Mr. Grip to Mr. Gresham.

[Translation.]

A royal decree of September 14, 1893, which went into operation on the 1st of October last, introduced certain modifications in and amendments to the instructions in force in Norway in regard to the admeasurement of vessels.

By the inclosed French translation of an extract from the department of finance in Norway, bearing date of October 30, 1893, your excellency will see the essential points on which these modifications and amendments bear. The Norwegian rules which have thus been adopted for the admeasurement of vessels agree, in the main, with the rules established in Great Britain and Ireland by the merchant shipping (tonnage) act of 1889.

In accordance with the new regulations, a circular dated September 21, 1893, which was addressed by the department of finance and customs to Norwegian collectors of customs, instructed such collectors to recognize, on and after October 1, 1893, the national certificates of admeasurement of foreign sailing vessels admeasured according to the Moorsom system, as also national certificates of admeasurement of steam vessels belonging to a country that has adopted the so-called English rule for the deduction of engine room. On the other hand, steam vessels belonging to countries in which another rule, whether the German or the Danube rule, is adopted, are to be readmeasured for the purpose of ascertaining the deduction to be made for engine room according to the English rule, while the gross capacity, the deduction for the space set apart for the crew, etc., are to be recognized according to the statements contained in the national certificates of admeasurement. If, however, the captain of such a vessel prefers, the dues to be collected on the net capacity of the vessel may be computed according to the certificate of admeasurement.

In having the honor to bring the foregoing to your excellency’s notice I take the liberty, in pursuance of the instructions of my Government, to express the hope that the United States Government will be pleased, by way of reciprocity, to order Norwegian certificates of admeasurement issued subsequently to October 1, 1893, to be recognized in American ports. The agreement established between the United Kingdoms and the United States by the exchange of the ministerial notes of April 16 and June 13, 1883, should, therefore, if this is done, be modified so far as Norwegian vessels are concerned.

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As English certificates of admeasurement are, unless I have been misinformed, recognized by the custom-houses of the United States, my Government trusts that the same favor will be granted to the new Norwegian certificates, which are virtually the same as those of British vessels.

In addition to the aforesaid extract I herewith inclose a copy of the decree of September 14, 1893, together with a copy of the circular issued by the department of finance and customs under date of September 21, 1893.

Be pleased, etc.,

A. Grip.
[Inclosure.—Translation.]

Extract from a letter dated October 30, 1893, addressed to the ministry of foreign affairs at Stockholm by the department of finance and customs at Christiania.

A royal decree of September 14, 1893, introduced in Norway certain modifications of and amendments to the instructions in force in that country relative to the admeasurement of vessels. The main points are the following:

(1)
The tanks for water ballast, being between the outer and inner bottoms in double-bottomed vessels, are not to be included in the tonnage of the volume below the tonnage deck when such tanks can not be utilized for cargo, sea stores, or fuel.
(2)
Roundhouses and raised hatchways communicating with the hold are to be measured, and, of their cubic contents, all in excess of one-half of 1 per cent of the gross tonnage of the rest of the vessel shall be added to the gross tonnage. Formerly nothing but the volume in excess of 2 per cent of the volume below the upper deck was added.
(3)
The deductions for the compartments set apart for the crew, etc., are modified in such a way as to permit, besides the deductions already allowed, a deduction for the cable stages, and, in sailing vessels, sail rooms, and also for the captain’s sleeping room, with toilet and bathroom. By this measure the deductions of this nature agree with the English rules of admeasurement as established by the merchant shipping (tonnage) act of 1889, except as regards the deduction for the cable stages, which, in Norway, is limited to 2 per cent of the gross tonnage, whereas this deduction is unlimited in, England.
(4)
The deduction for the engine is to be computed according to the English rule, instead of the German rule, which has hitherto been in force, with this modification, however, that the deduction, except in the case of tugboats and boats used for breaking a passage through ice, is never to exceed 50 per cent of the vessel’s gross tonnage.

The aforesaid royal decree has superseded the royal decree of May 5, 1883, with regard to the addendum to certificates of admeasurement of decked steamers. Certificates of admeasurement of Norwegian steamers will, therefore, no longer have an addendum made to them containing a statement of their net capacity, according to the German or Danube rule.

The new instructions went into operation, according to paragraph 14, on the 1st instant. The readmeasurement of vessels, however, can not be required before January 1, 1894, except in certain special cases.

In pursuance of the new provisions the Norwegian ministry of [Page 638] finance and customs informed the custom-houses of the Kingdom by a circular, dated September 21, 1893, that previous circulars concerning the recognition, either in whole or in part, of the certificates of admeasurement of foreign vessels would be revoked, and that on and after October 1, 1893, custom-houses must observe the following rules for the collection of duties to be computed on the tonnage of foreign vessels, to wit:

(1)
Sailing vessels bearing a national certificate of admeasurement, and admeasured according to the Moorsom system, are not to be read-measured in Norway, and the dues to be collected are to be computed according to the net capacity stated in the certificate of admeasurement issued in the port of registry.
(2)
The same is the case with steamers belonging to the following countries, in which the English rule is in force with regard to the deduction for the engine, to wit: Great Britain and Ireland, France, Italy, Austria-Hungary, and Finland.
(3)
In the case of Danish steam vessels whose certificates of admeasurement are followed by an addendum stating the deduction for the engine, computed according to the English rule, the computation of the dues must be based upon the net capacity stated in the addendum.
(4)
Steam vessels belonging to other countries in which the Moorsom system is adopted are to be readmeasured for the purpose of ascertaining the deduction for the engine according to the English rule, while the gross capacity, the deduction for the compartments set apart for the crew, etc., are to be recognized as they are stated in the certificates of admeasurement issued in the port of registry. However, in the case of German vessels that have, in addition to the German certificate of admeasurement, a special certificate of admeasurement according to the English rule, the dues to be collected are to be computed according to the net capacity stated in the special certificate.

If the captain of a vessel provided with a certificate of admeasurement prepared according to the German or Danube rule shall not wish the vessel to be readmeasured, the dues may be computed according to the certificate of admeasurement.

It is to be remarked that the new Norwegian certificates of admeasurement, as appears from the forms of certificates of admeasurement which are appended to the new instructions, are to contain a statement of the volume of the spaces allowed to be deducted, such as, for instance, the compartments set apart for the use of the crew, etc. It will thus be possible, if this is desired—by the aid of the figures given in the certificate of admeasurement and without having recourse to readmeasurement—to compute separately the deduction made for the so-called navigation spaces, the cable stages, the sail rooms, and the compartments set apart for the use of the captain.