Thanks
to Peter John Henderson of Southampton for pointing out the fact that
Samuel Plimsoll resided in and was buried at Folkestone.
Samuel
Plimsoll was born in Bristol in 1824. Sheffield was the place
of his early adoption, and he made his living there for many years. When
prosperity came to him he lived for a long time in the very stately mansion
Whiteley Wood Hall. Plimsoll became involved in shipping coal to London
and soon became aware of the dangers faced by sailors. He was particularly
concerned with the negligence of some shipowners and the indifference
of government to the issue of marine safety. In the 1868 General Election,
Plimsoll was elected MP for Derby. He immediately began to campaign for
government legislation to protect seamen. To support his case he published
Our Seamen (1873), a book that provided documentary evidence about
the scale of the problem. This included information that nearly 1,000
sailors a year were being drowned on ships around British shores. As part
of his campaign, a copy of Our Seamen was given to every member of the
House of Commons.
Plimsoll was particularly critical of the 1871 Merchant Shipping Act.
As a result of this legislation seamen were obliged, subject to imprisonment
and fine, to go to sea and complete a voyage once they had signed a contract.
This made it difficult for sailors to leave a ship once they realised
it was unseaworthy. In March 1873, The Times joined Plimsoll's
campaign by printing a story about fifteen seamen who had been imprisoned
for three months after they refused to go on board the ship Peru.
When the ship finally left Cardiff with a new crew, it sunk in the Bay
of Biscay and three men were drowned. It was this which brought him into
conflict with the authorities in the House of Commons on July 22nd, 1875,
when the Merchant Shipping Bill looked like being withdrawn. For some
time it was evident that agitation was overcoming him, and, at a critical
point in the debate, he left his seat, walked to the Government Bench,
and there suddenly exclaimed: “I protest, in the Name of God, against
any further delay in proceeding with this Bill. The Bill itself is atrocious
and a sham, but I believe there are sufficient men of humanity and Christianity
in this House to make it a good one. I charge the Government that they
are playing into the hands of murderers inside and outside this House
who continue the murderous system of sending men and rotten ships to sea.”
When the Prime Minister demanded a reprimand, Mr. Plimsoll walked towards
the door and, standing. at the bar with up-lifted hand, said, “ There
are a thousand lives at stake. You do not know these men as I do,” and
walked out.
Mr. Plimsoll’s speech also contained the following: “I am determined to unmask the villains who send our seamen to death.” The Speaker intervened at once, expressing the hope that the words uttered were not intended to apply to members of the House. The retort came at once that they were so intended—that there were ship-knackers in the House, and he did not intend to withdraw what he had said. A week later he returned to the House, and addressing the Speaker said he quite recognized that it would be impossible to conduct the government of that great country, to maintain its honour and influence abroad, and the dignity and authority of the House at home, unless its debates were conducted within limits. He went on: “I exceeded those limits; patriotism and common sense demand that I should withdraw such terms as I used, as they transgressed Parliamentary usage, and I apologize to you, sir, and to this House for using them. But I trust it will not be inconsistent with the respect I feel for, and have towards, this House, if I add that I do not withdraw any statement of fact which I then made.”
Gradually,
other politicians, such as Lord Shaftesbury, became involved in Plimsoll's
campaign. In 1875 Benjamin Disraeli, the Conservative prime minister,
changed his mind on the issue and gave his support to an Unseaworthy Vessels
Bill. Eventually Samuel Plimsoll managed to persuade Parliament to amend
the 1871 Merchant Shipping Act. This provided for the marking of a line
on a ship's sides which would disappear below the water line if the ship
was overloaded. A further amendment in 1877 imposed a limit on the weight
of cargo which vessels were permitted to carry and created rules governing
the engagement of seamen and their accommodation on board ship.
Plimsoll retired from the House of Commons in 1880. Although retired,
he continued to campaign for reform and in 1890 published Cattleships,
a book that exposed the cruelties and dangers of cattle-shipping.
Samuel
Plimsoll died on
June
He is buried at St. Martins Parish Church, Horn St.,Cheriton.
Next page: Sir William de Abney
