Loss of the ship "HEMISPHERE"

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Document ID 9601109
Date 29-07-1850
Document Type Official Documents
Archive Queen's University, Belfast
Citation Loss of the ship "HEMISPHERE";Hansard Parliamentary Debates, 1850, CXIII, pp 393-395; CMSIED 9601109
21706
LOSS OF THE SHIP "Hemisphere."

The Earl of MOUNTCASHELL wished
to put a question to the noble Earl the
Secretary for the Colonies, respecting an
unfortunate occurrence which had happened,
at the beginning of last month, to
a passenger-vessel called the Hemisphere,
with 400 or 500 passengers on board. The
vessel had commenced her voyage to New
York, when a sudden lurch took place in a
gale of wind, the masts went overboard,
and several sailors were thereby washed
overboard and drowned, while others were
severely injured and killed. She was fortunately
met by a steamer, which towed her
into the port of Liverpool. A sailor,
whose arm was entangled in the rigging,
and was broken, was said to have had that
limb cut off by a surgeon on board, with a
common carving-knife, just as a butcher
would cut off a leg of mutton. The arm
afterwards mortified, and the man died.
A coroner's inquest was subsequently held
on his body, and a verdict of "Accidental
death" was returned.  Now, the Passenger
Act provided that there should be a competent
surgeon on board of all vessels
carrying a certain number of passengers.
He thought it likely that the noble Earl
would say, in reply to him, that this vessel
was an American vessel, and that therefore
the master was exonerated from carrying
a surgeon, as he would have been compelled
to do, had it been an English vessel.
What he wanted to know was,
whether the noble Earl had received any
information as to this very serious
occurrence, or whether he would have any
objection to his moving that the evidence
taken at the inquest held on the body of
the sailor should be laid on their Lordships'
table?
   Earl Grey said, he had received the
report of the Commissioners of Emigration
with reference to the case alluded to by
the noble Earl. The fact was, that until
lately it was not required that passenger
ships should carry a surgeon; but in the
Passenger Act it was provided, that in
cases where the passengers exceeded a
certain number, and where consequently,
the risk of sickness would be greater, a
surgeon should go out with the vessel.
There was, however, a clause in the Bill
which enacted, that wherever the space
allotted to each passenger should exceed
fourteen superficial feet, the presence of
a medical officer might be dispensed with.
Now, every emigrant ship entering New
York was bound by the laws of that State
to have that space for each passenger, and
consequently with ships bound thither the
statute was a dead letter. The case
alluded to by the noble Earl was that of
the ship Hemisphere, a remarkably fine
vessel. She was not bound by law to have
a surgeon, nor had she one on board as
such.  In consequence of the inclemency
of the weather, one sailor met with a
dreadful accident, his arm being broken in
such a manner as, perhaps, to render its
restoration impossible.  A gentleman happened
to be on board who had a diploma,
but no instruments, and the arm being
held by only a small piece of flesh, he
severed it from the seaman's body, in the
hopes of affording him some temporary relief,
from pain. He (Earl Grey) believed
that the operation did afford the poor man
some temporary relief, although he ultimately
sank under the accident and died.
Such being the state of the facts, and the
ship not being compelled by law to carry a
surgeon, he did not think it a case for
Government interference.
   The Earl of Mountcashell read
an extract from a Liverpool paper, the
purport of which was, that the gentleman
alluded to had been shipped by the owners
of the vessel as a surgeon, and that it was
understood he was to give his professional
assistance when necessary.
   Earl Grey said, that the owners did
not conceive themselves bound to send out
a surgeon with the vessel; but as this
gentleman had applied for a passage, his
professional skill was taken advantage of in
the case of the accident. Besides, the
accident happened to a sailor, and not to a
passenger, and might, therefore, have occurred
on board any other than an emigrant
ship.  If the noble Earl liked to
move for an address for the Emigration
Commissioners' report, he (Earl Grey
should have great pleasure in supporting
the Motion.
   The Earl of Mountcashell adopted
the suggestion of the noble Earl, and
the Motion was agreed to.