have been prepared by means of which the exact point to which any vessel may be legally loaded for any particular port can be readily ascertained. The above regulations are the result of persistent efforts on the part of the late Mr. Plimsoll, a Liberal M.P. of ardent philanthropy, and the champion of the sailors of our Mercantile Marine who forced from Mr. Disraeli's Government, in 1875, due attention to the danger caused by the overloading of ships, and their despatch to sea in an improper condition. He drew upon himself the need of a full apology to the House of Commons by a scene of extraordinary violence, in which his zeal impelled him to denounce certain ship-owners in the House as "villains," to defy the Speaker's authority, and to shake his fist at the Treasury Bench. His anger had been aroused by the withdrawal of a Government Bill dealing with merchant shipping. Mr. Plimsoll's case, in spite of his behaviour, was strongly supported at meetings of the working-men, and in the end legislation dealt with the subject of overloading, and caused the painting of this famous "Plimsoll's Mark" on the hulls of all British merchant ships, as described above, as the limit of safe flotation for a freighted ship. CERTAIN CARGOES, AND DANGEROUS GOODS. In the interests of sailors, many rules and regulations as to certain cargoes have been framed, the infringement of which is attended with very heavy penalties. For instance, if any British merchant ship employed in the timber trade arrives at any port in the United Kingdom from any port out of the United Kingdom between the last day of October and the sixteenth day of April, with a deck cargo of timber, the master of that ship, and also the owner, if he be privy to the offence, is liable to a fine not exceeding five pounds for every hundred cubic feet of wood goods so carried in contravention of this law. In the case of grain-carrying vessels where a cargo of grain is laden on board any British ship, all necessary and reasonable precautions must be taken in order to prevent the cargo from LLOYD'S BURGEE FOR BOATS. LLOYD'S FLAG FOR BOATS Besides the benefits of this institution in the protection of the interests of merchants and of shipowners from the accidents and the losses of navigation, the public spirit which on a great variety of occasions has been displayed by Lloyd's in rewards and honours to brave sailors who have risked their lives in saving others, and in the event of their death while so engaged in charitable relief to their unfortunate widows and orphans, entitles this unrivalled association to rank among the greatest monuments of British philanthropy, as well as those of commercial enterprise and honour. LLOYD'S REGISTER OF BRITISH AND FOREIGN SHIPPING. Lloyd's Register of British and Foreign Shipping is a society entirely distinct from Lloyd's, although an offshoot from that institution, voluntarily maintained by the shipping community, having its headquarters at White Lion Court, Cornhill, London. It was established in 1834, by the amalgamation of "The Register of Shipping," founded in 1760, with "The New Register Book of Shipping," founded in 1799. Its principal functions are, first, the surveying and classification of merchant vessels, yachts, etc., both new and old; secondly, the annual publication of a Register Book and a Yacht Register; thirdly, the supervision of the testing of anchors and chains under the provisions of the Chain Cables and Anchors Acts; fourthly, the supervision of the testing at the manufactories of the steel intended for use in the construction of ships and boilers; also of large ship and engine forgings and castings; and fifthly, the assignment of freeboard to vessels of all types under the Merchant Shipping Act of 1894. The Register Book contains very full particulars of all vessels classed by the society, and also particulars of all other sea-going vessels of every country of the world, of 100 tons and upwards. This Register is in all respects a most remarkable publication. Designed mainly to meet the demands of the shipping and mercantile communities throughout the world, and thus to serve all the purposes of an International Register and Directory of Shipping combined, it necessarily partakes largely of the character of a business book of reference. It gives particulars of vessels which in the aggregate represent over twenty-six million tons of shipping. No country is too insignificant, none too distant to be passed over, a small state like Costa Rica appearing, with its one steamer of 592 tons, side by side with the United States of America, with her 780 steamers, and 2370 sailingships, representing in all 2,448,677 tons. When, in the "Register of Shipping" of 1760, the classification of ships was first attempted, the vowels, A, E, I, O, and U, were employed to denote the relative quality of the hulls, and the letters G, M, and B (meaning Good, Middling and Bad) to denote the quality of the equipment. Later, the figures 1, 2, 3 and 4 were used in reference to the equipment, the well-known symbol A1 indicating a first-rate vessel with a first-rate equipment, first appearing in the Register for 1775-76. When a ship had so far deteriorated as not to be admissible in any class, she was said to be "off the letter." This Register continued until 1799 to be the only record of the age, burthen, build, quality, and condition of British vessels, and its authority in great measure governed the shipper and the underwriter in the freighting of goods, or in the matter of insurance; and it also largely regulated the value of the ships themselves. About the time that the underwriters of Lloyd's shifted their quarters from Lombard Street to Pope's Head Alley an alteration was made in the system of classification of ships which caused much dissatisfaction, and eventually led to the establishment by shipowners of a rival Register. The existence of two competing associations was found, however, to be fraught with much inconvenience, and both were ultimately threatened with a financial collapse. Still the two Registers remained in concurrent circulation until 1834, when they were at last merged in "Lloyd's Register" on its present basis. Even the new society in its early years was not exempt from financial trouble. Within two years from its establishment the number of subscribers dwindled from 721 to 615, and in 1836, when Christmas came round, the then chairman, Mr. Thomas Chapman, who held that position for close upon fifty years, had to put his hand in his pocket to provide the salaries of the staff. This, however, was the darkest hour before the dawn," for prosperity soon after 66 |