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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

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MINUTES.

THE ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-FIFTH MEETING of the Committee was held at the Colonial Office, on Monday, the 13th of November, 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. 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, with one alteration in paragraph 7.

2. 5.0. Carl." Mr. Holt communicated to the Committee a report which he had received from the master of this ship, from which it appeared to be likely that she would eventually get off. The Committee asked Mr. Holt to impress upon the managers the necessity of taking the masts, etc., down and making the ship snug as soon as possible. It was understood from Mr. Evans that otherwise all the necessary arrangements were being made by the Admiralty.

3. 8.8. "Nicolaos."-Mr. Holt reported that he had not received any particulars of the movements of the ship, but that he had received the pilotage bill for her while at Yarmouth Roads. The Committee approved the payment of £12 6s. 9d. for the services rendered by the pilot.

The Secretary communicated to the Committee a copy of the telegram which had been sent by the Foreign Office to His Majesty's High Commissioner for Egypt. relative to the payment of interest on the Greek part owner's portion of the capital value of the ship.

The Committee discussed the question of loading the ship with a cargo for London after her discharge at Leith. Eventually it was decided that the profit likely to be made on the voyage was not sufficient to justify the risk of moving her to London, and it was therefore decided that she should be sold as she lay at Leith. Mr. Holt was to discuss the date of the sale with Messrs. Kellock and Company, who should also be asked to fix the reserve. The Committee thought it was unneces-

sary that the reserve should be as high as the value assigned by the Court to the ship if Messrs. Kellock preferred to fix some other figure, but they thought that, having regard to the possibility of the Crown inducing the Court to reduce this value if the reserve was not reached, it would be well not to fix the reserve too much below the Court's figure.

It was decided that the ship should be sold as a registered Government ship, and Mr. Evans undertook to make the necessary application for the ship's registration.

The Committee then considered a letter from Messrs. H. Clapham and Company relative to their mortgage on the ship. The Committee decided that the position of the ship should be fully explained to this firm, and they should be told that they must apply immediately to the Court at Alexandria if they wished their claim with reference to the proportion not owned by the Crown to be considered before payment was made to the Greek part-owner. As to the proportion of the ship which had been condemned as prize, they should apply to the Prize Claims Committee.

The Secretary reported that during the week the Chairman had approved the payment to Messrs. Basil A. Smith, Limited. of £2,277 68. 9d. for the disbursements on the ship in respect of the voyage from Alexandria.

4. Steamships "Brisbane" and "Numantia."-The Secretary reported the position of the negotiations between the Board of Trade and Mr. J. M. Dick, of Messrs. Grahams and Company, for moving these ships to Bombay with their original cargo. He stated that it was not possible for the matter to be placed in the hands of Messrs. Waltons and Company with a view to an agreement being drafted, pending the receipt of the reply to a telegram sent by Mr. Dick to Bombay in order to obtain a more exact estimate of the cargo on board each of the ships. The India Office also had telegraphed to the Government of India to ask them to obtain the co-operation of the British Consul at Mormagao in this valuation.

MINUTES.

The Committee agreed that it was not practicable to ask the Portuguese Govern- ment to place any limit on the period within which their Prize Court should deal with the cargo on board these ships.

The

5. Railway Material ex the s.s. "Erymanthos."-The Secretary reported that the War Office had now agreed to give a credit to the Prize Fund for the whole value of the three locomotives of which the boilers had been requisitioned at Malta. Committee agreed that the basis on which this should be arranged should be con- sidered after the sale of the remaining locomotives at Newport.

6.

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Coins ex 8.8.

Lotus." The Committee considered a despatch from the Governor of Malta and agreed that, as no market was available for these coins at Salonika, their sale might be deferred until after the end of the War.

7. 8.S. Marquis Becquehem."-The Secretary reported that, according to Lloyd's List of the 10th of November, this ship had been torpedoed off the coast of Portugal and been sunk on the 30th of October.

8. 8.8. Seattle." The Secretary reported that when this ship was seized at the Falkland Islands a consignment of ten packages of electrical machinery was manifested as part of the cargo. The electrical machinery really consisted of wire- less apparatus, and from inquiries which had been made it appeared that the apparatus in question had been erected and was on board when the ship was taken over by the Transport Department from the Admiralty Coasting Trade Office. The Committee decided that the Transport Department should be asked to state what had happened to the apparatus in question after the ship had been taken over by them.

9. Sixth Interim Report and Fee 49.-With reference to head 11 of the minutes of the One Hundred and Twenty-ninth Meeting, the Committee wished it to be placed on record that their opinion, that where ships had been sold the Court should fix Fee 49 on the basis of the price actually realized by the sale, was intended to apply only to cases where the ships had been sold shortly after their being taken over from the Court.

10. Insurance of Cargoes at Alexandria.-The Secretary reported that the Admiralty had agreed that condemned cargoes at Alexandria should be insured between the dates of condemnation and sale, as requested by the Marshal at that port, and that the cover had been extended accordingly.

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11. 8.8.

Diana."-The Committee considered a despatch from the Governor- General of Nigeria relative to certain discrepancies between the inventories taken when the ship was seized and when she was handed over to the Sun Shipping Company. They recommended that Sir F. Lugard should be asked to obtain a report from Mr. Solomon, in whose charge the ship had been placed during the latter part of the ship's custody by the Nigerian Government. Subject to any further information which might be received, the Committee considered that the shortages should be noted for writing off when His Majesty's Government had decided what department was to deal with accounts of this character.

12. 8.8.

C

Edna."-The Committee approved the payment to Trinity House of £13 Os. 1d. for the light dues on this ship at Liverpool in June, 1916.

13. 8.8. Koerber."The Committee approved the payment to Trinity House

of the remaining twenty-five per cent. of the light dues incurred on this ship on her voyage from Alexandria to London in October, 1915.

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14. 8.5. Genesee." The Committee considered a report from the Assistant Paymaster-General on the accounts of this ship. They approved the calculation, on the basis mentioned, of the hire, amounting to £9,800. They also decided that it was unnecessary to revise the previous decision that the coal account at the conclusion of the voyage need not be adjusted with the Admiralty Coasting Trade Office.

Yawry."-

"The Secretary communicated to the Committee the reply from Messrs. Lachlan and Company with regard to the charge of five guineas for a survey included in their account for the sale of this ship. The Committee were of the opinion that the services mentioned by Messrs. Lachlan should be regarded as covered by the commission of one per cent. Subject to the deletion of this item they approved the payment of the account, amounting to £325 5s. 2d.

15. 8.0.