272
THE HONGKONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 31ST MARCH, 1883.
GOVERNMENT NOTIFICATION.-No. 117.
CONSULS.
His Excellency the Officer Administering the Government has been pleased to recognize, provi- sionally and until further notice, Mr. F. H. SLAGHEK as in charge of the Belgian Consulate at this Port. By Command,
Colonial Secretary's Office, Hongkong, 27th March, 1883.
FREDERICK STEWART,
Acting Colonial Secretary.
GOVERNMENT NOTIFICATION.-No. 118.
DISTILLERY.
The following Return received from Mr. LEUNG SUN-PO, of the quantity of Spirits distilled at the Tiu Ün Sauce Factory, at Yaumáti is published for general information.
Picula
Spirits manufactured during the quarter ended 28th February, 1883, 69.
By Command,
FREDERICK STEWART,
Acting Colonial Secretary.
Colonial Secretary's Office, Hongkong, 29th March, 1883.
GOVERNMENT NOTIFICATION.-No. 119.
Dangerous Goods.
The following Instructions from the Board of Trade to Detaining Officers, are published for general information.
By Command,
Colonial Secretary's Office, Hongkong, 29th March, 1883.
Consecutive Office Number 211.
Departmental, 968. Surveys, 60.
FREDERICK STEWART,
Acting Colonial Secretary.
BOARD OF TRADE,
Marine Department, December, 1882.
INSTRUCTIONS TO DETAINING OFFICERS.
Carriage of Dangerous Acids, &c., near Explosives on Board Ship.
The attention of the Board of Trade has been called to a practice that exists of carrying dangerous acids or inflammable liquids on the decks of ships which also load gunpowder or other explosives, and cases have been cited in which explosives and acids have been stowed in such close proximity that disastrous results have ensued.
Correspondence* on the subject is appended for the information and guidance of Detaining Officers, and special attention is directed to the letter of the Thames Conservancy, printed at pp. 26 and 27, as embodying generally the principle by which the Board of Trade wish their own staff to be guided in
this matter.
Although the Board of Trade, as at present advised, are not prepared to regard every ship loaded with acids and explosives as unsafe, and therefore liable to provisional detention under the Merchant Shipping Act, 1876, they are distinctly of opinion that such loading is at least hazardous and requires great care, they think that in such cases all dangerous acids, as well as all inflammable fluids, such as naphtha, ether, benzoline, &c., should be carried on deck, and be so placed that they can without difficulty be thrown overboard in case of necessity. Care should also be taken that they are not carried on or in dangerous proximity to the hatches under which, or in places near which explosives are stowed; and, generally, that the dangerous substances and fluids are, as far as possible,
secured and isolated.
In the event of a ship attempting to proceed to sea without such necessary and reasonable precautions being taken, a Detaining Officer should not hesitate to order her provisional detention as unsafe by reason of improper loading. When the Officer is in doubt as to the nature of any particular substance or fluid which it is proposed to carry, he should at once refer the matter, with full particulars, to the Board of Trade for special instructions.
* Not published.