horn to be sounded by mechanical means, and also with an efficient bell. A sailing vessel of 20 tons gross tonnage and upwards shall be provided with a similar fog-horn and bell."

The PRESIDENT. Is the Conference ready for the question ?

The question was put to the Conference upon the adoption of the first paragraph of Article 12, and it was adopted.

The PRESIDENT. The Secretary will please read the next paragraph to Article 12.

The second paragraph to Article 12 is as follows:

"Sailing vessels and boats of less than 20 tons gross tonnage shall not be obliged to be provided with a mechanical fog-horn, but, if not so provided, they shall make, with any other instrument, an efficient sound-signal at intervals of not more than two minutes."

Admiral NARES (Great Britain). Mr. President, that will be altered to one minute, in agreement with the decision of the Conference.

Captain HUBERT (The Netherlands). Mr. President, as the Conference has adopted the principle that sound-signals shall also be used in heavy rain-storms, it would be a burden upon the small fishing boats in our colonial waters to make this regulation apply to them, where, as I have stated, there is not room enough in the boats. Therefore, I will have it submitted to the Collocation Committee, as was our amendment which we offered a couple of days ago, when we asked that this article should not apply to regions where its enforcement would prove too difficult in consequence of local conditions.

Admiral NARES (Great Britain). Mr. President, we talked over this very subject in the committee, and those members who have been employed in the South Pacific Islands and such places are well aware that the boats, all of them, do carry a very efficient fog-horn in the shape of a shell scooped out in the shape of a horn. Any boat that is in a navigable track ought to have some signal. This provision is worded so that these boats with their conches, which make a very efficient noise, would be considered as having an efficient sound-signal.

Captain HUBERT (The Netherlands). Mr. President, I am fully aware that they are used near these islands, but so far as I have seen in our colonial waters we never have had such a signal or instrument to make a noise. These boats have nothing. They only have a torch and a hox of matches to light it; that is the only signal they can give. The boat is too small. There are two men with their fish-nets and their food for one day, and there is hardly room for the fish which they catch.

Admiral NARES (Great Britain). Mr President, our attention was also called to that. But there is no examination of such boats, and if they go off without their lights and fog-horns they do so at their own risk, and on their own responsibility.

The PRESIDENT. Will the delegate from The Netherlands state his proposition exactly, so that it can come before the Conference?

Captain HUBERT (The Netherlands). I desire it to be the same as

our amendment offered on the 25th of November, extra amendment No. 58.

The PRESIDENT. Do you desire to have it referred to the Collocation Committee?

Mr. HALL (Great Britain). Mr. President, I must suggest that it should not be referred to the Collocation Committee. Our shoulders are hardly broad enough now for the work we have got to do, and if, when some delegate finds that he can not get what he wants, he is to say, "I will refer it to the Collocation Committee," I can not see where we are to end. I can not help thinking that, after we have heard that the committee considered this matter very carefully, and tried to do their very best to meet the difficulty, they proposed this rule as the best they could do under the circumstances. When the gallant delegate learns this, I dare say he will not consider it necessary to press his amendment. As my gallant colleague has already mentioned, these small boats are never examined or supervised. The law would say if they choose to go out and get in collision and they do not take the trouble to give other vessels warning that they are in the neighborhood, they take the risk themselves; but if they are provided with the proper sound instrument to give a proper signal they have complied with the law.

The PRESIDENT. The question is upon the proposition of the delegate from The Netherlands to refer this amendment to the Collocation Committee.

Mr. GOODRICH (United States). Mr. President, I also protest against that reference.

The PRESIDENT. If the delegate makes a proposition the Chair will entertain it.

Mr. GOODRICH (United States). Mr. President, I hope the gallant delegate will withdraw that motion.

Captain HUBERT (The Netherlands). Mr. President, I will withdraw it.

The PRESIDENT. The question now is upon the first paragraph upon page 5. The Secretary will please read it again.

The first paragraph is as follows:

"Sailing-vessels and boats of less than thirty tons gross tonnage shall not be obliged to be provided with a mechanical fog-horn, but if not so provided they shall make with any other instrument an efficient sound-signal at intervals of not more than one minute."

The PRESIDENT. Is the Conference ready for the question?

The question was put to the Conference upon the adoption of the second paragraph of Article 12, and it was adopted.

The PRESIDENT. Article 12, paragraph b, will now be read.

Article 12, paragraph b, is as follows:

(b)" A steam-vessel not at anchor, but with engines stopped, shall sound, at intervals of not more than two minutes, two prolonged blasts with an interval of about one second between them."

Admiral NARES (Great Britain). Mr. President, I think there will be a little rewording required here. Under Article 13, the Conference adopted the words, "a vessel has stopped her engines," and then, at my suggestion, Article 12 was reworded much in the same way. The expression in b as it stands now is, "stopped and having no way upon her." I may say at once that the majority of the committee wanted to insert these words at the time, but I thought that we were going against the opinion of the Conference. We shall be complying with the opinion of the Conference if we alter the words, "with engines. stopped" and make it read, "stopped and having no way upon her." The PRESIDENT. If there be no objection, it will be so altered. Mr. HALL (Great Britain). Mr. President, I have one suggestion to make which I trust the committee will think is one that they can agree to and that is to use instead of the word "prolonged" the words "such long blasts." Having regard to the fact that a prolonged sounding of the whistle is a signal of distress, it is desirable that there be no doubt as to what the long blast should mean. If we should use the word "prolonged," as is suggested here, a man might be blowing his whistle for some very considerable time and it would be taken as a signal of distress. So I venture to suggest that the rule should read, "A steamvessel not at anchor, but stopped and having no way upon her, shall sound at intervals of not more than two minutes two such long blasts with an interval of about one second between them."

