REGULATIONS FOR LOADING COALS AT NEWCASTLE.

Having now given pretty clear instructions regarding accounts, it remains to remark that the principal places of shipment are Newcastle and Sunderland.

It will be seen by an account given hereafter how important a branch of trade this is; the importation into London alone being last year (1831) no loss than 1,604,151 chaldrons, being an increase upon 1821 of 333,881 chaldrons, and upon 1811 of 489,034 chaldrons.

Fuel being one of the first necessaries of life, it has been the anxious wish of parliament, at all times, to secure a regular supply, and this was found not to be better effected than by regulating the loading of vessels at Newcastle; accordingly the following act was passed into a law, being a consolidation of former acts, from that time repealed.

5 Geo. IV. c. 72. (local)

An Act to regulate the loading of Ships with Coals in the Port of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

It first recites, that acts for similar purposes were passed, 50 Geo. III. c. 91., and 57 Geo. III. c. 30., (which latter act was about to expire,) and that it will be beneficial to the public if the said act be continued with further and more effectual provisions; and then, by the first eight sections, constitutes and appoints certain persons to be Commissioners for carrying the same into execution, with power to appoint, under certain regulations, a Treasurer and other officers. It then enacts:—

Agents having separate offices, to keep lists in their offices. "That all fitters and other persons vending sea-coals,—or loading ships and vessels with the same in the port of Newcastle,—and all agents of fitters or vendors of coals having separate offices for transacting the business of fitting or vending of coals, or loading of vessels with coals,→ shall keep two distinct and separate regular and correct lists of all ships and vessels entered at their respective offices for the loading of coals usually vended by such fitters, agents, and vendors; in one of which lists shall be entered all the ships or vessels intended to be loaded by keels, and in the other all ships or vessels intended to load wholly or in part at the spouts;—and shall also keep separate and distinct lists for each and every sort of coals they usually vend,-and each separate and distinct list shall be deemed and taken to be a separate office, and construed as such under the provisions of this act, and for all and each and every of the purposes thereof:-and each and every of such respective lists shall be hung up or placed in some conspicuous part of their respective offices, in order that the same may be inspected by any owner of, or by the agent of any owner of,-or by the master,-mate,or any one of the crew belonging to any ship or vessel, upon application made for that purpose at any time between the hours of nine of the

clock in the morning and six of the clock at night (Sundays excepted); and every fitter or vendor aforesaid, and every agent aforesaid, having a separate office, who shall wilfully or knowingly neglect or omit to keep and make entries in any such lists in the manner required by this act, shall forfeit and pay on every cargo loaded or sold, which shall not have been properly entered in such list or lists as aforesaid, according to the provisions of this act, the sum of one hundred pounds; and every fitter, vendor, and agent aforesaid, who shall refuse, or whose clerk shall refuse inspection of any list or lists kept by or for him under the provisions of this act, within the hours last aforesaid, shall forfeit and pay the sum of one hundred pounds for every such refusal; and every fitter, vendor, and agent aforesaid who shall neglect, or whose clerk shall neglect to keep his office open between the hours of nine of the clock in the morning and six of the clock in the evening, (Sundays excepted,) shall forfeit and pay the sum of twenty pounds for every such neglect, unless he shall prove that such neglect has not been wilful, but has arisen from some accident or unavoidable cause; and in every action brought for the recovery of any such penalty of twenty pounds for any such neglect, it shall be incumbent upon the plaintiff only to prove the fact of the office not having been kept open, and upon the defendant to prove that the neglect was not wilful or fraudulent. § 9.

Persons having actually performed the voyage to enter ships for turns. -And upon the application of any owner or agent of any owner, or of any master or mate, or any one of the crew of any ship or vessel who shall have actually performed in such ship or vessel the voyage or passage from which such ship or vessel shall be returning, and which owner or agent of any owner, or any master, mate, or any one of the crew shall not have quitted such ship or vessel until the same had passed or was within two miles of the Bar of Tynemouth, at the office of any such fitter, vendor of coals, or agent as aforesaid, the time of such application, and also the name of the person applying, shall be accurately set forth by the fitter, vendor, or agent at whose office such application shall be made, or his clerk, in a list to be kept for that purpose; and if the master, mate, or any owner or agent or agents of any owner, or any person on behalf of any owner, (whether such master, mate, owner or owners, or his, her, or their agent or agents, shall have performed the voyage or passage in manner aforesaid in such ship or not,) shall, within one hour after such application as aforesaid, finally determine from which office such ship shall be loaded, and shall also (if required by the fitter, vendor, or agent) within two hours after the same shall be requested (if the banks in Newcastle shall so long be opened, and if not, within two hours after the same shall be opened on the following day) make a tender in cash, or in notes to be approved of by the fitter, vendor, or agent, payable forty days after the date thereof, of ten pounds per centum upon the amount of the value of the coals at the respective prices at which the several sorts of such coals are then sold, together with the usual charges for carrying the same from the staiths to the ships, and shall also, (if required by the fitter, vendor, or agent,) at any time before eight of the clock in the evening of the same day, pay in like bills or notes as aforesaid, or secure to his satisfaction the payment of the remainder of the value of the cargo, such ship or vessel shall be entitled to the same turn as it would have had if the deposit had been paid or tendered on the first application to the said fitter, vendor, or agent, and shall be

