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so oC 4 MARINE REVIEW. had shown the practicability of the screw in a Thames-built vessel 45 feet long that made 10 miles an hour and towed a large packet ship at good speed, It seems queer that the first successful use of this method of propulsion was made with twin screws. Commodore Stockton encouraged Ericsson by ordering two vessels with screws for our navy, thus giving America the honor of introducing screw propulsion. From the Great Britain a great leap is made toa modern war-ship, the Chilian cruiser Esmeralda, built at Newcastle. She is 270 feet long, 42 feet beam, 18.3 feet draft and develops 6,500 horse power. Iron Ore on Dock at Lake Erie Ports. Reports to the MARINE REVIEW from dock managers at all Lake Erie ports show an aggregate of 1,750,256 gross tons of ore on dock April 15, or about 1,000,000 tons less than the amount held over at this time a year ago. 'This date has been . selected instead of May 1 for the past two years to avoid new supplies coming to the docks on account of the early opening of navigation. Following are the amounts at the different points: Name of Port. Gross Tons. rl thal Olsonsass ch ransea'ssvecensas osanmenenarotosuessth nets. senat. 66,734 GIST Fs Sook ste eete coistv es sone. nines Qeiiea « dap dieiociacine semtscse sites 129,573 XGiitalbliasadee <ctepsesne hoc siecsiecles ascenac deste coweccona ste esies 512,125 VAIN IOLLs nase tle acssieeosatns seo nan acest onectaere ee teiee <e aaeaetae . 296,990 @levelan de Wsoieceds sts sss ovdsiesuat ons deateRoeswenpieeneed 445,887 Te OG ATI howieee Han 8t Reeeeoson Ge pone Sec winccs se a. cere 130,000 PLU OMe os ciaie ccas dials a's « « SE Sarees Meee dinieions oe ccoumigaee cence 10,645 Sada Skey i. cect ste ser ceeass seeaemeMins oe eo vcamaece se maeaane 88,800 BNOLEMOR «aie. sciees vce telcc «cn ebediscsaie cat cele cls sep meais ceca 69,502 MOLAR ees vats aae cai sete nance aan vane iew lel eeteuaeies 1,750,256 : The following table shows the amount of ore on dock at the opening of navigation for ten years past: Year. Gross tons. | Year. Gross tons. PT GQD caeees ecco seer mecisn ses 1,750,256 MOO User een ee eseoesecssncn es 149,304 HOO Ue eeeMe lance re iesessite sieale in 2,708,421 TO SO ies spadeceae. sasntestssobecans 373,521 MSQOM SEM cccrscsossbssetrnss 936,288 TOO ee ieeaitenaieatens oetssinsesc ean 556,657 TSO een eeeeeeGiecc cs ccuec scree 558,753 TE OMG arate pees Peis Wieg ss go as opin in\e 388,739 TOSS eens codtakecse sue iuees 703,720 MOO Maes act aeeemcecarscssscceme oss 524,749 * Amount on dock April 15; all other items are date of May 1. Statements of the amount of ore in the foregoing table previous to 1891 were prepared by Mr. W. M. Day of the Iron. Trade Review. Lake Freight Situation. Any speculation as to prospects in the general freight mar- ket now so badly demoralized would be useless at this time, as the general reduction in rates is. largely due to the unexpected early opening of navigation and the inability of shippers to pre- pare for an immediate movement of coal and iron ore. Reports from,all Lake Erie docks show a satisfactory condition of stocks, and any movement toward additional ore sales would change matters materially. Under present conditions tonnage could, in all probability, be charte redfor single trips from Ashland at $1, if ore was to be had, and some boats are unable to find Escanaba loads at 65 cents. Soft coal rates are based on 4o cents to the head of Lake Superior, and although late charters were at 50 cents to Milwaukee and Chicago, that figure could be reduced under the present pressure for cargoes. A National Subject. | Probably the most valuable document on the subject of in- land navigation presented to the present Congress is the report of the House committee on railways and canals, in the bill pro- viding for a survey for a ship-canal from the great lakes to the navigable waters of the Hudson river. The report was presented by Hon. Henry W. Bentley, author of the bill and also an influ- ential member of the committee. It is a most forcible document on the subject and an outright approval of the action of the recent deep waterways convention at Detroit in recommending an investigation of this subject. The