Hon. R. B. Forbes.—I would call attention to the pressing necessity for the consideration of separate tracks out and home for steamers navigating the Atlantic. As long ago as 1854 the subject was broached, and early in 1855 Lieut. M. F. Maury, at the instigation and cost of a board of underwriters of New York, published a chart illustrating what he called Ocean Lanes. At that time it was estimated that a steamer left one side or the other, on an average, every five or six hours. At this time the statistics of Mr. Nimmo show that one leaves every two hours. Adding to his list, which comprises only foreign steamers coming to the United States, the American steamers from Philadelphia, and the steamers running in summer to British Provinces, I estimate that we have one for about every hour and a half. If it was thought prudent twenty-six years ago to consider the subject of different routes out and home, it would seem vastly more so now that we have more than three times the number of steamers crossing the Atlantic, each going on her own course, but nearly on the same tracks out and home. The danger of collisions is vastly increased; keen competition by steamers, running much faster than formerly, adds to the risk.
There have been some improvements in the interest of safety, such as better methods of lighting, better steering, better modes of signaling, and a more extended experience; still, the danger is much increased.
Referring to some new suggestions for automatic sound signals, of which several have been made, I would say that which is the simplest is the best. One plan is that of Admiral Beaumont, which has been applauded by well-known experts, notably by Captain Moreland of the Cunard line. This plan gives blasts of the whistle for every two points, with pauses between them. If I may so speak, it is too good; it aims at too much. On the broad Atlantic, for steamers going out and coming home, all we want is a signal during thick weather that will denote east or west, let it be understood as out and home. When in narrow waters, as the English Channel and on our coast, it will be enough to denote northerly and southerly; the officer on the bridge has cares enough on his shoulders and noises enough in his ears not to want blasts of the whistle for every five minutes—blasts which tend to cut off the sound of signals from others.
An effort was made in 1874, through a committee appointed by the Social Science Association and by the Technological Society of Massachusetts, to call the attention of steamship companies and foreign governments to the necessity for establishing separate tracks. The committee was composed of well-known merchants and experts of Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore, and was aided by Commodore R. H. Wyman, who reprinted Maury's paper on ocean lanes. The late Professor Benj. Pierce was a member, and felt a great interest in the subject; he was in Europe at the time, and much aid was expected from his consultations with foreign associations, but no progress was made; there was a difficulty in getting at parties who controlled steam lines, and a spice of jealousy perhaps existed between rival lines.
I fear nothing can be done until a general convention of steamship companies takes up and considers the subject. Nothing short of this will answer, unless we wait, and wait not very long, for a disastrous collision between two passenger steamers.
One considerable advantage in establishing separate routes will be found in greater safety to Bank fishermen. If we mark on all charts a track, say thirty or forty miles in width, narrowing it to less at certain necessary crossings of routes and on certain banks, the fishermen will naturally avoid these tracks. Another considerable advantage will be found in the fact that vessels in distress, and yet in condition to control their course in some degree, will know where to find succor. I have just corrected a proof of a short paper on ocean lanes intended for the Army and Navy journal of next week, and have furnished other papers to the New York Herald and the New York Nautical Gazette. The subject cannot be too extensively discussed, and I hope that some members of the Naval Institute will give their views.
