form of competition. If this were to be the result of the recent Act, it would probably cause more injury than benefit to the class whom it was intended to protect, and it is scarcely necessary to say that the Board of Trade in administering it are anxious to avoid any such result.

"They are prepared to lay great stress on the point above referred to, and they propose in all cases where circumstances are brought to their notice leading them to the belief that any coasting craft is not entirely seaworthy, to inquire in the first instance by whom she is owned and navigated. If it proves that she is employed on short voyages only, and that she is navigated by the owners, or by men who, being competent and experienced seamen, knowing the craft well and accustomed to sail in her, are willing to continue so to do, the Board of Trade will not, as a general rule, treat her under such circumstances as a vessel seriously endangering human life, although she may not be capable of passing the strict survey which is applicable in other cases."

"Reports have been received recently from the surveyors that ships are unseaworthy, but these reports frequently do not contain sufficient information to enable the department to act with promptitude in deciding whether to detain or not to detain the ship reported; when in future a ship is reported as unseaworthy the surveyor should, in addition to giving her rig, tonnage, and official number, and a general indication of the nature of the defects or sources of danger, also report whether the vessel is a coaster, or an over-sea home-trade ship, or a foreign-going ship, and if a coaster or home-trade ship, the surveyor should also report the nature of her employment, the nature of the cargo she usually carries, and the extent and usual duration of the voyages on which she is usually employed and is about to proceed; whether the vessel goes to sea regularly even in bad weather, or whether she only goes to sea in fair weather; the number of persons who usually proceed to sea in her, and whether the master and crew are well acquainted with the ship, and being well acquainted with her are willing to continue to go to sea in her in her present condition; and, lastly, whether the vessel is provided with a boat rendered efficiently buoyant after the manner of a lifeboat, and sufficient to save the crew in an emergency. Unless these instructions are attended to, much difficulty and inconvenience will arise to all concerned."

PORT OF NAPLES.

The following rules and scale of charges have been agreed upon between the Captain of the Port and the two mooring gangs recognized by him :

Art. 1.-The two gangs who alternately perform the service of mooring and unmooring in the port of Naples bind themselves to moor and unmoor foreign ships at the rate of charges stated here below (Arts. 5 and 6), they providing the requisite barges for carrying out the anchors, boats for making fast hawsers to the buoys, and the necessary labourers.

Art. 2.—The master of the gang on duty is responsible for all damages which may happen during the mooring or unmooring, when it is proved that such damages are attributable to the fault of the gangmen in the execution of their duties.

Art. 3.-If the anchors should get entangled whilst being weighed and the services of a diver be required, the consequent expenses will be exclusive of the mooring charges and paid for separately by the ship.

Art. 4.-The mooring charges stated below (Arts. 5 and 6) apply to ordinary weather, the mooring gangs leaving it to the Captain of the Port to decide on the extra charges which may be due to them on account of stormy weather.

Art. 5.-The charges referred to in Article 1 are the following:Sailing Vessels.-From 50 to 150 tons, for mooring and unmooring, lire 60; over 150 tons, 25 centimes per ton in addition to the above charge of lire 60; for simply mooring or unmooring the charge will be reduced by one-half.

Art. 6.-Steamships.-For mooring and unmooring steamships, whatever may be their tonnage, the charge is, lire 40-that is to say, lire 25 for mooring, and lire 15 for unmooring.

Art. 7.-The masters of the mooring gangs are bound to exhibit the present agreement, approved by the Captain of the Port, to any master of a vessel who may require their services before they are engaged.

N.B.-Masters of ships are at liberty to moor or unmoor their own ships, and are not obliged to accept the services of the mooring gangs of the ports.-Naples, October 9, 1874.

DISTRESS AND PILOTAGE SIGNALS.-GERMANY ADOPTS THE ENGLISH LAW. The Board of Trade have received, through the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, a copy of a dispatch from Her Majesty's Ambassador at Berlin, stating that at a sitting, on the 7th ult., of the Bundes Rath of the German Empire, it was decided to adopt, in their entire and unaltered form, the distress and pilot signals, as set forth in Schedules 1 and 2 of "The Merchant Shipping Acts Amendment Act, 1873."

SOUPS, &c., TO BE CARRIED ON BOARD SHIP.-Under the Merchant Shipping Act, 1867, the following preserved articles are to be carried (under penalties for omission) in addition to the dietary scale agreed to

by the master and crew-viz., soup and bouilli, boiled mutton, essence of meat, dessiccated soup, vegetables dried or compressed, potato (if not in scale of provisions), port wine, brandy.-(Circular, No. 699, M. 19,402, 1878).[We call attention to this, as several correspondents who have got into difficulties through omissions, have professed entire ignorance of the legal requirements, and as interminable troubles, delays, and disputes with seamen are likely to result from non-observance of the Act, besides the chance of a Board of Trade prosecution.]

