Lamoille newsdealer. [volume] (Hyde Park, Vt.) 1860-1877, 1873-12-10
The Vile Du HaVre.

Tn. fearful disaster has stirred ih'
community more deeply than any sim la
czizsiro, he since the les Of the Arctic
The wreck ofihs White Star steamer A,
lauiie eight moths ago on the coast o
Nova Scotia resulted ia = greater sacrifice
Of life; ba; most Of the lost, prcoioni
within the circle Of their oEn families aud
faicnds. Were uaknoEn TO the great gen
cral puddle. The Vile du Ilavrv, on the
o:Aer hand, carried a large proportion Of
/ passengers WAC FILED a conspicuous station
ia society. There were preachers whose
fame en- braced two hemisPheres There
were mch whose names were nighty on
the exchanges aad respected in the courts.
There we're fair ladies' whose charms acre
celebrated in all the parlors ofihc meirop-
oils. Who shall say that this brilliant
company was worth any more or any less
than the poor Immigrants who persisted
on The rocks Of Cape Piospeci ? Bnr the
world, in spite Of religion and philosophy,
doe, practically take pagan view Of such
accidents and values life IN proportion
to the wealth or the dig'ities Of its pos.
eSs1r. The fatal message which carries
mourning into a seere of stately mansions
is remembered long after We have forgot |
ten the terrible catalogue of death that I
fills VITA lamentation FIVE hundred hum 1
bic cottages
The FIRST impulse in all such vistations
is to search for some fault in tho building
of the ship. or enc defect ia the rcgula
tons of the company, or some carcleSsnesS
Of the officers theoretically it is almost
always easy to discover where the rCSpon-
sibii,y lies Safety at sea is more or less
a matter If mathematics. Bat in prac.
iicc nc system Of precautions, no 6lellty
Of thc crew. no seamanship, watchiulress,
self possession will always avail. Though
the dark night aud the thick fog the yes.
'el rushcs en-, and We little think of the
lwful periIs which every instant surround
ler. II is only a chance after all that
he lookout is alert aud the helmsman
steady; that the signals are bright that
he rudder chains hold that ns disaster
happens to the engine that fire Is not
in the hold that another
hip is not rccklcssly hearing down to an !
Inevitable collision. So many many cir
'Cmstances must combine to insure the
alety of tie vessel. so much depends up.
N the lnccssant vigilance and the unerr-
ne judgment OF dozen different men, l
Who have all the facility for laundering,
nd the fatal aptuess for neglecting their
Iuty which the best Of us are conscious
f in our own lives that the wonder is
ot that steamers are sometimes lost but
aiher that 50 many come safely into port.
Host )cople, If they fully realize the dan
,ers OF the great deep. and knew how to
make correct estimate of the chances
t destruction In the best appointed ships L
hat ever doated, would never trust them.
elves to 20 to sra at all
Yet because it is impossible in practice
o make certain that every rule of safety "a "a
hall be obeyed, we are rot to be euient
Il Judging a delinquent. There is 20
onb, some one is in fault on one ofthese
wo ships that crashed together on the -
morning Of The Oh of November, and
cannot be difficult after due inquiry to
pporrion the blame We trust there
lay be no hesitation in the pro- or quar-.
ers in imposing the very heaviest penalty
Dr. the offcnse. 1t is Que of the effects
t the primal curse that men shall triao
'ilh serious responsibilities, and tho world
hall be full Of crimes--ciimcs of care.
'Ssncss as well as crimes Of malice. But
We cannot abolish evil We can check
aud if ships must be lest we can at =
EAST take pains that rocklossness shall not
e encouraged by an over lenient public A,
r an Indifferent Government. III
The full particulars Of the disaster. w,
obtained in cable dispatches, throw but wa
tile light on the question whlrh every s ap
edy is asking--Who l, responsible? The 81,
lGht vas clear, and on board the Vile die dc
llavre the lights were burning. Capt. 81
nrpont, exhausted by a constant vigil of an
We days III the midst of log, had been wa wa
Glow Just two hours when the collision Of
Ok place. On board the Loeb Earn c enc
Iere does dot appear to have been great &C;
gliance; the captain Of that ship was tn,
so below at the time of the disaster. Of
is not now possible to fix the relative vii
'grecS o! responsibility for this calamity lG'
hlch has spread a wave of mourning ov 70
Europe aud America. The official in. o oo
llry which is proposed by the French sat
ovcrnment must be expected to unra,el thu tn,
c details Of the melancholy story I no
Rhine. c '5I