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Leader (1850-1860), 5th November 1859, Edition 2 of 2, Page 13, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 1859.

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    • Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.

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      Attached To The ¦ Kai Xr ^ * To5q1 The L...

      attached to the ¦ KAi xr ^ * TO 5 Q 1 THE LEADER : 1225 No . 50-2 . t *<™ ft--iPf t ** - i

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      SUBSCRIPTION TO " THE LEADER . " ONE GUINEA PER YEAR , UNSTAMPED , PREPAID . ( DELIVERED GRATIS . ) ^ u ^^^ is ^ ii b > the name and address of the ^ " ^ VoodfWth for publication , but as a guarantee of his good tn «» ^ ¦ MS ^ KSssbe We ' cannot undertake to return rejected communications . OFFICE , NO . , CATHERINE-STREET , STKAND , W . C . '

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      Saturday, November 5, 1859.

      SATURDAY , NOVEMBER 5 , 1859 .

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      There Is Nothing So Revolutionary, Becau...

      There is nothing so revolutionary , because there is nothing so unnatural ami convulsive , as the strain to keep thing's fixed when all tlis world is by the very law of its creation in eternal progress , —Dr . Arnold .

      S B C Ei Or Of T L Of Shi In By Eijropea...

      EIJROPEAN POLITICS . A MID all the conflicts of opinion on Con tinental politics , one belief prevails on . ill sides con- cernirig Italy- —namely , that her destiny is now in her own hamK Before the glorious battles of Magenta and Solferino no such affirmation could be made , except in a very remote and contingent sense ; and to " N " apoleon III . belongs the credit of having rendered greater services to-Italian , liberty than the moat enthusiastic admirer of his policy ' could have expected him to perform . We do not know any instance of foreign intervention more free from dangerous or objectionable circum- stances , or one which left so much liberty of action to the subjects of its aid . Our own meddling with Spain was full of dynastic considerations , and our operations in Portugal exhibited a flagrant disre- gard of the right of the people to manage their own affairs . Compared with these transactions , France maybe proud , of her Italian policy ; and if for a moment it seems to fall short of what the occasion demands , it should be criticised in no hostile spirit ; but while a generous and appreciat- ing judgment is passed upon its merits , we ought to consider how the public opinion of this country can be directed so as to assist in correcting its defects . It is a- very serious thing for a Con- tinental power to stand alone , and Louis . Napoleon has been made to feel that redeeming the error and the crime of the invasion of Rome brought down upon him the enmity of German Courts , made doubtful his relations with Russia , and let loose in England a flood of Tory venom and falsehood , without winning that popular support ' which he had a right to . summon to his aid . It may have been his misfortune and mistake that he started with a plan founded upon lower oxpeota- tions of what tho Italians would achieve for them- selves than their conduct has shown them to have deserved : but before they can ask him to embark ¦ with them in a -wider struggle they must prove their own capacity to work out a better scheme of national regeneration than his programme affords . The publication of his letter to Victor Emmanuel gives timely opportunity fbr this practical criticism ; and if on tho one . hand it seems to lay too much stress upon the aupposod claims of certain potentates , it has on the other tho advantage of do- manding from Austria a virtual cession of Mantua and Poschiora , whioh would cease to belong to tho House of Hapsburg when partially garrisoned by Sardinian troops . There is no threat of violence against the Italians if they ask for a more satisfactory solution of this question ; but it remains with them to duviso practicable schemes , and raise a military force pro- portioned to the population already blessed with freedom of action , and capable , if it deserves <

      emancipation , of doing the greater part of the needful work . Close observers of Austria believe that she would rather risk another war than make the great concessions in Venetia and in the fortresses which Louis Napoleon demands . For that war the French Emperor can , no doubt , be ready in the spring , if the conduct of the Italians , and the state of public opinion justifies such a step . To the German Courts the bare idea of such a thing is a matter for grave alarm , not because one single interest of the German people need be endangered by it but on account of the close conof

      n ^ vi A-n liafmaon t . Ti «» Tnis < wvfirtnhent Gernexion between the misgovernment of Ixermany under its swarm of petty princes and the maintenance of Austrian _ power . The French Emperor is thus certain of German animosity , and it is well known that Russia strongly deprecates a movement for the liberation of Hungary , which would be the natural result of a fresh collision between Austria and France . Unless the friendship of England is certain , further efforts on behalf of Italy might lead to a general coalition aerainst . France . To rely upon Lords Palrnerston " and Russell would not be wise , because their official existence , is by no means secure , and

      any mistake in dealing with the promised Reform Bill might precipitate them from power at the most important crisis of foreign affairs . It is for the people to counteract in time the mischief of another lease of Derby and Malmesbury misrule . Let it be proclaimed throughout the country , that British sympathies are firmly and unalterably with the Italian people , and that British friendship is assured to France so long as she is the champion of Italian rights . While the Tories ,- ^ T . r . . vv » r > + nnrliri rr in rlr » arrf » tlift -rvreservrition of our were pretending to desire the preservation ot our

      i ' ' * ¦ ( < ^ neutrality , they were taking a course which would have disgusted France , and which tended to induce the German Courts to support the Austrian cause . Let us remember that if Lord Palmerstcm , whose hostility to reform is no secret , makes one mistake in dealing with this question , a temporary return of the Tories to office would be a probable event in the spring of 1860 . Let it , therefore , be known that whoever holds the reins of office has one course , and one

      c £ " * only , predetermined for him by the nation—to aid the emancipation of Italy , and preserve inviolate the alliance between England and France

      Shipwrecks.—The Royal Charter. Ships Are...

