FOOTNOTES:
[132] At that moment our prospects were certainly very gloomy, and it was not surprising that many of our shipowners were disposing of their property. On the other hand, as most of our shipbuilders were idle, it was a favourable moment to contract for the construction of ships. I, therefore, embraced the opportunity, and contracted in one week for six ships of an improved description, of about 1000 tons each. Two of these I built at Sunderland, two at Maryport, one in Dundee, and one in Jersey. Most of the old school of shipowners thought I had lost my senses, and prophesied “ruin;” but others thought there was “method in my madness,” and were thus encouraged to follow my example. Many of my readers may remember the jeering paragraphs which appeared in the Free-trade journals of the period, headed “Lindsay and more ruin,” “Not so bad as they seem,” and so forth. But the fact had an astonishing effect in rousing our shipowners from their dreams of despair, and I never had any reason to regret my “daring speculation.”
[133] Mr. T. C. Cowper, of Aberdeen, himself a member of a well-known shipbuilding firm in Aberdeen, who had spent some time in China at the period to which I now refer, and to whom I am indebted for much of the information connected with our struggles to maintain our position in that trade, gives the following graphic description of his voyage home in the Ganges, Captain Deas, belonging to Leith, one of the vessels we had sent forth soon after the repeal of our Navigation Laws, to compete with the Americans in that trade. “We landed,” he says, “new teas at Wampoa, and sailed on the 1st September, 1851. Two of the fastest American clippers, the Flying Cloud and Bald Eagle, sailed two or three days after us. A great deal of excitement existed in China about the race, the American ships being the favourites. The South-west monsoon being strong, the Ganges made a rather long passage to Anger, but when we arrived there we found that neither of our rivals had been reported as having passed. We arrived in the English Channel on the evening of the 16th of December. On the following morning at daylight we were off Portland, well in shore and under short sail, light winds from north-east, and weather rather thick. About 8 A.M. the wind freshened and the haze cleared away, which showed two large and lofty ships two or three miles to windward of us. They proved to be our American friends, having their stripes and stars flying for a pilot. Captain Deas at once gave orders to hoist his signals for a pilot also, and as, by this time, several cutters were standing out from Weymouth, the Ganges being farthest in shore got her pilot first on board. I said that I would land in the pilot boat and go to London by rail, and would report the ship that night or next morning at Austin Friars.” (She was consigned to my firm.) “The breeze had considerably freshened before I got on board the pilot cutter, when the Ganges filled away on the port tack, and, contrary to his wont, for he was a very cautious man, crowded on all small sails. The Americans lost no time and were after him, and I had three hours’ view of as fine an ocean race as I can wish to see; the wind being dead ahead, the ships were making short tacks. The Ganges showed herself to be the most weatherly of the three; and the gain on every tack in shore was obvious, neither did she seem to carry way behind in fore reaching. She arrived off Dungeness six hours before the other two, and was in the London Docks twenty-four hours before the first, and thirty-six hours before the last, of her opponents.”
[134] All our shipowners had not, however, even then given way to despair, and Mr. Farrer reminds me of a speech which, at the time, had a considerable effect in rousing the drooping spirits of those who were in doubt. He says, in a note I received from him the other day: “Shortly after I joined the Board of Trade, in 1850, I went to dine at some large dinner in the City (a dinner, I think, for one of the great marine charities) at which a great number of the large London shipowners were present. They were then in a state of great irritation at the recent repeal of the Navigation Laws. Amongst those present was the late Mr. Richard Green, who, as is well known, was one of the very few shipowners who supported the Government on the repeal of these laws. After dinner the usual speeches were made, and amongst them was one by the Secretary to the American Legation, a young gentleman who addressed us in the flowing style not uncommon with young Transatlantic orators. After him came Mr. Richard Green—the contrast of style was striking. ‘We have heard,’ he said, ‘a good deal to-night about the dismal prospects of British shipping, and we hear, too, from another quarter, a great deal about the British Lion and the American Eagle, and the way in which they are going to lie down together. Now, I don’t know anything about all that, but this I do know, that we, the British shipowners, have at last sat down to play a fair and open game with the Americans, and by Jove we will trump them!’ The feelings of the other shipowners present may be conceived.” And I may add he did “trump them,” for shortly afterwards he built a ship called the Challenger to match their Challenge, which thoroughly eclipsed her.
[135] See Tooke’s ‘History of Prices,’ vol. v. p. 303.
