Office of the Historian

No. 339.
Sir Edward Thornton to Mr. Evarts.

Washington, April 23, 1880. (Received April 24.)

Sir: In compliance with an instruction which I have received from the Marquis of Salisbury, I have the honor to inform you, with reference to previous correspondence respecting the adoption by the various maritime states of the international regulations for the prevention of collisions at sea, that, in consequence of representations on behalf of the various fishing interests of Great Britain, it has been decided by the president of the board of trade and the first lord of the admiralty to suspend the operation of article 10 of these regulations until the 1st of September, 1881.

I inclose copies of the Queen’s order in council, which has been passed with the above object.

I have, &c.,

EDW’D THORNTON.
[Inclosure in Sir Edward Thornton’s note of April 23, 1880.]

At the Court at Windsor, the 24th day of March, 1880.

Present, the Queen’s Most Excellent Majesty in council.

Whereas by “The Merchant Shipping Act Amendment Act, 1862,” it was enacted that on and after the first day of June, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, or such later day as might be fixed for the purpose by order in council, the regulations [Page 513] contained in the table marked C, in the schedule to the said act, should come into operation and be of the same force as if they were enacted in the body of the said act; but that Her Majesty might from time to time, on the joint recommendation of the admiralty and the board of trade, by order in council, annul or modify any of the said regulations, or make new regulations in addition to or in substitution therefor; and that any alterations in or additions to such regulations made in manner aforesaid should be of the same force as the regulations in said schedule;

And whereas, by the same act, it was further provided that whenever it should be made to appear to Her Majesty that the government of any foreign country was willing that the regulations for preventing collisions contained in table C, in the schedule to the said act, or such other regulations for preventing collisions as are for the time being in force under the said act, should apply to the ships of such country when beyond the limits of British jurisdiction, Her Majesty might, by order in council, direct that such regulations should apply to the ships of the said foreign country, whether within British jurisdiction or not; and it was further provided by the said act that whenever an order in council had been issued applying any regulation made by or in pursuance of the said act to the ships of any foreign country, such ships should, in all cases arising in any British court, be deemed to be subject to such regulation, and should, for the purpose of such regulation, be treated as if they were British ships;

And whereas, by an order in council made in pursuance of the said recited act, and dated the ninth day of January, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, Her Majesty was pleased to direct that there should be substituted for the regulations contained in the schedule to the said act certain regulations appended to the said order, and that the said appended regulations should, on and after the first day of June, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, apply to French ships, whether within British jurisdiction or not;

And whereas, by several orders in council subsequently made, Her Majesty was pleased to direct that the regulations appended to the said recited order should apply to ships of the countries specified in the said orders, whether within British jurisdiction or not; and whereas, by order in council, dated the thirtieth day of July, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, Her Majesty was pleased to make certain additions to the regulations appended to the said first recited order in council;

And whereas, by order in council, dated the fourteenth day of August, One thousand eight hundred and seventy-nine, Her Majesty, on the joint recommendation of the admiralty and the board of trade, was pleased to direct that on and after the first day of September, one thousand eight hundred and eighty, the said regulations and the additions thereto should be annulled, and that there should be substituted therefor the new regulations contained in the first schedule thereto, and that the same should, from and after the first day of September, one thousand eight hundred and eighty, apply to ships of the countries mentioned in the said second schedule thereto, whether within British jurisdiction or not;

And whereas article numbered nine of the regulations appended to the said recited order in council of the ninth day of January, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, is as follows, that is to say:

Art. 9. Open fishing boats and other open boats shall not be required to carry the side lights required for other vessels, but shall, if they do not carry such lights, carry a lantern having a green slide on the one side and a red slide on the other side, and on the approach of or to other vessels such lantern shall be exhibited in sufficient time to prevent collision so that the green light shall not be seen on the port side nor the red light on the starboard side.

Fishing vessels and open boats, when at anchor or attached to their nets and stationary, shall exhibit a bright white light.

Fishing vessels and open boats shall, however, not be prevented from using a flareup in addition, if considered expedient.

And whereas the article numbered ten of the said new regulations, contained in the first schedule of the said recited order in council of the fourteenth day of August, one thousand eight hundred and seventy-nine, which said article is to be in substitution for the said recited article numbered nine, is as follows, that is to say:

Art. 10. (a) Open fishing boats and other open boats, when under way, shall not be obliged to carry the side lights required for other vessels, but every such boat shall in lieu thereof have ready at hand a lantern with a green glass on the one side and a red glass on the other side, and on the approach of or to other vessels, such lantern shall be exhibited, in sufficient time to prevent collision, so that the green light shall not be seen on the port side, nor the red light on the starboard side.

(b) A fishing vessel and an open boat when at anchor shall exhibit a bright white light,

(c) A fishing vessel, when employed in drift-net fishing, shall carry on one of her masts two red lights in a vertical line, one over the other, not less than three feet apart.

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(d) A trawler at work shall carry on one of her masts two lights, in a vertical line, one over the other, not less than three feet apart; the upper light red, and the lower green; and shall also either carry the side lights required for other vessels, or, if the side lights cannot be carried, have ready at hand the colored lights, as provided in article 7, or a lantern with a red and green glass, as described in paragraph (a) of this article.

(e) Fishing vessels and open boats shall not be prevented from using a flare-up, in addition, if they desire to do so.

(f) The lights mentioned in this article are substituted for those mentioned in the twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth articles of the convention between France and England, scheduled to the British sea fisheries act, 1868.

(g) All lights required by this article, except side lights, shall be in globular lanterns, so constructed as to show all round the horizon.

And whereas the admiralty and the board of trade have jointly recommended to Her Majesty that the operation of the said recited article numbered ten of the new regulations contained in the first schedule of the said order in council of the fourteenth day of August, one thousand eight hundred and seventy-nine, shall be suspended until the first day of September, one thousand eight hundred and eighty-one, and that, in lieu thereof and in substitution therefor, the recited article numbered nine, of the regulations appended to the said order in council of the ninth day of January, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, shall continue and remain in force until the said first day of September, one thousand eight hundred and eighty-one:

Now, therefore, Her Majesty, by virtue of the powers vested in tier by the said recited act, and by and with the advice of her privy council, is pleased to direct that the operation of the said recited article numbered ten of the new regulations contained in the first schedule of the said order in council of the fourteenth day of August, one thousand eight hundred and seventy-nine, shall be suspended until the first day of September, one thousand eight hundred and eighty-one, and that, in lieu thereof and in substitution therefor, the said recited article numbered nine, of the regulations appended to the said order in council of the ninth day of January, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, shall continue and remain in force until the said first day of September, one thousand eight hundred and eighty-one.

C. L. PEEL.