may cut them not to exceed ten;" only two were cut. After discharging, the consigness demand compensation, for, as they state, damage in cutting cargo. Please say whether you consider they are legally entitled to make any claim whatever, the master having acted agreeably to his charter, under the sanction and direction of the shipper-cutting for beam fillings being a regularly acknowledged custom in the trade. The editor answers :- "There is no claim against the ship for the cut timber under the circumstances set forth; the consignees to whom the cargo was delivered are the parties liable for balance of freight."

1186. In shipments from Memel and Riga the same attention is not absolutely necessary as in America-the timber being of one uniform diameter, the stowage is greatly facilitated. However, when masts, in conjunction with wainscoat logs are shipped there, too much care cannot be observed, or the bad stowage will be fatal to the ship's measuring out well when discharged. At Riga the rafts are floated off, and careful masters mark each timber with a hammer having the ship's name or initials on it, so that when the rafts are broken adrift, every piece can be easily identified on the beach where the timber is usually driven by the prevailing gales. At Dantzic, the same attention should be observed as in America, because the timber is of diversified dimensions, almost similar to that from Canada and Nova Scotia. When the cargo consists of both red and white deals, the red, being heavier, should be taken in first; see the article mate. Dantzic timber is usually marked at both ends by the merchants so that it cannot be cut for stowage without detection; to avoid this instances have occurred where a fac simile of the mark has been surreptitiously used. A last at Dantzic is 80 cubic feet.

1187. Bothnia timber is very irregular; it usually runs from the butt end off to a point, say from 18 inches diameter to 9 inches, and therefore stows disadvantageously for the ship. Cutting is objected to. A vessel loaded in 1867, at Gefle, a cargo of deals in lengths not exceeding 14 feet. The master was refused deal ends for broken stowage, the shipper alleging his orders were for 14 feet lengths only. The vessel stowed 80 standard; at Gothenburg, previously, 106 standards.

1188. Norwegian Timber. Mons. BEHIC, Minister of Commerce in France, wrote a letter dated Paris, 17th November, 1866, to the French Chamber of Commerce, in which he stated that one of the usages at Christiana, sanctioned by the Supreme Court of Norway, relieves loaders from the obligation of loading timber on board ship during rainy days, and permits them to interrupt, on account of bad

weather, a loading commenced. This usage is caused by the deterioration which certain sorts of woods undergo when exposed to rain at the moment of stowing. He recommends charter-parties to be drawn up for lay-days exclusive of rainy days. Protests in Norway cost £2, and then do not relieve the master from the chance of an action at law on the part of his affreighters.

1189. Some London merchants who have had considerable experience in wood freights, complain 1st January, 1862, that the dock returns received for North American and Baltic deal and timber ships, show, in nearly nine cases out of ten, a deficiency in the number of pieces as compared with bills of lading. They instance for example, amongst many others, the following cargoes short:

All these discrepancies are not imputed to the carelessness of the officers of Customs or Dock Companies, although a very large number of unclaimed deals, &c., may always be seen in the docks; but whether it be so or not, the shipowner has to pay. It is quite clear that the masters of these ships could not have used or retained the goods. A shipmaster frequently proposes to sign bills of lading for so many pieces in dispute, to which shipper naturally objects, as it would place him in an awkward position between original vendor and consignee, and so, to avoid detention and expense of protesting, &c., the master is compelled to sign clean bills of lading, and the owner to pay hard cash for any deficiency.

1190. In some docks the fractional parts are not counted, thus where the exact measurements of Norway timber are 3 thick by 114 wide, others 2 by 71, are taken as 3 by 11 and 2 by 7. This contingency should not be forgotten when chartering.

1191. Freight. A master writes to the Shipping Gazette, 24th November, 1864: "I have a vessel chartered at St. Petersburg to load a cargo of deals and battens, the latter not to exceed one-fourth, with the requisite deal ends and lathwood for broken stowage; freight to be-deals and battens-67s. 6d. London; 62s. 6d. Grimsby, Hull, Leith, or Tyne Docks; 75s. Bristol, Cardiff, or Newport; and if any boards are shipped to the latter ports, the freight to be 72s. 6d. per standard hundred; deal ends two-thirds freight of deals. Then follows the payment, number of lay-days, and, at the foot of the

charter, the following clause-Should the boards be shipped to any of the ports mentioned, the freight is to be 2s. 6d. per standard hundred additional.' The ship is nearly half-loaded with boards, and is ordered to Hull; and I shall feel obliged if will say you if I am entitled to 65s. per standard for deals, battens, and boards, or 62s. 6d. deals and battens, and 65s. boards. The boards are a great disadvantage to the ship, and 2s. 6d. extra freight, when half a cargo is shipped, is not sufficient to make up the disadvantage." The Editor answers: "The settlement of the freight should be made, not at 65s. per standard for deals, &c., but 62s. 6d. deals and battens, and 65s. for boards."

1192. Broken Stowage. A vessel was chartered to load at Gefle, in 1863, "a full and complete cargo of deals and battens, with ends, and (or) lathwood for broken stowage only." The broken stowage amounted to eleven standard, although it, never before exceeded three. The owner claimed freight for the eight standard in excess, and the merchant was held liable. The master when loading, had applied for proper lengths for stowage, but could obtain only 14-feet deals. The vessel, 217 tons, had frequently discharged deals from other Baltic ports, and twice from Gefle. The broken stowage always averaged less than three standard.

