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Show 1 'l4 OVEHLOADINO Mold la lie tho Cause of Iteconl SUIp-wroeks. SUIp-wroeks. A recent act of the !,ondon Board ot - Trade baa aguln made It possible for careless and unheeding ship owners to expose the lives of thousands ot British Brit-ish seamen to the fury of tbe ocean. The margin beyond which ships were prohibited to be loaded has again been, placed ao low tbat the majority of them will go out with every chance ot foundering. The law enacted mainly through the personal efforts ot tbe fsmous Samuel Pllmsoll, who spent a lifetime In ameliorating tbe condition of the British sailor, direct- ed that on the side of every Hrttlah merchant ship should be painted a circle cir-cle 12 Inches In diameter, with a bar drawn across the middle. Ilelow title bar, a heavy penalty was attached for loading the vessel. While hit law was In action, fewer wrecks were known than ever before, Lost December the Hoard ot Trade decided to limit this act to vessels up lo and Inclusive of 330 test In length. Since this revision nine steamers have been lost In the Atlantic At-lantic alone. An uggTrgate ot 28,7(0 tons, worth more than 2,t00,000, ho been lost by overloading, to ssy nothing noth-ing of the lives. The law was repealed re-pealed by a complication ot red tape. |
