New-York tribune., 1875-07-26
THE PLI.uSOLL CASE.

THE PLINSOLL CASE.
Ii il several years since MIR. Plimsoll began
his agitation against tho shocking abuses OF
the British merchant shipping service. lie
attacked them with method and intelligence
as well as with the hot temper of reformer.
and at the very outset all England seemed to
be enthusiastic in his support. Enormous
meetings in behalf of his movement were held
in nearly all the principal towns of the king
DOM and great many important and infiu-
emtial personlgcs, ~ well as thousands OF sea-
farng men, took part in the demonstrations.
When he visited seaport towns to speak
on the subject of sailors wrongs, two or three
thousand sailors sometimes assembled to escort
him through the streets. Large sums OF money
were raised by public subscription to dcfray
the expenses Of the libel suits to which the
courageous refOrmer wa. subjected by the III
censed ship-Owncrs, though in spite OF these
contributors Mr.. PmsOirs operations have
undoubtedly been carried on at great cost to
his private purse rs well us his peace and
comfort. The facts which he dragged to
light were indeed shocking enough to
throw the whole kingdom into ferment.
fin brief he succeeded in convincing the
world that British ship-Owners are in the habit
of sending large numbers of vessels to sea
which they know to be unseaworthy. arrang-
ing tie insurance in such q way that they are
comparatively safe from pccuniary loss, while
for the fearful loss of lie they take no con-
Germ.
Mr. Plimsoll published book in the early
part of 1878 giving an account of the prln-
cpal discoveries he had made up to that time.
OF 1000 casualties in the carrying trade
which occurred in single year about
one half is represented by the unseawor-
thy, Oycradcn, or ill-fOund vessels
of the collier class, chiefly employed
in the coasting trade and about the same pro-
portion seems 10 prevail in other years the
abuses being worse in this branch Of the bu-i-
ness than in any other, though by no means
confined to it. A great many ships. for i'll
stance, that have fallen from class to class
until thcy are only fit to be broken up are
patched and put into the transatlantic timber
trade: they are just able TO float in fair
weather, and numbers of them founder Oh
the voyage. There are several common
causes of these preyentable disasters;
the vessels are worn out, or i'm
properly and cheaply built, or overloaded,
or insulIcicntly equipped. One of the most
shocking devices by which a ship is scampod"
in construction by u pir'imonious and rAscaly
owner is the use of "devils' instead Of knee
bolts. knee-bolt is copper bolt that
riycts together the cOatings of the ships
side (planking, plating &c.), and gives it
the necessary strength of resistance.
devil" is a sham bolt, consisting either OF
a head and nothing else, or u copper head with
an iron shank. The iron corrodes and in time
becomes useless. In sugar ships the fer
mentatlOn of the sugar with the
bilge-watcr produces a chemical action that
soon reduces the iron to the consistency of
black-lead. SIR. Piimsoll handled such bolts
which crumbled to pieces il his fingers, and
no mentions one owner in the West India trade
who lost ten ships out of fleet OF twenty
one IN the course of three years. There il said
to be great deal of scanping" also in the
common practice Of lengthening ships; and
this is part of the subject in which Amer-
cans ought to take particular interest Oh
account of tho number of heightened
vessels in the transatlantic passenger trade.
Overlooking is an abuse which seems to be
especially common in the British coasting
trade. and it has led TO some peculiarly pain
Iul ul-dSt~IS. NittI @tiOi lltS NlSutu
articles he cannot withdraw, although he
knows the ship to be unsafe. Nr. Plimsol
mentions the case OF vessel loaded till she
was only 20 inches out of water, and sent to
sea under escort of police boat because the
men were not willing to remain in her. At
the last moment two of the crew begged to
be sent to jail rather than to what they re-
gaidcd as certain death. The police refused.
The vessel WAS never heard from again
Other instances are reported of Il whole ships
company being put by free upon Il sinking
vessel, which went to the bottom soon after
ward
The common answer of ship owner whom
demonstrated with for overloading is that the
underwriters were salts icl and p,id the loss;
therefore there could have been nothing wrong.
But il is shown that the practice is to divide
the insurance among so many companies that
no one Of them is willing sor the sake OF the
small amount involved as its individual share
TO undertake costly and vexatiOus legal pro-
cecdings. Besides, there is great competition
among the underwriters, and any one who
should get a reputation for backwardness la
settling claims woaid soon lose his connection.
They shut thoir eyes, therefore, and make mat
ters even 10y putting up the rates. Nevertheless
and t,,is Is one Of the iuost startling Of Mr..