184 MINUTES OF EVIDENCE BEFORE SELECT COMMITTEE Mr\ , Is' there any other officer on the coal- meters establishment in the election of the Richard Oulton. Guild?— There is Mr. William Howard, who is the inspector." ' ' What duty is attached to his situation?— His duty is to see that the men are (• 26 May.) attending carefully to the admeasurement of the coals, and if any of them are absent, to report them to me, and to put other meters on duty in their places, and I . report them to the Coal Committee, and if there is any dispute on the quays he generally settles it. Is he always present?— He is generally, from ship to ship.: he is not well now nor has not been so for some time. IIow many coal- meters are there?— Eighty. How are they appointed?— By election in the Guild of Merchants, in the same way that I was myself. Were there eighty coal- meters on the establishment previous to your election ?— There were. What are their duties ?— Their duty is to attend to the admeasurement of the coals on the ships, and to keep a strict tally of the same, which they return to me. If I doubted any captain's return, I should swear the meter before a magistrate ; and frequently it has occurred, when the captains went to the Custom House to pay the duty, that they would make up a return not agreeing with the coal- meters. I was then called upon by the officers of the Custom House to bring the coal- meter forward, which I did, and the surveyor generally drew up an affidavit such as he thought necessary, and I made that man go before one of the police magistrates, and make an affidavit of the actual quantity. It frequently occurred, before this system was followed, that the captains went forward and made an affidavit of a quantity short of the actual one; for these duties nothing is paid to any person in our Establish- ment by either the Revenue or Wide Streets Commissioners. When appointed to a ship, what number of hours in each day are they on duty? — In the summer, eight months of the year, from six o'clock in the morning till eight at night, and in the four winter months of November, December, January and February, they are from seven o'clock in the morning till five in the evening; some of the captains, before this regulation took place, were in the habit of discharging coals in the night, or very early in the morning, to deceive the master- porter, and I applied to the Coal Committee, and they, from my application, applied to the Commissioners of Customs to confine the captains to particular hours of discharging, and the Commissioners ordered their quay- officers to attend, to prevent the captains from discharging except during those hours; and if it should appear that the master- porter should be absent, or taken ill, Mr. Howard reports it to me, and I put another master- porter immediately on duty. A master- porter is the same as a coal- measurer ?— It is the same. What wages per ton do they receive for the performance of their duty?— Sixpence per ton ; they have no other allowance, save a bag of coal, worth about sixteen pence. The London Coal Act allows, besides the metage, one guinea for each ship, in lieu of coals and other gratuities, and 3 s. per day while on board ship, in lieu of pro- visions and drink; our coal meters have no allowance of this kind whatever. By whom is it paid ?— By the captain. Were the wages of 6 d. a ton to coal- meters established previous to your appoint- ment?— They were. Have not the coal- meters a gratuity of half a barrel of coals from the ship on the cargo being discharged?— They have, but it is not looked upon by the Guild of Merchants that the captain is obliged to give it. I have before stated, that the London coal- meter is allowed a guinea by Act of Parliament in lieu of coals. What is the average value of a half barrel?— About sixteen pence. Did that custom exist previous to your appointment?— For sixty years, at least. Are not the deputy sea- coal- meters in London entitled by an Act of Parliament to one guinea from each ship upon its delivery, in room of allowances on coals?— They are, as appears by the schedule to the Act of Parliament of the 47th Geo. 3, s. 2, c. 68, p. 1247. Are you remunerated for your services by fees, or by salary ?— By fees. What are those fees ?— I have one shilling per ship for signing the landing- order, or certificate, when the captain brings it to me; I have 2 s. id. from the coal- meter, when the ship has cleared out her cargo, which is paid out of the metage, making in all 3^. 3 d., and 4 d. for the expense of a messenger. Upon each ship is that?— Upon each ship. Is that all the amount of your salary?— That is the. amount, except some trifling thing