found to be insufficient. Accordingly, in the year 1786
the Chamber of Commerce of Edinburgh made certain representations to
the proprietor which induced him to increase the magnitude of the
light; the chauffer was accordingly enlarged to the capacity of a
square of three feet; and instead of about two hundred tons of coal
per annum, formerly consumed, the quantity of fuel was now doubled.
From this period the light of May became the most powerful coal-light
in the kingdom, although from its exposure it was still found to be
very unsteady in bad weather, when most required by the mariner.
Lime-kilns and other accidental open fires upon the neighbouring
shores, were also apt to be mistaken for the Isle of May chauffer. To
obviate such dangerous mistakes, there was no other method but the
introduction of a light from oil, with reflectors inclosed in a glazed
light-room. Related ineffectual applications to the Duke of Portland
(who by marriage had obtained possession of the light and Isle of May)
served only to illustrate how very objectionable it is to allow
lighthouses and other public works to be carried on by a private
individual for his sole profit. It happened, however, that among
numerous other disasters, two of his Majesty's ships, valued at not
less than a hundred thousand pounds, were, on the 19th December, 1810,
wrecked near Dunbar, in consequence, it is believed, of the light of a
lime-kiln on the coast of Haddingtonshire having been mistaken for the
coal-light of the Isle of May. This disaster attracted the notice of
the Admiralty to the Isle of May light, when it was proposed to place
it under the control of the Commissioners of Northern Lighthouses.
After many negotiations an Act of Parliament was passed in the session
of 1814, empowering the commissioners to purchase the light duties and
the Island of May, for the sum of sixty thousand pounds. This was
accordingly done, and on the completion of the purchase, the first act
of the commissioners was to reduce the light-duty to all British
vessels, so that English and Irish ships were no longer treated as
foreigners, by paying double duty. Immediate measures were also taken
for altering and improving the light; a new lighthouse was erected,
and a light from oil, with reflectors, was exhibited on the 1st
February, 1816, after the existence of a coal-light during one hundred
and eighty-one years. The old lighthouse-tower was reduced in height,
and converted into a