1193. Mediterranean. Rafts and floats of timber not exceeding 100 feet long by 40 broad English, pay on leaving the river Danube (Board of Trade, 8th May, 1863) a fixed due of 100 francs; larger rafts pay more. Timber shipped from Leghorn and Ancona, being very crooked one way, requires nearly the same attention as that of Sierra Leone. Particulars of 585 pieces of Walnut wood, shipped at Genoa, January, 1864, by the brig Eugenie, 166-08 tons register, Capt. R. BOVEY.

The wood weighed about 42 lbs. to the cubic foot, and is shipped all the year round. The remainder of the cargo consisted of 81.32 tons marble, 49 tons oil, 155.5 cwt. mineral, and so laden she drew 12 feet 6 inches; with a dead-weight cargo of Welsh coal or iron her draught was 13 feet 4 inches. The marble measured 2,033 palmas or 81.32

tons for freight, and, if weighed, would have made about 86 tons. English. The oil was in 161 casks, weighing 48,910 kilos or nearly 49 freight tons-1,000 kilos being reckoned to the ton, although it takes 1,020 kilos to make 20 cwt.; and the mineral was packed in 10 casks=155.5 cwt.; all gross weight.

1194. The Rhine. The mode of conveying timber on this river in rafts, is very curious. "Just below Andernach is the little village of Namedy, on the left bank; here the Rhine forms a small bay, where the pilots are accustomed to unite together the small rafts floated down the tributary rivers, and to construct enormous floats, which are navigated to Dortretcht, and sold. These machines have the appearance of a floating village, composed of twelve or fifteen little wooden huts, on a large platform of oak and fir. They are frequently eight or nine hundred feet long, and sixty or seventy broad. The rowers and workmen sometimes amount to seven or eight hundred, superintended by pilots, and the proprietor, whose habitation is superior in size to the rest. The raft is composed of several layers of trees, placed one on the other, and tied together. A large raft draws not less than six or seven feet of water. Several smaller ones are attached to it by way of protection, besides a string of boats, loaded with anchors and cables, and used for the purpose of sounding the river, &c. The domestic economy of an East Indiaman is scarcely more complete; it includes poultry, pigs, and other animals, and several butchers are attached to the suite. A wellsupplied boiler is at work night and day in the kitchen. The dinner hour is announced by a basket stuck on a pole, at which signal the pilot gives the word of command, and the workmen run from all quarters to receive their messes. The consumption of provision on the voyage to Holland is almost incredible, sometimes amounting to forty or fifty thousand pounds of bread, eighteen or twenty thousand pounds of fresh, besides a quantity of salted meat, and butter, vegetables, &c., in proportion. The expenses are so great that a capital of three or four thousand florins (about £350) is considered necessary to undertake a raft. Their navigation is a matter of considerable skill, owing to the abrupt windings, the rocks and shallows of the river.

1195. Sierra Leone. Ballast is seldom or never required, except a little to level off or make firm the ground tier; more would be unadvisable, as ships are very deep with a full lading properly stowed. The cargo is stowed similar to other timber; but on account of the crookedness and unevenness of the logs, the peculiar lengths, the prohibition of cutting, and want of broken stowage, it is more.

difficult to manage. With bow ports it is advisable to make a brow, to protect the breast-hooks, and to place ballast or other rubbish to receive the fall of the timber of the first tier. The pumps should either be hoisted up or well looked after, as the timber being generally muddy, runs in very fast; many pumps have been broken for want of this precaution. As much of the mud as possible should be first scrubbed off the timber while at the port, and every tier should be dry limed, to absorb the remainder and prevent pernicious effluvia. Particular care must be taken to have the lower logs fairly and evenly placed on the ship's bottom, so that the weight of the cargo may be equally distributed over the floors and first futtocks: the ends of the timber should be free from the skin.

1196. Endeavour to keep the tiers level; work large timber with large, small with small; put the crooked logs together so as to lay one into the other, and work crooked timber round the bows or in the after end, to prevent the main work from being thrown out. When it is not possible to work the large with large and the small with small, it may be advisable to have a tier of large say of five one side, and a tier of lesser, say six or seven on the other. As there is no broken stowage, with the exception of camwood, which is rarely obtained, and then in most instances when ships are loaded, it is of little service for stowage, great care is requisite to chock the tiers well off to prevent the cargo from shifting; for that purpose, any quantity of log-ends and wedges may be had from the shore. The tiers above the beams are seldom stowed as well as those in the lower hold, on account of want of room to manœuvre the crooked logs, and from the necessity of running in a great number of logs promiscuously, to trim the ship by the stern, and gain port to finish the loading of the lower hold in safety, as the cargo is often received in an open bay, exposed at times to a heavy sea. Careful attention is therefore required to chocking and wedging off the 'tween decks. To prevent loss it is advisable to get in all the timber alongside during the day, as at night the sea breeze blows strongly, and tornadoes sometimes occur. In ordinary weather, timber can be easily rafted down and landed at Great Scarcies, but during the rains the strong winds occasion such a heavy sea as to make it unsafe for a ship to lie there with her raft ports open. As logs under 23 feet are paid two-thirds, and under 18 feet half freight, it is desirable that when ordering the beam fillings, to ascertain that logs sent off as 23 feet and 18 feet, do not fall short of those lengths even by an inch, on any side, or reduction of freight will follow.

1197. In December, 1859, much fatal sickness occurred on board