vessels, especially at the present time, when steamers are so largely superseding sailing ships. Lloyds' surveyors, in classing a vessel, take into account not only the material and construction of the hull, but also the character and proportions of the masts, sails, and rigging-the propelling power. They will soon have to class steamers in a manner which will afford some index of their varying capabilities to ride out a squall without parting with their anchors, or to keep off a lee-shore in a gale. For this purpose the statement of the nominal horse-power would be worse than useless, because it would be positively fallacious. The nominally 100-horse engines of A work up to 400 horse-power indicated, while the nominally 80-horse engines of B develop 480 horse-power by the indicator. It would be hard upon B that his vessel should be classed below A's in respect of power, when really it should stand considerably higher. As every pair of marine engines, almost without exception, have now their indicator diagrams taken, not alone on a trial trip, but also under ordinary conditions of a voyage, there could be no difficulty in furnishing Lloyds' and other Lists with correct information as to the capabilities of every steamer. The indicated power compared with the tonnage, stated as so many horse-power per ton, or per ten tons, would then afford a fair criterion of safety under circumstances when the steampower must necessarily be called into requisition.

JOHN IMRAY, M.A., Member Inst. C.E. 20, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, W.C.

IMPORTS OF SKINS AND FURS INTO RUSSIA. The Board of Trade have received from the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs a copy of a notification of the Russian Government, announcing that from the 1st January, 1878, the importation into Russia of skins and furs of the sea otter will be permitted, subject to the delivery of securities guaranteeing the payment of Customs' duties when definitely fixed by the Council of the Empire, in such manner that one-half of the duties will be payable immediately after the decision of the Council, and the other half in the manner prescribed by the Annex to the Article 858 of the Customs' Regulations. 1

REVEL. DISCHARGE AND SHIPMENT OF CARGO AT NIGHT.-In consequence of complaint having been made that vessels are not allowed to discharge cargo at Revel, except between the hours of 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., notice is hereby given to owners and masters of British vessels, that there is an order in force at all Russian ports requiring the officers of customs to allow vessels, in cases of urgency, to load and discharge cargo by lantern light if they obtain the permission of the captain of the port: chef de port.

DESERTION.

WITHOUT desertion there can be no crimping. The latter, however, frequently produces the former. To suppress crimping there are various. penal sections in the Merchant Shipping Acts. For many years these powers were left to sleep, and at some ports, even yet, they are not half awake. One port-Cardiff-seems to be "wide awake," we are glad to say. Previous to 1866 it had the "bad eminence" of being the worst in the kingdom. Now it stands foremost in respect of the effective mode in which crimps and deserters are dealt with. To show this more explicitly, we append returns which are made annually to the magistrates there by the Superintendent of Mercantile Marine. And we are glad to learn that the Bench takes a special interest in the matter at that port. The returns are:

No. 1.-SEAMEN SHIPPED, &c., ON FOREIGN-GOING VOYAGES, YEAR 1872. Number not joined

Description.
British
Foreigners

Number.

at Sailing.

Loss per cent.

2.41

2.15

2.41

No. 2.-ANALYSIS OF THE NUMBERS NOT JOINED, 1872. Seventeen arrested in Cardiff; 5 ditto at other ports; 10 reported Eleven excused by Bench; 245 the prosecute; 148 could not be traced

themselves-32, total convicted. owners, &c., of ships refused to 436, total not joined as in No. 1.

No. 3.-CONVICTIONS IN ALL CASES PROSECUTED BY OFFICERS OF MERCANTILE MARINE OFFICE, 1872.

It is well known that there is no particular prosecutor mentioned in the Merchant Shipping Act, 1884. The Board of Trade have a kind of patron care of it, and generally prosecute delinquents. But in the case of desertion it is the aggrieved party who prosecutes. This is a common sense proceeding, for there must be many cases where only the owner or master of the vessel could know the extent of the damage done; and, indeed, the 243rd section, paragraph 2, of the above Act, leaves it to the latter to give the offence the character of desertion or not. In looking at the above figures, it appears that the owners and masters take rather undue freedom with this privilege. They, as a general rule, make a great howl about the amount of desertion, &c., but the question is: Do they take the proper steps to help themselves; and put the great engine of the law in operation to check the evil? If that were not done at all these offences would simply run rampant, because unchecked; and, judging from the Cardiff figures, it appears that half at least of the cases they decline to punish.

Turning from the offence of "neglecting to join," there is the other form of desertion, which we are glad to perceive the Cardiff authorities have taken in hand. This is that form of desertion which takes place from vessels going there to load up, en route from home to foreign ports. This has been loudly complained of by visitors to all coal-loading ports, especially the South Wales ones. Nothing but desultory efforts have as yet been made to suppress it. Now, we are glad to perceive, by the report of the Chamber of Commerce, at its meeting held at Cardiff on the 22nd of January last, that a concerted scheme has been developed for its suppression. The following is the report:—

"THE PREVENTION OF DESERTION FROM SHIPS.

