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1878 January 11,1878 A winter voyage.-Capts. T. Hackett and T. Homier [Honor] arrived home on Wednesday fromtheirwintervoyageup LakeHuronon the tug Vulcan. The Vulcan left Detroit Saturday the 5th inst at 4 P.M., but was unable to reach the Flats before dark, andlayin the icein Lake St. ClairSaturday night. She arrived at Harrisville, about 200 miles from Detroit, at sunrise Monday morning. The ownerof the tug. Gen. R.A. Alger, was onboard and she also hada locomotive for R.A. Alger & Co.'srailroad from Harrisville into their extensive pinery sixmiles west, besides a considerable freight for other parties onthe shore, all ofwhich was safely landed without a single accident. The Vulcan is commanded by plucky Capt. Thomas Hackett and although she hada rough, cold passage, themenon board arenotthe kind who turn back, and their enterprise was crowned with success. She left Harrisville at11 o'clock Monday forenoon for Port Huron, where she laid up for the winter. We believe this voyage is without a parallel in the history of old Lake Huron. Mctrch 1,1878 The report ofthe Minister ofMarine and Fisheries embraces agreat variety of details and very clearly indicates the progress being made by Canada in all that concerns &e very important interests entrusted to the care ofthat Department. The Li^thouse Service has now reached very large dimensions. In 1868 there were 198 lighthouse stations; in 1877, 416. The number ofhghts shown at the former date was 227; at the latter 509. In 1868 there were only two fog whistles, and in 1877,25. While much has been done to render our shores safe for shipping, agreat deal remains to be accomplished before things are as they ought to be in this respect. During the year sixty new steamers were added to the list ofCanada's steam marine, while fifteen were broken up or put out ofservice. The chief increase has been in the Ontario and Lower Province divisions. The number of wrecks to British, Canadian and foreign sea-going vessels in Canadian waters, and to Canadian sea-going vessels in waters other than ofCanada, was 327, and the loss of property, either whole or partial, so far as could be L r' r 1 r I JI ascertained amounted to $2,019,678. The number of lives lost was ICQ, viz., 26 in Canadian waters and 74 in waters other than those ofCanada. On the Mand waters the losses were only 42 vessels and 17 lives. In 1876 the number oflives lost was 404. The number ofmerchant ships on the register books ofthe Dominion on the 31st of December, 1877, was 7362, measuring 1,310,468 tons register tonnage - an increase over the previous year of170 vessels and 49,575 tons. The registered tonnage ofthe whole British Empire, including all the Colonies, was 7677 024 tons. This shows that Canada has more than one-sixth of all the registered kpping of the British Empire. The United States had at the same time 2564 980 tons, not including that trading on the lakes and rivers. Norway comes next, ^th1,391,877 tons; then Italy, with 1,360,425 tons. Canada is next, showmg that she occupies the fifth place among the nations ofthe world in reference to the extent of her merchant marine. France has not very much more than half the tonnage of Canada. .^ , j x.- r There are now seven establishments devoted to the artificial reproduction of fish. On the support ofthese $24,037 were expended dumg the year. Froni these establishments there were distributed in 1877 the following kinds offish, viz.:- Salmon 5,515,000 Speckled trout 24,000 Whitefish 7,950,000 Total 13,489,000 There were also deposited in the hatching troughs ofthese estabUshments in the fall of 1877 to be ready for distribution in June next, 38,000,000 ova, of which 31,000,000 were ofwhitefish. Breeze left Amherstburg for Windsor last Monday morning and she has already made two successful trips to Windsor and return and two also down to Pelee Island and back. As wUl be seen in advertisement, she begins her regular trips next week when she will leave Windsor for Amherstburg and the Lake Shore on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings and return on alternate days, lying over at Windsor from Saturday to Monday ofeach week. An earlier opening ofthe navigation ofthe whole chain oflakes is looked for this year than is recorded for the past twenty-four years. In that time the earliest opening ofthe Straits ofMackinaw was in 1871, April 3rd, whereas this year there