This table is computed on an average of 18 English and Dutch registers and gives one English ton=1.0725 Dutch ton. The true proportion, however, is 1.016. The first named proportion is even preferred, because it may be reckoned that the faults of the measuring rules of both nations have equally shared in this table, and will make it more practical for use. The proportion of new measurement to new-new measurement is about 9 to 10 cent. less; for instance: a ship being measured by new measurement 200 tons, will measure by new-new measurement only 180 tons or thereabout.

Oldenburg. The measure of content, the Commerz Last is 6,000 lbs. ; these lbs. are 12 cent. heavier than British; that is 100 112; from this data the equivalent number of tons to a last may be found.

Port-au-Prince. A vessel of 160 tons register in English measures 1998 tons Haytian.

Portugal. The Portuguese measurement corresponds exactly

with the French cubic measurement. The following is a comparative list of Portuguese and English measurements, according to the Custom-houses of each country.

100 cubic metres (approximately)=88,290 tons register.

Rio Grande do Sul. The Brazilian measurement for tonnage is from 35 to 40 cent. more than British.

Russian Tonnage. Board of Trade, Whitehall, 10th June, 1858. The Committee of Privy Council for Trade have received a copy of a note from the Russian Minister at this court, relative to an Imperial decree, establishing a new system for the measurement of vessels in Russia, which is given below, and stating that the rule will be applied henceforth to all Russian vessels, without exception; but that with regard to foreign vessels, the method will only be applied in case the masters are unable to produce either a document, establishing their right to hoist the colours, or ship's papers known in Russia under the denomination of " Titres de proprieté du batiment," which documents should certify the number of lasts measured by the ship to which they belong.

Russian mode of determining the tonnage or lastage:

(1.) Measure in English feet: a, the length of the upper deck from the back of the stem to the front of the stern-post: b, the breadth inside of the under surface of the planking of same deck, taken amidships; and c, the depth in the ship's well over the keel from the deck planks to the limber-boards.

(2.) Multiply the three preceding dimensions into one another, that is to say the length, breadth, and depth, and divide the product by 130, the quotient will give the capacity of the ship in tons; and by dividing this quotient by 2, the capacity in lasts will be obtained.

(3.) If there is a poop on the upper deck, or a light deck above the quarterdeck, they must in each case be measured length inside, breadth amidships, and the height between the planks of the decks. Multiply these three dimensions into one another, divide the product by 90, and then divide the quotient by 2; the quotient after the last division must be added to the measurement previously obtained, and the sum total will give the whole capacity in lasts.

(4.) Steam vessels are to be measured like sailing vessels, but three-fourths of a last is to be deducted for each nominal horse-power of the engine.

As a rule a Russian last is considered as equivalent to two tons English.

Sweden and Norway. In June, 1868, the French Customs authorities determined, after measuring 50 vessels, to take the Norwegian last, as 21' of the French ton, and the Swedish last as 3. The fixing of the tonnage of vessels gives rise to complicated operations. The Swedish government decreed on 21st December, 1865, that the figures of the measurement of merchant ships should be marked on

her with a red hot iron, and the internal capacity in English tons register calculated at 108 cubic feet each. The Swedish mode in 1829 was as follows:-The length of the ship is taken on the upper deck from the stem to the stern-post, the breadth within the ceiling, and the draught of water from the plank of the said upper deck to the plank of the bottom; these three dimensions are multiplied together, and the product is divided by 200; the five-sixths of the quotient will be the weight which the ship can take in lasts of 18 skippund iron weight per last; as much per cent. however is subtracted from the quantity as the measurer judges the ship more or less full in the floors, or as it carries a greater or less number of guns. The remainder is the burden in lasts.

Spanish. Rule for ascertaining a vessel's Spanish tonnage :-Let A be the length from stem to stern-post; B, the breadth measured across the main deck amidships; C, the breadth, but measured from outside, that is including the thickness of the sides of the vessel; D, depth of hold.

Then the Spanish tonnage= (A+3 B) (C) (D)

70.19

Or one quarter of the length added to three times the inside breadth, multiplied by outside breadth and by depth of hold; divided by 70-19. If the depth of the space between decks should be less than six feet, 10 cent. will be added; and if more than six feet, 14 p cent. If vessels of large burthen without inside boarding, 8 cent. will be added; if with much dead rise of floor timbers, 5 cent. will be deducted.

United States. The law for the measurement is so changed as to make the tonnage give the actual carrying capacity of every description. The mode of tonning in the United States may vary from the system followed in the United Kingdom, but the same result substantially is reached. A vessel of 100 tons burthen, United States measurement, ought to measure the same by English measurement, and when full, should of course carry the same, and if of the same model, would carry the same amount of any description of cargo. Every vessel built within the United States, or owned by a citizen after 1st January, 1865, shall be measured and registered in the manner hereinafter provided; also every vessel now owned by a citizen shall be re-measured and re-registered upon her arrival at a port of entry in the United States, and prior to her departure therefrom in the same manner as hereinafter described. Any vessel

built within the States, after the passage of this act, may be measured and registered in the manner herein provided.*

The register shall express the vessel's length, breadth, depth, and height under the third or spar deck, which shall be ascertained in the following manner : The tonnage deck, in vessels having three or more decks to the hull, shall be the second deck from below; in all other cases the upper deck of the hull is to be the tonnage deck. The length from the fore part of the outer planking, on the side of the stem, to the after part of the main stern-post of screw steamers, and to the after part of the rudder-post of all other vessels measured on the top of the tonnage deck shall be accounted the vessel's length. The breadth of the broadest part on the outside of the vessel shall be accounted the vessel's breadth of beam. A measure from the under side of tonnage deck plank, amidships, to the ceiling of the hold, (average thickness) shall be accounted the depth of hold. If the vessel has a third deck, then the height from the top of the tonnage deck plank to the under side of the upper deck plank shall be accounted as the height under the spar deck. All measurements to be taken in feet and fractions of feet; and all fractions shall be expressed in decimals.

