JOURNAL OF INSURANCE.

NEW JERSEY INSURANCE LAW.

AN ACT TO REGULATE THE BUSINESS OF FIRE INSURANCE BY COMPANIES OR ASSOCIATIONS, NOT INCORPORATED BY THIS STATE.

1. Be it enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey, That it shall not be lawful for any company or association chartered by another State, or foreign government, to transact any business connected with insuring property situated in this State against loss or damage by fire, until they shall have first filed a statement with the Secretary of State, setting forth the amount of the capital of said company, and all their present assets, income for the year past, amount of premiums received for the preceding year, on property situated in this State, amount of losses, expenses, and other payments, and the amount of existing liabilities for unpaid losses, and showing whether any, and if so how much, is contested on the ground of fraud or otherwise, and it shall be the duty of the Secretary of State to prepare a form of statement to be filled up by the foreign companies or associations. establishing agencies or transacting the business of insurance in this State, which form shall embrace the abovementioned particulars, and such others as may be deemed necessary by the Secretary of State to elicit the actual pecuniary condition of the company or association making the statement.

2. And be it enacted, That if, upon filing the statement aforesaid, it shall appear that the company or association is possessed of a sound, well-invested capital, of at least one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, over and above all claims and liabilities, and has given the boud to pay the tax hereinafter provided for, then the Secretary of State shall issue a certificate of authority, allowing an agency to be established in the county where such agency is applied for, for one year from the first of January; the statement above referred to shall be sworn to by the president and secretary of the company or association applying, and shall be renewed annually during the month of January in each year.

3. And be it enacted, That, upon filing the certificate, and annually thereafter during the month of January in each year, the agent on whose behalf the certificate of authority is issued, shall enter into a bond with the Collector of the County in which his agency is located, in the penal sum of one thousand dollars, conditional for the payment of a tax of two per cent on all the premiums paid or agreed to be paid to the same company, on all property insured by them in this State; and the account of premiums received by said company for insuring property in this State shall be sworn to by the president, secretary, and agent of said company, and shall be filed with the County Collector, and the tax of two per cent aforesaid shall be paid in the month of January in each and every year during the continuance of such agency.

4. And be it enacted, That the taxes paid to the County Collector, as provided for by the preceding section shall be paid over to the persons and for the use of the parties mentioned in the second, third, and fourth sections of an act entitled" A supplement to an act entitled 'An act relative to insurance companies, approved April fifteenth, eighteen hundred and forty-six,' approved March fifth, eighteen hundred and fifty."

5. And be it enacted, That there shall be paid to the Secretary of State, by every company seeking to establish an agency, the sum of twelve dollars for each annual statement filed, and for every certificate of authority the sum of five dollars.

6. And be it enacted, That the Secretary of State shall have authority to revoke and cancel any certificate of authority issued by him, upon being satisfied that the statement upon which it was issued is fraudulent, or that the capital of

the company, since the issuing of the certificate, has become impaired, and is of less amount than the sum mentioned in section second of this act.

7. And be it enacted, That if any person shall act as the agent of any foreign insurance company without having first obtained the certificate of authority as mentioned in section second of this act he shall pay a fine of one hundred dollars for each offence, which shall be sued for by the Collector of the County for the benefit of said county, or be paid over by said collector to the fire department fund, as is provided for in the case of taxes on premiums; the suit for the recovery of the fine aforesaid may be brought by a prosecutor of the pleas, or by the Attorney General, in any court of record of this State, and the person against whom a judgment shall be obtained may be committed to the county jail until such fine and costs are paid.

8. And be it enacted, That all and every person and persons who shall make or cause to be made, procure, or cause to be procured, or who shall directly or indirectly act in the making, or causing to be made, or in procuring, or causing to be procured, any agreement, contract, or policy of insurance against fire, upon property in this State, by any insurance company or association not incorporated by the laws of this State, shall be deemed and considered to be an agent within the meaning of this act, and shall be liable to the penalties herein mentioned.

9. And be it enacted, That the first statements contemplated and required by this act shall be made on or before the first day of May next, and the certificates of authority issued upon these statements shall authorize the continuance of the agency or agencies until the first day of January, A. D., eighteen hundred and sixty-one.

