surveyors are in doubt whether a space under a "shelter" deck is open or closed-in, they must decide either to measure or to exempt the entire space. If the British surveyors decide that a "shelter" deck has the requisite "tonnage openings," they may measure the spaces under the "shelter" deck actually occupied by cargo and exempt the remainder of the space.

The provisions of the German ordinance of 1895, as amended, regarding deductions of spaces above deck are practically identical with corresponding provisions of the British measurement statute. A slight difference between the British and German regulations as to deductions results from the somewhat more liberal minimum requirements for crew spaces in Great Britain and also from a slightly different practice regarding deductions for passageways. In Great Britain passageways are deducted when they serve deducted spaces exclusively, whereas in Germany passageways are deducted only if they serve crew and officers' quarters exclusively. The interpretation of the rules regarding superstructures and spaces under "shelter" decks by the Imperial Bureau of Registry and by the State Measurement Boards of Germany is also practically the same as the meaning given those rules by the Board of Trade in Great Britain. The "Technical Directions" to German surveyors to guide them in the measurement of closed-in and open spaces under shelter decks and in superstructures (see Appendix VII, pp. 347 to 354) are more detailed than the official instructions of the Board of Trade to British surveyors; but as applied in actual practice the German directions produce the same tonnage results as do the British instructions. There is indeed very little difference between the measurement rules and practices of Great Britain and Germany as regards the measurement and deduction of spaces to determine net tonnage for registry. Originally the German rules were different from the British. In 1890, before the present ship measurement ordinance of Germany had been enacted, the deduction from gross tonnage to obtain net tonnage averaged 31 per cent for the entire German merchant marine, as compared with 37 per cent in Great Britain. Since the German ordinance of 1895 has been in effect the percentage of deduction in the two countries has been practically the same. In 1900 the deduction was 37 per cent in Germany and 38 per cent in Great Britain, and in 1910 it was 39 per cent in both countries.

Although the rules for determining net tonnage are practically the same in Great Britain and Germany, vessels under the German flag have some advantage over those under the British flag because of the fact that there is no deck-cargoes act in Germany. In neither country are spaces occupied by deck loads included in registered tonnage, but such spaces are measured in Great Britain and their volume is added to the tonnage upon which taxes and dues are paid. Under the German rules a space is either closed-in or open, as determined by the technical directions issued by the Bureau of Registry; deck loads on uncovered decks or within "open" deck erections are not measured.

HISTORY OF THE TREATMENT OF SPACES IN SUPERSTRUCTURES AND UNDER

IN THE UNITED STATES RULES.

"SHELTER" DECKS

The early tonnage laws of the United States, like those of Great Britain, aimed to ascertain the dead-weight capacity of vessels; and, as the space occupied by superstructures and by above-deck constructions was small, the statutes took no account of erections above the upper deck. When the first tonnage law of the United States was enacted, September 1, 1789, the standard types of ships were vessels with but one or two decks; and the law provided for the measurement only of single and double decked ships, no mention being made of vessels with more than two decks nor of the measurement of any superstructures whatsoever. This law of 1789 was reenacted March 2, 1799, as a part of the general tonnage tax collection act. remained in force until 1864.1

1 The provisions of the acts of 1789 and 1799 were as follows:

"That to ascertain the tonnage of any ship, the surveyor or such other person as shall be appointed by the collector of the district to measure the same shall, if the said ship or vessel be double-decked, take the length thereof from the forepart of the main stem, to the afterpart of the stern post, above the upper deck, the breadth thereof at the broadest part above the main wales, half of which breadth shall be accounted the depth of such a vessel, and shall then deduct from the length three-fifths of the breadth, multiply the remainder by the breadth and the product by the depth, and shall divide this last product by 95, the quotient whereof shall be deemed the true contents or tonnage of such ship or vessel. And if such ship or vessel be single decked, the said surveyor or other person shall take the length and breadth as above directed, in respect to a double decked ship or vessel, shall deduct from the said length three-fifths of the breadth, and taking the depth from the underside of the deck plank to the ceiling in the hold, shall multiply and divide, as aforesaid, and the quotient shall be deemed the tonnage of such ship or vessel." (U.S. Stat. L., vol. 1, p. 55, Sept. 1, 1789, and p. 676, Mar. 2, 1799.)

By the tonnage acts of 1789 and 1799, the tonnage of double-decked vessels was determined by applying the formula, length minus three-fifths breadth times breadth times one-half breadth divided by 95 equals tonnage. With the exception that the divisor was 95 instead of 94, this formula was the same as that of the Builders' Old Measurement Law which was in force in Great Britain from 1775 to 1835, and which continued to be privately used for some years thereafter. For a single-decked vessel, the formula of the acts of 1789 and 1799 was, length minus three-fifths breadth times breadth times depth divided by 95 equals tonnage.

