suspended, the owners being unwilling at that time to comply with the surveyor's requirements, it being their intention to have her thoroughly repaired on her return from America. In December, 1879, she sailed for Wilmington, U.S., and then loaded a cargo of 2,762 barrels of resin 861,940 lbs. weight. She also carried a deck load of two large spars of timber, and in addition a quantity of other timber. The vessel finally sailed from Smithville on the 20th January, 1880, and has not been heard of since that date. An Inquiry was held at Liverpool before Mr. Raffles, Judge, with Captain H. D. Grant, R.N., and Captain Vaux, Assessors. The Court considered that the Blackpool was not in a good and seaworthy condition when she sailed from London. They unhesitatingly condemned the carrying on deck of a heavy load, especially at the season of the year, and they decidedly thought that with the deck load the vessel was overladen. The master seems to have acted on his own responsibility, and the Court could only conjecture that under the above circumstances the Blackpool was lost in heavy weather.

10. S.S." BRUCE," of Glasgow. Official Number, 73,828.
Date of Casualty, 27th January, 1882.

Date of Inquiry, 21st and 22nd February, 1882.

The Bruce was an iron screw steamer of 45.81 tons register. On the 27th January, 1882, she left Irvine for Port Dundas with a cargo of 100 tons of manganese waste. When about 1 miles outside the bar the master put the helm up, and on bringing the sea abeam the vessel heeled to starboard and capsized. The boat into which some of the crew managed to get also capsized, and all hands were drowned except the master, who was rescued while clinging to the boat. An inquiry was held at Glasgow before Mr. A. Gilchrist and Mr. W. J. Scott, Justices, assisted by Captain White, R.N., Captain Beasley, and Captain Parish, Assessors. The Court found that the engagement of cargo had been left entirely to the brokers who knew nothing of manganese waste, and took no steps to satisfy themselves as to its nature. The Court thought they should have done so, and should have instructed the master to take steps to prevent it shifting. The Court considered that the vessel, laden with a semifluid cargo, and having nothing to prevent it shifting, had not sufficient stability on the voyage, and that when she lurched to starboard the whole cargo must have gone bodily over to leeward. The Court observed that manganese waste is a dangerous cargo to carry without proper means to prevent it shifting.

11. S.S."CALLIOPE," of London. Official Number, 29,547.
Date of Casualty, 19th or 20th October, 1881.

Date of Inquiry, 12th and 13th January, 1882.

The Calliope, an iron screw steamship of 1,062 tons register, left Odessa on the 4th October, 1881, bound to Bremerhaven, with a cargo

of barley. Shortly after passing through the Straits of Gibraltar during a moderate gale the vessel took a heavy list to starboard and subsequently a heavy list to port. The gale increased, and at 3 p.m. on the 19th or 20th the vessel went down by the head, all her crew and passengers were lost, with the exception of one seaman, who managed to lash himself to the top of the chart-room and was picked up by a Spanish vessel. An Inquiry was held at Cardiff before the Wreck Commissioner, assisted by Captains Forster and Castle, Assessors. The Court found that the Calliope on leaving Odessa had a freeboard of only 2 feet 6 inches, which they considered to be wholly insufficient for a vessel making a winter voyage. The evidence as to the amount of cargo on board was conflicting, but the Court came to the conclusion that it consisted of 1,717 tons, and that the vessel was therefore overladen. They also found that the shifting boards in the poop and after-hold of the vessel did not comply with the regulations which require that there shall be longitudinal shifting boards from end to end and from top to bottom of each of the holds. The Court blamed the master for not having proper shifting boards put up. They, however, also considered the owner greatly to blame for allowing the load-line of the vessel to remain at 2 feet 6 inches, and thus giving the master an apparent sanction if not authority, to load her down to that point. They therefore condemned him to pay £100 towards costs.

12. S.S." COLUMBINE," of Hull. Official Number, 56,230.
(See Official Caution, page 242.)

13.

COMMODORE," of Dartmouth. Official Number, 19,053.
Date of Abandonment, 31st January, 1881.

Date of Inquiry, 24th and 25th February, 1881.

