io8 [April, 1902.] IMPERIAL INSTITUTE JOURNAL. Vol. VIII. No. 88. 
Shipping Facilities at Portland (Maine). — The 
British Vice-Consul at Portland (Maine), in his recent report, 
writes as follows I again beg to draw attention to the 
facilities now afforded by the various steamship lines for direct 
shipment to Portland of all merchandise destined for Maine and 
adjoining States, etc. The rapidity with which merchandise can 
be cleared through the Custom-house, and the saving in storage 
and other expenses of this port, should have an important in- 
fluence in obtaining ‘repeat’ orders." 
- 4 - 
OFFICIAL AND COMMERCIAL CONTRACTS. 
UNITED KINGDOM. 
Bevonport. — Tenders are invited, until the 16th inst. , for 
the Supply of Materials and the Execution of the following 
Works: — (a) Permanent way, road-bed, paving and bonding 
of 3 m. 1 f. 2 ’o 8 ch. of double Tramway Track, and all inci- 
dental and special works. Particulars (,£20) may be obtained 
from Mr. C. Chad well, 20, Victoria-street, Westminster. 
Hull.— Springhead Pumping Station.— Tenders are 
invited, until the 26th inst., for the Supply and Erection of 
one set of Engine and Pumps, complete, for the Suburban 
High Level District. Particulars (£1) may be obtained from 
Mr. F. J. Bancroft, Alfred Gelder-street, Hull, 
London (Admiralty). — Tenders are invited, until the 9th 
inst., for the Supply to H.M. Dockyards of Riga and 
St. Petersburg Hemp. Particulars may be obtained from 
the Director of Navy Contracts, Admiralty, London. 
Manchester. — The Waterworks Committee invite Ten- 
ders, until the 19th inst., for the Supply of two sets of addi- 
tional steam Pumping Engines, to deliver against a pressure of 
1,120 lb. per square inch. Particulars (j£i. is.) may be obtained 
from the secretary, Waterworks Offices, Town-hall, Manchester. 
Medway Conservancy.— Tenders are invited, until the 
8th inst., for the Execution of certain Dredging Works in 
the River Medway. Particulars {£2.. as.) may be obtained from 
the secretary to the Medway Conservancy, 42, High-street, 
Rochester, Kent. 
Tarporley. — TENDERS are invited, until the 16th inst., for 
the Construction of about two miles of Pipe Sewers from 
15-in. to 8-in. diameter, etc. Particulars (j£io) may be obtained 
from Mr. C. E. Bruges, 1, Victoria-street, Westminster. 
Tottenham. — Tenders and Designs are invited, until the 
22nd inst., for a Refuse Destructor Plant. Particulars 
(j£io) may be obtained from Mr. W. H. Prescott, Coombes 
Croft House, 712, High-road, Tottenham. 
COLONIES. 
New South Wales.— Proposed Bridge across Sydney 
Harbour. — A further extension of time for tendering for the 
above, until June 30th next, is announced. Particulars may 
be obtained from the Agent-General for New South Wales, 
9, Victoria-street, Westminster.— (Newcastle). — The Govern- 
ment of New South Wales offers a concession of a 99 years' 
lease of a suitable floating dock site at the port of Newcastle to 
any responsible owner or company undertaking to build, equip 
and maintain a floating dock capable of accommodating vessels 
up to 5,000 gross tons. Tenders to be addressed to the Under- 
secretary for Public Works, Sydney. Further particulars of 
the Agent-General for New South Wales, 9, Victoria-street, 
Westminster. Contract closes April 7. — (Sydney). — Messrs. 
Preece and Cardew are authorised by the Municipal Council of 
Sydney to invite Tenders, until the 7th May, for the Supply, 
Delivery, and Erection of the Plant and Machinery 
required for the complete equipment of their proposed 
Electricity Supply Station, and sub-stations in connection 
therewith. Particulars (£5) may be obtained from Messrs. 
Preece and Cardew, 8, Queen Anne's-gate, Westminster. 
Victoria. — Tenders are invited, up to the 14th inst., for 
the Supply of Steel Rails and Fishplates for the Victorian 
railways. Particulars can be seen at the Contractors’ Room, 
Spencer-street, Melbourne, and at the office of the Agent- 
General for Victoria, 15, Victoria-street, London, S.W. A 
preliminary deposit of £1,000 is required in each case, 
INDIA. 
