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MARINE REVIEW. ee ong U. S. Torpedo Boat Porter. The trial course of the torpedo boat Porter on the 11th inst. was from East Twenty-sixth street wharf, New York, up Long Island - Sound, around Montauk Point and back on the seaward side of Long Tland, to Sandy Hook The official report, says the Army and Navy Journal, shows that she accomplished this distance of 232 miles in twelve hours and three-quarters. The first three-quarters of an hour she was run under one boiler at a speed of 15 knots. Then she utilized a second boiler, making 20 knots with 160 pounds of steam and one- quarter-inch of air pressure forced draught. Upon the opening of the main stops with one inch of air pressure and 150 pounds of steam she made 25 knots. Between Stratford shoal and Falkners, she used three boilers with 200 pounds of steam and one inch of air pressure and at- tained, during this portion of her run, her maximum speed for the trip, 26.1 knots. On the return trip a leak in the main feed pipe oc- curred on account of which all the fresh water was lost, and one boiler only could be utilized and that with salt water, in addition to the evap- orators and distillers. The board, in commenting on the leaky flange, ascribes the accident to a defective' design, and recommends an im- provement therein. The board found the steering gear generally satisfactory, except that considerable lost motion was developed and much noise at times, due to the vibration of the attendant amidships rack, owing to defective design, or wear, which can be remedied by a modfication of the rack. Thumping of the starboard crank was noted, and higher temperature since the new design of strainer has been put on. At highest speed the trim of the craft was observed with a level and found to be 1.1° squat. Compared with the length of the vessel this is about three feet and four inches. On the next day's trial off Sandy Hook a test of the torpedo tubes was made, one torpedo being fired from each tube. The torpedo on the port side forward ran 600 yards with a deflection totheright. The torpedo amidships ran 150 yards, and with a faint line of bubbles, sank. The tube aft did not run owing to the screws not being unlocked. The torpedo guns worked well except the amidships one whose releas- ing trimming apparently did not function. The tactical diameter, determined for a speed of 17 knots was found to be 1100 feet. In the test of reversing the engines from full speed ahead to full speed astern, estimated at a speed of 17 knots, a loss of way of 25 seconds was found, and the boat stopped at two-thirds of her length. The time necessary to shift the helm by steam, from hard a port to hard a star- board, and the reverse, while going at full speed was 6 seconds. The hand steering gear is pronounced most satisfactory. _ No bad effects de- veloped from the use of salt water in the boilers. In concluding its report the board gives its opinion that a 12-hour trial is necessarily too severe, and recommends that in future the run of vessels of the class of the Porter be abridged. : In General. During a trial in Narragansett Bay, the torpdeo boat Dupont, on July 7, made a speed of 30.83 knots with a boiler pressure of 225 lbs., the revolutions of her engines being 420 a minute. The John P. Holland Torpedo Boat Co., of New York, on July 18, filed with the secretary of state at Albany, a certificate of an in- crease of its capital from $500,000 to $600,000 and an increase in the number of its directors from five to seven. Secretary Long will accept the recommendations of the board of. naval bureau chiefs as to' the award of contracts for three torpedo boats. In this case the contracts will go to the Harland & Hollings- worth Co., Wilmington, Del., the Gas Engine & Power Co., New York, and Wolff & Zwicker, Seattle, Wash. A Bangor paper describes the new schooner F'. A. Palmer as a Monster, and comments on her 3,000 ton cargo. Her principal dimen- Slons are, keel, 274.5 feet; beam, 43.05; hold, 21; poop, running from laff-rail to 15 feet forward of main rigging, 3 feet, 104 inches; gross tonnage, 2,052. The lakes has steel schooners a hundred feet longer that will carry almost twice as much cargo. A conference has taken place in the English house of commons in regard to a dispute between certain ship building firms and the admiralty . By the construction of the Blenheim, Grafton and heseus, the Thames Ship Building Company claims to have lost $575,000 and by the construction of the Endymion and St. George, Earl's Ship Building Company claims to have lost $450,000 net. he reasons given for the firm's losses are admiralty delays, inability to obtain plans, changes in construction, and failure of the heads of the construction department of the board to make up their minds exactly as to what they wanted. . aS % The river passenger steamer City of Monroe badly damaged by the. St. Louis cyclone, was rebuilt at the Barmore marine railways, Madi- son, Ind. She was lengthened to 320 feet long, is 45 feet beam and 8 feet hold and has capacity for 2,200 tons freight. She is lighted with 300 electric lights and electric fans were put in the ladies' cabins, The St. Louis & New Orleans Anchor line owns the new boat and her. name has been changed to Hill City. The ship building genius of Europe and the United States is just now deeply absorbed in the proposition made by the French govern- ment, which offers a series of very handsome prizes to those who shall devise really effectual submarine vessels. The recent experiments with the Holland boat have stirred the governments of foreign nations, and the French offer is believed to be the first of a series of such sug- gestions that will emanate from the various governments of Europe. The Holland boat has been run on the surface satisfactorily sev- eral times, but Commander Kimball's visit was made the occasion of the second step in the experiments. The party entered the boat, the sinking tanks were opened and the water was let in. The Holland gradually sank out of sight. She went down and rested on the bot- tom. After a short stay the compressed air was released from the tanks and the water which had sunk the boat, was blown out through the Kingston valves. The Holland came up promptly, and those who were inside said that the mechanism worked admirably, and that the test was satisfactory in every respect. What Does This Mean? A perusal of the history of railway transactions during the past four years shows us that this period has been the most disastrous, from a financial standpoint, of any other of the present decade. Un- der the circumstances it would almost seem as though the further development or improvement of railway facilities must cease. Yet, © strange to say, many notable instances prove that the contrary is true. In numerous instances, first class roads, despite the hard times, and general business depression, have made very decided advances, not only in the improvement of the material condition of the roadway itself, but likewise the equipment and service. And the public has been a great gainer by the public spiritedness of the roads. One of the most notable cases of railway development is the Nickel Plate road, which seems to have forged right ahead with its improvements and has exhibited an unrelenting determination to give the public the best possible facilities, in spite of the hard times. And how well this corporation has succeeded in its laudable efforts, the excellent condition of its system bears ample evidence. Yet the secret of this success is obvious: The people have responded very generously to a generous effort to give them the worth of their money. That is all. The people's money has enabled the road to better its facilities in every respect; thus the work has been of a mutual and reciprocal. character. The liberal patronage accorded the road has brought a handsome return to the people in the shape of improved facilities for travel, yet at the same time at lower rates. And now, it seems, the Nickel Plate road is still engaged in further efforts to serve the people well. It has a high class roadway to begin with; a most excellent equipment to end with, and a safe, fast, and reliable service for the delectation of its patrons. And in all, it offers a most attractive menu to travelers bound east or west in the shape of "A Peerless Trio of Fast Express Trains."--George A. Benham, special correspondent. It will be Commodore William Cumming hereafter, and not captain. Of course the captain at the head of the fleet is called com- modore sometimes, but Commander Wilde U. 8. N., secretary of the Light-house board sent recently for presentation to the captain of the Coralia a regulation commodore's pennant, with the fleet sign of a globe worked in white in one corner. It was presented as the result of an acquaintance that sprang up between them during the recent trip of Com. Wilde up the lakes, with Commander Lamberton of the second district. One of the Menominee steamers was several hours ahead of the Coralia going up Lake Superior, and she got her cargo of ore and was bound down before the Coralia gotin. The com- mander would not believe that it was the same boat until he saw the ore docks. If government officials would familiarize themselves with the lakes there would be no difficulty in securing appropriations.