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1902.] MARINE REVIEW AND MARINE RECORD. 19 ing dock was built and the Ailsa Ship Building Co. was in- stalled as tenant of the adjoining yard. In August, 1901, the present duke of Portland sold Troon harbor to the Glasgow & South Western Railway Co., believing that it was not the province of an individual to hold a harbor in these days of keen competition. The Glasgow & South Western officials have decided to remodel and improve the harbor of Troon with the object of bringing larger vessels to the port. NOT AT ALL IN FAVOR OF SUBSIDIES. At a recent meeting of ship owners Mr. Walter Runciman, M. P., (a ship owner) spoke of the relation of subsidies to tramp steamers. He said that where subsidies were regularly given by governments tramp shipping languished. Subsidies given to particular liners would be unfair to other liners, and if given to all liners would be unfair to tramps. The future of tramp shipping depended, he said, not on subsidies, but on fore- sight, skill, and the enterprise of those engaged in shipping. He quoted the latest statistics showing that the gross tonnage of British tramps was nearly 8,750,000, against the liners' 5,000,000. As for the Cunard agreement, from the admiralty point of view the country might have got a "quid pro quo" but if it was done with a commercial intention on account of the Atlantic combi- nation his opinion was that the government had committed an error of judgment. builder) maintained it was a misnomer to speak of subsidies for British ships, either liners or tramps. So far the payments by the government had been only for services rendered. A 10,000-TON OIL CARRIER. There was launched a few days ago from the yard of Sir W. G. Armstrong, Whitworth & Co. (Ltd.) at Walker-on-Tyne, a steamer built to the order of the Shell Transport & Trading Co. This vessel was christened Silverlip, is 486 ft. in length, 55 ft. 3 in. broad, and 35 ft. deep. She is capable of carrying a total deadweight of 10,100 tons on a draught of 26 ft. 6 in., and has been designed for taking cargoes of oil eastward and for bringing home general cargoes, including even tea and silk. The problem of cleansing the vessel for the latter purpose has been solved by Sir Marcus Samuel, the chairman, and his consulting engineers. Sir Marcus Samuel has always advocated the claims of liquid fuel as superior to those of coal, but the cost of the former has hitherto prevented its taking the place of coal. With the extension and development of the Shell Transport & Trading Co. that obstacle is likely to be at least materially diminished. There is no doubt in many quarters that oil fuel is destined to play an important part in the immediate history of the mercantile and naval services. The Armstrong company is now engaged on a series of experiments to determine the best form in which it can be applied to the boilers of ships of war, where high pow- ers are required from comparatively small boilers. Sir Marcus Samuel says his business associates always desired, while earn- ing money, that they might benefit the whole community. If oil has such enormcus advantages over coal, let them by all means export their coal and give work to the miners at home whilst importing a better substitute as fuel and giving work to the ship builder. Sir andrew Noble (chairman of the Arm- streng company) says that Sir Marcus Samuel has done more than any man in kngland to bring forward oil as a fuel for maritime purposes. At Walker, Sir W. G. Armstrong, Whit- worth & Co., have done much in that direction, and of late cir- cumstances have brought very strongly to their notice the im- portance of oil fuel for men-of-war. NEW FORM CF STEERING GEAR. A new form of steering gear, in which the motive power was electricity, was fitted a year ago on board the steam yacht Valhalla, built in 1892 by Ramage & Ferguson, Ltd., Leith, for the earl of Crawford. The gear,- which was used during a five months' cruise in foreign waters, was a patented invention of the Hon. R. Brougham, in collaboration with J. S. White & Co., Ltd., ship builders and engineers, East Cowes, and Siemens Bros. & Co., electrical engineers, Woolwich. After the cruise referred to certain improvements were made on the gear, and last week it was tested thoroughly. The helm was put from hard over to hard over time after time when the ship was steaming full speed ahead; and also when steaming full speed astern, without the slightest sign of distress in any of the gear. The"vessel ha§ now proceeded. on a voyage 'yound the' world, and those on board' have confidence that the few gear, which can be changed from electric to hand or vice versa by one pull of a lever, will prove itself reliable under all conditions. In addition to the electric' steering gear Siemens Bros. & Co. have devised a means by which any form of steering engine, steam or electric, may be controlled from any position in a ship in which electric