Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-06-10
UNDESIRABLE PASsENGERS
why Shippers Dislike to Garry Minis
tiers and Missionaries

From the Church Gazette
l nave observed that merchant skpperS.
almost without exception have q great dis
like 10 having parsons aboard. Navy men.
owing 10 their respect FOR the queens regu-
iations, do not care To talk on the subject
The commanders ot big liners are also
rather shy about discussing the subject 1
once wished one a pleasant voyage
PHEASANT voyage, he retortei. SaVagslv.
lnat : likely. amt il. when there's hire.
parsons shipped. and one Of them a bishDp.'
Here MS feelings became too much for
him and he called To The steward To- renl
me glasses was not surprised % hear
that a cylinder cover blew of in the bsy
sitting in my club one night a skipper came
in. / shook him by the hand and hoped H.,
MAD had a good voyage.
" oyage' he replied. in heartrending
tones. Don't call II that I've never had
Such dog time il my life. Got two par
sons aboard at Sydney and another al X ing
Georges sound. and. blame me II Two mis-
sionaries did not join at Colombo, sooner
than sail with five parsons again III break
an arm or a leg and get put ashore"
but 10 see the prejudice in all its glory
one must talk to the masters Of ocean
trainpS. j have known Of one case in which
skipper felgned serious Illness sooner than
take command when he found thar five
missionaries were booked "a passengers.
and two OF them ladies' As il happeusd
the snip mad particularly bad voyage and
the unlucky missionaries had more than.
a case was quoted to me as showing great
presence OF mind and seamanship on the,
part of the skipper. The ship had a couple
OF parsons aboard. and as the crew pxprcr-
ed, the voyage was disastrous The mis-
fortunes eliminated in the decks being
swept and three men washed overheard
one was a parson. who ought to have been
below After this the weather suddenly
| abated and the ship came safe 10 land /
remarked that the parson ought To have
been under the matches.
An. replied the old seadog who told me
Cap n 5 Is good man. He talked IL over
with the mates, and there seemed nothing
else to be done So they got him llu on pur-
pose. Better one man than a whole COM
pany. and the parson ought to have been
prepared. while II warn't IN r,a son thar rh,.
whole crew should be
have noticed thai it was among the Off
GERS Of boats trading to the Mest African
coast that the prejudice against parsonic
passengers is strongest. | was on a shin
down this coast and one night when chat
ing win the skipper, he said that his yes
sci had never had a serious mishap This
is how he accounted for it
i ne snip Is beauty" he said. land as
soon as she was launched | foresaw the ne
cessity OF her getting a bad name among
parsons and such like. AS luck would have
II. on her irst voyage a missionary shipped
All the other passengers left at the cana
res; OF course. we had bad weather and
he had bad voyage. l mentioned IL 10
the chief officer and he tipped wink TO the
steward. who, / fancy. said a word To the
cook. When We put him ashore he was As
thin as a herring and he made a lot IF com
plants and threatened to write to the own
ers. All L said was that | hoped he would
do his duty to the poor heather as well as
had done mine to the owners. Bur he
walked ashore and he wrote to his society
and my ships been avoided like the pIagTe
by parsons ever since. and that's how IN is
l have been SO lucky"
On the return voyage. however. as il hap
pened. at one port he had TO take on board
a lady missionary whose health had broken
down. The weather was very nasty indeed
sun, the vessel arrived in the Thames
without any serious disaster. Oddly enough
he was compelled to take out a couple of
parsons the very next voyage, and the ship
got ashore and became a total wreck no
lives, however, being lost.
Shippers have tod me that danger aDart
parsons are not desirable passengers They
interfere much, One told rue that the
WIFE Of one clerical gentleman insisted on
holding little religious conversations with
tue stewards and the crew and giving them
tracts TIL they nearly had a mutiny Al
length he found her trying 10 improve the
moral condition of the steersTnan when ne
threatened that If he caught her abaft the
tunnel again he would put her in irons
after which she subsidized. / have often had
ludIcrous stories of parsonic interference
told me. One man graVely demonstrated
with the skipper for working on SUNDAYS
and wanted him to send all the men aft for
a service. The skipper told him he was
quite welcome to hold the service and that
the sailors who Were not in their hunks or
otherwise engaged might go.
Did they?" | asked.
I'D like to have seen them" he rapliad
grimly. II kept them too laundering busy
The parson waited an hour and a half and
as no one went, he gave it up and never
tried again"