AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 503 



vrater-tiglit compartments — the Indian, Royal Charter, &c. Instancing 

 the wrecks of the North Star, Sarah Sands, and Birkenhead, he asked — 

 *' should we not seek to save some lives because we cannot save all?" 

 Speaking of the nest boats, he said : " The storm which wrecks a gallant 

 ship is not to be trifled with ; nest boats would be useless in it — they may 

 do for river steamers, or for smooth water ; but, on the mighty Atlantic or 

 Pacific, when the waters are lashed into fury by a storm, they would be as 

 unavailing as bubbles. The horrors of starvation and thirst would await 

 their hapless crews, even if thcj should outlive the gale. There must be 

 one well-appointed, well-provisioned, large boat, around which the smaller 

 ones could assemble, and from which they could get succor. 



The loss of the President shows that her crew had no means of saving 

 life. The top of the cabin, in this plan, makes a raft, while the bottom 

 forms a boat. A ship's bulwarks can be taken down to form a raft — there 

 are, in fact, plenty of means of making rafts ; but, they are of little avail. 

 In a storm there is no time to make contrivances : all is hurry and confu- 

 sion. The boats usually get stove in or swamped, as in the case of the 

 Indian, The common boats, in short, cannot be got out without being 

 lost. Nothing will live in a rough sea but a well-built strong boat, that 

 will float even if filled with water. Nest boats are too small ; we must 

 insist upon having a good plan adopted, by whomsoever invented. Scien- 

 tific men must use their efforts to call attention to the subject. We have 

 fire-proof buildings, yet we find it advisable to use fire escapes — and, cer- 

 tainly, ships in compartments are not safer than fire-proof buildings. 



Mr. Howe thinks there is a difference between buildings and ships in 

 regard to legislation. No one is sufficiently interested, personally, to com- 

 pel the building of ships ; we won't allow a dangerous building near ours, 

 because we have a personal interest at stake. Nest boats ought not to 

 be condemned — they will yield some and not stave. 



Mr. Seeley. — We are differently circumstanced from our ancestors. 

 There is now so much commeree that a life-boat could now be employed 

 with advantage ; it could not in their day — for the chances of being picked 

 up were then so few, that the horrors of canibalism awaited those who 

 were saved in boats. A life-boat on ship board, when not in use, is greatly 

 in the way ; we ought to have floating rafts — they are more useful, and will 

 buoy up more than a boat, and be as efiicient in saving lives till their crews 

 are picked up by passing vessels. They can be readily put and kept in 

 order. Within a month or two there has been a patent taken out for 

 a cabin, which can be cut out and will then float aWay. The nest boats are 

 an excellent suggestion, they so completely meet the difficulty of stowing. 

 I would suggest the employment of ludia-rubber cloth to form rafts ; they 

 could be readily blown up, be made in sections, and be stowed away with 

 perfect ease — one weighing 50 lbs. would be adequate to the saving of a 

 whole crew. The cloth preserves its elasticity in water, and would not 

 be torn by the action of the waves. True, they could easily be punctured j 

 but, by being made in sections, they would still, after being punctured, be 

 very buoyant. 



