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26 MARINE REVIEW. [August 16, VICISSITUDES OF THE SHIPPING TRADE. Here are a couple of illustrations of the vicissitudes of the shipping trade. It must not, however, be inferred tnat to go and do likewise would necessarily produce equally satisfactory results. Years ago a violinist in an orchestra at a foreign port had a strong desire to go into shipping. Having scraped together £4,000 he remitted the amount to a friend in this country, instructing him to expend it in getting a small steamer built anu sent out to him. The boat was to be of certain dimensions and ac- commodation, and was evidently intended for special business. The friend waited on a well-known shipbuilder and placed the matter before him. The builder said he could not construct the steamer for less than £7,000, and when asked by the agent to reduce the dimensions and do the best he could for the £4,000, replied that he could not see his way to that either, as it was clear to him that the vessel was meant for a special trade and that if she fell materially short of the rough specification sent over she would not be suitable for the employment. The friend then pro- posed that the shipbuilder should undertake the construction of the vessel for £7,000, looking to his principal abroad for the difference of £3,000, assuring the builder that there was not the slightest doubt about his re- ceiving payment, his correspondent being a very honorable man. | After thinking the matter over the shipbuilder ffell in with this sug- gestion, and the vessel was built, sent out, and the balance of cost came to hand in due course. What with extras, outfit and the expenses of the run out, she cost her owner another £1,000, or £8,000 in all. Immediately on her arrival out he chartered her to the government of his country for two years at £1,000 per month clear, that is, he let the boat on those terms to the charterers free of expenditure on his part. At the end of the term the charterers, who found the steamer extremely suitable and serviceable, offered to purchase her, and she was sold to them for £16,000. Thus the owner received, first, for the hire of the boat for two years £24,000, or exactly three times her cost, and at the end of that period, on her sale, £16,000, or exactly twice her cost, or, altogether, at the end of the two years, £40,000 for a vessel costing £8,000--being five times her original cost, or 500 per cent. on his original investment. This throws into the shade all the recent reports in these columns of exceptional trading re- turns on new ships followed by large further profits on the sale of them; it also leaves far behind the old-time records of vessels wiping off their original cost in between one and two years. But I have heard of another case which quite cuts out the above. Two small steamers were, many years ago now, built in this country for a firm in Australia, and were duly despatched to their destination. What I have to relate concerns only the smaller of the two steamers. Her size and cost have not been mentioned to me, but as will be seen by. the sequel she must have been very small, and probably her cost did not much exceed, if it did exceed, that of the boat referred to abeve. Some years after the vessel was built two men presented themselves at the office of the builder in this country, and, on being shown into his room the spokes- man said: "Sir, we are Australians. You won't know us; but being in this neighborhood we thought we would like to call and see you and tell you a little romance about a small steamer you once built for a firm in a See Only a few words more were needed to settle the identity of the craft. The spokesman then continued: 'Well, sir, we bought the little steamer. But, first, I must tell you that gold had been discovered up the river--(a certain river which he named) and that there was a tremendous rush to get to the place. To reach the spot by land was scarcely feasible, the road being through wild country--by which I mean that there was no regular road at all. The way to the place was by the river; but shortly after the rush commenced a curious accident took place. One of the largest steamers employed in taking men to the new gold region touched one of the banks with her stern, swung round and got the other end of herself fast om the opposite bank. She could not be re- moved, and in a short time she was the means of establishing a sand- bank across the central portion of the river. Well, sir, all the steamers engaged in this new traffic were blocked by the stranded steamer, one steamer alone could just get round her bows and carry on the trade --that was our little steamer, the one which you built. The journey was a short one, but under the special circumstances men were willing to pay us £5 a head for the trip, and consequently we saw our way to charge that very profitable rate, and we made a fine thing of the business. How much do you think, sir, we netted in the first year?' The shipbuilder said he could make no guess likely to be correct. "Sir," the Australian said, swelling up with justifiable pride, "we made £90,000 the first year!" I have not heard further details, but should not be surprised if the profits for the 12 months referred to reached 1,000 per cent.--Fairplay. Owing to the defective condition of dry dock No. 3 at the New York navy yard it has been found necessary to postpone the preliminary official trial of the battleship Alabama, which had been set for the 20th inst. over the government course off the coast of New England. The big ship is to be docked at New York preparatory to the trial, and it has been found that the dock must undergo certain repairs before it can be used for the purpose. It is said, however, that there will be no great delay in the matter and that the vessel can be tried in time to permit of her presence at Portsmouth, N. H., on the occasion of the big naval demonstration in commemoration of the historic fight between the Kearsarge and the Ala- bama off Cherbourg, France, during the civil war. It is proposed to have the modern namesakes of those warships at the coming celebration. The British battleship Vengeance has seventy-eight auxiliary engines on board, and the British first-class cruiser Terrible has ninety-three auxiliaries. The torpedo boat destroyers of the Mermaid type have eighteen auxiliary engines. mee ONAY PISTON AIR DRILLS That have Double-Balanced Piston Valves are the "LITTLE GIANT"? SPECIALLY DESIGNED FOR SHIP BUILDING.--They consume fifty per cent less air and do far more work than rotary or any other type of air drills. If you want to verify this we will send a machine on trial, and pay express charges both ways. Our Machines are made to withstand hard service. They can be operated in a bath of oil. Used by 85 per cent of the railways in this country, Absolutely no vibration. No. J.--Weight 27 lbs., will drill up to 21% inches in No. 2.--Weight 17 Ibs., will drill up to 114 inches in No. 3.--Weight 8 [bs., will drill up to ™% inches in Guaranteed against repair for one year. Made entirely of steel. 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