The gross tonnage rules now in force in the United States are based on the provisions of the statute of May 6, 1864,1 which adopted the Moorsom system of measuring vessel spaces. The clauses of the act of 1864 relating to the measurement of superstructures and of 'tween deck spaces above the upper deck were practically the same as the corresponding clauses in the British Merchant Shipping Act of 1854, viz: "If there is a break, a poop, or any other permanent closed-in space on the upper deck, or on the spar deck, available for cargo, or stores, or for the berthing or accommodation of passengers or crew, the tonnage of such space shall be ascertained," and, "if the vessel has a third deck, or spar deck, the tonnage of the space between it and the tonnage deck shall be ascertained." The United States statute of 1864, however, provided for no deductions from gross tonnage of any measured spaces, because gross tonnage and not net tonnage was made the basis of tonnage taxes and other charges on shipping. It was not until 18 years later that Congress made net tonnage the basis of charges.

The treatment accorded superstructures and 'tween-deck spaces above the upper deck by the act of 1864, so far as their gross tonnage was concerned, was with one important exception the same as was accorded such spaces by the regulations of the British Board of Trade prior to the decision in the Bear case in 1875. The exception was due to an amendment of the act of 1864, which Congress made on February 28, 1865, and which provided that "no part of any ship or vessel shall be measured or registered for tonnage that is used for cabins or staterooms and constructed entirely above the first deck, which is not a deck to the hull." By this amendment spaces above the first tier of superstructures, if used for cabins or staterooms, were exempted from measurement. This clause of the act of 1865, it seems, was intended to apply only to "cabins or staterooms above the 'promenade' deck of the steamers of the seacoast and lakes, or above a 'boiler' deck as used on the western rivers," and for a while the act was applied only to river and lake steamers. Later, however, the statute, not having been limited to any particular class of ships, was held to exempt from measurement all but the lowest of the tiers of superstructures on ocean passenger steamers, the largest of which have now come to have several passenger decks above the uppermost full-length deck. Thus applied, the act of 1865 exempts from tonnage large revenue-earning spaces on typical passenger steamers. The tonnage rules of the Suez Canal Co. and of Germany, as well as those of Great Britain, include in the measurement and tonnage the spaces occupied by passengers in all tiers of superstructures. The exemption clause of the United States act of 1865 should have been repealed long ago.

In 1882 Congress, acting favorably upon the report of a committee of the House of Representatives, made net tonnage the basis of tonnage taxes. The tonnage act of August 5, 1882,5 authorized the deduction of propelling-power spaces, according to the Danube rule, up to 50 per cent of the gross tonnage, and the deduction of crew spaces up to 5 per cent of the gross tonnage. The only above-deck spaces deducted from gross tonnage by the act of 1882 were crew spaces, and the total deductions for crew spaces, above as well as below decks, could not exceed 5 per cent of the gross tonnage.

The allowable deductions of above-deck spaces from gross tonnage were increased by the act of March 2, 1895. It was this law; also, that substituted the British Board of Trade rule for deducting propelling-power spaces for the Danube rule. The changes made by the act of 1895 were intended to bring the American tonnage rules into more substantial accord with those of

1 U. S. Stat. L., vol. 13, p. 69, May 6, 1864.

2 U. S. Stat. L., vol. 13, p. 444, Feb. 28, 1865.

* Customs Regulations of the United States (1908), p. 53.

H. Rep. 1228, 47th Cong., 1st sess. (1882).

U. S. Stat. L., vol. 22, p. 300, Aug. 5, 1882.

Great Britain and other countries. As the House committee stated in its report upon which the bill was based: 1

The purpose of the bill is to meet a situation created by the diversity of methods of ascertaining net tonnage employed by maritime nations. The net tonnage of vessels under American laws is greater than the net tonnage of the same dimension and description under the foreign laws. Net tonnage is the basis of various navigation dues, port charges, etc. Consequently in foreign ports our vessels are required either to pay higher port charges than foreign vessels of like dimension and description, or subject themselves to the delay and excuse of remeasurement in foreign ports. Usually they accept the former alternative. The bill is designed to accommodate and reduce expenses of American vessels in foreign trade.

