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18 MARINE REVIEW AND MARINE RECORD. |. BLUE OUTLOOK ON THE CLYDE. Labor Unions About Accepting Reductions in Wages--Few New Orders for Ships--More Boiler Trials--Scotch Ship Building Letter. Glasgow, Feb. 7.--January is always a slack month here in the ship yards, and therefore there is nothing surprising in the fact that the launches from the Scotch yards last month were only thirteen vessels of 19,780 tons, of which ten vessels of 16,- 140 tons were the product of the Clyde, two vessels of 3,450 tons the product of the Forth, and one vessel of 185 tons was ihe product of the Dee. The principal items were a steamer cf 4,000 tons built by A. & J. Inglis for the British India Steam Navigation Co.; a shelterdeck screw of 4,000 tons built by Rus- sell & Co. for the Nelson Line, Liverpool; a steamer of 1,890 tons built by Ramage & Ferguson, Leith, for Currie's Hamburg line; a steamer of 1,500 tons built by Barclay, Curle & Co. for Donald Currie & Co.'s line; a sailer of 2,400 tons built by John Reid & Co. for German owners; a sailer of 2,000 tons built by A. Rodger & Co. for the British & Eastern Shipping Co.; a steam turbine yacht of 1,650 tons built by Ramage & Ferguson, Leith, for Mr. A. L. Barber of New York; a harbor steamer for Constantinople; a tug for South Africa; a barge hopper ° steamer for the British government; and some other craft. The month's total compares with 22,800 tons last year and with over 32.000 tons in the same months of 1900 and 1899. The new contracts reported during the month amount to about 50,000 tons, but some of the orders now admitted were actually placed be- . fore the end of 1902. Among the new orders are two Union- Castle liners of 8,500 tons for the South African mail service, one each to be built by the Fairfield company and Barclay, Curle & Co.; a 4,400-ton steamer for the Union Line of New Zealand, to be built by Wm. Denny & HKros.; a cargo liner of 5,500 tons to be built by Charles Connell & Co. for English owners; a cargo liner of 1,800 tons to be built by Robert Duncan & Co. for Liver- pool owners; an Anchor liner of 5,000 tons to be built by D. & W. Henderson & Co.; a coasting steamer of 3,000 tons to be built by the Dundee Ship Building Co.; a submarine mining steamer fer Canada, and three suction sand-pump dredges for South Africa, to be built by Fleming & Ferguson; a coasting steamer of 2,000-tons to be built by the Campbeltown Ship Building Co.; and a number of smaller vessels. es 'These contracts are so far reassuring, but in the majority of yards there is a sorry look out, and before long there will be a large number of unemployed workmen. Within the last few days:the ship building and engineering employers have -been re- ceiving deputations from the several trade unions wishful to dis- cuss and argue against the intimated reductions in wages. These reductions run about one shilling per week, or one fourth of a penny per hour. The ship yard workers wanted to act in com- bination of unions, but though the employers received delegates in a body they will fix up with each trade union separately. The - most important organization in this branch is the Boilermakers & Iron Ship Building Society, who are a well led, though an un- ruly body, and who are not likely to rebel against a depression which their executive officials recognize. If they submit so will the rest of the "black squad" workers. unions to ballot their members the ship building employers have agreed to postpone the date of reduction till the middle of this month. 'There is considerable doubt whether the ship carpen- ters--"'white squad"--will be allowed by their trade union to ac- cept the reduction, because that union is largely composed of joiners engaged in wholly different trades, in which trade re- ductions are not proposed but would probably follow on one in the ship yards. These are the men who have struck on the northeast coast of England and have embarrassed the ship build- ing trade unions there. They may do the same in Scotland. The engineers (or machinists as you call them) are in a separate organization and with their delegates the engineering employers had a conference this week. The Amalgamated Society of En- gineers and the Machine Workers' Union are given the whole of this month to ballot their members; that is to say the date of the reduction is postponed until Mar. 2. Should the votes of the local branches of these trade unions be against the reduction the matter will be referred to a conference of the executive councils of the employers' federation and the trade unions. ' SOME PARTICULARS OF NEW BATTLESHIPS. Col. Watts, the new chief constructor for the British navy, has developed designs for battleships to be included in the navy estimates to be produced in parliament early in March. These ships will be of about 18,000 tons displacement as compared with 16,350 tons of the King Edward VII class, with 15,000 tons of the ships of the Formidable class, with 14,900 of the Magnificent class and with 14,000 tons of the Royal Sovereigns class of ten years ago. In gun power and armament these ships will mark great steps in advance. In addition to the usual barbettes right forward and aft having pairs of 12-in. guns, there will be mounted eight 9.2-in. guns, placed in pairs in barbettes at the four corners of the citadel on the upper deck, instead of four guns placed singly as in the King Edward class. 