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12 MARINE REVIEW. DEVOTED TO LAKE MARINE AND KINDRED INTERESTS. Published every Thursday at No. 409 Perry-Payne building, Cleveland, Ohlo, 2 by John M. Mulrooney and E M. Barton. Sunscriptron--$2.00 per year in advance. Single copies 10 centseach. Convenient binders sent, post paid, $1.00. Advertising rates on application. Entered at Cleveland Post Office as Second class Mail Matter. The books of the United States treasury department on June 30, 1896, contained the names of 3,333 vessels, of 1,324,067.58 gross tons register in the lake trade. The number of steam vessels of 1,000 gross tons, and over that amount, on the lakes on June 30, 1896, was 383 and their aggregate gross tonnage 711,034.28; the number of vessels of this class owned in all other parts of the country on the same date was 315 and their tonnage 685,204.55, so that more than half of the best steamships in all the United States are owned on the lakes. 'The classification of the entire lake fleet on June 30, 1896, was as follows: Gang Number. Tonnage. ae SC aaa Bbsdehastaetisesnecnsecenertsecsetes svipesensess es 924,630.61 Sailing vessels and barges...... , oat CAMA DOATS cccrcerccretsetccesecce 416 45,109.47 MOLAlneereteesestes Pesesvasstascnencenclaness==® 3,333 1,324,067.58 The gross registered tonnage of the vessels built on the lakes during the past. six years, according to the reports of the United States commissioner of navigation, is as follows: ; : ending June 30. 1891 204 111,856 45 Year fen 1892 169 45,968.98 "s pace 8 1893 175 99,271.24 ee ae Sy 1894 106 41,984.61 es af He 1895 93 36,352.70 en of cg 1896. 117 108,782.38 ROG RUetee tee orice cn cecce cadetcusevchescuctscavactetsassoeus 864 414,216.36 ST. MARY'S FALLS AND SUEZ CANAL TRAFFIC. (From Official Reporte of Canal Officers.) St.Mary's Falls Canals. Suez Canal. 1896* 1895* 1894 1896 | 1895 | 1894 Number of vessel passages- 18,615 17,956 14,491 3,409 3,434 3,352 Tonnage, net registered...... 17,249,418) 16,806,781) 13,110,366]; 8,560,284! 8,448,383] 8,039,175 Days of navigation...... ...... 232 231 234 365 365 365 *1895 and 1896 figures include traffic of Canadian canal at Sault Ste. Marie. A well-known naval architect questions the comparison of the traffic through the Suez and Soo canals, and claims that such compari- son is misleading, and apparently shows that the Suez canal passes far the greater amount of -tonnage. While admitting that the only absolutely correct way to compare the traffic would be the reduction of the total cargo passing through each year to mile-tons, it must be said that nothing said by the gentleman proves the Suez canal the greater. He reasons that if detention in port and the mileage was equal to that on the lakes the Suez would do twelve times the business it does. We _ think his patriotism has led him to make an extravagant claim. On the lakes the amount of tonnage passing the Soo canal depends on the production of ore, grain and other commodities. He makes an as-. sumption, and then multiplies by the assumption, and makes some imposing figures. The Soo canal figures are actual. And if the route of lake yessels passing the Soo was as long as the routes of those pass- ing the Suez canal, we would have more steamers. 1t may be that there is no fair means of comparing the amount of traffic through the Suez and Soo canals, but the Review will continue to give the com- parisons until better reasons than those given are forthcoming. An English exchange says that last year the United States carried only twelve per cent. of the total exports and imports of that country. So that, after a hundred years of national life, the United States are doing less than half the percentage of the shipping trade that was done by the thirteen British colonies prior to 1795. Meanwhile Great Britain, Germany, France and Italy have been steadily increasing their carrying trade. Of course England, France, Germany and Italy have been increasing their shipping, but the people have been paying for it in subsidies. This year the Campania and Lucania, Majestic and Teutonic will receive some $35,000 each. The P. & O. company will re- ceive about half as much for each of four steamers, and the Canadian Pacific gets $100,000 for their three steamers. The armament kept in readiness for such ships in England, in India, and in Hong Kong or Esquimault, consists of breech-loaders in place of the previous muzzle- loaders. In the event of war breaking out each ship is to be supplied with twenty-six seamen gunners from the naval depots, in addition to: a full complement of men from the Royal Naval Reserve. A Patent Steering Gear, Frank E, Kirby of Detroit, Mich., has patented a steering gear, The combination is with a rudder stock and a steam steering gear adapted to operate the same, of a tiller secured to the stock, a tiller loosely sleeved on the stock, a locking device on the loose tiller adapted to automatically connect the two tillers together, means for holding and locking the device out of engagement, and a hand steer- ing gear connected with the loose tiller. The combination with a rudder stock and steam steering gear, of two tillers, one rigidly secured WW << BS » Martine Enyaneeriny nesdy - to and the other loosely mounted upon the rudder stock,.an arm pivoted to the loosely mounted tiller, and provided with a yoke for engaging the rigidly secured tiller, and a lever for holding the yoke from engagement with the rigidly secured tiller. The combination with a rudder stock, and a steam steering gear for operating the same, of two tillers, one rigidly secured to and the other loosely mounted upon the rudder stock, an arm pivoted to the loosely mounted tiller and provided with a pendent yoke to embrace the rigidly secured tiller, and a lever pivoted to the arm for holding it elevated with the yoke | disengaged from the rigidly secured tiller. In General, The Navy Department will expend during the next few months more than $500,000 in dredging operations at the various navy yards. The most extensive work will be at League Island, Mare Island and Port Royal, but about $60,000 will be expended on improvements to the entrances to the docks at New York, Washington and Norfolk. One of the largest steam tugs on the great lakes is now under construction at the Bell Steam Engine Works, Buffalo. The boiler for this tug is to be furnished by Thomas Kingsford, Oswego, N. Y. This boiler is to be of the flat crown sheet type with double furnaces and single combustion chamber, each furnace 5 ft. by 6 ft. 6 in. long. Each furnace is to have four main fire flues'17 in. diameter. Boiler will contain 196 tubes, 3} in. diameter by 12 ft. 4 in. long. Diameter of shell 12 ft. Length of boiler 16 ft. Steam drum 48 in. diameter by 8 ft. long. Height of boiler to top of shell 13 ft. 7 in. Boiler to be built for a working pressure of 150 lbs. Under the new regulations for measuring boats the following instructions have been received at the custom house. The carrying capacity of boats shall be determined by the following rule: Mullti- ply the outside length, outside width and inside depth together, and the product by six-tenths. The quotient will be net cubic feet con- tents. Divide the product by seven for river steamers, and for ocean, lake, bay or sound steamers divide the product by ten. This willgive the number of persons such boat will be allowed to carry. Example --The carrying capacity of a boat twenty feet in length, five feet in breadth and three feet in depth will be determined as follows for river steamers: 20x5x3x6-7--180-7--25 persons. For ocean, lake, bay OF sound steamers, same dimensions, 180-10--18 persons. i i lac ear ld