Lieut. F. S. Bassett.—In 1854 the steamer Arctic collided with the Vesta in a fog off the Banks of Newfoundland, and 323 lives were lost. In the newspaper comments that followed so dire an accident many things were suggested and urged as remedial or preventive measures against the many dangers of fog, collision, ice, and winter storms. Among these, the present subject, that of ocean lanes, then first suggested by our venerable associate, Mr. R. B. Forbes, was discussed at some length as being one of the more important of the preventive measures. Commodore (then Lieutenant) M. F. Maury, United States Navy, took up the subject and elaborated it in a letter to W. R. Jones, Esq., of the New York Board of Underwriters. Afterward, in response to an invitation from Messrs. Sleeper, Cartwright, Forbes, Bowditch, and others, underwriters of Boston, he further studied the subject, and in 1855 his pamphlet on ocean steam lanes was published at the Government Printing Office. He there states that he had carefully examined the logs of 46,000 days concerning the wind and weather of that part of the North Atlantic principally occupied by the mercantile fleets of either hemisphere. He then laid down two tracks, or lanes, twenty miles wide, to one of which, the most northern, he proposed to confine the steamers westward bound, and to the other, situated from one to ten degrees south of it, the eastward-bound steamers were to conform. He argued, and brought data to support it, that the westward-bound passage would be shortened by following the lane, and the eastward-bound track would not be materially longer. By confining steamers to these narrow lanes, and advising sailing vessels to keep off from them, or if compelled to cross them, to do so as soon as possible, he contended that the chances of collision would be far less. He also argued that westward-bound steamers arriving on the Banks would be able to tell their position by temperature and soundings, so as to diminish the chances of running ashore.
For some time after Maury's labors had been given to the subject, it languished. In this country, the decline of our merchant marine began about this time, and the Civil War followed; and so the subject was allowed to drop. But within the past few years it has again been revived, and periodical letters and articles on the subject have appeared in nautical and popular publications in this country and in Europe. Mr. Forbes has been prominent among those agitating the matter, and it is to his paper read here at our last meeting that the present discussion is due. Mr. Archibald, British consul at New York, has agitated the subject in the English publications, and there have from time to time appeared letters from mariners, ship captains, and others, in the New York Herald, the Nautical Gazette, Army and Navy Journal, and other publications.
In 1873 the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce addressed to the Minister of Marine a memorial urging the adoption of steam lanes. The same year Commodore Maury's pamphlet was republished at the Hydrographic Office, and Commodore Wyman, then Chief Hydrographer, strongly recommended the adoption of these steam lanes. In 1874, Prof. B. Pierce read a paper before the American Academy of Science and Arts, advocating the adoption of these steam lanes, and strongly urging the consideration of the subject at once. In 1876 Mr. Archibald, in a letter to the Nautical Magazine, of London, suggested a conference of representatives of transatlantic lines, lay and nautical, and urged the adoption of steam lanes much on the same grounds urged by Maury.
Of all the many measures, remedial and preventive, urged by various persons after the Arctic and Vesta collision, this one of steam lanes has received the least attention from the authorities. Life-boats, better lights, rules for the road, examination of officers, and other measures have each had their turn and have served their good purpose; but this, apparently the most effective preventive measure, has received no attention from our laws.
Collision is the greatest danger that will be removed by the adoption of separate tracks for steamers. This cause of wreck and disaster produces from one-fourth to one-sixth of the calamities of the world's shipping; and to judge from Professor Rogers' tables, it is a constantly increasing one. He finds that in Great Britain there has been an increase in the number of collisions amounting to 23 per cent., while the number of vessels decreased 1 per cent, in the period under consideration (1856 to 1873).
The collision (and loss) of the Arctic with the Vesta was followed by the Lyonnais and Adriatic collision, involving a great loss of property and life. In 1880, 200 vessels were lost by collision, of which thirty were steamers. Many of these would surely have been avoided by the adoption of lanes.
To these collisions, probably preventable, must be added the list of missing ships. From July, 1877, to July, 1879, this list amounted to 150 vessels and 2381 men, followed in the next fifteen months by 105 vessels, of 41,000 tons, and 1285 men. In 1880 there were eleven steamers missing. From 1866 to 1869, Professor Rogers tells us, of 10,588 vessels reported lost, 849 were missing, about one-twelfth of the whole number. It is also remarkable that most of the wrecks, collisions, etc., are during light or moderate winds; and, according to the same authority, 45 per cent, were declared due to preventable causes. Further, the same authority tells us that British statistics prove that the increase of wrecks outside of home waters was proportionately greater than those within those waters. The former increased from 935 in 1867 to 3094 in 1873, while the latter decreased from 2090 in 1867 to 1803 in 1873. This proves that the adoption of other remedial and preventive measures tended to reduce accidents, but that the danger of such was rendered greater by the increased navigation beyond seas, and that we must look to some further means of decreasing casualties there.
