IN the year 1854 the great Merchant Shipping Act was passed, which was a substitute for all previous Acts, and which, with certain subsequent amendments, passed in 1855, 1856, 1862, and 1871, has since constituted the law for the regulation of our Merchant shipping and Merchant seamen. We, at that time, remarked on its several provisions, in a series of papers in mix 14th, 15th, and 17th Numbers, and pointed out what we considered some of its short-comings and inconsistencies, but, at the same time, stated that, in our opinion, " it embodied a most comprehensive system of legisla- tion for all the vast and varied interests involved in the immense shipping trade of this country;" and, having special reference to that part of the subject allied to the objects of this Institution, we ob- served that, "amongst the many enactments contained in it for the protection and welfare of seamen, and of passengers when on shipboard, there were several, the objects of which were, or the effect of which would be, to afford increased security to life in ease of shipwreck or other disaster at sea." In 1869 & a«w Merchant Shipping Bill was prepared, to be termed the Merchant Shipping Act, 1870, but other and more urgent matter for legislation has/ from then until now, occupied the attention of Parliament, and the Bill baa not yet been considered by it.

In our 74th and 75th Numbers we commented on many of the provisions of that Bill, to which we do not now propose to refer.

Another Amendment Act was, however, passed by the Legislature in August last, which is now therefore the law, and on which we propose to make some re- marks. It may be considered, how- ever, only an intermediate measure to meet some of the more pressing requirements of the Mercantile Marine until the comprehensive Bill of 1870 can be again brought forward.

As on the former occasions, we will comment on its several sections seriatim, or, at least, on such of them as may be deemed to affect, either directly or indirectly, the preservation of life.

The 1st and 2nd sections define the Act as the " Merchant Shipping Act, 1878," bat state that the Merchant Shipping Act, 1854, and its subsequent amendments, together with this one, may be cited collectively as the Merchant Ship- ping Acts, 1854 to 1873. The 3rd section provides— Firstly, that every British ship shall, before registry, have her name permanently and conspicuously marked on each of her bows, and her name, and that of the port of her registry, on her stern.

Secondly, that her official number, and the number denoting her registered tonnage, shall be cut on her main beam.

Thirdly, that a scale of feet denoting her draught of water shall be cut in and conspicuously painted in Roman capital letters, or in figures, not less than six inches in length, on each side of the stem and sternpost, the lower line of such letters or figures denoting the draught line.

Fourthly, that the owner of any ship will be liable to a penalty of 100?. if the scale of feet showing the ship's draught of water is, in any respect, inaccurate, so as to be likely to mislead, or if he neglect to have his ship marked as aforesaid, or suffer any person under his control to conceal, remove, alter, deface, or obliterate any of the said marks, except for the purpose of escaping capture by an enemy.

As regards the first requirement of this section, there could not be a more striking illustration of the importance of having the name of every vessel conspicuously painted on her than that afforded by the, for ever, infamous conduct of the captain of the Spanish ship Murillo, in deserting the drowning crew and passengers of the Northfleet, after running into and sinking that unfortunate vessel on the night of the 15th January, 1873.

And so, also, as regards the second requirement, it is highly advantageous that a vessel should have, as it were, an official seal, certifying to her identity and her carrying capacity.

It is like the " Certificate of Baptism," or the " Registry of Birth," in the case of the human being, which can be referred to at any time to testify to identity.

The third requirement, which states that the draught of water of any vessel shall be visible at all times, through a scale of feet being cut and painted both on the stem and stern posts, we consider of great importance. For a long period it has been customary to mark a scale of feet on the stem and stern posts of ships of war; and many merchant vessels had the same, although not by compulsion, previously to the Amendment Act, 1871, to the manifest advantage of those on board them, that they might at all times be able to ascertain their exact draught of water, and trim.

The chief importance of this requirement however now is, that, taken with the comparative freeboard or height of the upper part of the hull, above' the surface of the water, it is at once a visible indication as to whether or not a loaded ship is overladen; so that if she should appear to be so the authorities of the port'from which she sails may have their attention directed to the circumstance, although they may not' have received any official complaint of the same from her crew.

That there is every need for increased vigilance on the part of the Government authorities to prevent the crime of over- lading is only too certain. Long before Mr. PLIMSOLL drew general attention to the subject we have in these columns done so, and in our Number of 1st July, 1867, in an article on ' Overladen and Unseaworthy Ships,' will be found an account of the loss of the Utopia, a ship of nearly 1000 tons, which, in defiance of all the authorities of Liverpool, sailed from that port on the 10th of March of that year for Bombay, so overladen and leaky that only three days afterwards she had to be abandoned by her master and crew at the very moment of foundering, when they had a narrow escape of their lives. This was one of the most disgraceful cases on record, and the more so as the owners of the ship themselves super- intended her departure, knowing at the tune her Unseaworthy condition, and that she was not, in her then overladen and leaky state, fit to cross the Irish Channel, far less to start on a voyage to India.

