The Sun.
London, England, 1852-10-18 00:00:00

THE PILOTAGE OF THE BRITISH

CHANNEL.

Gloucester, in common with some of the other
ports of the Bristol Channel, has had a meeting in
reference to the monopoly held by the Bristol
pilots, a communication having been received
from the Trinity Board by the Sub-Commis-
sioners of Pilotage in Gloucester on the subject of
a revision of the pilotage rates. The Gloucester
Chamber of Commerce having been requested to favour
the Sub-Commissioners with their views on the sub-
ject, a meeting of the committee of that body was
held at the Commercial Rooms, Gloucester, on Thurs-
day ; W. P. Price, one of the Members for the city,
presiding.
After the subject of the local pilotage had under-
gone considerable discussion, in which the question of
the Channel pilotage was occasionally introduced,
the following resolution was unanimously adopted :
" That it is the opinion of the Chamber that the rates
at present authorised between Sharpness Point and
King-road are not excessive, and ought not in fair-
ness to the pilots to be materially reduced, so long as
the jurisdiction of the Gloucester pilots is limited to
the eastward of King-road."
With respect to the monopoly of the pilotage of
the channel by the society of Merchant Venturers of
Bristol, many condemnatory remarks were elicited ;
at the same time it was considered by some gentle-
men that as the Society of Merchant Venturers de-
rived no immediate profit by the appointment of the
pilots, on a proper representation of the case, and the
bringing forward by the ports interested a well-con-
sidered plan, capable of meeting the requirements of
the case, the Society of Merchant Venturers would be
willing to give up this monopoly.
Mr. T. M. STUMM explained that when the Act
conferring the monopoly upon the Society of Mer-
chant Venturers was obtained, Bristol might be said
to be the only port in the channel that carried on a
foreign trade. Circumstances being now altered, a
change was required. Mr. Hellicar, who had served
every office in the Society of Merchant Venturers, he
was happy to say, at the Newport meeting, had ex-
pressed a similar opinion to Mr. Kimberly, namely,
that a society had no pecuniary interest in retaining
the monopoly; in fact, it imposed a considerable
amount of trouble upon them, in having to assess
with the magistrates the amount of remunera-
tion claimed by pilots when they bad rescued ves-
sels from danger; while the society had frequently
calls made upon it by distressed pilots for pecu-
niary assistance. Mr. Hellicar had expressed his
conviction that, if the merchants of Bristol and other
parties interested were met in a fair and hand-
some manner they would be quite inclined to
unite with the other ports in remodelling the pilot-
age system. There were forty-six pilots appointed
by the Society of Merchant Venturers, and in addi-
tion there were 25 local pilots appointed for Cardiff,
20 for Newport, and 16 for Gloucester, who, after the
vessel had been brought from Lundy Island by the
Bristol pilot, conducted it into the port to which they
were respectively attached. The expense of this
system was enormous, the different ports paying,
be believed, between 20,0001. and 30,0001. a year
for this service, for each pilot had a boat which was
manned by a man and a boy in addition to the
pilot. None of the men, he believed, were over-
paid for their services, for many of the local pilots,
when trade was dull, made a very poor living indeed.
It was the system which made the expense come so
heavy. He recommended, instead of the present sys-
tem, that a similar one to that pursued at Liverpool
and New York should be adopted. At these ports
there were a few " schooner smacks" kept for the
purpose. They each took out ten or twenty pilots,
and then cruised about the channel for vessels
approaching the port, each pilot taking his turn to
take charge of a vessel. The sailing yacht America
had been built for this service at New York. The
system worked admirably, and at a third or fourth of
the expense of the system pursued here. Perhaps it
would be a still greater improvement to employ
steam-tugs instead of schooner smacks for the service.
After some discussion the following resolution was
adopted unanimously :—" That it is exceedingly im-
portant to the interests of this port that this Cham-
ber should co-operate with the other ports in the
British Channel interested in the question of chan-
nel pilotage, with a view to get released from
the present system of channel pilotage, and to en-
deavour to get the Gloucester pilots licensed to bring
ships all the way from Lundy; and that Mr. Price,
M.P., Mr. Bird, and Mr. Kimberly be appointed a
committee for such purpose, and that they be re;
quested to report from time to time to this chamber.'

