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| MARINE REVIE VoL. XII. CLEVELAND, O., DECEMBER 5,. 1895. No. 23. Canada's Merchant Shipping. i A copy of the latest report of the Canadian deputy minister of marine, just at hand, shows a decline of 42,915 registered tons in the merchant shipping of the dominion during the year ending Dec. 31, 1894. Canada's merchant. shipping has been declining at the rate of 25,000 to 50,000 tons a year for five years past, although there has been no great difference in the amount of tonnage owned in the country during the past twenty-five years. On Dec. 31 last the number of vessels of all kinds on the registry books of the dominion was 7,245, measuring 869,624 tons; on the same date in 1873, twenty-one years ago, the number of vessels was 6,783 and the tonnage 1,073,718. Ofthe 7,245 vessels now owned in the dominion, only 1,640 of 240,906 tons, are steam. Assuming the average value of all vessels, steam and sail, to be $30 a ton, the value of the regis- tered tonnage of the country on Dec. 31 last would be $26,088,720. The number of new vessels built and registered in the dominion during the last year was 326, measuring 21,243 tons, register tonnage. Estimating the value of the new tonnage at $45 per ton, it gives a total value $959,935 for new vessels. The following table shows the number and tonnage of vessels owned in the dominion on Dec. 31 of each year for three years past: Dec, 31, 1892. Dec. 31, 1893. Dec. 81, 1894. PROVINCES. ' No. |Registered| No. |Registered| No. |Reglstered Vessels| Tonnage. | Vessels} Lonnage. | Vessels} Tonnage. New Brunswick.............. Se 946 181,779 1,010 156,086 1,003 136,257 Nova Scotia......... eee ea 425,690 2,715 396,263 2,710 371,482 Quebee,.......... | 1,408 162,638 1,426 161,121 1,427 160,590 Onitanlone see ee oes |eeeeln od 141,750 1,370 146,665 1,480 148,525 Prince Edward Island ats 196 22,706 188 20,970 191 19,650 British Columbia...............000- 298 23,448 315 |: 24.900 336 26,455 Manitobaiicscc ee 81 6,118 89 6,534 98 6,715 Total nce Bees 7,007 964,129 7,113 912,539 7,245 869,624 Bids on the New Battleships. The announcement from Washington that the Newport News Ship Building and Dry Dock Co. had underbid, as far as department plans are concerned, all competitors for building the two new battleships author- ized by the last congress is proof that the management of the big south- ern ship yard is determined to follow up their contract for gunboats, which is now about completed, with more naval work. But there was another big surprise in the bids which were opened on Saturday last, and it will probably be some time before the department announces its conclusions. The Cramps offered to build two battleships with armor for the hulls and throw in another ship of like type, but without armor, all on their own plans, for the sum fixed by congress as the ultimate cost of two ships. An illustration of the type of vessel proposed by the de- partment, together with a synopsis of the specifications, is contained in our issue of Nov 28. When the bids were opened it was found that the Wm. Cramp & Sons Ship and Engine Building Co. of Philadelphia offered to construct one of the vessels on the department's plans for $2,820,00, or two for $2,750,- 000 each. Then they offered to build three ships on their own plans, with complete armor for the hulls of two of them, for $8,000,000. They offered again to build two ships on their own plans, with armor for both hulls and guns, for $3,850,000, and. finally it was proposed to build the ships on another set of plans of their own for $2,500,000 for one or $2,450,- 000 each fortwo. The Union Iron Works of San Francisco bid on the department's plans $2,740,000 for one ship or $2,690,000 for each of two. On their own plans they bid $2,650,000 for one or $2,640,000 for each of two ships. The Newport News Ship Building & Dry Dock Co. of New- port News, Va., put inastraight bid, the lowest for the department's plans, namely, $2,350,000 for one or $2,250,000 for each of two boats. As the law requires one of the ships to go to the Pacific coast if the price is reasonable, it is quite probable that the Union Iron Works will receive the contract for one ship, as its bidis about a quarter of a million less than the contract price for the Iowa. CAPTAINS AND MATES ARE INVITED TO CALL AT THE OFFICE OF THE MARINE REVIEW AND LOOK OVER THE CHARTS AND SAILING DIRECTIONS OF LAKES SUPERIOR, MICHIGAN, HURON, ERIE AND ONTARIO, PUBLISHED BY THE HYDROGRAPHIC OFFICE. Ship Yard Matters. From the present outlook the Detroit