Page:The Blight of Insubordination.djvu/70

62 True, our countrymen under the red ensign only did their duty. But how well they did it is a matter for congratulation by every Britisher, and there only remains now for the powers that be to let the whole mercantile marine of this country clearly see they are not regarded as so many cogs in a wheel. Unless England fully arouses herself to the too frequent neglect of the officers and men of her merchant shipping, she is likely to have a rude awakening before long; for the white Britisher, of good repute, will surely avoid the sea, and leave the calling to the foreigner, the Lascar, and the Chinaman. Granting for the sake of argument, although not in any way freely admitted, that the deserters from foreign. flags, and Asiatics of every sort, are useful supplanters of white seamen of British birth on board our carrying craft in the piping times of peace, what would they prove should England become embroiled in a naval war with a Continental Power? Then let the British nation hasten to show that they are not unmindful of the men of the mercantile marine who carried out the important duty of conveying troops and war material to South Africa. To the shame of England, be it said, she has not always dealt fairly with the officers and men of her mercantile marine. During the Crimean war, British transports and cargo carriers did excellent service. Take, for example, the P. & O. steamer Colombo, Captain R. Methven. When assisting to land the troops at Kertch, on its capture, Admiral Lord Lyons signalled 'Well done, Colombo!' At the combined attack on Sevastopol, the Colombo kept within range of the Russian forts and easy signalling distance of the Admiral, ready and eager to assist in towing out of action any disabled ship. If we remember rightly, Captain Methven sat on the bridge of the Colombo sketching or taking notes. A similar spirit prevailed on board every transport present. Yet an ungrateful country failed to reward either officers or men."

There is no uncertain tone about this, which is worthy of the very able shipping paper that produced it, though we have to regret that even in the special service for which the claim is made harmony did not always prevail on the vessels concerned in transport work, for while these words were fresh from the press only three days later there appeared in the Liverpool Courier, July 5, 1902, a remarkable article on forecastle personnel in our mercantile marine, being a reply to criticism by H. B. Murdoch at Bombay in controversy with a T. W. on this very subject, which we reproduce to show that the transport work was not all of the picnic order.

"Passing over some trivial references to matters not bearing on the question, I come to what 'T. W.' evidently considers the coup de grâce of his closing arguments, i.e., the transport service and British crews employed therein. He treads on dangerous ground. Permit me to state, with the authority of one actively engaged in that service practically since the beginning, and with the opportunities of obtaining the views of the masters and officers of the steamers, that the employ-