The Washington times. (Washington [D.C.]) 1901-1902, 1901-08-26
At THE MERCY OF PILOTS.
Montreal Commerce Held Up by a
Close Corporation.
Fifty-Hve River Politicians the Mas
tiers of the Situation-Hcn Who Are
Incompetent Run Fine Ships
Aground - Efforts for Relief.

| MONTREAL. Aug. 25.-'l have followed
all enquiries into accidents from 1895 t.
the present time, and l find that in near
ly every case the pilot was responsible.
This is from a speech delivered by the
Hon. ]. Israel Tarte, Minister of Public
Works, in the House Of Commons, anc
refers directly to the grounding of the
steamship Tiverton, which went ashore il
the st. Lawrence, between Quebec and
Montreal, in the early part of May.
The system of pilotage in force between
this city and Quebec contributes, accord
ing to all authorities, more to the discom-
| future OF the shipping interests of Canada
than any other distributing element in the
| trade. Time and again men afterward
proven incompetent have run fine ships
aground, just as the pilot of the Tiverton
did, and owners and agents have clam
, ored for radical changes in a system
| which permitted these things. But still
the old order IS allowed to remain, owing
to the political issues involved.
The Shipping Interest of Montreal, an
| organization of representatives of all lines
doing business between here and Euro
pean ports, has struggled long and ar
/ IDENTIFY worked against the laws governing
| the present pilotage system. So far. how
ever, it has only succeeded in having a
| few trivial alterations made in the by
laws, and the act under which the pilots
| operate remains as of old.
If one could imagine for moment the
inha bitants of a village or Long Island
Sound. of, say. 500 people. debating to
the shipping trade of the city of New
York as to how its foreign commerce
should be conducted. some idea might be
gained of the position of affairs in Mon
treal today. The pilotage laws of this
port have been conceived at the dictation
and in the interests of Deschambault, a
village on the north bank of the St. Law
renee, between this city and Quebec. On
iy village. 1t is true, but it is there
that most of the pilots live, and their in
huence. strange as it may seem, has been
such that succeeding Parliaments have
for many years ignored the question.
Some idea of the powers of this little
band of French Canadians-for they num-
Der at present only fifty-five pilots-may
be gained from the fact that the shipping
men, the Montreal Board of Trade, the
Montreal Corn Exchange. and the Marine
Underwriters Association have all petit
toned the Ottawa Government to abolish
the system as applied between Quebec
and Montreal, but still it stands, and all
seem unable to cope with 1t.
ed that they would become an incorporate
body and applied for a charter The men
of Montreal making up the various trade
organizations already mentioned opposed
bitterly the granting of the charter by
the Federal Government and as n pro-
test against this opposition the pilots
went on strike. For the space of two
weeks the whole port was tied up the
only ships going out being the passenger
vessels, and they were piIoted up and
down by the staff of the engineers office.
The pilots, however, were eventually
obliged TO give in on the threat of having
their licenses Cancelled, and the owners
and agents Of the steamships gained their
only victory on record.
The system by which the pilots control
the business had its inception in 1889 and
while now and again the rules and by
laws have been tinkered with, the powers
of the pilots organization remain intact
AS already stated, there are fifty-five
pilots only commissioned to do business
between Montreal and Quebec. OF this |
number fully forty live IN this little town
of Desciambault, the remaining fifteen |
being distributed in other small towns |
between Montreal and Quebec The en-
tire list is tangle of brothers. cousins |
brothers-in-law, fathers, and sons There |
are six Perraults, five Bellisles, five Ar |
cands, and SO on through the lot. with |
the exception of the Franco Canadian |
Line there is scarcely a ton of shipping |
afioat in the St. Lawrence, not owned by |
and still under the exist |
ing state of affairs it would be utterly |
impossible for an Englishman or an Eng |
to qualify as a pilot.
This is easily pxDiafuei whom ba rtInt-
age act is gone into carefully. The act
and the present bylaws make it neces-
sary that an apprentice pilot shall serve
five years on the river, the last two years
under indenture to a licensed pilot, ana
even then he must make fifteen trips be-
tween Montreal and Quebec under differ
ent pilots before he can obtain his lie
ense This is the family compact, con-
ceived in the early history of St Law
renee navigation, and jealousy main
tain until now. 1t effectGally prevents |
plots certificate being given to the mas
port, no matter how competent he may
be.
In the service of the different lines are
masters and mates having years of ex-
perience In navigating the ST. Lawrence;
men who have grown grey in the service |
and who could without question pass any |
examination required of the present pilots.
To these men the owners would gladly |
entrust their vessels, because they know
the river thoroughly; and what is more
because they have a thorough |
of the peculiarites of their |
own ships. Shipowners and agents have |
lime and again expressed the wish to pay |
the regular pilotage fee for navigating
he vessel, and then place their own rpen |
IN the bridge, allowing the pilot to stay
1t home.
However, II is not the regular liner that
gets the worst END of the pilotage bar
;ain Doing the best they can under the
present circumstances the different lines
-unning regularly to this port engage
.ach year sufficient number OF pilots for
service on their several vessels. and in
his manner some forty-five OF the total
IRE picked up, leaving the remaining ten
or service on tramps and other vessels
lot making the port regularly. Years of
experience have shown the steamship peo-
Die the fatlings and capabilities OF the
Nnerent pilots. They naturally pick up
he most capable. and to the lot of the
ramp-with its officers and crew some
lines utterly inexperienced In St Law
'ence navigation-falls the remainder
Thus man who for one reason or an
other is not judged to be a first class
blot is forced upon ship which is ut
erly strange to him and he is asked TO
ring her up through 16O miles Of intricate
The incompetence OF some Of the men
who. under the present system. take
,harge OF property worth perhaps mil
ion dollars, is shown in the case of the
riverton. This pilot in sending his rrsic-
lation to the harbor board confessed
having lost his head. and in broad day
light mistakinG red buoy for a black
me. In justice to the man IL might he I
mentioned that q year ago he asked to
De placed on the pension list. But here
gain the monopoly of the pilots worked
o the injury of commerce, for they re- |
used to grant the pension on the ground /
hot he ltFa -