And let it not be thought that such cases will not occur continually if they be not prevented by the strong arm of the law, for so long as cupidity is inherent in many natures, and the temptation exists to increase the profit on a voyage by loading to the extreme limit of safety, and even beyond it, there will be many unprincipled men who will yield to its baleful influence, heedless of the risk to the lives of the poor men who work their ships. Just as there are men, calling themselves Englishmen and Christians, who are ready at any moment to sell arms and ammunition to the enemies of their country, in times of war, to be employed in destroying the lives of their own countrymen.

We trust that this scale of feet at stem and stern, coupled with the power of inquiry and examination by the officers under the Board of Trade, may be found sufficient to check the infamous and dastardly custom of habitual overloading; but should it not prove to be so we can see no reason whatever why what we have ourselves advocated should not be adopted, viz., the prominently marking every British merchant vessel with a maximum load water-line, fore and aft, beyond which it should be illegal to load her. The objection is commonly made to any such line that it would be a hard-and-fast one, which would not meet the varying exigencies of various descriptions of cargo and difference of trim, whilst it would be a stigma on the great majority of ship- owners who would never wilfully over- load their vessels. We do not think this objection is tenable. It would not be a hard-and-fast line, as vessels would rarely be loaded up to it, and when laden with iron or metallic ores, would never be so, much being therefore still left to the discretion of the shipowner; but it would be a protection to the lives of seamen to the extent of its prohibition, and would prevent any more Utopias from disgracing the British flag and name. But neither would it be a hard-and-fast line as regards trim, because, although marked parallel with the ordinary calculated trim of the vessel on leaving the builder's hands, if with any special cargo she should require to be trimmed more by the head or stern, should the line at either end be immersed, that at the other end would be required to be, in proportion, raised above the surface of the water..

Again, we cannot see that any such line marked on all vessels would be any more a stigma on the honourable ship- owner than are the required scales on bow or stern, or than are the numbers required to be marked on cabs and other vehicles a stigma on the proprietors of the same, however respectable and upright they may be.

The 4th section provides that the record of the draught of water of any sea- going ship, required under section five of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1871, shall, in addition to the particulars thereby required, specify the extent of her ' clear side' in feet and inches; and it defines the term ' clear side' to mean the height from the water to the upper side of the plank of the deck from which the depth of hold, as stated in the register, is measured, the measurement being taken from the lowest part of the side.

The third clause of the section requires the master of every sea-going ship to permit any person appointed to record the ship's draught of water, to enter the ship, and make such inspections, and take such measurements, as may be requisite.

The 5th section prohibits the registry of any foreign ship becoming a British one, by any other name than that it had previously had, unless with the express sanction of the Board of Trade, as directed by section 6 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1871, and affixes a penalty not exceeding 100Z., for acting in contravention of the same.

The 6th section provides that when any British ship, by reason of having been wrecked or abandoned, or for any reason save capture by the enemy, or transfer to a person not qualified to own a British ship, shall have ceased to be registered as a British ship, she shall not be re-registered as one until she has been surveyed by one of the surveyors appointed by the Board of Trade,.and certified by him to be sea-worthy. This provision is undoubtedly a very necessary one.

The five following sections, from the 7th to the 11th, are connected with the - agreements between masters and seamen, and the owners of vessels.

The only one of them calling for comment is the 9th, which provides that, " if a seaman or apprentice of any ship be detained on a charge of desertion, or any I kindred offence, and if on a survey of the ship being made, under section 7 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 18 71, it be proved that she is not in a fit condition to proceed to sea, or that her accommodation is insufficient, the owner or master of the ship shall be liable to pay such seaman or apprentice such compensation for his detention as the Court, having cognizance of the proceedings, may award." We think that some such protection to the seamen who find themselves on board unseaworthy vessels has been long needed.

On the one hand the custom of paying wages in advance, Which induces bad men to desert their vessels and thus rob their employers, should be discontinued; but on the other, no such disgraceful thing should any longer be possible, as that men should be sent to gaol and treated as criminals, because they should refuse to go to sea in overladen, leaky, or other unseaworthy craft, at great peril to, their lives. If it be deemed a convenient way to get rid of the scum of our population, and of the wild, turbulent, and restless spirits which dwell in all communities, to send them to sea to be drowned, well and good, only let the same be clearly under- stood. But if, on the other hand, it be thought desirable that service in our grand merchant navy shall be looked on as a respectable employment, and that these men, who visit all lands, whose ex- ample is for good or ill wheresoever they go, and who bring credit or discredit on the British name, should conduct them- selves as respectable Christian men and not as savages; why, then, let every means be taken to make the service attractive and respectable—to improve those men already in it—and to lead them to respect themselves and to desire the respect of others.