CERTIFICATES OF CHARACTER OF SEAMEN.-Sir,-I am directed by the Board of Trade to state for the information of the Local Marine Board that they have reason to believe that masters not unfrequently give to seamen certificates of discharge, bearing endorsements as to character and ability not supported by the facts or by the entries in the Official Log. The result of this is that men who are incompetent or have misconducted themselves during their term of service are enabled, through the production of these certificates with the letters "V. G." or "G." endorsed upon them, to find further employment without difficulty. Not only do such seamen avoid the consequences of wrong-doing, but injustice is thus done to the good and efficient sailor, and to the masters of the ships in which men holding such false characters afterwards obtain employment. But this is not the whole of the evil, for the present loose and untruthful practice really frustrates the object the Legislature had in view in requiring these certificates of discharge to be issued and certified. The making of a false certificate or report of the service, qualifications, and conduct or character of any seamen is, by "The Merchant Shipping Act, 1854," declared to be a misdemeanour, but no steps have hitherto been taken by this Board to bring home such an offence to a shipmaster. The Board are however of opinion that the evil, if unchecked, is calculated not only to go on increasing, but also to have a most injurious operation upon the discipline of the Merchant Service, and to affect the security of human life at sea. It has occured to this Board that the Superintendents of Mercantile Marine Offices might perhaps be required, in cases where the character given on the certificate of discharge is obviously and materially at variance with the statements in the Official Log Book, to refuse to sign it and put a "cross" in the place of his signature. This Board would be much obliged if the Local Marine Board would favour them with their opinion upon the question, and with any observations which may occur to them as to the best mode of dealing with the cases. It will obviously be better to do away with the certificate of discharge altogether, rather than to convert it, as is often the case at present, into an authorised official document for furnishing a false statement of character to incompetent, dishonest and dangerous seamen. It may of course be open to this Board to proceed against the

master in each case under the 176th Section of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1854; but whether this is so or not they would rather, by co-operation with the Local Marine Boards, hit upon some plan which will render unnecessary the delays and vexations of such a course.-I am, &c.— (Signed)-THOMAS GRAY.-Circular, dated 18th Dec., 1874.

GENERAL.

AT SEA-VERY MUCH.-Our contemporary The Engineer, in a leader in its last number on "The Bessemer Channel Steamer" announces that "it has been shown that the taffrail of an American liner often falls through a vertical space of 30ft. in about one second when running in a heavy sea." If not asking too much of our contemporary, we should like to know how, when, and where this "has been shown." We ourselves never heard of the deck of a vessel falling so rapidly that the men standing on it were left behind; but if our contemporary be correct this must be a common although not ordinarily known occurrence. Ordinary individuals, as well as all inanimate bodies with which we are acquainted, only manage to get through a space of a fraction over 16ft. during their first second when falling freely under the action of gravity, and if, therefore, an incautious sailor or passenger happened to be standing near the "taffrail of an American liner" when that vessel was about to perform the remarkable gymnastic feat which our contemporary records, he would at the end of a second find himself situated 14ft. above the deck surrounded by such loose articles as the deck near him might have carried before its descent! Our contemporary adds: "The effect of such a drop.as this is beyond all question more severe than anything rolling produces." Quite so!-Engineering.

TRANSFER OF SHIPS TO GERMAN FLAG.-The Ostee Zeitung, of Stetting, reports that the barque Humber, formerly an English ship, but recently transferred to the German flag, has been condemned at Dantzic as unseaworthy. The same paper states that cases in which ships declared unseaworthy in England have passed under the German flag are very frequent. In reference to this matter the German Lloyd has issued a circular to their agents, which we translate as follows:-" Berlin, October.-The following notice has appeared in the newspapers-In England vessels now undergo a more rigorous examination than formerly in reference to their seaworthiness, and several ships have in consequence been condemned as unseaworthy. In most of these cases the owners have sold these ships to foreigners, which can only be done pro forma as a rule. These

vessels, therefore, continue their voyages unhindered under a foreign flag. In Swinemunde also vessels condemned in England have thus been discovered under the German flag. In view, therefore, of ships bought from English owners being placed on the register, the authorities on this side should exercise a stricter control, in order that scandal may not accrue to the German flag through life and property being lost in these ships.' This notice will not have escaped your attention, although its purport must be accepted with the greatest caution; for the difficulty of manning a ship condemned as unseaworthy, or of selling it as a seaworthy craft, is so great as to cast a by no means unjustifiable doubt on the above-quoted notice. Be this, however, as it may, we hold ourselves bound to earnestly recommend you to exercise extreme caution in admitting old English vessels, and we beg of you continually to send us immediate information when such vessels are submitted to you for classification, and not to determine their class until you shall have received from us our approval, in reply to your report. At the same time we beg of you to report to us whether any purchases of old English ships have lately been made by owners in your district, or whether any such have been placed under the German flag."

HARBOUR MASTER AT HOLYHEAD.-The Naval and Military Gazette has the following on this subject :-" Rumour is silent as to the successor to the late Admiral Schomberg. The appointment is a good one, and in the gift of the Board of Trade; but the President will consult the Admiralty before they select an officer to fill the post. Here we have an opportunity to provide for one of the senior officers on the active list, in one of the snuggest berths that can be imagined; and promotion of juniors will follow. Every little helps." This exactly shows that "the service" looks upon Board of Trade appointments as a matter of right. We are very glad that the President of the Board of Trade has not taken that view. It is not at all clear to us why naval officers on the active list should be deemed to be proper persons for mercantile work, and, above all, why those naval officers should be appointed to Board of Trade vacancies over the heads of deserving officers, naval and otherwise, already in the service of the Board of Trade. We are always glad when the filling up of a vacancy causes promotion, and we agree with the Naval and Military Gazette that every little helps in this direction. Our only difference is that we think vacancies in the Board of Trade should lead to promotions within that staff, whilst our contemporary thinks that vacancies in that staff should lead to promotions in the active list of naval captains. We never yet heard that the Board of Trade cannot make promotions in its own staff unless the President consults the Admiralty; on the contrary, we cannot see why the President of the Board of Trade should not be able to do his own work and of himself.