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1899.] MARINE REVIEW. 19 MORE THAN A MILLION TONS. INCREASE THUS FAR IN MOVEMENT OF FREIGHT TO AND FROM LAKE SUPE- RIOR--LARGE INCREASE IN GRAIN BUT MARKED DECREASE IN SOFT COAL, The canals at the Sault did not open this year until April 29 as against April 11 in 1898, and yet the movement of freight to and from Lake Su- perior to July 1 of this year is more than a million tons (net tons in all cases in canal reports) ahead of the movement to the same date in 1898. The exact figures are 6,409,086 tons on July 1, 1899, and 5,321,812 tons on July 1, 1898. The one item of special increase is grain, the shipments of wheat from Lake Superior to July 1 of this year aggregating 13,698,691 bushels, against 7,743,185 bushels to July 1, 1898. Of grain other than wheat, the shipments to July 1 foot up 11,478,996 bushels, as against 10,648,127 bushels a year ago. This large increase in wheat, and minor increases in other items, make up for a decided decrease in the movement of soft coal. Soft coal shipments to Lake Superior ports foot up to July 1 only 696,227 tons, against 1,051,328 tons on the same date a year ago. On the other hand the hard coal shipments, which are not however an im- portant item of freight, are more than double what they were a year ago. The shipments of hard coal to July 1 of this year are 257,319 tons; to July 1, 1898, 122,656 tons. Following are the full summaries to July 1 of each year for three years past: MOVEMENT OF PRINCIPAL ITEMS OF FREIGHT TO AND FROM To July 1, | To July 1, | To July 1, CE 1899 1398. i897. Coal, anthracite, net tons............... 257,319 122,656 108,179 Coal, bituminous, net tons............ 696,227 1,051,328 761,902 GON OH; TELE, WOM WS sconcaboacononso0onocadocs 3,917,675 3,722,548 2,566,910 Witeateibushiel si:scsere eres sseenesenerner 13,698,691 7,743,183 | 15,740,713 Fl Out Darvel... sccesceeotecenteceen eens 1,600,361 1,995,530 2,467,279 REPORT OF FREIGHT AND PASSENGER TRAFFIC TO AND FROM LAKE SUPERIOR, FROM OPENING OF NAVIGATION TO JULY 1 OF EACH YEAR FOR THREE YEARS PAST. EAST BOUND. _. ITEMS. Designation. poy 1, | To ae 1, | To dy. 1, COppetyccss.cc ceeacnceen Net tons.... 26,135 45,644 44,385 (rains cscs ccc ace Bushels.....| 11,473,996 | 10,648,127 7,734,933 Building stone............ Net tous... 1,273 8,075 2,818 OUT ose. coats case fee Barrels...... 1,600,361 1,994,828 2,467 ,029 TPONE OTe esses shee ane tek Net tons 3,917,675 8,722,548 2,566,910 MON, Pierced ecets Net tons 8,949 11,586 200 GWM DER. case skeees cose eee M. ft. b. m 254,754 243,160 225,319 Silver Ore... tse Net fons.,o|iisneccemce ce lheshcavae atau esas |ee carats sieges NANG E Seager canon nes dnace Bushels 13,698,691 7,743,183 | 15,740,718 Unclassified freight .....;Net tons... 48,201 78,005 75,305 IRASSEMP EIS c..sse te cesnes: Number.... 3,615 2,658 3,003 WEST BOUND. Coal, anthracite.......... Net tons... 257,319 122,656 108,179 Coal, bituminous......... Net tons .. 696,227 1,051,328 761,902 RUOUT ett eass sec oe ceeee eens Barrel sicneilescseceee sees. 702 250 Geraint roi cosccs scene Bushels .... 9,500 A 2DO> | cece cecoseenes eee Manufactured iron...... Net tons... 88,295 72,668 34,053 Sal thscaerctiss unto ees Barrels ..... 133,287 114,117 72,454 Unclassified freight..... Net tons... 115,326 136,178 108,464 Passengers..........0..0.0+- Number ... 4,704 3,823 8,041 SUMMARY OF TOTAL FREIGHT MOVEMENT IN TONS. To July 1, 1899. To July 1, 1898. To July 1, 1897. East bound freight of all kinds, net tons.............. 5,281,821 4,931,476 3,987,516 West bound freight of all kinds, net tons.............. 1,127,265 1,390,336 1,028,412 6,409,086 | _ 5,321.812 5,015,928 Total number of vessel passages to July 1, 1899, was 5,423 and the registered tonnage 5,873,790. A late artistic souvenir from the office of B. W. Wrenn, passenger "accomplish anything in the case of the Paris were a flat failure. trafic manager of the Plant System, is a copy of the farewell address of Gen. Robert E. Lee, which Mr. Wrenn says he deems not inappropriate as a Fourth of July memento, in view of the fact that the Spanish-Amer- ican war has obliterated all sectional issues and feelings. The Lee address is accompanied by a handsome lithograph of Gen. Fitzhugh Lee and a picture in colors of the new Plant liner La Grande Duchesse. The Compagnie Generale Transatlantique, better known as the French Line, is said to have purchased from the Spanish government the auxil- lary cruiser Patriota. The vessel, it is said, will be reconverted into a merchant ship, and will take the place ot the Bourgogne, lost on July 4 last off the Newfoundland Banks. THE RELEASE OF THE PARIS. Capt. Watkins, his officers and thirty members of the crew of the wrecked American liner Paris, still remain on the vessel, hoping against hope that some means for saving the big liner will yet be devised. Two months' exposure on Cornish rocks has, however, given 'the Paris very much the appearance of a derelict of years' standing. Pilots are regularly aboard ready to steer the steamer into harbor if she can be freed, but the divers have a slow and dangerous task. The rocks which held the ship are being blasted carefully, and hundreds of tons have already been re- moved in the effort to enable the divers to reach the main injuries beneath the boiler and engine rooms. Tons of rocks are being placed in the ship's stern in order to tilt up her bows in readiness for high tides when tugs will renew attempts to release her. The Paris