Calcutta. —Tenders are invited for the Supply of 10,000 
Stopcocks, as follows: 1,428 inch, 2,856 three-quarter inch, 
5,716 half-inch. To be delivered c.i.f. Calcutta. The stopcocks 
are to be a strong pattern, gun-metal, with loose valve, square 
head on spindle, and a false spindle not less than § in. square 
on all sizes. Stops to have male ends screwed for iron pipe. 
A pattern of each size is to be sent with tender, and when 
tender is accepted subsequent deliveries must be equal to the 
pattern, or the stops will be rejected. All stopcocks must be 
tested by the makers up to 500 ft. head water. The stopcocks 
should be delivered in equal monthly instalments, and tenderers 
should state the number of each size they are prepared to deliver 
each month, and when the first instalment (can be delivered. 
Address, Fred. Gainsford, secretary to the Corporation. Con- 
tract closes April 23. 
East Indian Railway.— Tenders are invited, until the 
9th inst., for the Supply and Delivery of: — (1) Mining Tubs 
and Wheels and Axles for Colliery Trucks ; (2) Buffers, Screw 
Couplings, etc. Particulars (£1. is.) may be obtained from the 
Company’s Offices, Nicholas-lane, London, E.C. 
State Railways.— Tenders are invited, until the 15th inst, , 
for the Supply of Workshop Machines. Particulars may be 
obtained from the Director-General of Stores, India Office, 
Whitehall, S.W. 
FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 
Argentina. — Tenders are invited by the Commissioners 
for the Drainage Works of the Province of Buenos Ayres, for the 
construction of the necessary works in connection with over 
620 miles of main drainage canals, branch trenches, and acces- 
sory works in certain regions subject to inundations. Contractors 
experienced in such work, and desirous of tendering, may obtain 
further information by applying in writing to the secretary, 
Argentine Legation, 16, Kensington Palaee-gardens, London, 
W. No date for placing contract is announced, 
Egypt.— Tenders are invited, until the 7th inst., for the 
Supply of 350 metric tons of Portland Cement ; also for the 
Supply of 10,400 Crossing Sleepers, Particulars of these two 
contracts may be obtained fron Lieut. -Colonel J, H. Western, 
Broadway Chambers, Westminster. — Tenders are invited, 
until the 8th inst., for the Working of the Abou Zaabel 
Quarries. Particulars may be seen at the Office of the 
Commission of Public Ways, Cairo. — Tenders are invited, 
until the 20th inst. , for the Supply of two Lifting Winches 
for Ziftah Barrage Regulator Gates. Particulars may be obtained 
at the office of the Inspector-General of Irrigation, Lower 
Egypt. — Tenders areinvited, until the 10th inst. , fortheSupPLY 
and Erection at Alexandria of a- Hydraulic Press, working 
pressure 2 tons per square inch, and provided with treble 
hydraulic pumps for hand power. Particulars may be obtained 
at the Secretariat of the Egyptian Direction-General of Customs. 
Hor way. — Tenders are invited by the Stavanger Water- 
works for the Delivery and Erection of a Pump driven by a 
Gas Motor. Tenders, marked “ Leverance og Motitering 
af Pumpe og Gasmotor," can be sent in until the 15th inst., to 
Stadsingenibrkonteret, Stavanger, where drawings and condi- 
tions may be obtained. — Tenders are invited by the Norwegian 
State Railways, until the 15th inst., for the Supply of various 
Tools and Materials for use on the Arendal-Aamli line. 
Particulars may be examined at the Commercial Department of 
the Foreign Office. — Tenders are also invited by the Intcndant 
of the Norwegian Navy, until the 12th inst., for the following 
Oils : 20,000 kilogs. sweet oil (not more than 8 per cent, acid), 
30.000 kilogs. marine oil, 2,000 kilogs. castor oil, and 3,000 
kilogs. lamp oil of good qualities. Conditions maybe examined 
at the Commercial Department of the Foreign Office, Apart 
from Customs duties, the Norwegian Government give a 
preference of 15 per cemL to native tenders. 
