The Sun.
London, England, 1857-06-12 00:00:00

OUR NORTH-EASTERN COAST.

We need not describe the character of the York
shire coast. Mot people have been to Scarborough,
Filey, or Whitby, or have seen prints of Fiam-
borough Head, and other parts of that stern
sea-board. Durham and Northumberland are less
universally known ; but Scott's border writings,
and the old traditions of Bamberough and Dun-
stanborough Castles, and Tynemouth Priory, and
yet more the heroic story of Grace Darling,
most have given the untravelled world an impression
of the formidable character of the whale coast-line.
Those of our readers who have lingered beyond the
bathing season in those districts, may remember
observing the peculiar sensation which affects the
residents when the year begins to break. 'As
the autumn passes into winter, the dirges begin
under which the popular heart quails. The rolling
swell rouses the gloomy echoes of the caverns, and
gives a tremulous feel to the everlasting rocks above,
when they are trodden by the coast-guard or the
daring fowler. The spray dashed up from the rocky
arches which succeed one another, from headland to
headland, may be seen with a glass from Yorkshire
to Northumberland, when a gale is departing. At
the first sound of the true wintry whistle of the wind
and swirl of the sea, a sort of shiver passes through
human frames, and the blood runs cold under the
conception of the sights to be looked for. As the
weather fouls, and the spray falls in flakes over gar-
dens a long way inland, and penetrates the best-
made windows which look seawards, scouts are out
along the rocks and up on the galleries of the light-
houses, looking out for doomed vessels, or forming
an opinion on the probable fate of colliers or other
coasters which have recently sailed. The women
and children who are awaiting that opinion can settle
to no business. The children may go to the shore,
but the wives of the absent cannot bear it. They
could not look on while a vessel was driving in.
It may be too like what their husbands, brothers,
or fathers are undergoing under the same gale ; for
there is no harbour of refuge between the Humber
and the Forth.
This is the miserable, the shameful, the almost
incredible fact, as stated in the petition which the
seamen of that coast are even now presenting to
Parliament. Through the driving gloom—amidst
the glimpses opened by the gale—one and another
and another vessel is now seen, now lost, and then
seen again, a tossed speck in the myrtle-green waters
and spreading foam,—too often making for the port
where multitudes are gathering in dread of seeing
them come in. Frantic signals are made from the
shore, and frantic efforts are seen to be made on
board, to avoid the perils of either hand, and
Lit the channel, disguised by the weather. Some
get into harbour ; but it always happens that
some do not. The most dreary spectacle of all
is that of a succession of them following precisely
the same road to destruction ; and it- is a spec-
tacle familiar to all residents in the ports whence
this petition comes. Three or four ships fail to Let
round a point, or to escape a current ; and while all
yet looks much as it did- five minutes before, a cry
of anguish bteaks out along the whole range of
rock, and women wring their hands on the shore,
and-turn away homewards. The vessels are edging
towards the fatal precipice on the one hand, or the
ruinous sands on the other, and the men are seen to
take to the rigging. Then the life boats go out
amidst cheers, and make for the vessels nearing the
sands. One brig falls to pieces before the boat can
reach her. A collier goes right over, with all her
sails set, and is washed up so that her topsail first
touches the shore. In such a case no men are found
on board, unless some may still be c'inging to the
bulwarks, under incessant ducking. A ship jammed
under the precipice allows no chance of life but by
the cradle overhead, and fearful is the transit in.
mid air, amidst the tumult of the storm, the blind-
ing spray, the deafening roar, and the bitter cold.
Rumour soon passes the numbers of the lost far in-
land ; whole crews—four, six, or eight men ; parts
of crews—five out of seven, and so on ; scores of
lives lost within view, and eaven only knows how
many more between this spot and the Humber on
the one hand, and the Fort on the other. There is
no refuge between, nor any harbour which will
serve distressed vessels at low water. When all is
over the detestable last scene exasperates the sorrow
and shame of the whole. Men, women, and boys are
seen ascending the rocks, crossing the fields, troop-
ing along the sands laden with booty from the
wrecks—sail-cloth, limber and spars, ropes, and
whatever even children can carry.
Looking to the statement of the case in figures,
as given by the authorities on the spot, it appears
that sometimes one-fourth, and frequently of late
half the entire number of wrecks and lives lost on
the coasts of the United Kingdom, is on the east or
notth-east coast of England. In 1852, a fourth of
the whole occurred within a radius of 70 miles of
the Tyne and Wear ; and in 1854, no less than 110
wrecks took place within that area. How is it pos-
sible that, on such a coast, supplying such a traffic
from the groat coal-field and its commercial opera-
tions, there should not be a single harbour of
refuge between the Forth and the Humber ? The
petitioners exhibit the am.mnts voted for the sup-
port of such harbours all round our islands, some
of them in districts where the danger and the traffic
are nothing in comparison with those of the coal
region. It appears that the casualties and loss of
lite are on the increase, out of all proportion to the
simple expansion of commerce. There are more
collisions, from the multiplication of vessels, and
especially of steam-boats, and from the consequent
greater thronging of the ocean paths. The insuffici-
ent supply of good native seamen causes an extensive
employinent of foreigners, and introduces a new
element danger in unintelligible language,- and
new and etrange.methods and manners. Worst of
all, perhaps, is the temptation to send outunseawor-
thy ships. This is the matter most vehemently corn-•
• plaiued of by the petitioners ; and it is no doubt a
grievous hardship that they must go to sea, on oc-
casion, in a leaky ship, or go to prison for refusing.
On the other hand, the owners complain that the
seamen are apt to be capriciouse and take away the
character of a vessel to excuse their being off their
.bargain. Both parties being thus dissatisfied, i
seems tolerably clear that some method of super-
vieion of vessels is the thing w anted—some am h,,rity
reuse
shall decide when appear(' to, when yeas. Is
to he .e-iseerthy. This is wliet the petitioners
desire; and if their employers
will leio,.„ttaare sincere, they
of the resent Merchant
th demand-. The operation
time,
we tam el:chant Strip, ir,g, Act will reduce in
dio
ipe the perils rrom ignrance in
ficdemiemtitasnudpeptslyYatiof
eraeocneeti-nce in n, ofily a siif-
is
so inadequate
can be kept up. While the
number qttrlethat foreigners are picked
up, anti bad natives with, as the only way of
go e, - •
• tine' vessels manned for sea, it is a fearful and
hinnblingr consideration that hundreds of seamen
e neeclles!y lost every veinier,exroureFs:FiWre,hnthihdiezaatrhi-s_
i
frsnn-pres.O: ntible causes in that
0114, let all events) there is ho
tbie ,age of science, Picini wealth, and 'provfeers, professed
humanity. In old times when We did not know
all about bilge-water, salt-meat, and thi3
ms
_ chiefs of damp, dirt, and conficed space, maritiaie '
diseases were regarded as dispensations of provi_
deuce, and put tip with accordingly; whereas now,
deaths from scurvy and ship fever produced in such
ways would justly be regarded as manslaughter.
In the same way it is too late now to charge Pr-vi-
deuce with the thousand deaths a year of seamen
which. take place our our coasts from preveutible
causes. Of old, the gale and the foundering at real
were prayed against as modes of death appointed to
be submitted to. Now, when we are actually
- making harbours of refuge elsewhere, and when
crews demand that vessels shall be examined and
leaky ones condemned, men are as responsible for
the larger proportion of deaths on our north
eastern coast as they would be for intu-der by ship
fever and scurvy from the old causes.
Parliament must attend to this petition, and i t
would be well that a larger public than the mari-
time one should support it. —Daily Nev.-s: