Coal Trade: Minutes of evidence, Appendix to 03 April 1830

APPENDIX.

Commission for weighing COAL WAGGONS and KEELS at Newcastle and Sunderland.

[202]

[203]

[204]

[205]

[206]

[207]

GEORGE the Fourth, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, and so forth: To Our trusty and well beloved Hugh Duke of Northumberland; William Henry Cavendish Scott Bentinck Duke of Portland; John Chrichton Stuart Marquis of Bute; John Earl of Strathmore; Frederick Howard Earl of Carlisle; The Mayor, Aldermen and Sheriff of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, now and for the Time being; the Governor of the Hoastman's Company, now and for the Time being; the Steward of the Hoastman's Company, now and for the Time being; the Master of the Trinity House at Newcastle, now and for the Time being; Sir Thomas Henry Liddell, Sir Thomas John Clavering, Sir Matthew White Ridley, Baronets; Charles John Brandling, Cuthbert Ellison, Ralph William Grey, John Brandling, Robert William Brandling, Matthew Russell, William Clark, Matthew Bell, Christopher Blackett, Dixon Browne, Nathaniel Clayton, John Walker, George Waldie, Thomas Wade, Humble Lamb, Joseph Lamb, Warren Maude Lamb and George Dunn, Esquires; George Thomas Dunn, Cuthbert Dunn, Mathias Dunn, James Potts, Benjamin Thompson, Joseph Crozer, Taylor Winship, James Jobling, John Buddle, John Watson and George Johnson, Gentlemen; Charles Ogle Esquire, Collector of Our Customs for the Port of Newcastle; Thomas Gibson Esquire, Comptroller of Our Customs there; John Pitts, Surveyor, and Comptrolling Surveyor of the Warehouses, and Surveyor of the Searchers and Coast Waiters; John Rawling Wilson and John Liddell, Landing Surveyors; Thomas Thompson, Russell Browne, Thomas Dunn and George Forster, Landing Waiters; Thomas Kay, Searcher; Elijah Galloway, Comptrolling Searcher and Landing Waiter; Jacob Ord, Jerguer; Banister Lupton, Coast Waiter; John Rawling Wilson junior, Tide Surveyor; William Collpitts, Tide Surveyor and Coast Waiter at Howden Pans; Charles Cockerill, Principal Coast Officer at North Shields; Charles Brown Bell, George Henderson and Edward Wilson, Tide Surveyors at North and South Shields; Ralph Selby, Coast Waiter at North Shields; William Wilkinson, Principal Coast Officer at Blythnook; and William Coppen, Comptroller at Blythnook; all in the Service of Our Customs at the said Port of Newcastle; the Collector, Comptroller, Surveyor, Comptrolling Surveyor of the Warehouses, Surveyor of the Searchers and Coast Waiters, Landing Surveyors, Landing Waiters, Searcher, Coast Waiters, Tide Surveyor, in the Service of Our Customs at the said Port of Newcastle, for the Time being; the Tide Surveyor and Coast Waiter at Howden Pans, within the said Port of Newcastle, for the Time being; the Principal Coast Officer at North Shields, within the said Port of Newcastle, for the Time being; the Tide Surveyors at North and South Shields, within the said Port of Newcastle, for the Time being; the Coast Waiter at North Shields, within the said Port of Newcastle, for the Time being; the Principal Coast Officer and Comptroller at Blythnook, within the said Port of Newcastle for the Time being; Richard Lumley Sanderson Earl of Scarborough; John Earl of Strathmore; Charles William Vane Lord Stewart; Sir Thomas Henry Liddell Baronet; John George Lambton, John Douthwaite Nesham, Matthew Russell, Morton John Davison, William Russell, Ralph John Lambton, George Fenwick, Addison Fenwick, Thomas John Maling and John Stafford, Esquires; Thomas Horn, John White, Edward Aiskell, William Hayton, William Bell, William Beckwith and John Hubbard, Gentlemen; George Robinson Esquire, Collector of Our Customs for the Port of Sunderland; Christopher Septimus Hill Esquire, Comptroller of Our Customs there; William Harrison, Landing Surveyor; Pattison Dixon, Searcher; Robert Wilson, Thomas Powell, George Walters, William Wilson, Landing Waiters; John Blakiston, Coast Waiter; Thomas Harrison and Richard Maugham, Tide Surveyors; all in the Service of Our Customs at the said Port of Sunderland; the Collector, Comptroller, Searcher, Landing Waiters, Coast Waiter and Tide Surveyors in the said Port of Sunderland for the Time being; Greeting: Whereas by Two several Statutes heretofore made, the one in the Ninth Year of the Reign of Henry the Fifth, intituled, "Keels that carry Coals at Newcastle shall be measured and marked;" and the other in the Thirteenth Year of the Reign of King Charles the Second, intituled, "An Act for the Admeasurement of Keels and Boats carrying Coals;" for the Remedy of the Frauds therein complained of (amongst other Things) it was thereby enacted, that Commissioners should from Time to Time be appointed by His said late Majesty, His Heirs and Successors, for the admeasuring and marking of all and every the Keels and other Boats, and Wains and Carts, used or at any Time after to be used for the Carriage of Coals at the Port of Newcastle-uponTyne, Sunderland upon the Wear, Cullercoats, Seaton Sluice, Blythnook, and all and every the Members, Havens, Creeks and Places whatsoever to the said Port of Newcastle-upon-Tyne belonging, in such Manner, and by such Ways and Means, and subject to such Forfeitures and Directions, as in the said Act expressed and directed: And whereas by one other Act of Parliament made in the Sixth and Seventh Years of the Reign of King William the Third, intituled, "An Act for the better Admeasurement of Keels and Keel Boats in the Port of Newcastle, and the Members thereunto belonging;" reciting the aforesaid Two Statutes of the Ninth Year of King Henry and the Thirteenth Year of King Charles the Second, and that notwithstanding those Acts divers new Frauds and Deceits and Abuses had of late arisen and were daily practised, to the Diminution of Our Customs, and the great Prejudice of the Buyers and Sellers of Coals; for the Remedy whereof it was in the said Act of King William the Third enacted, that Commissioners should from Time to Time be appointed by His said late Majesty, His Heirs and Successors, for the admeasuring and marking all and every the Keels, Pan Keels, and Pan Boats and other Boats, and Wains and Carts, used or in any Time thereafter to be used for the Carriage of Coals for the Port of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and Sunderland upon the River Wear, Cullercoats, Seaton Sluice, Blythnook, and all other Places within the Counties of Northumberland and Durham, and all and every the Members, Havens, Rivers, Creeks and Places whatsoever to the said Port of Newcastle and Counties aforesaid belonging; and that the said Admeasurement should be by a dead Weight of Lead or Iron or otherwise, as should seem meet to the said Commissioners or any Three of them, allowing Three-and-fifty Hundred Weight to every Chaldron of Coals; and that the said Boats, Keels, Wains or Carts should be admeasured and marked at the Times and Places and in the Manner in the said Act mentioned, any thing in the said former Act to the contrary notwithstanding; provided that the Weights or Contents of Coals laden or carried by every such Wain shall be of the Weight or Content of Seventeen Hundred Weight and a Half, and the Weight or Content of Coals laden or carried by every such Cart shall be of the Weight or Content of Eight Hundred Weight and Three Quarters, and that Three such Wains or Six such Carts shall be reckoned and allowed for One Chaldron, and no more; and that no other Wains or Carts are thereby intended to be admeasured or marked but only such Wains or Carts as then were or hereafter should be employed in carrying Coals to the Staiths, to be directly put from the Staiths into the Ships, and no others; and that the said Commissioners or any Three of them shall cause all and every of the said Keels and Boats, Wains and Carts, to be admeasured accordingly, and shall give Three Days Notice of the Time and Place of such Admeasurement to the Owner or Owners thereof, and cause the said Keels and Boats so admeasured to be marked and nailed on each Side the Stem and Stern and Midship thereof, or otherwise, and the said Wains and Carts so admeasured to be marked and nailed on the Head and Sides of the said Wains and Carts, or otherwise, as they the said Commissioners or any Three of them shall direct, or by such Person as shall be by them thereunto appointed; and the Person which shall be by them so appointed, to take an Oath before the said Commissioners or any Three of them for the true and impartial Performance and discharging the same, which Oath the said Commissioners are by the said Act empowered to administer; and that no Keel or Boat be admeasured, marked or nailed, but between the Twenty-fifth Day of March and Twenty-ninth Day of September in any Year, nor shall be admeasured, marked or nailed to carry more than Ten such Chaldrons of Coals at any one Time; and that all Keels and Boats belonging to the Port of Newcastle shall be admeasured, marked or nailed at the new Key at the said Port of Newcastle; and that the Keels and Boats belonging to the River Wear shall be admeasured, marked and nailed at Lambton Staith, on the said River, and not elsewhere; and that all the Keels and Boats belonging to Cullercoats, Seaton Sluice, Blythnook, and all other Places within the said Counties of Northumberland and Durham, and also all Wains and Carts, to be admeasured and marked by virtue of that Act, shall be admeasured and marked at such Times and Places as the said Commissioners or any Three of them shall direct, as in and by the said Act last mentioned, amongst divers other Matters and Things therein contained, Relation being thereunto had, may more fully appear: And whereas by one other Act of Parliament, made in the Eleventh Year of the Reign of His late Majesty King George the Second, intituled, "An Act to empower the Court of Lord Mayor and Aldermen of the City of London to set the Price upon all Coals commonly called Sea Coals, imported into the Port of London from Newcastle and the Ports adjacent thereunto, for the Space of One Year; and to oblige, for the Term therein mentioned, Fitters and others vending and loading Ships with Sea Coals at Newcastle, and the Ports adjacent thereunto, to deliver such Coals to any Masters of Ships applying for the same; and for obliging Buyers and Sellers of Sea Coals at Billingsgate, or other Place of Sale within the Bills of Mortality, to sign their Contracts for Goods; and for the Admeasurement of all Carriages whatsoever used in loading Ships with Coals in the Port of Newcastle, and Members thereunto belonging;" reciting the aforesaid Statute of the Sixth and Seventh of King William the Third, and that it was enacted thereby that Commissioners should from Time to Time be appointed by His then Majesty, His Heirs and Successors, for the admeasuring and marking all and every the Keels, Pan Keels and Pan Boats and other Boats, and Wains and Carts, used or at any Time hereafter to be used in the Carriage of Coals in the Port of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Sunderland upon the River Wear, Cullercoats, Seaton Sluice and Blythnook, and all other Places within the Counties of Northumberland and Durham, and all and every the Members, Havens, Rivers, Creeks and Places whatsoever to the said Port of Newcastle and Counties aforesaid belonging, which said Admeasurement should be a dead Weight of Lead or Iron, or otherwise, as should seem meet to the said Commissioners or any Three of them, allowing Fifty-three Hundred Weight to every Chaldron of Coals, and which said Keels, Boats, Wains, or Carts were thereby directed to be admeasured or marked at the Times, Places and in the Manner therein mentioned; and declaring that since the making the said recited Act divers Persons concerned in the Coal Trade have used and employed Waggons, Barrows and other Carriages not mentioned, specified or comprised within the Directions of the said Act, whereby divers Frauds, Deceits and Abuses have arisen, to the great Prejudice and Damage of the Buyers and Sellers of Coals, and the Diminution of Our Customs; wherefore, for preventing such Frauds and Abuses in future, it is in the said Act of the Eleventh of King George the Second enacted, that from and after the First Day of June One thousand seven hundred and thirty-eight, it should and might be lawful to and for the Commissioners appointed or to be appointed by virtue and in pursuance of the said former Act, or any Three or more of them, to admeasure, weigh and mark, and cause to be admeasured, weighed and marked, all Waggons, Barrows, and all other Carriages whatsoever, used or hereafter to be used and employed in loading Ships with Coals in the Port of Newcastle and the Members thereunto belonging, and that such Admeasurement, weighing and marking should be made and taken by such Rules and Methods and at such Places as in and by the said former Act is directed and appointed concerning the Wains and Carts thereby directed and appointed to be admeasured, as in and by the said Act made in the said Eleventh Year of the Reign of King George the Second, amongst divers other Matters and Things therein contained, Relation being thereunto had, may more fully appear: And whereas one other Act of Parliament was made and passed in the Fifty-fifth Year of the Reign of His late Majesty King George the Third, intituled, An Act to regulate the Clearance of Vessels and Delivery of Coast Bonds at Creeks and Harbours in Great Britain; for exempting certain Ships and Vessels from being licensed by the Commissioners of the Customs; for authorizing Officers of the Customs to seize Spirits removed without Excise Permits; and for preventing Frauds in overloading Keels and other Carriages used in conveying Coals for Exportation, or to be carried coastwise;" reciting, that whereas it is expedient that Provision should be made to prevent Frauds upon the Revenue by overloading Keels, Boats, Waggons, Barrows, Coups, Carts or other Vessels or Carriages used in the Conveyance of Coals and Culm, in order to be laden on board Ships and Vessels for Exportation to Foreign Parts, or to be carried Coastwise; and it is in the said Act of His late Majesty King George the Third, amongst other Things, enacted, that if upon Examination of any Keel, Boat, Waggon, Barrow, Cart, Coup or other Vessel or Carriage employed in the Conveyance of Coals or Culm for the Purpose of being laden or shipped for Exportation to Parts beyond the Seas, or to be carried coastwise, and which should have been admeasured, weighed, numbered or marked in the Manner directed by the Laws in force on and immediately before the said Act, there shall be found any greater Quantity of Coals or Culm than such Keel, Boat, Waggon, Barrow, Cart, Coup or other Vessel or Carriage is allowed to carry or convey, according to the Numbers, Nails or other Marks set thereon, whether such Numbers, Nails or other Marks denote the Quantity by Weight or by Measure, every such Keel, Boat, Waggon, Barrow, Cart, Coup or other Vessel or Carriage, so overloaded, shall be forfeited: Now know ye, that We, reposing good Trust and Confidence in your good Discretion, Fidelity and provident Circumspection, have constituted, assigned and appointed, and by these Presents do constitute, assign and appoint, you the said Hugh Duke of Northumberland; William Henry Cavendish Scott Bentinck Duke of Portland; John Chrichton Stuart Marquis of Bute; John Earl of Strathmore; Frederick Howard Earl of Carlisle; The Mayor, Aldermen and Sheriff of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, now and for the Time being; the Governor of the Hoastman's Company, now and for the Time being; the Stewards of the Hoastman's Company, now and for the Time being; the Master of the Trinity House, now and for the Time being; Sir Thomas Henry Liddell, Sir Thomas John Clavering, Sir Matthew White Ridley, Baronets; Charles John Brandling, Cuthbert Ellison, Ralph William Gray, John Brandling, Robert William Brandling, Matthew Russell, William Clark, Matthew Bell, Christopher Blackett, Dixon Browne, Nathaniel Clayton, John Walker, George Waldie, Thomas Wade, Humble Lamb, Joseph Lamb, Warren Maude Lamb and George Dunn, Esquires; George Thomas Dunn, Cuthbert Dunn, Mathias Dunn, James Potts, Benjamin Thompson, Joseph Crozer, Taylor Winship, James Jobling, John Buddle, John Watson and George Johnson, Gentlemen; Charles Ogle Esquire, Collector of Our Customs for the Port of Newcastle; Thomas Gibson, Comptroller of Our Customs there; John Pitts, Surveyor, and Comptrolling Surveyor of the Warehouses, and Surveyor of the Searchers and Coast Waiters; John Rawling Wilson and John Liddell, Landing Surveyors; Thomas Thompson, Russell Brown, Thomas Dunn and George Forster, Landing Waiters; Thomas Kay, Searcher; Elijah Galloway, Comptrolling Searcher and Landing Waiter; Jacob Ord, Jerguer; Banister Lupton, Coast Waiter; John Rawling Wilson junior, Tide Surveyor; William Collpitts, Tide Surveyor and Coast Waiter at Howden Pans; Charles Cockerill, Principal Coast Officer at North Shields; Charles Brown Bell, George Henderson and Edward Wilson, Tide Surveyors at North and South Shields; Ralph Selby, Coast Waiter at North Shields; William Wilkinson, Principal Coast Officer at Blythnook; William Coppin, Comptroller at Blythnook; all in the Service of Our Customs at the said Port of Newcastle; the Collector, Comptroller, Surveyor, Comptrolling Surveyor of the Warehouses, Surveyor of the Searchers and Coast Waiters, Landing Surveyors, Landing Waiters, Searcher, Coast Waiters and Tide Surveyors in the Service of Our Customs at the said Port of Newcastle for the Time being; the Tide Surveyor and Coast Waiter at Howden Pans, within the said Port of Newcastle, for the Time being; the Principal Coast Officer at North Shields, within the said Port of Newcastle, for the Time being; the Tide Surveyor at North and South Shields, within the said Port of Newcastle, for the Time being; the Coast Waiter at North Shields, within the said Port of Newcastle, for the Time being; the Principal Coast Officer and Comptroller at Blythnook, within the said Port of Newcastle, for the Time being; the said Richard Lumley Sanderson Earl of Scarborough; John Earl of Strathmore; Charles William Vane Lord Stewart; Sir Thomas Henry Liddell Baronet; John George Lambton, John Douthwaite Nesham, Matthew Russell, Morton John Davison, William Russell, Ralph John Lambton, George Fenwick, Addison Fenwick, Thomas John Maling, John Stafford, Esquires; Thomas Horn, John White, Edward Aiskell, William Hayton, William Bell, William Beckwith and John Hubbard, Gentlemen; George Robinson Esquire, Collector of Our Customs for the Port of Sunderland; Christopher Septimus Hill Esquire, Comptroller of Our Customs there; William Harrison, Landing Surveyor; Pattison Dixon, Searcher; Robert Wilson, Thomas Powell, George Walters and William Wilson, Landing Waiters; John Blakiston, Coast Waiter; Thomas Harrison and Richard Maugham, Tide Surveyors; all in the Service of Our Customs at the said Port of Sunderland; the Collector, Comptroller, Landing Surveyor, Searcher, Landing Waiters, Coast Waiters and Tide Surveyors in the Service of the Customs in the Port of Sunderland for the Time being; or any Three or more of you, to be Our Commissioners in pursuance of the said Act made in the Sixth and Seventh Years of the Reign of King William the Third, and also of the last-mentioned Act, made in the Eleventh Year of the Reign of King George the Second, for the measuring, weighing and marking all and every the Keels, Pan Keels and Pan Boats and other Boats, and Carts, Wains and Waggons, Barrows and all other Carriages whatsoever, used or in any Time hereafter to be used for the carrying of Coals, or in loading