It is for the safety of the sailing vessel, as well as for that of the steamer, that the adoption of these lanes is urged. This will be the better for the sailing vessel, as Maury urges, since, from his charts, the fogs and calms occur most frequently across the lanes.
The lanes laid down by Maury may, however, require some modifications. In the first place, they will in all probability have to be widened. Maury's twenty miles might have accommodated the steamers engaged in transatlantic traffic at that date, but it will probably be found too narrow at this time. The advantage of a narrow lane is that the sailing ship may readily cross it when she finds herself in it; but now steamers leave port more frequently to cross the Atlantic. Mr. Forbes told us that they left either side at the rate of one each hour and a half. A letter from a prominent British ship owner to the English Board of Trade, in 1879, published in the Nautical Magazine, tells us that 2500 steamers leave Europe yearly for America, and as many return. This would be about one every three hours, so that Mr. Forbes' estimate is about right. Allowing fifteen days to the trip (including loading and discharging), we would have some seventy steamers at sea, bound in one direction, or, distributing them over a track of 3000 miles, a line of steamers 45 miles apart. There should be given more room than that allowed by Maury's lanes.
The widening of these lanes would also answer many of the objections urged by steamer captains against them. One often given is that there is a loss of freedom in adopting them, and in being confined to a route—a want of control over the movements of the vessel that is necessary to the experienced mariner. This would in some measure be met by the adoption of wider lanes, and besides, so much care and attention on the part of the captain to keep the ship in the lane would not be required.
With all due respect for Mr. Forbes' opinion, I do not think it an impossible thing for a fast steamer to catch and run down a slower one. Suppose, for instance, a ten-knot freight steamer leaves New York at 4 P. M., and a fourteen knot passenger steamer at 6 P. M. The latter will probably overtake the former about 11.30 P. M.—about the time the first watch officer is getting a little drowsy, the lights just beginning to burn dimly, and the lookouts well into the merits of their final yarn. It is easy for a ship to creep up on another, without the pursuer being aware of it, on a very dark night. But we may lessen this danger by adopting the wider lanes, and require fast steamers to keep on one edge, and slow steamers on the other.
We should also remember that the danger of collision is greater with the noiseless screw-propeller, the low pressure engines, and long and unhandy steamers.
The adoption of lanes would render the possibilities of aid to sailing vessels in peril greater, since steamers in them would be able to succor the distressed sailor who bears up towards the lane, thus serving as a string of lifeboats across the ocean.
The lanes may also have to be removed to the southward of Maury's projected tracks. The argument used by Maury in favor of the lanes, that fogs and calms occur most frequently along them, is used by Captain Shackford of the steamer Illinois, in communications to the Nautical Magazine and New York Herald, as a reason for taking a more southerly passage. Instead of crossing the meridian of 50° at 45° in coming westward, and at 42°-43° in going east, he would cross it at 40°-41°. We may perhaps find it necessary to compare with Maury's labors the testimony of the experienced captains of our merchant steamers, and the comparison will be useful in determining the location of the lanes.
Captain McKay, in communications to the New York Herald, has another plan of modifying the lanes, by which he would confine sailing vessels, and not steamers, to a lane. He proposes a lane 30 miles wide. Steamers bound one way will keep south of the southern limit of this, and steamers bound the other way north of the northern limit. He urges that this plan will obviate the danger of collision, render it easier for the sailing vessel to bear up to the lanes for relief, and would not be open to the objection of too much restriction on the captain of the steamer.
While this might, with some modifications, be worthy of consideration, it is a very slight change from the existing order of things, and a change only in the direction of restricting the sailing vessel. It seems then somewhat hard on the latter to say that 60,000 sailing vessels, at the mercy of the winds and waves, shall be limited to a narrow lane, while the 7000 steamers shall be allowed to roam at will, except in this narrow forbidden strip.
