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NOTICE TO MARINERS.

The Court of Directors of the East-India Company have lately received from the Government of Bengal the following notification, which is published in the Merchant's Magazine for general information.

HOUSES OF REFUGE, for Shipwrecked Mariners thrown on shore on the sea face of the Sunderbunds, have been put up as follows:

No. 1.-PAINTED RED. Erected just to the northward of Jackson's Grove on Severs's Point, forming the eastern entrance to Channel Creck. It is on an extensive plain, covered with short grass, inside or to the eastward of some high sand hills that here line the shore.

No. 2.-PAINTED WHITE. Erected at the eastern entrance to the Subtermookey River, 400 yards to the northward of the point that forms from Bulcherry Island, and 200 yards from high-water mark. It is in the midst of thick low jungle.

No. 3.-PAINTED BLACK. Erected at the eastern entrance to the Jumera River, 400 yards to the north of the point that forms from the entrance of the Subtermookey River, and 200 yards from high-water mark.

In each house there is a supply of biscuit and water, which will be easily found by reading the instructions put up in each, which also give other directions that will be useful. A Catamaran is attached to each house.

Persons cast away reaching land to the east of Saugor, should make search for the Houses of Refuge; and it should be borne in mind, that when a vessel is lost with a pilot on board, the fact would soon become known at the Pilot Station, and in Calcutta. Parties, therefore, finding their way to the houses should remain there, and husband the means of subsistence, in the assurance that succor will speedily reach them; or if compelled to leave, endeavor to get westward to Saugor Island, and travel along the beach until they arrive at the lighthouse; or make their way to a large fishing village, situated on the south-east side of Saugor Island, using the Catamaran as far as practicable.

FORT WILLIAM, MARINE SUPT'S
OFFICE, 8th March, 1856.

By order of the Superintendent of Marine,

JAMES SUTHERLAND, Officiating Secretary.

Published by order of the Court of Directors of the East-India Company, EAST-INDIA HOUSE, 7th May, 1856.

JAMES C. MELVILL, Secretary.

GUNFLEET LIGHT-HOUSE, EAST SWIN.

TRINITY-HOUSE, LONDON, 2d May, 1856.

Notice is hereby given, that pursuant to the intention expressed in the advertisement from this house, dated 18th January last, the lights, shown from the light vessel moored near the Gunfleet Sand, were discontinued on the evening of the 1st instant, and that a revolving light, colored red, and showing a flash at intervals of thirty seconds, was then exhibited in lieu thereof, from the lantern of the new pile lighthouse, erected near the edge of the south-eastern part of the said sand, and will henceforth be continued nightly from sunset to sunrise. Masters of vessels, pilots, and other mariners, are hereby strictly cautioned not to appoach the said lighthouse nearer than a quarter of a mile, nor, under any circumstances, to attempt to pass to the northward thereof. By order,

P. H. BERTHON, Secretary.

GULF OF ATHENS-FIXED LIGHT ON LIPSO-KUTALA.

The Greek Government has given notice, that on and after the 13th March, 1856, a light will be established at the east end of the Islet of Lipso-Kutala (anc. Psyttaleia) opposite to the entrance of Port Drako, or Peiræus, in the gulf of Athens. The light is bright and fixed. It is placed at a height of 184 feet above the mean level of the sea, and should be visible in ordinary weather at a distance of 10 miles. The illuminating apparatus is a lens of the 6th order. The lighttower is circular, of stone, and 46 feet high from the base. It stands on the sum

mit of the Cape in lat. 37° 56' 23" N., long. 23° 35′ 56′′ east of Greenwich, nearly. This light serves as a guide to the roadstead of Salamis or Koluri, as well as to the harbour of Peiræus. The temporary light which has hitherto stood on the mainland near the tomb of Themistocles, will be no longer exhibited. By command of their Lordships,

JOHN WASHINGTON, Hydrographer.

HYDROGRAPHIC OFFICE, ADMIRALTY, LONDON, 7th March, 1856.

The notice affects the following Admiralty Charts:-Mediterranean, No. 2,158; Archipelago, General No. 1,650, Sheet 1, No. 1,651: Sheet 2, No. 1,652, Salamis Bay, No. 1,513, the Peiræus, No. 1,520; also Mediterranean Lighthouse List, Nos. 154 and 157.

LIGHT ON THE BALEARIC ISLANDS.-MEDITERRANEAN SEA.

The Spanish Ministry of Marine has given notice, that on and after the 1st day of May, 1856, a fixed light would be established on the islet of Los Ahorcados, between Ivica and Formentera, Balearic Islands, in the Mediterranean. The light is a fixed white light, placed at the height of 82 feet above the mean level of the sea, and should be visible from the deck of a ship in ordinary weather at a distance of 10 miles. The illuminating apparatus is catadioptric of the sixth order. The light-tower stands in lat. 38° 48′ 42′′ N., long. 1° 29' east of Greenwich.. The object of the light is to mark the channel known by the name of the Freo Grande, or chief of the three channels or Freos between the islands of Ivica on the north and Formentera on the south. This channel is about one mile wide, and has a depth of 9 fathoms; but as the bottom is rocky, sailing ships should be cautious in taking it with a scant or variable wind, in order to avoid the risk of having to anchor. By Command of their Lordships,

JOHN WASHINGTON, Hydrographer.

