Report of the House of Vvmmons on Steam- Boats. 119 



gulations of an Act of Parliament. But at the same time that 

 your Committee decline to recommend any legislative control, 

 they are decidedly of opinion that the owners of steam-vessels 

 who omit to provide a sufficient number of boats, to secure the 

 safety of their passengers, in case of any sudden accident, are 

 guilty of great neglect, and not deserving of the countenance 

 and support of the public. Besides this precaution, in respect 

 to boats, there ought to be on board every steam-boat, for the 

 perusal of the passengers, a certificate of some experienced en- 

 gineer, to testily the strength of the boilers ; the sufficiency of 

 the valves ; the safety of the furnaces, and the general good 

 condition of the vessel and machinery. 



The speed and regularity with which steam-boats perform 

 their voyages, are the next point worthy of behig brought under 

 the notice of the House. 



The average length of the voyages of the Holyhead packets, 

 from the 1st of June 1821 to the 1st of June 1*822, has been 

 about seven hours and a half; the average of the sailing-packets 

 was fifteen hours. Captain Percy, who commands the Hero 

 London and Margate packet, says, " We generally make the 

 passage in seven hours and a half, the distance being eighty- 

 four mUes." Mr. James Brown says, " the Edinburgh Castle 

 has gone from London to Leith in fifty-eight hours, a distance 

 of 450 miles ; but tb.at the James Watt is a faster vessel, her 

 speed being ten miles an hour through still water, inde- 

 pendent of wind and tide." Mr. Traill states, that the Ma- 

 jestic has performed the voya<Te from Greenock to Liverpool, 

 a distance of 240 miles, in twenty-two hours; and that the St. 

 Patrick came from Dublin to Liverpool, 130 miles, in thirteen 

 hours and a half, against a stiff breeze from the east. The 

 Lord Melville goes from London Bridge to Calais in eleven 

 or twelve hours. This great speed with which the voyages are 

 made by steam-boats, adds considerably to their superiority 

 over other vessels in point of safety; for in the same degree 

 that the time occupied in performing a voyage is diminished, 

 so is the risk of danger also to which jiassengers are exposed. 



It is now evident that the failure of all the early attempts to 

 apply steam to sea boats, was owing to their being built too 

 square ; to their want of strength, and to the want of a suffi- 

 cient (juantity of steaming power. According as boats have 

 been built with a form planned on better sailing principles, 

 with greater strength of timber, and with engines of increased 

 power, the progress of their success has exactly corresponded 

 with these improvements. 



On referring to the list of steam-boats in the Appendix, the 

 Talbot and Ivaiihoc on tlie Holyhead station, and the Belfast, 



Eclipse. 