Admiral NARES (Great Britain). Mr. President, I may say that the intention of the committee in altering this from two such long blasts into "two prolonged blasts" was in its connection with the short blast of one second's duration, more than in its connection with the long blast of four seconds' duration. I think the committee would be quite content to have it two long blasts, provided they are to be of four seconds' duration. The committee have provided this so that it could not be confounded with two short blasts, because there is no doubt of the fact that the custom is to make short blasts considerably longer than one second, and that custom prevails everywhere. Now, if we can bring the short blast down to one second, the duration we have already adopted, so as to be very unmistakable, then personally I see no objection to the change. But at present the short blasts are considerably longer than a second, and that is the reason why we wanted to define it very clearly as "two prolonged blasts." If it is customary to make these short blasts of two or three seconds' duration it will be a long time before they are brought down to the one second. If they do not make the blast of one second duration there will be a very confusing signal, because if a ship is giving two short blasts, indicating "I am putting my helm to starboard," and that the ship is turning to port, it will be confounded with this signal of a vessel being stopped altogether.

The PRESIDENT. Does the Chair understand that the delegate from Great Britain, who has just taken his seat, accepts the proposition of the delegate from Great Britain, who preceded him

Admiral NARES (Great Britain). Mr. President, I can scarcely accept it as chairman of the Sound-Signal Committee. If the other gentlemen accept it I am quite ready to do so. It is more, I think, a question for the Conference. We have given our reasons, and if the Conference think that the term "two such long blasts" will be distinct enough from the helm signal of two short blasts, very well.

Mr. HALL (Great Britain). Mr. President, I think we shall be able to suggest a wording which will relieve the Committee on Sound-Signals from any difficulty and from the possibility of the signals being mistaken for the starboard-helm signals, and that is by putting into this article what the Conference has already inserted at the end of Article 19: "The term short blast in this article shall mean a blast of about one second's duration." I think that will get over any possible objection which has been presented.

Captain SHACKFORD (United States). Mr. President, I trust that this word "prolonged" will be allowed to remain here. The ordinary port-helm signal blast in this country is from two to three seconds. They usually take that much time in sounding that blast. On sounding two blasts, my head is going to port, each blast occupies from two to three seconds and sometimes even longer. If this term " prolonged " should be permitted to remain the Conference, if it sees fit, might provide that a prolonged blast could be six or eight seconds to distinguish it from the other four-seconds blast.

The Conference thereupon took a recess until 2 o'clock.

AFTER RECESS.

Mr. HALL (Great Britain). Mr. President, since the adjournment we have had an opportunity of considering the point which was raised by the delegate from the United States with regard to the great importance of avoiding any risk whatever of allowing this signal, which is now under discussion, to be confounded with the starboard helm signal; and with a view to that I have a proposition which I think will meet all the difficulties, and it is this: To make the long blasts or the prolonged blasts from four to six seconds. What I propose is this: To alter subsection a to make it read:

"A steam-ship under way shall make with her steam-whistle or other steam sound-signal, at intervals of not more than two minutes, a prolonged blast of from four to six seconds duration."

I want to follow the decision of the Conference as far as possible and yet to meet the difficulty pointed out by the delegate from France, so that if we increase the long blast or the prolonged blast to a blast of from four to six seconds duration, then in subsection b we can say: "Two such prolonged blasts, with an interval of about one second between S. Ex. 53-51

them." Then I think we avoid the difficulty of the possibility of confounding this signal with the starboard helm signal.

The proposed amendments are as follows: Section a. A steam-vessel under way shall make on her whistle or other steam sound-signal, at intervals of not more than two minutes, a prolonged blast of from four to six seconds. Then subsection b will read: A steam-vessel not at anchor, but stopped and having no way upon her, shall sound at intervals of not more than two minutes two such prolonged blasts, with an interval of about one second between them.

Mr. GOODRICH (United States). Mr. President, if the members of the Conference will refer to the thirty-eighth amendment under Article 12, as we originally adopted it, they will see how this article is to be worded. Mr. HALL (Great Britain). Will you kindly read the words?

Mr. GOODRICH (United States). A steam-ship under way shall make with her steam whistle or other steam sound-signal, at intervals of not more than two minutes, a long blast of about four seconds' duration.

Mr. HALL (Great Britain). Mr. President, that is the way it was originally worded, and now we propose to alter that. I will read it again: A steam-vessel under way shall make with her whistle or siren, at intervals of not more than two minutes, a prolonged blast of from four to six seconds' duration. Then section b will read: A steam-yessel not at anchor, etc., shall sound at intervals of not more than two minutes two such prolonged blasts with an interval of about one second between them.

Captain SHACKFORD (United States). Mr. President, I should be very glad to accept that, if the change is made in section a of Article 12.

Mr. GOODRICH (United States). Mr. President, I would suggest to the learned delegate from Great Britain, that it would be wise, for the purpose of bringing up the question, to move to reconsider section a, Article 12.

Mr. HALL (Great Britain). Mr. President, I am very much obliged to the learned delegate from the United States for pointing that out to I move that Article 12, section a, be reconsidered by the Confer

me.

ence.

The PRESIDENT. It is moved by the delegate from Great Britain that section a, Article 12, be reconsidered.

Captain VAN STEYN (The Netherlands). Mr. President, I wish to state that I heartily agree with that portion of the article which provides for the duration of the signal, because that would meet with the amendment proposed by the delegates from The Netherlands. We proposed that the duration of the blast should be eight seconds.

The PRESIDENT. The question is upon the motion to reconsider section a, Article 12.

The question was put to the Conference upon the question as to the reconsideration of section a, Article 12, and the question was carried. The PRESIDENT. The amendment of the delegate from Great Britain will be read.