The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1849-08-18


VTEDlcr-The frequent recurrence Of accidents
on the New York and Brooklyn ferries, is greatly
diminishing the confidence of the public in the
safety Of the means OF communication between the
two shores, short as the distance Is. The tenden.
cy IT, to nure both cities, by retardlng that init
mate and constant intercourse which was so ra-
pidy making both one in interest, and in all but
name. The ready excuse, heretofore, for acci-
dents, has been, that il is the fault Of themselves
whenever they suffer in life or limb. In this case,
at all events, that plea cannot be urged. No pas
senger had anything to do with the violent COLI
sion Of the Bedford with the pier Of the slip, nor
was it the fault Of Julia Brady that her life was so
suddenly taken away, nor Of Mr.. Ballard, that he
was SO dangerously wounded, nor Of other p1ssen-
gers, that they have been bruised and hurt. It was
not the fault Of any other steamboat, nor Of any
sailing boat. IL was the collision of the complnys
own boat against their own per-
Either, then, the pilot, or the company, is in
fault, both. To say, as lac has said tina, the tide
was "snusually strong" is enough to provoke
smile, fthe matter not too serious for laughter
Supposng the tide were very strong there, how
cen it be said to be stronger than usual II was
not assisted by the wind; for whatever wind there
was, wJs from the South, and would, therefore.
strength Of the cdrren,, when not favored by the
wind ls always the same at the same place, at the
same time Of ebb or flow, and at the same period
Of spring or neap tdes-matters with which every
pilot Is or ought TO be familiar Otherwise, he is
unfit for his business. Now, the fact is, that there
is scarcely any tide at all on this side the Fulton
Jerry. II s nearly all at the other side of the rver
There is almost still water a, the slip on this side.
caused by Governors Island, and by natural uet
into the land whereas at the other side, the land
is bold, the water deep, and the tide impetuous
But, even il this were not the case, there is no
excuse for driving the boat against the piers for the
pilot ought to have made his calculations from the
strength Of the current, whatever that was, and
steered accordingly. There was. moreover. too
much way on the boat, for we are told that " the
shock was tremendous" and that "she imme-
dlatey careened" when she struck. /, was the
duty, therefore, Of the pilot TO give an order to
slow before he did, or, if he gave 1t In time, the
engineer did not promptly obey IL. How, there
fore, the jury can sbsolve both the pilot and en-
gineer from all blame, and return verdict Of mere
accidental DEATH transcends our powers Of
comprehension.
But, supposlng the men VINO worked the boat are
in no degree cupable, then We say, il inevitably
follows that the company are entirely responsible
for, if the Bedford was approaching the slip with
only the degree Of rapidly that she ought then the
per was not sufficiently strong to resist the very
moderate way upon the boat, and the boat herself
was not Of sufficient strength to Withstand the
trIfing ihock, for "the s,arboard side, the rail.
ing, and part Of the covered part leading to the
cabin, were carried away by the conclusion"
The company, then, are placed m this dilemma