Page:History of merchant shipping and ancient commerce (Volume 3).djvu/132

 and owned by the Company, the privileges of British ships in trade with India, though such ships were neither British built nor duly registered. When the exclusive privileges of the Company were broken in upon (53 Geo. III., cap. 155) the same privilege was extended to similarly circumstanced vessels, the property of private individuals, by Order in Council. But when the Registry Laws were extended to India, from this time nothing but British-built ships were to be entitled to the privileges of British vessels (54 Geo. III., cap. 35; 53 Geo. III., cap. 116). Exceptions were made in favour of ships under 350 tons burden, and of others, the property of British subjects, and built or building before 1st January, 1816: but these classes of ships were only to be employed in trade within the limits of the Company's Charter. Subsequent changes were made; and, by the Act 3 & 4 Vict., cap. 56, in force in 1847, the Governor-General in Council had power given him to declare all ships built within the limits of the Charter, and owned by those of Her Majesty's subjects for whom he had power to legislate, entitled to the privileges of British ships within those limits. By the fourth section of the same Act, the Governor-General had, also, the power of conferring the same privileges on ships belonging to States in subordinate alliance, or having subsidiary treaties with the East India Company.

With regard to the navigation of East India ships, it is sufficient to notice, that, by the 20th section of 4 Geo. IV., cap. 80 (still in force in 1847), as well as by the 17th section of the Navigation Act (8 & 9 Vict., cap. 88), Lascars and other natives of Asia were not