Letter addressed to the Board of Trade in pursuance of the preceding Resolution.

To the right honourable the lords of the committee of his majesty's privy council for the affairs of trade and plantation.

MY LORDS,

I AM instructed by the committee of ship-owners for the port of London to communicate to your lordships a very serious and growing evil, which has, within these few years past, prevailed in his majesty's West-India colonies, and x which, from recent information received from thence, induces the committee not to hesitate any longer in requesting your lordships' early attention to the subject.

The committee regret to state to your lordships, that fraudulent transfers of British ships have become very frequent in the West-India islands, by the collusion of the masters of them, with persons residing there, without the privity or knowledge of the owners in the mother country. The manner in which such transfers are made is as follows:

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The master states that the ship is not seaworthy, or has sustained so much damage on her passage out, as not to render her fit to return to England with West-India duce: he accordingly presents a petition to the judge of the vice admiralty court of the island where his vessel may be lying, stating the above, or similar circumstances, and praying the judge to order a survey, which is, of course, directed to be made the master then, with other persons who are connected with him, either return that the ship is unworthy of any repair whatsoever, or that such repairs cannot be made in the island where the ship is, or that the repairs to be made will amount to more than the value of the ship, or what afterwards would arise from a sale of her.

Upon this certificate of survey being returned to the judge of the vice admiralty court, he condemns the ship, and directs her to be sold for the benefit of the owners, underwriters, and others concerned, and that the masters, officers, and crew, shall have no further claim on the owners from the day of the sale. The ship is then put up to sale, and sold for a very inconsiderable sum of money—very often far below one fourth part of her real value.

The master then sends to England to his owners a protest, with an office copy of the proceedings in the vice admiralty

court, directing the sale, &c. in order that his owners, if insured, may recover the loss they sustain by the sale of the ship from the underwriters; but, in some instances, the ships have arrived in England with cargoes from the colonies. under the direction of the new masters appointed by the purchasers, even before those documents have been received by the original owners.

The purchaser of the ship, immediately after the sale, applies to the officers of his majesty's customs, in the island where the ship is condemned, for a new register for the ship, which is granted by them, although there is no transfer or assignment of the interest of the original owners, by bill of sale, or otherwise; the condemnation of the judge of the vice admiralty court, as before stated, being deemed by them sufficient, notwithstanding the provision of the Register Acts. (See 34 Geo. 3. c. 68, sect. 20, &c.)

I beg leave, for the information of your lordships, to annex a copy of the plantation register lately granted at

*

for the ship

of

She

in June following, de

under circumstances similar to those before stated. That ship, perfectly seaworthy, sailed from London in March, 1805, chartered by Messrs. arrived in the island of livered her outward cargo in good order and condition; but the ship, having sprung a leak, made some water in her sage, which obliged the captain to have, occasionally, one pump going. On his arrival at he petitioned

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for a survey, the ship then being in bay, which was ordered by the judge of the vice admiralty court of the island. Accordingly, two or three persons connected with the master went from port to the ship, and made a very partial survey of her, a considerable part of the outward cargo being then on board.

They then certified to the judge, "that the ship was not "fit to take in a cargo for England, and that she was, in fact,

not seaworthy; and that to repair her in the islands would

"cost 17,570 dollars; and after that, the ship would not be "worth more than 25007. in England in time of war; and "in time of peace, should it take place, she would not be "worth more than 16001. sterling. They then state, that "the ship might proceed with safety to or any "other port in those seas; but doubted much, whether the

* It is not considered necessary to set forth this certificate of registry, which was annexed to the original letter.

"insurance would be good after the ship had left that "island."

The judge, upon this certificate, condemned the ship, which was valued by the owners in England at 26007. She was then put up to sale at > though then lying in bay at some distance, and sold only for 8981. currency, at 200 per cent. The master then sent his owners an account of it, after deducting therefrom the expences of survey, sale, agents, commission, &c. leaving only a balance due to them of 417. 4s. 8d. currency, or about 201. sterling. The new purchaser soon after brought the ship from obtained the register annexed, and then went in her to (another island), and during a beating passage of six days the ship made no water. At

bay to port

the purchaser had a survey upon the ship, having previously had her caulked; and the surveyors certified, that her planks were sound, &c. that she was seaworthy, and fit to take in a cargo of West-India produce. It appears that the purchaser expended only about 3007. sterling in the caulking, and in the necessary outfit of the ship at

for the voyage to England, where she has since arrived, after a very boisterous passage, in the West-India docks at Blackwall with a full cargo; and the original owners, under the opinion of intend to proceed at law to recover possession

of her and freight.

