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APPENDIX A.-REPORTS.

there were special difficulties in the case of the first two of the vessels in view of the fact that those vessels were ordered to be detained and were not condemned as prize, but the difficulties were eventually surmounted and the vessels were moved to certain ports agreed upon with parties representing the cargo-owners. As indicated in the Third Interim Report, the absence of any provision in the prize law and procedure enabling proceedings in suitable cases to be transferred to Prize Courts more conveniently situated than the ports of detention proved a considerable obstacle, but the passing in July, 1915, of the Prize Courts Act, 1915, removed this difficulty so far as subsequent cases were concerned. The text of the agreement (a) with the representatives of the cargo-owners and (b) with the con- tractor, in the case of the s.s. "Schneefels," and also of agreements with the contractor for the forwarding of the other three vessels, are given in the collection of papers As the total freight earned by the comple identified as Miscellaneous No. 312. tion of the voyage exceeded the expenses of removal, a gain of some £2,200 resulted 'Schneefels," apart from the advantage arising from the forwarding of the s.s. from the fact that the steamer was redelivered to the Committee at a convenient loading port. The accounts in respect of the steamships "Hamm," “ Apolda,” and are not yet completed, but it is probable that there will be a small "Birkenfels

Apolda." adverse balance in the case of the s.s.

"C

16. Arrangements were also made with representatives of parties interested Gutenfels," "Lauterfels," in the cargoes of the steamships "Barenfels," "Werdenfels," and "Istria" for the removal of those vessels, with their original cargoes, from Alexandria to other ports, and the agreements in these cases are also The accounts in respect of the forwarding set out in the last-mentioned volume.

of these vessels have been communicated to the Procurator of the Prize Court at Alexandria for submission to the Prize Court. In the case of the s.s. "Istria” the accounts have been accepted by the Court, but the Committee are not aware whether the Court has yet dealt with the accounts for the other four vessels.

17. The Committee were invited by the Board of Trade to assist in the con- clusion of an agreement with the representatives of parties interested in the cargo of the Portuguese prize ships "Brisbane" (renamed " Damao ") and "Numantia" (renamed "Pangim") for the navigation of those vessels, with their original cargoes, from Mormagao to Bombay. The text of the agreement drawn up in these cases is set out in the collection of papers identified as Miscellaneous No. 332.

18. The Committee were also consulted by the Board of Trade in the case of "Adelaide (another Portuguese prize, renamed the the removal of the s.8. "Cunene") from Loanda to Australia, via the Cape, for the purpose of the delivery of the original cargo, but the Committee were not asked to negotiate with the cargo- owners in this case.

19. In some instances where proceedings have been instituted in Oversea Prize Courts and subsequently remitted to this country it has been found con- venient to requisition the ships for the purpose of the removal of the cargoes to other ports with a view to sale. Apart from better prices being obtained for the cargoes, this procedure has enabled the vessels to be brought into general service at an earlier date than would have been the case if the Committee had not intervened.

Employment of ships in trade.

20. Whilst the negotiations were proceeding in regard to the forwarding of the vessels mentioned in paragraph 14, the Committee instituted inquiries as to the availability of the other ships dealt with in the Oversea Prize Courts, and all vessels capable of useful employment which had not been taken over by other authorities nor earmarked for early sale were brought into service at the earliest possible date.

21. It transpired that arrangements had either already been made or were well in hand for the utilization by the Governments of the Commonwealth of Australia and India of the ships adjudicated in the Prize Courts in their respective terri- tories, and it may here be recorded that none of the vessels dealt with in the Australian or Indian Prize Courts have been under the direction of the Committee at any time. It should perhaps also be mentioned that none of the vessels captured in the course of the campaign against the Cameroons were handled by the Com- mittee, the arrangement for bringing these vessels into service having been made by the Admiralty.

22. In some few instances vessels taken over by the Committee were chartered by demise, but in most cases well known shipowners were appointed to manage the

APPENDIX A.--REPORTS.

