Page:The Blight of Insubordination.djvu/73

65 just what might be expected of one who, desirous of being fair, has had no opportunity of knowing the sailor and his ways, but more particularly of the marine fireman and his ways, who has probably been the more immediate cause of general insubordination at sea than any other circumstance common to it. For much too long a time we have perhaps entertained the idea that the sea was only possible to ourselves for successful exploitation, owing probably to our insular conceit of being the '* galt of the earth"' as well as of the sea! Steam and electricity have altered all that. There are other Richmonds in the field. Even so shrewd an observer of seafarers as Captain Whall in his "School and Sea Days" gives himself away when he states on page 234:

Even so; still the Germans, certainly our keenest competitors in shipping at the present time, under the fostering care of the Kaiser and the Government, take very kindly to a life on the ocean wave, easily to be seen in the rapid growth, expansion, and the many ramifications of their mercantile marine, and the steady, constant, and persistent increase of their war fleets! Their express boats maintain the highest steam speeds ever attained; their large sailing ships—many of our own construction, but impossible of paying under the Red Ensign—have lately and repeatedly made the most rapid sea passages, particularly in runs between the Lizard and the West Coast of South America, so it is hardly correct to assume that tight corners at sea are the prerogatives solely of the Britisher! The sweet little cherub that sits up aloft looks out for the life of poor Jack, whether he be or not of the most favoured nation. Germany's encouragement to foster the seagoing spirit of her sons as exemplified in her shipmasters is something this salt sea sodden country of ours might copy with credit and advantage, for there they are recognised at their worth as the upholders of their country abroad, and at home they are treated as a Sahib, never as a pariah! This is a digression from Mr. Murdoch's criticism of the transport service; we must revert to the editorial which accompanied it.

"What must mere landsmen think of the personnel of our mercantile marine, as depicted in the censorious article of Mr. H. B. Murdoch? He writes with very considerable experience of life and