New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1854-10-12
THE GREAT DISASTER.

Tho terrible tidiDgs Of the loss of the Arctic,
which have so thrilled all hearts in this City and
vicinity, must not be allowed to fall and die with
out producing salutary aud permanent effect
Not less than six hundred human lives, including
those on both vessels, have been sacrificed to
what must now seemto every thoughtful observer
a culpable, fool-hardy recklessness of life. Let
us consider:
A great steamship is blowing her way swiftly
from Europe to America, fregbted with four
hundred precious lives. to say nothing Of large
amount of property. Suddenly she is enveloped
in dense fog impenetrable beyond few rods
from her bow and sides, even at midday She is
Of course in the general track of vessels plying
between western Europe and North America, aud
is liable at any moment to come in collision with
one Of them. Moving at the rate of twelve or
thirteen mites per hour, she may run down almost
any vessel moving in her own direction; but if
she come in collision with one heading the other
way, the loss Of one il not both ships, with nearly
all on board, is all but inevitable.
But this We judge not to be the most frequent
CANCER. Until this awful calamity of the Arctic,
but two or three comparatively Insignificant ves-
sells have been run down in this manner, while
there is scarcely one of the great steamships but
has narrowly escaped destruction by other means
during the dense foes which prevail on tue Banks
of Newfoundland and about that region. Only
last spring, the steamer Asia barely sheered out
Of the way Of an enormous iceberg thus avoiding
by the breadth Of few feet the headlong ruin
n,nu M b;oh in nm ipstsut v,,ora sha svonl1 bava
been dashed. We all recollect, too, the thrilling
account by Mr.. Thurlow Weed, published year
or more ago, Of the narrow escape of the Pacific,
whose paddles almost grazed the rocks of Cape
Race as she eluded the disaster they menaced
Nor do we need to be reminded of the wrecks Of
the many gallant ships which bear witness to the
dangers Of the rugged and misty coasts of New.
fouDdsnd and Nova Scotia. The Canard steamer
Columbia, the Humboldt, the City Of Philadel.
phia, have all persisted there; while several 9th
ers have been run ashore, to be extricated with
more or less loss and difficulty.
Such are the pers of those waters, and among
them the ships of our principal lines Of steamers
are constantly driven, with an insane disregard Of
everything but the making of rapid passages. 1t
10 nothing but this keen and foolish competition
which has thus in moment plunged the Arctic,
Win her priceless, living freight, into the depths
Of as Atlantic. To save day or an hour in the
,ene'n OF the voyage, these fghtful risks are run
oy both the great rival lines; and when We recall
the numerous hsir-bresdth escapes that have
marked their prolonged struggle for ,uperior;sv.
the wonder 10 that some such dissstsr Ia. M. a..
CURED before TO shock the public sense and com.
pei reform. That reform can only con.;.. :,
adopting greatly diminished rate Of speed when
there is possibility Of danger either from ice.
berss running upon rocks or colhsion with other
vessels. Capt West Of the Atlantic he's ..id
that twelve days is ~ short . time - any Of the
ships now built can safely make the passase in, in
ordinary weather; andthat. except in uncommon
cases, every hour les than that 10 gained By W.