Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-09-12 00:00:00

THE CASE OF DR. SMETHURST
men in thii

, in reply to a paragraph
which appeared in some of tile daily antweekly papers,
that the whole of the jury had agreed to a memorial
a remission of the sentence of Dr. Smethurst, that
a statement is entirely false, and that they still
+o the decision they came to, believing it to be

to stat,

lv in accordance with" the evil

rience,

DIMPLINEJN THE C.UNAIW_STEAMER.S. I

The success'which has attended these steamers may,
in a great measure, be attributed to the rigid discipline
by which their movements are regulated. In the first
place, the vessels and machinery are as perfect as possi-
ble, and their. officers and crew are mea of tried cape-
To render this combination efficient, certain
--------
rules, as imperative as the naval code, are applied to the
Mana,rement of every Vessel. A general superintendent
inspects them every voyage upon their arrival in Liverpool,,
and reports their condition to the managing owners. If
nysthsig rt isa rigid examination is made and the
e
wrong,aja ez.
A tell-tale is attached to every engine,
by Which the pressure of steam and number of revolu-
acaunasce
ascertained ; and the log-books, which are
arranged under certain heads, indicate the discipline of
the crown. The duties of the engineers and their men,
the duties of the captains, officers, and crews, and
prescribed in certain particulars ; and all that prudence
and experience have brought to,light for the safe con-
duct of steamers, are incorporated in the general in-
structions to their commanding officers. But, after
all, excellent as the rules may be, everything dePends.
upon the ability to enforce them, and in this
respect as little has been left to chance as pos-
sible. The Cunard Company have been very careful
in training men to carry out their views. Their com-
manders have all served them as inferior officers, and
have been raised, step by' step, according to their
_merits, and their crews are picked seamen. Every sailor
who is shipped must.produce a good character from his
last captain, and to insure his condrict he is put on pro-
bation for one year before he is considered a permanent
hand, 'During his trial, ten 'Shillings per month are
retained from his wages, which, if he performs his duty
to the satisfaction of the 'captain, he receives at the end
of the year, and after that he draws full pay every
voyage, like the old hands. If he exhibits talents suit-
able for an officer, he has a chance to rise ; thus every
man' is encouraged to do' his best. The crews are well-
fed, have watch-and-watch at'sea, and_are allowed grog
once a day. Many of the seamen: are married, and re-
gard_the steamers as.their permanent home. From these
facts it will be seen that the Cunard steamers are well
manned, for .the longer men are kept together the more
efficient they must become. A seaman who joins a
'steamer for the first time has much to learn before he is
considered' a good steamship sailor, but his duty once
acqUired renders him highly valuable. It is a mistake
to suppose that a good ship-sailor is good in every class
of vessels. The very best merckant sailors, for example,
when they join a ship of
_war, are often more than six

tions are

Every
to

months ,aficiat before they feel themselves at home
change of ship a sailor makes he has something new

discipline at sea on board the Cunard steamers is
that we have heard merchant captains, who

so perfect
I,o,A♦*.nct

that t 1

hardly perceive how the duty was parried on, everythi

was done

so quietly; eveiy probable .contingency

seemed to be provided for..
In every state-room there are two life-preservers for

the use of passengerS,

and these are inspected every

every boat

a crew appointed to

ires, in the event of accidents

the hose and engines are inspe?ted it the
, watch. In port the -boats are lowered,
and the men exercised at pulling. The importance of
these arrangements has been frequently tested by ex-

and to zu,

nd -of- °yen,

perience, fin-, though generally successful, the steamers
have.not been always exempt from accidents. One of
theni was ivrepked, but not a life was lost. Several of
them have been aground ; others have had shafts broken:
They have been in collision ; have run vessels down,

&c., but in every case there has been no want of energy
and skill on the part of their officers and crows in
making the best of the circumstances. Accidents will
occur in spite of every precaution, but by skill and
resolution, in nine cases out of ten, accidents may be
prevented from becoming irreparable disasters.

