The Sun.
London, England, 1839-04-24 00:00:00

CANADA.

In answer to Mr. GOULBU RN,
Lord MORPETII said he believed Lord John
Russell intended to bring en the subject of Canada on
Monday.
PRESERVATION OF SHIPS FROM

LIGHTNING.
Lord ELIOT rose to move the appointment Of a
Committee to examine into the merits of the petition of
Mr. S. Harris, F.R.S., relating to his invention for the pro-
tectionbd rinzj ioitithfoiosfr
consider:s,cu,t
alii,rpjiesheftnioalotiuirtteilcilgsffellliluotk,
nolvinoipi
knowledge
e Thege necessaryN le Lord
to said
under-
standl e
titld ndeoerntd
lityaitet
establishuh
elnecelet r.itnkl
three
r et
eopropositions : that ships
ductors, or provided only with such asyi were nosy in cuosne,
were in great danger of injury from
oitnitug : that the
invention of Mr. Harris was cifectii'v
pur-
pose ; and that having been tried, and
dr
found
effective it had nevertheless been dise°aru(nledl.so
so
There ware 170 cases of damage with:n the last fifteen
years, occasioned by vessels having been struck byn
lightning. These numbers were obtained by Mr.
Snow Harris, who had been permitted by the Hydro-
grapher of the Admiralty to• inspect the Log-books of,
the ships, and they formed but a small proportion °in.
the entire number. Of these 170 cases, in
one hundred instances, the vessels were set
on fire, and of the crews 62 were killed, and 111
wounded. In the case of the Repulse 7 men were
killed ; in the case of the Sappho 73 ware wounded,
and 40 severely, and in the case of Le Juste, several
men were killed. No danger was so appalling to
sailors as that of lightning ; and within the last
two years he beliveved that not less than seven of
her Majesty's ships had been struck by lightning.
Captain Fanshaw commanding the Rodney, in which
two men were killed by lightning, stated that he had
never passed through the Levant, in which dangerous
thunder-storms were frequently encountered, without
wishing for Mr. Harris's conductors, and added that
the Caledonia, the Asia, and other ships, which had
been for a considerable period on the station,
and which were provided with these conductors,
bad never received any damage. The second position
which he would lay down was that the invention of Mr.
Snow Harriss would be effectual fcr securing vessels
from lightning. Ile was a gentleman well known fur
his scientific attainments, and no man had of late years
made more interesting discover ies in that branch of natural
philosophy. The house was probably aware that the usual
conductors were metal chains, which were thrown across
the side of the ship in order to conduct the electric
fluid into the sea. Those conductors were uemally
packed in boxes, and kept in the bold, and the conse-
quence was that upon an emergency they were hardly
ever forthcoming, without considerable delay. The
experiments of Mr. Harris had been submitted
to the Inspector of the Royal Society, who had
appointed a Committee to investigate the mat-
ter, and the result of these deliberations was
a full approval of them. In addition to the testimony
to the improvements of Mr. Harris, be might also add
that of Sir David Brewster. The Noble Lord read a
number of letters, approving of Mr. Harris's plan, from
officers commanding ships, in which his conductors
were used. It might be objected that the expense
would be great. That objection, however, was not
tenable, as he had a letter from a most respected
and distinguished officer, which stated that the expense
of fitting out a first-rate line of battle ship would
snoottiex-
ceed 300/.—the value of the ship was 120,000/.,
the expense of conductors was not a very blip' rate of in-
surance.an d Titheweaxspperroinvieesto had
the strength d
beesnmenagdteh of the
inthe dock-
yards,r spars
was rather increased than diminished by the process.
He was aware that there was a great disinclination
on the part of the House to become as it were
a Court of Appeal from the decisions of various
Departments, but ha thought this was a subject of the
last importance, whether considered in a financial point
of view or as affecting the lives of our seamen.—
(Hear, hear.) This did appear to him to be a question
which required consideration. As he had been informed
by the Ilon. Gentleman opposite (Mr. C. Wood) that
the motion would not be opposed, it was unnecessary
for him to say anything further, except that he thanked
the house for the indulgence it had shown
(Cheers.) The Noble Lord then moved that a Select
Committee be appointed to inquire into the statements
contained in the petition of William Snow Harris, Eq.,
F.R.S., relating to the protection of ships from the
effects of lightning.
Sir E. CODRINGTON seconded the motion. In
addition to the instances mentioned by the Noble Lord,
he would refer to two vessels which had been lost in
South America, on which ccest the effect of the
lightning was most tremendous. So many vessels had
been lost from this cause, that if the cost of the expo
riment was likely to be ten times the sum which it would
be, it would be well worth the trial, for where conductors
had been applied, no vessel had ever been destroyed by
lightning. He could see no objection to the plan what-
ever. _ _