At the general meeting of the British Association on Saturday
Dr. Elgar read a paper on "Safety in Ships." He showed that the safety of ships had been gradually increasing. They seldom failed in stability, and owing to the strength with which the deck-houses were now con- structed, it was practically impossible for a well-built steamer to be overwhelmed by the sea,—that is, by the sea breaking over her and finding its way below in such quantities as to sink her. Another great source of safety was water-tight compartments. There appeared to be no reason why large passenger-steamers should not be so sub- divided as to be safe against any single blow from outside. This was practically done in many of the great Transatlantic steamers running from Liverpool. We presume that a naval architect, commissioned to think of no other considerations than safety, could build a steamer which, even were she ripped up by a sunken rock like the Drummond Castle,' or run into like the Elbe,' would still remain afloat and safe. But of course such a. steamer would be very expen- sive to construct, and probably a great deal of valuable space would be wasted. At the same time, the sense of absolute security attaching to her would make people willing to pay 10 per cent. more for a berth than in an ordinary liner. We wonder that one of the great firms does not build a steamer which they could advertise as an ocean lifeboat.
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