The Republican journal., 1882-02-02
The Shipping Int rest.

'Do you think there will be any legislation this
session affecting the American merchant marine y
| your correspondent asked well informed New
| England congressman to night
II doubt it," he replied, although | am doing
| everything IN my power to secure the passage of
laws which will relieve our merchant marine of
| its burdens
DO you anticipate any radical legislation-an
| act granting an American register to foreign built
vessels for instance 7"
NO, do not No legislation SO important as
that is to be expected this session But | do
think that some of the many minor burdens that
rest on American shipping will be removed
snail work TO that end There many difficult
ties IN the way, however, not the least of which is
the lack of accurate information on the subject
which you will find in most of the congressman
you talk with. As a general rule, they have not
| had either opportunity or inclination to ascertain
| the facts in the premises, and have contented
| themselves with very superficial acquaintance
| with the subject, from which they theorize and
theorize and theorize in a very entertaining way
often, but not to ones edihcatioR. OF course this
| is the material out of which the commerce com
mlttee Is formed There are, as a matter of course
| brilliant exceptions, but as general rule, mem
bers of Congress know little, and care less about
| shipping interests and the members of the com
merce committee, year after year, are on o par
with the rest. The trouble is, the commerce com
mittee, nowadays, seems to exist for no other pur
pose than to prepare the bill appropriating money
for the Improvement of rivers and harbors That
is all very well in its place but it ought not to in
| teTfere with the consideration of measures affect
Ing the commercial interests of the country. There
should be committee on the river and harbor in
pfoVements and committee on commerce. Then
the former could prepare the river and harbor bill
and the latter could consider the measures before
It affecting our internal and external commerce
4 My own opinion is that the only way in which
we can ever secure sensible legislation respecting
the merchant marine, is to have some measures
prepared by commission OF experts, similar to
that provided for in the Morrill, tariff commission
bill We might get wise report from them, GOV
ering the whole ground, in two years For aught
| can see it may be two decades before we will
get such report from any commerce committee
likely to be appointed 1t has got its hands full
holding the grab bag.
A number of gentlemen interested in oul
merchant marine and in our foreign commerce are
expected here from New England and New York
within few days. They propose to discuss
measures which have been suggested for the reet
of the shipping interests of the country, with a
| view to the preparation of bill for Introduction
in Congress, They will consider chiefly the minor
burdens resting upon merchant Shipping In this
| connection it may be stated that Representative
! Dlngey, of Maine, will introduce shortly bill
abollshlng fees in the consular service and substi
tutlng salaries for them whore they constitute the
only compensation received. Washington special
to Boston Herald
RECOMMENDATIONS TO BE BROUGHT BEFORE CON
GREss.
/ Inc New Iulh Chalubei uf Commerce Oh Jan
| 10th, adopted the recommendations of the special
committee that the existing requirements of the
| Y. : laws as to life saving apparatus and other
fittings Of vessels, be made uniform with foreign
vessels; that all property engaged in foreign trade
| with Pacific ports be exempt from taxes that the
Consular fees charged vessels be abolished that
| the individual liability of shipowner be limited
to the proportion of any and all debts and liabilities
| that his share in the vessel represents to the
whole, and that all foreign materials for construc
ton or repairs of vessels be made duty free; also
| that the United States Government should afford
material aid I'D the creation of mercantile marine
That the treaty with Great Britain and other mari
time powers be modified or new treaties be made
providing for the arrest by the authorities of both
| nations of deser ters; that 1t be made penal of
fence to demand or pay advance wages to any sea
man IN any American port or any bonus for ship
| ping seamen, and that all such payment be made
| VOID IN law IN hnal settlements with the seamen
| and that masters be made criminally liable for
charging any seaman profit in any article furnish
ed from the ships slop chest of more that u per
cent on the wholesale price al the port of sailing
and that all vessels bound on foreign VOYAGES be
Obliged to carry sop chest supplied With certain
| specified articles The special committee was con
tlnued with power to bring the matter before Con
gress
WHY NOT SHIPS AS WELL AS LoCoMorIvES
Mr. John Roach said in Chicago the other night
that there has been exported from the United
States since 1870 so 600 900 worth of locomotives
| and double that valuation in cars America there
| fore has taken Eugland's locomotive trade away
from her in her own colonies "lS there any
reason why, he asked, when our own shpbuild-
| ing shall be equa ly encouraged and developed by
| extending our trade and making demand for it,
we should not build ships for those countries which
| have not the resources to build for themselves
| But we are told" said the speaker. "that while
We can build locomotives and cars we cannot
build the ship though that is built out OF the same
| material and from the same forest ard pine and
though the labor to convert one hundred tons OF
| pig IRON into locomotives is much greater than it
is IN the finished ships ana Just as high priced
| But We had policy for building locomotive by
| finding use for it, and you see the result He
went on to say that if locomotive building had
been sranged in its infancy, efforts are now
| being made to strangle shipbuilding America
| would be still buying locomotives in England
INTERESTING TO sHlr OWNERS
In the United States District Court, Baltimore,
Judge Morris has decided matter Of some il
! terest to merchants and ship-owners The case
| was that OF L. jacobson master of the Norwegian
bark BcrgIiot, against Edgar Il. Jones The latter
| chartered the vessel for voyage from Baltimore
| to Rio Janeiro and return for the sum OF { 900
sterling, the charterer to furnish cargoes for voy-
| ages both ways. The bark was loaded there and
sailed for Rlo, where she arrived, discharged and
her lay days having expired, sailed for Baltimore
IN ballast. the agent OF the charterer not beng
able to provide a cargo. Suit brought for the
balance of freight amounting to 81 100 due under
the charter. The agents of the charterer in Rio
having declared their inability to provide cargo
at the time the Court decided that as it was the
duty OF the charterer to furnish the cargo in Rio
and he did not do so, the master was entitled to
his freight unless it was by some fault of his that
the vessel obtained homeward cargo The
Court held that the master was justified III sailing
when he did and will sign decree for an amount
to be agreed upon.