* *

*

The act of 1895 authorized the following deductions of above-deck spaces from gross tonnage:

(1) Crew spaces wherever located, without any maximum limit, and with a minimum limit of 72 cubic feet and 12 superficial feet per man. These were the minima enforced in Great Britain until they were increased by the Merchant Shipping Act of 1906. By act of March 3, 1897, the American minimum limit on seagoing sailing vessels was increased to 100 cubic feet and 16 superficial feet for vessels built or rebuilt after June 30, 1898. (2) The master's cabin. (3) Spaces used exclusively for keeping the charts, signals, and other instruments of navigation and boatswain's stores. (4) Space occupied by the donkey engine room and boiler, if connected with the engine room of the ship. (5) The space used for storing sails on sailing vessels up to one-half of 1 per cent of the gross tonnage. And (6) light and air and funnel spaces in inclosed structures above the engine room may, upon written request of the shipowner, be included in the gross tonnage and deducted as part of the engine room and bunker allowances. The exemptions from gross tonnage were not changed by the act of 1895, but by the act of February 6, 1909, hatchways were exempted from measurement up to one-half of 1 per cent of the gross tonnage.

The act of 1895, however, has not succeeded in bringing the American and British treatment of superstructures into entire accord. The deduction of above-deck spaces from gross tonnage is now substantially the same in the United States as in Great Britain and Germany, but there are differences in exemptions from measurement. The only difference in this regard in the tonnage laws is the exemption in the United States, under act of February 28, 1865, of "cabins and staterooms constructed above the first deck, which is not a deck to the hull." A deck to the hull is defined by our measurement authorities as any deck "which has a direct bearing upon the frame timbers, even though lighter than other decks in the same vessel, and though only a portion of the timbers extend to such deck. In iron vessels an upper deck supported by stanchions of wood or iron bolted to the angle irons or to the iron plating of the vessel is to be taken as a deck to the hull." Although this definition seems definite, many spaces above the first tier of superstructures on large passenger steamers, which are measured under the rules of Great Britain, Germany, and the Suez Canal Co., are in practice exempted in the United States.

The differences in the practices as to the exemption of spaces in superstructures and under "shelter" decks are dependent less upon dissimilarities in statutory provisions than upon the varying interpretations given "permanent closed-in" and "open" spaces. The wording of the statutes of the United States, Germany, and Great Britain in regard to these exemptions are identical, but the application of the rules is such that the average net tonnage of American ships is in excess of the average net tonnage of vessels registered in Great Britain and Germany. The meaning given to "open" and "closed-in" spaces by American surveyors not having been controlled by the decision of the British courts in the Bear case, and not having been influenced by a deck-cargoes act, the American rules as to the measurement or exemption of spaces above the upper deck are much the same as they originally were and as the British rules were prior to 1875. The Customs Regulations of the United States now define closed-in as follows: 3

spaces

1 H. Rept. 1515, 53d Cong., 3d sess. (1894).

2 Customs Regulations of the United States, edition of 1908, p. 53.

For the complete Rules and Regulations of the United States Concerning the Measurement of Vessels, see Appendix II.

By "closed-in spaces" is to be understood spaces which are sheltered from the action of the sea and weather, even though openings be left in the inclosure. Measuring officers will exercise due vigilance that the intent of the law in this respect is not evaded. It should be borne in mind, however, that no closed-in spaces above the upper deck to the hull are to be admeasured unless available for cargo or stores or the berthing or accommodation of passengers or crew. The engine room, pilot house, galley, windlass house, and the like, are, when so situated and used, exempt.

Whether for the purpose of measurement a deck is to be regarded as an upper deck or as the shelter deck is to be determined in each instance both by the character and structural conditions of the erection, and by the purpose to which the between-deck is devoted. Differences in construction are so numerous that no definition or rule on this subject has been formulated. If the deck is a continuous deck, fastened down and water-tight, sealing up the cylinder formed between the two decks and making it a fit place for the stowage of cargo, like a hold, the deck is to be treated as an upper deck and the space between it and the deck below is to be measured. If, however, the cylinder is open to the shipment of seas, and the space is not reasonably fit for the carrying of dry cargo, but is used only for cargo generally classed as deck cargo, such as cattle, horses, chemicals, oil in barrels, etc., then, usually, the deck is to be regarded as a shelter deck, and the space as "sheltered space above the upper deck which is under cover and open to the weather: that is, not enclosed," and not to be included in the recorded tonnage.

Inasmuch as the measurement or exemption of superstructures and of spaces under "shelter" decks must depend upon the judgment of individual surveyors as to whether spaces are "closed-in" or "open," it is necessary for the measurement authorities of all countries to issue specific regulations to be followed by admeasurers. The admeasurers at New York are guided by the following interpretation given by the Surveyor of the Port to the "Customs Regulations of the United States:"

1. Closed-in spaces above the upper deck.—If there be a break, poop, bridge, forecastle, deck house, hatchway, or any other permanent closed-in space above the upper deck, available for cargo or stores, or for the berthing or accommodation of passengers or crew, the tonnage of that space shall be ascertained and added to the gross tonnage.

