pleaded that it excused him from the performance of his contract, as it was impossible to carry it into effect without violating the law by trading with the Queen's enemies. The Court of Queen's Bench held this plea was no answer to the action. The important question was, whether the plea was a good one. It was clearly established that the effect of a declaration of war was to put an end to all intercourse with an enemy's country, and to make it illegal. In 1799 some doubt was thrown upon the principle, but in 1800 Lord KENYON decided that a declaration of war was an absolute interdiction of commercial intercourse between two hostile countries-it had all the force of an Act of Parliament. It was an exercise of the prerogative of the Crown, and every authority, particularly Lord MANSFIELD, Sir C. ROBINSON, and Justice STOREY, laid down that it had all the force of law, and was, in fact, a portion of the law of England. Then they had to enquire what was the effect of a declaration of war upon a contract made before, and remaining unexecuted at the time of such declaration. It had been held by Lord ELLENBOROUGH, and laid down by Chancellor KEAT, that the effect of a declaration of war upon such a contract, was to dissolve the contract and excuse the parties from performing it. If a British subject not domiciled in an enemy's country, shipped a cargo in a neutral vessel from an enemy's port, he would be trading with the enemy and violating the law, and neither the English subject nor an alien friend, could bring an action against a person for refusing to perform a contract containing an undertaking to do so after war had been declared. On these grounds, the Court were of opinion that the judgment of the Court of Queen's Bench ought to be reversed, and judgment entered for the defendant. Judgment for defendant accordingly. 1345. WASTAGE. When goods are conveyed from one place to another by different vehicles or ships, the last one is considered answerable for wastage or pilfering. It is therefore sometimes necessary, when conveying valuable liquids, to take what is termed the dry inches of each cask on receipt, as a guide for the settlement of any demand on delivery. It would prevent much annoyance to shipowners and consignees, if permission could be granted by the Customs and Excise, to allow officers, when required, to witness the dipping of wine and spirit in bond, when being conveyed from one port to another; see deficiency, beer, spirits, &c. 1346. WATCH TACKLE. A small tackle with a double and single block, usually called by seamen, "Handy Billy." Some masters consider that when cargo is breaking out in the hold, a watch tackle is worth four men pulling or heaving on deck, and that the frequent and judicious application of it often prevents heavy claims on the ship for breakage. 1347. WATER. Masters should, if possible, have the purity of the ship's water guaranteed, or else send a trustworthy person to control the source of the supply. Ships occasionally obtain unwholesome water at Calcutta, where, unless well watched, the owners of the supply boats will pull out the plugs and deliver river water for the use of the men; the Hoogley is well known to be the receptacle of the dead all along its banks, and the crews of ships are often afflicted on the passage home, especially in the colder latitudes, with disease clearly traceable to the consumption of unwholesome water. According to the Passenger Act, 1855, each statute passenger and seaman is entitled to three quarts daily, in addition to at least ten gallons daily for cooking, for every hundred statute adults on board. When casks are used, they must be sweet and tight, of sufficient strength, and of wood properly charred inside, and capable severally of containing not more than 300 gallons each; the staves of the water casks are not to be made of fir, pine, or soft wood. By an order in Council, 6th May, 1857, any "passenger ship" with steam power sufficient to propel her, without the aid of sails, at the rate of five miles per hour, may proceed with only half the quantity of water required by the above Act, provided, 1st-that she has an efficient apparatus for distilling fresh-water from salt-water; 2ndthat the owner, &c., lodges a certificate, declaring the apparatus to be in good condition, and the number of gallons which can be distilled in 24 hours; 3rd-that the Emigration Officer is satisfied. therewith; and 4th-that there is on board a person competent to manage the apparatus. The calculation for the daily issue of water is usually as follows: crew 6 pints in cold weather, 7 pints in hot weather; passengers and servants, one gallon each, to include washing and cooking; horse, 6 gallons; cow, 8 gallons; sheep, 14 pints; pig, 2 quarts; 1 dozen fowls, 11⁄2 pints; geese, 1 gallon; ducks, 1 quart. 