312 



The Review of Reviews. 



rcsL-rvation was one who was evidently anxious lest 

 increased boats should interl'ere with the necessary 

 " facilities for coaling and handling cargo." It would 

 thus seem that eve'n the most apparently humane 

 actions ol the^e masters of British shipping cannot be 

 free from the trail of the serpent. 



CAPTAIN IIAMPSON's RESERVATIONS. 



The more important parts o£ Captain Ilampson's 

 report are given herewith : — 



" I have signed the Report subject to the reservation 

 that I do not by any means approve of the whole of 

 its contents, and I am of opinion that it is sadly 

 lacking in practical value as regards safety of life at 

 sea. I do not think that the Report in any way 

 covers the ground, and I am strongly of opinion, after 

 attending the whole of the proceedings of the Com- 

 mittee and its sub-comniittees, that the time has 

 arrived when all these matters should form the subject 

 of a searching inquiry before a Commission or Com- 

 mittee composed of members independent in every 

 wav of the shipping interest, but at which the various 

 representatives of the different .sections of .shipping 

 should be invited to submit their respective views. 



AN INDEPENDENT NATIONAL COMMISSION. 



" Whilst I most heartily approve of international 

 negotiations which, I understand, are now proceeding, 

 [ trust that the President of the Board of Trade will 

 now advise that a Committee or Commission of 

 Inquirs of a national character be at once formed for 

 adequate consideration, not only of the Reports of the 

 Court of Inquiry and of the Merchant Shipping 

 Advisory Committee, but of other matters which are 

 not contained in these Reports, but which, nevertheless, 

 mav have a direct bearing on the subject. From the 

 manner in which the Report is drawn I fear that it 

 will be very difficult to act upon it in taking any really 

 effective steps in bringing about those reforms in 

 connection with safety of life at sea which are urgently 

 demanded. 



BOAT ACCOMMODATION AND FIRE. 



" It has been urged as against carrying sufficient 

 l)oat capacity for the whole of those on board a ship, 

 both crew and passengers, that it would be impossible 

 to provide this in the case of vessels carrying a great 

 number of passengers. But I do not think the dilTi- 

 culties are so great as could not be surmounted. In 

 connection with this point it is an essential feature 

 that the danger of fire has only been casually men- 

 tioned and not considered. It is not referred to in any 

 way in the Report. There is not a shadow of doubt 

 that the present regulations and appliances for extin- 

 guishing fires on merchant ships are miserably inade- 

 quate and inefficient. It is in a case of fire that boating 

 capacity for every soul on board would he necessar\-, 

 and this is a matter which requires urgent consideration. 



SHIPS NOW CO TO SEA WITHOUT INSPECTION. 



" It is even more imperative that there should be 

 cfTicient and periodical inspection and supervision by 



officials of the Board of Trade who have had long 

 practical experience at sea, and thereby possess that 

 knowledge of such matters without which any form of 

 inspection or supervision of the kind would be value- 

 less. At the present time, in most cases, merchant 

 ships proceed to sea without any inspection of the 

 kind whatever, and it has been proved before the 

 Committee that where the life-saving appliances of 

 passenger vessels have been inspected, the inspection 

 has been carried on by officials who have had no prac- 

 tical experience in these matters. 



RESPONSIBILITY NOT TO BE SHIRKED. 



' " Further, it is obvious that, in all cases, in addition 

 to her various life-saving appliances, the navigational 

 equipment of a ship in the way of charts, compasses, 

 ship's logs, lead-line, and the like should be carefully 

 inspected by a Board of Trade surveyor whose sea- 

 faring experience has been such as to give him expert 

 know'ledge of these essentials to the safety of a ship 

 and her passengers and crew. At present no such 

 inspections are carried on, and naturally passengers 

 and crews are constantly exposed to the gravest 

 dangers. There is no reason whatever why such inspec- 

 tions cannot be carried out, except on the ground that 

 the nautical staff of the Board of Trade is hopelessly 

 inadequate. This is a serious and dangerous admission, 

 which could most easily and effectually be remedied. 

 It is urged by the Board of Trade that responsibility 

 for safety of life at sea does not rest so much upon 

 them as upon shipowners and shipmasters ; but the 

 time has arrived when they should most certainly 

 take over the first responsibility in this direction, and 

 the provision of a proper supply of nautical surveyors 

 would then be a great protection to merchant 

 shipmasters, who, in so man)', cases, are helpless 

 simply because every item of the expense which 

 they may suggest is brought under the close 

 and, ofttimcs, unreasonable criticism of their em- 

 ployers. 



IF ONE LIFE IS LOST, LEGISLATION IS JUSTIFIED. 



" Undue importance has been given to the case of 

 passenger-carrying vessels. The safety of ordinary 

 cargo ships and the lives of their crews is just as 

 important, and the time has arrived when, as I cannot 

 too strongly assert, all ships should be properly sur- 

 veyed and inspected by the Board of Trade for the 

 protection of life as far as possible. Passenger and 

 (argo vessels alike should be subjected to compul'K)ry 

 surveys periodically, not at the hands of classification 

 or other societies, but by Board of 'I'rade officials, who 

 should be given the fullest powers in thifj way. Surveys 

 carried out by classification societies are in no sense 

 adequate, for usually they mean that life-saving 

 appliances and such-like are never surveyed at all. 

 If only one life at sea is lost through a preventable 

 cause, then it is quite sufficient to justify legislation, 

 which would most certainly ensue if similar loss of life 

 arose ashore. 



