PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
THC.O. 885
24 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
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MINUTES.
The Secretary read a report which had been received from Captain Milman as to the loss of the anchors and chain of this ship. The Committee agreed that no further action could usefully be taken in the matter.
25. s.s. "Andros."-The Secretary reported that the Foreign Office had tele- graphed to Alexandria stating that this ship should be handed over to the Com- The Secretary mander-in Chief, Eastern Mediterranean, for transport purposes.
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was instructed to write to the Admiralty for confirmation of the decision that the ship was required for transport services, and to state that steps would be taken for the ship to be valued on the information given in Lloyd's Register at an early date, unless there was any prospect that she would arrive shortly in the United Kingdom. 26. 8.8. Gracia."-The Committee, having regard to the information which had now been received from Messrs. Tyzack and Branfoot, decided that the date on which this ship should be regarded as having been transferred to the Transport Department should be the 31st of July. The Secretary was authorized to inform the Transport Department that the Committee would pay the cost of repairing the damage to the wooden bulwark rail of the ship, which had occurred before she had been discharged at Calais.
27. Railway material at Malta and Alexandria.-The Secretary read a letter from the War Office on this subject, and was instructed to reply that this material was not insured, and that, as from the date on which it had been offered to the War Office. the risk of loss and the cost of any charges which accrued must be borne 1 military funds.
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THE SEVENTY-NINTH MEETING of the Committee was held at the Colonial Office on Monday, 20th September, 1915, at 3.15 p.m.
The following members were present:-
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VICE-ADMIRAL SIR E. J. W. SLADE, K.C.I.E., K.C.V.O. (Chairman).
MR. W. J. EVANS, Admiralty.
MR. G. L. BARSTOW, C.B., Treasury.
MR. H. W. MALKIN, Foreign Office.
MR. C. TENNYSON, C.M.G., Colonial Office.
MR. T. H. HOLT, Crown Agents.
MR. R. A. WISEMAN (Secretary).
1. The minutes of the previous meeting were confirmed.
2. S.S.
Lorenzo." Mr. Holt reported that this ship had carried an Admiralty passenger on her voyage to the Persian Gulf, and that Messrs. Farrar, Groves and Company had recommended that if any payment for the passage were made the amount should be £30. The Committee decided that as the ship was given to the Company on time charter the Committee could take no action in the matter.
3. Shipment of wheat from Canada. The Secretary read a letter from the Colonial Office to the Admiralty, which had been drafted after consultation with the Chairman, suggesting that certain ships which were still under the control of the Committee or which had been offered to, but not yet accepted by, the Admiralty, should be used for carrying this produce. It was agreed that no action need be taken until the Admiralty had arrived at a decision upon the Colonial Office letter.
4. Steamships “ Helgoland,”
"Kawak,"
Barenfels," s.o. "Terpsichore."- It was agreed that no action could be taken with regard to these ships pending the consideration of the Colonial Office letter referred to under 3.
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The Committee considered an account which had been received from the Admir- alty for the supply of lifeboats to the 8.s. "Kawak." The managers had reported that they considered a charge of £60 per boat, plus £5 for labour in placing them on board, to be a reasonable charge, but they recommended that no further charges should be paid. Mr. Evans undertook to make inquiries of the Admiralty as to the basis upon which the account had been prepared.
MINUTES.
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5. 8.5. "Kandy."-The Committee again considered certain accounts sent in by Captain Segrave for the expenses of the voyage from the United Kingdom to Karachi, with which it was proposed to debit the Admiralty. It was understood that Mr. Holt would ask Captain Segrave to see him on the following day, and the Committee were inclined to think that any freight which had been collected on this voyage should be paid into the Committee's funds, and the final account for the whole voyage to Karachi and back rendered before any claim was made upon the Admiralty, in order that the Assistant Paymaster-General might first have an opportunity of examining and reporting upon all the accounts.
8. 8.8. "A chaia.”—The Committee decided that an account which had been received from Messrs. Glover Brothers for their expenses in connexion with this ship should be sent to the War Office in the same way as other accounts for ships requisi- tioned by the military authorities at Alexandria.
7.
8.3.
"Gibraltar." The Committee considered a letter which had been received by their managers from Messrs. Rosing Brothers, of New York, relative to a refusal to deliver some bales of cinnamon which formed part of the original cargo on this ship. It was agreed that the Committee were not responsible, and that Messrs. Rosing Brothers should be referred to the agents who had acted for the representatives of the cargo owners.
8. 3.8. "Koerber."-Mr. Holt reported that this ship had left Alexandria on the 14th September, and that she was consuming eighty-three tons of coal a day at ten knots.
It was
It was thought that the further report which had been received from the Pro- curator at Alexandria relative to the heating of the antimony should be sent to Messrs. Glanvill, Enthoven and Company for their information. It was agreed that none of the cargo on the ship fell within Messrs. Glanvill and Enthoven's cover. 9. 8.8. "Tandem."-The Secretary reported that freight for this ship amount- ing to 648,525 francs had been paid to the Consul-General at Marseilles. understood that this money would be remitted home to the Committee in due course. The Secretary reported that Messrs. C. W. Kellock and Company had valued the ship at £130,000, exclusive of consumable stores. The value of the latter amounted to £65, together with 138 tons of coal, which their consulting engineers suggested were worth 41s. a ton. The Committee recommended that Messrs. Kel- lock and Company should be asked to obtain from their consulting engineers further particulars as to how their charges for £28 7s. for making the valuation were made up.
10. Remuneration of Sailing Ship Managers.-Mr. Holt reported that he had been raising with these managers the question of their remuneration in the future. He had asked them to propose a fixed sum per annum which should cover all the services rendered by them for the management of the ship of which they were in charge. Mr. T. A. Shute had suggested the payment of £450 a year, Messrs. J. Hardie and Company and John Stewart and Company £400 a year, and Messrs. John Joyce and Company £900 a year. Mr. Holt added that he had found it diffi- cult to arrive at a fair estimate of the remuneration which should be paid, but he had been advised that £400 a year would be a fair rate. The Committee agreed that this should be the figure for the first three managers mentioned. As regards Messrs. Joyce and Company it was explained that the s.v. "Neath," having an auxiliary screw, would make more voyages than the other sailing ships, and it was reasonable that these managers should be paid at a somewhat higher rate. Mr. Holt was instructed to inform Messrs. Joyce that the Committee could not in any case agree to £900 a year, and that a lower figure must be proposed. Mr. Holt pointed out that any revised arrangement for the "Neath" would have to come into force after the second voyage of the ship.
11. s.o. "Yawry."-The Secretary reported that a telegram had been received from Dakar stating that the crew had been incapacitated by malaria and that only six men were working, and that a reply had been sent, with the Chairman's sanction, proposing to send out an entirely fresh crew, and asking whether the present crew would accept discharge and whether they could be repatriated. The Committee agreed that the expenses of repatriation must fall on their funds. The Secretary also read the reply which had been received from the Consul to this telegram.