1865.] and on the Meteorological Department. 517 



" The Board of Trade desire me in reply to return their thanks to the 

 Royal Society for calling attention to a subject which is of first-rate im- 

 portance to the Mercantile Marine. They have no doubt that the present 

 practice is far from satisfactory ; nor do they think that the steps taken 

 by the Board of Trade under the provisions of existing Acts are such as 

 to remedy the evil. At the same time they can see considerable diffi- 

 culty in adopting all the suggestions made by the Royal Society. 



" The steps which the Board of Trade now take are as follows : 



" The Merchant Shipping Act provides that the compasses of passenger 

 steamers shall be adjusted to the satisfaction of the Board of Trade Sur- 

 veyors, and according to regulations laid down by the Board of Trade. 

 This duty the Surveyors do as well as the means at their disposal enable 

 them to do, and according to regulations which will be found in para- 

 graphs 83 to 86 of the accompanying ' Instructions to Surveyors.' 



" As regards the information of Masters and Mates, the Board of Trade 

 have circulated a pamphlet, prepared by Mr. Towson, of Liverpool, which 

 is, no doubt, known to the Royal Society, and have added a general ques- 

 tion on the subject to the Examination-papers. 



" Under these circumstances it is to be considered whether the Board of 

 Trade can, and whether, if they can, they ought to do more than they d 

 either as regards the proper supply and adjustment of compasses, or as 

 regards the diffusion of information on the subject. 



" As regards the first of these points, viz. the proper supply and adjust- 

 ment of compasses, the Royal Society will, no doubt, concur with the 

 Board of Trade in thinking that it is very undesirable for the Legislature 

 or the Government, except under very exceptional circumstances, to take 

 upon themselves responsibilities which properly belong to shipowners and 

 insurers, or to dictate to those persons the mode in which they, shall carry 

 on their business. The proper supply and adjustment of compasses is a 

 matter so material to the safety and success of their undertakings, that 

 motives of self-interest are likely to effect much greater and much better 

 results than could be hoped for by the compulsory interference of a Go- 

 vernment Department. These considerations will have to be very care- 

 fully weighed before any attempt is made to obtain from the Legislature 

 further powers for the regulation of compasses in merchant ships. And 

 under the law, as it now stands, the Board of Trade do not see what effec- 

 tual step they can take in the direction pointed out by the Royal Society. 



" In the first place, the powers under which they act only apply to pas- 

 senger steamers, whilst the want which the Royal Society wish to meet is 

 felt just as much in the case of other iron vessels, which are becoming 

 more numerous every day. 



" In the second place, the powers of the Board of Trade only extend 

 to obtaining a Certificate ' that the compasses have been properly adjusted.' 

 They do not enable the Board of Trade or its Officers to see that the com- 

 passes are good, or to require what the Royal Society appears to consider 