It is to be hoped that the attention of those who own ships, those who sail ships, and those who go in ships or send produce therein, may be brought to this subject, for it is quite probable that it will require a popular demand to obtain anything in favor of these lanes, either from the companies or from the governments.
Lieut. E. T. Strong.—The subject of Ocean Lanes in the navigation of the North Atlantic is one which should claim the attention and interest of all who are directly or indirectly connected with mercantile pursuits, both in this country and in Europe; and since the routes under discussion form an important part of the world's great highway of travel and commerce, upon which representatives from all the nations of the globe are continually passing and repassing, and over which agricultural and mechanical products from all parts of the world are carried, the subject is one in which all the nations of the civilized world should take the greatest interest.
As the amount of traffic between the United States and Europe has increased during the past twenty-five years, public attention has from time to time been called to the subject of rendering life and property more secure upon the ocean. Great improvements have been made in the construction of steamers, which, with water-tight compartments, are rendered less liable to loss by foundering in case of collision with other vessels or with ice; life-rafts have been invented, and are now in use on board of passenger steamers, to take the place, in some measure, of the lack of carrying capacity of the steamer's boats for the number of passengers to be accommodated; life-buoys and cork mattresses are at hand to serve as a means of saving life, and the inspection of steamers, by authority of government, to enforce the provision of all these means of saving life is thorough and frequent.
Besides these numerous preventive measures that have been taken against the danger by collision or shipwreck, improvements have been made in signals and in the lighting of vessels; the "Rule of the Road at Sea," by which the movements of vessels in proximity to one another are governed, has become a law among maritime nations, and we must not omit to mention the fact that twenty-five years' additional experience in the exclusive navigation of the North Atlantic by those engaged in that business, ensures a greater degree of safety to life and property.
All of these improvements are steps in the right direction, and they have been called forth by the demands of the travelling public that the risks of ocean travel shall be reduced to a minimum ; but nearly all of the steps which I have mentioned are to give additional safety to life after collision has actually taken place. It cannot be said that all precautions have been taken until the danger of collision itself has been reduced to a minimum by instituting fixed routes or lanes, to which the movements of all steamers passing between the northern ports of the United States and of the Provinces and the northern ports of Europe shall be confined.
If in 1854 this subject was considered worthy of notice, of how much greater importance is it at the present time! From 1856 to 18S0, the amount of tonnage, foreign and domestic, entered at United States ports from England, France, Germany, Belgium and Italy, has increased 4 ½ fold; and the steam tonnage entered at United States ports from 1864 to 1880, inclusive, has increased nearly 9 fold, of which, it is hardly necessary to add, the greater part of the increase is found between the northern ports of Europe and of the United States.
The interests of all lines of steamers are the same: the quick transport of passengers and freight. The route which would naturally be taken is that of the shortest distance, or as near a great circle as the outlying dangers of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia will permit. Although the varying circumstances of wind and weather may cause a wider track to be occupied in mid ocean, and less danger of collision be experienced, the convergence of the tracks near the coast of North America and the British Islands plainly shows the greater danger to which vessels are exposed in those portions of the voyage. Steamers from Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, Boston and Halifax all enter the great highway but a few hundred miles from their ports of departure, and the same is true for those leaving the ports of the. English Channel or the western coast of England and Scotland. Comparatively speaking, the route is crowded both by steam and sailing vessels, bound both to the east and west, and to add to the dangers of collision, the speed which steam vessels are capable of maintaining is gradually upon the increase.
The passage formerly made from New York to Liverpool in twelve days is now frequently made in eight days. The average of seven passages of the City of Chester of the Inman line is Sd. 5h. 47m., and of the City of Richmond 8d. 10h. 40m.
