Oct. 11.] THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 3867

modation, and the watertight doors and scuttles in the passengers’
quar ters below that deck, as well as any sanitary discharges con-
nect ed with those quarters, should be kept permanently closed.

Lighting.

13. All living and working spaces liable to be rendered dark
    through the closing of side scuttles should be provided with ade-
    quate artificial light. In addition, adequate provision should be
    made for giving light for egress from the living-compartments to
    the deck and for the launching of the boats and the embarkation
    into them of those on board. For this purpose lanterns placed
    in suitable positions are recommended, as electric-lighting systems
    may be rendered inoperative by a mine or torpedo explosion.
    Lanterns should be kept burning in a submarine area but obscured
    from view until required. A supply of electric torches should also
    be provided.

Warning Engine-room Staff.

14. Suitable provision should be made to enable the master
    or officer in charge to give immediate warning, in case of emer-
    gency, to those men who may be on duty in the engine-room,
    stokehold, or other compartment below deck. A mutual under-
    standing should exist whereby these men may know that they
    will receive notice by a signal agreed upon when it is time to
    leave their posts.

The explosion of a mine or torpedo may result in the engine-
room telegraph or telephone being disabled, and arrangements
should therefore be made for conveying a message promptly in
some other way.

Prevention of Heeling.

15. It is very important that a vessel should have sufficient
    initial stability to prevent her taking a serious list if holed by a
    torpedo or a mine. It is desirable, of course, that the freeboard
    of the vessel should not be unnecessarily reduced by the addition
    of water ballast; but if the nature or amount of the cargo, taken
    in conjunction with the amount of bunker coal on board, is such
    at any time that a sufficient margin of initial stability cannot
    otherwise be obtained, some or all of the ballast-tanks should be
    filled. The vessel should not, however, be overladen.

If the initial stability is not so ample as to prevent any danger
of a serious list, and if the vessel is constructed with longitudinal
bulkheads, such as wing-bunker bulkheads, precautions should be
taken to allow water which may enter the vessel to flow as freely
as possible through the longitudinal bulkheads; for example, the
doors of wing bunkers should in such a case be left open.

Emission of Smoke.

16. It should be realized that the presence of smoke, which can
    be seen for many miles, is often the only indication given to a
    submarine of the presence of a vessel.

Particular care should, therefore, be taken with the stoking of
the boilers when in a danger zone, so as to minimize the amount
of smoke emitted. In this connection it is advisable to stoke
lightly and stoke often, keeping the fires clean and even.

Precautions against Shell Fire.

17. Wooden plugs should be prepared before the ship leaves
    port and kept handy to plug up shell-holes. Suitable plugs can
    be made of spruce, about 2 ft. in length and about 8 in. in diameter
    tapering to 2 in.

Lifeboats.

18. The lifeboats attached to davits should, if possible, whilst
    the vessel is in the danger zone, be carried in the outboard position
    gripped to spars or secured in some other efficient manner so as to
    be ready for immediate lowering. Inboard boats should be trans-
    ferred to the ship’s side under davits ready for hooking on.

In order to provide protection for any passengers or seamen who
may, in an emergency, be compelled to leave the ship without
sufficient clothing, every boat should be furnished with a number
of blankets rolled up tightly and properly stowed under the thwarts
or elsewhere.