Delaware state journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1870-1883, 1874-01-03
TRUSTING LIVES TO LUCK.
A Severe Criticism on the Nismanagenent
which Led to tho Vile iu HavEen Disaster.

kANVul tlAH aNNM ANih AAAal1sA
The fuller details which have come TO
hand Of the sinking Of the VRle du Hayrs
though palnful In the extreme, arc net
thOut certain consolation. All ac-
counts agree in describing the courage
aud resignation of the pass myers as on
dersnl. The women knelt and prayed
upOn the deck or clung together In last
embrace. calmly awaiting tue awful
change. The clergymen on board, Catholic
aud Protestant, went from group to group,
administering the comforts Of religion.
/ Numerous touching incidents are related
10 show the serenity with which most Of
the passengers faced their doom. Judge
/ Peck nam admOnished those about him,
"silce they must die, to die braytly."
/ a daughter cOmforted her mother by tell
/ ing her that "it was but moments
struggle and they would be safe in
/ heaven Even IN that period of supreme
agony there were instances of considera-
tion and generous helpfuluess which do
| honor to human nature. One passenger
| relates that hav,, flung himself into
| the water at The drst alarm, he swan
back IT, the shaking ship, and called ont
| for a life preseiver. One was imme-
/ dlately thrown to him. Another, while
clinging to a plank, observed a swimmer
pass him with two life-preservers. He
asked ior one of them, aud his request
was at once complied with.
Touches like this relieve little the
darkuess of the catastrophe, though thtI
cannot much diminish its painiuluess.
This is rather increased as it becomes
| daily more evident that all these lives
were sacrificed to the neglect of prop,r
precaution, which was not the singular
sin of VIE dN BaUre or its Ovners, but
the common faalt, apparently, OF all
ocean steamships to-day. Captain Sur
mont states in his report that he eailed
from New York with complement of
one hundred aud thhty-hve passen gers
and lis officers and crew, 3l3 in all. He
was provided with eight bOsts, six of
which "were capable of carrying about
2lO persons, and the other two 40" That
is to say, 313 persons were seat to sea in
the Yiiis da HaVre with provision iu the
way OF boats Tor the safety of but $50
OF them, in case Of shipwfeck. Ugd-r
the most favorable circumstances, even
slpposing that all She boats had been
properly avaiied Of, kixty-three persons
would still have had TO look for other
means Of rescue That these sixiy.tllee
uufOrlunaies would have come from the
passeugets and not from the crew Is
hardly doubtful, in the light Of expert
ence aud Of actual events. Besides
all cur experience of shipwreck goes o
show lhat NE iull huiauer uI noals can
scarcely ever be counted on. Either there
is no time to launch tnen all, or III launeh-
ng them, one or TWO, rom Tie natural
haste ana agitation Of the moment, are
swamped or crushed. In the case ol the
Vile iH Rdure, both causes operated, 50
hat OF h4r eight boats Dat two aeiua ly
got away. Aud these, says MI kudoll b
Wiuhaus, who, from his published letter,
we Should take 10 be most Intelligent
and trustworthy witness, were "at once
filed entirely with sailors aud fremen.
This, IL viii be seeni goes to eorrob1rate
ihe more dou1iiul testimony OF Tue crew
Of the Loetgrn, aud tallies with the
sia'emtnts OF Mr.. Bishop, auolher pa B.
senger.
We see, then, that slxty'three persons
snil,d In the Nille du llayre for whom
the company express omitted to furnish
aug safeguard IN the way OF boats, and
at least twice, CT, idglng by tue event
thrice thaE number, for whom, on a 7
reasonable comFuistioni the boats wOul.
PROBABLY be insuh 1ert. " hat resource
hsd they TO dtpcud on} Cork life p'e
servers, so called, stored, as usual, il
places where they we're almost sute 10 he
inaccessible when nee I'D. Mr.. Wltthaui
SAW mau-who proved to be NJ. Barbt
zon, OF the Be'giau LegatiOn-"hammer
iLg at the tatiail with a caps,an bar
and on looking closer saw that be- Ws'
o trying u get llle-pieservcr loose" Mi
belkhap "Lad broken all the blades oI