42
SUNDAY LABOR IN HONGKONG HARBOUR.
ANNUAL MEETING
OF THE
BRITISH MERCANTILE MARINE OFFICERS' ASSOCIATION.
3rd
4 January, 1891.
A large number of members of the above-named Association assembled at College Chambers, the new quarters of the Society, last Saturday night. Captain SAMCEL ASHTON, A.I.N.A., occupied the Chair.
The President said Gentlemen, I have to-night to congratulate you as an Association. We commenced to be a thoroughly active body in June last, and since that time I think we can honestly say we have not been idle. The object with which the Association was formed was to improve your position socially, morally and intellectually, and it is only by combining together that you can hope to improve your position. I am glad to see that you have combined yourselves. and, as a united force, there is no doubt that you can carry out any reasonable reformation you think necessary. Although must confess the results of our combination have, so far, practically been small, think we can look forward to satisfactory results in the near future. But we must not be impatient of these results. As his Excellency the Acting Governor told our deputation the other day, we must not expect immediate reenlts; but our united efforts, if properly, quietly, consistently and forcibly carried out, will no doubt obtain results which will benefit our profession as a whole. As you know, we have been recently occupied with the Sunday labour question, a question which not only affects local men but every mercantile marine officer who visits this port. You canuot hope that your fruit will ripen immediately. You must give it time, and I judge that by so doing and from information to hand, we shall have ripe fruit in the cad (applause). I suppose you are all aware that, thanks to the efforts of our energetic Secretary, we are now in alliance with the Mercantile Marine Service Association of Liverpool, one of the most powerful associations in the world, and from what we learn from recent advices the Liverpool Association has combined itself with every kindred association in the United Kingdom, forming one grand federation of mercantile marine officers; and I think, gentlemen, we can congratulate ourselves on being amalgamated with the most powerful body of mercantile marine officers the world has yet known (applause). Gentlemen, we have in addition, powerful friends amongst shipowners and employers of labour, and as an instance of this I will ask the Secretary to read you a letter which has been recently received from a leading shipowner of Glasgow.
The Secretary then read a letter from the head of a firm of shipowners in Glasgow. The writer stated that he himself had been a captain, and had always insisted on the observance of Sunday rest in port. He had proved, over and over again, that he could get more work done by giving his crew one day of rest in seven, and agents and inerchants in the end had acknowledged that he was right. Since he had become an owner, he had always given his masters instructions that no Sunday labour was to be carried out on board his ships except in cases of sheer necessity. He considered Sunday labour unjustifiable, and would at once press the matter forward amongst leading shipowners in Scotland.
The President (continuing) said-Gentlemen, that letter will show you what encouragement we are getting. may tell you that I myself have received private letters, which I cannot read to you just now because I have not permission to do so, letters from influential men in England, whose influence will be used in our behalf with a view of bringing about a cessation of Sunday labour on board ship, and I feel certain that in the course of time, and I think and trust not a very long time, we shall see this question, which the Association has so earnestly taken up, brought to a successful issue. It is too great and too important a question to be settled in a moment, but I do trust that in this the Jubilee year of the Colony, we may reasonably look forward to a satisfactory issue before the year closes. (Loud applause). I think such would be a fitting, the most suitable, memorial we could
SUNDAY LABOR IN HONGKONG HARBOUR.
43
have to mark the Jubilee (renewed applause.) We must remember, gentlemen, that if this reform, the first we have attempted, is carried out, all others will be the more easily carried, and carried as I trust all our measures will be carried, by force of reason and argument, not by violent action. We have only to look at the recent strike of mercantile marino officers in Australia: Their action has caused an unnecessary amount of misery to people who had nothing to do with, and were in no way concerned in, the questions at issue, and it has miserably failed. Gentlemen, just and righteous claims can always be gained by the force of public opinion, and it is by that I trust we shall gain what we require and what we are justly entitled to (applause).
THE
"NAMOA
57
TRAGEDY.
Before sitting down, gentlemen, there is one more natter to which I must refer, and that is the Namoa tragedy, and I should like to ask you whether you consider we should formulate some expression of opinion on that matter? (cries of “
yes.") Gentlemen, I am glad to find that you think as an association, it is our duty to express some opinion regarding this terrible occurrence. You have no doubt read the accounts which have appeared in the local papers, and you have also no doubt discussed the matter amongst yourselves, and ain sure you must feel surprised at the supineness and dilatoriness of the authorities of this colony, after having received reliable information of this sad catastrophe. I think I may say we are all surprised that more prompt action was not taken in regard to this matter.
I do not say who is to blame, but I do say that considering these attacks have been taking place periodically ever since 1857, more prompt action should have been taken in this matter. On the receipt of such information, gunboats should be ready to leave at a moment's notice. It is probably in the recollection of some members of this Association that it used to be the rule for certain gunboats---the Algerine, Bantry, Haughty and others--on this station, to be held in readiness to leave at once on the receipt of such information as was brought here with reference to the Namoa. It may be that owing to the Chinese having been virtually admitted into the counity of civilized nations, the idea that their Navy and Customs cruisers were competent to keep down piracy on their coasts has lulled foreign Powers into a sense of security which is as utterly groundless as it has been proved to be fictitious-it is, in fact, a mischievous assumption based upon the hare-brained ruminations of so-called synologues and lazy officers. That the Chinese are utterly unable to keep down piracy is an absolute fact, which may be proved by reference to the foreign vessels outraged in the China Sea since 1866. I refer to the :--- British bark Cæsar and Danish ship Carl in 1866,
German bark Lesmona in 1868.
British steamer Spark in 1874.
British bark Elizabeth Childs in 1879.
British steamer Greyhound in 1885.
British steamer Namoa in 1890, and the British steamers Bowen and Soochow which pirates were on board of with arms, ammunition and stinkpots. The latter were, however, found out before the hour had arrived for the outbreak, consequently these two vessels and several lives were saved. As to who is to blame, we as an association should not, I think, blame any individuals (cries of "name them"), but we can, and do, blame a system which has proved itself not only unable to detect and stop the conspirators who armed themselves and boarded the Namoa in the waters of this colony, but which, when fully informed of the dastardly ontrages committed within 50 miles of the port, utterly failed to even attempt to capture the cold-blooded villains who turned a British ship into a terrible, an awe-inspiring, hell! (cries of "shame," "police" and "navy"). I would add that we as a body of officers do not experience that sense of security which, as constituent parts of a peaceful profession, we ought to feel, if properly protected by those whom we and our employers are taxed to support (lond applause). Gentlemen, it is apparent that we carry our lives in our hands under present conditions, and that many an awful warning has been woefully disregarded. Taking everything into consideration we now fearlessly assert that the Namoa tragedy resulted through the negligence of those over whom neither the owners of the Namoa nor the officers on board had any material control. We absolve all the officers of the Namoa from blame, ("hear, hear," and "certainly"); we consider they acted with great wisdom under the
168