The next series of 'sections, ranging from the 12th to the 28th, fall under the beading of "Safety and Prevention of Accidents." Section 12 is a very important one. It provides— " That when the Board of Trade has received a complaint, or has reason to believe that any British ship is, by reason of the defective condition of her ll, equipments, or machinery, or by reason of over-loading, or improper loading, unfit to proceed to sea without serious danger to human life, it may, if it think fit, appoint some' competent person or persons to survey such ship, and the equipments, machinery, and cargo thereof, and to report thereon to the Board." That "Any person so appointed may, for the purposes of such survey, require the unloading or removal of any cargo, ballast, or tackle, and shall have all the powers of an inspector appointed under the Merchant Shipping Act, 1854." Also that, " Any person having notice of such survey who shall wilfully do any act to obstruct or prevent the same, shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding 501." It empowers the Board of Trade to order the detention of any ship for the purpose of such survey, and authorizes any officer of Customs to detain her until her release be ordered either by the Board of Trade or by any Court to which an appeal is given under the Act. And it further empowers the Board to detain such ship either absolutely or on the performance of such conditions as it might think necessary to impose, in the event of the surveyor's report being such that, in the opinion of the Board, the ship could not proceed to sea without serious danger to human life.

As stated above, we consider this section of the Act a most important one. If the Board of Trade are fortunate in obtaining the services of independent and experienced men, who will fearlessly and effectually discharge the difficult and onerous duty imposed on them, its effect we may hope will be to sweep our unseaworthy ships from the sea, and whilst it will strike terror into the hearts of evil- doers, that it will, at the same time, prevent the necessity of any general system of inspection or espionage, which would be inconvenient and vexatious to the general body of shipowners, who would never, intentionally, send an unseaworthy vessel to sea.

The 13th Section specifies by whom the expenses of such surveys shall be paid.

If the ship surveyed should be found unfit to proceed to sea without serious danger to human life, that the expenses incurred by the Board of Trade in respect of the survey shall be paid by the owner of the ship, and be recoverable in the same manner as salvage is so. If not found unfit, that they shall be paid by the Board of Trade.

It also empowers the Board, on a complaint being made to it that a ship is unfit to proceed to sea, to require the complainant to give such security as they might deem sufficient for the payment of any costs and expenses for which the Board might become liable, and makes the same recoverable by the Board should it appear that the complaint had been made without sufficient reason. This clause'will effectually prevent frivolous or malicious complaints being made as to unseaworthiness, &c.

The 14th Section specifies the courts to which a shipowner may appeal if dis- satisfied with any order made by the Board after a survey, viz.:— " In England, to any Court having Admiralty Jurisdiction.

In Ireland, to any Court having Jurisdiction under the Court of Admiralty (Ireland) Act, 1867.

In Scotland, to the Court of the Sheriff of the County." The 15th Section authorises the Board of Trade to sanction, at the request of the owner, a reduction in the number, and a variation in the dimensions, of the boats required for the ship by Section 292 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1854, and also the substitution of rafts or other appliances for saving life for any such boats; so, nevertheless, that the boats so reduced or varied, and the rafts, &c., so .

substituted should be sufficient for the persons carried on board the ship.

Section 16 is of great importance. It is as follows:—" In every case of collision between two vessels it shall be the duty of the master or person in charge of each vessel, if and so far as he can do so with- out danger to his own vessel, crew, and passengers (if any), to stay by the • other vessel until he has ascertained that she has no need of further assistance, and to render to the other vessel, her master, crew, and passengers (if any), such assistance as may be practicable, and as may be necessary, in order to save them from any danger caused by the collision; and also to give to the master or person in charge of the other vessel the name of his own vessel, and of her port of registry, or of the port or place to Which she belongs, and also the names of the ports and places from which she has come and to which she is bound.

" If he fail so to do, and no reasonable cause for such failure be shown, the collision shall, in the absence of proof to the contrary, be deemed to have been caused by his wrongful act, neglect, or default.

