The New York herald., 1874-04-17
Tn. Ocean Dis.sters and Their Lesson.

The Ocean Otsasters ANA TneH A
There is something appalling in the news
which we print this morning OF the sinking OF
the Amerique, Of the French steamship line. on
the coast of France, end the threatened wreck
of the fine steamer Nederland on our Jersey
coast, near Atlantic City. The Amerique was
on her way to France with large passenger
list, and our readers viii be gratifed to learn
that all the passengers we're saved, only one un-
fortunate officer losing his life. The passen-
gers have all been landed safely at Brest The
Nederland belongs to o new line recently
established between Antwerp and Philadel-
phia, in furtherance OF the policy of the
present King of Belgium to establish COM
merce between this country and his own.
Happily the Nederland has no passengers, and
although drifting helplessly on o most danger
GUS coast, without wheel or rudder, there are
hopes the vessel may be saved.
An accident at sea is an event to which it is
hard to become reconciled. The imagination
associates the ocean with eternity. Written on
its face, according to the poet we find the image
of eternity. Every form of death seems to be
involved in that Of death by sea. One is
alone, so utterly alone, in the mighty vastness
Of the waters SO helpless in his very strength
before the storm and the pitiless waves, that
when the tdings of disaster like that
of the Vile du Havre come it is more
terrible than the results of battle We can
afford to consider these recent disasters more
calmly, because happily they were unattended
with loss of life. But the saving of life
under circumstances like those attending the
sinking Of the Europe and Amerique is almost
accidental. Had 1t not been for the arrival of
the Greece the Europe would have gone down
with all or most of her crew. In fact when
vessel springs aleak at seq, or burns, or incurs
destruction in any way, the chances of
safety are so few that deliverance may
practically be called q miracle Our
steamers travel for days and days without
seeing friendly sail Our signal system is SO
imperfect that one steamer might sail within
twenty miles Of q sinking vessel and not
know the danger. At sea twenty miles is
little more than thread Of space We track
across the ocean in q hurrying, helter-skelter
way, anxious to make rapid trips and provide
| lue CuDlA p1SScuScIo Will bOou U0OAC. LII Jul
impetuous, careless fashion all we care about
in our steamers is, that the wine should be
good and that they should sail more than
three hundred miles day. So that for
long time steamers have taken dangerous
courses away up among the icebergs and the
storms in order to make rapid journeys.
Much of our navigation has been the blind
trusting of chance Chance in the long run,
as life goes, with its ups and downs, is good
friend to landsmen and seamen. But we can
not trust too much to it, and our comment
upon the whole management of most of our
Atlantic iEes is that too many risks have been
taken in the navigation of the sea, and too
little care has been taken of the lives Of the
passengers.
We are not disposed to be invidious in our
comments upon these disasters. Nothing
could be in worse taste at this time or more
harmful in its results upon public opinion
than blindly to rush at conclusions, and
assert, for instance, that no steamers are
safe except those commanded by Englishmen.
We have had no disasters more terrible than
some which have happened to vessels COM
manded by Englishmen and built in English
Yards We have had, of course, the remark
able success of the Cunard line whose
steamers have sailed between this Continent
and England for generation without the loss
of passenger ship. We attribute this largely
to the admirable discipline maintained in
service, discipline that might well be imi-
tated by other lines. But our confidence
would not be destroyed in the Cunard line if
the sea- which is no respecter Of flags, would
do its dreadful will upon it tomorrow. We
believe that, generally speaking, all the lines
that sail from this port are well handled.
There is freemasonry among seamen that
gives the profession practically equal standing.
Our German lines are magnificent ships, well
commanded We have had no finer vessels
than the French line, and the history Of sea-
manship shows no nobler instances Of courage
and skill than what French mariners have
shown. In considering these recent disasters
we must throw aside the whole theory that
seamanship is the heritage of one nation. One
lesson to be learned from these disasters is
that steamers should take course far south
of the home Of the icebergs. This is the
practice of the Cunard line, of the Inman and,
perhaps, other lines. But it is recent Gus
tom. The Inman managers took warning
from the dreadful fate Of the City Of Boston.
This vessel is believed to have gone down in o
hurricane by striking an iceberg. So the
directors have selected southerly route.
The Cunard owners did the same thing, and
so wise is this precaution that we feel that no
steamer should be permitted to cross the ocean
with passengers, under either the English or
the American flag, that did not adopt the same
plan.
This, we think, is the first lesson. So i'm
| portant do we regard it that we feel that