The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1851-11-11 00:00:00

THE NAVIGATION LAWS

A WELL•TIMED and excellent circular has been
addressed, by Mr. C. IL Greenhow, secretary to
the Shipowners' Society, to the Shipowners and
Electors of the marine boroughs of Great Britain,
calling upon them to join in a combined movement
to demand of the Legislature a readjustment of the
Navigation Laws. They are exhorted to shake off
their apathy, and, laying aside minor differences, to
unite in insisting upon the passing of an act to give
due preference and to afford fair protection to Bri-
tish Shipping and native labour. The following
are the clauses which are recommended as essential
to an effective measure ;

" In the first place, India and the Cojgliies, which have

been won at the cost of a large sacrifice of both blood and
treasure, and are now maintained by an annual outlay
from the exchequer of the parent state ;—these we consider
ought to be at once placed in the same category with the
coasting trade, and no vessels but those of Great Britain
and her Colonies be allowed to carry goods of any descrip-
tion, be they the produce of what country they may, be-
tween ports in Great Britain and her Colonies, or between
intercolonial ports.
" Secondly,—That goods, the produce of any Foreign
state, may be brought to Great Britain and her Colonies,
in the ships only of Great Britain, her Colonies, and those
of the state in which the port is situated from whence the
vessel received her cargo ; but without any reference as to
what country the articles are the produce of, so long as no
vessel is employed alien to the state from whence the
goods are directly imported into this country, or her Co-
lonies—in like manner the produce of our Colonies may be
brought to this country from any foreign port, but only in
British or Colonial ships, and those of the country from
wnence imported. Thus, American cotton lying at Havre,
may be brought to England, hut only in the vessels of
France or Great Britain and her Colonies; or sugars, to-
bacco, or other produce, be they the growth of what
country they may, will be admitted into Great Britain or
her Colonies from any Foreign port ; say, if from Amster-
dam in vessels only of Holland or Great Britain and her
Colonies. I hope this is made sufficiently clear ; no
restriction will be put upon the articles imported, so long
as they are carried by a British or Colonial vessel, or one
of that country from whence the importation takes place ;
it is by this restriction we wish to put a stop to the indis-
criminate employment of vessels of all nations, and to
prevent the compet.tion arising from vessels of nations
who have nothing to give in return.
" Thirdly,—The above privilege of carrying the produce
of all countries unreservedly from the ports of a Foreign
nation to Great Britain or her Colonies, shall only be
granted to such countries as accord to us similar privileees,
and are preparad to fully reciprocate and place our ship-
ping on a like footing in their country to that on which
theirs are placed in this. The ships of all nations failing
to do this, must, without favour, be only allowed to bring
the productions of their own country, and from their own
ports, to Great Britain and her Colonies, all former
treaties about being placed on the same footing as the
most favoured nations being considered null and void."

MONSTER AMERICAN SCREW STEAMER,

THE PROPELLER "PIONEER."

That necessity is not only the mother of invention, but
the promoter of improvement, is an axiom fully instanced
by the rapidity with which our fleets are being revolu-
tionized. The " bruizers" are succeeded by finer craft,
and the laudable efforts of Great Britain in the promotion
of the screw as a means of propulsion, is emulated in
every nation. Scarcely a week elapses that we have not
to announce the " arrival of another new steamer," a
fact that carries with it a gratifying illustration of the
progress of our port. This week we have had the plea-
sure of visiting the Pioneer, a new auxiliary steamer, in-
tended as the first of a fleet between this port and New
York ; and as such matters are ever interesting to a com-
mercial community, we subjoin a few rough particulars of
her proportions.
The Pioneer is a handsome-looking ship of about 2,700
tons, carpenter's measurement, and will, in capacity, some-
what exceed 3,000 tons. She is 230 feet long, has a beam
of 48 feet, and a depth of hold of 29 feet. With these di-
mensions she is internally most spacious, and externally
she has all the appearance (were she without a funnel) of
a clipper packet-ship ; for, though fine at the draught
line, and, we learn, finer below, she is somewhat heavy on
the quarter ; but this, as it is above water, gives good deck
space aft, and wecannot see why steamers generally should
be so " tucked in" astern as is now-a-days the fashion.

The Pioneer, or her commander, is evidently bent on
making at least average passages ; for should any accident
occur to her machinery, she is so masted and sparred that
she can carry an amount of canvas sufficient for any
weather. She is square-ringed forward, and sets fore-and-
aft sails only on the mizen ; but her spars are much
heavier and loftier than those of ordinary steam barques.
The stem, which has a fair rake, is surmounted by a full-
length figure of Boone, the pioneer, and the stern bears
the arms of the Tileston family, and other appropriate
emblematic decorations.

As a new system of emigration, and one of which we
highly approve, is to be carried out in the Pioneer, we shall
devote a few lines to the culinary arrangements.
It has hitherto been usual for the mass of emigrants
leaving England to be provided with a prescribed quantity
of provisions, which are from time to time served out on
board the ship, and which, though generally excellent in
quality, are in many cases rendered almost unlit for food,
from the fact of the passengers being perfectly ignorant of
the method of cooking, or indifferent to it, from sickness
and other causes, and being generally short of utensils.
A passenger cook is provided to assist emigrants, but so
various and numerous are their wants, that a regiment
of chefs de cusine would be required to supply them.
In the Pioneer a great portion of the house on deck has
been devoted to what are termed the " galleys," but here
there are kitchens with tiled floors, almost equal in equip-
ment and convenience to those of the famed Reform Club.
The largest of these apartments is to be devoted, under
able superintendence, entirely to what are called second-
class passengers. The tables will be laid with all that
can be considered necessary—even to dessert ;—the charge
for which will be but £l2 sterling. The steward's pan-
tries are most unique in arrangement, and reflect great
credit on the designer. It is wonderful to see how ad-
mirably the space is appropriated.