The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1866-11-09

! owners, underwriters and merchants. i ne
primary object Of all the members alike IS
to give what may be called character to
every ship in the British merchant service;
an estimate founded on her size, shape,
build, materials, age and condition: a a.
merchant can thus tell whether snip IN
4 which his goods are about to be placed Is
likely to be trustworthy, or has a good
character = an underwater can tell Wheth-
or a ship which he is aboutto insure should
nav a high or low rate OF premium-the
higher according to its age or unsound-
ness !; and shipowners can tell what ought
to be the relative values Of different ships
bv the same test. To ascertain the charac-
ters of ships in this way is a formidable
work. In the earlier days Of the system,
tho committee classified ships merely &C
cording to their ages and the places where
they were built ranking as "frst-class'
those built within certain number Of
years, and sssecond-class" those older than
this limit. Or, more precisely, they were
divided into classes A, E, I, and 0, accord
ing to the age of the hull, and into sub
classes 1, 2, and 3, according to the rigging.
But this rude method has been superseded
by one more reasonable and discriminating,
which would take the actual present condi-
tion of the ship into view seeing that a
sound, substantial old ship is more worthy
of respect than a chcaply built new one.
Surveyors arc appointed by Lloyd's Com
mittee at all the chief ship building ports
to report upon the ships. As it is optional
with every shipowner whether he will be-
long to Lloyd's or not, SO is it free to him
to determine whether his ship shall under
go this scrutiny; but he can obtain better
freights and easier insurance II his ship
ranks we'll at Lloyd'S and therefore it is
usually worth his while to pay the fee in
cured for this purpose. The surveyor
asccrtains the age Of the vessel, the kind of
timber mostly employed in her construc-
ton, the style of build, the wear and tear
she has received, the amount and kind OF
repair she has undergone, and her present
condition All these particulars are taken
into account in giving her rank or posi-
ton. The phrase or designation Al, for
anything that is irst-rato Of its kind, isbor
rowed from the phraseology of Lloyd's
Registcr.. A kind of biography of every
ship is kept up !; for as in the natural course
of things age brings on deterioration in a
ship, the rank in 1865 may not be the same
as in 1864 The surveyors record their
surveys sufficiently often to make their
register truthful as concerns the actual con-
dition ofthc ships.
Lloyd the mysterious becomes, then,
practically a book register with which
the general public have not much to do
containing items Of information concerning
a ships owner, captain, port, age, materials,
state Of repair, &c. Or rather, this is one.
half Of Lloyd, who has sort OF mystical
double existence. The other half consists
of List, known equally by Lloyd's name.
Shipping intelligence is obtained from al
most every port on the globe by agents in
correspondence with Lloyd's, notifying the
arrival and departure Of all ships ships
sspoken with" at sea, and ships wrecked or
damaged. This information is regularly
booked, and is afterwards published as
Lloyd's List. Most Of the ship news in the
daily papers is obtained from this List.
Lloyd's Register and Lloyd's List belong to
and are managed by two different commit
tees, but they are both emanations Of the
one great invisible Lloyd.
A ship "spoken with" at sea ! It is
curious proceeding, whether regarded in
connection with matters ashore or matters
aaoat. Not only is it important for ship
owners, shippers, underwriters, and the
relatives and friends of passengers and
crews, to know something of the wherea-
bouts of particular ship at a particular
time, but the captain of ship may anxious
ly desire to give or receive some inform'-
ton or make some request. How is this to
be done, when ships pass each other on the
ocean They cannot with safety, and
without losing time, approach sufficiently
close for the captains to converse osva rocc,
even with the aid ofa mammoth speaking
trumpet. This could be done by the sibyl
and tho Syren when they pass each other
on their voyages to and from Greenwich;
but on the broad and rough ocean it is q
very different affair. The talking is car
ricd on by flags Flags Of different shapes
and colors are hoisted and the order in
which they are shown indicates the ships
name, or any one among large number of
phrases, sentences, questions and answers.
A very elaborate code or vocabulary is ne
cessary for the working out Of such sys-
tenn. In 1854, Mercantile Shipping Act
was passed, which, among other things, re-
quired that every merchant ship in the Bri-
/ t;al, Il,,,.;ra oh orld hnun a narticnlar num-