The Sun.
London, England, 1869-02-19 00:00:00

THEATRE ROYAL, HA YMARKET.
e Lessee. Mr. stone.
THIS EVENING Sol
RAISING THE WIND: Messrs. Ken-
dal, Clark, Rogers, Bnckstone, jun., and Mesdames Laws, Dal-
ton, &c.
After which, HOME: Messrs. Sothern, Chippendale, Comp-
km. Astley, &c,; Mesdames Cavendish, Burke, Hill, &c.
Concluding with THE FRIGHTFUL HAIR. Messrs. Comp
ton, Kendal, Weathersby, liuckstone, jan., &c. ; Mesdames
Caroline Hill, Saott, Gwynn, &c.
Box-office open daily.

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LONDON, FRIDAY, FEB. 19, 1869.

We are very glad to find that so important a ques-
ion as the reform of our mercantile marine is not
,o be altogether overlooked this year. Even at this
early stage of the session a notice has been put upon
the books of the House of Commons, by Mr. CAN-
DLISH, of an inquiry to be put to the President of the
Board of Trade respecting the revision and consoli-
dation of the laws which affect our merchant ship-
ping. On Monday next, therefore, we may hope to
learn something of the Ministerial intentions on this
subject; but in any case we hope it will not be for-
gotten. If the pressure of the other measures to
which the Cabinet stands pledged should prevent
Mr. BRIGHT from undertaking an additional re-
form, the task is one which is fully within the scop e
of private members. There are not wanting
men of sound practical knowledge and extended
experience in the House who are well qualified to
deal with the question, and it must not be forgotten
that the delay of its settlement will not only occasion
expense and inconvenience, but will actually cost
many lives.
The details of the casualties which yearly occur to
our shipping supply us with startling intelligence. A
large proportion of those disasters, which fill many
homes with mourning, and swell our list of wrecks and
disasters at sea to such a fearful extent, are plainly
and undoubtedlypreventible. The sea is stronger than.
man, and in its wayward moods defies his skill and
strength ; but we can no longer say with the poet that
"the wrecks are all its deed," for the painful truth is
that man has a large share in them. What with unsea-
worthy and insufficiently equipped vessels, with over-
loading, with neglect of a proper supply of nautical
instruments, with incompetent and careless com-
manders, and equally incompetent and insufficient
crews, the real history of many a maritime tragedy
might be summed up in a verdict of " wilful murder
against some persons unknown."
The culprits of course have no thought of whole-
sale destruction of human life. They are sinap7y in-
different and careless, thinking only of how to make
money in the fastest and easiest way possible. Accord.
ingly they send out ships in the condition we have
referred to, and the result is shown in the startling
fact that in the year 1867 (the last for which we
have the full record) the number of shipwrecks on
our coasts was 2,090, or an average of nearly six for
every day in the year. The noticeable thing
about these figures is that the increase
in the number Of casualties is out of all
proportion to the increase of our shipping. When
the figures are corrected, according to this increase,
there remains a surplus of 600 casualties. It is, there-
fore, quite time that the appalling loss of life thus
represented should attract the careful consideration
of Parliament. When we turn to the Wreck Regis-
ter we find that the 2,090 casualties of 18,17 occa-
sioned no less than 1,333 deaths, as well as a loss of
property estimated at about three millions sterling.
What we know of the disasters of 1868 gives us
little reason to hope that its history will be a different
one, while 1869 has already been conspicuous for its
frequent and boisterous gales.
An ex-President of the Liverpool Chamber of
Commerce has addressed a letter to the 7intes on this
subject, suggesting various plans for the mitigation of
an acknowledged evil. For reform of the bad
condition of the ships, and the lack of
proper instruments, he looks to the Legislature. If
the clause of the Merchant Shipping Act of 1854,
which provides that no steamer carrying passengers
shall proceed to sea without official survey, and cer-
tificate, were extended to all British vessels, much
would be gained, and the principal causes of the
wholesale destruction of our coasting vessels would
be altogether removed. The insurance of unsea-
worthy ships is another fruitful source of evil. Ships
that are lost in ordinary rough weather, almost im-
mediately after leaving harbour, have manifestly been
insured under false pretences, and it is no great
wonder that the underwriters, suffering from such
repeated losses, are constantly raising their rates of
premium. It is to the interest of all shipowners,
who send their ships to sea in the bona fide
expectation of reaching port, to see that
others less scrupulous should no longer be able to
risk men's lives and merchant's property with abso-
lute and unquestioned impunity.
The correspondent, whose letter we have referred
to, enters at some length upon the question of
securing a regular and sufficient supply of candi-
dates to recruit the officers and seamen of the mer-
cantile marine. Unfortunately, for one reason or
another, the once popular profession of seamanship is
going out of fashion. While in the seven years from
1858 to 1865 the increase in the tonnage of the mer-
chant service was 25 per cent., the increase in the
number of seamen was only 11 per cent. The appren-
tices and boys had decreased 18 per cent. The num-
ber of foreigners serving on board British ships had
in the same period increased at the rate of 76 per
cent. It is also stated that our British
re
seamen have deteriorated in
every respect,
and that many shipowners now think foreign
saileocrts,
to be the more able and efficient. There is a want
of sympathy between the men and their employers,
and the comfort and health of the crews are very
little considered. The Merchant Shipping Act pro-
vides for proper accommodation, but Dr. LETHEBY
has deliberately affirmed that the great prevalence of
fever, scurvy, and epidemic diseases in vessels trading
with the port of London is directly referable to defec-
tive sanitary arrangements. Dr. WARD, a physician of
the floating hospital, gives similar evidence, and it is
not therefore to be won lered that the men suffering
from this cruel indiffen ace to their well-being grow
dissatisfied with their occupation.
The system of training boys for sea is a very excel-
lent one, and it is a pity it is not more largely ex-
tended. The member of the Liverpool Cham-
ber, though highly approving of the employ-
ment of training ships as reformatory agents,
and as means of employment for the destitute, re-
minds us that it will not do to depend exclusively on
such a source of supply. All boys are not fitted, either
morally or physically, for a seafaring life, and, as in
such institutions there is no power of selection, all
thus trained may not prove efficient recruits. Such

ATHENS, Feb. 18.