Ships with Coals, at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Sunderland upon the River Wear, Cullercoats, Seaton, Sluice, Blythnook and all other Places within the Counties of Northumberland and Durham, and all and every the Members, Havens and Creeks whatsoever to the said Port of Newcastle and Counties aforesaid belonging or in anywise appertaining, of which the Commissioners so acting by Our Authority aforesaid We will that Two be any Two of Our Commissioners hereafter named, to wit, the said Charles Ogle Esquire, Collector of Our Customs at the said Port of Newcastle; Thomas Gibson, Comptroller of Our Customs there; John Pitts, Surveyor, and Comptroller Surveyor of the Warehouses, and Surveyor of the Searchers and Coast Waiters; John Rawling Wilson and John Liddell, Landing Surveyors; Thomas Thompson, Russell Browne, Thomas Dunn and George Forster, Landing Waiters; Thomas Kay, Searcher; Elijah Galloway, Comptrolling Searcher and Landing Waiter; Jacob Ord, Jerguer; Banister Lupton, Coast Waiter; John Rawling Wilson junior, Tide Surveyor; William Collpitts, Tide Surveyor and Coast Waiter at Howden Pans; Charles Cockerill, Principal Coast Officer at North Shields; Charles Brown Bell, George Henderson and Edward Wilson, Tide Surveyors at North and South Shields; Ralph Selby, Coast Waiter at North Shields; William Wilkinson, Principal Coast Waiter at Blythnook; and William Coppin, Comptroller at Blythnook; all in the Service of Our Customs at the said Port of Newcastle; the Collector, Comptroller, Surveyor, Comptrolling Surveyor of the Warehouses, Surveyor of the Searchers and Coast Waiters, Landing Surveyors, Landing Waiters, Searchers, Coast Waiters and Tide Surveyors in the Service of Our Customs at the said Port of Newcastle for the Time being; the Tide Surveyor and Coast Waiter at Howden Pans, within the said Port of Newcastle, for the Time being; the Principal Coast Officer at North Shields, within the said Port of Newcastle, for the Time being; the Tide Surveyor at North and South Shields, within the said Port of Newcastle, for the Time being; the Coast Waiter at North Shields, within the said Port of Newcastle, for the Time being; the Principal Coast Officer and Comptroller at Blythnook, within the said Port of Newcastle, for the Time being; George Robinson Esquire, Collector of Our Customs in the said Port of Sunderland; Christopher Septimus Hill Esquire, Comptroller of Our Customs there; William Harrison, Landing Surveyor; Pattison Dixon, Searcher; Robert Wilson, Thomas Powell, George Walters, William Wilson, Landing Waiters; John Blakiston, Coast Waiter; Thomas Harrison and Richard Maugham, Tide Surveyors, in the Service of the Customs in the said Port of Sunderland; the Collector, Comptroller, Landing Surveyor, Searcher, Landing Waiters, Coast Waiters and Tide Surveyors in the Service of the Customs in the said Port of Sunderland for the Time being: And We do hereby give unto you Our said Commissioners or any Three or more of you (whereof as aforesaid to be Two) full Power and Authority to measure, weigh and mark all and every the Keels, Pan Keels, Pan Boats and other Boats, Wains and Carts, Waggons, Barrows and all other Carriages whatsoever used or at any Time hereafter to be used for the carrying of Coals, or in loading Ships with Coals, in the Port of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Sunderland upon the River Wear, Cullercoats, Seaton Sluice, Blythnook, and all other Places within the Counties of Northumberland and Durham, and all and every the Members, Havens, Creeks, and Places whatsoever to the said Port of Newcastle and Counties aforesaid belonging, in such Manner and Form, and by such Ways and Means, and at such Times and Places, as in and by the said several Acts of Parliament, in the Sixth and Seventh Years of the Reign of the late King William the Third, and in the Eleventh Year of the Reign of King George the Second, are mentioned, expressed, limited, directed and appointed; and to do, perform and put in Execution all and every the Powers, Authorities, Matters and Things, in and throughout the said Ports before mentioned, which to the Commissioners by Us or Our Heirs or Successors appointed, or to be appointed by virtue and in pursuance of the said Acts, shall or may appertain; and to perform and execute within the said Ports and Places aforesaid all and every Act, Matter and Thing which by virtue and in pursuance of the said Acts of Parliament in this Our Commission may or can be done by Commissioners by Us to be appointed; and that you observe and put in Execution the several Instructions to this Our Commission annexed: And We do by these Presents give full Power and Authority to you or any Three or more of you (whereof as aforesaid to be Two) from Time to Time to employ such Person or Persons as to you or any Three or more of you (whereof as aforesaid to be Two) shall seem meet, for the admeasuring, weighing, and marking and nailing of Boats, Keels, Wains and Carts, Waggons and Barrows, and all other Carriages, in the Ports and Places aforesaid, and, according to the Powers given you by the said Acts of Parliament, to administer an Oath to every such Person and Persons for the true and faithful Execution and Discharge of their respective Trusts: And We will and command you Our said Commissioners and every of you, that you do diligently attend the Execution of this Our Commission, and cause the same and the last-mentioned Act of Parliament to be openly and publicly read at the first Time and Place of Execution thereof, and that you from Time to Time carefully attend the Execution of the Premises, according to the Form and Effect of the said Statute and this Our Commission: And We do hereby revoke, make void and determine all and every former Commission and Commissions heretofore issued under the Great Seal of England, or Seal of Our Court of Exchequer, or otherwise, touching or concerning the Admeasurement of Keels and Boats, Carts, Wains, Waggons, Barrows and other Carriages used in carrying Coals or in the loading of Ships with Coals: And We do hereby strictly charge and command all Justices of the Peace, Mayors, Bailiffs, Sheriffs, Constables, and all other Our Officers, Ministers and Subjects whatsoever, as well within the Liberties as without, that they and every of them in all things be aiding and assisting unto you and every of you in the Premises, as becometh: In witness whereof We have caused these Our Letters to be made Patent: Witness Sir Richard Richards, Knight, the Thirtieth Day of August in the First Year of Our Reign:

By Warrant of The Right Honourable the Lords Commissioners of Our Treasury, and by the Barons.

Rules and Instructions to be observed by Our Commissioners nominated and appointed in and by Our Commission, to which these Instructions are annexed, in admeasuring, weighing, marking and nailing the Keels and Boats, Wains and Carts, Waggons, Barrows and all other Carriages used for the carrying Coals, and in loading Ships with Coals, in Our Port of Newcastle upon the River Tyne, Sunderland upon the River Wear, Cullercoats, Seaton Sluice, Blythnook, and all other Places within the Counties of Northumberland and Durham, and all and every the Members, Rivers, Havens, Creeks and Places whatsoever to the said Ports and Counties belonging, and within the Bounds and Limits of Our said Commission, according to the Tenor and Purport thereof.

[208]

Whereas, in pursuance of an Act of Parliament made in the Sixth and Seventh Years of the Reign of King William the Third, intituled, "An Act for the better Admeasurement of Keels and Keel Boats in the Port of Newcastle, and the Members thereunto belonging;" and also of another Act of Parliament made in the Eleventh Year of the Reign of King George the Second, intituled, "An Act to empower the Court of Lord Mayor and Aldermen of the City of London to set the Price upon all Coals commonly called Sea Coals, imported into the Port of London from Newcastle, and the Ports adjacent thereunto, for the Space of One Year; and to oblige, for the Term therein mentioned, Fitters and others vending and loading Ships with Sea Coals at Newcastle, and the Ports adjacent thereunto, to deliver such Coals to any Masters of Ships applying for the same; and for further obliging Buyers and Sellers of Sea Coals at Billingsgate, or other Place of Sale within the Bills of Mortality, to sign their Contracts for Coals; and for the Admeasurement of all Carriages whatsoever used in loading Ships with Coals in the Port of Newcastle and Members thereunto belonging;" We have constituted and appointed you to be Our Commissioners for the measuring, weighing and marking all and every the Keels, Pan Keels, Pan Boats and other Boats, and all Wains and Carts, Waggons, Barrows and all other Carriages whatsoever, now used or in any Time hereafter to be used for the carrying of Coals, or loading Ships with Coals, in the Ports and Places aforesaid in Our Commission mentioned.

