New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1855-02-24

bare life, and then come here peanJlsss 10 pocket
and helpless in body, TO crave assistance from
that Institution. The interest of the ship owner
does not lie in the direction Of properly cooked
food. and consequently instead of duly qusl-
fed cooks some poor boor, who perhaps never
was on cupboard before. 10 hired, for free pas
.sre. 10 setye in tie capacity Of passenger
cook. Ard such cooks the food, when i, comes
fran their hands il often too filthy and
5i.ou.tiop Lot 10 revolt the most untu-
tored .touach. If the food is prepared prop
erS and clearly by the ships cook, not
one in a hundred would object to such an
.rrargeuent. Look a. the Liverpool aud Phila-
delolia line of steamships, and the stea nship
GIs,eow. from this port. Upon all Of these yes
sells steersge passengers were taken frat at S35
the tip, and found in wholesome provisions,
cooked as per bill of fare daily, aud served out
in q clean and wholesome condition. The pas
seDpers by those vessels comprise people Of all
ps.ops-no better of in the world than those
who come here In the packes-ship s-iad the CON-
psnies had such an immense demand for passage
that the fare was raised to $50, aud then to
So and finally, We believe, to $40. Yet
they never sailed from port without a full
complement Of storage passengers. or all Of
these none were found to object to the arrange
mepts for the preparation OF their food; and with
ouch system Of nestness and order on the packet
ships, as soon would the poor emigrant ask for
the privilege of cooking bis own food, as the
cabin passengers Of the Collins steamers beg for
the same purpose to be allowed the use Of the
cooks caboose.
Az TO refundipg the passage Il oneyof those who
die before reaching their destination, the ship
owners claim that such regulation would be
unjust tnd oppressive, inasnuch as the vessel
might be wrecked or the passengers die from
multiplicity of other accidents incident to marine
life.
In reply we assert that such a provision
would tend 10 insure greater carefulnesson thepirt
the merchant in the rejection of officers for of
his ships; and more regard would be had Or
the health and life of his passengers by those
whose duty it is to care for their COM
fort and safety. The Insurance Companies, to
map 20 for this provision of the bill. With 1t
there would be far less danger Of a recur-
renee Of such tragedies as that at Deal where
nothing but the grossest instention to duty lost
the ship AID nearly 800 lives with it; We should
lot be likely to witness again such scenes as
those which transpired in the last four months of
1853, when 81 vessels, on voyage averaging
80 days in duration, had out Of 1857 passen
gers, no less than 81 desths. Cponthis point,
in a rfpor. presented to both Houses OF the Brit
ish Parliament, in l5i9, by Lords Carlisle and
A,Lby, and Edwin Chadwick, and L. Southworsh
Smith, after an elaborate discussion of this sub
iect, the following language is held
Nevertheless, lie experience of the Mercantile
Navy itself affords an example Of the successful
working Of large preventive principle OF Jurlspru'
derce; that ia to say he friaclpe OF concentrating
rt,pons,6ilty on those uh0 hare direct interest ~
14frfnton and rho possss the best mans Of securing
IT, We would suggest attention 10 those examples q,
sui iects for international consideration.
The Report then goes on TO say;
" II il stated that when the y ste OF rran-I,
v as first adopted in Of the earlier voyages fall
one.half Of those who embarked were lost; later on
tie passage 10 New South Wales, az in the Hllsbor.
oueh ont Of three hundred and II who embarked, |
one hundred were lot; a1d, in another ship the |
Atlas out Of hundred and seventy i've erab aked,
sixty one were lost Yet there were no omissions PAL
able to common observation or which could be DIS
lar civ proved AZ matter of criminstion 70 which re-
sponsibily might be attached. Tee shippers were, |
no dOubt, honorable men, cbargeable with no con-
soious de, gns sg Inst the lives OF the human beings
10 their care and with no u1usuRl on.- |
sops but their thoughts were directed by tnelr |
interests exclusively 10 profits; they got a. much
freight ss they could, and they cav no reson why !
conyicts enigrshts should not pu' up WITH tempo
rary ircOnveDieI ces to make room for cargo.
"Bys simple chsnge lbased on the principle OF |
self interest the most uniform, general and when |
properly directed really benedcent of all principles
of action by the short alteration OF the terms OF tue
contract, so as TO apply the motive where alone
there was the edectual means OF prevention, by !
engaging to pay for those tdnded alive, instead
of paying for all those embarked, these extreme
mortal epiden.ics was, ii slor time, prevented, and
Clesn bills Of health might have been given to al the
slips which before would have been entitled TO none.
From the report Of the Selec. Committee on trans
portaton, in the Jsar 1872 1t appears thar 10 one
period namely, from 1925 to 1901, out OF $3.50 con
yicis embarked 3s5 died. being nearly one IN ten.
But since ls0l, after the principle OF responsibility
began 10 be applied out of 1898 embarked only ,.
have died being one in forty six. The Improvement
has continued up the present time when it amounts
only TO one and half per cent, or even lower luan
the average mortality Of such class living on shore
Inc shippers themselves, without any legislative pro-
yisjons or any official supervision or regulations
thereto appointed medical officers surgeons, and
put the whole of the cOnv.cs under their charge the
shippers attested their own sense OF the proPnety
sound policy and efficiency OF the principle bg vol
UNFAIRLY adopting il and applying II TO each snip slr-
geon 10 charge whose remuneration wa' mase de,
pendent upon the number OF passengers landed
alive
In view of such disasters as the officers OF the
ship could not control, clause mis- be inserted
in the BILL providing that in cases OF unavoidable
marine loss, and proved TO have been the result
of unavoidable causes, the shipper shall be alb
solved from his obligation to refund such passen'
gers money.