10. And be it enacted, That so much of all acts or parts of acts heretofore passed as may be inconsistent with this are hereby repealed.

11. And be it enacted, That this act shall take effect immediately. Approved March 19, 1860.

NAUTICAL INTELLIGENCE.

AMERICAN TIMBER FOR SHIP-BUILDING.

A few months since, says the Boston Traveller, we published an article upon the defective and rotten condition of a portion of the planking and ceiling of the steam frigate Minnesota, now undergoing repairs in Charlestown navy yard, becanse we believed our navy department had been imposed upon by the parties who furnished the timber, which had decayed so rapidly. That article was extensively republished in English papers, and was referred to as an argument against the use of American timber for ship-building. Now such an inference, from our remarks is not logical, neither can it be sustained by the facts of experience. We cited the Minnesota as an exceptional case, and expressed our surprise that she should have been planked with such timber, when so much timber of undoubted quality could be easily obtained. The contract to furnish her planking was probably a political job, which the navy yard officers knew how to manage without running the risk of being removed. On the other hand, the planking and ceiling of the frigate Merrimac, built in this vicinity, was properly seasoned before used, and a sounder ship cannot be found anywhere. The same may be said of nearly all our ships of war. Take for example the old line-ofbattle ship Ohio, now at Charlestown; we believe there has not been a plank put into her for the last twenty years, if not thirty-the Vermont is equally sound -in a word, with one or two exceptional cases, the causes of which are well known, our navy is probably the most durable in the world, because the timber of which the ships have been built, is the best. Our live oak is harder than

East India teak, and as durable, and of this our navy is framed; our white oak along the seaboard is so inherently sound, that it may be used without seasoning, and our hard pine knows no decay but tear and wear. Our navy yard authorities, who have made the qualities of wood the special subject of experiment, assure us, that our white oak for the purpose of ship building, is not only stronger, but more durable, than either English or African oak, and that our live oak is unrivaled the world over.

In support of these assertions, we may refer the English to the condition of the frigate Essex, which they captured in 1814. She was built in 1798, and continued fit for service, without any sign of decay, to 1837, when she was sold, not because she was unsound, but because a new class of vessels superseded that to which she belonged.

We believe that English and African oak and East India teak, are good woods for ship-building, and that the condition of the ships of the English navy is generally sound, yet there are cases of rot which might be cited, as exceptional, not to prove that their timber was naturally and inherently bad-as the English have asserted to be the case, because the Minnesota's planking was found partly defective and decayed-but to show that the timber had not been properly seasoned, or had been subjected to influences out of the ordinary course.

The frigate Vernon is a case in point. Built with the utmost care, under the immediate inspection of Sir WILLIAM SIMONDS, at the end of four years, she was found very rotten. We believe she has been since condemned. The " Foudroyant" line-of-battle-ship, in four years had to be nearly rebuilt, in consequence of dry rot. The Eden, of 26 guns, in two years, was so decayed that it was necessary to remove all her wales, the sheer-strake, and a considerable portion of her topsides. Large quantities of fungus covered her timbers. The Isis, built in 1840, seven years afterwards, had 78 timbers taken out rotten; all the ceiling in the hold; mast-steps, and timber-strakes, were also decayed. Several other cases, even of a recent date, might be cited to show that the British navy is not rot-proof; but we will turn from the navy to the merchant service.

The West India mail steamers Clyde, Tweed, Tay, and Taviot, all first class vessels, built without regard to cost, within the past six years, in consequence of dry rot, have had to be repaired at an expense of $300,000. There is little doubt that dry rot is more general among British than American shipping, and that the latter last longer because built of more durable materials. The British generally fasten and season their ships more carefully than we do, and provide them with better pumps, and heavier ground tackle, and to these, not to the superiority of timber, may be attributed their age. We refer to the mercantile marine alone; our navy, we contend, though small, is the model navy of the world in the durability of its ships, and to keep it so, is the object of exposing any of its defects, that may come to light, with a view of having them guarded against in future. The "Scientific American," which copied the facts in relation to the Minnesota from the Traveller, will probably be as much surprised as we were, to see that they have been urged as an argument against the durability of American ship-timber.

