an act of common humanity at what would seem a trifling cost ? The reasons operating on the mind of the man who thus " passes by on the other side " are these: public journals accounts given by sailors j l - That the loss of time which the who have been saved from imminent peril I most trifling service of the kind causes, would possibly represent a very consider- able money loss to the owners, by the delay in the arrival in port of the ship SHIPS WHICH "PASS BY ON THE OTHEB SIDE." ]?BOM time to time there appear in the and cargo.

2nd. That the cost of maintenance of the persons saved is insufficiently repaid by the Government.

3rd. That in all but the largest kind of ships the amount of food and water habitually kept on board is rarely suffi- cient to meet the strain of, say, double, or, it may be, quadruple the number of men they were intended for; and if a ship of the smaller class towards the end of her voyage has to take on board the crew of a vessel greater in number than from drowning by passing ships; and these men, in a great number of cases, speak of other ships which have passed within sight of them, but which have forborne to render assistance when so urgently needed.

visions and water, in nine cases out of ten compelled to make far the Dearest port, which may be a cause of incalculable loss, unless it chances to be the one she is bound for.

4th. Every captain knows that all owners are more or less inimical to their ships rendering either salvage service or life-saving service. Not, as we suppose, that any owner deliberately sets to him- self the axiom that no ship of his shall save life; but that they not unnaturally A collection of these cases for a year or so will disclose a somewhat sad phase of human character—namely, that there is a certain class of men who, with the strong suspicion, and even with the cer- tain knowledge, that brother mariners in a distressed condition (how much dis- tressed they can only guess at) are within sight of them, yet fail to render them the her own slle is &°m. shortness of pro- needful help.

Yet the majority of these men are neither brutal nor callous, and, probably, were many of them brought face to face with an isolated case of probable drown- ing, they would not hesitate to expose their own lives to preserve the one en- dangered.

There jnust, therefore, be some strong causes operating on the minds of the men who act in the inhuman manner thus , view with suspicion salvage service, be- indicated; and it is worth while consider- | cauge tjjey can receiTe nothing but loss ing what these causes are, and if they can fr0m it in time and money; and cases be removed.

In the first place, we take it that very few men deliberately abandon a sinking ship with people on board if they certainly know that their doing so will cause them to perish. "What they say to themselves is, " Now there's a fellow in distress, ap- parently, and I suspect that his ensign is half-mast; but he cannot be very badly off, and there are plenty of other ships in his track. He will meet with ships before long to which it will be less incon- venient to ' heave to' and render salvage service than it would be to me. At all events, to me time is too important to stop for a trifle." But why risk it? Why not perform are not infrequent in which, pretence of saving life is made a source of real loss to the owners.

Out of the many cases we could quote, illustrative of the defective working of the present system of defraying expenses in- curred by ships whilst saving life, we note one that appeared before the magistrates at Falmouth last year, in consequence of the refusal of a crew to proceed to sea. The ship to which these men belonged was • from a port in China to one in the Baltic.

