THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. TUESDAY, MARCH 6, 1877.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 2547, 6 March 1877, Page 2

THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. TUESDAY, MARCH 6, 1877.

Not before it is time certainly, an Act to amend the Merchant Shipping Acts, and which is to be called "The Merchant Shipping Act, 1876,'" has been brought into force, and a copy of it published in the New Zealand Gazette. It is as well its leading features should be understood, although, the Act itself was more required in England than in her dependencies. Looking at those—we mean the party—who really were the motive power which brought the Act into -force—foremost among these being, as will be readily surmised, Mr Plimsoll—it will be readily understood that the chief part of the Act [ relates to unseaworthy ships. In fact 1 the Act may be said to hare this for its one object, the various parts into which it is divided having for their aim this point, how to prevent ships being sent to sea in an unseaworthy state, and making rules and regulations for the punishment of those who offend in the matter. We cannot, neither would it be necessary, here to give an exhaustive resume of the whole Act. Ship owners, masters and others whose interests are immediately affected by it will no doubt prefer to read .it as a whole than to gain what knowledge they can from reading its salient points merely touched on. To them it is,.important to have.the Act almost at their fingers' end, but to the-general public a slight digest appears to be- all that is required. Regarding, then, the first as well as the great, sub-division of the Act, viz., that relating to unseaworthy ships, we find that either the -owner of a; ship sending- :a vessel to sea in such a sfate that the life of any person is likely to be endangered, as well as the master who takes such ship to sea, is guilty of a misdemeanor, unless they can prove that the ship's going to sea was under the circumstances " reasonable and justifiable." What circumstances can exist which excuse the offence of sending a ship to sea in such a state that human life is likely to be sacrificed it is hard to say, but such is the wording of the Act and such the punishment. To prevent the infliction of the punishment being necessary—and it is always an unsatisfactory thing to punish people when the mischief is done—ships leaving any port in the United Kingdom may be provisionally detained either by the Board of Trade or any officer appointed by them, for the purpose of being surveyed ; by the report of the surveyor the Board of Trade may either release the ship or order it be finally detained, but to guard the owners from unnecessary loss, and to give them a chance of showing that the vessel is seaworthy a copy of the report,-on the authority of which a ship is detained, must be served on the master of the ship who may within seven days appeal to the Court of Survey. This Court consists, \or is to consist, of a judge and two'assessors. The judge is to be chosen from a list of persons composed of stipendiary or metropolitan police magistrates, judges of county courts, or " other fit persons," so that the selection is a wide one, and of the assessors one is-to be appointed by the Board of Trade, the other (1) by the Local Marine Board, or, if no such body exist at the port where the vessel is, (2) by a body of local shipowners and merchants, or, failing them, (3) by the Judge. This Court of Survey appears to have paramount authority in the detention' or release of vessels, provided that one of the two assessors agrees with the judge. Besides British ships which are not allowed to overload, foreign vessels also which may take in cargo or part of cargo at a port in the.United Kingdom are liable to be detained as if they were British ships. Thus, then, it appears that ships may be detained if they are proved to be unseaworthy or are overladen, or if more than one-third of their cargo is composed of what is spo ken of as " grain care*,'* unless the same be in bags or prevenije^ntom shifting by boards, &c. The pemfifj^ipr a transgression of this last regulation is one not exceeding £300, to be /ifecovered upon summary .conviction; These are the chief grounds on which tf ship may be detained, and the whole Act has to do with these, though there are other details such as enforcing the; owners of vessels to have a mark made ori the ship showing the point to which the owner intends to allow the ship in salt water, &c. : On the whole we do not think the Act will be found to be irksome or vexatious, and is likely to bo productive of good as it is framed on the supposition that prevention is better than cure/ ;