The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-05-26 00:00:00

WRONGS OF SHIPMASTERS.

TO THE .XDITOR OF THE NORTHERN TIMES.
Sin.,—One of my earliest friends, the well-known Dr.
Townley, against whom a turbulent outcry was raised on
account of his censure of certain too prevalent vices, once.
declared from the pulpit that he "liked to hear the deve
roar, for it proved his being touched on a tender spa"
On reading the letter of " R.'s" confrere, who eigns him
self The Old-u' ," is it surprising. that the words of the
worthy Doctor rushed across my mind I entered, in my
last, upon an impor•ant question, and one which, I repeat,
" ought to be made his own by. every English house-
holder." I cannot, however, imagine what the defects of
myself have to do with the Interests of Sefliemasters. Ilnitee'l
pr information. It will "'.'ter comport with the wishes of
-
your respeeteote readers if I avoid uneecessary contro-
versy, for which, moreover, re ',eat severe exactions of
mental labour have totally unfitted my wearied brain,
to say nothing of my inability to contend with
Such a threatened burst of eloquent assassination,
which impends within "48" hours from the envenomed
Stump of " R.'s" so pointles , pen. One might almost
leave him to himself. " There is," says he, " one feeling,
and only one, common to mankind. It is this —every
ratan at so ne particular period of his existence
imagines himself a poet." Such. evidently, implies
that the delusi to is now upon me. Under the
fear that " R's" own " particula, period" is approach-
ing, I would magnanimously save him by wholesome
Counsel, but My magn inimous patageaph," as he oddly
Wordy it, would beceme " considerably confessed as to
grammar, as all magnanimity of course is." Poor fellow !
The use of such wildness of phrase is, I apprehend, symp-
tomatic of tenting indu gence in the "glorious amaranth
that surrounds us ; for, thank Goodness,' says he, "we live
in a free country, where we can give our thoughts the form
of life. . . in a newspaper column at least." Per-
haps
he cannot yet percieve that our newspaper columns
often con'ain the most brilliant efforts of the greatest men
of the age ; and editors must feel complimented by your
correspondent's declaration of intrusive freedom. Let
me ask, Sir, your cempassionate toleration of " R."
when the fit comes stronger on him. You see the punctilious
accuracy (?) of "R's" language—the clearness with which
he evinces his powers of c, iticism, —the gentlemanly bearing
of a concealed writer, towards one whose unfortunate
shortcomings appear at this so awkward and ill-timed
" period ;" towards one, moreover, whose only offence was
his expressed desire of information, for the benefit of a
class of men supposed to be unfairly used—towards one
who thinks he can sift truth from falsehood—verily, this
so "terrible a fellow," as " R" considers and describes
himself to be, will be dangerous (to himself) when the
malady iucreases. It is well that, in this the height of my
attack, I can command excited powers, and still appeal to
reason. His polite levitation to call and see in him a
" veritable man," can only be trifling with my credulity.
No "veritable man," as he imagiees himself, (in his
peculiar frame of mind) assails from behind a tree—no
tree of knowledge a.: least could screen a coward.
" I dare do all tht doth become a men,
He who does more is none."
I need only, for the present, in justice to the cause of
ship captains, and to chew the extreme keenness of "R.'s"
perception, declare that I know nothing whatever of those
who sign themselves " Fairplay"—or a " Shipmaster,"
the insinuations of " R," therefore, only raise suspicions
as to "R." being the Old-un" himself. He should mind
how he measures " other men's corn by his own bushel."
His friends need watch. Lin To resume : The close of
My last letter left me in deliberation as to what a ship-
rnastees examination really proves. I would, in the first
place, distinctly declare my conviction,that a proper exami-
nation into a shipmaster's competency to command, is India-
peasible. It would be an insult to your readers to propose
the contrary.
I have long determined, in my own mind, that no man
should be intrusted with the immense responsibility of
a stip who has not three qualifications, viz., knowledge,
experience, and vigilance ; now, when mishaps occur, in
nine cas s out of ten, it is from defective vigilance. It so
happens, that only one of the three qualifications—namely,
knowledge, can be accurately tested by examination, while
that which is made the principal object of legslative en-
actment is really subordinate to the others. [I shall have
Occasion to revert to this.] - The test of seamanship is
certainly applied by the Board of Trade, but what
is it, after all? Knowledge is an acquaintance
with foals, consequent upon the rig ht uuderstanding
of principles. When such knowledge is extensive, and
comprises general science, it becomes "learning ;" and in
either me implies a real exercise of mental faculty, and a
direct appeal to the intellectual powers as conducive to
proper and clear understanding. In the absence of this,
acquaintance with mere facts (such as that the Mersey is
navigable, that the Eddystone Rock sustains a lighthouse,
having a certain bearing and distance from the land, that
arithmetical figures, arranged in a certain form, and