Spain. — Tenders are invited, until the 10th inst., for the 
Supply of 45,900 metres of Jute Sacking for making 18,000 
flour sacks. Particulars may be obtained in the Directorate of 
the “ Subintendencia Docks,” Madrid. — Tenders are invited 
for the Construction of Bridges as follows, viz. :— Until the 
8th inst. , for a bridge across the Jadrachbn creek, on the 
road from AlcaU de Guadira to Huelva, in the province of 
Sevilla, at the upset price of 38,997-44 pesetas, or about ^1,135, 
a provisional deposit of 390 pesetas, or about £11., being 
required to qualify any tender ; and, until the 10th inst., for a 
bridge over the Chartera “rambla," on the high road from 
Tarancon to Teruel, in the province of Teruel, at the upset price 
of 33,106-30 pesetas, or about ^£964, a provisional deposit of 
1,700 pesetas, or about ^£49, being required in respect of any 
tender. Particulars may lie seen at the Ministry of Public 
Works, Madrid. — Tenders are invited, untilthe 10th inst., for: 
— The metal spans for the bridge over the Rivers Guisande A bad in 
andTamoga, on the high road from Rabade to Moncelos, in the 
province of Lugo, at the upset price of 36,743-69 pesetas, or 
about /i,o6i. A provisional deposit of 1,900 pesetas, or 
about 2 > 5 S> required. Constructing a bridge ovei the River 
Tormes, on the high road from Villacastin to Vigo, in the 
province of Salamanca, at the upset price of 841,640 pesetas, 
or about ,£24,304. Provisional deposit, 42,100 pesetas, or 
about ,£1,215. Constructing a bridge over the River Jucar, on 
the high road from Silla to Alicante, in the province of Valencia, 
at the upset price of 364,826-42 pesetas, or about ,£10,536. 
Provisional deposit, 18,200 pesetas, or about ,£526. Particulars 
may be seen at the Ministry of Public Works, Madrid. — 
Tenders are invited, until the 8th inst., for the Supply of 
4.000 Suits of Linen Drill to the Directorate of Penal 
Establishments, Madrid. Particulars may be seen in the 
Gaceta de Madrid of the 7th March.- — The Alquife Mines and 
Railway Co., Ltd., invites Tenders, until the 21st inst., for 
the Construction of a Steel Pier or Loading Stage in 
the Mediterranean, at Almeria, Spain, with MASONRY and 
Steel Approach and contingent works, comprising about 
2, 800 tons of steelwork. Particulars (,£3. 3s.) maybe obtained 
from Messrs. Formans and McCall, 160, Hope-street, Glasgow ; 
or of Mr. C. E. Bulmer, Alquife Mines, Guadix, Spain. Mr. 
Bulmer will be in Almeria from 1st to 8th inst,, to show- 
intending contractors over the site. 
— 
COMMERCIAL LAW INTELLIGENCE. 
A Burglary Loss. — Before Mr. Justice Kennedy a case of 
some importance to traders was heard, the question under 
consideration being the liability of a retailer in furs in respect 
to goods consigned to him on sale or return. The plaintiffs 
were Messrs. Bevington and Morris, leather merchants 
and furriers, and the defendants, Messrs. J, R. Dale and 
Co. (Limited), tailors and costumiers. According to the 
admitted facts, in September, 1901, plaintiffs delivered a 
quantity of furs to the defendants' shop in Sloane Street, on 
what was known in the trade as “memo.” or “appro.," 
goods not sold to be returned at the request of either party, 
and the plaintiffs to be at liberty to send at any time for any 
particular article they might require. A burglary was com- 
mitted at the shop, and furs of the invoice value of ^£168 were 
stolen. It was agreed that there was no negligence on the 
part of the defendants, and the question for decision was who 
was to bear the loss. For the plaintiffs it was urged that it 
was a perfectly well-known custom of the trade that the risk 
was on the consignee up to the time that the goods were either 
sold or returned, and a decision of Lord Field was quoted, 
given twenty-five years ago, when the jury found that the 
custom had been established. A number of wholesale furriers 
and retailers gave evidence of the existence of the custom. For 
the defendants it was contended that the retailer was only the 
bailee of the goods, and when he was deprived of them, through 
no negligence on the part of himself or anyone in his employ, 
the owner was the person liable. The custom suggested was 
not, he urged, proved, and it was not supported by or based 
on reason or the requirements of the trade. If the plaintiffs 
were right, the whole of the risk was borne by Dale, and the 
whole of the profits taken by Bevington and Morris. Mr. 
