , they do not include
those that occur in . distant seas . If we say that the average loss , every year , of ships is not- less than 500 , aud the average loss of most valuable lives somewhere about 1000 , we shall not be very wide of the truth . The pecuniary loss to the nation in ships and produce cannot be correctly estimated . It is very little short of , two millions annually . Here is an appalling statement , a statement published yearly , not hid under a bushel , but fully known " to the Government authorities , and yet it excites about as much attention as we might expect would be bestowed on the details of drowning the
litters of so many blind puppies . Now we say advisedly that many , of these fearful ocean calamities , loss of ships and loss of human lives yearly , might be prevented . Could we get at the whole truth , we should find that in about onehalf the cases of total loss , the foremost cause is to be found in human cupidity and human carelessness . Ships are not unfrcquently sent to sea in a totally unseaworthy . state , overladen , undermanned , and illfound . Emigrant ships , especially , are or were open to these charges . It is true that ttie cold-blooded disregard of human life , safety , aud comfort evinced some years ago by shipowners who freighted emigration vessels became so notorious as to attract the
attention of Government , and a , band of handsomely paid emigration officials was directly organised ; but every one knows that the rules laid down by these agents for the regulation of emigration vessels arc openly disregarded , that the personal inspection whicli takes p ' lace is so loosely made as to be , in many cases , worse than useless , and that the new system notoriously stops short of proper efficiency . Take , for instance , the important duty ol manning a vessel . Every one knows that to send a ship , especially an emigrant ship , to sea undermanned or with an incompetent crew , is equivalent to sending her to destruction . And yet , what
sufficient provision is made for ensuring that vessels sent from port arc ably and sufficiently manned ? It is notorious that mere lubbors arc shipped by tho owners of some of these vessels , and that though a ship may leave port with what tho Commissioners may deem a sufhcicul : crew , no sooner is the ship a few milos on hor voyage than a boat-load of tho fictitious crew is sent out of tho ship and rc-landed . It will be seen , from the figures that we have given , that a largo proportion of the disasters is occasioned by collision . This is a modern cloment of mischief , arising from the increased application of steam in tho mercantile marine . Wo cannot find this circumstance attracts tho publio attention it
deserves . When , however , it does attract official attention , wo have tho solemn faroo enacted of an investigation set on foot by tho Board of Trade Thoso mvostigutions , it is notorious , do moro harm than good , and rathor tend to promoto tho vory evil they profess to remedy . Thoro is , however , one ciroumstanoo that does not oomo before the public . oyo , although it has muoh to do with tho frightful ,. \ 6 ss of lifo and property at soa \ yhioh yearly takes plaoo . We alluclo to tho practice of ship insurance . Tho lax system of business adopted at Lloyd ' s in effecting insurances lies at the root of one-hall' of the casualties . Underwriters tako so little trouble to nsooi'taiu the real oharaotor and condition' of tho ships they insure , that a
certain class of owners ' are always found ready to take advantage of the circumstance . If this class of shipowners , and they arc on the increase can get one of their ships fully insured , a total loss ' is to them a premeditated aiid profitable event . It may be asked whether underwriters can be found so ignorant of their business and so regardless of their interest as to insure unseaworthy ships . In replv we can from personal experience assert that underwriters make no sullicient inquiry into all those circumstances that ought to be known -when a _
risk on ships is offered to them . They are content to take a few general particulars " from , the broker , and to accept the character and . chiss in the registration book , but as to the manning or t , ] ie finding of vessels underwriters neither inquire nor desire " to know , nor , if they did inquire , could they get any information . The system at Lloyd ' s is the parent of the most scandalous frauds on * underwriters , and the main cause of much of the wholesale destruction of human life and propenv which periodically occurs .
An attempt was made two or three years ago to induce the committee of Lloyd ' s to look into flic condition of business with tho view of reforming notorious . scandals , and particularly for the purpose of ascertaining whether some plan co . uld not be devised whereby the dangers of voyages by sea would be reduced , and losses of ships . and- men rendered less frequent . But the interest of those who profited by the discreditable condition of business was too powerful to ' . permit the movement to be carried on with success . Even amontr the
committee were ' . to' be found individuals who had the hardihood openly to . stand up , and , in 1 lie face of notorious facts , to deny or to extenuate practices that , in some cases , ought to have excluded the delinquent parties from the company of men who valued character , and in others ought to have placed those who adopted them at the bar of thu Old Bailey . . We shall have something more to say on this subject shortly . We shall possibly " be able " to
showthat a good deal of the mischief and misery whicn occur in our mercantile marine is owing to culpable negligence and design , and that no small portion of " the recent commercial immorality which the late crisis brought to light is due to the system of business whicli has gradually gained a footing at Lloyd's , which is deplored by all the respectable members , but which no one expects will be thoroughly reformed , except , through the agency of a strong pressure from without .
French Ships In The Tagus. Why Have The ...
FRENCH SHIPS IN THE TAGUS . Why have the Donawcrth and the Ausferlitz been scut to Lisbon ? Or what does Louis Napoleon promise himself by a hostile demonstration against a power like Portugal , which p lainly possesses no means within herself of resisting an assailant hko Franco , and which it . can hardly be supposedtho other great Powers of Europe would sillier to be seriously injured without coming to her aid ? , We b ' olieve the true solution of the allmr lies m
regions and circumstances very , remote from tliosc iVwhich the Portuguese Government is m miy way concerned . Alter tho popular reception mo Euipcror experienced in . Brittany , it »» 0 ' . , " lected that he returned to Pans aud renewed a portion of his garrison in tho iJois-dc-Jioulognc . His reception wus chilly in tlio extreme from inj citizens and spectators ; and this fact , coupled uiiu tho active aud intriguing discontent ot the nuiiiufacturing district , in consequence of his meiiMiit's of freo tradewas calculated to render linn wu > " )
, disposed to sanction any project that would annwo and gratify the national vanity for iho ( llllf- ' - V browbeat or intimidate a Btuto like Portugal couia hardly have served thai cud , unless it could do mado to appear that a groater than r « u ; l « S >» ^ * really to bo snubbed and tumbled . 'Hie i """ of tho rolations that have long subsisted ultweon that oouutry and England huvo nlwi . YS UC V rnwuvlnd wiili iniiYnnsiw Uv nnti-Eiiu'liHll nollt H- 'UlllS m
Franco ; and tho nmrriugo of tho young ^ n 1 , " ' near relative of Prince Albert ' s , not long ntf " , inB imparted an additional zest to any alinck . upy tho dignity of Portugal . Tho quostion . mo tovor , on which satisfaction was clonuuuleU « tho- Govornmcnl , of -Lisbon , was u ^ ' ^ f . one involving tho aiitom" propra ol tlicir « , try , iuasu . uoh as it palpably t ° l , *' , £ Fronoli right to vovivo , under iikei'dl im » c » and forms , tho oommoroo in slaves . If L 0 ' 1 . ' ^ r ! : ' o t leon , therefore , could point to tho humiliation w
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Oct. 16, 1858, page 18, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_16101858/page/18/
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