The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-04-30 00:00:00

MEETING OF THE DOCK COMMITTEE

The dock committee met yesterday, when the following
members were present :—Messrs. Benn, (chairman), Hors-
fall, Barclay, T. Holt, Holmes, Quayle, Aiken, Booth, Mel-
lor, Bulky, G. Holt, Evans, Tobin, Ripley, Chapman, and
Middleton.

A complaint was made by Mr. Lowe, merchant, against
Mr. Cosnahan, master.of George's-dock, under the following
circumstances :—A vessel called the Mary, laden with malt,
belonging to Mr. Lowe, had been taken into George's-dock
on Saturday, and removed from her berth, by the dock mas-
ter's directions, whilst a cart on the quay, which was taking
away the cargo, was partly filled. The weather was then
wet, and in consequence some damage was apprehended.
Mr. Lowe sent to the dock master to ascertain the cause of
this proceeding,and his answer was that " he would do what
he pleased either for Mr.'Lowe or Mr. High." The answer
of the dock-master was to the effect that, another vessel called
the Edith was in turn for the berth before the Mary, that it
was necessary the Mary should be removed, which was only
for ten minutes. to facilitate the working of the dock, and
that the nature of the message he had sent to Mr. Lowe had
been misrepresented. Mr. Lowe, the dock-master, a dock-
gateman, and a warehouseman in the service of Mr. Lowe,
having been heard, they were requested to retire whilst the
committee deliberated. The dock-master was then called in,
and the chairman told him the committee were of opinion
that.there was no occasion for him to have sent a saucy mes-
sage to Mr. Lowe, or for mixing himself up in a squabble
between the dock-gatemen and the warehouseman, he ought
to have been above that. 'He appeared to have been influ-
enced by the report of the dock-gateman, nevertheless he
he ought to have sent a civil answer to a civil message ; the
committee thought he had sent the message in language
which was offensive, and they hoped he would be more
guarded in future. The dock-master then retired. Mr.
Evans, with due deference to the chair, asked, if in this re-
proof he had not gone beyond the intention of the commit-
tee? Mr. Aiken, Mr. Horsfall, Mr. Chapman, and others,
said the chairman certainly had not, and the matter then
dropped.
The Surveyor, under the direction of the committee of
works, submitted the plans and elevations of three houses
fon three of the dock-masters, and of one for the south har-
bour-master. They were approved of.
The sub-committee for the department of the harbour-mas-
ters and dock-masters submitted a variety of recommenda-
tions and suggestions, which they considered should be
carried into effect as early as might be deemed advisable.
They were that the slips now existing on the quays of the
Queen's Dock should be built up so as to make the quays of
an equal height all round the dock ; that the sheds on the
east and west quays he continued up to the south end of the
dock ; that the crane now placed at the north end of the
dock be removed and placed on the north-east side; and that
permission be granted to ships to use the crane on the south
side of the Brunswick Dock when not in use by the surveyor.
The sub-committee then strongly impressed upon the general
committee that it was highly desirable to have gates to the
entrance of King's and Queen's basin. The other recom-
mendations related to additional landing stages and sheds at
various"docks, and included several minor alterations.
A desultory discussion took place on these recommenda-
tions between Messrs. T. Holt, Tobin, Chapman, Evans,
Horsfall, and others, chiefly as to the placing of gates. at
the entrance of the Queen's Dock.—Mr. Evaxs thought
the recommendation was premature, although he approved
of the design.—Mr. TOBIN stated that two years ago the
subject had been fully investigated before a sub-committee,
when all the evidence, which was taken down by a short-hand.
hand writer, except that of one man, was against the putting
down of gates. To this it was replied that at that time the
committee did not contemplate the lengthening of the pier,
which they did now, and which would render gates a very
great improvement. Eventually, on the suggestion of Mr.
Mellor and others, the consideration of the recommendation
was postponed for a fortnight, and the sub-committee in the
meantime requested to look over the evidence taken on the
subject two years ago. _ _

The amount of dues received at Runcorn from the 25th
March to the 24th instant, were reported to be £l4O 12s 11d.
The committee then separated.