HYDROGRAPHIC OFFICE, ADMIRALTY, LONDON, 28 April, 1856.

This notice affects the following Admirality Charts:-Mediterranean, General. No. 2.158; Alicante to Palamos, No. 1,187, Ivica and Formentera Islands, No. 145; also Mediterranean Lighthouse List, No. 10 a.

COMMERCIAL REGULATIONS.

PERUVIAN GUANO RESTRICTIONS.

We give below a copy of a letter from our minister at Lima to the Secretary of State relating to the regulations and restrictions of the Peruvian government in the matter of guano trade. In the department devoted to "AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS," in the present number of this Magazine, we publish a copy of a letter from a gentleman in Arequipa to a friend in Lima, showing the manner of using guano in the agriculture of that district :

LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, LIMA, April 18, 1856. SIR-In reply to dispatch No. 45, dated the 18th ult., I have the honor to inform you that neither the governments of Spanish America nor their citizens have the privilege of purchasing guano from the Chinchas or any other islands belonging to Peru at a certain stipulated price, by treaty, through municipal regulations or sufferance.

All the guano exported from Peru is shipped for account of the government and sold in foreign markets, under special contracts, by agents, who receive a commission for chartering vessels and on the sale of the article. No exception is made in favor of any foreign nation or its citizens.

Peruvian citizens are permitted to take from the Chincha Islands and "Pabellon

Pica," without charge, a sufficient quantity for the agriculture of the country; but the government is very careful to prevent any portion of it being exported. The following is a translation of the provisions of the "commercial regulations" of Peru in relation to this subject. (See dispatch No. 98, April 18, 1852.)

CHAPTER 1, ARTICLE 14. "It is not permitted to anchor in any of the anchorages at the islands the property of the republic, without a written license from the government."

ART. 15. "Vessels which load with guano for abroad will do so only at the Islands of Chincha. Those loading it for the agriculture of the country will take it from Pabellon Pica,' or from the said island."

CHAP. 14. "Exportation."

ART. 114. Guano can only be exported in vessels chartered by the government or its agents."

CHAP. 23. “Confiscations, fines, and other penalties."

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ART. 213. Vessels anchoring at the anchorages of the islands the property of the republic, shall be confiscated, and if, besides, guano should be found on board, their captains and crews shall be delivered over to justice, to be tried as guilty of robbery."

See also the decree of Don Manuel Menendez, Acting-President of Peru, of the 21st of March, 1842, for the stringent formalities to be observed by Peruvian vessels going to the Chinchas or “ Pabellon Pica,” to load guano for the agriculture of the country. (Document to dispatch No. 114, dated October 25, 1852.) A reference to my dispatches, Nos. 159, 164, 172, 187, 240, and 255, will show still further that no favors are granted in the exportation of guano from Peru to other nations not enjoyed by the United States. You will perceive, therefore, that the representation made to the Department, mentioned in dispatch No. 45, is entirely erroneous, and must have originated in mere rumor.

I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant,

To Hon. Wм. L. MARCY, Secretary of State.

J. RANDOLPH CLAY.

NEW ORLEANS HARBOR REGULATIONS.

The following is a correct copy of the several sections of an act to establish a Board of Harbor-Masters for the port of New Orleans, passed at the last session of the Legislature of Louisiana, and approved by the Governor, March 20, 1856. All laws contrary to the provisions of this act, and all laws on the same subject matter, except what is contained in the Civil Code and Code of Practice, are repealed:

AN ACT TO ESTABLISH A BOARD OF HARBOR-MASTERS FOR THE PORT OF NEW ORLEANS.

SECTION 1. That the act entitled "An Act to Regulate and Define the Duties of Harbor-Masters," approved 15th March, 1855, be and the same is hereby repealed.

SEC. 2. That the Governor shall nominate, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and appoint five harbor-masters, who shall constitute and be known as the Board of Harbor-Masters for the port of New Orleans, and whose term of office shall be two years: provided, however, that the Governor shall have the power to remove from office any of said harbor-masters upon satisfactory proof made to him of negligence, incapacity, or official misconduct.

SEC. 3. That each of said harbor-masters shall give bond, payable to the Governor and his successors in office, with two sufficient sureties, in the penal sum of twenty-five hundred dollars, conditioned for the faithful performance of the duties required of him by law.

SEC. 4. That said harbor-masters, under the rules and regulations to be established by the Board, shall have authority to regulate and station all vessels in the stream of the river Mississippi, within the limits of the port of New Orleans, and at the levees thereof, and remove from time to time such vessels as are not employed in receiving and discharging their cargoes, to make room for such others as require to be more immediately accommodated, for the purpose of receiving or discharging their cargoes; and as to the fact of any vessel being fairly and bona fide employed in receiving or discharging, the said harbor-masters are constituted the sole judges. And further, the harbor-masters shall have authority to determine how far and in what instances it is the duty of the masters and others having charge of ships and vessels to accommodate each other in their respective situations; and if any master or other person shall oppose or resist any harbor-master in the execution of the duties of his office, he shall for each offense forfeit and pay the penal sum of fifty dollars, to be sued for by the treasurer of the Charity Hospital of the city of New Orleans, for the use of said hospital: provided, however, that if any person shall consider himself aggrieved by the decision of any individual harbor-master, he shall be at liberty to appeal to the Board, and their concurrence shall be given thereto before such decision is carried into effect.

