ALLEGED HASTY NAVIGATIOR.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2443, 6 March 1909, Page 5

ALLEGED HASTY NAVIGATIOR.

STATEMENT BY SIR JAMES MILLS. [Press Association.] DUNEDIN, March o. In consequence of the wreck of the Penguin and the evidence submitted at the inquiry into the circumstances surrounding it, some suggestions have been made that some shipmasters are apt to sacrifice the safety of ship and passengers to a constantly growing anxiety to make fast passages. Sir Janies Mills, in conversation with a reporter, denied emphatically the suggestion that masters must adhere rigidly to a. time-table at any risk. He said that when a man is put in charge of a ship every confidence is placed in him, and he is absolutely untrammelled as regards the navigation of the vessel. Every master an ""ointment received a special letter from the haetl office of the company, impressing on him the necessity for the exercise of the greatest care, skill, and tact in carrying out the responsible duties attaching to the position of commander of a ship. The safety of lives and property must be tbe first consideration under all circumstances. “Whenever,” continued Sir James, “a master receives a transfer or promotion a letter couched in similar terms is sent him, in which he is urged to care for the safety of those on board his ship.