The register tonnage shall be the vessel's entire internal cubical capacity in tons of 100 feet each, to be ascertained as follows: Measure the length in a straight line along the upper side of the tonnage deck, from the inside of the inner plank (average thickness) at the side of the stem to the inside of the plank on the stern-timbers (average thickness), deducting from this length what is due in the thickness of the deck to the rake of the bow, and what is due to the rake of the stern-timber, and also what is due to the rake of the stern-timber in onethird of the round of the beam: divide the length so taken into the number of equal parts required by the following table, according to the class in such table to which the vessel belongs.

TABLE OF CLASSES. CLASS 1.-Vessels of which the tonnage length according to the above measurement is 50 feet or under, into six equal parts. CLASS 2.-Above 50 and not exceeding 100 feet long, into eight equal parts. CLASS 3.-Above 100 feet long, and not exceeding 150, into ten equal parts. CLASS 4.-Above 150 feet, and not exceeding 200 feet long, into twelve equal parts. CLASS 5.-Above 200 feet, and not exceeding 250 feet long, into fourteen equal parts. CLASS 6.-Above 250 feet long, into sixteen equal parts.

Then, the hold being sufficiently cleared, find the transverse area at each point of division of the length as follows:

Measure the depth at each point of division from a point at a distance of one-third of the round of the beam below such deck, or in case of a break, below a line stretched in continuation thereof, to the upper side of the floor timber, at the inside of the limber strake, after deducting the average thickness of the ceiling, which is between the bilge planks and limber strake; then, if the depth at the midship division of the length does not exceed 16 feet, divide each depth into four equal parts: then measure the inside horizontal breadth at each of the three points of division, and also at the upper and lower points of the depth, extending each measurement to the average thickness of that part of the ceiling which is between the points of measurement; number these breadths from above

*The author has to thank Mr. FREDERICK CHASE, Washington, W.C. U.S.A., for sending spontaneously to him (8th January, 1865) a copy of the Instructions as to the Admeasurement of Tonnage.

(the upper breadth one, and so on down to the lowest); multiply the second and fourth by four, and the third by two; add these products together, and to the sum add the first breadth and the last, or fifth; multiply the quantity thus obtained by one-third of the common interval between the breadths, and the product shall be deemed the transverse area; but if the midship depth exceed 16 feet, divide each depth into six equal parts instead of four, and measure as before directed, the horizontal breadths at the five points of division, and also at the upper and lower points of the depth; number them from above as before; multiply the second, fourth, and sixth by four, and the third and fifth by two; add these products together, and to the sum add the first breadth and the last, or seventh; multiply the quantities thus obtained by one-third of the common interval between the breadths, and the product shall be deemed the transverse area. Having thus ascertained the transverse area at each point of division of the length as required above, ascertain the register tonnage as follows:

Number the area successively 1, 2, 3, &c., No. 1 being at the extreme limit of the length at the bow, and the last number at the extreme limit at the stern; then whether the length be divided according to table into six or sixteen parts, as in classes one and six, or any intermediate number, as in the other classes, multiply the second and every even-numbered area by four, and the third and every odd-numbered area (except the first and last) by two; add these products together, and to the sum add the first and last, if they yield anything; multiply the quantities thus obtained by one-third of the common interval between the areas, and the product will be the cubical contents of the space under the tonnage deck; divide this product by 100, and the quotient, being the tonnage under the tonnage deck, shall be deemed to be the register tonnage, subject to the additions hereinafter mentioned.

If there be a break, a poop, or any other permanent closed-in space on the upper decks, 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 as follows:

Measure the internal mean length of such space in feet, and divide it into an even number of equal parts, of which the distance asunder shall be most nearly equal to those into which the length of the tonnage deck has been divided; measure at the middle of its height the inside breadths, namely, one at each end and at each of the points of division, numbering them successively one, two, three, &c. then to the sum of the end breadth add four times the sum of the even-numbered breadths and twice the sum of the odd-numbered breadths, except the first and last, and multiply the whole sum by one-third of the common interval between the breadths; the product will give the mean horizontal area of each space; then measure the mean height between the plank of the decks, and multiply by it the mean horizontal area; divide the product by 100, and the quotient shall be deemed to be the tonnage of such space, and shall be added to the tonnage under the tonnage deck, ascertained as aforesaid.

If a vessel has a third deck, or spar deck, the tonnage of the space between it and the tonnage deck shall be ascertained as follows:

Measure in feet the inside length of the space, at the middle of its height, from the plank at the side of the stem to the plank on the timbers at the stern, and divide the length into the same number of equal parts into which the length of the tonnage deck is divided; measure (also at the middle of its height) the inside breadth of the space at each of the points of division, also the breadth of