The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1854-10-19
The Law. of Conduct
Grew Of the Arctic.

The conduct Of tue crew Of y oct,
Arctic, not only in desegting the ,oso,,.e,~o
all means of SAFETY had been exb ,nstaa Co. ,hn
passengers, but IN cutting of no s.c.,;,;a. os
accommodation which it is nov os,ou,o;noa ~.
boats offered for a much larg !. n,,oh.r nc ,,or-
sons than were rescued fr ~ ho ,,root h.,
hitherto been censured ,roro,, ~ a.h;n,,
sioup1s Ailnougn 'ne general indignation
anu eoi''eiup' WHICH, me II cowardice has ex-
cited may be regarded nv some az a SUFFICIENT
punishment 'oi "'cii el6shDess, it becomes a
question whether the oenera, ;nterasts Al No,
cal ioi so'ne "oie effective mark of public
'ePfopa'on' ne 10 inds, however, which could
arrow themselves be betrayed into such
gross aoanoonmes It Of their duty, despite Of
we nooie eSamp lie of their captain, and the
uc'a'es Oh hauSS al honor, cannot be reached
oy any ehort Of public opinion If, there
lore, we are 10 trust, with any degree Of conf
oence, our PEI soas and our property to the
guardianship Of our mercantile marine, We
must seek Tor some other means Of making an
example Of those who have, by their pol
troonefy' 90 casioned the loss Of SO many valna-
bic lives, OF reflected disgrace upon the flag
under Whic they sailed A misplaced sympa
thy Tor Z 'e perils and harlships which the
survivors Of these recreants have undergone
shouid nc i be allowed to interfere with the OBJ
'ious du ty which the public owe to themselves
SdMs popul suPrema ter. The general
| saiety must be consulted before we exhibit too
| tencer regard for the feelings and suferngs
OF ind ividuals
| It is argued by some that in a disaster like
j vi Arotin IN xxYhi
hope of saving the vessel was abandoned the
Law CT selfpreservation released the crew from
the IL professional obligations, and left them at
| Ito erty to avail themselves of such means Of
es cape as presented themselves, even to the
ea clnsion OF the passengers This is great
II misconceptions; and it is time that some more
/ e Elective argument than that Of verbal reasoning
hould be employed to dispel it. The means
\ are fortunate ly within our reach, il we choose
4 to resort to them The laws Of the United
"A States as, indeed, those of most other countries
are precise and clear az to the duty Of the sailor
to provide, under all circumstances even at
the peril Of his own life. for the safety Of pas
G sensers. The sailor of the mercantile marine
Q is justly regarded in the light of a common
carrier, and assumes, with the receipt OF the
i
l responsibility which the same fact would i'm
pose on the latter. III by his carelessness, neglect
| Of duty, or cowardice, under danger, he saori-
fees the property the life Of his passenger, he
is punishable by the laws of this country, either
| by an action for damages CT Imprisonment
| We will select case in point, which will place
the matter in the clearest possible light.
In the case Of the United States against
| Holmes. tried in the Third Circuit Court dig
| trict of Philadelphia, the prisoner was indicted
| for the murder Of several passengers Of the
| American ship William Brown. 1t appeared in
{ evidence that this vessel left Liverpool on the
J, | 18th of March, lsil, with crew of seventeen
. men and sixty live passengers consisting mostly
. Of Scotch aud Irish emigrants. -Abont ten
< | O'Clock on the night Of the 10Th OF April, when
! distant about two hundred and fifty miles S. III
| of Cape Race the vessel struck against an ice.
! berg and began TO nil rapidly that it became
, ! apparent she must soon go down. The captain,
| second mate, seven Of the crew, and thirty two
| passengers, got Unfortunately into tue long
/. | boat. leaving the remainder OF the passengers.
y | thiriy-cne in all on board the sinking ship. In
o MI hour and q half from the tiia9 when the ship
: struck she went down. carrying with her every
| person who had not escaped to one or other OF
| the small boats. About ten o'clock on the next
{ Tuesday night, after encounteriug some Sc
: | we're weather. the crew IN The long boat
/ amongst whom The prisoner took an active part
,mmenced throwing over some Of The passeV
; ! gers, in order TO tighten the Loaf. and in this
| way fourteen lives we're sacrificed. With this
, | brief statement Of The case against the prisoner
we will now proceed to give some extracts from
! Judge Baldwin, charge to the Jury. in which
| the law regulating the duties OF sailors towards
passengers j. very clearly and intciligibly laid
down We quote from Wallaces reports
The Judge. in applying the law, said must look
not only 4, the Jeopardy in which tho parties were
placed bot also 10 the relations in which they stood
liar application Of this principle present, isse /,
| Il Obligations which uloa the owners OF stages
steamhoats, and other vehicles Of transportation ia
consideration of the payment of fare, the ogers OF the
vehicle ace bound to transport the rassenye-s to b
place Of Contemplated dest nation Having, 10 all ope
xelcies, the condact % the Journey AMI Tie control Of
the passengers the rest nnder every obus ,on
Tor care, shn and general s,liy and " from defeo
passenger the person. ssppye5 ere aas The q p su|
senser owes TO duty hut subnirsi,n he onas no %
legation prosct aa secp tie csit c.sr in safety n1r
the passenger bound TO labor except ca..r eruer
tasser suse S a s ~ y ts
tion which exists on ebp board Te passenger at.nds
in rosition different frum that Of the os,rs AMI Sc.
'osn = tbe SAILOR Who must ,ncoants is hardship
! and periis of the voyage Nor ,bis relation b.
fhanpsc when the shJ IL lost D. tempest other dan
| OF the sea- ami AL en- board have bctaksn them
selves, jcr easty The susi boats FOR inmnence Of
larger esnnot ahso.ve 4 on duty. TIA sailor IA bouni
tefor, to undergo whstevm hasard IA necessary t.
avseFvc the boat and toe PASSENGERS. shoula The |
1 emergency become cxtiene to call for th,
| sacrifice Of life, thsre bs reason Why tue !
| Law does Dot still remain the tho pssseogsr
nc, berg FOUND either TO labor 10 incur The risk
a life cannot no bound - sacrifice his existence 10
rrcssrys the sailors. Tie c,ptain, indeed and sns
Gent number OF Seameu 90 navigate the boat must ie
preserved 'or except these abide in the ship, all viii
Is,ish, but there be more than necssssry
70 Garseo the bsat The supernsmsfary sailors hare
right Tor Their sssety TO sacrifice the passengers The
saloFs ard passepgers ID fse cannot be regarded