RULES.

You are to observe the following Rules and Directions:

Imprimis. You Our said Commissioners or any Three or more of you, (whereof in Our said Commission to be Two,) upon Receipt of Our said Commission and these Our Instructions, shall without Delay meet and advise together, and agree upon and give such Directions as are necessary for the putting Our said Commission into Execution.

Secondly. You shall choose fit Men well qualified for the admeasuring, weighing, marking and nailing of all and every the said Keels and Boats, and Waggons and all other Carriages whatsoever; as by the said Acts are directed, and for registering the same in a Book or Books, carefully written, and kept for that Purpose, mentioning the Owner or Owners Names of every such Keel and Boat, Waggon and other Carriage, together with the Time and Place where any such Keel and Boat, Waggon and other Carriage, is measured, weighed and numbered, and the just Number of Chaldrons they and every of them are measured to contain, and to whom each and every of them do belong, and on whose Work and at what Places they and every of them are employed at such Time of their Admeasurement; and shall apply yourselves to the admeasuring and marking the said Keels and Boats, and from Time to Time, as often as there shall be occasion, perform the same, from and after the Twenty-fifth Day of March to the Twenty-ninth Day of September in each and every Year during the Continuance of Our said Commission; and shall give Three Days Notice of the Time and Place of such Admeasurement and marking of all Keels and Boats to the Owner or Owners thereof; but as to the Admeasurement, weighing and marking of Waggons and any other Land Carriages whatsoever, the same may be done at such Times and Places as to you shall seem meet and convenient, giving timely Notice as aforesaid to all Persons concerned therein, to avoid all just Causes of Complaint.

Thirdly. You are from Time to Time to take special Care for the speedy and timely Dispatch in the measuring, weighing and marking the aforesaid Keels, Boats, Waggons and all other Carriages whatsoever; and shall cause all Keels and Boats which shall be so admeasured to be marked and nailed on each Side of the Stem and Stern thereof, or otherwise, as you or any Three of you (whereof as aforesaid to be Two) in your Discretion shall direct; and the Waggons and all other Carriages to be marked and nailed on the Head and Sides of the said Waggons and all other Carriages, or otherwise, as by you or any Three of you (whereof as aforesaid to be Two) shall be appointed; and you shall cause the said Keels, Boats, and Waggons and all other Cariages whatsoever, at the Time of marking and nailing thereof, as before mentioned, to be numbered progressively in Arithmetical Order; but you are to pursue the Directions of the aforesaid Acts, and are only to admeasure, mark and number such Waggons or other Carriages as are or hereafter shall be used or employed in the carrying of Coals to the Staiths, to be put directly from the Staiths into the Ships, or in loading Ships with Coals, and no others.

[209]

Fourthly. You are to take care that all Keels and Boats belonging to the Port of Newcastle be admeasured, marked and nailed at the New Quay of the said Port; and that the Keels and Boats belonging to the River Wear be admeasured, marked and nailed at Lambton Staiths, upon the said River Wear, and not elsewhere; but all the Keels and Boats belonging to Cullercoats, Seaton Sluice, Blythnook, and all other Places within the said Counties of Northumberland and Durham, and all Wains, Carts, Waggons, Barrows and other Carriages which shall be admeasured, weighed and marked according to the said Acts, shall be admeasured, weighed and marked at such Places as you or any Three of you (whereof as aforesaid to be Two) shall direct.

Fifthly. You are to take care that the Beams, Weights and Scales, and all other Implements necessary for the Execution of Our said Commission, be provided, and always remain, and be in readiness upon all and every Occasion and Occasions; and that before the using thereof in adjusting the Contents of the said Keels, Boats, Waggons and other Carriages, or any of them, such Beams, Weights and Scales be carefully tried by a Standard, and if any Deficiency shall appear therein, you are to cause the same to be corrected before you permit them to be used for the Purposes before mentioned.

Sixthly. You are to allow Fifty-three Hundred Weights to each Chaldron of Coals carried or to be carried in Keels or Boats. And in order to give full Effect to the said Act passed in the Fifty-fifth Year of the Reign of His late Majesty King George the Third, whereby Keels and Boats, Waggons, Barrows, Carts, Coups and other Vessels and Carriages used in the Conveyance of Coals for the Purposes of being shipped, either for Exportation or to be carried Coastwise, are forfeited if found loaded with any greater Quantity of Coals than they have been admeasured, marked and nailed to carry, you are to weigh, mark and nail the Keels and Boats used in the Conveyance of Coals in Our Ports of Newcastle and Sunderland to the utmost Content they are able to carry, not exceeding Eight Chaldrons, each Chaldron to be denoted by driving a Nail on each Side the Stem and Stern Post and Midship of the Keel or Boat, or otherwise, in the Manner hereinafter described; and you shall cause a Brass Plate to be affixed on every Keel or Boat now made use of or hereafter to be made use of, for the Purposes in Our said Commission, in such Part of such Keel or Boat as you shall judge to be the most convenient for that Purpose, denoting the Number of such Keel or Boat, and the Quantity of Coals she is admeasured, marked and nailed to carry; and you are to allow Fifty-three Hundred Weights to each Chaldron of Coals to be carried in each Waggon, and in each Wain Seventeen Hundred Weights and a Half, and in each Cart Eight Hundred Weights and Three Quarters; and Three such Wains or Six such Carts shall be reckoned for One Chaldron, and no more. And whereas it has been represented to the Commissioners of Our Customs that great Irregularities have arisen in the Shipment of Coals by Waggons, from the Practice of heaping the Coals considerably above the upper Rim of the Waggon; you are to take care that such Practice be discontinued, and that in future all Waggons or other Carriages used in the immediate Shipment of Coals be filled with a level Surface, and weighed to the utmost Content they are able to carry when so filled.

