The Sun.
London, England, 1828-12-26 00:00:00

USEFUL INVENTION FOR PREVENTING

SHIPS FOUNDERING AT SEA.

This plan is the invention of Mr. Ralph
Watson, who unlike most projectors, does not
seek to derive any pecuniary emolument from his
invention. Mr. Watson observes, in a
well-
written pamphlet which he has published upon
the subject, that the principle of the invention is
the unerring law of nature—namely, that what-
ever is specifically lighter than the quantity of
water which its ,own bulk will displace by im-
mersion will swim ; a position exemplified by
various proofs, but by none more aptly than that
of the organic arrangement of fish :—for the
buoyant or floating power of the whale (whose
weight is known to exceed 100 tons) and of all
other fishes which swim, is solely dependent
upon an air-bladder with which they are each
furnished—as, in the event of this bladder being
perforated, the fish, from its greater specific gra-
vity than the sea, instantly sinks, and never again
floats.

" The invention itself," Mr. Watson farther
observes, "is the employment of the tubes
made of copper (or of any other substances, if
found to be equally secure, &c.) of a cylindri-
cal form, terminating at each extremity by con-
vex or semi-globular ends ; the whole to be her-
metically sealed, and to contain, in number and
capacity, a bulk or quantity of atmospheric air
equal to counterbalance that extra portion of the
weight er specific gravity of the ship and her
contents, which otherwise, in case of leak, and
the ship filling with water, would cause her to
sink."

These " safety tubes" the inventor designs to
place in the spaces between the beams of the
decks ; also between the timbers or ribs, the
shell-pieces, and the planking, and in all other
places below the decks which may be occupied
without inconvenience. The tubes would pre-
sent a uniform circular surface, and would there-
fore, when immersed, be perfectly secure against
the pressure of the water occasioned by the
weight of the ship ; and, from spreading their
buoyant power uniformly over the whole range of
the ship's decks, Mr. Watson thinks they would
not, in case of the ship filling, disturb her equili-
brium, or centre of gravity.
We arc aware that it may be objected to this
plan that the tubes would be liable to be disar-
ranged or broken by the motion of a ship in
action, or in a storm, but these accidents, we
should imagine, might be guarded against, in a
great measure, by making the tubes of a propor-
tionable strength. At any rate the experiment
would 1)c worth trying, particularly as it may be
done at a comparatively small expense ; namely,
the expense of making the tubes, and placing
them in the ship. The intrinsic value of the
copper would not be at all deteriorated by the
experiment. The plan might not be universally
applicable to all ships, on account of the room
which the tubes would occupy ;—but
this objec-
tion, if indeed it be one, could not apply to
packet ships. For our part, we see no reason
why the experiment should not be tried, while,
when we consider the great loss of life, to say
nothing of property, occasioned by ships foun-
dering at sea, we see many why it should.
Surely the Government might spare a few hun-
dred pounds in makingthe expernuent—an ex-
periment which, if it should turn out successful,
would reflect infinitely more honour upon them
than all the national improvements and embel-
lishments which have been adopted during the
present reign.
Mr. Watson has constructed a model, with
the view of affording a practical illustration of
his plan. It is in due proportion to the dimen-
ced in water
without
sions and to the actual weight of an SO gun
ship, when equipped for a four months' voyage,
This model, having a
nplas
;---hut with
the " safety tubes" affixed to the main, the
eak
in
the her
'‘ sttettoym— tubes,"NYl sinks e
middle, and the lower decks, it foals, and with
a power of buoyancy so great, that, upon its•
being forcibly pressed under water, it rises to
the same point of elevation at which it before rest-
ed—namely, with the main deck above the
surface.

The Marquis of Lansdowne, his Majesty's
Lieutenant fur Wiltshire, yesterday held a Court of Lieu-
tenancy at the Bear Inn, in Devizes, and appeared in ex-
cel!ent health and -spirits, after his return from his Conti-
nental tour,.—Devizes Gazette.