The Sun.
London, England, 1856-03-22 00:00:00

BRISTOL CHANNEL PILOTAGE.

A special meeting of the Bristol town-council W'
held yesterday, the Mayor (Mr. John Vining) presiding,
for the porp,,se of considering a communication from till
R,,ard Of Trade in r,ference to the pilotage of. the Brisfc"
Channel.
It should be stated that at present the pilotage authr
rity of the whole Channel is vested in the Bristol core,
ration, and by that body delegated to the society
Merchant Venturers. Complaints having been made
of the state of things by Glocester, Csrdiff, Newpor,
Swansea, and other ports,-in April, 1855. Captain (04
Admiral) Beechey was deputed by the Board of Tran
to visit Bristol, and to institute an inquiry upon the
subject. The g Aiwa Admiral held sittings on five day*,
and examined a great number of witnesi;es. As a regal'
,rf the recommendations of Admiral Beechey, the fel.
;owing proposals c ,ncerning the Bristol Channel pilot'
age have been submitt d by the Board of Trade :
`' I ORGANISATION.
"1. The pilotage of the estuary, including the port!
of Bristol, Bidefor I, Bridgewater, Cardiff, Glocester,
Neath, Newper,t, and Swau.s,a, to be under one govern',
ing body.
"2: Tbii Trinity-house of Deptford Strond to have
general control, and to take steps for the constitntiO
of the local governing body. •
"3. The Tr laity-house to communicate with the 010
age, harbour, or town authorities at each port, and t°
appoint sub-corn missioners for each port.
" 4. One or more of the sub-commissioners at 00
port, according to the importance of its trade, to be
deputed to act together as a central body, to regulate
the general pilotage of the channel.
"5. The central body to meet in the first instance. et
a place to be appointed by the Trinity-house, and after'
wards at such place as they may themselves select.
" 6. The'duty of the central body will be—t 6
bylaws f r the whole channel to fix, the qualification)
of pilot, to license pilots, to fix stations for pilot boat°,
to appoint general superintendents, to settle the mode
in which the earnings of the pilots are to be applied, t°
arrange pilots' superannuation fund, to arrange how the
property in pilot boats is to be held, to make all other
rules and arrangements necessary for the interests MO*
several ports collectively and severally.
` 7. These rules, when approved, to la made binding
by order in Council under the Merchant Shipping AA
1854, sec. 333.
" 8. The central body to meet at such stated times 0
they may determine, in order to hear complaints, make
or alter by-laws, rto.-
" 9. The sub-commissioners at each port to carry the
by-laws into effect at their own port, and to hear oohs'
plaint,: arising at the port.
" 11. ARRANGEMENTS WHICH IT' IS SUGGESTED IT Vrilj..
BE POUND DESIRABLE TO ADOPT.

" 1. Pilots to consist of two classes, outer and inner'
The outer pilots to he qualified to take a ship between 01
.ea and the anch.rage off each port, or further, I'
licensed for the purpose. The inner pilots to take the
slip from the anchorage into the port, and vice versa.
" 2. Two superintendents of pilots to be appointedt
one at Pill and one at Cardiff, to enforce the by-lave*
to keep the pilots to their stations, and to maintain
proper supply of pilots at their proper places.
" 3. Special arrangements to be made for the Glo.
center pilotage."
Mr. J. G. Srtaw moved, and Mr. Alderman ALA'
ANDER seconded, the appointment of a deputation to
attend a conference of delegates from the various ports,
to be held at the Board of Trade upon the above sub
ject, on the 4th of April.
The resolution was carried after some discussion, and
the chairman and deputy-chairman of the Docks Coax'
mittee (Messrs. R. P. King arid Robinson) and Mr. J.
Poole, jun., were nominated as such deputation.
The master and warders of the Society of Merohao!
Venturers, and Mr. E. Drew will also attend on behalf
of that body.

COVENT-GARDEN THEATRE.—If it was fated to be
burnt down, the. fire should have burst out—provided 011
could have got away—in the last scene of "La Pre'
phete," with Matio singing the drinking song, our
rounded by his beautiful bacchantes, as the flames began
to lap and twine about the gilded doors and costly dra'
peries of the palace of Munster. But it was saddening
to think of the low, dull, brutal orgy that bad immedi;
ately preceded, and perhaps hastened the catastrophe. 1
heard that such a scene of vicious riot and rampant
snobbery had never before been witnessed in Londoc.
" It's burst out again, over the pr•iperty-room;" said
fireman to his fellow as they passed. Here was enough
matter for speculation connected with departed gloried
Many were thinking of the manuscripts, the scores, aria
the documents destroyed ; my mind wandered to hair
bler things. I wondered at what time was burnt the
letter B, that Gennaro cut with his dagger from over th?,
Borgio's door, always of a different colour to the "orgice
and palpable as to its destination. I wondered, also, hoer
long it took to melt the "Norma "gong ; how soon t°,
consume the 6.11 that were thrown tip to the pescaterl
on the sunny strand of Portici ; how rapidly the red
candles must have melted that adorned the chandelier
in the act of the "Huguenots;" and whether the " Der
Freischutz " owl winked when the flames deranged b''
machinery. And I pictured the general and hurried de'
st ruction of the Druid's beards, and Mario's long dace('
late-coloured boots, and the bright breastplate in which
Soldi sang the Rataplan—the "Sounambulemill-wheel,
with the candlestick that Viardot let fall from it, and 00
padded bricks she pushed aside with her feet when the
plank cracked ; the sword that Tagliafice cracked across
his knee when he declared be was not an assassin—the
profile horse of the statue in " Don Giovanni"— and the
pony chaise that brought on Ronconi in the "E!isir.
Rouielteli Work,