The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1877-10-21
British ships and British sailors.

unseaworthy vessels has prompted Inquiry
In more than one direction Besides the
Parliamentary Investigation into the abuses
OF which Mr. PLfMsoLL complained, the re-
ccut history Of the British mercantile ma-
rine has been scrutinized from every point
VI view. Among the facts brought out by
recent statistics and reports, we may cite
two OF special interest. We find that while
the increase in the number Of native vessels
has more than kept pace with the extraord-
nary expansion Of British commerce, the
number Of native sailors has relatively
fallen of. 1t is shown. moreover. that not
outstanding the dclinquencies with which
shipowners are charged. the proportion OF
maritime disasters has signaliy decreased
during the last twenty years.
Under the normal operation Of the law OF
demand and supply, we should have ex-
pected great accessions to the seafarng
population OF Great Britain. A very few
figures will attest that growth OF British
maritime activity which seems to constitute
the most striking economical fact in the
last quarter OF a century. In lsi1 the United
Kingdom and its colonies could only show a
total tonnage OF about three and quarter
millions. whereas In 1875 the capacity of the
merchant navy had expanded to seven and
three-quarter millions OF tons. These data,
however. do not measure the improved eff
cheney OF the fleet since the decisive gain
was In steam vessels capable Of quicker
voyages II we turn TO the annual aggre-
gate 81 arrivals aud clearances, We find this
represented Ia ls41 by i've ana n quarter
million tons, whereas twenty-five years
later it reached twenty-seven and q quarter
millions. We need not say that this record
Is wholly unparalleled by any OF England
former maritime rivals. 1t II true that the
merchant uavv VI Italy has made consider
able gains during the last decade, and that
the tonnage of Norway has tripled since
1889, but the general purport of late statls-
tics seems to promise to British ships sub
stantal monopoly in the carrying trade OF
the world. We might infer that never 10
fore we're the conditions SO favorable to the
development II a seaiariug population 10
the United Kingdom
The number OF men, however, employed on
board vi English vessels has by 10 means
augmented In like proportions. The quota
OF sailors assigned by an official report 10
merchant ships in 1852 was 10000, aud the
aggregate still fell short OF 5000 in 1875,
although meanwhile the tonnage Of the ileet
had almost doubled. An analysis Of figures
relating to 1854 would give ratio OF four
seaInen per one hundred tons for sailing
vessels, and about seven and half per one
hundred tons for steamships. At present
the proportion Is three men to every hun
dred tons FOR the former category, and about
four for the latter. These reductions, OF
course, do not impair the security OF navi-
,yuf tntt..b Of no trbf
Tell upon the sailor being now performed by
machinery, such az the steam capstan. But
Two circumstances connected with the re-
crutment Uf crews seem to indicate
growing aversion 10 maritime lie. The
one is a marked falling of in the class Of
ships apprentices the number of contracts
signed In 1874 being only about 400. as
against 1900 in ls45 The other is the
growing proportion Of foreign sailors in
British ships. This has increased from fodr
per cent. t. twelve per cent. IN the last quar-
| ter Of Il century.
This state Of things is the more singular
! because seamcn's wages have increased in a
much larger ratio than have those OF work.
men employed In other callings The Eng.
lish sailor now receives sixty per cent. more
than he earned twenty-five years ago while
there is only a gain Of forty per cent IN the
| pay OF day aborers in London. Neverthe-
less, according to the report Of n Parlia-
mentary Commission, the masters of vessels
find it impossible To make up their crews Of
native material. They are obliged to accept
| Swedes, Norwcgians. and Lascars, and are
continually tempted to give n irst-class Ger.
titlcate to incompetent seamen. These facts
are more easily explained than remedied,
and 1t Is not strange that their publication
should call forth some expressions Of dis
may. AS regards the manning of ships with
native sailors, few countries, and certainly
not the United States, can pretend to vie
| with England Not the less do the figures
cited betray q notable decadence Of the mar
thine spirit in the inhabitants OF the British
| Islands.
Another unexpected result Of recent Inves-
tigation ia the proof that the peris Of nay-
cation have steadily diminished. The OIL
cial statistics seem to be quite trustworthy,
the records Of late years covering all casual
tics in all parts Of the world, whereas the
old registers were confined TO disasters oc-
curing IN British waters and did not in
cludr collisions. 1t appears that in the tr-
ennal period 1898 -35 one individual was lost
every year for every 227G tons registered, as
against one To every 1886 tons registered in
lS7O-72 Moreover. owing to the intruduc.
ton Of steam, each ship must be supposed
to have made three times as manyt trips in u
given year at the latter period. To express
the degree of Improvement in clearer terms,
the ratio Of the vessels lost to the whole mum
Der alloat, which in 1895 was almost four
por cent, IS at present less than three. We
should not infer. Of course, the non-eXistence
Of the practices against which Mr. PLTMsoLL
inveighed, but II il evident that public opn-
ion In England vastly magnited their scope
and influence. The most stringent penalties
may well be laid ON the use OF rotten hulks,
but such precautions will not avail to check
] the growing Standardization OF Enslishman To