Justice Kennedy held that (he custom had been proved, and 
that persons dealing in the trade must be taken to have know- 
ledge of it. In the absence of custom, the bailment would 
bring no liability on the bailee, if there was no negligence. In 
this case, where articles of particular value were consigned by 
the wholesale house to the retailers on “memo,," or sale or 
return, the latter took a wider liability while the goods were in 
his possession. It seemed a very reasonable custom, for, while 
the wholesale dealer would find it almost impossible to insure 
them unless he could get a floating policy without reference to 
warehouse or shop, the retailer would have little difficulty in 
doing so. Judgment for the plaintiffs, with costs. 
Authority of Servant to Sell.— An action was brought 
by Mr. F, W.Warmington, L.C.C. , against Messrs. Chick and 
Son, a firm of jobmasters, for the return or value of a landau, 
and damages for its detention and wrongful user. It appeared 
that the plaintiff, on returning from a visit to Scotland in 1901, 
found that his coachman, one William Holding, had absconded, 
and that the landau was missing. It was then discovered that 
Holding had sold it to the defendants for ^£55. The defendants 
declined to return it except on receipt of that sum. They now 
pleaded that Holding either was the plaintiff’s agent for the 
sale, or had been so held out by the plaintiff as his agent that 
he was estopped from denying the fact. It appeared that in 
1898 and in 1900 Holding had acted as the plaintiffs agent for 
the sale to the defendant of a bay mare and a horse, and it was 
also pleaded that the plaintiff had allowed the landau to be in 
Holding's possession and to be offered by him for sale. The 
plaintiff, in his evidence, admitted that his habit was to leave 
the sale of such horses as he wished from time to time to sell 
in the hands of his coachman, fixing the price himself. He 
had once sold a carriage, but in that case sold it himself, and 
he had never even contemplated selling this one. He had 
never detected dishonesty on Holding’s part before he ab- 
sconded. It appeared that when Holding brought the landau 
and. offered it to the defendant for sale he offered the horse and 
harness too. On his request he was paid by an open cheque to 
himself for ^£54, and £1 in cash. It was contended on behalf 
of tile defendant that it might reasonably be assumed that a 
coachman who had been allowed on two occasions to sell horses 
for his master had authority to sell a carriage. Supposing it 
had been a third horse that he had tried to sell, could it be said 
that he was not clothed with ostensible authority to sell it? 
His lordship remarked that it would be a serious thing to 
decide that because a man was allowed to sell horses he might 
lie safely considered authorised to sell everything connected 
with them. The jury, after an absence of two hours, returned 
a verdict for the plaintiff, assessing the damages at £55. J udg- 
ment was entered accordingly, with costs. 
The Sale of Bread by Weight. The case of Cox (on 
behalf of, etc.) v. Bleines, which was heard in the Lord Chief 
Justice’s Court, was an appeal from a decision of a metropolitan 
police magistrate, who had dismissed an information under the 
London Bread Act, alleging that the respondent had sold bread 
otherwise than by weight. Mr. Daldy, for the appellant, said 
the magistrate dismissed the information on the ground that 
the sale was by weight, and his contention was that there was 
no evidence upon which he could so find. The appellant, an 
inspector of weights and measures, sent someone into the 
respondent’s shop, who asked for a half-quartern loaf. There- 
upon defendant’s servant placed a loaf and two rolls in one of 
the scales, the proper weight being in the other. The bread did 
not carry the scale down, and the beam did not move at all. 
The person, however, who had been sent into the shop paid 
twopence, took the bread away, and the proceedings were 
instituted. The magistrate said he was of opinion that it made 
no difference whether the bread was properly or improperly 
weighed. He was, he said, of opinion that the bread was 
actually weighed. 
Mr. Justice Channel! : I should say it was a sale by false 
weight. 
There was no appearance on the other side, and the Court 
allowed the appeal, and sent back the case to the magistrate. 
Salmon Catching. — Davies v. Evans was a case stated 
by the magistrates of Carmarthen, raising the question whether 
an intention to catch salmon was necessary to support a con- 
viction for catching salmon during the weekly close time by 
moans of a permanently fixed net, which though not a salmon 
net had, in fact, caught salmon during that period. 