In all the cases of this description which have come to the knowledge of the committee, they appear to have originated with a view to defraud the original owners and underwriters; and as the vice admiralty courts of the West-India islands have no civil jurisdiction in these matters, the condemnations and sales have been held to be illegal and void.-See Hayman v. Moulton and others, Espinasse's N. P. Reports, vol. 5, page 65 *.

Under these circumstances, and as information has been recently received of several British ships having been condemned in like manner in Antigua and other places, the committee are induced to solicit your lordships' attention to this subject, in order that such fraudulent practices may be prevented in future. The committee do not venture to point

* See also the case of Andrews v. Murray, tried before lord Ellenborough at Guildhall Sittings after Trinity Term, 1806, wherein it was decided that these kind of sales were illegal.

out to your lordships what may be proper to be done in that respect, relying confidently on your lordships' wisdom speedily to adopt such regulations as will secure British shipowners and underwriters from such attempts to defraud and injure them in future.

I am also directed by the committee to communicate to your lordships the information they are in possession of, respecting many of the cases before referred to, and to wait upon your lordships whenever you will please to condescend to appoint a time for that purpose.

I am, my Lord,

With great respect,

Your Lordships'

Most obedient faithful servant,

(Signed)

NAT. ATCHESON, Sec.

Extract from the Report of the Commissioners of the Customs, of 21st May, 1806, on the above Application to the Board of Trade, transmitted to Mr. Atcheson, by the Direction of Lord Auckland.

"THAT with respect to the frauds stated to be committed in the plantations, in the transfer of the property of British ships, to the prejudice of the owners residing in England, by the collusion of the masters, who, under pretence of such ships not being seaworthy, obtain the condemnation thereof in the vice admiralty courts in the West Indies, the same do not come within the cognizance of this board.

"That considering, however, the granting of new certificates of registry for such ships (as appears to have been done by our officers at , in the case of the ship,

, mentioned in the petition), a question of much general importance; we have taken the opinions of the practical officers here, and of the three solicitors to the board, thereon.

"That it appears from the opinions thus taken, that the officers of this revenue in the West Indies are not required to have regard to the validity of the decrees of the vice admiralty courts, but that on such decrees being produced, they can

not safely refuse to grant new certificates of registry to the purchasers of vessels sold in virtue thereof*, on all the requisites of law being complied with; for if such decree should be void, the new registers, it is stated, would convey no title, but the property of the ships remain in the general owners.'

At a meeting of the committee of ship-owners for the port of London, held this 15th day of April, 1806, at the London Tavern, to take into consideration such measures as may be legally adopted to prevent any further suspension of the Navigation Laws of Great Britain; and, in particular, the bill intended to be brought into parliament, to authorise the governors of the British West-India islands to suspend the same in favour of American bottoms whenever they think proper, during war, and on other special affairs:

ROBERT CURLING, Esq. in the Chair:

Resolved unanimously, THAT it is the opinion of this committee, that it will be highly injurious to the shipping interest of Great Britain and Ireland to authorise, by act of parliament, the governors of the British West-India islands to suspend, at their discretion, the navigation laws of the country, and to admit American vessels to trade with the colonies contrary to the provisions of those statutes.

Resolved unanimously, That it is the opinion of this committee, that no necessity exists for investing the governors of "the British West-India islands in future with authority to suspend, at their discretion, the navigation laws of Great Britain, in favour of American or other neutral vessels; and that to introduce such a principle into an act of indemnity is novel and dangerous, as it will inevitably tend to establish a system highly injurious to the maritime interest of the country, and lessen that responsibility, which otherwise

*N. B. It is proper to observe, that none of the formalities of the law, as required by the Register Acts, are complied with. The plantation register is granted on the production of the decree of the vice courts of admiralty, although, on the face of such decree, it appears that the cause of condemnation is not within the jurisdiction of those courts, which are prize courts only, and have no civil jurisdiction whatever.

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