[136] Mr. Farrer’s connection with the Board of Trade commenced in 1850, when he was employed by the late Lord Taunton, then Mr. Labouchere, to draw up a Merchant Shipping Bill; and he has ever since had important relations with that Board, more especially on all matters connected with the Mercantile Marine, first, as Secretary to that department, and now as permanent Chief Secretary to the Board.
[137] Perhaps if masters of ships were more particular, and instead of inserting in the printed certificate of discharge, as they now almost indiscriminately do, “V. G.” (very good), they would mark the real character of the man, with “V. G.” or “G.” as the case might be, or when necessary substitute “N. S.” (not satisfied), it might have some effect in improving the character of seamen; and these documents, which are now almost worthless, would then become of some service to shipmasters themselves. Why should we not adopt the course which we generally (but not always) do in the case of house servants? A house servant without a character has not much chance of employment, even now, when the demand is very great for them. To give a true and just character is a duty we owe, not merely to ourselves, but to society, and shipmasters should understand that, by granting a certificate of “V. G.” or “G.,” when the character of the seaman does not deserve either grade, may produce far more serious consequences on board ship than would likely be the case in our households, where we can discharge a bad servant at once, which we have no power to do at sea. One bad seaman may not merely contaminate the whole crew, but may be the means of the loss of the ship on which he sails, and of all on board.
[138] This portion of the Act was somewhat hastily framed, especially as regards the extent of inquiry and the power of depriving masters and officers of their certificates; and, although that power was subsequently limited by the Acts of 1854 and 1862, the clauses referring to the mode of inquiry and the power to punish might with advantage be still materially modified.
[139] 17 & 18 Vict., cap. 84.
[140] The rule is to measure the length of the ship in a straight line along the deck, deducting from the length what is due to the rake of the bow, as also to the stern timber, and to divide the length thus taken into from four to twelve equal parts, according to the size of the ship. At each of these divisions the breadth is taken and the depth at each point of the division, and by making certain allowances, which the Act specifies in minute detail, the capacity of each section or compartment is thus accurately obtained. When the products of these are ascertained, the register tonnage is obtained by means of an easy mode of calculation, alike applicable, and equitably applicable, I must add, to ships of any size and every conceivable form. Of course this tonnage is subject to additions or deductions (which have sometimes been the cause of much controversy) for poops, top-gallant forecastles, houses, and other enclosed spaces on deck, which are all additions to the tonnage, while the large spaces occupied by engines, boilers, and coal-bunkers in steamers are deductions from it. Altogether it would not be easy to concoct a more just and wise mode of ascertaining the register tonnage of merchant vessels than that which Mr. Moorson, a man of remarkable genius, after years of labour, submitted for the consideration of Government, and which, through the instrumentality of Mr. Farrer, was in a great measure, adopted and embodied into the Merchant Shipping Act of 1854. I look back, as one of the pleasing reminiscences of my public life, to the hours I spent with Mr. Moorson in going through the details of his scheme before it was submitted to the public; but, though I may have ventured to offer an amendment here and there, as others may have done, the merit of the scheme belongs to him alone. It is now adopted by nearly all maritime nations. Mr. Moorson was the most modest of men; and I have the greatest pleasure in adding my humble testimony to the public labours of this most excellent and unassuming man.
[141] This Act has been a real success. A perfect title to any ship—even to the Great Eastern—can now be obtained at the nominal expense of only one shilling sterling! Why cannot we apply some such principle to the sale and transfer of land? It may be vain to ask such a question; but the reason may be explained by an anecdote: “When in Parliament I was frequently required to accompany deputations from my constituents, and other persons connected with shipping to the Board of Trade. One occasion, when Mr. Henley was President to the Board, I well remember. The deputation was from a great seaport on the eastern coast, and its leading spokesman was an attorney of considerable local influence and reputation. Among the various grievances brought under the notice of Mr. Henley was one which I did not expect to hear, and which has, certainly, never been conscientiously raised either before or since. It related to the law of Ship Registry as settled by the Act of 1854. One of the leading features of that law is, that the Register shall contain nothing but the names of those persons who can give an absolute title to the ship, omitting altogether the trusts and ramifying interests which make the transfer of a title to land such a complicated and expensive matter. The attorney in question, however, attempted to make out the omission to be a great grievance, arguing that all sorts of complicated interests could not be placed on the Register. Mr. Henley, whose shrewdness has now become proverbial (for I do not remember any man in the House of Commons who more readily discovered the flaws in Bills introduced for its consideration), in reply, after dealing with other grievances, in his usual pointed and clear manner, quietly remarked, ‘And now we come to another grievance—that you cannot put trusts on the Register. Now, it seems to me,’ he continued, ‘that we have been tolerably successful in doing for ships what all the wise men are trying in vain to do for land—that is, to save them from a long lawyer’s bill—there may be a grievance—I dare say some one (looking hard at the attorney) has a grievance, but I don’t think it is the shipowner!’”
