The Sun.
London, England, 1839-10-01 00:00:00

lives, independent of property, Lye been sacrificed.
Another Session has passed over, and for six or
eight months longer the Safety of the public is left
to the mercy- of those who have, from negli-
gence and cupidity, caused such a loss of human life,
The following is the outline of legislative regu-
lations lecommended by the Cotrnrii!sioners :-
1. That a Board.ba appointed, in Connexion with and
under the President of he Board of Trade, whose business
it shall be to register and ciasify all vessels navigated by
steam, built, or building ; the register to recard de-
tailed specifications of hull and machinery ; periodica:
surveys to be made upon them, and particulars of all
dis,sfers and accidents which happen to or may be oc-
casioned by stelm-vessels.
_..

2. That the Surveyors of hull and machinery be paid
for their surveys by the owners of the vessels, according
to a fixed scale, as is the practice for Lloyd's register ;
that they s1)311 forward their reports to the Board,
which, in the event of the owner:or owners objecting to
the repairs required, in order to entitle the vessel to a
passenger license, shall (if the objection regard the hull)
call in one or two of the principal shipbuilderS of the
port or district, unconnected with the work of such
repairs, to 's.urvey the vessel, in conjunction with the
official Surveyor, and report specially thereon.
3. License to express whether it be granted for cargo
o aly ; for towing-vessels ; for the conveyance of passen-
gers; or for these purposes combined ; also whether
be vessel be intended to ply as a river or sea-going

steamer.

4. That the Surveyor shall ascertain that the safety-
valves be sufficient to pass all the steam which the
boiler.; can generate in their tirdinary state of work, at
the pressure determined by the weight on the valves-;
the maximum of which pressuie shall.he fix'ed-1r.7 the
maker of the engines, or boilers, and the valves be loaded
accordingly.
5. That, after an assigned period, no, passenger license.
be granted to' any. -.vessel having safety-valves whose
spindles or levers are exposed on deck, or capable of
being loaded externally, unless satisfactorily_protected.
Penalty on engineers, masters, or others,
.for loading
valves beyond the weight ascertained by the Surveyor,
and regulated as above.
6: That in all new steamers, and, after an assigned
period, in all steamers now afloat, glass water-gauges,
and mercurial pressure-gauges, shall be' requited to be
fitted,to the boilers; to entitle the vessels: to a license to
ply with passengers.
7., That, in the event of the ,Surveyor having in-
formation that any
.boiler detfriorated in strength,
or unsafe at its working presSiare, in the interval of his
periodical surveys, he shall be enapOWeiea by'theßoard,
on his representation, to examine it ;. and in the. event
of the boiler proving faulty, the Board shall suspend the
passenger license, until satisfied of the safety of such
boiler.
8. That no steam-vessel be permitted to ply which is
not furnished with a binacle and compass, in good order.
9.. That, after an assigned period, no sea-goieg steam-
vessel which carries Coals on the tops, 9r about the sides
of the: boilers shall' he erititled to a passenger license,
unless the boilers be protected by dshel of meta!, or
other sullicient security,
DI • All riVersteathers•to carry :one effective boat—

coasting and Channel steamers two or three boats, as
cording.to their size—,and ocean, steam-ships four boats,
as a minimum.
11. Allsiearners to be provided'yvith sufficient. hoses
to convey water to any part of the. vessel, with a ser-
viceable outfit•of water-buckets-4' and a moveable fire-
engine to be carried in ail coasting,
.011w-11-L..1, 'and ocean-
going steamers.

In order to -diminish the frequency' and. danger' Of
collisions, and being convinced +of, the riecesSity for es-
tablishing a definite
_'° rule ;Of the road,". aad an uniform
system of signals;i,fer :the government.of steam-vessels,
' we should nave intraticed -Into the foregoing outline, dis-
tinct provisions .on The 'subject, had it riot been-that a
measure of this kindhadteen advised in the Report of the'
Commissioners nppainted 'to-inquire into the Laws and
• Regulations relating. to the Pilotage of the United
,Kingdom, to be incorporated in a new Pilot Act. Re-
ferring, however, to- tile tenor of our instructions as to
• the. nature of the accidents in steam . vessels," and to
" the. means of preventing- them," and onra review of the
valuable information supplied to us on this head, we
cannot avoid recommending the adoption of a system
which has for so many years been found practically effi-
cient, against which no objections have hitherto been
urged, and which has met the concurrence of so numer-
ous a body of steam-navigators. The system we ad-
vise is—

1. As-to the " rule of the road ;" that steam-vessels
approaching and assing each other should starboard
'their helms, with the view of keeping on the starboard
iitin of each ether, respctively, as far as practicable.
- 2. As to night-s!gnals.—The want of an uniform and
sufficient system of lights has been so fruitful a source of
collision and injury, we recommend a system similar to
that now practised by a numerous class of commanders
of private steamers, and which has • been substan-
tively approved of and adopted by the comman-
ders of her Majesty s steam packets at Liverpool,—
viz., that in all sea-going steam vessels there be
" a white light • attached at the foremost head,
visible in clear weather from eight to ten' miles ;
a white light attached to the fore part of the starboard
paddle•box, which can be seen six miles in clear wea-
ther ; and a third light, which is red, attached to the
fore part of the larboard paddle-box, visible about three
miles. The three lights can only be seen at one and
the same time when right ahead, or nearly so ; in any
other position, before the beam, two only are visible,
and their colours define the position of the vessel."
3. That the obligation to carry some powerful steam-
whistle, bell, or gong, be part of the proposed law, as
reg%lrcl3 steam-vessels ; also that their rate through
the water be defined, during fog, and thick weather,
in crowded waters, whether plying by day or night.
It is also obvious that some regulations are essential
to determine the nature and enforce the carrying of
lights in river-steamers, sailing-vessels, and vessels at
anchor.