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The Review of Reviews. 



loa\'o the matter where it is now. He intends to go 

 much farther than reports and speeches. Senator 

 .Smith means to proceed to action and to introduce new 

 standards of inspection and supervision for vessels 

 entering and leaving American ports, which will ensure 

 more adequate provision for the safety of passengers. 

 The report recommends that revision should he made of 

 steamship inspection laws in foreign countries, and 

 that they should be adapted to the standard proposed 

 in the United States. An attempt will be made to 

 establish the new American standard by law in the 

 course of the present session, so that all vessels sailing 

 under a foreign flag will have to comply with the 

 requirements of American law before they are granted 

 their clearance papers. There is also a recommendation 

 that in the event of any country with which the United 

 States have a reciprocal arrangement about the mutual 

 acceptance of certificates failing to revise its regulations 

 in conformitywith the above suggestions, the reciprocal 

 arrangement with that country be abrogated. At the 

 present moment the American authorities accept a 

 British Board of Trade certificate as adequate ; in the 

 future they will no longer do so, and who can blame 

 them ? 



A NATION ASHAMED. 



All those who are proud of this country, and who 

 have felt some measure of reflected glory from the fact 

 that they were citizens of the country which led the 

 world in maritime matters, have reason to be alarmed, 

 indignant, and ashamed. The Board of Trade has no^ 

 only lost its reputation in matters maritime, but it has 

 damaged in the face of all men the dignity of British 

 maritime prestige, one of the nation's most glorious 

 possessions ever since we wrested the command of the 

 high seas from the Dutch. No wonder Mr. Douglas 

 Hall said in the Board of Trade debate, " We who 

 have hitherto led the legislation and the regulations of 

 the world in all shipping matters are in the humiliating 

 position of having the finger of scorn pointed at us by 

 every other nation on account of our obsolete rules 

 and regulations." Instead of being angry with Senator 

 Smith becau.se he points out our weakness, we should 

 follow his advice and chastise the Board of Trade with 

 the scorpions of just indignation, and determine to 

 wipe out the indignity which has been placed on the 

 nation. 



SIIAI.I. MR. ntJXTON HANG ? 



But it is a question how far we can do anything to 

 avoid the loss of initiative in the matter of shipping 

 reform. America or Germany seems certain to wrest 

 from us the leadership. For it must be confessed that 



a closer inspection of the Board of Trade with regard 

 to the Marine Department does not fill us with con- 

 fidence. We do not wish to hang the President of the 

 Board of Trade as a traitor to the nation's best interests, 

 since we are convinced that nobody is more horrified 

 than Mr. Bu.xton at the state of aff'airs at the Board 

 of Trade. The ills are of long standing ; the bureau- 

 cracy must be as powerful at least in this department 

 as in any other, and as we will show later on, the idea 

 that the Marine Department of the Board of Trade is 

 a Government office, doing the will of the taxpayer 

 and protecting his interests, is really quite an incorrect 

 one. But a Minister has to take responsibility when he 

 takes up office ; he has to pose as an expert and take all 

 the sins of permanent officials upon his shoulders. And 

 so, highly as we estimate the many qualities of Mr. 

 Buxton, we are bound to hold him responsible for the 

 truly terrible state of affairs now existing in matters 

 pertaining to the regulation and supervision of British 

 shipping. The debate in the House of Commons on 

 the Board of Trade Vote brought many interesting 

 points to light, but it cannot be said that it brought 

 forward anything which can be taken as even a feeble 

 excuse for the present state of things. Even a masterly 

 system of shifting responsibility from Minister to 

 Committee, from Committee to Commission, cannot 

 continue indefinitely to blind the eyes of the public or 

 of their elected representatives. 



HOPELESSLY AND FARCICALLY INEFFICIENT. 



" The Board of Trade regulations," said Lord 

 Charles Beresford, " are not up to modern require- 

 ments ; they were laid down in 1894, and since then 

 the mercantile marine has entirely changed .... 

 Not until the appalling disaster of the Tilanic was it 

 that the Board of Trade really made any efforts to 

 carry out their own regulations or the recommenda- 

 tions of their .\dvisory Committee." Another Member 

 said :— " In July, 191 1, more than ten months before 

 the Tilanic disaster, the Advisory Committee of the 

 Board of Trade recommended a large increase in life- 

 boat accommodation, and the damning fact which 

 convicted the President of neglect was that no steps 

 were taken to carry out these recommendations." But 

 that is nothing to the Board of Trade ; years do not 

 count for much, so why should we expect them to take 

 notice of mere months ? In 1906, when the Merchant 

 Shipping Bill was being considered, and the question 

 of lifeboat accommodation and the training of men to 

 man boats was raised, Mr. Lloyd George, the then 

 President, said that these matters should be dealt with 

 by regulations to be framed by a responsible body 



