THE EARL OF CARNARVON,in rising to call attention to the effects said to be produced by pouring oil upon the sea in tempestuous weather; and to inquire, What measures the Board of Trade have adopted to test the value of recent experiments, and to encourage a discovery valuable to life and property at sea? said, that, recently, a number of important experiments in connection with this matter had been carried on in the harbour of Peterhead by a Scotch gentleman named Shield. Familiar as was the phrase of "throwing oil on the troubled waters," it was difficult to say how it came into the language. It was not to be found in the Bible, it was not to be found in Shakespeare, and he was 7 not aware of any great English authorities in whom the phrase was current. Reference had been made to it by Plato, and Pliny had a very curious passage upon it, in which he described the effect of oil poured upon the sea, and there were one or two references to it in Erasmus, who described the process exactly as it was carried out in the present day. The notion was by no means a new one, but had been practised at a very early period in the East. It was unquestionably the fact, the force of waves was greatly allayed by oil being poured upon them, for, although it did not prevent their rolling, it prevented their breaking. In our own country it was constantly practised for various purposes. Among others, the Cornish fishermen were frequently in the habit of throwing oleaginous matter on the waves, and thus produced a glassy surface, through which the shoals of fish could be seen. Certainly oil was used by fishermen in the North Seas, round the Shetland Isles, in the Pacific, and in many other places, and it had turned out to be very useful for the protection of vessels in storms. The oil was used in various ways. Sometimes oil was thrown on the waves; sometimes oil bags were thrown out from the sterns of vessels; and sometimes bladders charged with oil were suspended from the sides of the vessel, and the oil gradually allowed to exude, for the purpose of smoothing the waves, and it thereby acted as a great protection. Occasionally ships in great extremity had been saved by the breaking of an oil cask. He thought it would be a good thing if the Board of Trade would take measures to ascertain the distinct value of the experiments which had recently been made by Mr. Shield at Peterhead, especially as the matter was one which promised to be so valuable in the preservation of life and property at sea. He began by dropping barrels of oil into the deep sea; he then ran some pipes out to sea at Peterhead, and passed oil through them when the sea was rough. The result was that ships were enabled to cross the bar, and to enter the harbour in safety in bad weather, which otherwise would have been quite unable to enter. He then carried his experiment farther. He filled shells with oil, which were to be discharged for the purpose of reducing a high sea, in which a vessel was 8 labouring; he also prepared a life-buoy to act in a similar way. It must be admitted that the experiments had proved that a small quantity of oil was very efficacious in smoothing and reducing the break of the waves; and he thought, therefore, that it would be well if steps were taken to see what kind of oil was the best for the purpose, and it would also be desirable to know how to apply it at the mouths of harbours, especially where there were bars. He was informed that a very small quantity of oil was sufficient to produce the desired effect, for even so small a quantity as one drop became so attenuated that it would spread over a surface of four feet. A few gallons would therefore be quite sufficient for the use of a ship of large size during a heavy gale. If those harbours which had bars could be turned into harbours of refuge, it would be an additional advantage. In conclusion, he must say he felt bound to express his opinion that what he contended for was, that it was the duty of the Board of Trade, the Department which was charged with the consideration of questions like this, to give every encouragement to those who were engaged in the prosecution of experiments, in whatever way that encouragement could be afforded. He did not know whether the Government should grant a sum of money for the purpose of these experiments; but he would repeat that it was the duty of the Board to look into the question, and to assist those who, like Mr. Shield, were carrying on experiments at their own expense in the great hope of saving life and property at sea. Quite sufficient had been proved to warrant the expenditure of a certain sum of public money.
§ THE EARL OF ABERDEENsaid, that the matter had, at all events, reached the stage of practical experiment. For his own part, he thought that it had gone farther, because crews had been enabled to weather danger by pouring oil on the sea near the vessel. There was on record the case of the ship Kent, a vessel which found itself in great distress in rounding Cape Horn. The sea was so overpowering that hope was given up, when an American captain, who happened to be on board, asked whether there was any oil on board. There were several casks of oil on board, and these were broached, and 9 their contents poured over the side of the ship. The effect was so marked that, in a short time, the vessel was enabled to proceed in safety. He (the I Earl of Aberdeen) thought some credit would be accorded to Scotland in this matter, because of the labours of Mr. J Shield, a Scotch gentleman, and others, at Peterhead and elsewhere. He might also mention as a fact that, for many years, this subject had received great attention; and in Chambers's Journal, which was a Scotch periodical, many interesting facts connected with the subject might be found. Mr. Shield proposed to undertake still further experiments, not only in the harbours of Aberdeen and Peterhead, but on the Tyne, if the authorities there would guarantee an expenditure of £220, his desire being to conduct the experiments nearer London than Aberdeen, so as, if possible, to induce some Members or officials of the Government to attend them. He hoped that the noble Lord (Lord Sudeley), if he could not give hopes of definite experiments on the part of the Board of Trade, would not give a discouraging reply, and that he would remember that whatever might be the effect of pouring oil upon the water, there could be no doubt of the result of pouring cold water upon the oil.
