accidents was the stopping of steaming all at once in the case of
impending collision, by which the rudder lost control of the vessel. If
constructors looked more to the form of the ships, and got them to steer
better, collisions would be avoided.

The Lord Advocate said it had always occurred to him that one great
secret of collisions at sea was the present system of lights, which made
it impossible for the vessel at once to inform another vessel what it
was about. The method of signaling was very crude, and he ventured to
say that it was quite out of date when vessels met each other at a rate
of speed of 24 to 25 knots. He had, as an amateur, tried a method which
he would attempt to explain. His idea was to fit up a lantern on deck,
showing an electric light. The instrument would be controlled by the
rudder, and the commanding officer of the vessel would be able so to
turn it when the helm was put up or down that the light would flash at
some distance in front of either bow of the vessel, and thus be a signal
to a vessel coming in an opposite direction. When the helm was
amidships, the light was shown straight ahead, and could not be moved
until the helm was shifted. The direction in which the vessel was going
could not by any possibility be mistaken, and it was plain that if the
lights from two ships crossed each other, then there was danger. If the
lights were clear of each other, then the ships would pass safely.

Sir James Douglass asked if his Lordship had made any experiments.

The Lord Advocate said he had not. The Board of Trade had such a number
of inventions on this subject on hand that he supposed they were already
disgusted. Besides, he was only an amateur, and left the carrying out of
the suggestion to others.