2. Closed-in spaces. By closed-in spaces is to be understood spaces which are sheltered from the action of the sea and weather, even though openings be left in the inclosure. Forecastles, bridges, poops, or any other permanent erection with one or more openings in the sides or ends fitted with doors or other permanently attached means of closing them should be measured and included in the gross tonnage.

3. Openings in bulkheads.-When an opening in the bulkhead of a deck erection is closed, either by a hinged door, or by a portable plate which is secured in place by nut and screw bolts so as to be water-tight, the opening may be regarded as completely closed.

4. Openings in front of bridge house or poop.-When there is an opening or openings in the bulkhead at the front of a bridge house or poop closed by hinged doors or by shifting boards when fitted into channel bars, which extend the full height of the opening, the space may be regarded as closed.

5. Openings in after end of bridge house or forecastle.-When there are openings in the bulkhead at the after end of a bridge house or forecastle, closed by portable plates secured in place by nut and screw bolts or closed by shifting boards, when fitted into channel bars which extend the full height of the openings, the space may be regarded as completely closed.

6. Open spaces.-Spaces under awning decks without other connection with the body of the ship than the stanchions necessary for supporting them, which are not spaces separated off and are permanently exposed to the weather and the sea, will not be comprised in the gross tonnage.

7. Exempted spaces.-It should be borne in mind, however, that no closed-in spaces above the upper deck to the hull are to be ad measured unless available for cargo or stores or the berthing or accommodation of passengers or crew. The engine room, pilot house, galley, windlass house, and the like are, when so situated and used, exempt.

8. Cabin and staterooms in superstructures above lowest tier.—No part of any vessel will be admeasured or registered for tonnage that is used for cabins or staterooms and constructed entirely above the first deck which is not a deck to the hull.

9. A deck to the hull.-Any deck is a deck to the hull which has a direct bearing upon the frame timbers, even though lighter than other decks in the same vessel, and though only a portion of the timbers extend to such deck. In iron vessels an upper deck supported by stanchions of wood or iron bolted to the angle irons or to the iron plating of the vessel is to be taken as a deck to the hull. In consequence of the diversity of modes of construction much in this particular must necessarily be confided to the judgment of the measuring officer.1

With the exception of the exemption from measurement of cabins and staterooms constructed above the first deck which is not a deck to the hull, the American treatment of superstructures and of spaces under "shelter" decks corresponds more closely to the practice of the

1 These instructions are quoted from a letter received from the Surveyor of the Port of New York, Nov. 13, 1912.

Suez Canal Co. than to that followed in Great Britain or Germany. The differences between the Suez and American practice are as follows:

(1) The Suez rules include in the gross tonnage of vessels closed-in spaces used for navigation purposes, later deducting some of the spaces to ascertain net tonnage, while the American rules exempt from measurement navigation spaces not available for freight, stores, crew, or passengers. This difference in practice does not greatly affect the final tonnage result, but certain spaces which are exempted or deducted in the United States are neither exempted nor deducted under the Suez rules. Such spaces are the master's cabin, the rooms occupied by the ship's purser and clerk, spaces used for the boatswain's stores, for the donkey engine and boiler if used to hoist cargo, and for storing the sails on sailing vessels. The treatment of light and air and funnel spaces is also somewhat different in the Suez and American rules. In the United States, such spaces located above the upper deck in inclosed erection may, upon special request, be deducted as part of the engine room, while under the Suez rules the shipowner may not request such deduction without forfeiting certain exemptions specified in the memorandum issued by the Suez Canal Co. in 1904.

(2) The Suez rules limit the entire volume of deductions for crew and navigation spaces to 5 per cent of the gross tonnage, while the United States prescribes no maximum limit.

(3) The definition of shelter decks is similar, but since 1902 the Suez rules have exempted spaces lying directly in way of opposite non-closable openings in the sides, while in the United States rules there is no such provision.

(4) The Suez and American definitions of closed-in and open superstructures are similar, but since 1904 the Suez rules exempt certain portions of such superstructures as are "closedin" according to the Suez definition, but "open" according to the definition prevailing in the home country of any particular vessel.

(5) The American rules do not contain the provision that an exempted place once found to contain dry cargo shall always thereafter be included in the vessel's tonnage. In practice, however, this difference is slight, for the presence of dry cargo in an exempted space causes the American admeasurers to include in the tonnage all spaces in which cargo is found.

For convenience of comparison, the provisions relating to the exemption and measurement of superstructures and 'tween-deck spaces above the upper deck in the measurement rules of the United Kingdom, the Suez Canal Co., Germany, and the United States are stated in parallel columns in Table XII:

TABLE XII.-Treatment (in 1913) of superstructures and shelter-deck spaces under the measurement rules of Great Britain, the Suez Canal Co., Germany, and the United States.