The Commodore was a wooden sailing vessel of 156 tons register. On the 13th January, 1881, she sailed from Cardiff, bound for Lisbon, with a cargo of 264 tons of railway bars. When off the Portuguese coast bad weather set in, during which the cargo shifted, giving the vessel a list to starboard. The water rapidly gained and the ship soon became unmanageable, and finally the master and crew took to the boat and managed to reach Vigo. The Commodore foundered very shortly after her abandonment. An Inquiry was held at Cardiff before Mr. R. O. Jones, Stipendiary Magistrate, with Captains Curling and Harland, Assessors. The Court found that the vessel was overladen, and that her freeboard of 22 inches was insufficient. They considered it should have been at least 30 inches for a winter voyage. As regards stowage, the Court remarked that the central spaces should have been tightly wedged to prevent any lateral movement of the cargo, and that this did not appear to have been doue. The Court found the owners

responsible for the vessel being overladen and not having sufficient freeboard, and they therefore ordered them to pay a sum of £20 towards the costs.

14. S.S. "CONSTANCE," of West Hartlepool. Official Number, 67,553. Date of Wreck, 9th February, 1880.

Date of Inquiry, 18th March, 1880.

The Constance was a screw steamer of 635 tons. On the 7th February she sailed from Cardiff, bound for Malta, with 1,376 tons of coal on board. A few days after sailing a heavy gale came on, during which the vessel was much injured by a heavy sea, and was thrown on her starboard beam ends. The water came into the engine-room, and the fires were put out. A steamer then bore down to render assistance, but before the crew could leave, the Constance, taking a sudden lurch, foundered, and 12 seamen perished. The survivors were picked up by the Lady Tredegar, and were landed at Bilboa. An Inquiry was held at Middlesborough before Mr. C. J. Coleman, with Captains Forster and Castle, and Mr. R. C. May, C.E., Assessors. The Court found that the steamer was overladen when she left Cardiff. Her freeboard in salt water would be 2 feet 1 inch, which they considered insufficient.

15. "DANAE," of North Shields. Official Number, 65,456.
Date of Abandonment, 25th December, 1877.

Date of Inquiry, 29th January, 1878.

The Danae, an iron screw steamer of 744 tons register, sailed from Copenhagen for London on the 20th December, 1877, with a cargo of about 1,480 tons of wheat. On the 24th she encountered a heavy gale, which increased to a hurricane. On the 25th a list to port, which had already been observed, increased so much that the vessel became unmanageable, and in consequence of the severe injury which she sustained through shipping a heavy sea she was abandoned. An Inquiry was held at Westminster before the Wreck Commissioner, with Captains Forster and Jones as Assessors. The Court attributed the loss of the ship to the following causes :

(1.) Defective Construction.—The vessel had two holds, under which were ballast-tanks, which on this occasion (the vessel being laden) were empty. Above the tonnage-deck she had erections of different kinds, with a capacity of above 203 tons, and with a tonnage under the tonnage-deck of only 953 tons. Moreover, the main-deck, which was uncovered, was flanked with solid iron bulwarks, liable to catch any seas breaking over the bows.

(2.) To overloading.—Although the load-line was above water on leaving Copenhagen, there was a freeboard of only about 14 inches, which the Court considered insufficient for such a vessel.

To the insufficient depth of the shifting boards. From the evidence before them, the Court gathered that the shifting boards extended

only between 4 and 5 feet from the deck, and they concluded that in consequence of this defect the cargo shifted, and that this was the proximate cause of the casualty.

The Wreck Commissioner observed that cargo in bulk could also be prevented from shifting by having two rows of bulkheads. He also referred to the stowage regulations in force at Montreal and New York, which do not allow any ship exceeding 400 tons to be loaded entirely with grain in bulk, and he suggested that some such regulation might be necessary in the case of large Baltic steamers.

