Dee.
WHEN Mr. F. W. Maze, at the Jaunching of the pilot vessel|), Hsin 'Yangtze at Pootung on Tuesday last, paid tribute to the pilots who bring ocean-going' Vessels into, and take them out éf, this port, he struck a chord which will evoke an' answering note in the hearts: of most people im''Shanghai. "After: expressing the hope that the Hsin Yangtze would be ahappy'ship and lucky Maze added:
"The Customs have lighted, the Whangpoo Conservancy Board has deepened the river; and lastly, the Shanghai Pilots Association has recruited and trained a very well qualified body of men to guide ships into the Harbour. I think, perhaps, the Shanghai community does not fully understand] the difficulties which the pilots have to contend with; the comparative immunity from serious accidents is eloquent testimony to their nerve, efficiency and skill."
It is generally recognized, we! think, that Shanghai is one of the most difficult -harbours in the world, if not the most difficult, to navigate. The channel is narrow and tortuous, the approaches are dangerous, shallow, full of shoals and submerged rocks. The river bottom is ever changing, whilst local tides are treacherous and always jo vital factor to be reckoned with, When we see a magnificent vessel like the Empress of Canada being brought up our little two-by-four river we cannot but admire the technical' skill, iron nerve and coolness head, which must be the attributes of the man on the bridge.
"The slightest slip and a great vessel is aground, the harbour is blocked, and there follows a Jong and weary sequence of in-nce claims, inquiries and 1 technicalities. Apart from the technical skill required, the Javerage pilot's job, more especially in weather such as this, jis no sinecure, To take a vessel out at night, or in the early hours of the morning, to stay on ithe bridge for hours at a time, and then, when his charge is safely at sea, to go through with that acrobatic ordeal known as "dropping the pilot," whatever ithe weather, is not particularly: pleasant.
Apart. from their normal duties, Shanghai's pilots on many occasions serve a similar purpose to that of the life-boat crews at Home, and with equal efficiency. The example of the wreck of the Lienshing must still be fresh in the public mind, "The victims of the wreck who were picked up by the pilot vessel that came to the rescue could not speak too highly of the kindness they were accorded once on board, or the pluck and tenacity shown by the pilots, many of them men getting on in years, pulling around in open boats, with a fairly heavy swell yunning and in pitch darkness, looking for survivors or body Their record harmonizes well with the highest traditions of British seamanship. Did Mr. /Maze's tribute need endorsement, we would endorse it gladly.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.