DISTRESS SIGNALS.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1518, 16 June 1873, Page 2

DISTRESS SIGNALS.

Mr E. G. Fitzgibbon, Town Clerk of Melbourne, has, in a letter addressed to the lion, the Commissioner of Customs on the subject of night signals of distress at sea, offered the following suggestion: — "I have the honor to submit to your consideration the expediency of adopting, in regard to Victorian vessels, and recommending the authorities of other places to adopt in regard to theirs, a regulation that the signal to be used at night in token of distress be rockets with a bursting charge of red stars and port fires of the same color ; that the cases of such rockets and port fires be plainly marked with the words 'Distress only,' as a caution; and that a penalty be attached to their use for other purposes. I may add that I see but little difficulty in arranging a telegraphic system of night signals to serve ordinarily urgent maritime requirements, by means of differently colored and constructed rockets, but deem that to be of only small importance in comparison with, the immediate adoption of a simple and universally understood signal of distress." Mr Fitzgibbon, in a postcript to his his letter, adds: — "The Rangoon's rockets were seen in the town of Galle, but people said, ' She is signalling to the China mail! boat.' The Sussex rockets were seen by the Port Philip pilots, who said 'It is holiday time, and these are fireworks which are being let off for amusement on shore.' The Northneet's rockets were seen T>y the coastguard, who said, *It is a ship signalling for a pilot."