      SHIPWRECKS . —THE ROYAL CHARTER . Ships are sometimes scuttled and houses burned , to cheat the insurance offices . If this be done wholesale , will it not be done in retail ? If insurance tempts sometimes to destroy , will it not more often tempt to neglect ? When the owner of a property fully insured places no life in peril by neglecting precautions against fire , will he be at the trouble , and perhaps cost , of taking them ? When a shipowner is quite sure that his shipmasters , mates , and seamen will take due care of themselves , is it to be expected that be should provide his ship better with tackle and boats , or put her into a oondition superior to that which satisfies the Government inspector or Lloyd's sur-^ £ £ * v s 1 ] o rt " F V s

      veyor , and enables him to get her assured ? The answer to such questions , so far as ships are concerned , is to be found in the fact , that of 869 wrecks and casualties , other than collisions , on the English coasts in 1858 , no fewer than , ninetyeight , or 11 per cent ., arose froin defects in ships or equipments . Of those nincty-pight misfortunes , no fewer tlfan seventy-five were the consequence of the vessels being sent out in an unsoaworthy oonditipn . Fi'om such a fact , wo may suspect that the practice of insurance has , occasionally , something to do with the loss of lifo at sqa . Wo should not , therefore , be particularly sorry if the losses all through this year of the underwriters wore to make tiio ' m increase tho premium of insurance , and so limit the practice . v a c !) e ° ° ° ' t ! s | sl lc w Sl

      Wo must remember that a gradual but yery ^ important change has taken place in tlio position of shipowners . At a period not very remote tho shipowner and the shipmaster wore one ; or , at least , every akippor was part , if not sole , owner . In this great branch of business , as in every other , the division of labour has lod to a further separation of employment , and the shipowner Js now , in most eases , another person , not tho ship onptain . The ship » h a species of property , the profit made by which is enjoyed , like the rent of land or the oapital invested in ft factory , baring a "very imii 01 sl h Ii tl ti ni T b ; 01

      perfect responsibility enjoyment . The ship captain and . the ship's crew are now nothing like a family party , as they were in the olden timely having : shares in the ship and working her for the common benefit . They are engaged for the voyage ; picked up anyhow ; the men , perhaps , knowing nothing whatever of the ship or her captain till she clears out and goes to sea . The captain may be recommended by nothing but his certificates . Leading a roving life , much exposed to danger , separated from many of the restraints and humanising influences of society , all sea-goers are naturally inclined to be thoughtless and improvident . Other men have

      taken advantage of these elements of their character ; even Governments have not been superior to this meanness ^ and have preyed on the seamen even while they pretended to take care of them . Thoughtlessness and improvidence have thus been generally increased beyond what is merely natural to the occupation , and * far beyond what is found in the northern seamen of England and the seamen of Holland engaged in the home trade . One souree , too , of seamen ' s peculiarities — long is much diminishedb

      absence from land— , y modern improvements in navigation ; still the bulk of the seamen watched over by registration officers and others remain thoughtless and improvident , and rarely or never make themselves perfectly acquainted , as reasonable men would , and ou <* ht , with the condition of the vessels in which they embark . Hence the life risked by the parsimony , the negligence , or the fraud of the shipowner is that of men who from circumstances are deprived of the means of taking proper precautions for their own safety .

      Then , it may be said , the Government should interfere . Alas ! it has already interfered too much . It has assumed the power of a complete master over the seamen—it has dealt with them as if they were slaves , and it has tainted their character with the vices which distinguish man in this degraded condition . To see that every ship which goes to sea is fully seaworthy—adequately prof vided and equipped with every necessary—is beyond its power . It has contributed to make

      seamen thoughtless and helpless , but has been unable to secure their safety . It can by no means prevent the fraud or the negligence which insurance encourages ; and the men whose lives are risked by either are unable to provide for their own preservation . Between the present condition of seamen and the limited power of the Government there is no remedy but in the improved conscience of the shipowner for the lamentable loss his conduct may cause but which , as far as he is

      concerned , his insurance covers . We should be unjust if we applied these principles to the lamentable case of the Royal Charter . She was a noble ship , and had made several successful voyages . The late Dr . Scoresby , an experienced sailor , has borne most decided and graphic testimony to her excellent qualities , and to the skill of her officer * . Suddenly caught in a great storm and embayed , fur judge

      her captain seems , as as wo can , from her anchors having been down ., though unable to hold the ship against the wind nnd sea , to have done all that au experienced and careful navigator could to avert the cntnstrophu . >) lie- ' ther the ship were well built and amply provided , we have no means of knowing . We presume , however , that she was . She was a successful vessel , en « ra « ed in » lucrative and important trade , ah- ™ nnmnnrativcly a new shin , having been

      launched in 185 , 5 . She wns a passenger ship , aubiect to all the regulations nnd inspection to winch such vessels are liable , both Iwro and in the colonies . Tho profit of her owners depended on her reputation , and because this was great she was crowdedwith pftssoiiffors , and entrusted with a largo quantity of troasuro . Her owners , therefore , had every possible motive to see that eho vms in purfeot repair and provido her amply . Hor captain , ofhoora , and crow too , had in their own personal safety , in their coo ' name , and in their pocuniary rewards ,

      as strong motives as it is possible lor men naiurauy to have , or Iimvs to supply to do then- duty stoutly and bravely . They mot with a snd mischance , such as will "tippou to all , and thoso surviving oonnoctod with tho vessel , few though they be , whethor owners or seamen , will be happy whose conaoienco is void of reproach . Some reflections force themselves on us as to tho ship horsolf . She was of a modern olftss , oonx-

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Nov. 5, 1859, page 13, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_05111859/page/13/