Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1882-06-19
Compulsory PElOiage.

eELAlOA AUA- ~ 49, -
vessel owned q G il -7f n the
costing 'rade OF MS See is relieved
from The penalties attaching 10 &c re
fusal TO take pilot by the masters OF
vessels owned in Pennsylvania or New
York, and engaged in coasting between
this State aud any other State excep;
south Carolina and Florida. So, if a
vessel be owned n South Carolina or
Florida. end Ne engaged in coasting be-
tween this sud those States, no pilot need
ne taken" The Judge holds that. since
Inder Program l., Section ?, Article
Y Of ne Uu'ted States Constitution
ere citizens of each State shall be enti-
ed 10 az privileges ora immunities OF
etzeus IN the severs' States, the State
= Geore'a mas no right to make the
.b9ve noted excen i-ns. and as certain
,lass Of shipowners ere relieved from
oen,';ies for not tex 2 on pilots, all 9th
CT shipowuers mus. lie permitted, under
he United States institution, to enjoy
he like exemption.
The section Of the Code on which
Judge TOmDkins bases his decision, is an
old law. Dassed in the days when sloops
End sch1oners carried on ali the trading
between Charleston aud this city. and
when tie former city was the main dis
/ tribuiine point for the entire Southwest
These small vessels then arrive / by the
dozen a day. many Of them corning in
land. and the exceptions in their favor
we're made to govern their trade alone
L is needless to say that az present this
state of affairs hes entirely changed, and
the law itself is Of no further advantage
% any one, though, while it stands or
our statute books, 1t works great injug-
tee to our pilots, and deprives them
~ Ell inducements to continue to give
heir time and experience to the work If
nHo;i lg vessels in safety in and out Of
pot.
Compulsory pilotage" is a measure
which the Congress of the United States,
though frequently urged by the owners
of coasters to interfere with, has persist
emily refused to touch, because Nc
more effective system for guarantee
ing safety to incoming or OutgO-
ing vessels has yet been able to
be devised Its simply measure FIR
the protection of commerce, by which a
tax is levied upon vessels for the purpose
of keeping ur system rightly regarded
to be as absolutely necessary to the wei
/ fare and So Tety of commerce as ere light
houses ard b1Oys. So great an import
ance attached by the State to an eff
Gent system of pilOtage, that pilots are
t. A certain extent State officers. They
are required to be expef enGed seamen.
and must serve a certain time before they
CA get license; then they are required
| to give heaVy bonds for the faithful dis
charge of their duties, and have to take
an Oain that they shall at all times, wind,
weather and health permitting, use
their best endeavOrs to repair on board
Of every vessel they shall see, and con
4 ceive to be bound for, coming into or
going out of theport and harbOr at which
/ they are stationed, unless they are well as
sured that there is some other licensed
/ pilot on board the same They are, in al
dti0n to this, governed by very stringent
avs. which they must implicitly obey,
aud we doubt very greatly if any subj C
has ever been legislated upon with SO
much care, or that any class OF men are so
completely hedged about with statutory
! obligations in the discharge of their duty.
They haze to risk their lives and
property at ali secsOns so as to
insure succOr and safety to the
lives and properly of others,
frequently being compelled to GO
far out to sea for this purpose, and
there is no man who, in either storm o.
in clear weather. more frequently than
he gladdens the heart of the mariner,
who feels when he takes pilot on board
his ship that he is now protected from
the dangers of the coast, and that he can
iely upon reaching his harbor in safety.
It is clear, therefore, that system OF
pilotage of some sort is absolutely neces
sary to shipping, and that what is known
| as compulsory pilOtage is more for the
benefit of commerce than for the pi ot'
themselves. 1t cannot be expected that
men will At themselves by regular and
long course of training for the response
bic duties required of them as pilots
unless they have some guarantee tha
| their services will be- Tamunerative If
then, compulsory piiOtage as at present
existing is abolished, the State must de
wise some other ways and means fol
keeping up so necessary a service
Every seabOard State in the Union ha:
upoa its statute books stringent laws or
the subject, and bat 3 short time since
in New York an application u use 6
/ steam pilot boat was refused. principally
I on the ground that it would affect the
/ general usefulness aHa efficacy of the
pilotage of the port, thus show
ing the great care with which
the commercial metropolis OF America
I guards the interests of this service. In
a word. compulsory pilOtage may, to the
unrefiecting. seem te &c a hardship, in
that it requires the master of a vessel tC
| secopt 9 service which he may not de-
sire. Yet 1t Is, sfter all, but a system
devised on the principle OF the greatest
good to the greatest number, and having
for its object not only the protection OF
commerce, Dat of life and property as
well.
Perhaps Judge Tompklns' decision
is right, when the State law and
the clause of the United States
Constitution which he quotes are con
sidered together, but the section of the
State law which thus virtually abolisht {
compulsory pilotage should be repealed.
Il cannot fail to work great injury to our
commerce by abrogating Our pilotage
/ iavs, and such a result was never con-
templated by its trainers. An appeal
/ from the decision rendered in this case