[142] In the Exhibition of 1851 the French exhibited some beautiful specimens of coast-lights, in which they then excelled, but, since then, (see papers read by Sir William Thompson and Mr. J. Hopkinson before the British Association at Bristol) we have made remarkable improvements in the forms of our lighthouse apparatus, and now produce lights more powerful and brilliant than any other country. These are, chiefly, manufactured by Messrs. Chance Brothers of Birmingham, and, for the mode of arranging the glass reflectors, we are greatly indebted to the genius of the late Professor Faraday and Sir William Thompson. Lights are now constructed, which on a clear night can be seen at a distance of twenty-five miles, perhaps more. But still greater improvements have, since then, been made by arranging the colours, or rather the variation, of lights along a line of coast, so that the navigator may be able, at once, to distinguish one light from the other. For instance, some are fixed, single or double, white, red, or flash lights, or are revolving, displaying alternately these or other colours. But it has been found that red glass absorbs nearly two-thirds of the power of the light, and thus is to a very large extent deprived of its usefulness. Indeed, it has been found that colour of any kind used to distinguish one light from another materially lessens its power. Consequently, we are now adopting other means to distinguish one light from another on any given line of coast. That is, we make eclipses of opaque shades revolving round the usual lighting apparatus, and these we can vary so as to show 5, 10, 15, 20 or 30 seconds of darkness with similar or greater intervals of bright light. We may thus use altogether white or bright lights, which have the greatest power to work in such a manner that one can be easily distinguished from another. I may add that electric light, instead of that produced by oil or gas, has been tried within the last few years. One of these lights was fixed in 1871 on Souter Point, coast of Durham. The flashes were of 5 seconds’ duration, with dark intervals of 25 seconds. The apparatus producing this effect consisted of a dioptric of the third order for fixed lights, around which there was an octagonal drum of glass, consisting of panels of eight vertical lenses; by these the divergent and continuous sheet of light from the fixed portion of the apparatus was gathered up so as to form distinct beams which successively reach the observer as the panels pass in succession before him. The electricity for the production of the spark was generated by one of Professor Holmes’ magnetic-electric machines, worked by a steam-engine of four or five horse-power.
[143] It is to be regretted that the management of all the lights, buoys, and beacons of the kingdom have not been placed under one head, with a view to greater efficiency and economy.
[144] Apart from the aid thus rendered, there is a noble institution for the saving of life from shipwreck on the coasts of the United Kingdom, established in 1824, and maintained entirely by voluntary subscriptions. It is not merely well known in this country, but throughout the world, for no other nation of either ancient or modern times has produced such a truly philanthropic society as the “Royal National Lifeboat Institution of Great Britain.” It has now upwards of 250 life-boats stationed on different parts of our coast. Since its establishment it has expended on life-boats, and other means for saving life from shipwreck, upwards of 356,000l.; it has awarded 91 gold and 863 silver medals, and 45,200l. in coin to brave men as rewards for saving life; while those who manage its affairs and provide the necessary means, have for their reward the inestimable satisfaction of knowing, that the Institution has been the means of extricating from a watery grave and restoring to their friends, during the last half century, no less than 22,660 human beings, of every kindred and of every tongue. How insignificant are the honours conferred by monarchs compared with those which such labours of mercy as these bestow! Its boats, as I have said, are stationed on every part of the coast; and where the rocks are most rugged and the quicksands most deceptive, there these noble craft are to be found with their voluntary crews, the bravest of the brave, daring the rudest storms to save the lives of their fellow-men, and too frequently placing their own lives in the greatest peril. The boats are built expressly for the purpose of encountering heavy storms. The medium, or thirty-feet boat, to pull ten oars double-banked, is probably the best adapted for the general purposes of a life-boat; but, on the Norfolk and Suffolk coasts, and other places, some of the boats actually in use are from forty to forty-five feet in length, weighing from four to five tons, and fitted with lug-sails. These boats put to sea on their grand mission of mercy during the most tempestuous weather.