according to certain directions, work an altitude, &c.)
denotes simply an amount of attainment. Now, I will ask
the public whether the prescribed form of government
examination insures knowledge or attainment? From
personal converse on navigation by nautical astronomers,
with nearly 2,000 captains of merchant ships, since Sep-
tember last (and peculiar circumstances have given me this
enormous and valuable opportunity on which to found
correct opinion), I bog to declare that, so far as depending
on that which is the basis of " certificate," the acquirements
of English shipmasrers are of the nature of attainments
only--that where we find such great and intimate know-
ledge ot navigation in so many, it is founded on personal
and meritorious self-teaching, and does not even result
from legal requirements or preparation for certificate,
beyond the frequent judicious exertions of the
tutor who prepares the candidate. One of the best
"Lunarians" out of the port of Leverpool has just sailed
in a splendid ship, which is commanded by a self-taught
man. How is the " certificate" valued by the multitude
of captains, who, in themselves, can best appreciate its
intrinsic worth Why, instead of its being a " diploma"
proud trophy of successful study—a memento of long-
continued application, and the " nail" that, once well
driven, holds fast its privilege—it is a miserable " screw,"
which any sudden turn in the tide of " luck" may loosen.
Instead of its being the stamp and real of a man's status
in a noble and daring profession, second only to the ser-
vice of our Royal Mistress, it is a badge of dependence on
capricious chance, implying a questionable fitness which
any foggy day may cancel ! A certificate of fitness, which
any iron ship may sneer at !—a public document, given,
indeed, by the Board of Trade as a proof of 4. eampetency,,,
but which the first accident to a commander may
annul from his discovered so called incompetency."
Is this consistent ? We, the greatest maritime nation,
thus trifle vvit'a our " einews." We make the law protect
each branch of trade ; we throw a fence round our " clubs,"
" estates," and " firms ;" we bar the castle's gate, and
peasant's cot ; the very cattle of our lanes are under the
State's protection ; the artisan pursues his path, secure in
Briton's laws ; the Senate cleans the corners of our streets,
and whitens pauper yards, but leaves the brave and manly,
loyal e master" to breathe foul air of blackening discon-
tent—fetters his noble soul with cares and needless trials,
then cries in angry tones, " What would ye ?" If the
certificate, then, fails to insure " knowledge" in a com-
mander, still less can it insure " experience," for
experience is that practice in the affairs of life which
called forth our exertion. It is an amount of useful
knowledge gained from actual labour—participation in the
varied scenes of one's profession—which arms us for the
future. And who shall test this ? By asking how to reef
a topsail, moor or unmoor, tack ship, veer, weigh or club-
haul, set or shorten sail, heave down a ship, or save a
crew ? Certainly. not. A moderate acquaintance with
sea life, and especially a voyage or two in a square rigged
ship, as mere passenger of common talents for observation,
can " cram" all this, too. I have known it done. Then
where's the safeguard ?
A certificate appears to be a memorandum that an indi-
vidual passed through a certain course of exercise on a
certain day, proving au acquaintance with the outlines of a
sailor's work, so far as a few hours examination could
attest it. Examination is intended to exclude the palpably
incompetent from the great responsibilities of command—
to prevent incompetency this certain " acquaintance" with
ordinary rules is indispensible to the shipmaster who is
about to enter upon his quarter-deck, and hence the
oppressive law affects the practised master, the accom-
plished veteran of a former school. " Oppressive," not in
itself, but in the MC that's made of it.
The law has changed, and it may change again ; a few
Years since and the Board, of Trinity was the high tribunal.
New laws, however, produced a Board of Trade, and
embryo laws again may
change the system. The present
holders of certificates may find an ordeal in their later
years more serious than before. Where is the guarantee ?
Shipmasters, look to this!
Much has been said as to e trial by their peers." This
forms the burden of their loud complaint, and I think
justly. I thought to have done with R.," but here he is
again. After his saying that even " the son of Queen Vic-
toria must walk the planks"—(which, by the way, in sea
language means, must walk over the gangway upon a loose I
plank of a conauered ship, until the plank tilts and plumps
him into the deep below)—" until. he attains whatever
position his ability and merit entitle him to ; and being the
Queen's son, this extends to the office of Lord High
Admiral itself. Such an officer," says " R.," " always
presides at the courts held to inquire into the loss of ships ;
and he asks, "will any sane man presume to say that such
an individual is not the peer' of a merchant comman-
der ?" (!) "For," he continues, with a sudden limitation as
to rank, " a nautical captain is tried by a nautical captain."
(Verily Mr. Saxby tt
really comprehends the ea tat
of the
ention
word poor.') But I see "R. kindly directs m 7