The Germanic, of the White Star line, made the passage from Queenstown to New York in 1875 in 7d. 23h., at an average of 14 ½ knots for the entire passage, and on the 26th of the present month the Cunard steamer Servia arrived at Queenstown in 7d. i2h. from New York, at an average speed of 15 ½ knots per hour. Even this speed is soon to be surpassed by the "dome" steamers, which, are intended to make the passage in six days, and perhaps less; and as the demands of the public for quick transit are complied with by the construction of vessels of greater speed, the dangers of navigation are continually increased. It cannot be doubted that the steamers of all the different lines are commanded and officered by experienced and capable seamen; but in spite of the greatest care and watchfulness upon their part, in the darkness of the night or in foggy weather, disasters have occurred, and are always liable to occur between vessels running upon opposite courses, bringing with them the constant liability to loss of life and property.
Aside from the consideration that greater safety from collision would result from the establishment of ocean lanes, the safety of vessels in distress and their greater liability to obtain assistance should not be forgotten. Disabled steamers being within the limits of the lane could hardly fail to be seen by others and have assistance rendered. The masters of sailing vessels in distress outside the lanes would know to a certainty within what latitudes assistance could be obtained. The present winter, with its violent storms and disasters to shipping in mid-ocean, teaches us a lesson upon this subject which should not be disregarded.
This subject has been discussed from time to time during the past quarter of a century. It was thoroughly investigated by the late Lieut. Maury as early as 1855. Tracks were delineated upon his charts showing what he considered the most favorable routes that could be taken for ocean lanes. Although it is hardly necessary that I should describe them, a passing notice may not be without interest.
The lane from America to Europe is the more southern of the two, in which advantage is taken of the easterly current of the Gulf Stream. The shortest distance between Sandy Hook and Liverpool that a ship can take is 3009 miles. By the lane recommended by Lieut. Maury, measuring through the centre, the distance is 3144 miles. The difference between this and the great circle route would probably be made up by the favorable current of the Gulf Stream.
The proposed lane for steamers bound to the westward is but 29 miles longer than the great circle track, while it has the advantage of skirting the northern edge of the Gulf Stream, .where an eddy is frequently found, the average strength of which is estimated at ½ knot per hour. The northern boundary of this track crosses the Banks of Newfoundland at a distance of 100 miles south of Cape Race, and 45 miles from Virgin Rocks, the most dangerous locality of the whole passage, if the shortest route is taken, on account of the fogs, currents and outlying dangers of the coast, and where time is often lost in running at a slower rate of speed as a precautionary measure, or in steering to the southward in order to clear these dangers. The advantages of Maury's routes are undoubtedly well understood by those who are continually crossing the Atlantic, and they, or routes of equal safety, are taken by many; but confusion will arise and liability to collision occur unless the tracks for all are the same. Many of the steamship companies have already established routes for their own steamers.
The White Star line advertises to follow those advocated by Maury. The Cunard steamers take the southern route upon their trips, the ships bound to the westward crossing the meridian of 50° nothing north of 43°, and those bound to the eastward crossing the same meridian nothing north of 42°. The Inman line take also the southern passage, avoiding as much as possible the fogs of Newfoundland.
Undoubtedly these lines, and perhaps others which I have not mentioned, take these routes as the safest and most popular with the travelling public, at the small sacrifice of time which is required by them. If all owners of steamships, and those who control their movements, could be persuaded that it is for their interest that all should follow the same track, the agreement as to ocean lanes could easily be accomplished.
One of the objections that has been offered to the proposed enforcement of ocean lanes is that the commanders of steamers should not be limited to certain latitudes, but should be left to their own experience and judgment. But their routes are to a certain extent limited by the companies by which they are employed, and that their judgment and skill are not at all times infallible is shown by the fact that the best appointed ships are at times swept to destruction near the ends of their routes, and that collisions do occasionally take place in mid ocean, with loss of life and property.