is now held ior only about a third of her length. The 1,000 tons of coal in bunker No. 5 will be re- moved, a plate having been taken off the side, in order to facilitate the work. Among the discoveries made by the divers is that the principal leakage is in stokehold No. 1, and a 12-inch pump has been forwarded for use there. It is certainly remarkable that the vessel shows thus far so few indications of straining or weakness. The report of Capt. Watkins on the stranding of the vessel has been given out by the New York board of steamboat inspectors. He says frankly that the stranding of the vessel was the result of an unaccountable error on his part, in the calculation of the position of the ship. The in- spectors have suspended Capt. Watkins' license as a master of ocean steamers for a period of two years, but as above noted he is still in full charge. of the wrecked vessel, acting for the underwriters to whom she was turned over by the American line officials. Capt. Watkins' report is in part as follows: "Fog was discovered to be thick over the land, although there was no fog at sea. St. Anthony's light, which had not previously been seen, ap- peared bright and clear about 15 minutes after the vessel struck. I regret to say that the casualty was owing to an unaccountable error on my part. It is about 131 miles from Cape La Hogue to the Lizard, and the run be- tween these points would, I calculated, occupy 6 hours and 54 minutes. Unfortunately, I reckoned the time on this basis for coming up with the _ Lizard from 7:35 a. m., when abeam of the Casquet, instead of from 6:38 p. m., when abeam of Cape La Hogue, and the vessel was thus really eighteen miles ahead of the position I was acting upon. In addition, the thick weather over the land had obscured the Lizard lights. I attribute the stranding to the above cause, and take upon myself the full responsi- bility for it." The stranding of the Paris has emphasized the chronic complaint regarding the inadequacy of appliances for salvage work in Great Brit- ain. British engineering journals have been since the recent accident louder than ever in their complaint that the underwriters of the country, who undertake more maritime risks than all foreign competitors put to- gether, should be so easy-going in regard to salvage as to put up with the poor equipment of the London Salvage Association, whose efforts to It is even asserted by some experts that if immediately after the Paris went ashore a salvage steamer equipped with up-to-date appliances had been on hand she could have gotten the liner off in a few days. THE PARIS RELEASED. The German salvagers succeeded this week in releasing the steamer Paris. On June 11 they moved the steamer astern for a distance of 150 yards and shifted her position slightly to the eastward. It was the inten- tion of the wreckers to simply slew the stern of the vessel so as to facili- tate the operations of the divers, but it was found that sH® moved more freely than was expected and the three wrecking boats practically released her unaided. She still shows, however, a distinct list to starboard. As outlined above, the vessel had been weighted with considerable granite, with a view to hoisting her bows, but the divers still had difficulty in get- ting at the rock, hence the tentative effort to move the steamer. 'The vessel was gotten off late in the day, and the German wreckers, who were naturally much elated by reason of their success, declined the aid of several Falmouth tugs and decided that the vessel being in a position of comparative safety should remain)where she was for the night, the divers meanwhile continuing their work with a view to minimizing the risk of towing. CANADA'S MERCHANT SHIPPING. The latest official returns regarding Canada's merchant shipping have just been received from the Ottawa correspondent of the Marine Review. The total number of vessels of all kinds--sailing vessels, steamers, barges, etc., remaining on the registry books of the Dominion on Dec. 31, 1898, was 6,643, measuring 695,782 register tons. Canada's merchant vessels have been decreasing each year for a great number of years past, both as to number and tonnage. It is shown, for\instance, that as compared with 6,643 vessels at the close of last year, the number at the close of 1890 was 6,691, and the tonnage at the close of 1890 was 1,024,974, as compared with 693,782 at the close of 1898. Following is a summary of vessels owned in the different provinces at the close of each of the past four years: VESSELS ON REGISTRY BOOKS OF DOMINION OF CANADA. Dec. 31, 1898. || Dec. 31, 1897. || Dec. 31, 1896. || Dec. 31, 1895. a so ao so s ¢|Seéils a|Seells | 53815 «| Bes Provinces. ase aaa gue gad so wae a33 waa BS] eos || s°S |] Pog || s°a | Pha | 5 2) MER pap ee fonts See I ee seed rec ey Nags Weep) iil ey 2 New Branswick........... 903 | 89.257 || 923 | 103,584|| 964 | 115,506 || 975 | 192.417 Noa Beotin tae 2.167 | 262,176 || 2,204 | 983'056 || 2,669 | 317°526 || 2,683 | 343.356 Queber..:..... 1/378 | 144:447 || 1.480 | 158,077 || 1/469 | 188°649 || 12434 | 158°76 Outing ees 1/452 | 134,180 || 1,424 | 1357349 || 11525 | 146522 || 15508 | 148,669 Pow lsland 178 | 15,979 || '174. | 15.812 || "174 | 16340 || '190 | 19°303 British Columbia... 444 | 40,304 || 364 | 28,604 || 363 | 26,622 || 346 | 95,088 Manitebar:cais ee, 421 | 7,439 || 115 | 7,272 || 115 |, 0. | 106 | "7.307 --_--_||-_--_ | ee aay Wotal {eee 6,643 | 693,782 || 6,684 | 731,754 |) 7,279 | 789,209 || 7,262 | 825,836