ALTERATION OF LIGHTS IN GULFS OF RIGA AND FINLAND.

The imperial Ministry of Marine of Russia has given notice, that henceforth from the opening until the closing of the navigation of the Baltic, a light will be exbibited from the new lighthouse erected on the southeast elevation of the island of Runo, Gulf of Riga, instead of the light hitherto shown from the wooden lighthouse on the northwest extreme of that island. The light will be a fixed white light, elevated 200 feet above the mean level of the sea, and in clear weather should be visible from a distance of 16 miles. The illuminating apparatus is catoptric or by metallic reflectors. The light-tower, in form of an hexagonal pyramid, and 102 feet high, is planked with boards and painted yellow; the frame of the lantern is painted red, and the top green. On account of the wood which covers this elevation of the island, only the upper part of the light-tower

and the lantern will be seen when approaching it from seaward. Its position is given as latitude 57° 48′ 8′′ N., longitude 23° 15' 32" east of Greenwich.

ALTERATION OF DAGER ORT, SWALFER ORT, LYSER ORT, AND FILSAND LIGHTS.

Also, that on the 27th May, 1860, the lights would cease to be exhibited from the lighthouse on Dager Ort, on Swalfer Ort, on Lyser Ort, and on Filsand Island, situated on the western shores of Dago and Osel islands, and on the coast of Kourland, on account of repairs and changes in the mode of lighting them, but that they would be relighted, with alterations, at the following dates :-On and after the 13th July, 1860, the lighthouse on Dager Ort will exhibit a fixed white light varied every minute by a bright flash; the illuminating apparatus will be dioptric or by lenses, of the first order. The lighthouse on Swalfer Ort will exhibit a revolving white light, (the period of revolution is not given;) the illuminating apparatus will be catoptric or by metallic reflectors. The lighthouse on Lyser Ort will exhibit a fixed white light; the illuminating apparatus will be dioptric or by lenses, of the second order. On and after the 13th August, the lighthouse on Filsand Island will exhibit the same revolving light as heretofore, but the illuminating apparatus will be catoptric or by metallic reflectors. By command of their lordships.

LONDON, February 23, 1960.

JOHN WASHINGTON, Hydrographer.

REVOLVING LIGHT ON THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE, SOUTH ATLANTIC.

The Colonial Government at the Cape of Good Hope has given notice, that on and after the 1st day of May, 1860, a light will be exhibited from the lighthouse recently erected on Cape Point, the western point of entrance to False Bay, Southern Africa. The light will be a revolving white light, which will show a bright face for the space of twelve seconds once every minute. It will be visible all round the compass. except between the bearings from a ship of S. S. W. and S. E., and between S. S. E. E. and S. S. E. & E., on which latter arc of 7° it will be obscured by the intervention of a peak, rising 64 feet above the light, at 1,800 yards from the light tower. The light will be elevated 816 feet above the mean level of the sea, and in clear weather should be seen from a distance of about 36 miles. The illuminating apparatus is catoptric or by reflectors of the first order. The light-tower, which is iron, 30 feet high, and painted white, stands N. by W. W. (N. 49° W. true.) distant 925 yards from the Dias Rock, which lies close to the south extreme of Cape Point. From it the Anvil Rocks bear S. S. E. E. (S. 54° E. true,) distant about 14 miles; the Bellows Rock S. S. WW. (S. 1° W. true.) 2 miles; the southwest reef W. S. (S. 55° W. true.) 14 miles; and the Whittle Rock N. E. by E. E., 7 miles. Its position is latitude 34° 21′ 12′′ S., longitude 18° 29′ 30′′ east of Greenwich.