It has also been urged that steamers would not at all times be able to keep within prescribed limits of latitude, as, for instance, during heavy weather, when it may become necessary to heave to; but it is seldom that the larger steamers of the transatlantic lines are unable to keep upon their course. The reports that have come to us during the present winter are exceptional. Many steamers have been delayed in their passage to the westward, but in spite of delays they could, no doubt, have retained their position within given limits of latitude had it been required. I consider that the width of a lane recommended by Lieut. Maury is too small; that in place of having a width of but 25 or 30 miles it should be 60 miles, to accommodate the large number of steamers passing over the routes. With a lane of this width, I think that it would be only in extreme cases that steamers would be unable to retain their positions; but if obliged by stress of weather to drift outside the limits, as has been remarked by Lieut. Maury, their position would be no worse than it is at present. If it is considered that by allotting a width of 2° of latitude to the exclusive use of steamers, the rights of sailing vessels upon the world's highway are infringed upon, I answer that it is as much for the safety of sailing vessels as steamers that ocean lanes should be enforced. Steamers, with their superior motive power, should be limited to certain latitudes which sailing vessels should avoid, if possible, unless in need of assistance, while the latter have the space between the lanes and to the north and south of them.
Statistics of commerce show the great increase of tonnage of steam vessels over sail vessels built during the past fifteen years. From the port of New York alone, during the year ending June 30, 1880, three-fourths of the value of exports to the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium, was taken by steam vessels, while about four-fifths of the imports from those countries to New York was brought in by steam vessels. These facts in regard to the commerce of one port only (although the most important) of the United States show that steam vessels are more largely employed than sailing vessels; that it is to steamers that the more valuable freight is entrusted, and that upon them, to the almost entire exclusion of sailing vessels, thousands of passengers are continually crossing the North Atlantic. It follows, then, that the interests of commerce demand that the rights of steam vessels should be protected and their safety provided for by competent legislation, even at the expense, if necessary, of some inconvenience to sailing vessels.
The arguments that I have enumerated in favor of ocean lanes have already been advanced by different writers, but they are brought home to us with increased force year by year as commerce increases between the two continents. The necessity of increased care in the navigation of the North Atlantic can be but evident to the most casual observer. Whether the lanes should be those recommended by Maury, or others farther south, increasing the distance, but entirely avoiding the fogs of the Banks of Newfoundland, I will leave for others to determine. That I consider to be a question of secondary importance. The question is not so much at present, "Where shall the limits of the lanes be fixed?" (so long as they do not lead into danger), as it is, "When shall the necessary steps be taken for enforcing such lanes?" That there is a general feeling among steamship companies and their officers in favor of ocean lanes is shown by the increasing agitation of the subject, and by the adoption of the safer and less crowded routes by many of the lines. I am of the opinion that the agreement to the adoption of these lanes by steamship companies is not sufficient in itself, but that the enforcement of such lanes, and the protection of the rights of both steam and sail vessels in regard to them, as well as penalties for the infringement of them, are matters for legislation and mutual agreement between the maritime nations of Europe and the United States.
The great resources of this continent are being developed year by year with amazing rapidity. New railroads are continually being built, opening up to agriculture and trade a large amount of new territory yearly. The markets for our surplus productions are found in the countries of the eastern hemisphere, and the amount of the carrying trade between the United States and Europe must increase for many years to come.
No time should be lost in giving the greatest possible security by proper legislation to the lines and property engaged in these pursuits.
Hon. R. B. Forbes.—To recur to what was said at the last meeting on the subject of different tracks, out and home, for steamers crossing the Atlantic, I would call attention and invite discussion on what is said in the New York Herald of the 12th instant. It is there suggested that a space of about thirty miles in width be laid off and called "neutral ground," all steamers coming west to keep to the northward, and all going east to keep to the southward. This appears to me to be a fair compromise between the advocates of the Maury lanes, of which I am one, and those who want more space, and I think the suggestion well worth consideration. Parties who are wedded to great circle sailing, who are fond of fogs and ice, can then shave Cape Race and Sable Island, and those who value the slight aid they can get from the Gulf current may follow it.
