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MINUTES.

of diverting the s.s. Bonny in order to take a crew to Gibraltar for the first Emir." In all the circumstances the Committee agreed to accept voyage of the

as rendered by Messrs. the account for £250 and for the wages of the crew Elder Dempster.

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4. 5.9. Nicolaos."-The Secretary stated that a telegram had now been received from the High Commissioner at Cairo reporting that the Prize Court had ordered the sale of this ship to the Greek part owner, provided that he agreed to pay for the Crown's share on the basis of a price of £30,000 for the whole ship. In these circumstances Mr. Holt was asked to cancel the arrangements which he It was understood that he had had provisionally made for providing a crew. incurred certain small expenses which it would be necessary for the Committee to meet at a later date.

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5. 5.3. Diana."-The Secretary reported that a despatch had now been received from the Governor-General of Nigeria stating that the Nigerian Govern- ment agreed that the hire of the ship should run from the 12th of June, provided that it was understood that the Nigerian Government's cost of hire would terminate on the date on which the "Diana" completed her voyage at Lagos or Forcados at the expiration of the period of service. The Committee agreed to this suggestion on the understanding that if the ship should arrive at Lagos or Forcados to dis- charge a cargo the date on which the charter party should end should be the date of the discharge of the cargo.

The Committee noted that the Nigerian Government undertook to pay the docking expenses which had been incurred at the beginning of the period of service on the understanding that the Committee agreed to pay these charges when the ship was returned.

8.5.

6. "Marina."-The Secretary reported that this ship had now been appraised for the Admiralty Marshal at £8,850 as she lay at Forcados on the 18th April, 1916.

Mr. Holt reported that Messrs. Mitchell, Cotts, and Company were proposing to send in a claim against the Committee in respect of the expenses incurred by them in 1915 with a view to the conclusion of a charter.

7. Copper and Lead brought from Gibraltar in the Steamships "Kalymnos,” 'George R.," and "Adolphus."-The Secretary reported that a letter had now been received semi-officially from the Accountant-General of the Navy, from which it appeared that the Admiralty proposed to ask the Committee to meet certain charges which had been incurred at Gibraltar and for which the Admiralty had undertaken the responsibility in their agreement with the American owners of the metals. The charges in question would include the insurance premium payable on the metals while lying at Gibraltar, though no payment in respect of the premium had yet been made by the Admiralty. The contention of the Admiralty was that the Committee had received the whole sum of 30s. which the American owners had agreed to pay, and that this payment constituted the only fund from which the expenses could be met.

The Secretary reported that he had received a statement of the account from the Assistant Paymaster-General, from which it appeared that the Committee had already incurred a loss on two of these ships. The Committee considered that, as they had agreed to provide the ships for bringing the cargo home, they were entitled to a reasonable freight for doing this, and that they were not responsible for the charges (including insurance premium) referred to by the Admiralty.

8. 5.3. "Erymanthos": Railway Material. The Secretary reported that he had discussed with a member of the Munitions Department the question whether any portion of this material would be taken over by that Department. Messrs. Churchill and Sim had been asked to take the necessary steps to secure the opening up of the cases and the erection of one of the locomotives, but their sub-brokers had reported that it was unlikely that they would be able to obtain the necessary assistance from the Newport dock authorities unless a letter were written to the latter by some Government Department. Mr. Evans undertook that the Admiralty would communicate with the dock authorities on the subject accordingly.'

9. s.s. "Ranee."-The Secretary raised the question of the renewal of the charter party for this ship, and Mr. Holt was authorized to enter into negotia- tions with the Straits Steamship Company and to conclude an agreement for a

further six months, should he consider that the terms offered by the Company were satisfactory.

10. 8.v. "Panayia."-This ship being of less than 1,000 tons, the Committee saw no objection to the Governor of Malta being authorized to conclude the arrangements for its sale.

11. Draft Report on Fees and the Remuneration of Prize Court Officers, etc. -The Committee discussed the terms of this report and decided to consider a revise at the next meeting.

2642

THE ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FOURTH MEETING of the Committee was held at the Colonial Office on Wednesday, the 16th of August, 1916, at 3.15 p.m.

The following members were present :-

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. L. D. WAKELY, India Office.

MR. C. TENNYSON, C.M.G., Colonial Office.

MR. R. A. WISEMAN (Secretary).

Sixth Interim Report.-The Committee discussed the revised draft of this report* on the subject of the destination of fees taken in the Prize Courts and remuneration of Prize Court officers, etc.

The report was finally approved for submission to the Treasury.

2653

THE ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIFTH Meeting of the Committee was held

at the Colonial Office on Monday, the 21st August, at 3.15 p.m.

The following members were present:--

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 two previous meetings were confirmed.

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2. Insurance of Cargoes: 8.5. Taiyabi."-The Secretary explained that certain cotton had been placed in the Prize Court of Malta under an ordinary writ for condemnation, although at the time when the writ was issued cotton was not contraband, and the cargo could therefore only be dealt with under the Order in Council of 11th March, 1915. Instructions had been sent to the Governor for the writ to be amended, but before action could be taken in the matter a certain amount of the cotton had been released by consent to the claimants. Nevertheless, the Marshal had only been able to collect premium as from the 1st October, 1915, as A difficulty though the goods had been dealt with under the Order in Council. was caused by the fact that in the case of other consignments of cotton from the same ship premium had been collected as from the date of the issue of the writ. The Committee thought that, in the circumstances, the forms should be forwarded to Messrs. Glanvill, Enthoven, and Company as drawn up by the Marshal, and the underwriters left to raise any question with regard to the rate at which premium had been collected.

* Appendix A, page 93.

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