The New York herald., 1873-07-10

frigld brevity and blunt speech of the soldier;
and it is only as bold, reckless leader, who
makes war to win. that Santa Cruz deserves
the name Of ''the celebrated Cure"
The Wreck OF the City OF Walking
ton-Recklessaess On tho OcssA-Its
Cost.
The HERALD special despatch from Liver
pool Nova Scotia, detailing the particulars Of
the wreck of the City of Washington on the
Gull Rock shoal will be read with profound
and painful interest ON both sides of the At
lantc Ocean. That it is not the recital OF q
tragedy with the plenteous horror of
agonizing death cries, fearful struggles
for life. ghastly floating corpses and
famishing survivors, is alone due to the
providence Of God All that the officers Of
the doomed ship could do to mako it calam-
ity, sister in sad fatality to the piteous
wreck of the White Star steamer Atlantic, ap-
pears to have been DONE When the last
named vessel struck upon Mar 8 Rock she was
running at high rate Of speed. Her captain
had lain down to sleep, although she was ap-
preaching rock-bound coast no soundings
were taken, no sound of breakers was heard
until the ship was on the rocks and the pas
sengers were hurried from their berths to
meet death from the 10y, inrushing waters; to
fall frozen from the shrouds into the roaring
waves or perish in their attempts to gain a
footing on the slippery rock. Those who had
brothers or sisters, husband. wife, parents or
friends on board the Inman steamer may thank
only the Almighty and the two sturdy, fearless
men that came from the Nova Scotian shore,
trembling voyagers that land was not far off
and life not lost, as it then all but appeared.
Our correspondent, passenger on the City Of
Washington, describes vividly what followed
the fearful shock that announced to
those on board how close they were to the
outspread arms of death. The heartwearing
suspense the dismal shrek Of the fog horns,
the signal guns, the succeeding silence; the
voice heard afar off, discredited at first as q
seabird's cry; the recurrence of the shout
from the mist-"Ship ahoy !"-the ringing
cheer of fear dispelled; the patience of
the passengers, their safe landing and the
large-hearted hospitality they encountered
are thrilling things in themselves. All
these will cause earnest rejoicing
because they have terminated so fortunately.
But the criminal negligence the purblind in
competence and rashness which led up to the
wreck are things which will thrill the public
in different manner. For the seven days
preceding the catastrophe thick fog en-
veloped the ship. But one imperfect obser-
vation of the sun was had during the time
yet the ship was kept running twelve and
thirteen knots an hour ''for days together"
Our correspondents likening of the manage
ment of the ship to horseman galloping
madly by night down turnpike road is apt,
but scarcely strong enough, to convey
an impression of the criminal recklesmess
that hurled ship with five hundred
and fifty souls on board upon the rock and
reef-guarded coast Of Nova Scotia. We de-
layed any opinion on this strange shipwreck
until reliable statement Of the facts would be
before us. Now that it has come we do not
think that any supposititious case of ignor-
ance, rashness and negligence combined
could approach the facts as they stand. We
do not ask the officers to apologize as best
they may for what has occurred we certainly
shall listen to no statements of what has
been avoided Plunging blindly across
the ocean, and certain of finding land
only by striking it. as they did, they turned
heedlessly from the warnings of sense
and experience and kept their way. Now,
we ask, Is there no limit to the danger which
passengers must run who cross the ocean be-
tween the two Continents ? Is it imperative
on the captains of the nman line to make
every voyage Balaklava rush for port?
Theirs may not be ''to reason why 80 theirs
only to blunder through short passages at
all risks but five hundred and fifty
souls on board should, we submit
suggest some responsibility, some inducement
to caution on the part of the men in COM
mand. A days delay may be a loss in the
Summer time to grasping companies who
make money out of the emigrant. There
fore they must run, fog or no fog, danger
or no danger, reef at hand or open seq.
We cannot accept this logic, founded though
it may be on the most approved system of
profitable gambling on the highest risks. The
captain of the Inman ship was laid up with
the gout the captain of the Atlantic was
asleep. In each case the course and speed
we're, we presume, what the captain desired.
This is terrible, when we think of the awful
death roll that was counted after Captain Will
liams was aroused and of the fate which the
Washington literally grazed.
A short time since Sir William Anderson,
commenting on the dangers of the present
general transatlantic steamer route, heartily
endorsed the change of route made by the
Cunard line. We cannot think of anything
which should bring the subject more promi-
nently before the steamer interest and the