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CHAPTER XVIII.

ARRANGEMENTS CONCERNING LIGHTS, SAILING RULES, MEASUREMENT OF TONNAGE, IN THE

SALVAGE, AND

CASE OF FOREIGN SHIPS.

THE following new provisions are made by 25 & 26 Vict. c. 63, to apply to the above.

Whenever foreign ships are within British jurisdiction, the regulations for preventing collision contained in Table (C.) in the schedule to this Act,* or such other regulations for preventing collision as are for the time being in force under this Act, and all provisions of this Act relating to such regulations, or otherwise relating to collisions, shall apply to such foreign ships; and in any cases arising in any British court of justice concerning matters happening within British jurisdiction, foreign ships shall, so far as regards such regulations and provisions, be treated as if they were British ships.-25 & 26 Vict. c. 63, s. 57.

Whenever it is made to appear to Her Majesty that the government of any foreign country is willing that the regulations for preventing collisions contained in Table (C.) in the schedule to this Act, or such other regulations for preventing collision as are for the time being in force under this Act, or any of the said regulations, or any provisions of this Act relating to collisions, should apply to the ships of such country when beyond the limits of British jurisdiction, Her Majesty may, by Order in Council, direct that such regulations, and all provisions of this Act which relate to such regulations, and all such other provisions as aforesaid, shall apply to the ships of the said foreign country, whether within British jurisdiction or not. Ibid., s. 58.

Whenever it is made to appear to Her Majesty that the government of any foreign country is willing that salvage shall be awarded by British courts for services rendered in saving life from any ship belonging to such country when such ship is beyond the limits of British jurisdiction, Her Majesty may, by Order in Council, direct that the provisions of the Principal Act and of this Act, with respect to salvage for services rendered in saving life from British ships, shall in all British courts be held to apply to services rendered in saving life from the ships of such foreign country, whether such services are rendered within British jurisdiction or not.-Ibid., 8. 59.

Whenever it is made to appear to Her Majesty that the rules concerning the measurement of tonnage of merchant ships for the time being in force under the Principal Act have been adopted by the

* See Chapter XV.

government of any foreign country, and are in force in that country, it shall be lawful for Her Majesty by Order in Council to direct that the ships of such foreign country shall be deemed to be of the tonnage denoted in their certificates of registry or other national papers; and thereupon it shall no longer be necessary for such ships to be re-measured in any port or place in Her Majesty's dominions, but such ships shall be deemed to be of the tonnage denoted in their certificates of registry or other papers, in the same manner, to the same extent, and for the same purposes in, to, and for which the tonnage denoted in the certificates of registry of British ships is deemed to be the tonnage of such ships.—Ibid., s. 60.

Whenever an Order in Council has been issued under this Act, applying any provision of this Act or any regulation made by or in pursuance of this Act to the ships of any foreign country, such ships shall in all cases arising in any British court be deemed to be subject to such provision or regulation, and shall for the purpose of such provision or regulation be treated as if they were British ships.-Ibid., s. 61.

In issuing any Order in Council under this Act Her Majesty may limit the time during which it is to remain in operation, and may make the same subject to such conditions and qualifications, if any, as may be deemed expedient, and thereupon the operation of the said Order shall be limited and modified accordingly.-Ibid., S. 62.

Her Majesty may by Order in Council from time to time revoke or alter any Order previously made under this Act.-Ibid., s. 63.

Every Order in Council to be made under this Act shall be published in the London Gazette as soon as may be after the making thereof; and the production of a copy of the London Gazette containing such Order shall be received in evidence, and shall be proof that the Order therein published has been duly made and issued ; and it shall not be necessary to plead such Order specially.-Ibid., s. 64.

CHAPTER XIX.

SIGNALS.

“THE Commercial Code of Signals for the use of all Nations," founded on the report of a committee of officers of the Royal Navy, the Mercantile Marine, and members of Lloyds' and other societies, approved by the Local Boards and Shipping Associations, was promulgated under the authority of the Board of Trade in 1857, and is now very generally established in British and American ships.

It has been placed in all British ships of war in commission, Consular stations, Coast-guard and signal stations at home and abroad, and in emigrant and transport ships taken up by Government.