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vessels under the direct control of the Committee, and the form of the agreement entered into by parties undertaking the management of vessels for the account of the Committee is exhibited on page 248 of the collection of papers identified as Miscellaneous No. 312, the later of the two forms there shown having been introduced during June, 1915.

23. In most cases the remuneration allowed to the managers of steamers consisted of a commission of two-and-a-half per cent. upon the disbursements, together with a commission of one-and-a-quarter per cent. upon the gross freight, while the managers of sailing ships employed in ocean trade have, with few excep- tions, been remunerated at a fixed rate per annum.

24. In some instances the Committee were able to attend to the whole busi- ness themselves, thereby saving the management expenses. The Committee were also on several occasions able to effect charters without enlisting the aid of brokers, and thus saved commissions which would ordinarily be payable.

25. A list of the vessels employed by the Committee, showing manner of employment, forms Appendix "A" to this report.

26. It will be seen therefrom that at one period in 1915 the Committee had as many as forty-one vessels in their fleet, and it may be remarked that arrange- ments were in train for the employment of a larger number of the vessels dealt

than is with by the Prize Court at Alexandria

the shown in

list. Indeed, they had appointed managers and had sent out officers and crews in some of these cases, but at the last moment the vessels were requisitioned by the Transport Department of the Admiralty, who took over the arrangements made by the Committee.

27. The Committee's activities in the management of vessels were, however, curtailed by the adoption of the suggestion put forward by the Transport Depart- ment of the Admiralty, and discussed in the Committee's Fourth Interim Report, that the prize and detained enemy vessels in the Committee's service should as far as possible be handed over to that Department. The dates upon which the several vessels were passed on to the Transport Department are given in the Appendix "A" to this report.

28. Six vessels (two steamers and four sailing vessels) remain under the con- trol of the Committee at the date of this report, five being enemy vessels sentenced to detention and the sixth a condemned vessel.

29. Of the detained vessels just alluded to, the 8.8. "Diana" (seized in Nigeria but proceeded against in the London Prize Court) has been chartered by demise to the Nigerian Government, the 8.8. Ranee" (Singapore Prize Court) is in use by the Government of the Straits Settlements, and the sailing vessels "Bellas 13

(Ottawa Prize Court), "Elfrieda " (now Clevedon," London Prize Court), and "Terpsichore" (London Prize Court), are employed in trade. The one condemned vessel remaining in the Committee's hands is the sailing vessel "Svithiod," which was taken over in May last from the Prize Court at Halifax, Nova Scotia, and is being employed in trade pending a suitable opportunity for her sale. The precise voyages upon which the four last-mentioned vessels are engaged are indicated in the Appendix "A.”

30. The Committee have so far referred mainly to the vessels seized in, or captured and taken into, oversea ports, but it will be remembered that in January, 1915, they were empowered to arrange for the utilization of the enemy vessels sentenced to detention by the Prize Court in this country. Many of these vessels had by that time been taken up by the naval or military authorities, but such as were then unemployed and were deemed capable of useful service were (with the exception of a few large sailing vessels, and one auxiliary sailing vessel, which seemed capable of more useful employment in ocean trade than in coastwise trade) placed in the hands of a separate organization set up by the Committee under the name of the Admiralty Coasting Trade Office. Although primarily set up for the purpose of assisting in the conveyance of coal from Newcastle to London, that Office eventually undertook other coastwise trade.

31. Between the 20th January, 1915, and the 31st May, 1918, that is to say from the commencement of operations until absorbed by the Ministry of Shipping, the Admiralty Coasting Trade Office carried and delivered 5,978,468 tons of coal to London, 393,584 tons of coal to outports, and 67,174 tons of sundry cargo, giving a grand total of 6,439,226 tons, and up to the 31st March, 1918 (the latest date to which the figures are readily available) there was an approximate trading profit of £1,600,000. The reports upon the work of the Admiralty Coasting Trade Office

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