The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-06-03 00:00:00

d that he would undertake

ails to Australia in for

t7-nine

) at thi

ands of Canary, St

mstown (from which letters could
Ltal, the Comoro Islands, and the

Ile would then go on to King George's Sound
°ll 'place letters might be forwarded to Western
Adelaide and Port Phillip,
forwarded to Tasmania,

and thence to
lieh letters could b

While the outward voyage
the homeward trip would occupy

Aery Zaaland

IS'
Pool 11/44111cr 101 day
- '

at sea, the average of the
Blaekvvall ships being 181 days

By the

precise nature of which he

at
erec

'orla the Sou

known—he would make the
reland to Port Philip 11,864
ore stated that he had been
P 4
Years in command of vessels, that he knew the
'
"rolv the a route, and that he had a steamer of which
4%44, willingly take the command, if encouraged to
Conclusively prove that he could successfully
A meeting is to take place on a
sing the subject.

A. tie
h, commod

'43', for the purpose of diseu3

Siox

FIRE DAMP IN A COALPIT

.11"(laY afternoon, between one and two o'clock,

4°ll of ire

rip occurred in one of

It. James

LS, at
led. It

Glodwick, by w

hich three men were

'3 that two " getters," named

on. and Thou(
old
being to

Is Hilton, had been directed to
run," or road, at the bottom of the pit,

lake use of their picks only in the

not to use any powder

Contrary, however,

d with a recklessness too often

y procured some powder,

to foci

their labours, and one of

)p off his safety lamp for

Immediately on his doing
accumulated in the place

winch had been
1 a loud

?losion. The two men at once took

3alc the way, and insixad of

nade a

way further into

en by

the afterdamp, and

aan, named

3 at the time of the explosion

of coal to the bottom of the

red, the fire damp having

Lim rath7r seriously, besides
1, by which he was rendered
nd the waggon he was push-
and thrown a considerable

of the explosion. When the acei-
mg man, named Will, son of John

was in a passage be-

nd the " run' in which
rving from the flame
he ran at

by his orders
the old " run'

I with

life, he

sent for, and was speedily
1 remedies were applied to
are now in a fair way of

Mr. Bremner, at the request of the chairman, entered
into a history of the Liverpool Pilots' Dues, and read the
various acts of parliament under which the dues were levied.
In the course of his evidence he stated that in the last ten
years the total amount paid at Liverpool in pilots dues was
£556,995. The Liverpool corporation did not receive a
farthing's worth of benefit from these dues.
By the Chairman : If the differential dues in pilotage at
Liverpool were abolished it would effect the working pilots
to the extent of £3l per annum per man.
By Mr. Bouverie: By a recent arrangement made by the
pilots' committee, sea-going steamers were not now liable
to pay pilotage, and this had reduced the annual amount
paid in pilotage to the extent of £4,000 a-year.
Mr. John Shepherd, master of No. 4 pilot boat called.
He said, in answer to the chairman, that he was anxious to
give evidence to the committee against the proposal to abol-
ish the differential dues paid in pilotage at Liverpool, and
in lieu of them to pay the pilots out of the consolidated
fund. The witness detailed the heavy duties and responsi-
bilities of the pilots with reference to sea-going and inward-
bound vessels, within the boundaries of the Mersey and the
port of Liverpool.
By the Chairman : It requires about twenty-three men to
work each pilot boat.
By Mr. Moffatt: In the vessel in which he was master,
be had invested £1,400. The return for his outlay was
from seven to nine per cent.
Mr. William Hughes, first master of No. 1 pilot boat,
was next called. The charge for pilotage on British
vessels, at Liverpool, was 9s a font, and on alien vessels 12s
a foot, inwards, and outwards 7s a foot, coasting 4s per
per foot inwards, and 2s per foot outwards, steamers 4s a
foot when they took a pilot, and is a foot where a pilot
was within a reasonable distance, but it was not compulsory.
There are twelve pilot boats in all at Liverpool.
By the Chairman : The average earnings of the twelve
boats, for the last ten years, was £55,926.
By Mr. Horsfall : The master of each pilot boat have to
pay the damage sustained by a vessel whilst in their charge.
At different times I have paid a deal. If the whole of the
differential dues were abolished, including those countries
with which we have no reciprocity treaties, the loss in
pilotage would be £7,142, and to each pilot about £34 per
,re they had been severely annum

By Mr. Vance : I think that it is desirable that the sale
and purchase of the pilot boats should be confined to the
because, as the pilots are constantly risking their
lives in the boats, and, therefore, they have the greatest
ir.terest_in keeping the boats in a state of efficiency.

Mr. Joseph 'CoCike, superintendent of pilots at Liverpool,
was next called and examined by Mr. Horsfall. The
witness gave a history of the mode of licensing the Liver-
pool pilots, and afterwards he gave it as his opinion,
that the pilots of Liverpool were considerably
underpaid. He (witness) would not undertake the
job for double the remuneration received by the pilots.
He therefore contended that as the Liverpool, pilots were
much under-paid already, it would be an act of injustice to
take away still further from their emoluments. Ile thought
an alteration ought to be made in the manner of levying
pilot dues at Liverpool. At present the system was this—
the dues were calculated and levied upon the draft of a
vessel. Now, he was of opinion, that it would be more
equitable if the dues were levied according to the tonnage
o.f a vessel, because many vessels of large tonnage drew as
It water as vessels of a quarter the tonnage.
Mr. M'Adam, a merchant of Belfast, was next called,
and gave general evidence as to tee injurious effects of the
Liverpool town dues upon the firm with which he was
connected.

At the close of this witness's examination the Speaker
was announced at prayers, and the committee adjourned to
Thursday next.