1348. An experienced master says: when a large quantity of water has to be carried, the best plan is to have a couple of longers of tanks (400 gallons), or casks, at the fore and after hatchways, and to rise them from the skin and carry them from wing to wing; stowing with them wet provisions (salt beef, pork, &c.), you then may not only trim the ship, but admit the leakage to pass through without damaging cargo, and the water being towards the ends is better for lightening than in amidships. Beer, in wood, for troops, is also stowed with the water, or in the same place, for the above reasons, but generally at the after hatch. Capt. PARISH, E.I. Co., recommends that each cask should be well bunged up when emptied, which will not only prevent dirt from getting in, but, in case of any serious accident-such as collision or striking on a rock-might be the means of keeping the ship afloat for days. Some masters recommend that water for ship's use should never be put below the main deck, as cargo is liable to be injured when taking out water stowed near. 1349. Iron tanks for containing water are usually made to fit the run or any other part of the vessel. A naval officer recommends it as a good plan to stow tanks by fours, with the lids together, so C that in clearing away to get at one tank, you clear away four-see engraving. Fixed tanks, containing enough for the use of the crew, are now generally placed on the keelson, near the pumpwell or chain locker; those required for passengers are mostly 4 feet cube, hold 400 gallons, are moveable, and are frequently sold in the colonies, when not required for the voyage home; but, if required, are often filled with merchandise, oils, &c., and are also used to contain biscuit. Tanks weigh 14 to 2lbs. per gallon, according to their shape, and occupy, pro rata, about half the space of casks. When the interior corrodes, the water, by the mbtion of the ship, becomes discoloured, and is then termed "ship's port wine" by the seamen. In this condition it is not considered injurious, and can be completely filtered. Water which appears quite putrid when first the bung is taken out of a cask, becomes sweetened by exposure to the air, in a few days or even hours. A pound of charcoal thrown into a cask of water, twelve hours before use, will purify it. Gutta percha piping is the cleanest and best material to be used when water is pumped from the tanks to the decks. When tanks are fitted close, the timber underneath rots, especially after it becomes rusty. Leakage is often caused by keeping' the hose on after the tank is filled. A Boston shipowner boxes off those parts which come between the tanks and the ship, and at stated periods inserts salt, which preserves the wood from rotting. If large tanks are placed in the centre of the ship, so as to bear on a limited surface, their weight may open the garboard streaks, especially if the wood has been previously weakened by leakage of fresh-water. All water tanks should be well scraped and washed, and then whitewashed before refilling. When stowing cargo against the water tanks, it is necessary to prevent injurious pressure; see wool. 1350. Mr. BRADY, U.S. Navy, says: previous to getting on board the tanks, a plan of stowing them may be easily arranged by means of rough models in wood, which a carpenter can readily make. In getting the tanks from the store, attention should be directed to the lid sockets, which if not properly lined with fearnought will allow much of their contents to escape in rolling; as also to the obtaining the proper number of keys, and see that they are short enough to work between the decks and the tanks if the vessel is a small one. The screws for letting off the water require careful treatment, for they are apt if once started, never to be so tight again; and after being three or four years in use, the nuts decay, rendering the keys useless. Whitewashing tanks inside is found, by experience, to be highly useful in keeping water pure. 1351. 210 gallons of water are computed to a ton; the London Water Company computes 6 barrels of 36 gallons each (216 gallons) to a ton. 224 gallons weigh 20 cwt., reckoning a gallon to weigh 10 lbs.; a gallon contains 277-274 cubic inches; a cubic foot 6 gallons. Nine cubic inches become ten by freezing; and a cubic inch, confined and frozen, expands with a force equal to nearly 13 tonsa fact which, if not considered in the arrangement and management of these pipes and valves which in ships communicate with the sea, may lead to dangerous accidents. The specific gravity of distilled water is 1.000, of sea-water 1.028, seltzer 1.003. 35 cubic feet of sea-water weigh 20 cwt. At Madras a boat load of water is 4 butts -the price 55 fanams 40 cash=43 rupees nearly. WEIGHT OF WATER AT ITS COMMON TEMPERATURE.-U.S. 49.1 lbs. 4.91 gals. 12 1 Cubic inch ...... 03617 lbs. 434 lbs. 1 Cylindrical foot ... 1 As a gallon of fresh-water weighs 10 lbs., by multiplying the contents of a cask or tank in gallons by 10, the weight in pounds avoirdupois is obtained. A cubic foot of rain-water-1,000 ounces avoirdupois =62 lbs. What is an Inch of Rain ?-The Registrar-General gives the following information in respect to rainfall: "Rain fell in one week |