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with which I was
without laying himself open to a fine under Ordinance No. 3 of 1844, whilst acting for the registering officer during his illness.
544. The tonnage tax on shipping is One Dollar 12 1/2%, on export, as established by Ordinance No. 6 of 1862. Previous to the levying of this tax by Government, private individuals, and self-constituted Shipping Agents, managed the shipping of seamen, at the expense both of the seamen and shipowners.
55. The present system adopted, I believe, at the request and suggestion of the mercantile community interested in shipping, and the
fee charged is not considered much, except that it is paid by the seaman instead of by the ship. The measure, I understand, was necessary to prevent and detect desertion.
It is the only charge on shipping in the harbour, if such it can be called, since the sailor pays it out of the wages payable to him; ships come and go without paying a farthing, except for what they may find above in the shape of provisions, stores, etc., and this to private persons, not to Government.
56. The Port is, in the fullest sense of the word, a free port, although I believe this has been denied to be the case before the Select Committee of the House of Commons which was sitting in 1847.
57. The next and last fees are three levied on Colonial Shipping under Ordinance No. 4 of 1855, viz., $2.5 on the Survey or certificate of the Merchant Master, in which the Colonial Register is obtained on a further payment of $2.5.
58. These fees are the highest that are
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