national character of the improvement is shown in a history of consideration given to the subject by Congress in previous years from the earliest history of the government, and there is appended to the report various ' statements, papers and tables, containing interesting and valuable information and statistics having an important bearing upon the question. | "In England," says the report, "$60,000,000 is being ex- pended to connect one city with the sea, Manchester and Liver- pool. Germany, in 1887, ordered the construction of more than 1,000 miles of new canal navigation in addition to the 1,289 miles then operated and the 4,925 miles of then available navi- gable rivers. France has expended since 1814 upon the improy- ment of her harbors and waterways more $650,000,000, in ad- dition to $700,000,000 out of the state treasury for railways. She has 7,500 miles of canal and river navigation and the com- pletest transportation facilities of any nation in the world. She commenced building canals a hundred years before the Christian -- era, when Marius caused his Soldiers to excavate from the Rhone to the seaa canal that long bore his name and to which the city -- of Arles chiefly owes its splendor. "The total appropriations of the United States government for rivers and harbors have been $204,137,649. They began in Jefferson's administration, in 1800, with $25,000 in the state of Louisiana. The sum of $14,699,745 was expended previous to 1860. Between 1860 and 1870 the amount was $12,789,182; be- tween 1870 and 1880, $68,035,656; between 1880 and 1890, in- clusive, $108,613,066, or only $204,000,000 in a century for great objects of national development. Of this total amount $28,417,182 only have been expended within the great states bordering on this lake system and for its improvement. In re- lation to this portion, at least, of the total appropriations for for rivers and harbors since our national life began it may be safely asserted that the expenditure for public purposes of no equivalent sum elsewhere on American soil has ever resulted in so large and so equitably distributed advantages to the Ameri- can people. : Grain at Chicago and Duluth. Stocks of wheat at Chicago and Duluth on Monday,the 18th inst. were: | Chicago. Duluth. tS tOnekeersecs cos pebaiads besten We ecgseineners 8,728,111 bu. 14,727,854 bu. ASL OBE A Secs cok de eaalcs sates es\Gulerea toes Ghent salves ooente eames 536,087 bu. Incredse: last: WEEK: vissessecsacscunteeaencacessenedemesmennies 1,432,587 bu. Decreasevlast: Weekes ccetnccteteerees: 52,38 7D te aoe eee Excess over same time last year..... 2,834,897 bu. 9,650,074 bu. Stocks of corn in Chicago aggregate 1,980,752 bushels, a de- crease of 545,884 bushels for the week and an increase of 1,570,- 084 bushels as compared with stocks on the same date last year. Stocks of oats foot up 412,794 bushels as compared with 420,358 bushels on the corresponding date last year. Fifty-Second Congress--:First Session. > The following bills of interest to lake vessel owners have been introduced in Congress recently: e S. 2,906, Mr. Frye--To amend section 4,194 of the revised statutes of the United States, relating to certificates of title to vessels. __ H.R. 7,088, Mr. Taylor ot Illinois.---To provide an ad- ditional amount to build and equip a steam vessel for boarding purposes at Chicago, Ill. H.R. 8,121, Mr. McMillen.--To secure better protection of the lives of crews of light-ships, light-house tenders and revenue marine vessels, and to prevent loss or damage to said vessels. H. R. 8,124, Mr. Hooker.--To extend the privileges of the transportation of dutiable merchandise without appraisment to the port of Dunkirk, N. Y. | ea Col. William Ludlow, engineer of Ninth and Eleventh light- house districts, says that the steamer Amaranth, built by the Cleveland Ship Building Company, for light-house construction work in the districts under his charge, isa great success. On her trip to Detroit, the boat's first voyage, she encountered a "fresh north-easterly gale on Lake Erie and proved a good sea boat. No attempt was made to speed the boat, on account of the engines being without previous work, but she made twelve miles an hour crossing the lake and 13% miles an hour in the Detroit river. '