circuits are fixed without the usual shafting and connecting wheels, so that a captain can steer from masthead, forecastle or any other suitable position. The famous cruiser Terrible is coming to the Clyde for extensive overhaul by John Brown & Co., Ltd. Not only will the boilers and machinery be thoroughly overhauled and many of the fittings of the ship renewed but important structural alter- ations will be made, and the gun power increased. As originally built the Terrible had two single-story casemates in the waist Sir Theodore Doxford, M. P., (a_ ship: of the ship on the main deck. Over these on the upper deck a casemate will now be built with 6-in. armor, and she will then have, like the Drake class, four two-story casemates on each broadside, each with 6-in. quick-firing guns. Under the new arrangement of giving out repair work to private firms, John Brown & Co., Ltd., have got the Pelorus, the Aurora and the Terrible to put into condition. BIG BOAT RACE BETWEEN CREWS. The biggest boat race in the history of the American navy is soon to take place in the Caribbean sea where the squadrons are holding their winter maneuvers. The race will take place between crews representing various fighting vessels. 'The crew of the gunboat Nashville of the European squadron, one of the vessels mobilizing in the Caribbean, is the holder of the cup which was won in an exciting race in the harbor of Ville- franche last April from crews representing the other vessels attached to Admiral Crowninshield's squadron. It required the greatest efforts on the part of the Nashville's men to win the trophy, which is the gift of James Gordon Bennett. The crew has held the cup ever since. When the North Atlantic, the South Atlantic, and the European squadron, as well as most of the battleships and cru- isers unattached, were ordered to mobilize in the Caribbean sea for the winter maneuvers, the Nashville's crew immediately decided to make an effort to win the championship of the navy and issued a challenge for a race to every vessel that was to take part in the regular evolutions. Accordingly the challenge was issued and ship after ship has accepted the defi, and now nearly all of the fifty-odd vessels assembled in the southern seas have signified their intention to dispute with the Nash- ville's crew its right to the championship. The question now to be decided is the time and place of the race and the judges. The judges, although as yet unselected, will probably be Admirals Dewey, Crowninshield, Sumner and Coghlan, the four senior commanders of the huge fleet that is to engage in mimic warfare. 'To get an idea of what a splendid race the forthcoming contest will be it is only necessary to enumerate a few of the ships that are at present in the Caribbean. 'There is for instance the great battleship Lowa, Admiral Evans's own ship, which has turned out winning crews time and time again; the Illinois, whose crew has been vanquished by the Nash- ville, but who will be allowed another chance; the Olympia, Admiral Dewey's famous flagship; the battleships Alabama, Kearsarge, and the Massachusetts, besides about forty other vessels, big and small, each boasting a set of men that they aver can outsail anything in the American or any other navy. The boat crew of the gunboat Nashville, the champions of the European squadron, has probably the most enviable record in the United States navy. Besides the Bennett cup, they also hold a cup won at Colombo, in which they worsted the crew of the American cruiser Albany, and one of the crack crews of the 'British Indian squadron. 'The English boat the men of the Nashville met on that occasion was considered the crack boat of the British fleet, and the record shows that the British craft was easily beaten. On another occasion, in'a race with the Illinois boat, the Nashville's men say that the officers of the flagsuip had the boatswain's mate of the Nashville barred from sailing the cutter. In spite of this, the Illinois's crew was never in the race to any appreciable extent. The Nash- ville crew has had many other races besides these to its credit, and they have yet to meet a crew that can beat them across the finish line. The big race now about to be pulled off will decide whether there is such a crew in the American navy. DEATH OF MR. W. S JENKS. Mr. W. S. Jenks, sen- ior member cf the Jenks Ship Building Co., died very suddenly in the of- fice of the company at Port Huron last Friday afternoon. He was seated in a chair and was seized with a dizzy spell, and: before help could be summofied had passed away.': Death was entirely painless. Mr. Jenks was eighty- four years of age. He had been a resident of Port Huron for a great many years. With his brother, Orrin Jenks, he founded the Phenix Iron Works of Port Huron and later started the ship yard. Both in- dustries were subse- quently merged into the Jenks Ship Building Co. It is one of the leading industries of Port Huron, Mr. Ww. S. Jenks,