There is little doubt that if the unfortunate steamer
Austria had been one of the Cunard boats that all hands
would have been saved, supposing the fire to have be-
come uncontrollable. But we do not think the fire could
have occurred on board a Cunard boat, under similar
circumstances. In the case of the steamer Sarah Sands
(an iron boat like the Austria, but not half so well pro-
vided with the means of extinguishing the fire) we have
learned how discipline can triumph even over fire. Half-
laden with gunpowder, and with nearly two thousand
souls on board, she caught fire at sea during a gale.'
Most of the gunpowder was thrown overboard ; the boats
were hoisted out and manned ; the fire was combatted,
and, after three days and nights, was vanquished, with-
out a life lost, although the vessel's stern was blown out.
Without aid from any quarter, she was brought safely
into thelsle of France. Discipline saved her. The lack
of discipline destroyed the Austria. _

It is much easier to preserve discipline at sea than in
port, because in the one case the men, are exposed to
temptation, but in the other they are under constant
restraint, and have specified duties to perform. In
port, the captains of the Cunard steamers are not only
parAicular about the ship-duties of their crews, but about
their morals and piety also. Every Sabbath forenoon,
all not on duty must attend public worship on shore,
escorted by the officers. For this purpose, the Cunard
Company pay for their accommodations in the episcopal
churches nearest the steamers in foreign ports. AnA
when any of the men have liberty on shore, all hands
are held responsible for their conduct:
We have made this article longer than we intended
when-we commenced it ; and yet we have only stated a
few of the leading rules by which these steamers are
governed. J3ut these show conclusively how careful the
Cunard Company have been, and still are, to secure
success.---lictou Cominercial.Builetin. •

SERIOES ILLNESS or Mn. BRUNEL—A letter re-
ceived on Thursday in Bristol, says :—" Mr. Brunel (of
Great Eastern notoriety) is now lying in bed very ill.
He was brought home on Monday afternoon quite in-
sensible,._llaving been seized with an attack of paralysis,

. from which he has not yet rallied, but hopes
tained that in a day ar two he will revive."
BREACH. OF PROMISE OF MARRIAGE.—An action was
lately brought before the Sheriff's Court at Hamilton,
by Catherine Brown, daughter of John Brown, tradesman,
Newmains, against Thomas McMillan, jun., blacksmith
there, concluding for damages ' alleged to have been
sustained by the pursuer, through the defender having,
during a courtship of several years, gained her affec-
tions, and asked and obtained her consent to become
his -wife, soltunily engaging and promising to marry
her on the 31st December, 1858 ; and, after being
duly proclaimed, refused to eater into the marriage—
and also with having seduced her on the faith that the
marriage would take place. The amount of damages was
restricted to £l5. The pursuer is only seventeen, and
the defender, an apprentice blacksmith, about nineteen
years old. In December laSt defender, 'considering the
' pursuer's "interesting" condition, agreed to marry her,
and to the banns being proclaimed, but he had scarcely
sufficient cash to pay the session clerk's fee. Pursuer
Was at some expense in making preparations for the
happy union, and had invited a party to the wedding.
The marriage was to have taken place on Hogmanay,
but shortly previous to that particular day the pur-
suer began to shun the defender's company, and to
associate with other men at the dancing school,
especially with one named John Barr, a miner at
Wishaw, from whom she accepted an invitation to go
with him to a ball on the same night proposed for
the marriage with Her mother would not
allow. her -to "go to the ball, but insisted on her re-
maining at home to be married. The, defender did not
appeal-that- night or send any message. The pursuer's
feelings were alleged to 'be much injured, and in
consequence of the disappointment she took to her
bed, and there was a great talk about the matter.
As the defender had good reasons to apprehend
something improper from her preference for these
other men, he intimated that he had changed his
mind, and he would not take her; whereupon Mr. W.
Brown, solicitor, raised the action on behalf of the pur-
suer against him. He produced certificates of good
character in favour of pursuer, granted by Dr. Thomas
Thompson, Mr. William Macnab, druggist, Mr. D. Hart,
draper, and Mrs. Macfarlane, all of Wishaw ; and
also accounts incurred to Mr. J. 16,1. Stewart, draper, for
the "braves," besides a cer
banns. Mr. Thomas Dykes,

enter-

ion of

R,nd urged that the defender was justified in breaki

Sheriff YE

the defence, and c

Sheriff Sir

Archibald Alison,

', on appeal, alt

of the marriage lines pro,

-
showing that the proclamation took place after the
defender had heard of the pursuer's conduct with other
yn.n.c.nrid &mazes due on account of the defender's

but modified th