50 
REPORT—1854. 
his mind that he was sailing fairly down, almost mid-channel; at all events, in a 
good position for navigating the Irish Channel. The other compass indicated a 
difference of about two points. The captain, however, judging from certain indi¬ 
cations which he had noticed previously, assumed that the wheel compass was the 
correct one. In the course of a few hours—about half-past eleven o’clock on the 
same morning—the wind having increased, and a heavy sea setting up the Channel) 
the ship made rather a rapid progress, when they came suddenly in sight of land on 
the lee beam, in such a position that there was necessarily a great difficulty—in 
this case (according to the measures pursued) an insurmountable difficulty- in 
avoiding the land. An attempt was made to wear the ship round. This failed, and 
then an attempt was made to use the anchors to bring her up. Both the ctlda 
snapped on the occasion, and the ship was then left helpless, driving broadside upim 
the rocks of Lambny Island. The result was the fearful catastrophe with which 
most persons were acquainted; namely, the loss of about 290 lives. Outol 10° 
females who were in the ship only three escaped upon that melancholy occasion. 
Investigation iuto the cause of the accident was nuturall)' suggested, und the Board 
of Trade instituted inquiries in two departments; one by means of Capt. 
ot the Navy, the other by means of the Marine Board of Liverpool, of which . I- 
Imvson was the Secretary. Capt. Walker, in his Report, ascribed tho loss of > * e 
Tayleur’ to the captain’s supposition that the compass by the helm wa-. corf 
The Local Marine Board came to a conclusion which he would notice by an cHra* 1 
from their Report. After stating that Capt. Noble had given very great 
to the ascertaining of the correctness of his compasses ami verifying their act* 0 ®' 
different occasions, they proceeded in their Report to say that " notwlth»tan<m 
these precautions, it appears to this Board that the ‘ Tayleur’ was brought into u.c 
dangerous position in which the wreck took place through the deviation of tin’.' 1 
passes, the cause of which they (the Marine Board) hud been unable to detcrmm>- 
Board colled particular attention to the fact, " that numerous instance* ' 
1 brought under their consideration of compasses having proved greatly 
IwiS l Jth W v 0llcn fl,ld ships in the navigating of the Irish <^anncJ,?^„ 
on, it continued, was not accounted for by any theory hitherto propo 
proposed to show that there were principles which no ^ 
2 “ !' bu . t » he woaUl say, demonstrably established the leading pnnop«» 
i n °K tbc original development of the magnetism of non »h‘P s ' t 
must tim ^ Ut !} k€W j Be tlu * circumstances under which changes in that de P . 
P 1 **- Thi « subject was brought by him before theMjJ * 
eL,r?J r "^ Association at Oxford? in 1847, when he rend a paper, gfjj 
S3 “!T ta y and BiuHtrativeiy that the adjustment of the compasses of id P , hf 
Permanent magnets was not only delusive, but calculated to becom 
£ *,°L 8t? ri°u» danger. And if the opinions given by Capt. W^r and 
and thr,L Mar 'T Board were •'-rue—if there was a relation between th,s 5“^?hc 
compasses 9 |mi d b nCU ° f the compasses— then it would be easy to »bo" ‘ flAl the 
captain corrected or adjusted by means of permanent affn ^ ^ ^ 
better tayleur ' would hove been abundantly warned, and theref 
* e S * a * the miH y of th ° shi P' U V virtue Of 
the indnctivA f fl° r Wfd known » not merely that iron become magnetic 
w of the earth, but. J he had elicited and ** JJfc, 
that the mal^J*** l82 °* in communications to the Royal Society of ^ by 
mechanical ^ tlMn developed could be augmented, controled, or eg0 . 
muniStinn f n ‘ on these principles, he had shown, » ** 
instabilitv nAt t lC ^ ee ^ ng . Dt tbe British Association in 18*7» j^ci 
that the nlan Jr* magn f tlc distribution in ships built of iron ; and th tbc 
wtLSnh P tfcf- Wn ?* m P' or n djuat.ing. the compasses on board 
gerous tl0IX ° f 8teel tua g n °to. must be delusive and might be extr . 
r’d»n* 
compas^esm^aT '"^Particularly referred to, that of the ‘ Tayleur, ^ 
2S3 a b t y ^ 
