All rules provide for the deduction of officers' and engineers' accommodations, including cabins, berths, and mess rooms. The Suez rules, however, are less liberal than the others in this regard. The cabins occupied by the master, purser, clerk, and, in the case of passenger steamers, by the stewards and cooks, are not deducted in calculating net tonnage. The Suez rules permit the doctor's cabin to be deducted only when the cabin is actually occupied by the doctor.

The spaces occupied by galleys, bakeries, toilets and bathrooms for the accommodation of the crew, officers, and engineers, are not included in net tonnage. Under the Suez rules such spaces are deducted whether situated above or below deck, but under the British, German, and American rules these spaces are deducted only when located below deck, for the reason that when such spaces are above deck they are not included in the gross tonnage.

Spaces occupied by the steering gear, chain locker, houses for charts, signals, and other instruments of navigation, lookout houses, houses for donkey boiler and engine connected with the main pumps are deducted from gross tonnage by the British, German, and American rules when such spaces are below decks. If the spaces are above decks they are exempted from measurement under the three national rules. The Suez rules deduct these spaces whether located above or below deck. The space occupied by the donkey engine and boiler when connected with the engine room is by the British, German, and American rules deducted as a part of the engine room space. When the donkey engine and boiler are not connected with the engine room the space occupied by them is not measured if it is above deck. Under the Suez rules, however, the donkey engine and boiler, when located above deck, are measured into gross tonnage and deducted therefrom, if they are connected with the pumps, steering gear, or anchor gear, and are not used for hoisting cargo.

Spaces required for boatswains' stores are deducted by the British, German, and American rules, but not by the Suez rules.

The rules regarding the deductions for light and air and funnel spaces above the engine room are confusing. The British and German rules agree in deducting those spaces below the upper deck and in deducting a part of those spaces above the upper deck upon request of the owner of the vessel. The American rules provide for the deduction of the entire light and air and funnel space above the upper deck when the owner requests that space to be included in the engine room. The Suez rules provide for the deduction of the entire light and air and funnel space if the owner of the vessel desires to accept the conditions that accompany such deduction. When the deductions are made by the measurement of actual engine room and fuel spaces, the entire light and air and funnel spaces are included in the deductions under the Suez rules. The British and American rules deduct passageways when they serve deducted spaces exclusively. The German rules deduct passageways serving crew, engineers' or officers' quarters, while the Suez rules do not deduct passageways unless they are fitted with lockers, hammocks, etc., for the use of the ship's personnel, nor unless they serve the quarters occupied by the personnel. In the three national rules sailing vessels are allowed to deduct 24 per cent of the gross tonnage for spaces in which to stow the sails, but this deduction is not permitted by the Suez regulations.

Water-ballast spaces, other than double-bottom tanks, are deducted under the British, German, and American rules, but not under the Suez regulations. Double-bottom ballast spaces not available for freight, stores, or fuel are exempted by the three national rules. The Suez rules exempt double-bottom spaces from measurement.

The foregoing comparisons of the provisions of the British, Suez, German, and American rules show very clearly that the deductions allowed by the Suez rules are less than those provided for in the three national rules. This, together with the fact that the Suez rules include within gross tonnage more spaces than are included by the British and German rules, accounts for the higher net tonnage given vessels by the Suez than by British or German measurement rules. Moreover, the net tonnage of most vessels when measured by the Suez rules will be larger than when measured by the American rules.

By applying to the same vessel each of the four rules, the differences in the results can be clearly shown. In 1911, the United States Commissioner of Navigation had the admeasurers

at New York apply to eight vessels the British, Suez, and American rules. To two other vessels having German certificates, the Suez and American rules were applied. The note appended to this chapter gives the details of the deductions made from gross tonnage by applying to eight vessels the British, Suez, and American rules and by applying to two vessels the German, Suez, and American rules. Table V states the gross and net tonnage as determined by the British, American, and Suez rules of the eight vessels to which those rules were applied:

TABLE V.-Gross and net tonnage of eight steamers as determined by the British, American, and Suez measurement rules.

The first of the eight ships mentioned in Table V, the Kentuckian, is of American build and registry, and is one of the fleet that will be operated by the American-Hawaiian Steamship Co. through the Panama Canal. The gross tonnage of this vessel is practically the same under all three rules, British, American, and Suez, and the deductions made from gross tonnage to determine net tonnage are nearly the same under the British and American rules. The Suez net tonnage is greater than the British or American, mainly because of the larger deduction for propelling power authorized by the American and British rules. The 32 per cent rule makes the propelling power deduction in Great Britain and the United States 2,084 tons, as compared with a deduction of 1,496 tons resulting under the Suez regulations from the application of the Danube rule.

