as far as their ports are concerned. Besides
these bodies there are many local authorities,
who manage their own pilotage affairs
without the supervision of the Trinity
House. Under some of these local powers
voluntary pilotage flourishes — especially
in Scotland and Ireland, where the pilotage
management is almost entirely in the hands
of local boards, and under others pilotage
is compulsory. Their limits are defined,
and it is often a matter of difficulty to the
master of a vessel to know whether he is in
voluntary or compulsory waters. It would
perhaps be better if one guiding power
directed the pilotage of the entire coast of
Great Britain; if the principle of centralisation
were applied to this department, the
simplicity of management and the
uniformity of practice which would follow
would probably be of great service to ship-
masters; but, on the other hand, it must
be remembered that the pilotage service
is, on the whole, very satisfactorily
performed under the present arrangements,
that each local body knows and provides
for its own particular wants, and has a
direct interest in keeping up an efficient
pilotage service.

There is one important matter which
shipowners and underwriters would gladly
see settled by legislative enactment. The
question of responsibility between the master
and pilot, when the latter takes charge of a
ship, is at present very ill defined. In
case of a casualty occurring, the master
says he had not charge of the vessel, and
the pilot declares he is not legally responsible;
thus many disputes arise, and much
dissatisfaction is felt, on account of the
inadequate state of the law. We hope the
new Pilotage Act will do away with this
unpleasant difficulty.

The pilots themselves are a worthy body
of men. Educated from their youth up
for their profession, they are sailors in
every sense of the word. They must have
an intimate acquaintance with every rope
and spar in a ship; indeed, before a man
is admitted as a candidate for a licence he
must have served one year as master, or
three years as mate. When he obtains his
licence he must serve three years in piloting
vessels of low draughts, and after that
has to undergo another examination for
ships of all draughts. Besides this, he
has to prove to the satisfaction of the
examiners that he is perfectly well up in
the peculiarities of the district for which
he seeks a licence as pilot. If he get
through all this satisfactorily, he then
enters upon his duties, which in many
cases are arduous in the extreme. In
difficult waters the pilot has to exercise
unremitting watchfulness and energy; his
powers must never flag; physically and
mentally he must be constantly on the
alert. In addition to this there are other
troubles he has to encounter. On an
outward bound ship, for instance, he has great
difficulty in getting the crew to work the
ship, they being often drunk, and generally
disinclined to work; or perhaps he may
have to board a foreign vessel, and find it
a very hard matter to make himself
understood, and to get his orders carried out.
Some vessels will not answer their helms;
others are deficient in stores, or have
worthless sails and rigging; in short, there
are numerous contingencies which add
very much to the pilot's work. At many
places round the coast the men have to take
their turns in the cruising cutters which
go out to sea to look for ships wanting
pilots, and it is certainly not very pleasant
for them to be pitching and tossing at the
cruising station in all sorts of weather for
days, perhaps, before they are shipped on
vessels requiring pilots. The incomes of
the men vary considerably, a few earning
as much as five hundred pounds a year, but
others making but a scanty living out of
their profession. The principal reason of
this is, that shipowners and masters know
the men who are most to be relied on, and
by means of a system of choice letters, as
it is called, retain the services of particular
men for their ships. This pre-eminence,
is, however, obtained by special excellence,
and is the same as that merit which
achieves distinction and success in other
walks of life. There are sundry
advantages attached to the profession, such, for
instance, as pensions, where age and
infirmity prevent the worn-out pilot from
pursuing his calling. Pilots' widows, too,
are assisted when in distress. There is one
fact which entitles the pilot to some
consideration. He leaves the sea service, in
which he might have risen to a very good
position, to become a pilot, but he must
have no further ambition, for he can get no
higher. He may become an efficient pilot,
and earn a fair income, but his career is
cut short, and he cannot attain any higher
position than that of a pilot.

We owe a great deal to these men.
Their calling is essentially a humane one,
and in the performance of their duties they
help to bring the different people of the
world closer to each other: our own pilots
conduct the foreigner safely into our ports
and see us English people safely off when