1 JUNE 1912, Page 2

Such, a lack of "proper discipline" might easily appear in

any ship belonging to any line. Boat-drill is not carried out thoroughly, and the ship's company generally comes together for the first time a few hours before the ship sails. It would not be impossible, we should think, to have some continuity in the formation of cisme. Sailors talk of a ship "finding her- self"; but while a crew rapidly brought together is still under- going the similar process of finding itself a disaster may occur. The lack of any " systematic warning " to the pas- sengers would be impossible if there were a posse of ship's police under an officer to take the situation in hand and, if necessary, coerce the passengers in their own interests. It is obviously quite impossible in a huge liner for a captain's influence to make itself felt throughout the ship in a crisis. We are very glad that the Report draws attention to the lack of strict control over the wireless telegraphiete. Wireless telegraphy is now one of the essential parts of the apparatus of life-saving. Finally there is a very strong, and we dare- say sound, recommendation that all passenger ships of a certain size should have longitudinal as well as transverse bulkheads, the longitudinal bulkheads being designed to supply an outer skin such as men-of-war have.