to the class of evidence given on such occasions. Is he aware
that it has been my province to exact and weigh officially
such evidence ? His ignorance has thus led him into die-
tat mid presumption. His ignorance may be pardonable,
but hie presumption is c nrempdble. Little knows he
of society beyond the level of his sphere I ask pardon
of your readers, and ef myself, too, for stoeping to retort.
The next phase in which the geoeral question presents
iaelf is this—the Social Poseion of shipmasters. Now I
know of no station in life, in which a man can so readily
employ his talents to the benefit of his fellow men (beyond
the church or medicine), as that of the shipmaster. Ihe
opportunities of improvement in their intercourse with the
trevelling public, combined with a judicious trainirea
in
themselves, fit them fora
rnrofesr,•:mai standing, to which
their predecessors of the iast generation coeld scarcely
aspire. Grades there will always be— grades there are
now ; and the more distinctly til')sB become marked the
batter for the more worthy. I have used he wcee'_,
"Diploma"—ln divinity, art, law, medicine sr engt,3ering,
they have " Diplomas." In the Army and Navy
they have "commissions ;" in the 'Mercantile Marine
" certificates." I contend that the position in life, which
is se important as to require special preparation for it in
the higher branches of science, is emphatically a " profes-
sion." Now, the law of society secures to the B D.,
the M.A., the M.D., the C.E., and the officer of
the R.A. or the undisputed pesseeeion of his
"diploma," &c., when once obtained. Never is the
" diploma" or "commission' revoked, but for premedi
tated and deliberate crime ; no error in judgment or acci-
dental misfortune subjects its possessor io the loss of main-
tenance. Who ever heard of even an engineer's punishment
for the falling of a bridge or the sinking of a dam?--it is
a pecuniary affair. Who ever heard of a lawyer's being
struck of the rolls for a mere misconception ? or a clergy-
man's disgr ce and suffering from mere misinterpre-
tation ? or a snrgeon'u utter ruin from the loss of a
patient? To these a diploma or commission, one
procured, is property. Not so the paltry "certificate" of
the shipmaster ! I ask your readers should English house-
-1 holders, who know these things, turn a deaf ear, or suffer
this to be? Should those who brave the ocean, and bring
from the world's end the luxuries f life, and who wi uld
guard our shores should danger threaten, and transport
our troops to protect our absent friends and interests—
should these be longer suffered to complain when we have
power to help them ? Moreover, when government itself,
the very Board of Teade, evince a most anxious desire to
improve the law, and try to benefit the mercantile marine,
should they be left unmindful of Shipmasters wrongs, or be
unsupported in their attempts at chaage? I have already
exceeded my linaas, and hops to make some useful sugges-
tion:, as to exeminations, in another letter.—l hese, &c.
May 23, 1837. S. M. SASSY.

CRIM. CON. AND ALLEGED ROBBERY.

At one of the London police courts on Saturday, Robert
Tyrrell, a machinist, was placed at the bar on a charge of
stealing two tables, six chairs, a carpet, and other articles,
of the value of £3, the property of George Hacker, tailor.
The prosecutor not having made his appearance for some
considerable time after the accused was placed at the bar,
Mr. Solomon complained to the magistrate of the very un-
just treatment to which his client bad been subjected, with-
out the shadow of a cause or the slightest justification.
From the instructions given to him (Mr. Solomon), and
from all he could learn on the matter, it appeared that
some weeks ago his client met with a young woman at a
casino or dancing place in the vicinity of the Elephant and
Castle, and having danced together two or three times
they formed an acquaintance which ripened into a closer
intimacy. The young woman represented that she wai a
widow, and was the first to suggest that they should go to
live together, and the young man at the bar having con-
sented, the female brought the articles charged as stolen to
the room they had taken, representing them to be her own
rroperty, and Tyrrell knew nothing to the contrary. After
living with the young woman some time, however, he dis-
covered that the was married, and finding who her husband
was, he immediately left her ; but her hueb ,nd, not con-
tent with this, went to the establishment where he was
employed, and created a great disturbance, and that day
gave his client into custody, on the charge of stealing his
property. He (Mr. Solomon) was in a position to show
that the charge was unfounded. In fact, the younn woman
herself was present, and ready to swear that she herself
took the goods from her husband's house. A. well-dressed
and rather good-looking woman, who, though married to
the second husband, still looks young, here stood forward,
ready to corroborate what Mr. Solomon had said, but
was told that she could not be admitted as a witness.
Up to five o'clock, the prosecutor did not make his
appearance, and at that hour the magistrate discharged the
accused.