entered in such list immediately next after the last ship which shall have been entered previous to the first application so made as aforesaid, and required to be entered as aforesaid, of such owner, agent, master, mate, or other of the crew as aforesaid, and shall be loaded in its due turn by such fitter, vendor, or agent, at the port of Newcastle; [Fitters, &c. refusing or omitting to enter, subject to a penalty;] and every fitter, vendor, or agent aforesaid, who shall refuse or neglect to enter any such application when so required as aforesaid, or who shall refuse or neglect to load the ship or vessel, in respect of which such application shall be made, in due turn, according to the period of such application, and the provisions and regulations of this act, shall forfeit and pay for every such offence the sum of one hundred pounds: provided always, that no ship or other vessel shall be entered by any fitter, vendor, or agent as aforesaid, upon any list for a turn of coals as aforesaid, after the hour of six of the clock in the evening, and before ten of the clock in the forenoon of each day, (Sundays excepted,) under the penalty of one hundred pounds for each ship or vessel so entered between the hours last hereinbefore mentioned. § 10.

Master may sign a certificate when night-office is shut.—And it shall be lawful for the master or other person having the charge or command of every ship or vessel actually arriving within the limits specified in this act as aforesaid, whilst the night-office shall be shut, to sign a certificate, in the form specified in the schedule annexed to this act, in presence of the person having charge of the said ship as chief mate, or being second in command thereof; and which certificate shall bear date the day on which it is actually signed by the master or other person having the command of such vessel; and upon the production of such certificate at the office of the fitter from whence the ship is intended to load, the ship or vessel shall be entered in like manner as if such master or other person had actually performed the voyage in the ship or vessel, and had not quitted her until she was in the limits prescribed by this act, and had personally appeared at the office of the fitter; and every such certificate shall be filed by the fitter, vendor, or agent at whose office the same is delivered: provided always, that every person who shall sign or witness a false certificate, or who shall not insert the actual date thereof at the time of signing the same, or who shall produce any such certificate at the office of any fitter, vendor, or agent, knowing the same to be false, shall forfeit for every such offence the sum of thirty pounds. § 11.

A night-office to be appointed. And an office shall be established, in the manner hereinafter mentioned, in some convenient part within the parish of Tynemouth in the said county of Northumberland, which office shall be kept open from the hours of six in the night till eight in the morning of each day, except during Sunday, and a proper person or persons shall attend therein at the hours aforesaid to register the names of every owner, or agent, or master, or mate, or any other of the crew of a ship arriving from any voyage or passage as aforesaid, and having actually performed in such ship or vessel the voyage or passage from which such ship or vessel shall be returning, and having quitted the ship or vessel within such limits as aforesaid, and applying at such office, and also the name of his ship, and the exact time of such his application; and the person or persons to be appointed to attend at such office shall deliver to the owner or agent, or master or mate, or any other of the crew so applying, a ticket specifying the

name of the ship and of the master thereof, with the date of the arrival of such person applying, which ticket shall be marked and delivered out with a progressive number, commencing from the hour of six at night, when such office shall open, until the hour of eight in the morning, when the same office shall shut, except on Saturday, when the same tickets shall be progressively numbered from the hour of six of that evening, until the hour of twelve of the same night, when such office shall shut, and shall be again progressively continued from the hour of twelve of the Sunday night, when the same office shall again be opened, until the hour of eight of the morning of Monday; and the owner or agent, or master or mate of the ship so registered at such night-office shall, upon applying at the office. of any fitter, vendor, or agent from whence the ship is intended to load, within one hour after the office shall be open, and on delivering at such office the said ticket from the night-office, have a preference in the turn, under such restrictions as aforesaid, according to the priority of his or their application at the night-office; and all such tickets of the night-office shall be filed in the office of the fitter, vendor, or agent at which the same shall be presented and delivered, and all persons applying at such office shall have access thereto to examine the same: and the sum of one penny for every keel of coals put on board every ship or vessel loading coals upon the river Tyne shall be paid by the owner or master to the fitter, vendor, or agent with whom he shall load on clearing his ship, which sum shall be paid over by the fitter, vendor, or agent, into the hands of the person to be appointed treasurer by the said commissioners, or any five or more of them, in the manner hereinbefore directed, once in every month at least, on demand made thereof at the office of such fitter, vendor, or agent, between the hours of ten and two of the clock on any day, (Sundays excepted,) and shall be applied in the manner hereafter mentioned. § 12.