" Every master or person in charge of a British vessel who fails, without reason- able cause, to render such assistance, or .

give such information as aforesaid, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanour, and, if he is a certificated officer, an inquiry into his conduct may be held, and his certificate may be cancelled or suspended." It was time that such an enactment as that contained in this section should be made; for although the case of the running .down of the emigrant ship, Northfleet, already referred to, was no doubt the immediate cause of its introduction into this " Amendment Act/' if it was not indirectly the cause of the Act itself, yet too many cases of heartless desertion, although with less disastrous consequences, have from time to time occurred, and it can only be matter of surprise that the desertion of one ship by another, under such circumstances, has not long since been made a punishable offence.

Sections 18 to 21, together with two schedules to the Act, define the character of the signals to be shown by vessels in distress and needing assistance, and by those requiring pilots, and prohibit the use of such signals for any other object, and make those who misuse them liable for any expenses occasioned thereby.

They are as follows:— " 18. The signals specified in the First Schedule to this Act shall be deemed to be signals of dis- tress.

" Any master of a vessel who uses or displays, or causes or permits any person under his authority to use or display, any of the said signals, except in the case of a vessel being in distress, shall be liable to pay compensation for any labour under- taken, risk incurred, or loss sustained in consequence of such signal having been supposed to be a signal of distress, and such compensation may, without prejudice to any other remedy, be re- covered in the same manner in which salvage is recoverable.

" 19. If the vessel requires the services of a Pilot, the signals to be used and displayed shall be those specified in the Second Schedule to this Act.

" Any Master of a vessel who uses or displays, or causes or permits any person under his authority to use or display, any of the said signals, for any other purpose than that of summoning a Pilot, or uses, or causes, or permits any person under his authority to use any other signal for a Pilot, shall incur a penalty not exceeding 2(K.

" 20. Her Majesty may, from time to time, by Order in Council, repeal or alter the rules as to signals contained in the schedules to this Act, or make new rules in addition thereto, or in substitution therefore, and any alterations in, or additions to, such rules made in manner aforesaid, shall be of the same force as the rules in the said schedules.

"21. Any Shipowner who is desirous of using for the purposes of a private code, any rockets, lights, or other similar signals, may register such signals with the Board of Trade, and the Board shall give public notice "of the signals so registered in such manner as they may think requisite for preventing such signals from being mistaken for signals of distress or signals for Pilots.

" The Board may refuse to register any signals which, in their opinion, cannot easily be distinguished from signals of distress or signals for Pilots.

" When any signal has been so registered the use or display thereof by any person acting under the authority of the Shipowner in whose name it is registered shall not subject any person to any of the penalties or liabilities by this Act imposed upon persons using or displaying signals improperly.

. "22. If the Managing Owner, or, in the event of there being no Managing Owner, the Ship's Husband of any British ship have reason, owing to the non-appearance of such ship, or to any other circumstance, to apprehend that such ship has been wholly lost, he shall, as soon as conveniently may be, send to the Board of Trade notice in writing of such loss, and of the probable occasion thereof, stating the name of the ship and her official number (if any), and the port to which she belongs, and if he neglect to do so within a reasonable time, he shall incur a penalty ! not exceeding 501." In the number of this journal for last August (No. 89), we published the system of signals of distress and for pilots contained in the two schedules of this Act, together with our own comments on them ; we need not, therefore, now repeat them.

Sections 23 to 28 forbid any person, not the master or owner, sending or carrying by any vessel, British or Foreign, any dangerous goods, such as aquafortis, vitriol, naptha, benzine, gunpowder, lucifer matches, nitro-glycerine, and petroleum, without distinctly marking their nature on the outside of the package containing the same and giving written notice of the nature of such goods, and of the name and address of the sender or carrier thereof, to the master or owner of the vessel, at or before the time of sending the same to be shipped. They also attach certain penalties, which may amount to 1001., for wilful infringement of this law, and to 500?. if accompanied by false descriptions of the goods or of the sender or carrier thereof. And in certain cases authorize the forfeiture of the goods in question.

The remaining sections of the Act are of a miscellaneous character.

As above remarked, we had considered there were shortcomings and inconsistencies in the Merchant Shipping Act oft 1854. So, doubtless, there are in this Amended Act of 1873. And so there will be in future Shipping Acts; for what is there that is perfect and yet human ? We are, however, despite all our reforms and reformers, a conservative people, and have for a long period preferred cautious rather than precipitate legislation, and have been content patiently to endure many imperfections and admitted evils until they could be safely dealt with, rather than to waste time and energy in useless and hasty efforts to attain an impossible perfection. Hence our advances in this, as in other and even more important objects of legislation, have been attained slowly and deliberately, step by step, yet with unfailing certainty, amoved by the opposing influences of the progressive and conservative elements in our constitutional and representative political system.