I have another suggestion to offer, and that is to change the routes for different seasons: from the first of April to the first of October to go and come either by Maury's tracks or as suggested in the Herald, and from the first of October to the first of April to go eastward as nearly on the great circle as possible. From all parts of the United States on the Atlantic this would carry steamers near Cape Race; and as the winds at this season prevail from the westward, with generally clear weather, this route would be popular with most navigators, and it has the merit of carrying them near to ports of succor. Coming westward in the winter, cautious navigators would take the southern route, and if it should be laid down right, they would have the favorable counter-current prevailing on the northern edge of the Gulf Stream, the position of which can generally be ascertained by the water thermometer. In very stormy seasons like the present, much maybe gained in time and comfort by keeping to the southward of the usual course. Meeting one of the experienced Cunard captains the other day, I said to him, "How is it that you make so much better weather of it coming this way than your competitors?" He smiled and said, "When I get a northwester which I cannot face I give her a good hitch to the south, and I soon find weather which I can safely face, while they are lying-to or contending against seas which damage them."
I hope that some of you who have access to charts will consider these mere suggestions, and lay down the neutral ground, for discussion at some future meeting.
Lieut. J. C. Soley.—The reports of the masters of the different steamers which have been crossing between this country and the northern ports of Europe serve to show that, with ever-increasing steam travel, the safety of vessels demands that vessels should be restricted to certain routes. While the currents, prevailing winds, and general weather indicate that eastward-bound vessels should take a northerly route, the same considerations make it advisable that westward-bound vessels should take a more southerly course. But these considerations will vary with the seasons, and therefore I do not think it would be practicable to confine shipmasters to any lanes, properly so called, which have a northern and southern limit. No more do I believe in the feasibility of laying off any neutral ground to be used by sailing vessels, because they should be the least hampered. I do not believe it would be possible to secure any international legislation which would accomplish such an end, nor do I believe it would be advisable. I am in favor of allowing more latitude by fixing upon a certain line and requiring eastward-bound vessels to keep to the north of it and westward-bound vessels to keep to the south of it. Sailing vessels would probably keep these routes from preference, even without any legislation, if they knew that steamers always observed them. This alone would diminish in an immense degree the dangers of collision, and would facilitate the saving of shipwrecked persons much more than if there were a neutral ground.
Lieut. F. S. Bassett.—I particularly emphasize the necessity of overhauling Maury's work. That great scientist did his task well, but the experience of twenty-five years has shown conclusively, at least to some, that more southern routes are to be adopted. Capt. Shackford, in taking this ground, gives extracts from the logs of various steamers, showing that those adopting southern routes had good winds and weather, while those on more northern tracks encountered fogs and gales. It is possible that the winds, since Maury's work was done, have changed their character, and that fogs, etc., were more frequent than even he supposed on these lanes. At any rate, more attention must be paid to the steamer companies, and it will probably be found necessary to get combined views of our principal commanders, and endeavor to reconcile them, if not to Maury's, then to modified lanes.
Lieut. E. T. Strong.—It seems to me the adoption of Ocean Lanes can be as easily made a subject for legislation as the Rule of the Road has been, or the agreement to an International Code of Signals, both of which are steps taken for the greater safety of shipping at sea. I cannot agree with the suggestion of Lieut. Soley that it would be sufficient that the different steamship companies should agree among themselves to adopt certain routes for their steamers. Freedom would still be given to those who did not wish to enter into such an agreement, to cross either inside the lanes or outside of them, and there would be nothing binding. Mr. Forbes speaks of the establishment of different lanes for summer and winter passengers, which I think would tend to confusion. The reason of this change of route is for the avoidance of fogs or ice, or to obtain more favorable winds or less unfavorable ones. But as steamers are not dependent upon the wind during the passage, I think that a certain route could be taken which would have but few disadvantages either in winter or summer, and the difference of one hundred miles in a passage is of but little importance when a day's run is often three times that distance and even more.