§ LORD COTTESLOEsaid, he also felt bound to commend the subject to the careful and, he hoped, the favourable attention of the Government. With regard to the expense of such a system, it must be borne in mind that shipowners now insured their vessels and cargoes; and, surely, the few pounds of additional outlay which might be entailed by providing this safeguard could not be weighed against the increased security obtained for the lives of passengers and crews, not to speak of the ships themselves and their valuable merchandise. He would also suggest that, in case of shipwreck, if oil were poured over the wrecked vessel, the surf would be made to subside, and lifeboats would be enabled better to rescue those who were on board of her.
§ LORD SUDELEYsaid, there was no doubt that the question raised by the noble Earl opposite (the Earl of Carnarvon), in his interesting statement, was of considerable importance; and if it could be shown that the so-called discovery was likely to lead as far as he ventured to hope, it would, unquestionably, be one 10 of great advantage in the protection of life and property at sea. The very idea of throwing oil on the troubled waters had a fascination about it which could not fail to insure full consideration being given to the matter. Unfortunately, however, it was one of those questions about which sensational and unpractical views had been largely entertained and published; and although there was no doubt that, to some extent and under certain special circumstances, oil could be effectively used on bars and in landing boats on broken water, it was most difficult to obtain clearly ascertained and undoubted facts; and they must, he feared, divest themselves from the extreme views of those who imagined it was likely to be a complete panacea against all shipwrecks and loss of life at sea, or even that it could be used on any very large scale. The use of oil on water was no new discovery. As the noble Earl himself had stated, the idea was no new one. From the earliest days they found it mentioned; and it was well known that the inhabitants of the Sea Coast of Syria were aware of it in past ages. They knew also that in Pliny's time divers made use of oil to smooth the surface, and have a more steady light at the bottom. In more recent times, in 1757, Franklin's attention was drawn to this subject, and experiments were made by him of various descriptions. In still later years many experiments had been carried on, and papers had been read at different institutions on the subject. It was also well known, as the noble Earl had stated, that seamen engaged in the whale and seal fisheries, and also fishermen in Shetland and on the Coast of Scotland, had more or less employed this method for a great many years. It would, therefore, be seen that he (Lord Sudeley) was justified in stating that that was no new discovery; but, on the contrary, a means of quieting water which had been tried for thousands of years with more or less success. The Board of Trade had, for several years past, been much interested in this question, and had been very desirous of hearing of all actual experiments and results that had been obtained. He feared, however, that it was quite impossible to accede to the noble Earl's proposition, that that Department should, in this experimental stage of the question, spend money upon these experiments, or in any way attempt to 11 become inventors of apparatus for means of using oil to calm the surface of the sea. The Board of Trade felt that their duty in this matter lay in very much the same direction as their duty with regard to the use of continuous brakes or interlocking points on railways—namely, to collect all the information available from time to time, and to encourage, as far as possible, the furtherance of any promising experiments. For this purpose they had given directions for certain of their officers to be present at trials at Peterhead and elsewhere; and they were endeavouring to collect and sift, as well as they could, all authenticated cases in which the oil scheme had been the means of saving life at sea in time of real peril, with a view of publishing the results for the use of seafarers and shipowners. The noble Earl would agree it would be of the greatest advantage that, if this scheme was ever to be of any practical use, the utility of it should, in the first place, be thoroughly impressed upon shipowners, underwriters, and the general seafaring community; for it was clear that if its efficacy was not apparent to those whose lives and property were at stake it was quite impossible to force it upon them. Among the suggestions on the subject—and they were many—that were before the Board of Trade were—first, one for the protection of the entrance to harbours, for which it was proposed that mains or pipes should be laid from the land along the bottom of the sea to the outside of the entrance, and in the time of rough seas should discharge the oil there by means of pumps from the shore. Secondly, that shells fired from mortars, or canisters attached to a rocket, should be filled with oil, and arranged so as to discharge their contents on the water near to the ship in need of assistance. Thirdly, that a special form of projectile filled with oil should be used to throw among the breakers. Fourthly, that every seagoing ship should be compelled by law to carry vessels of oil to throw overboard to still the waters round her in times of danger, and that all boats should also carry a supply in their bows ready for use. Fifthly, that all life-buoys should have a small bag of oil attached to them as part of their equipment. He ventured to think it was perfectly clear that no Government could undertake these experiments, and that it was purely a matter for private enterprize. He was very 12 glad to confirm what the noble Earl had said of the steps that private individuals had for some time past taken in this direction. Great credit was due to Mr. Shield, who, as the noble Earl pointed out, had carried out experiments with this object at Peterhead. He had attempted to lay pipes behind the sea wall at Roanhead, down through a natural gully in the rocks, about 150 yards long and about 50 yards beyond the mouth of the gully into about seven fathoms of water. At this point the iron pipe was joined by a gutta-percha pipe, which extended across the harbour entrance outside the bar, and was perforated at distances of about 12 yards