The Survivors of the Chancellor · Chapter
III explained
The chapter presents the bill of lading for the Chancellor, detailing the cargo of 1,700 bales of cotton valued at £26,000, the shipping agents Bronsfield and Co.
What happens
The chapter presents the bill of lading for the Chancellor, detailing the cargo of 1,700 bales of cotton valued at £26,000, the shipping agents Bronsfield and Co. of Charleston, the consignees Laird Brothers of Liverpool, and the terms of transport under Captain John Silas Huntly. It also describes how the cotton is tightly packed into the hold using screw-jacks to maximize space.
Characters to notice
- Silas Huntly
Captain of the Chancellor, named as John Silas Huntly in the bill of lading, responsible for the cargo and voyage.
Key passages
“Captain Huntly’s bill of lading, that is to say, the document that describes the Chancellor ’s cargo and the conditions of transport, is couched in the following terms:— Bronsfield and Co. , Agents, Charleston I, John Silas Huntly, of Dundee, Scotland, commander of the ship Chancellor , of about 900 tons burden, now at Charleston, do purpose, by the blessing of God, at the earliest convenient season, and by the direct route, to sail for the port of Liverpool, where I shall obtain my discharge.”
Captain Huntly's shipping contract, which outlines the Chancellor's cargo and transport terms, states that he, John Silas Huntly from Dundee, Scotland, as commander of the roughly 900-ton ship Chancellor currently in Charleston, intends to sail directly to Liverpool as soon as possible, God willing, to complete his obligation.
Introduces the formal shipping agreement and the captain's declaration of intent.
“The ship was constructed with the especial design of carrying cotton, and the entire hold, with the exception of a very limited space reserved for passengers’ luggage, is closely packed with the bales, The lading was performed with the utmost care, each bale being pressed into its proper place by the aid of screw-jacks, so that the whole freight forms one solid and compact mass; not an inch of space is wasted, and the vessel is thus made capable of carrying her full complement of cargo.”
The Chancellor was built specifically for cotton transport, and its hold is almost entirely filled with tightly packed bales, leaving only a small area for passenger luggage; the loading was done meticulously using screw-jacks to compress the bales into a solid block, maximizing space and allowing the ship to carry its full cargo capacity.
Describes the ship's design and the efficient, dense stowage of the cotton cargo.