The Sun.
London, England, 1854-10-30 00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES.

Sir,—A letter signed "R. D. Weld" appears in the
Times of this morning, containing statements which may
cause alarm and uneasiness to those who may have to
travel by our steam-ships.
I trust you will be so good as to insert my observa-
tions on this gentleman's statements.
Mr. Weld accuses the owners of indifference as to the
safety of the lives of passengers and crew, and calls upon
Parliament to interfere for their protection, and to
punish the owners.

We are obliged by act of Parliathent to carry boats of
a stipulated size ; we have not only the number required
by the act, but one more in each ship ; each boat has in
her at all times the proper number of oars, a mast with
a sail bent to it, some small water casks, an axe, and
other articles likely to be useful in cases of emergency ;
a crew is regularly appointed to each boat.
The boats may not be exactly placed in the way that
Mr. Weld would place them, but they are carried in the
manner in which the judgment and experience of the
captain think best for their safety and usefulness ; they
must be well secured to the ship, or they will be carried
away in heavy weather, which occasionally is the case,
with all the care we take of them ; four of the boats are
on davits, two are within and on the top of the deck-
houses.

Mr. Weld says, "It would take three-quarters of an
hour in the tranquil waters of the Mersey, in broad
daylight, to launch each of these boats."

I have not the pleasure of knowing Mr. Weld. He is
evidently not aseaman himself, and has been misinformed.
Every boat in the ship, under such circumstances, could
be launched, equipped, and manned in three minutes.
The boats are quite sufficient to carry every person in
the ship. We are not only bound by act of Parliament
to have boats and other suitable equipment, but the
Lords of the Admiralty order our ships to be rigidly
inspected immediately before going to sea on each
voyage. The public have, therefore, this additional
security for their safety.
Mr. Weld says, " We make the lives of the passengers
an.l crew a very secondary consideration." This is,
indeed, a very grave charge, and is entirely without
foundation. It is our first consideration. We have been
so fortunate as to carry about 100,000 passengers across
the Atlantic—a distance of 3,000 miles—without injury
to one of them. Ido not speak of this boastingly, for
we know not when accidents may happen.
Mr. Weld alludes to the unfortunate occurrence of the
Arctic. The passengers who were saved say that the
boats were sufficient to carry 500 persons. There were
only 400 on board. Some of the boats were lost by the
unskilful management of passengers, and one was not
used at all. Additional boats would, therefore, have
been useless. Captain Luce is known to be a good sea-
man, and a firm and resolute man. He did his duty
under the trying circumstances in which he was
placed. If his crew had stood by him all might have
been saved.

S. CUNARD.
Howchin's Hotel, St. James's-street, Oct. 28.

DEPARTURE OF THE AMERICAN MAILS.—LIVERPOOL,
Saturday.—The British and North American Royal
mail steam-ship America, Captain W. J. C. Lang, sailed
from the Mersey this afternoon for Boston and Halifax,
with the usual mails for the United States and British
possessions in North America, 145 passengers, and a
full cargo of merchandise on freight. Previous to her
departure, copies of the London morning journals of this
date were placed on board by Messrs. Wilmer and
Smith, of Liverpool, for the press and news-rooms of
the Western Continent. The Royal mail steam-ship
Canada, with the New York mails of the 18th, is ex-
pected to-morrow, and the Royal mail screw steam-ship
Lusitania, with the Brazil mails, on Tuesday.
THE TEMPLE.—Several improvements are shortly to
be carried into effect with regard to the buildings ; the
most prominent of which is the demolition of all the
houses abutting on the round tower of their beautiful
church, together with the mean chambers now consti-
tuting the south side of Churchyard-court. This will at
once lay open to proper view that most splendid edifice
—the unique relic of the Tereplars of England. Notices
have also been served on th, few remaining tradesmen,
only six in number, who still occupy shops within the
precincts of the Temple. The two Temples, Inner and
Middle, will then be exclusively occupied by barristers
and students at law—their original and proper destina-
tion. A considerable reduction in the rents is also to
be made, brought about by the great number of cham-
bers new vacant—no less than thirty in the Middle
Temple alone. The price of the dinners is also to be fixed
at two and sixpence, both for the bar and students.
These changes, together with a more prudent adminis-
tration of the funds by the respective treasurers, will, it
is to be hoped, restore the Temple to something of its an-
cient greatness and renown.