the insurance laws of our own and other countries. To limit the amount insured to the honest value of the article thus protected from loss, may appear a simple enough matter, but the whole subject is surrounded with difficulties. It must not, therefore, be hastily dealt with, and before any legislation is attempted, should be fully investigated, either by a committee of the House of Commons or by a Royal Commission. FOOTNOTES: [207] See Annual Register, 1854, page 162. [208] One reason why such ships as the _President_ and _Pacific_ have left no trace of their fate is, that they have foundered almost instantaneously in deep water; the result of this would be that all the wood in them, including their boats, would be carried down with them, the wood being at the same time made so heavy by the water forced into its pores, that it could never again float to the surface. [209] The _Persia_ is 3766 tons gross register, being 350 feet length of keel for tonnage, 45 breadth of beam, and 30 feet depth of hold, with a mean draught of water of 20 feet. She has side-lever engines of 917 nominal horse-power, working up at sea to 3600 indicated horse-power. [210] Shortly after the _Persia_ was dispatched, Mr. Vanderbilt of New York launched a ship which he named after himself calculated to surpass in speed any steamer then afloat, but, on the authority of the _Philadelphia Ledger_, she was defeated by the _Persia_ by thirteen hours on a passage of 3068 nautical miles across the Atlantic, the average speed returned on this occasion being: _Vanderbilt_, 13·86 nautical, or 15·98 statute miles per hour; and that of the _Persia_, 13·95 nautical, or 16·08 statute miles per hour. Through the courtesy of the owners of the latter ship I am enabled to furnish (Appendix No. 9, pp. 603-5) an abstract of her voyages from the 1st of January, 1856, to the 31st of December, 1867, condensed. [211] _Comparative Statement of Average Sailings of various Transatlantic Steamers during the Year 1856._ ----------------------+------------------------+----------------------- | Liverpool to New York. | New York to Liverpool. +------------------------+----------------------- Cunard (Boston) | 13·07 days | 11·12 days Cunard (New York) | 12·67 days | 11·03 days Collins | 12·16 days | 12·03 days Bremen | 15·00 days | 14·12 days Old Havre | 14·18 days | 13·16 days Havre (Vanderbilt) | 13·00 days | 13·00 days Havre (French) | 17·00 days | 15·00 days Glasgow | 15·12 days | 13·08 days Hamburg | 15·12 days | 16·00 days ----------------------+------------------------+-----------------------