SEC. 5. That the Board of Harbor-Masters shall have power to demand and receive from the commanders, owners, or consignees, or either of them, of every vessel that may enter the port of New Orleans and load, unload, or make fast to the levee within the said limits, at the rate of two cents per ton, to be computed from the tonnage expressed in the registers of such vessels respectively, and no more. This shall not extend to chalands, flats, keel-boats, steamboats, or other vessels which are employed in the river trade, unless, upon the application of the person having charge of such chaland, flat, keel-boat, steamboat, or other vessels so employed, the harbor-master shall interfere and adjust any difference respecting the situation or position of such flat or boat, which difference the harbor-masters are authorized to hear and determine; in which case they may demand and receive from the party in default in the premises the sum of two dollars for every difference so adjusted, and no more.

SEC. 6. That it shall also be the duty of the said harbor-masters to superintend and enforce all laws of this State, and all laws of the city of New Orleans, for the preventing and removing of all nuisances whatsoever in or upon the levee of the city.

SEC. 7. That the said Board of Harbor-Master shall keep an office in a central part of the city, and may appoint such clerks and deputies as they think proper, but the deputies and clerks shall take an oath to perform truly and faithfully the duties imposed on the harbor-masters, and the said harbor-masters shall be responsible for their acts.

THE LIMITED PARTNERSHIP LAW.

Our attention has been directed to the fact that the Legislature of New York had under consideration, at its last session, an amendment of the Limited Partnership Law. It did not pass-for want of time, we presume. The proposed amendment meets, we believe, the approbation of merchants and business men very generally. There seems to be no good reason against the adoption of the bill reported. Many capitalists are now prevented from investing money in business as special partners, because they cannot take any part in the management of the business without becoming general partners. The present amendment is intended to obviate this difficulty. The bill is as follows:

SECTION 1. The 3d, 17th, and 23d sections of title 1, of chap. 4, of part ii., of the Revised Statutes are hereby amended so that the same, respectively, shall read as follows:

SEC. 3. The special partners may take part in the management and conduct of the business of the partnership, but only the general partners shall be authorized to sign for the partnership, and to bind the same.

SEC. 17. No special partner shall be made liable beyond the fund contributed by him to the capital, by reason of his taking part in the management or conduct of the business of the firm, but any special partner who shall sign the firm name shall be liable as a general partner upon every such signature.

SEC. 23. Any special partner may loan or advance money to the partnership, and stand upon the footing of a creditor of the firm therefor; and in case of the insolvency or bankruptcy of the partnership, for all such loans or advances, the special partner shall be entitled to payment, pro rata, with the other creditors of the partnership. In case of the insolvency or bankruptcy of the partnership, no special partner shall be allowed to claim as a creditor thereof, upon or for any other cause or consideration than for money loaned or advanced to the partnership, until the claims of all the other creditors shall be satisfied.

SEC. 24. This act shall take effect immediately; but any existing limited partnership shall remain subject to the provisions of the law regulating the same previous to the passage of this act.

MARITIME LAW IN TIME OF WAR.

The following declaration respecting maritime law, was signed by the plenipotentiaries of Great Britain, Austria, France, Prussia, Russia, Sardinia, and Turkey, assembled in Congress at Paris, April 16, 1856.

The above-mentioned plenipotentiaries, being duly authorized, resolved to concert among themselves as to means of attaining this object; and, having come to an agreement, adopted the following solemn declarations:

1. Privateering is and remains abolished.

2. The neutral flag covers enemy's goods, with the exception of contraband of

war.

3. Neutral goods, with the exception of contraband of war, are not liable to capture under enemy's flag.

4. Blockades, in order to be binding, must be effective; that is to say, maintained by a force sufficient really to prevent access to the coast of the enemy.

The governments of the undersigned plenipotentiaries engage to bring the present declaration to the knowledge of the States which have not taken part in the Congress of Paris, and to invite them to accede to it.

Convinced that the maxims which they now proclaim cannot but be received with gratitude by the whole world, the undersigned plenipotentiaries doubt not that the efforts of their governments to obtain the general adoption thereof will be crowned with full success.

The present declaration is not and shall not be binding, except between those powers who have acceded or shall accede to it.

IMPORTATION OF BREADSTUFFS INTO sweden.

DEPARTMENT OF STATE, WASHINGTON, May 13, 1856. The minister resident of the United States at Stockholm, Sweden, under date of the 17th ult., informs this Department that the term of the Swedish decree, permitting the importation into Sweden of breadstuffs and other articles of food until the 31st inst., has been extended by special decree until the 1st of January, 1857. A translation of the original decree having been published by the Department of State, this notice of the prolongation of the term is deemed important, and is therefore made known without delay.

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