At LEWIS & COMPANY'S, Ranelagh street,
BOYS are CLOTHED from the Ages of 6 to 20 Years.

A BALLOON ExpLonx-rioN. —A noval and amusing
schema has been propounded for exploring the vast un-
known interior of Australia. Mr. Char. es Green, sun of
thl veteran aeronaut of that aline, propses, is colijulc-
tion with J. J. 0. Taylor, who bas inverted a screw pro-
peller, to explore the interior of Australia, bv means of the
famous Nassau balloon. Scientific ram are invited to
witness experimental azcents, and their patronage is
solicited.
ROYAL SOCIETY FOR THU PREVENTION OP CRUELTY TO
ANIMALS.—The anniversary meeting of the committee and
subscribers of this S:ociely took place on Friday, at
the Hanover-square Rooms—the Marquis of Westminster
presiding. The noble Cha_rtuan, after a few introductory
observations, read the repart of the society's operations
for tho past year ; fcom which it appeared that, although
the receipts of the society had increased in the last
twelve months, the number of prosecutions had fallen off
considerably. The report was adopted,

Exclusively tor CLOTHING EOYS from 6 to 20 Y.,ars
LEWIS & COMPANY. Rane,laeh street:

A. DAna BEFLEGTION.—UncIe Bill Fidd was a drover
from. Vermont. Being exposed to all kinds of weather,
his complexion suffered somewhat, but at the best he was
not the whitest. Stopping at a public-house, near
Brighton, a man of notoriously bad character, thought, as
Uncle Bill came in, he wculd make him the butt of a joke,
and as the black face of the weather-beaten man appeared
in the doorway, he exclaimed, "Mercy on us, how dark it
grows !" Uncle Bill, surveying him from head to foot,
coolly replied, "Yes, sir, your character and my com-
plexion are enough to darken any room.
Mr. Gerald Massey, author of " Craigcrook Castle," and
other poems, has issued a prospectus announcing that he
will be glad to arrange for the delivery of any of the fol-
lowing lectures, which he is preparing for the season :
Pre-Raphaelitism in Poetry and Painting ; The Poetry of
Alfred Tennyson ; The Principle and Practice of Associa-
tion ; Robert Burns and Love Poetry ; The Spasmodic
School and its Critics ; Thomas Hood and Wit and
Humour ; The Woman's Cause, " Princess" and " Aurora
Leigh ;" Leaves from the Life of the Poor ; and National
Ballads.
EXTRAORDINARY CHARGE AT WINDSOR.—OR the Bth of
May, Captain Bruce, of Upton-Park, while witnessing
the funeral of the Duchess of Gloucester at Windsor, had
his pocket picked of a gold watch. Six days afterwards a
travelling Jew offered the same watch for sale. The Jew
stated that he had received it to sell on commission from
a Mr. Pike, Strong's Cottage, Green-lane Newington.
On Thursday, Mr. Pike, rho carries ou business in Wilder-
ness-row, London, was brought before the magistrates at
Windsor. Superintendent Eagar stated that Mr. Pike had
told him he had bought the watch in its preseiv:state from
a Mr. Joseph. Mr. Joseph is dead, hut there is evidence
tending to disprove his having sold a watch to Mr. Pike.
, Mr. Pike has been held to bail to appear at the sessions.

BAYS' CLOTHING MADE wail GREAT TASTE
At LEWIS & COMPANY'S. Itauelap.b street.

distillers to make 3-6 spirits. The 3.6
of the north is now made in, Rreater
quantity than that of Languedoc An tempt has
been made by speculators to get rt-t., a
Pi
rise in Corn
upon the pretence that the dry weather begins to
make the harmers uneasy.
But tuivices from the
lik, t'partm at
ents are of a !tn.
:0 to dissipate all these
fears. Most of these 'provincial markets have even
shown a
d";oward tendency this week. It is
UtliVeily
.sai
admitted that the promise of the
harvest is excellent. The only crops that may
have suffered a little from the want of rain are the
ley e and Oats." —

Convitertta

"ivelttqcnct

Stock on hand Casks..
Deliver/ last week
• .

Do. from Ist June..
Arrival last week

47 828
1,656
86 375
2,804
98,203
5I od
50a Gd

Do.from Ist June
Price Y.C. per cwt.
Do. Town