The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1858-09-27


Navigation and the Lessons they Teach.
The fearful mystery which surrounds the fate
of the passengers Of the steamship Austria re-
calls the terrible disasters that have occurred In
the history of ocean steam navigation, from the
first voyage of the Sirius, In 1885,
From the list which we publish in another
part Of this mornings HERALD, ii will be seen
that of the large number of steamers which have
run, as well as the still larger number that are
now running, between Europe and America,
eleven altogether have been lost at sea during
period Of twenty years. Instead of steamer
once a fortnight between the two continents, we
have them running almost daily, and between
dozen different ports. In addition to the several
Liverpool and New York lines, there are the
Havre and Southampton, the Glasgow, the
Hamburg, the Bremen. the Galway, the Quebec
or Portland steamers, making altogether feet
Of about City steamers. .Sr
When, however, we consider that Of the large
number Of steamers which have piled between
the two continents since the Sirius made her first
voyage across the Atlantic, and when we also
consider that that same Atlantic is the stormiest
ocean in the world, and particularly that that
part of it which is daily traversed by steamers is
the most tcmpestuOus, we only wonder that the
accidents are not more frequent and the destruc
ton of life is not still more terrible. Then there
arc the gales which, during part of the year.
rage with fearful violence over the whole North
Atlantic. and for weeks at time; the huge ice
bergs with which the ocean is sometimes covered
for miles, and which are as fatal to the ship that
strikes upon them as the rocks on an Ton-bound
coast: and lastly there are the fogs, which make
collisions not only possible, but terribly disas-
irous-these are the perils which all who ven
ture across the ocean have to encounter. When
we further consider that the risks of travel on
this class of vessels is increased by those disas
trous accidents to which they are more particu-
larly liabe-to the dan ger Of fire, to boiler ex-
plosions and damage to machinery-we should
rather congratulate ourselves that the accidents
are so few and that the per centage Of mortality
to the number Of passengers is SO comparatively
limited. This per centage, however, might be
greatly diminished by the adoption OF all
those prec autionary measures which should
never be neglected where there is the least
liability to casualty or the slightest dan
ger to human life Too many of the
disasters at sea may be attributed to
a reckless indifference to all those important de-
tails which are so absolutely necessary to the
safe conduct of passenger steamers as well as
other ships. In fact, there is no reason why 4
passenger steamer should not be governed by
rules similar to those Of man-ofwar, on which
the discipline is so strict and the vigilance so
active that accidents are almost impossible. AT
the first tones of the fire-bell on one of our ma
tional ships-let 1t even be in the darkness of
night-every man is by his post, ready with
all his disciplined energy and the ample facilities
at his command 10 meet and turn aside the
threatened danger
Now, why can we not have the same disci-
pline, the same vigilance, the same facilities on
board Of our passenger steamers. Is the neces-
sity for them not as urgent. or is human life on
a man-ofwar more precious than human
life on an ocean steamship II the fearful ex-
periencc which the case of the Austria and the
other wrecked and missing vessels teaches is
worth anything we should lose no time in pro-
fling thereby. If there is no such law already,
one should be passed and rigidly enforced nre
viding that each shr s.vuiu carry sufficient
number of life boats for her passengers and
crew, and also that system Of discipline, as
similar as the difference in the character of the
merchant and naval service will admit shall be
established on all our ocean steamers.