(4.) To the sluices between the engine-room and main-hold having been left open. The Court considered that it was the duty of the master to see that the sluices were in proper working order, and could be readily closed when necessary, and this he neglected to do. The Court found that for the acts and omissions which led to the loss of the vessel the master and owner were almost equally culpable. They had no power to deal with the owner, but as regards the master, they considered him greatly to blame for the overloading; for the insufficiency of the shifting boards; and for not attending to the sluices; and they therefore suspended his certificate for 6 months. 16. S.S." ELSIE," of London. Official Number, 76,953. Date when last heard of, 27th February, 1880.

Date of Inquiry, 2nd June, 1880.

The Elsie was an iron screw steamer of 759 tons register. On the 27th February, 1880, she sailed from the Tyne for Hamburg, with a cargo of 1,357 of cargo coal besides bunker coal, and since that date nothing has been heard of her. An Inquiry was held at Sunderland by Messrs. G. R. Booth and W. Wilson, Justices, assisted by Captain White, R.N., and Captain Parfitt, Assessors. The Court found that there was no evidence to show the cause of the loss of the vessel. They considered, however, that her freeboard of 2 feet 2 inches was not sufficient for a vessel on such a voyage; and they call attention to this case as a warning of the serious responsibility incurred by permitting vessels to go to sea so deeply laden.

17. S.S. "EMBLEHOPE," of Newcastle. Official Number, 62,376. Date of Abandonment, 27th November, 1879.

Date of Inquiry, 12th February, 1880.

The Emblehope was an iron screw steamer of 1,255 tons. She sailed from Sulina on the 11th November, 1879, bound to Antwerp, with a cargo of 12,670 quarters of barley and rye. On the 27th, the weather became very stormy, and the vessel was much damaged by a heavy sea which broke over her. The cargo began to shift and the water poured into the engine-room, and the vessel, being on her beam ends, was at length abandoned.

An Inquiry was held at Newcastle before the Wreck Commissioner, and Captains Forster and Castle, Assessors.

S

The Court found that the master was not to blame for the shifting of the cargo, the vessel having been exceptionally well provided with shifting boards. They considered, however, that having regard to her construction, she had not sufficient stability for the carriage of a full cargo of grain, having too great a breadth in proportion to her beam. They also thought that the engine-room skylight was not properly constructed or sufficiently stayed, looking to the fact that there were no bulwarks to protect it from heavy beam seas. They attributed the casualty mainly, if not entirely, to defective construction.

18. "ESSEX," of London. Official Number, 47,400.
Date when last heard of, 22nd May, 1880.

Date of Inquiry, 30th July, 1880.

The Essex was a wooden sailing ship of 1,255 tons register. On the 28th April, 1879, she sailed from Bassein with a cargo of 1,697 tons of rice, bound to Queenstown. On the 7th May she sprang a leak, and having fallen in with the Amana, the master and crew of that vessel rendered assistance towards stopping the leak, and on the 14th the two vessels parted company. On the 22nd the Essex was met with by the Eastminster, but since that date nothing has been heard of her. An Inquiry was held at Westminster by the Wreck Commissioner, assisted by Captains Forster and Castle, Assessors. The Court considered that the Essex had too heavy a cargo, considering that she was about to round the Cape of Good Hope in the depth of winter. The Court also found that the cargo was not properly stowed, and that the system of forming ventilating tunnels with the bags of rice without any support to the sides is not a proper or safe system.

That the bags, or at least every alternate tier, should be stowed athwartships or a-burton rather than fore-and-aft or as longers.

That box ventilators are better, and less liable to collapse, and so set the cargo in motion, than ventilating tunnels without supports to the sides.

That although bags of rice, if not filled quite so full, might lie closer and be less liable to shift, there is no reason why, if stowed a-burton, they should not be capable of efficient stowage.

The Court considered that the loss of the vessel was probably due to the quantity of cargo on board, and to the mode in which it was stowed.

19. S.S. "ESTEPONA," of Hull. Official Number, 68,353.
Date when last heard of, 6th October, 1880.

Date of Inquiry, 31st December, 1880.

The Estepona was an iron screw steamer of 676 tons register. She left Cardiff on the 6th October, 1880, on a voyage to Marseilles, with a cargo of coal, and since that date nothing has been heard of her.