GROWING GOLD. 121 



the Baltic. If these ships are built of the 

 sessiliflora oak, the use of such a material 

 may be a saving to the builder, but it in- 

 creases the necessity for the insurance of 

 them, and a greater rate ought to be charged : 

 but it is a question of considerable importance 

 whether ships which have ceased to be sea- 

 worthy are not often insured for more than 

 they are really worth, and then sent to sea, 

 regardless of the lives of the crew : if this is 

 not the case, shipowners are grossly belied. 

 Surely there ought to be some penalty in- 

 flicted on those who cultivate the "Impostors" 

 in these islands : at any rate they ought not 

 to be found in the royal parks. By Lloyd's 

 list it appears that in the year one thousand 

 eight hundred and twenty-nine, six hundred 

 and seventy-seven British ships were totally 

 lost. 



In proof of these statements the following 

 is given : — 



Extract of a report of a select committee 

 appointed to inquire into the causes of the 



