The Sun.
London, England, 1844-12-19 00:00:00

(11-13-JentiN zN,Atit

LONDON, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1844.

`We have been favoured, from highly respectable
quarters, with the perusal of some corresPona:dnce
addressed to them, by influential parties in tl,e north
of Scotland, on the extreme hardship to be in-
flicted by the enactments of the 7 ar
al 8 Vie., c. 112,
fu, amending and consolidating " the laws Mating
to merchant seamen; and fop keeping a register of
seamen," on the brave and hardy race of seamen who
inhabit the north and north west shores of Caithness,
Sutherland, and Inverness-shire, the remote districts
of Tobermory, and the yet further isles and western
highlands. Under what circumstances this hardship
is likely to be experienced is well set forth in the
following extracts :

(From the Scottish Guardian, Dec. 3, 1844.)
"MERCHANT SEAMEN.—We understand that the
issue of the tickets commenced yesterday, at the various
cuitom-houses in the United Kingdom, and, to avoid
any misconstruction in the intention of the new law, it
is declared that the persons requiring to be ticketed,
comprise all In; le persons (subjects of her Majesty)
forming part of the crews of vessels, whatever may be
their eapacity, whether as mates, or other officers ;
engineers, firemen, &c. ; stewards, servants, &c. ; boys,
or apprentices ; the only persons exempt being f RB-
- masters of vessels, and surgeons. All open or
decked boats are, for the purposes of the Act, considered
vessels,' Whether employed in trading, fishing, or in
pleasuriw, if as regards the Clyde, they pass Dumbarton
Castle. Masters of vessels (whatever the size may be)
eaktTying wry male person as part of the crew, except as
aforesaid, after Ist of January next, without obtaining
his register ticket, incurs a penalty of 101. for each
person."

(Extract of a Letter.)
" If such a Bill has really been passed, with regard to
the registration of sailors, as was represented in the para-
graph I sent you by last post, it would be good to repre-
sent to the proper authorities the great hardship of
carrying it into execution on the west coast of Suther-
land, Russ-shire, Inverness-shire, , Ssc., as the agri-
cultural population are generally obliged to use boats to
get ascir manure, often to carry their fuel, and even
their potatoes, from one part of their farm to another.
It should be observed that the arms of the sea along
those coasts arc so land-lucked as often to be as smooth
or smoother than fresh-water lakes, so that no skill is
necessary in navigating them, and that the people em-
ployed on them and between them and the Isle of Skye,
an our neighbourhood, are not to be considered as sailors,
but landsmen. The sails of poor fishermen are often
formed of a patch©d blanket from their beds, which goes
in this country by the name of Kintail rig. Almost all
the poor people possess a boat, or a share in a boat, and
i: is their carriage to go to church in, to which there is
often no other easy access. The application of the Bill
ought to have been confined to persons navigating boats
ten or fifteen miles from land, at least in this country."
(Extract from another Letter.)
" It will be a most dreadful hardship for the poor
people of this country, and I far there is another grie-
vance still greater than any mentioned in the paragraph,
that is, that the tickets can only be obtained from a
custom-house. Now one of the nearest custom-houses
to as is at Tobernsory-, the others are at Stornoway and
Inverness. We belong to the port of Inverness. ym,
know that numbers of our poor boys gain the;r
liveli-
hood by fishing, and it is monstrous to suppo',o that they
should be required to go to Inverness to ge's a ticket. If
a ticket was to cost them one shilling, it would be a vast
hardship ; and I believe
many go
,o'ut fishing who are
not fit to go such a journey,
both oid and young."
ri To
laws the wisd
relating to merchant sad eamen, it is by no
n
means our intention to except;
we
enter into the statistical as well as can readilypolitical views
Which may render the " Keepine- a
men" an object of paramount importance Registryundeorfnitay-