A NEW LIFE-SAVING APPARATUS.

Thames Star, Volume X, Issue 3140, 12 March 1879, Page 4

A NEW LIFE-SAVING APPARATUS.

A contemporary says:—" The disaster to the Princess Alice has been a prolific cause of suggestions for inyentions of lifesaving apparatus, capable of being easily conveyed, and'so formed as to be useful for others as well as the prime object of their construction, . Among those' which have been patented is Eose's life-buoy seat and fire-buckets combined, which is made of block tin, in the ferm of an hour glass, and is capable of being unscrewed in the centre, so as to form two buoys if necessary; or one end can be filled with tresh ; water, flour, biscuits, ship's papers, or,any other.valuable property, and the other will still be buoyant enough to sustain a couple of men above water with the utmost security. This was shown at experiments recently made. After some bathers had tried to sink il by their accumulated weight in the water, several dead weights, in the shape of 461bs and 38lbs were added, and it was not until lOOlbs had been attached to it in the shape of solid metal that the buoy was totally submerged. The "Life-buoy" is made bo as to form a seat, and would supply the place of camp stools all round the quarter deck. By simply running a line through the brass rods that form the means of grasping the buoy at both ends, it would be fast, and secure from getting adrift in aDy weather. Then there is a cork-wood cushion on each life buoy seat, capable of supporting a single person in the water, so that, in case the ship went down suddenly, one cut with the knife of the cord which forms the lashing would be sufficient to set tbe whole of the buoys; on board free, and as each buoy could sustain the weight of a half dozen people, if fiere were time for boats to be launched there could be little doubt that all would be picked up. In case an alarm of fire was raised aboard, in less than two minutes, every buoy could be unscrewed in the middle »nd formed into two buckets contoin'rig four gallons each. To dip these over the side, by means of a rope that is attached to ,the centre, and would form a lanyard for such a purpose, every seat-could! be brought into immediate requisition and so a hhip having 100 such seats aboard could have at once 200 fire buckets in use." ' 'Jhe Mr Kose referred to was, we believe, recently a resident m Christchurch. -„-■• .