act of persons for whom he should answer, or
of things which he has in his charge."

The above responsibility holds good unless
the persons answerable for each case of
damage, prove that they were unable to hinder
the act that gave rise to it. Now, almost
every act of bad seamanship could be
hindered by shipowners, if they subjected their
officers to strict examination, and took proper
care to entrust their vessels to fit men, and to
a sufficient number of them. The money
responsibility, in the case of ships, might be
arranged equitably to fall, according to the
nature of the accident, on officer or owner, but
men should be made careful of the lives of
their neighbours or dependents upon peril of
their pockets, or they never will be half
particular enough. When inquiry was made
into the causes of accident in mines, a little
fact was elicited that proves this cleverly. In
certain mines of a moderate depth, though a
life was lost, or a limb shattered whenever a
rope broke, the ropes were found to be pieced
with iron clamps, and patched and pieced
again, to save the cost of new ones. In deeper
mines, where the breakage of the long rope
caused a more serious loss and stoppage of
important works, patched ropes were seldom
found; they were renewed regularly at short
intervals. Or, take another illustration. In
making a railway bank, the man who tips
earth over the embankment runs with the
waggon and gets before the horse to detach
it near the edge. The. rapid twisting
movements necessary, and the unsafe footing, often
cause the man who has this duty to do to fall
across the rail, and to be crushed or maimed
under the truck laden with some three or
four tons of earth. Thirteen years ago an
assistant - engineer on the Great Western
Railway, Mr. Butler Williams, invented a
very simple contrivance, which at the cost of
ten shillings saves the labour of this man
altogether, and enables the driver to detach
the horse himself. Very few railways have
concerned themselves to think about adopting
the contrivance, for the occasional deaths under
the old system are casualties of which the
weight falls only upon the orphans and
widows of the killed. If they were themselves
charged with the cash value of every
life or limb lost on the works, as they would
be in France, they would be glad enough to
keep their eye upon all methods of reducing
such an item of expenditure. Death comes
to be noticed seriously by a man of business
when the old skeleton mounts one of his office
stools, now and then, to put down debtor
entries in the ledger. He becomes a nuisance
who must be himself put down as thoroughly
as possible.

If loss of life at sea were money loss to the
person hiring and exposing it to risk, there
would be some care taken in the selection
not only of officers, but of men. Owners would
be careful always to send out crews not likely
to bring their vessels into danger. Now, the
worst men get the most employment, because
they are cheap. Educated seamen are not
wanted and they are not made. As long ago
as the year 1819 there was an effort made to
get up an institution for the instruction of
sea-boys and apprentices who had been taught
by the experience of one voyage the use of
knowledge. Nobody encouraged it. Owners
as a class don't care for education, because, as
matters now stand, they gain nothing by it.
If they had to pay compensation to the widows
and orphans of the sailors drowned every
year through incompetence and carelessness,
they would not run the risk of shipping even
a single blockhead. An ignorant man placed
to look out for land, requires the keeping of a
sharp look out upon himself, or he will go to
sleep and put the ship in peril through the
mere weight of his stupidity. The educated
man will generally do his duty, and require
but little overlooking. It is the ignorant man
who will save trouble to himself, and will be
glad when he can cheat the mate, and so
escape a little duty. In setting up a shroud
or a stay, he will make all so that it looks
secure, but, if not closely watched, he will
most likely—to get his work over—shirk
the proper fastening of the end of the
lanyard. The safety of the mast and therefore
of the vessel is imperilled; he may know
that, but he knows it dimly; at any rate, he
is too stupid to reflect upon it or to act upon
his knowledge.

Says the captain before quoted, "When a
general casualty happens at sea, if the ship is
in danger, the first danger the captain has to
arrest is from the ignorance of the men. His
first anxiety will perhaps be to have the
spirit casks stove in, to prevent the men
getting at them; and, if defeated in the
attempt, the ignorant men will be the first
to rush to get into the boats and cut them
away, by which their own danger is increased.
You are never free, in cases of emergency,
from the dangers of the panics of ignorance."

Having received myself a liberal education,
which enables me to keep up the statis I do
among the frequenters of The Tar Ashore, I
do feel very much shocked at the ignorance
of sailor boys and sailor men. Enlarge
among their employers the sense of responsibility
for life and limb, by putting them to a
small corresponding risk of pounds and
shillings, and the sweet little cherub will come
down from aloft that keeps watch for the life
of poor Jack, and set about a little active
business with a view to taking care that
Jack's alive as long as possible. Some little
care will then be taken to train and protect
seamen, who shall by all means continue to
wear hearts of oak, but cease to carry wooden
heads to match them.

These are the opinions which I am requested
to transmit to you and sign, on behalf of our
committee,

                                     AHOLIJAH COCKLE.

Mrs. Cockle begs her kind regards.