MR. HOSKENG'S PLAN of a CENTRAL AD
DITION to the BRITISH MUSEUM.

We think it but justice to Mr. Hoskin g, as we originally
and t o
details
published his design both by text and by illustration, not
only
t oreferwhere
bothour readers
plan
tvtoolumefor
1850,
reprint
the main features of the proposal in Mr. uM H sk•l
_g's own
words, as presented to the trustees of (theuseumu
in 1849:—" My project is, then, to build in the middle
of the quadrangular court, inclosed by the present main
buildings of the Museum, in the manner shown in the
accompanying plan, a modified copy of the Pantheon at
Romp,—that is to say, of the cupola-covered rotunda
known by that 13 Rale 't
—as nearly the full size as possible,
consistently with the size of the area, and with the
height of the present buildings, and so to form a grand
central hall for the exhibition of the finer and more im-
portant works of sculpture, and of such other objects
proper to the purposes of the Museum as most require
that steady and equable light which is so well obtained
from the eye of a cupola. A quadrilateral hall, to con-
tain ample staircases' would lead from the present
entrance vestibule of the Museum into the grand cen-
tral hall or rotunda, and by the floor of the rotunda
itself, or by a corridor about it to the east, west, and
north galleries respectively, through new compartments
added to them on the level of the floor of the lower or
Principal story of the Museum; and the staircases would
lead up to a bridgeway or continued landing on the
fl .;.,r of the upper story, where another similar corridor
about the rotunda would afford similar facilities of
access to the upper, east, west, and north galleries,
whilst the bridgeway would also make the communica-
tion complete to the south gallery. . . This additional
room may, the author believes, be ob • ned at a cost not
exceeding that of any one of tai
the existing sides of the
Museum."—Builder.

NORTH AND SOUTH-WBaTERN JUNCTION RAlL-
way.—This line, which runs from Willesden to Kew, and
thus affords a communication between Ilanchester and the
Southampton lines, without passing through London, was
virtually opened yesterday by the Government inspecarefulattrvey
ctor,
Captain
reportiPg t a
Galton,ireciy
passingtact_over the I
wayr and after
Ro9rd.

THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, OCTOBER 18, 1852,

Tiers, deputy assistant adjutant general; Captain (Breve
Maj,r) E. H. Atkinson, 19 h Regiment Native Infantry.
cleputy assistant quartermaster general; Lieutenant E.
A. B. Travers, 2d Regiment Native Infantry, aide-de-
camp; Captain (Brevet Major) W. H. Budd, assistant
commissary general; Captain C. Cooke, deputy assistant
commissary general; Captain T. Gillilan, sth Regiment
Native Infantry, paymaster.

Artillery—Brigadier H. S. Foord, commanding;
Lieutenant (Brevet Captain) J. D. Scott, brigade major.
Troops—C Troop Horse Brigade, D Company 2d Bat-
talion, D Company 3d ditto, A Company 4th ditto
Artillery.
Sappers and Miners—Captain J. W. Nundall, field
engineer, commanding Sappers and Miners. Head
quarters, A, B, C, and E, companies Sappers and
Miners.

First Infantry Brigade—Brigadier W. 11. Elliott,
K.H., her Majesty's 51st (King's Own) Light Infantry,
commanding ; Captain J. Smith, 13th Regiment of
Native Infantry, brigade major. Troops—Fier Ma-
jesty's 51st (King's Own) Light Infantry, 9th Regi-
ment Native Infantry, and 35th Regiment Native In-
fantry.
Second Infantry Brigade—Brigadier M. McNeill,
commanding ; Captain D. G. A. Darroch, her Ma-
jesty's 51st (King's Own) Light Infantry, brigade
major. Troops-Ist Madras Fasileers, sth Regiment
Native Infantry, 19th Regiment Native Infantry.—
Madras Athenceum, August 28.