You are not to weigh, mark or number, or allow of Waggons or other Carriages of different Dimensions being used, at one and the same Place, but shall cause the Length and Breadth at Top and Bottom, and Height upright, to be carefully taken; and on the Dimensions of the several Waggons or other Carriages at each Colliery being found of an uniform Size, you shall cause such Waggons or other Carriages to be filled with middling-sized Coals, and to a level Surface, at the Pit or other usual Place of loading, and you shall proceed to weigh the Coals at the Staiths or most convenient Place, and the Weight thereof shall be marked on such Waggon or other Carriage, and deemed the utmost Content which each Waggon or other Carriage is allowed to carry.

[210]

And it having been represented to the Commissioners of Our Customs, that in Our Ports of Newcastle and Sunderland certain Tubs or Boxes have been provided for the Conveyance of Coals, and which it is contemplated will prove of Advantage to the Trade, by facilitating the Shipments and preventing the Breakage of the Coals; you are therefore, when required, to examine, weigh and mark such Tubs or Boxes, to admeasure the Length and Breadth thereof at Top and Bottom, and also the Height upright; and having ascertained that the several Tubs or Boxes intended to be used at the same Colliery are all of an uniform Size and Dimensions, you shall cause the same to be filled with middling-sized Coals, and to a level Surface, and being brought to the Staith or such other Place as you Our Commissioners or any Three of you, (whereof Two shall be as aforesaid,) you shall proceed to weigh the Coals, and cause the respective Weights thereof to be marked on the several Tubs and Boxes, and number the same in Arithmetical Order; and the Quantity thus marked thereon shall be taken and deemed the real Quantity contained in such Tubs or Boxes, whether the same be a greater or less Quantity than the legal Chaldron, provided it forms an aliquot Proportion to the legal Chaldron. The Quantity being thus denoted by the Tubs or Boxes, you may permit the same to be conveyed from the Staiths to the Ship in Keels or other Craft, although a greater Number of Chaldrons may be shipped in such Keel or other Craft than they are or can legally be weighed to carry.

And should it at any future Period be found necessary, for the Accommodation of the Coal Trade, to alter the Contents or Dimensions of Waggons or other Carriages, or to provide Carriages of different Forms, Content or Dimensions, at any Place within Our Ports of Newcastle or Sunderland, you are to take care that such Waggons or other Carriages (whether of a greater or less Content than the legal Chaldron of Fifty-three Hundred Weights) be so constructed as to carry, when filled with a level Surface, a regular Proportion to the legal Chaldron, and that the Dimensions be regularly adjusted, and the Contents marked thereon in the Manner before directed.

Seventhly. You shall carefully observe, when Keels and Boats come to the Place of measuring, that they and every of them be light, clean and unstoaked, and that they have no Water in them, or Weight on board them, as Lead, Iron, Stone or other ponderous Matter, or other Gear or Materials but such only as they carry when they go and row to cast on board Ships. You shall then proceed to drive the first or Stock Nail, indicating the Light Mark of the Keel, which Nail must be on an exact Square, and driven regularly, so that the Edge of the Water may be even with the Middle of the Nail, forming a Triangle clear of the Water. You shall then cause Fifty-three Hundred Weights to be placed in the Keel, and see that the Nails are fairly driven on each Side of the Stem and Stern Post to mark the first Chaldron, and repeat this Operation until the whole Number of Chaldrons are in the Keel, when an oblong Plate is to be nailed above the last Nail, to secure it from Loss or Removal, and not to indicate the Loading of the Keel.

Eighthly. You shall see that Nails be driven in each Keel and Boat, Waggon and other Carriage, directly and immediately at the Time and Place of the measuring and weighing thereof.

Ninthly. You shall see that the Heads of all Nails be of equal Size, and that all the Chaldron Nails exceed not in Thickness an Half Crown at the Outside of the Head of them.

Tenthly. You Our said Commissioners shall take special Care to choose and employ able and fit Men for the admeasuring, weighing, marking and nailing of all Keels, Boats, Waggons and other Carriages, and that their Oaths, for the faithful and true Execution of their respective Trusts, be administered to them and every of them, by you, according to Law, before their entering upon the Execution thereof. And Our express Will and Pleasure is, and you are accordingly to direct and take care, that no Keels or Boats, Waggons or other Carriages, be at any Time admeasured, weighed, marked or nailed by them or any of them, but in the Presence of you Our said Commissioners or any Three or more of you (whereof as aforesaid to be Two.)

Eleventhly. You Our said Commissioners (whereof as aforesaid to be Two) shall see that he or they that prick or drive the said Nails do it fairly, with the Top or upper Side of each Nail swimming clear, and even with the Water.

[211]

Twelfthly. You shall diligently take care that all such Keels, Boats, Waggons and other Carriages be rightly and truly measured, weighed and marked as in and by the said Acts are directed.

Thirteenthly. From Time to Time hereafter, if any Keel or Boat, Waggon or other Carriage, lose their Nails by any Means whatsoever, you shall not suffer any such Keel, Boat, Waggon or other Carriage to make Carriage of Coals on board of Ships, or to the Salt Pans, upon any Pretence whatsoever, until the said Keel or Boat, Waggon or other Carriage, be measured and weighed de novo.