Justices may alter keel money.-Provided always, that it shall be lawful for the justices of the peace and magistrates assembled at any general quarter sessions of the peace to be held in and for the town and county of the town of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, upon application being made to them for this purpose by the said commissioners, or any five or more of them, to make an order that any sum not exceeding two pence shall be paid for every keel of coals, in lieu and instead of the sum of one penny per keel to be paid and applied in like manner as the said sum of one penny; and from and after the making of any such order, the sum so ordered shall be demandable and paid as if the same had been inserted in this act instead of the said sum of one penny: and every fitter, vendor, or agent, shall deliver to the treasurer of the night-office, on being required so to do by the said treasurer, a monthly list of the monies collected by him on account of the payments of one penny or two pence per keel, under this act; and the monies so to be paid shall be recoverable by sum. mons and distress, on the information of the treasurer, before any two justices of the peace where the office of the fitter, vendor, or agent, shall be situate, or where the fitter, vendor, or agent shall reside. § 13.

Clerk of the night-office to make out a list.—And the clerk of the night-office shall every morning make out and send a correct list, signed by him, of all ships entered at the night-office, in the order in which they arrived, to the exchange at Newcastle, by nine of the clock

in the morning, to be there filed for the inspection of ali persons desirous of examining the same. $ 15.

Mode of appointing night-office.-And the place at which such office shall be established, shall be chosen and fixed, and the person or persons to attend therein appointed, and from time to time removed, and others appointed, and rules and regulations for the application of such sums so to be paid to him or them, as aforesaid, shall be made, and from time to time altered and amended by the said commissioners, or any five or more of them: and such commissioners, or any five or more of them, shall be a sufficient number for transacting all such business as aforesaid, and making such rules and regulations as aforesaid, relative to such night-office: provided always, that such rules and regulations shall not be inconsistent with or contrary to the provisions of this act, or the laws of that part of the United Kingdom called England; and a copy of such rules and regulations shall be affixed in some conspicuous part within the night-office to be appointed as aforesaid. § 16.

Ships entered on spout list, taking in two-thirds at the spout, to be loaded in preference.-And when any ship or vessel, entered upon any spout list, shall be at the turn for loading, and shall take on board two full third parts of its cargo, at the spout, such ship or vessel shall be allowed to complete its loading by keels, in preference to all other ships or vessels that may have been entered on the keel list of the same office; but if more than one-third part shall be required to complete the loading, then such ship or vessel shall wait the turn with the ships or vessels entered upon the keel list, such turn to be ascertained by the time of the first application made on behalf of such ship or vessel at the office of the fitter, vendor, or agent as aforesaid. § 17.

Owners or masters compelled to load at the office where entered.— And every owner or master who shall have entered any ship or vessel in any such list as aforesaid, or be entitled to a loading of coals from ,any fitter, vendor, or agent aforesaid, shall load such ship or vessel with the fitter, vendor, or agent, in whose office such ship or vessel shall have been entered, or such loading applied for as aforesaid: and every such owner as aforesaid, who shall make default therein, and not load according to his entry, or shall load with any other fitter, vendor, or agent, (except in such cases as are in this act specified,) shall forfeit and pay to such fitter, vendor, or agent, the sum of one hundred pounds: provided always, that any deposit which has been paid, shall go in part payment of such penalty as aforesaid. § 18.

Power to alter coals for exportation only.-Provided also, that if any owner, or the agent of such owner or master, shall be desirous of altering the sort of coals, (such coals being loaded for exportation only,) it shall be lawful for such owner, agent, or master, notwithstanding, so to do; and if any owner, or agent of any owner or master, shall, after the executing of any charter-party of affreightment for any foreign voyage of any ship or vessel entered in the office of any fitter, vendor, or agent, as aforesaid, if the same charter-party shall be executed before two of the clock of the afternoon, give notice thereof, and of the date thereof, and (if required by the fitter, vendor, or agent) produce the same during that day to the fitter, vendor, or agent, in whose office such ship or vessel shall have been entered; and if the same charter-party shall be executed after two of the clock of the afternoon, give notice, in like manner, before the