The seven vessels other than the Kentuckian listed in Table V are all of British registry. The Voltaire has the same gross and net tonnage under the British and American rules. The Suez rules give the vessel a somewhat greater gross tonnage and a much larger net tonnage. The propelling power deduction under the 32 per cent rule is 2,757 tons, as compared with a deduction of 2,035 tons under the Danube rule.

The British steamship Stephen, mentioned in the table, affords a good illustration of the extent to which different definitions of open and closed spaces may affect gross and net tonnage. The tonnage openings in the uppermost or so-called shelter deck of the Stephen caused the space between that deck and the main deck of the vessel to be considered open under the British rules and thus exempted from measurement, whereas under the American and Suez rules this large space between the two decks is included within gross and thus within the net tonnage. The gross tonnage of the Stephen under British measurement is 4,434 tons, while under the American rules the tonnage is 5,470, and under the Suez rules 5,477. If this vessel had the same gross tonnage under the British and American rules, it would have the same net tonnage under those two rules. The Suez net tonnage of the Stephen is higher than the British or American, because in determining the Suez tonnage the propelling power space is deducted by applying the Danube rule.

The details regarding the measurement of the Santa Rosalia give another illustration of the effect which gross tonnage may have upon the net tonnage. Gross tonnage being 424 tons less by the British rules than by the American rules, the engine-room space is equal to over 13 per cent of the entire space included in gross tonnage under the British rules, whereas under

the American rules, the gross tonnage being larger, the engine-room space is less than 13 per cent of the gross tonnage and the propelling power deduction is made under the Danube rule. The note appended to the end of this chapter, which states in detail the deductions made from gross tonnage, may be consulted for an explanation of the differences in the net tonnage as determined by the British, American, and Suez rules in the case of the Kirkdale, Ikala, Tunstall, and Benwood, listed in Table V.

The average gross tonnage of the eight vessels listed in Table V is lowest under the British rules and highest under the American rules. The average net tonnage as determined by the American rules is about midway between the average under the British and Suez measurements.

The gross and net tonnage of two German steamers, the Patricia and Duisburg, as determined by the German, American, and Suez rules are compared in Table VI.

TABLE VI.-Gross and net tonnage of two German steamers as determined by the German, American, and Suez measurement

It will be seen by studying the details in the note appended to this chapter that the German and American rules authorize much larger deductions than do the Suez rules both for propelling power and crew space in the case of the steamer Patricia mentioned in Table VI. Under the Suez rules, the deductions for the space occupied by the crew, officers, and engineers was 234 tons (697 cubic meters) less than the deduction made under the German and American rules. The propelling power deduction under the percentage rule was 1,600 tons greater than under the Danube or Suez rule.

The other German steamer mentioned in Table VI, the Duisburg, is given a larger gross tonnage under the American and Suez rules than under the German, because the German rules treat as "open" certain spaces under the so-called shelter deck-spaces that are included in the American and Suez gross tonnage. The net tonnage of the Duisburg under the American rules is less than under the Suez rules, mainly because of the different deductions made for propelling power. The 32 per cent rule was applied by the American rules, whereas the Suez deductions were made in accordance with the Danube rule.

The dissimilarity in the ratio of gross and net tonnage of vessels as measured and registered under the laws of different countries is brought out by Table VII, which states the aggregate gross and net tonnage of the metal steam vessels of each of the several commercial nations of the world for the years 1890, 1900, and 1910. For convenience of comparison, the gross and net tonnages of the Suez Canal for the three years are added to the table.

1 This table is taken from the report of the United States Commissioner of Navigation for the year 1911.

TABLE VII.-Gross and net tonnages of the metal steam vessels of the world, 1890, 1900, and 1910, and the percentage deducted from the gross in ascertaining the net.