Its object, character, and superiority over other codes is briefly explained as follows:

The contents, so far as regards words and sentences, are necessarily much the same as other signal books; they have been carefully selected, and are concisely expressed; but the arrangement of the subjects, and the mode of communicating, are different from other codes.

A great improvement is effected, by rejecting the numeral system with its perplexing concomitants of repeating and divisional flags; and substituting a system which gives to every intimation, whatever its nature may be, a special separate signal. To effect this, eighteen flags are used, designated by eighteen consonants of the English alphabet. The permutations of these eighteen flags, never placing more than four together, amount to nearly 80,000 in number, and the code therefore admits of that great number of separate signals. The flags employed are not the best that might have been designed; but for convenience, and in order to save expense, they have been selected from those already in use in merchant ships. The code may, however, be adapted to any set of flags, (as it already has been in the American Marine,) by simply inserting plates, showing the different flags or signs, and signifying how they are intended respectively to correspond. This facility is important with a view to international communication, when foreign flags or alphabets differ from

our own.

Next, the alphabetical arrangement of words, on which all former codes were formed, has been abandoned, and the important communications are classed under subjects. This gives an easy mode of translation, (as may be observed by the French translation already published,) which, under alphabetical arrangement, is impracticable; for words of the same meaning have not the same initial letters, in different languages. For instance, the word "ship," indexed under the letter S. in the English

vocabulary, would be "vaisseau " in French, and indexed under the letter V. in that language.

Under the arrangement adopted in this code the substance of each signal may be set forth in any language in the words and after the manner best calculated to express it; but as all signals are denoted by the same or corresponding symbols, they will be always recognised as the same in meaning.

In short, with signal books in different languages, two or more persons, without understanding a word of each other's vernacular, may converse freely, without hesitation, either by signal or in contact, upon all nautical, or indeed on any subject. This code serves in fact the purpose of an universal language.

No one of the signals, from first to last, is made with less than two, or more than four flags in a row. Each signal is complete in itself, in one hoist and in one place, without reference to divisional flags, or other intimations, often producing mistakes and confusion.

The most urgent or important signals are made with two flags only, the next important with three, and the remainder with four flags.

All signals that are likely to be wanted for international purposes, are brought within the limit of the three flag signals.

The character of the signal is distinguished by the form of the hoist, whether composed of two, three or four flags; by observing whether a burgee, a pendant, or a square flag is the uppermost in the row.

One of the most important elements in this code is the power of distinguishing every individual vessel by a signal exclusively appropriated to each; and such signal is always composed of four symbols in a row, the top being always a square flag.

In order that this may be effective, the list of all British and American ships, and many ships of other nations, published in the Mercantile Navy List, is appended to the signal book, with the official number and distinctive signal of each, so that every one may be instantly identified without mistake.

And the four letters represented by the four flags

may be transmitted by electric telegraph, instead of a long message, containing the name and other particulars necessary for reporting an individual ship correctly.

With these facilities, ships passing in contrary directions, at great speed, have time and opportunity, without delay, to interchange their numbers, seeing it is done by one signal on the part of each; and in order to afford means of interchanging the reckoning as well, a book of Tables has been compiled which gives the same facility for intimating the longitude or the latitude, whether east or west, north or south, in degrees and minutes, by interchange of one signal only on each side. This compilation has also tables assimilating the longitude calculated in the several meridians used by different nations, thus fixing the same spot on the chart instantly and without necessity for calculation in a busy time, and thus the interchange of names and of longitude may be effected by passing ships during the short time they are within signal distance.

This book of tables, called the "Companion to the Commercial Code of Signals," has explanatory notes in seven languages, in order to make it available for navigators of all nations.

CHAPTER XX.

THE ROYAL NAVAL RESERVE

WAS established by Act 22 & 23 Vict. c. 40, 13th August, 1859, and came into operation on the 1st January, 1860. It is intended to embrace 30,000 merchant seamen, trained to the use of arms, to form a reserve, available for reinforcing the fleet, to double or treble its peace establishment in seasons of emergency.

Under the present regulations none but able seamen are admitted, and already sixteen thousand have been enrolled under the following conditions.

The measure applies to mariners of every degree who have the necessary qualifications, and already embraces between 400 and 500 masters and mates, besides 2500 petty officers in the merchant service: the Reserve