LIVERPOOL BOOK OF REGISTRY-PUBLIC
MEETING. .

A strong feeling being entertained that the interests of the
shipowners, merchants and underwriters are not fairly repre-
sented or protected by the committee of the London Registry
of British and Foreign Shipping, and that the importance of
the vast commerce of this port imperatively demands a Liver-
pool book of registry, based on principles of substantial jus-
tice and equity, in order to obtain a faithful and continued
accurate classification of the mercantile marine, a public
meeting was held in the Underwriters' Committee-room, at
two o'clock on Tuesday last, to consider the best means of
effecting so desirable an object.
Upon the motion of Mr. CHAPMAN, the chair was taken
by Mr. Councillor QUAYLE, who said the meeting had been
called pursuant to an advertisement, and that it had originated
with many who felt themselves aggrieved by the present sys-
tem of registration of shipping pursued by Lloyd's, in the
hope that some arrangement might be made whereby the pro-
prietary of Liverpool shipping would be placed on a more
advantageous footing. The chairman then read the resolu-
tions which had been prepared, and said that as he believed
the feeling in favour of a change was pretty general, the
better plan would be to have the resolutions duly proposed
and seconded. With the view of showing the zeal with
which the subject was likely to be taken up, he read the
following letter, which had been received from Messrs. An-
derson, Garrow, and Co. :

" Liverpool, April 23, 1841

" Dear Sir,—Exercise your discretion in placing our firm
on the list of contributors to the guarantee fund for establish-
ing a new Book of Registry at Liverpool, to the extent of
from £5O to £lOO. At the same time be good enough to en-
rol us as annual subscribers. We should be most happy to
co-operate with you in any pther way towards the accomplish-
ment of your object. Nil desperandunz.—We are, dear sir,
yours truly, _ " ANDERSON, GARROW, and Co.

" H. Chapman, Esq."
A short desultory conversation ensued, in the course of
which the system pursued at Lloyds was universally con-
demned ; but it was asked whether any communication had
been made to them, to say that unless they improved their
plans a local board would be established in Liverpool ? It
was also asked whether any communication had been had
with Glasgow, Bristol, Hull, and the other outports, with the
view of ascertaining whether they would coalesce in the con-
templated movement?
Mr. CHAPMAN replied—Lloyd's had been already tried,
but they had returned an official answer from London saying,
that the committee saw nothing to induce them to alter their
determination. A local committee for Liverpool, to which to
refer any cases of dispute had been demanded, and that also
had been denied; and, at the same time, the Liverpool ship-
owners were told that if they were strong enough they might
get a book of registry of their own. It was a notorious fact
that the gross revenue derived from the surveys last year
had amounted to about £2,400, while the entire expense of
maintaining the establishment did not exceed £1,200; so
that in the course of one year they had absolutely taken a
sum of £lOOO, or thereabouts, in hard cusp, from Liverpool
alone, and as long as such a power was placed in their hands,
33 long would they be allowed to whip the Liverpool ship-
owners with impunity. (Hear, hear.) The more they ob-
tained power, the more would the shipping interests be op-
pressed. If the resolutions read by the chairman were
adopted, and a provisional committee appointed, the rules
and regulations at Lloyd's would be thoroughly sifted,
amended, and ameliorated ; and in executing their task, the
said committee would be assisted by the master-builders and
Mr. Bayley, whose sound judgment was admitted on all
hands; and then another meeting would be convened, at
which the rules would be submitted; if such rules should
happen to be adopted at other ports well and good ; if not,
Liverpool would act independently of them. (Cheers.)
The several resolutions, which will be found in our adver-
tising columns, were then proposed, seconded, and carried
unanimously ; after which, the sum of £3OOO was subscribed
to a guarantee fund. Thanks were then returned to the
chairman, and the meeting separated.