Dry Dock Co. will be busier this season than for several years past. The company has two freight steamers and a passenger steamer and several contracts in sight in ad- dition to an unusual amount of repair work for the coming winter. This includes the fitting of the Howden hot draft system to several steamers. Work on the Cleveland & Buffalo line passenger steamer is being pushed night and day. The only difficulty in the way of her completion within the specified time isthe delay in getting material. Last May some material was ordered from Philadelphia. Personal visits to the mill and all inducements failed in securing the material. Finally it was ordered from England and arrived and was put in place on the steamer before the material arrived from Philadelphia. Every effort will be made to turn out the finest and fastest side-wheel passenger steamer on the lakes. She will be fast enough to make the trip between Buffalo and Cleveland an interesting one when the Northern line passenger steamers are taken into consideration. A picture or drawing of the shattered bottom of the steamer Northern Wave in dry dock at Detroit--a result of her going ashore at Sand Beach-- would makean interesting study. She struck in abad place and was pounded badly, all of which would be expected to produce some serious effects. Sheis strainedin different parts up to the spar deck and will require almost a whole new bottom. However, the interesting feature of the wreck is the manner in which the bottom plates cracked wherever a stone was struck. Thereis nota great deal of buckling, and where the metal has stood the punishment of bending or indentation the cracks appear at some distance. Ordinary cracks in plates pursue the course of the strain, usually in astraight line. Thecracksin the plates on the Northern Wave, however, are of acircling kind and appear more like cracks in iron. A glance at the wreck would readily give rise to the question as to whether steel plates do not deteriorate more rapidly than iron. English exchanges have been paying some attention to this mat- ter of late. Capt. Alex. McDougall says that had the bottom of the steel steamer Centurion been constructed on any system other than the cellular system he feels quite certain that repairs necessitated by her stranding on the rocks at Isle Royale would have been far more costly than they were. It was at first thought that repairs would have cost full $35,000 but the ex- pense was approximately $20,000. The work was undoubtedly done more rapidly than anything of its kind ever undertaken on the lakes. The West Superior yard is fast gaining a reputation in repair jobs, It is hoped to present ina future issue some illustrations that will admit of an intelligent discussion of repairs on the Centurion. Capt. Alex McDougall, F. W. Wheeler, and F, W. Gilchrist and A. W. Comstock of Alpena have all been in Cleveland during the past few days looking after vessel matters. Messrs. Gilchrist and Comstock are in- terested in the wooden schooner that is being built at Algonac by Abram Smith & Son. The vessel is to be 210 feet keel, 37 feet beam and 14 feet hold. She will have aschooner stern and schooner rig; will be diagon- ally strapped and steel arched, and will have steel keelson plates, thus classing A i*. The boat will carry of lumber about 1,250,000 feet and of coal 1,800 tons on 13 feet of water. She will be equipped with steam ap- paratus for hoisting, anchors, sails, etc. At the works of the Union Dry Dock Co., Buffalo, operations on the new package freighter are progressing slowly, on account of delay in re- ceiving angles. There are nine strakes of plating on the bottom of the vessel and a fewchannel floors in place. Center keelson plates are ready to be putin place when angles are received. There is in all about 300 tons of plate ready to be put in place, or that could be readily furnished, if other material was not delayed. The steel yacht for W.J. Connors is all in frame. It is understood that repairs to be made by the American Steel Barge Co. on some of the vessels of the Northern Steamship Co. that are to winter at the head of the lakes will include steel decks for two or three of the freight steamers. Hurd & Hanenstein of Buffalo are figuring on the construction of a second wooden barge to tow with the steamer Wotan. The barge build- ing at Marine City for Connely Bros. of Buffalo will tow with the Wotan. Observations on Lake Superior, taken in August, show a bottom tem- perature of 38.8 degrees F. in 158 fathoms, the surface temperature being 50 to 53 degrees F, :