"Mercantile Marine Office, Cardiff, Dec. 30, 1872. "Sir, The Lords' Committee of Privy Council for Trade, have been pleased to appoint two additional police messengers or runners at this office, principally to assist in suppressing the desertion which so frequently takes place from ships arriving from London and other home. ports to load, en route for foreign ports.

In attempting to carry out this object, it is essential that owners, masters, and consignees of vessels should act concertedly with the officers, and I know of no better plan than in asking the kind assistance of the Chamber of Commerce to urge upon its members who are connected with shipping, and others of the community similarly circumstanced, over whom the chamber has influence, to use all their energy to put the law against desertion and crimping in action, so as speedily to obtain the end desired. It is well-known that the other great evil-of 'neglecting to proceed to sea' at sailing, has been reduced to a minimum, and there

is no reason to believe but that the inward desertion might be similarly reduced by the co-operation of all parties concerned.

"In order to accomplish this I would suggest that all ship-brokers should advise their clients :

"1st. To deposit agreements at this office immediately on arrival. "2nd. To prosecute all bona fide deserters.

"Brd. If desirous of discharging any seamen, to do so legally at this office.

"4th. If the masters or any of the officers have not seen the crew sign the agreement, the men should be mustered on arrival here and asked to acknowledge their signatures before leaving the ship.

“A considerable amount of desertion is created, so to speak, by masters allowing their men to go without a legal discharge. It becomes then a difficult matter to decide who are really deserters. I would, therefore, respectfully urge your Chamber to enforce on brokers the desirability of checking this practice.--I am, sir, your obedient servant,

"T. S. MILLER, Superintendent.

"The Secretary, Chamber of Commerce, Cardiff.”

The letter was received with approval, and the Chamber ordered that it should be printed, and circulated among the shipbrokers of the port. In addition to the regulations thus propounded for the government of brokers and shipmasters, arrangements have been made by the superintentent of Mercantile Marine, whereby a police messenger will be in attendance at each of the three principal docks at tide time. His duty will be to ascertain that all of the crew have joined ship at sailing, if not. trace the delinquents, and get them on board, or, if authorised, to arrest them. He will also attend the inward bound vessels having existing agreements, and check desertion from such vessels. He will also be required to prevent all unauthorised persons from boarding ships on arrival at his particular dock, and put in force the powers given by the 237th section Merchant Shipping, 1854, when authorised to do so by the master of the ship. By these means it is hoped that an effectual stop will be put upon desertion, both from inward and outward bound ships at the port of Cardiff. These arrangements are consequent upon the recent visits of Messrs. Gray and Hamilton to the ports in South Wales.

THE story of the emigration of the Israelites from ancient Egypt, the land of their bondage, to Canaan, their land of promise, unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey," presents to us, in the details of its accomplishment, scenes of incident and a system of locomotion that contrast strangely with what we are familiar in the emigration that is now being borne westward by our ocean steamers. Their journeyings in the wilderness extended over forty years, but the half of forty days is now more than sufficient to carry the people dryshod over an ocean, whose width is ten times the expanse that separated Ramases from Jordan. The old emigration was in the day of miracles and of wonders, and of the visible presence of the Almighty, who had chosen the children of Israel to be above all nations of the earth His peculiar people, while ours is in the day of work, and of self-reliance on a world whose earth is cursed for our sake. But the wise are now beginning to interpret the "cursed be the earth for thy sake" not as "cursed be the earth, that thereby thou mayest be cursed," but as "cursed be the earth FOR THY SAKE," for thy blessing. The sorrow of toil and the sweat of the brow are a greater heritage than the luxury of idleness and coronets of pearls.

Although God no longer forces His personality on mankind by mira- • culously addressing studious shepherds from the midst of burning bushes, by wrestling with sleeping patriarchs, or by passing, with face averted, His worshipper hidden in the cleft of a rock; nevertheless, the day of miracles has not passed away, but only developed, its noon has not come yet, but with the sun high in the heavens the objects in our landscape are so much better defined, and their connection and their completeness are so manifest, that we fail to recognise any resemblance between them and those isolated objects seen but dimly in the morning twilight of the day; things that, seeming in that twilight to have no foot on earth, appeared to hang from heaven. Where all is miracle nothing is wonderful, and he who should succeed in producing something that he can thoroughly understand, something he has wholly bereft of mystery, would now be esteemed the greatest magician the world ever saw.

Looking back upon the twilight wonders, we find that the most remarkable fact in the journeyings of the Israelites was undoubtedly that "the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light to go by day and by night: He took not away the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night from before the people." We can readily imagine the awe that fell upon them when they looked upon that which they believed to be the visible presence of Deity, before which the Red Sea had become

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