In studying Table VII the fact must be borne in mind that the gross tonnage of vessels in different countries is determined by dissimilar rules, and that the deductions made from gross to determine net tonnage are not the same in different countries. Thus, the ratio of net to gross tonnage, or the percentage which net is of gross tonnage in one country, can not be closely compared with the ratio or percentage in another country. Nevertheless, the percentage of gross tonnage deducted to determine net tonnage indicates in a general way whether the net tonnage rules of any particular country are intended to favor the merchant marine of that country by giving ships a low net tonnage and thus a low basis upon which taxes, port and navigation charges are payable at home and abroad.

Table VIII contains a statement of the net tonnage of the vessels that passed through the Suez Canal during the years 1891, 1892, 1893, and during each year from 1903 to 1912, inclusive. It will be noted that the net tonnage of the Suez Canal shipping was 71.2 per cent of the gross tonnage in 1891, 72 per cent in 1910, and 72.4 per cent in 1912. The gross tonnage of vessels under the Suez rules averages considerably larger than the gross tonnage as determined by the British rules and somewhat higher than the gross tonnage under the American rules. For most vessels the Suez net tonnage is higher than the net tonnage American registry, because the deductions which the Suez rules make for propelling power are less than are made by the American rules.

TABLE VIII.-Gross and net tonnages of vessels that passed through the Suez Canal, 1891–1893 and 1903–1912.

The details presented in this chapter show that net tonnage, though intended to express in a general way the vessel's tonnage or space available for cargo and passengers, varies largely for ships of the same size and type when measured under the rules of different countries. The United States Government is required by its treaty with Great Britain to treat the vessels of all nations with entire equality, so that there shall be no discrimination in respect of the conditions or charges of traffic, and it would doubtless be the policy of the Government to adhere, to this principle even though there were no treaty establishing the principle. In order to treat all vessels alike in levying tolls it will be necessary to apply to all vessels the same measurement rules. It will not be possible to charge tolls upon the net tonnage of vessels as stated in their certificates of national registry. There must be a special set of Panama measurement rules. The principles that should control in the formulation of those rules are considered in the chapters that constitute Part II of this report.

DETAILS OF THE DEDUCTIONS FROM GROSS TONNAGE TO DETERMINE THE NET TONNAGE OF VESSELS TO WHICH THE BRITISH, SUEZ, AMERICAN, AND GERMAN MEASUREMENT RULES WERE APPLIED.1

VESSELS TO WHICH THE MEASUREMENT RULES WERE APPLIED.

The steamship Kentuckian is an American steamship, representative of the fleet of the American-Hawaiian Steamship Co., the largest American fleet which will make use of the canal. She is described as a three-decked ship, but Lloyd's Register describes her as a two-decked ship with deep framing and a shelter deck. The ship is a freight steamer with accommodations, however, for a number of cabin passengers. She carries 280,000 gallons of oil as fuel, the daily consumption being 10,000 gallons at a speed of about 111⁄2 knots.

The British steamship Voltaire is a passenger and freight steamer belonging to the Lamport & Holt Line of the type in trade between New York and Rio Janeiro. She is a three-decked ship with 1,200 tons coal capacity, and on an average daily consumption of 60 tons steams at a speed of about 12 knots.

The British steamship Stephen is a freight steamer, with accommodations for some passengers, of the type in trade between New York and the River Amazon, owned by the Booth Steamship Co. She has two decks and a shelter deck, with a coal capacity of 1,100 tons, and on 32 tons consumption per day has an average speed of about 11 knots. The steamship Santa Rosalia is a modern British well-deck cargo carrier, steaming 10 knots on a daily coal consumption of 33 tons, and has 1,896 tons coal capacity.

The British steamship Kirkdale is a two-decked (spar deck) cargo steamer, steaming 10 knots on a daily coal consumption of 30 tons, with a coal capacity of 1,800 tons.

The British steamship Ikala is a two-decked ship to which at New York the surveyor of customs appears to have added the bridge space, making substantially the difference between the American and British measurement. This bridge space was not included in the Suez Canal certificate issued in 1901. If, however, cargo should be carried in that space hereafter it would be added to the Suez measurement. The steamship Ikala is being converted into an oil-burning steamer.

1 These details are copied with certain changes and abbreviations from the statement submitted by the Commissioner of Navigation to the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce of the House of Representatives, Jan. 20, 1912. Consult Hearings before Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, House Doc. No. 680, 62d Cong., 2d sess., pp. 857-872.

The note appended to Chapter IV, pages 63-69, contains the details concerning the gross tonnage of these vessels. The description of the vessels, although contained in the note appended to Chapter IV, is repeated here for convenient reference.