The following facts appeared from the case stated : — On 
August 3, 1901, two informations were brought by the respond- 
ent, James Evans, of Abcrgwili, a superintendent of water 
bailiffs in the employ of the Carmarthen Bay Board of Conser- 
vators, against the appellant, a fisherman named William 
Davies, under bve-laws made by the Board under 36 and 37 Vic. 
c, 71, section 39, sub-sections 2 and 4. The first information 
charged the appellant with unlawfully fishing for salmon other- 
wise than by rod and line at 4.30 p.m. on Sunday, May 25, 
1901, during the weekly close time. The other charged him 
with attempting on the same occasion to take salmon with a net 
of less dimensions than allowed by the bye-laws. The justices 
convicted the appellant and fined him 10s. and costs, with the 
alternative of seven days’ imprisonment on each charge. The 
informations were, by consent, heard together, and the following 
facts were proved. The appellant was the owner of a net in the 
estuary of the Towy, permanently fixed in position. The mesh 
was smaller than required by the law regulating the size of mesh 
for salmon nets, and the net was kept up during the weekly close 
time fixed by the bye-laws. Large quantities of coarse fish were 
caught and salmon occasionally. The defendant held a salmon 
licence in respect of the net. No bye-law had been made. under 
36 and 37 Vic., c. 71, section 39, sub-section 11. On the part of 
the appellant it was contended that the net was not peculiarly 
adapted for catching salmon and that it was not fixed for that 
purpose, and that the licence was taken out to enable him to 
keep any salmon that might occasionally be caught, and did not 
convert it into a salmon net so as to render it subject to the 
bye-laws. On the part of the respondent it was contended that 
the fact that the net was fixed in salmon waters and caught 
salmon, and that the appellant had taken out a licence in respect 
of it, brought it within the operation of the bye-laws. The 
question for the opinion of the Court was whether the facts that 
the net had been fixed in salmon waters and had taken salmon, 
and that the appellant had taken out a licence in respect of it, 
brought it within the operation of the bye-law as to weekly close 
time. 
The Lord Chief Justice said that they were all of opinion 
that the case ought to go back to the justices, with a direction 
that the facts stated would be sufficient to justify a conviction if 
the justices found intention, but the intention was to be gathered 
from the facts. It would be no answer for the appellant to say 
that he had no intention. The intention was to be gathered 
from his conduct. Case remitted and costs to abide the result. 
-4 
BRITISH CONSULAR REPORTS. 
Colombia. — The British Vice-Consul in Colombia describes, 
in his latest report, the condition of Colombia after more than 
two years of civil war. He says that national industry is 
crippled and all commercial intercourse with the interior 
checked. The carriage of merchandise on the Magdalena 
river, the main artery of the internal trade of the country, has 
become all but impossible. The Government has done all that 
it could to protect the large British mining interests in the 
Tolima district, and the managers of the important mining 
establishments have thus been enabled to carry on their work 
in spite of the condition of the country. It is many years since 
all the specie was driven out of the country, and an incon- 
vertible paper currency substituted. The value of this paper 
declined little before the present revolution, but since then it 
has fallen so that 312 pesos in November, 1898, would purchase 
the same amount of sterling that 4,800 pesos would in No- 
vember, 1901. The consequence is the dislocation of trade at 
the ports. Thus, there have been cases in which a merchant 
would sell a large quantity of goods on a Monday. As bills in 
the market on that day stood at 2,000 per cent., he would guard 
himself and liquidate at 2,300 per cent. On the Saturday 
following he wishes to convert his gains of the week into gold, 
and finds that to buy drafts he has to buy at 2,700 per cent., so 
that his transactions of the week result in a considerable loss. 
Matters have come to such a pass that merchants are beginning 
to refuse to sell except to such as are able to pay in goldT 
The gold and silver mining industry is chiefly in British 
hands. Some of the most important mines are rediscovered 
Spanish workings, one of these yielding as much as 1,000,000 oz. 
of fine silver in a year. Most of the silver mines are well 
provided with modern mining and milling machinery, The 
gold is both vein and alluvial. 
The emerald mines of Muzo and Coscuez, the property of 
the Colombian Government, have produced the finest emeralds 
in the world. They are at present rented to a British company. 
Up to the year 1875 all the emerald mines in the country were 
the property of the nation. After that date the Government 
granted the right of exploration and working to private enter- 
prise, reserving only the right to the Muzo and Coscuez mines. 
Since then several companies have been formed and considerable 
capital expended, with very poor results. The most promising 
of these seems to be the Somondoco mines, worked bv a British 
company. The department of Boyaca, from a raining point of 