Fourteenthly. If you shall know, or shall be informed, that any Keel, Boat, Waggon or other Carriage hath lost their or any of their Nails, if they or any of them shall be put in the Carpenter's or Workman's Hands to be repaired, and so forth, and there have the Stem or Stern Posts taken out and new ones put in the Room of them, you shall take care that such Carpenters, Workmen or other Persons do not drive any Nail by guess, and that, after the due admeasuring and marking the aforesaid Keels and Boats, they do not screw or wedge up the Stem or Stern Post of any Keel or Boat, or practise or use any indirect or unlawful Ways or Means to prevent the right and lawful Admeasurement and weighing of any Keels and Boats, Waggons and other Carriages; and upon the Discovery of any such indirect Practice you shall forthwith make the same known to Our Commissioners of Our Customs, that the Person or Persons so offending may be prosecuted and punished for the same according to Law.

Fifteenthly. If any Person or Persons chosen and employed by you Our said Commissioners as aforesaid for and performing any Part of the Observance and Execution of this Our Commission and Instructions, according to the respective Trusts reposed in them, fail or come short in his or their Duty or Duties, you are hereby authorized and required, from Time to Time, and as often as there shall be Occasion, to discharge or dismiss him or them, and choose or employ other fit Person or Persons in his or their Room or Stead, and so to do from Time to Time until you have provided such fit Persons as are and shall be rightly and well qualified to perform the said Duties.

Sixteenthly. In case you shall know, or be informed, of any Keel, Boat, Waggon, or other Carriage whatsoever that shall or doth carry Coals as aforesaid before they and every of them be rightfully and duly admeasured, weighed and marked as aforesaid, you are to cause them to be seized, and prosecuted in Our Court of Exchequer for the Condemnation thereof, and in no wise shall suffer such to be compounded, released or discharged, without the special Order of the Commissioners of our Customs; and if you shall know, or be informed, that any of the Marks or Nails, after Admeasurement of such Keels and Boats, have been removed, altered, or changed, whereby to frustrate the Intent and Meaning of the Acts of Parliament in that Case provided, you shall cause the several Persons concerned therein to be prosecuted for the Penalties incurred. And whereas it hath been represented to Our Commissioners of Our Customs, that it has been practised by some evil-disposed Persons, soon after the Admeasurement and marking of such Keels or Boats, to lay them on Shore, upon Blocks under each End thereof, which causes those Parts to rise, and the Midship Parts to sink with their own Weight, whereby the said Keels or Boats will carry more Coals than their just Burthen, and yet swim remarkably short of their loading Marks or Nails, both at Head and Stern; for the Prevention of which Abuse you are, on the Discovery of such or any other Frauds of the like Nature, to put a stop to the working of such Keels or Boats; and you are forthwith to give Notice to Our Commissioners of Our Customs, that the Person or Persons so offending may be prosecuted and punished for the same according to Law.

[212]

Seventeenthly. We will that Our Commissioners aforesaid keep a Register Book, fairly written, of all the Keels and Boats, Waggons and all other Carriages, by you to be admeasured, weighed, marked and nailed as aforesaid, expressing the Date when admeasured, the Number, Content and Portage of each Keel and Boat, and the Distance of the Stock and last Nail from the Top of the Keel or Boat, as also the Distance between the Stock Nail and the last Nail, together with the Number, Dimensions and Contents of the Waggons and other Carriages at the Time and Times of Admeasurement and weighing, and of the Names and Surnames of such Person or Persons as they are belonging to, and also whose Work they and every of them are employed in, and Places at which they were employed, at the Time of Admeasurement and weighing and marking thereof, to the end that the true and certain Number, Content, Portage and Dimensions of all and every the said Keels or Boats, Waggons and other Carriages, may be truly known; and so often as any Keel or Boat shall be weighed or measured de novo, you shall note the same in the proper Book, opposite the former weighing, referring to the Date and new Number of such Keel or Boat, such new Number being continued in regular Progression.

Eighteenthly. If any Owner or Owners of any Keels, Boats, Waggons or other Carriages shall desire the same to be admeasured, weighed or marked on Days and Times not appointed by you, We will that the Owners of every such Keel, Boat, Waggon or other Carriage do give Notice in Writing under his or their Hands to the Collectors of Our Customs at the Port of Newcastle, the Space of Three Days at least before any such Keels and Boats, Waggons and other Carriages are to be admeasured and weighed, to the end that all Persons concerned therein have timely Notice to observe and attend the same, in the Execution of the Premises, as We have before commanded.

Nineteenthly. And you Our Commissioners aforesaid, or your Register, shall from Time to Time give an Account to Our Commissioners of Our Customs, now and for the Time being, of your daily Proceedings in the Execution of Our Commission, as you shall be by them required.

Twentiethly. And you shall from Time to Time hereafter follow such further Orders, Directions and Instructions as you shall receive from the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury, now and for the Time being, or the Commissioners of Our Customs, now and for the Time being, according to Law.

Lastly. You are to take notice that the whole Charge of measuring or weighing, marking and nailing, is to be borne and paid by the respective Owners and Proprietors of the said Keels, Boats, Waggons and other Carriages, as hath heretofore been accustomed, except only the Charge of providing Weights, which is to be at the Expence of the Crown.

(True Copy) C. SHARP.