VISUAL REQUIREMENTS OF SAILOR AND RAILWAY EMPLOYEE, 257 
Until recently the standard adopted by the Board of Trade was 
normal colour vision as tested by coloured wools and a form vision 
equal to 6/12 partly with both eyes open. In other words, the theo- 
retical objective was normal colour vision, and form vision of such a 
standard that one eye might be totally blind and the other possess 
somewhat less than half vision. The Board, however, appointed an 
expert committee in 1910, which took evidence and made a number of 
recommendations. This committee sat for two years, and in its report 
recommended that the form vision required should be 6/6 in one eye 
and 6/12 in the other, and that colour vision should be tested by wools 
and by coloured lanterns. It did not, however, definitely recommend 
that the eyes of those who enter dangerous services should be subjected 
to a complete ophthalmological examination when the boy first goes to 
sea. Apparently such changes would have required fresh legislation. 
Since this report, however, the Board of Trade has again altered 
its requirements, and now requires the candidate to read 6/9 partly and 
6/6 partly with both eyes open, which means, simply, that the old 
standard has been reverted to as regards form vision, except that the 
minimum has been raised from 6/12 partly to 6/9 partly. During the 
course of its long inquiry the expert committee apparently did not 
consult those in the Dominions who were dealing with the matter, with 
the exception of the examination of two witnesses, nor did they 
apparently seek to make any careful reference to the various accidents 
which have taken place by sea and land and can be attributed to 
defective vision. 
Clause 13 of the Report of the Departmental Committee on Sight 
Tests states:—‘ Sir Walter Howell informed us that the Board of 
Trade were not aware of any casualty which could be traced to defective 
vision. He explained that the Board could raise any question they 
pleased on an official inquiry into a marine casualty ; that the smallest 
question as to the colour vision of any officer concerned would be probed 
to the bottom; that if there were any question of confusion the men 
concerned would be re-tested; but that such a question had not been 
raised in a single instance. We have examined a large number of the 
Reports of Board of Trade inquiries, and the result of our examinations 
has confirmed the view that no official evidence exists of casualties due 
to this cause. We have examined eight master mariners of long 
experience, none of whom knew of any case in which a casualty had 
arisen from defective vision.’ 
Clause 14.—‘ At our request the Liverpool Steamship Owners’ 
Association ascertained that, of its members, the owners of 857 steam 
vessels, of the aggregate tonnage of 3,776,695 tons, knew of no instances 
in which mistakes due to defective form or colour vision had been made 
in the reading of lights at sea, and of no instance of difficulty of reading 
signals ; while the owners of 59 steam vessels of 192,494 tons knew of 
some few instances in which a man’s sight had been or had been 
alleged to have been defective, but of no casualty resulting therefrom.’ 
Clause 15.— The Secretary of the Joint Arbitration Committee at 
Grimsby, which investigates the circumstances of a large number of 
collisions every year, has never known of a collision caused through 
1914. s 
