246 Notices of Books. [April, 



through whom future business is to come are fully satisfied that 

 he did right, that the disputed claim was founded in fraud." 



Is it necessary to point to the consequences of such a system ? 

 The great bulk of our shipowners are, doubtless, altogether free 

 from suspicion. But in any large body of men, there will always 

 be some few who are ready to gain money by any means available 

 to them. The system of underwriting offers such means. A 

 ship may be bought which is unseaworthy, or may be sailed until 

 repairs are absolutely essential to her safety, or may be built 

 without the necessary precautions to ensure her from breaking 

 up under blows which a stouter ship would resist. Such a ship 

 may be overloaded until from this cause alone she is unsafe. 

 And every voyage she makes thus overloaded repays the owner 

 better than a safe journey with a moderate load. But then she 

 may be insured for more than the value of ship and cargo ; and 

 her destruction may be rendered practically a certainty by over- 

 loading her until she could only sail safely with the lightest 

 breeze. She may even be overloaded to such an extent as to 

 ensure her destruction within sight of the port she is leaving. 

 " A large ship put out to sea one day," says Mr. Plimsoll in the 

 book before us. " She was so deep that T. M. said to me as she 

 went,- ' She is nothing but a coffin for the fellows on board of 

 her.' He watched and watched, fascinated almost by the deadly 

 peril of the crew ; and he did not watch for nothing. Before he 

 left his look-out to go home, he saw her go down." 



It might be supposed that the men capable of thus trading on 

 the lives of men and on the present system of insuring ships would 

 soon be recognised and avoided by the underwriters. But, un- 

 fortunately, a long time is required to establish a character as a 

 completely unscrupulous insurer. "In the meantime, ship after 

 ship goes down, and with them the lives of sailors mostly in the 

 prime of manhood. In a northern port some years ago, there 

 was a collier fleet well known by the name of ' X's coffins.' 

 When these shipowners fail to find regular insurance, they still 

 have the resource of joining mutual security clubs ; and even 

 without this they often find it pays to go on sending out very old 

 and infirm ships, which would bring nothing if offered for sale." 

 " Ships are insured as long as possible, and when re-christening 

 and all other dodges fail, even with underwriters, then they form 

 mutual insurance clubs, and go on until the ships fill and go 

 down in some breeze, or strike and go to pieces." 



It is singular that Mr. Plimsoll, who notices everything else 

 which would strengthen his case with the commercial public, 

 fails to notice how shipowners must needs suffer by this system. 

 We may be sure the underwriters do not suffer in the long run, 

 or they would give up insuring. What happens, then ? Why, 

 manifestly, sea-risks are increased, and the honest shipowners 

 have to pay higher rates to cover the increase of risk due to the 

 dishonest insurers. It is thus the interest of the shipowners as 



