In the following year (1855) an Act, which may be taken as part of the great Act of 1854, was passed to facilitate the erection and maintenance of colonial lighthouses; to amend some of the clauses referring to light dues; to specify more distinctly the conditions of ownership and the nature of mortgages; and to exempt the owners of pleasure yachts from having their names and the port to which they belong painted on the stern, as in the case of merchant vessels. Additional powers were also given by this Act to naval courts abroad, in the case of misconduct of the master or crew: for the relief of destitute Lascars, and for other matters of minor importance. FOOTNOTES: [132] At that moment our prospects were certainly very gloomy, and it was not surprising that many of our shipowners were disposing of their property. On the other hand, as most of our shipbuilders were idle, it was a favourable moment to contract for the construction of ships. I, therefore, embraced the opportunity, and contracted in one week for six ships of an improved description, of about 1000 tons each. Two of these I built at Sunderland, two at Maryport, one in Dundee, and one in Jersey. Most of the old school of shipowners thought I had lost my senses, and prophesied “ruin;” but others thought there was “method in my madness,” and were thus encouraged to follow my example. Many of my readers may remember the jeering paragraphs which appeared in the Free-trade journals of the period, headed “Lindsay and more ruin,” “Not so bad as they seem,” and so forth. But the fact had an astonishing effect in rousing our shipowners from their dreams of despair, and I never had any reason to regret my “daring speculation.”