The men had been engaged for the voyage from the port in China to a port in Europe, it being uncertain which port in the Baltic the state of the market on arrival would oblige her to discharge at. Some- where in the North Atlantic the ship fell in with a distressed vessel, from which sht »ok seventeen persons. When in the en- ' who would do their duty under any ad- :rance to the English Channel, the captain verse circumstances, and whether they 'ound himself short of profisions and , were to be thanked for so doing or not— rater, and put into Falmouth to land the j would be to such men a pleasant souvenir laved persons and replenish his provisions, of an occasion on which, as it pleased God, lis own crew thereupon claimed their dis- they had been able to save some of their ihaige, as having " arrived at a jx rt m ; Mlow-creaturea from a painful death; but Europe." The case having come before that any number of telescopes would affect .he Bench, it was ruled that the claim of i the conduct of a man not of the ex- toe men was just, and they were dischargee! i ceptionally high and pure-motived type, ujcordingly. More than a fortnight was may reasonably be doubted. We suspect ost in harbour before the captain could ; that the captain of the ship which put in btain a fresh crew, to whom much higher at Palmouth is not likely to have his ?ages had to be paid. The actual and I conduct swayed much by the prospect of mmediate loss to the owners, by the act' Board-of-Trade binoculars; and, unless f humanity of their captain, was stated his conscience is his guide, and the prin- tt 2702. The only reimbursement vras the ': ciple of duty is strong within him, under isual State grant, for feeding BO many men similar circumstances in the future he is » many days, amounting altogether to 16?. i likely to act in a different manner. More aid a few shillings! But the delay of the ! must be done. We have lately enacted trrival of the vessel's cargo in the Baltic ' certain laws inflicting penalties on the x rt was a much more serious matter, and | Blaster of a ship who, after collision with mtailed a heavy loss; while from her • another vessel, does not remain by her, uiving put into a port not named, she had,' and do his utmost to ascertain the extent t was said, vitiated her insurance policy, j of her immediate danger, and relieve her It is more than probable that the owners distress. It is, we conceive, to be desired rill not regard that captain's name with [ that authority of Government should also nuch favour for the future; and, assuming [ be brought to bear more directly on the he captain to be a piece of ordinary cases of ships passing others at sea which ramanity, the temptation to give any there is reason to suspect of being dis- listressed vessel he may fall in with tressed, without communicating with them igain a wide berth is likely to be very ' by signal or otherwise, trong indeed. Of course we all know what j But another step should be to recoup us duty would be, and a vast number of the owner of the relieving vessel to the ;ood people will be shocked at the idea of ' full extent of the loss incurred in the nch considerations as loss of time and (performance of an act of duty; while aoney being put in the scales against j the taking steps to prevent a ship's in- inman life; but, as a matter of fact, we j surance being vitiated by any such ne- nust deal with human nature as it is, j cessity as proceeding to a port to land fid, knowing very well how very lightly the distressed crew, when it is proved he humanity side of the scale often shows / that she was compelled to do so from a the calculations of other classes of ' scarcity of provisions or water, would also ibeiety, and in other channels of "wealth,; be the removal of a serious grievance.

IB must not expect to find in Bailors ; There may be other means of bringing i universal perfection of character that ; about a greater needfulness oa the part of srtainly does not exist among landsmen, j passing ships; but in whatever way the •••It must be admitted that, in an indirect; end is accomplished, it is certain that we ijanner, encouragement is given to the j should considerably reduce the annual list musters of merchantmen by the State j of ships whose only record is, " Not since a- afford assistance to distressed vessels } heard of," could we insure a more faithful i Ien in with on the high seas. Oar discharge of what would seem a sacred saders will doubtless have observed, from duty incumbent on every seaman.

ijne to time, notices in the newspapers of ' Human life is becoming every year, in iteh-an-one having received a telescope this country and in many others, more c binocular glass, from our own or ' and more sacred. It is a bright omen for bredgn Governments, in recognition of f the future of any nation when this may i r»ices of that kind. Such recognition [ be said of it. There are few truer tests •nmdonbtedly valued by the sort of men i of civilization than the extent to which 196 THE LIFE-BOAT.

[NOYEMBZB 2, 1874 the people nationally recognise the sa- j credness of that vital spark •which, the Creator planted in the creature when He formed Mm in the image of Himself, i England, as we have said, is not behind j the foremost of the nations in her march j of progress in this direction; but in that j frantic and ever-increasing rush for wealth which characterises the times we live in there is a perpetual danger of some root of evil of the kind we have indicated | springing into active operation; and con- stant watchfulness is therefore needed oil the part of the legislature, and of tha people, to protect those who would other- wise be trampled over and forgotten in the strife.

The successful run from New York or New Orleans, so many hours earlier than any ship has done it before—the first j clipper from China with her season's teas —the fastest mail-steamer passage—make, not only a certain stir in a pretty wide circle, but represent a considerable in- crease of actual wealth. The despairing cry of those few poor seamen who, in their sinking craft, or who, perishing frorA hunger or thirst, see fading away on the distant horizon the white royals of some lofty ship which they had watched with such agonising alternation of hope and despair, is heard fry God alone..