The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

'TAE Marine REVIEW | 31 posals of the national associations were discussed at Brussels in 1898; and, finally, after conferences at London in 1899, and at Paris in 1900, at each of which further reports of the na- tional associations were considered by the committee, draft international codes of law on collision and salvage were al- most unanmiously agreed on at the Hamburg conference of 1902. At all these conferences Great Britain was strongly represented, and voted in favor of the proposals embodied in the codes. Thus, to obtain after six years of public discus- sion practical unanimity between the representatives of thirteen nations whose laws on some points, at any rate as to col- lision, differed widely, was a remarkable achievement, in itself evidence of the public utility of the committee's labors. It is also matter of congratulation that upon most points the codes are in conformity with Anglo-American law; and upon those points where English rules have not been adopted long Con- tinental practice and strong practical. advantages sufficiently warrant the adoption of the rules to be found in the codes. As soon as these two draft codes had been agreed on the Belgian government, at the instance of the committee, ap- proacned the powers with a view to calling together a diplo- matic conference for the consideration of the draft codes, and, if approved, for their adoption by legislative measures in the countries interested. In this mission Belgium was supported by the co-operation of France and the United States. This diplomatic conference was accordingly convened and met in - Brussels in February last. The United States, Japan, France and most Continental nations were represented. Great Britain and Germany sent no representatives. The conference--sub- ject to certain amendments--approved the draft codes in the form of draft treaties, and adjourned till September: in order that the plenipotentiaries and delegates might communicate with their respective governments. It is matter of regret to the committee that the governments of Great Britain and Germany did not see their way to take part. However, his Majesty's government, in answer to a question from Mr. Mc- Arthur in the House of Commons, promised to give the draft treaties their careful consideration; and perhaps there may still be room for hope that they may decide to be rep- resented in September. The chief points concerning collision and salvage in the two draft codes may be noted. In cases where both ships are in fault, the court is not to be bound by the hard and fast English rule of dividing the total damages equally, but if one ship-is more to blame than the other may make it pay a larger proportion of the damages. On the other hand, whereas some Continental countries by their present law limit the damages recoverable to the cost of repairs, the code adopts the English principle of complete indemnity, compensation be- ing made for loss of profit and other consequential loss. The English defense of compulsory pilotage is abolished, the mas- ter remaining responsible for his ship, with the pilot as his adviser. The rule of some-Continental countries that, unless a protest is made by the captain within 24 hours of reaching port. and proceedings commenced within one month, no action shall lie for collision is abolished; but a limitation of two years is imposed. In salvage English law has been adopted, with little variation; success remains the criterion of the right to reward. In addition to collisions and salvage, the committee have discussed jurisdiction in collision cases, limitation of ship owners' liability and conflicts of law as to mortgages and privileged liens; and upon the two first subjects draft codes have been agreed on. The question of limitation of liability is one of great importance. At Paris and Amsterdam it was agreed that the ship owner liable should be permitted to limit his liability either by abandoning the ship or her value, which is the Continental and American rule, or by invoking the present English limitation of £8 or some other rate per ton of the ship's tonnage. This question will be the chief subject of consideration at Liverpool; and after it will be discussed (2) conflicts of laws as to mortgages and liens, and-(3).: con: flicts of laws as to freight. SUBMARINE SIGNALS ON THE KAISER A system of submarine signaling has been installed on the North German Lloyd liner Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse which has received the commendation of the ship's officers. Second officer Rabien of the Kaiser in speaking-of the same said: "Every ship's hull," said Mr. Rabien, "is practically a drum. Sound vibrations in the water travel at four times the speed they do in the air and can be heard for miles whether they be catised by the action of the screws of a steamer or the ring- ing of a bell. For instance, without any special apparatus at- all sailors working on the floor of a schooner can detect the sound made by the screws of a liner miles away. Now, the problem of which the apparatus on this ship is the outcome has been to collect these sound waves as they strike the ship's hull and then convey them to the officer of the bridge. . "Po do this: a small: tank--smaller than a man's: haps attached to the inner side of the skin of the liner. This tank is filled with a chemical solution, denser than water, which contains the microphone. There are two of these tanks on the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, both forward, and to each of them is attached a wire which leads directly to the bridge above. At the end of each wire is an ordinary telephone re- ceiver, which, when the liner nears shore and the weather is foggy, the officer on duty keeps constantly to his ears, There is a switch provided by which you can shut off either the starboard or port microphone, and the officer holding the instrument is enabled to hear bells struck beneath the water several. miles distant. "The noises made by the engines of the liner when she is traveling at great speed do not seriously affect the working of the instruments, while when she is in a fog and naturally traveling at a reduced speed this obstacle is practically ob- viated, the result being that the officer holding the receiver can judge almost exactly the distance he is from the warning bells. He can also tell exactly the direction from which the sounds come, two advantages that submarine signaling has over wireless telegraphy. "There is no doubt that in the development and application of this system lies the solution of the problem of navigation in the densest of fogs. By means of a numerical code not only can warning, but information as well, be conveyed with great accuracy. For instance, on the voyage that ended at New York on Tuesday (May 30) I was on the bridge when the Kaiser cleared German waters and again was there as she neared the American mainland. When four miles distant from the mouth of the river Weser I plainly made out the signals conveved from the lightship there. "As we neared Nantucket I had the receivers to my ears, and when we were about four miles distant from the light- ship off that place I caught the signal sixty-six--six bells, a pause and then six more bells--the Nantucket lightship code signal. When' we were about the same distance from the Fire island light I caught the signal sixty-eight, the code num- ber of that place, and again as we approached Sandy Hook the Sandy Hook code number, fifty-one, rang just as clearly and plainly. "By the use of this system of submarine bells the whole coast between New York and Boston sends out warnings for miles, and there seems no excuse why the same conditions should net obtain along the coasts of all nations. Another use these bells can be put to, in my mind, is in naval warfare, especially with reference to the approach of submarine tor- pedo craft. It would be the easiest thing in the world to keep track of their movements, and the danger of their land- ing a telling blow would be reduced to a minimum. Great Britain, Germany and Italy have taken up the system, which