I remember, a quarter of a century ago, attending, in conjunction with its generous-hearted Chairman, the late Mr. Thomas Wilson, and its present excellent Chief Secretary, Mr. Richard Lewis, and other gentlemen, a meeting which had for its object the renovation of this noble and truly national institution. Its annual income was then only 150l.; its income is now upwards of 40,000l. per annum! But it is only due to the foresight of Lord Cardwell to state that, seeing, when President of the Board of Trade, in 1854, the value that such an institution was likely to prove, he recommended a small Government subsidy to aid it during its struggle for existence. His approval, more than the money voted, was then of great advantage, and he must now look back with no ordinary satisfaction to his thoughtful and generous recommendation. Nor must I withhold from Government the credit due to it for establishing that almost equally valuable and useful contrivance, the Rocket Apparatus, managed by the Coast Guard, under the directions of the Board of Trade, and supported from the Mercantile Marine Fund.
[145] I have frequently thought it would be desirable to institute an inquiry into all losses at sea, where reliable evidence can be obtained. I should have every loss recorded, with a brief notice of the cause of loss, and this record should either be open to the inspection of the public, or published annually by order of Parliament. It would be instructive and valuable, and would, I think, tend to materially lessen disasters at sea, by distinguishing those which arose from unavoidable accidents and those which might have been avoided. Indeed, so strong are my convictions on this subject that, if spared for a few years longer (which I can hardly hope to be, as I am physically myself a wreck), I hope to write another book, to be entitled the ‘Annals of the Sea,’ giving an account of all disastrous shipwrecks, and calling attention to those which would not have happened had ordinary prudence been exercised.
[146] This Bill was introduced by Sir J. D. Elphinstone and Mr. Laird. I opposed it on principle, as I felt that it was an unnecessary interference with the duty of shipowners; and that, if chain cables were to be tested by Government inspectors, we should be obliged to appoint inspectors to examine and report on every article of a ship’s equipment, thus as a matter of fact relieving shipowners from their responsibility to the public. Besides, by subjecting chain cables to an enormous and an unnecessary strain, the fibre of the iron was likely to be destroyed or rendered more brittle, and, hence, less to be depended on. All legislation in this direction should be narrowly watched, and the line carefully drawn, as, in too many instances, it is likely to do more harm than good. Indeed, I cannot too strongly impress upon the minds of persons who have to deal with such questions the impolicy of every measure which has for its object the performance by Government officials of duties belonging to the shipowner, as every such measure necessarily tends to relieve him from his responsibility to the public.
[147] 25 & 26 Vict., chap. 63. This Act altered the law of 1854 by making the limit a sum dependent on the tonnage for 15l. per ton in case of damage for loss of life, and 8l. per ton for loss of goods. It was found that the law of 1854, by making the value of the ship and freight in all cases the limit of damages, gave a premium to bad, cheap, and ill-found ships, since the owner of the cheap ships could recover against the owner of the valuable ship up to a large limit, while the owner of the valuable ship could only recover against the other a very small amount. It also encouraged the conveyance of passengers in ships of an inferior description.
[148] I look back with great pleasure to the part I took, however humble, in connection with this great measure. Though it was the Act of Lord Aberdeen’s Government, its credit is mainly due to Mr. (now Lord) Cardwell, then President of the Board of Trade, to Mr. (now Sir Henry) Thring, by whom it was drawn with great ability and care, and to Mr. T. H. Farrer, then Secretary of the Marine Department, whose clear head, sound judgment, thorough knowledge of maritime law, and unwearied exertions, were of the greatest value to the able minister under whom he acted. Perhaps, in the whole history of Parliament, no Bill at all approaching its dimensions and the multiplicity of subjects with which it dealt, was ever carried through the House of Commons with so much unanimity, and in so short a space of time, as the Merchant Shipping Act of 1854; and, as the manner in which this was done may be useful to the legislators of to-day and of the future, I shall endeavour to state the mode of procedure. Mr. Cardwell, having made himself thoroughly master of the subject by a careful study of the existing mercantile marine laws of our own and other countries in all their details, invited to the Board of Trade the representatives of all the leading seaports in the kingdom, and having furnished them with an outline of his views, wisely sought their aid in the construction of his great measure. He courted discussion in every form, and, in no instance, declined to receive a deputation from shipowners, sailors, and other persons who could furnish him with useful information on the subject. By such means he was able, not, however, without much labour, though it was unseen and unknown, to complete and perfect a most difficult and valuable legislative measure, the whole of the clauses of which he carried through the House of Commons in one day’s sitting between the hours of 12.30 and 5.45! No such legislative feat has ever been performed before or since. Nor was it, indeed, a less perfect measure than various others of one quarter its size, which had occupied the attention of Parliament for as many days as the hours appropriated by the House to its discussion.