rating the speed of his vessel, and the action of an easterly current.

447. King Arthur, s.s.; stranded at Inger Bournou, Sea of Marmora, November 19, 1879. Inquiry held at Constantinople, December 10, 1879. Master and mate both reprimanded for careless navigation.

448. Messenger, barque; lost on the Cape Farewell Sand spit, September 19, 1879. Inquiry held at Nelson, October 10, 1879. Master guilty of grave error of judgment.

449. Arcturus, barque; grounded off Maldonado, Rio Grande, November 4, 1879. Naval Court held at Monte Video. acquitted of blame.

Master

450. Kate McGregor, ship; stranded at the entrance of Port Napier, September 6, 1879. Inquiry held at Napier, September 30, 1879. Accident attributable to an error of judgment on the

part of the master.

451. Lady Emma, barque; stranded on a reef off Southport, N.Z., August 28, 1879. Inquiry held at Hobart Town, September 21, 1879. Master censured for his imprudence in not giving personal attention to the navigation when in proximity to known dangerous reefs.

Eden, barque; in collision
Inquiry held by the Victoria

452. Claude Hamilton, s.s., and in Port Philip Bay, August 22, 1879. Steam Navigation Board, September 3, 1879. Master guilty of gross misconduct in leaving the bridge when a vessel was approaching so closely as to risk a collision. Certificate suspended for two months.

453. Shannon, in tow of Hercules, and Gauntlet, in tow of Black Boy; in collision in the neighbourhood of Humbug Reach, River Yarra, September 17, 1879. Accident due to an error of judgment on the part of the master of the Hercules, and of an omission on the part of the master of the Shannon to direct the Hercules' movements.

454. Easby, s.8., and Undaunted; in collision in Port Philip Bay, September 24, 1879. Inquiry held by the Victoria Steam Navigation Board, October 9, 1879. The Board did not bring any charge against the master of the Easby.

455. Girvan, barque; grounded in Brisbane river, September 29, 1879. Inquiry held at Brisbane, October 24, 1879. Accident caused by an error of judgment on the part of the pilot in charge.

457. Margaret Smith, barque; wrecked on the reefs off Canoniers Point, November 20, 1879. Inquiry held at Mauritius. Accident due to the careless and ignorant navigation of both master and mate, whose certificates were suspended for twelve and six months respectively.

YELLOW FEVER AT RIO.-NOTICE TO SHIPOWNERS AND MASTERS. -The Board of Trade have received from Her Majesty's Consul at Rio de Janeiro, a report upon the subject of the epidemic of yellow fever at that port in the year 1878. The epidemic, which commenced in December, 1877, increased in intensity up to February, 1878, and did not abate until the end of the following month. It thus appears that the months of January, February, and March are those which are most unhealthy at the port. It further appears from the returns which accompany the report, that the death rate from yellow fever was much higher in the case of those persons who were not submitted to medical treatment upon the first manifestation of the symptoms. The Board of Trade desire, therefore, to impress upon masters the urgent necessity for at once sending to the hospital any seaman showing symptoms of yellow fever, instead of waiting until the disease has gained ground, and, by its progress, has rendered ineffectual remedies which may then be applied.-THOMAS GRAY, Assistant-Secretary, Marine Department.-By Order of the Board of Trade, December, 1879.

TAY BRIDGE.-NOTICE TO MARINERS NAVIGATING THE RIVER TAY.-The channel for passing the Tay bridge is indicated by 7 lights, the two outermost ones being red, and the centre ones white. These white lights are fixed in the centre of each span for the purpose of directing vessels to the deepest part of the channel and to avoid passing near the piers. The lights will be exhibited from sunset to sunrise, and all mariners are warned to steer their mast-head directly under the white light. The headway under

each white lamp at high water ordinary spring tides, averages 70 feet. During the day, round signal boards, 4 feet in diameter, indicate the position of the lamps on the bridge. There will also be exhibited at the north end of gap, 2 red lights placed vertically one above the other, indicating proximity to the sunken girders.BY ORDER, North British Railway, Tay Bridge, Dundee, January 12, 1880.

GENERAL.

NEW YORK PILOTAGE.-The following is an extract from the message to Congress by the Governor of New York :-"The laws relating to pilotage in the harbour of New York cause much complaint from those engaged in commerce. It is represented that the legal charge for piloting a large steamship in and out of that port is larger than the wages of the captain for the round European trip. If this be true a remedy is surely needed. The growing competition of other seaports for our vast foreign trade renders it imperative that the commerce of New York shall be relieved of all unnecessary burdens. The future prosperity of the State is largely dependent upon the continuance of our commercial supremacy, and no private interest should be permitted to interfere with that great object."

HUDSON BAY, BRITISH N. AMERICA. CHANGE OF LEVEL IN THE LAND. DECREASE IN DEPTH OF WATER.-The east coast of Hudson Bay is reported to be undergoing very considerable changes in its level. Since the posts of the Hudson's Bay Company were established at the mouths of the various rivers, there has been an increasing difficulty in approaching them with large craft; and this elevation is estimated to amount to between 5ft. and 10ft. within the last hundred years. The same changes have been observed on the west coast of the bay, at the mouth of the Nelson and Hayes rivers, near which is an island called Mile Lands, now several feet above high water, which, within the memory of man, was always submerged at flood tide.

UNITED STATES.-GULF OF MAINE.-Tidal Currents at the Entrance.-The Gulf of Maine extends between latitudes 41° and 44° N., and between longitudes 66° and 70° W. For the set and drift of the tidal currents at the entrance to the gulf, "rules and tables for the use of navigators, have been deduced by Professor Henry Mitchell, U.S. Coast Survey, from observations made by the Coast Survey during the summer of 1877, at eight stations between Nantucket Shoals and Cape Sable. These observations show that the tidal currents of this locality are of sufficient strength to render their consideration in the reckoning, especially of sailingvessels, highly important. The simplest statement that can be made respecting these currents is the following:

"General Rule.-Along the whole line between Nantucket Shoals and Cape Sable Bank the ebb current runs southwardly during the first four and a-half hours after the southing or northing of the moon; and the flood current northwardly from the sixth to the eleventh hour after the southing or northing of the moon. The time of turning on George's Bank corresponds nearly with the time of high or low water at Boston and Portland; but in the channel to the westward of the Bank it is later, and, to the eastward, earlier."

[We may remark that the tables to which reference is made in the above observations are to be used in conjunction with the "Tide Tables for the Atlantic Coast," issued from the U.S. Coast Survey Office; and it appears to us that these tables are as essential for the navigation of the American coast as are the Admiralty Time Tables for our own. How many of our seamen know of their existence ?-ED. N.M.]

OU have asked me to address you this evening on the subject of our Colonial Empire. It is indeed a noble theme. Would that it were in my power to treat it

worthily! In the course of many wanderings upon the seas I have visited Newfoundland; I have seen the magnificent scenery of the St. Lawrence, and the thriving cities of Montreal, Quebec, and Toronto. In a recent voyage round the world we touched at Hong Kong, Singapore, Aden, Malta, and Gibraltar. Within the memory of the present generation Hong Kong was a barren rock, from which a band of 600 pirates set forth on their lawless expeditions. It has now 124,000 inhabitants, including a civil European population of 3,000 persons, and the annual imports of English merchandise alone are not less than 3 millions sterling. At Singapore, where the English population numbers not more than 1,400, we have established a trade of collection and distribution not inferior in importance to that carried on from Hong Kong. The native vessels from every creek and harbour of

Address delivered before the Bradford Chamber of Commerce, January 21, 1880.

VOL. XLIX.

M