apart; and through this gutta-percha pipe the oil reached the sea. So far, he (Lord Sudeley) believed Mr. Shield was disposed to allow that his experiments had reached a certain point, but were by no means conclusive; and this their Lordships might see by the mere fact that he was now waiting for bad weather to renew them. Whether such a plan could ever be made of practical use remained to be seen. Of one thing there could be no doubt, that a great quantity of oil would have to be used; a considerable expense incurred in laying pipes outside the harbours, and keeping them in good working order; and that when all had been provided, there would arise the great danger that the various currents and tides would draw away the oil film spread upon the waters before it could be of any service. Experiments had also been carried out, and would be probably made during the ensuing winter, by private individuals for firing shells and various other descriptions of projectiles filled with oil. In some of the trials which had been made for using oil to calm the surf, and thus enable boats to land easily, curious and very contradictory evidence had been obtained. In the first place, it was doubted by very competent authorities whether oil could be used with advantage where there was a force of wind amounting to a whole gale, which might be put down at 10—whether, in fact, it could be used with any advantage against a force of wind exceeding 6. The general opinion was that in a heavy gale it would be of no use. Again, in the second place, experiments had been tried with the oil for landing boats through surf; but they had proved entirely unsuccessful, owing to sharp currents and tides setting the film 13 of oil along the shore, and thus preventing it being of any use. Further, it had been found very doubtful if, when the wind set full upon the shore, and a high surf was raised, it was possible to prevent the oil being washed rapidly out to sea. Their Lordships were aware that a rush of water back from a surf was usually supposed to return as an under-current, or, as it was technically called, the "under-tow," in which people were very often swept away. It had been found by experiment that there was also, in most cases, a very strong surface current drawing out; and, in one instance, the oil was swept out so quickly to sea that it was perfectly useless. He mentioned these facts to show to their Lordships the difficulties and uncertainties attending this oil scheme; but, at the same time, some of the experiments seemed to point to the fact that oil could be very well used round a ship to allow boats to approach. There was an idea which seemed well worthy of trial, to the effect that small bags of oil should be attached to life-buoys, which could be pricked at the moment of throwing them overboard, so as to calm the surface of the sea round them. There could be no doubt that cases constantly occurred of all trace of a life-buoy being lost after it was in the water; whereas, if there was a smooth, oily surface round it, the probabilities were that it would be distinctly seen from the ship, and also give the person overboard more chance of seizing it. He was glad to be able to inform their Lordships that the National Lifeboat Institution were carrying out experiments in connection with this subject, and had given directions to their officers at their various stations to attend to and report upon them. The Institution hoped, in the course of a year or so, to publish their officers Reports, and they would be sure to contain a large amount of information that would be interesting and instructive. Thanks to the courtesy of the Secretary (Mr. Lewis), and also of Admiral Ward, he (Lord Sudeley) had had the opportunity of seeing all their papers on the subject, and could testify to their very interesting character. When the Board of Trade had collected all the authenticated cases, divested of the exaggeration which so often was met with, of actual saving of life from smoothing the surface of the sea with oil, together with the Reports of their officers 14 on the various experiments being made, they proposed to lay them before Parliament, in the hope that they might be of use; and if, in the meantime, the noble Earl would communicate any precise information that he might have obtained, or would advise anybody acquainted with facts to state them to the Board of Trade, it would be a very great assistance in presenting as complete and satisfactory a Report as possible. There was great hope that some of the suggestions might turn out of great use; but it was a matter for private individuals to make experiments. It was quite impossible, as he had already said, for the Board of Trade to take such matters in hand, and attempt a series of the necessary experiments, for it would be manifestly unfair to saddle the taxpayer with their cost, and with the expense of providing large supplies of oil, and the necessary apparatus and men around the Coast to hurl it into the water when requisite. It would also be futile for the Government to call upon Parliament to pass a law requiring all sea going ships to carry a number of tanks and bags of oil as an absolute part of their equipment. He ventured to think, therefore, it was perfectly clear that this was not a question to be settled by public direction and money, but one well suited for private enterprize. He would only say, in conclusion, that, although the Board of Trade were not sanguine that the results would be anything like so satisfactory as some people imagined, they hoped that some good might be brought about by collecting all available and authenticated information; and he had to thank the noble Earl very much, on behalf of the Board of Trade, for bringing forward this question, which was one of great interest. It was of importance that the matter should be ventilated as much as possible, and that whatever knowledge might exist on the subject should be widely diffused among the seafaring community; and if this were done great good might result from his action in the matter.
§ THE EARL OF NORTHBROOKI also wish to assure the noble Earl opposite (the Earl of Carnarvon) that my attention has been called to this subject. I have asked my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade (Mr. Chamberlain) to communicate to the Admiralty any information which he may obtain, so that the attention of the 15 Board of Admiralty may be given to matter.