DIRECTIONS.-A current varying in strength sets round the cape and turns to the northwest from the Bellows Rock. This rock always breaks; but not so the Anvil, which only breaks at low water and with a heavy swell. Sailing ves sels should not pass between these dangers and the cape, unless with a commanding breeze. The rocky patch named the Southwest Reef lies W. by S. S. (S. 42° W. true.) one mile only from the southwest extreme of the cape, and there is foul rocky ground between it and the shore. Vessels from the eastward should not bring the light to bear more westerly than N. W. W., by which they will clear all danger off Cape Hanglip. A tongue of low land stretches from this cape in a S. W. W. direction for one and two-tenth miles, rendering caution necessary in passing Hanglip in hazy weather, especially if bound into Simons Bay. If bound for Table Bay from the eastward, vessels, after rounding the Cape of Good Hope and passing Slangkop Point, should not shut in the light with that point until the lights on Green Point become visible, which will be on an E. by N. N. bearing. This course will lead about 2 miles to the westward

of the Vulcan Rock, which lies off the northern point of entrance to Hout Bay; a course for Table Bay may then be shaped with safety. Vessels from the westward bound for Simons Bay, after rounding the Cape of Good Hope, and having brought the southern end of the lofty Zwartkop range, (which is over the northern side of Smiths Winkle Bay.) to bear N. W. by W. W., should keep the right on Cape Point between S. S. W. W. and S. W. W., until the Roman Rock light bears between north and N. by W. W., when they may haul towards it. These limits leave the rocks off Miller Point on the one hand, and the Whittle Rock on the other, half a mile distant. By day should the weather be hazy, and the whitewashed mark and beacon for the Whittle Rock indistinct, there is a dark peak over the southern side of Hout Bay, which being brought on with Elsey Peak on a N. by W. bearing, will lead clear (but close) to the westward of the Whittle Rock. It is to be observed that there is no buoy at present on the Whittle Rock. The bearings are magnetic. Variation 29° 40′' west in 1860. By command of their lordships,

LONDON, April 2, 1860.

JOHN WASHINGTON, Hydrographer.

GOODWIN SANDS.

Notice is hereby given, that an additional buoy, painted black and white in vertical stripes, and marked northwest Goodwin, has been placed in 11 fathoms at low water spring tides, near a spit of dry sand on the northwest side of the Goodwin, with the following marks and compass bearings, viz. :-Upper Deal Mill in line with a white house, or twice its length to the right of the time ball tower at Deal W. by S. S.; the end of the cliff in Pegwell Bay. midway between Minster Mills N. W. N.; St. Lawrence Mill, in line with St. George's Church, Ramsgate N. N. W. W.; Gull Light-vessel W. S.; Bunt Head Buoy S. W. by W.; Goodwin Knoll Buoy N. E. by E. & E.; Gull Buoy N. by E. E. By order,

TRINITY-HOUSE, LONDON, May 29, 1860.

P. H. BERTHON, Secretary.

MARGATE SAND AND NORTH FORELAND LIGHTHOUSE.

Notice is hereby given, that in consequence of the extension of Margate Sand to the eastward, it has been found necessary to move the northeast Margate and east Margate buoys, in that direction; and that those buoys now lie with the following marks and compass bearings, viz. :—Northeast Margate Buoy, in 8 fathoms at low water spring tides, with the low tower of Moro Castle, just seen east of Neptune's Tower south; Margate Old Church tower, open to the westward of the New Church, the apparent length of the body of the latter S. S. W. W.; east Margate Buoy S. E.; North Spit Buoy W. by N. 4 N.; Tongue Light-vessel N. W. W. East Margate Buoy, in 4 fathoms, with a small black mill, (called "Draper's Mill,") its apparent length open east of Margate West Mill S. W. by S.; Margate Old Church tower, open east of the New Church, the apparent length of the body of the latter S. W. S.; Minster East Mill, in line with the west end of the Royal Terrace, Margate S. W.; southeast Margate Buoy W. by S.; Longnose Buoy south; Elbow Buoy S. by E. E.

Notice is also given, that, in order to enable vessels at night to keep to the eastward of Margate Sand, it is intended that on and after the 4th June next, a red strip of light shall be exhibited from the lantern of the North Foreland Lighthouse, in a direction from N. by W. W. to N. E., to show from the Tongue light-vessel to one cable's length east of Margate Sand. By order,

TRINITY-HOUSE, LONDON, May 29, 1860.
VOL. XLIII.-NO. II.

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P. H. BERTHON, Secretary.