'There will be a dozen 6-in. quick-firers in a box battery on the main deck, with armored partitions. For armored protection the new ships will have a complete broadside of 9-in. armored for the full length of the citadel. In the King Edward class the main belt on the To enable the several -- - [Feb. 19, water line is 9 in., but it is reduced to 8 in. for the next width of plate and finally to 7 in. for the upper part of the shell. In other respects these new ships will embody improvements, for practically all the additional displacement weight is disposable for improved fighting qualities. The hull, although a little larger, absorbs very little more weight. The increased length is a fac- tor making for greater speed. Although the King Edward VII is 2,350 tons heavier than the Duncan, the same power of machin- ery reduces the speed by barely half a mile per hour, 1834 knots as compared with 19 knots, a result partly of the extra 20 ft. in length. The same coal capacity gives the same radius of action. NEW FRENCH NAVAL PROGRAM. According to the new French naval ship building program, forty-nine vessels are to be commenced in this financial year, fifty-one are to be continued, and fifty will be completed. The total includes eight battleships, sixteen armored cruisers, one protected cruiser, twenty-nine torpedo boat destroyers, fifty-one torpedo 'cats, and forty-five submarine vessels. Of the battle- ships two will be completed, while two others in the dock yards and four in private works will be advanced. None will be laid down. Of the armored cruisers, nine will be completed, six in the dock yards will be advanced and a new vessel will be laid flown. This last will be a vessel of 13,562 tons, having a length of 515 ft., a breadth of 70 ft. 6 in., and a draught of 26 ft. 10 in. With three engines driving triple screws, 30,000 I. H. P. is to be developed, to attain a speed of 23 knots. British cruisers of the Drake class, with a displacement of 14,100 tons require only 30,000 H. P. for the same speed. The French cruisers will "have bunker capacity for 2,300 tons, which will give a radius of action of 1,200 miles at ro knots' speed and 1,025 miles at full speed. The vessels will carry two guns of 9.45 in. caliber, twelve of 6.5 in., twenty-two of 1.85 in., with five torpedo-launching tubes, of which two will be under the load waterline. ' An interesting feature of the French program is the sub- marine boats, of which nineteen are to be begun in the government works during the year; thirteen are to be continued and thirteen cthers completed. These to be continued embrace three differ- ent types, designed respectively by Romazzotti, Bertin and Mou-. gas. The first is of 160 tons displacement, with a length of 12134 ft. (and will be propelled by two propellers, driven by an internal combustion motor, and it is expected that the speed of this submarine will be 10% knots.. Another of the submarine boats has a displacement of 202 tons, the length being 135 ft. 8 in., and the speed in this case, it is expected, will be 11 knots. 'lne third is still larger, her tonnage being 213 and her length 143 ft. 5 in. Sne will have a single propeller and is expected to make a speed of 10% knots. REPAIR SHIPS FOR BRITISH NAVY. The British admiralty is equipping at. Chatham a repairing ship called the Assistance. The ship' was purchased some months ago, and the holds have been converted into the depart- ments usual in engineering works--smithy and forge with steam hammer, foundry with cupolas, machine shops with 'electrically driven tools, etc. the equipment being for the formation and completion of a piston suitable for a steam cylinder about 110 in. in diameter. This ship will be attached to the Chatham reserve as a training school for the boy artificers to be created under the new Admiralty scheme. 'These lads are to be entered at the age of fourteen to sixteen years, and to engage for twelve years' ser- vice from the age of eighteen. They will be sent to sea in the Assistance, where they can study every description of work. A sister ship, the Hecla, is being prepared at Devonport, and she will be used for the same purpose as the Assistance, and be asso- ciated with either Portsmouth or Devonport reserves. ' TIME REQUIRED TO BUILD SHIPS OF WAR. Some inquiry has been made in Germany as to the time taken in building warships, and the facts prove that Britain can afford to wait until we know all about the design of foreign ships before commencing to prepare the building of vessels to excel them. The Kaiser Karl der Grosse, a battleship built by Messrs. Blohm & Voss at Hamburg, took 40 months and 5 days to build. She is a vessel of 377 ft. 4 in. in length, 11,150 tons displacement, with four 9.4-in. and eighteen 5.9-in. guns, and with engines of 13,000 I. H, P,, to give 18 knots speed. The Wittelsbach, a ship of similar size, took about the same time in the imperial dock yard at Wilhelmshaven. The Zahringen occupied 35 months at Krupp's Germania yard. And the Wettin took 35 months and 7 days at Schichau's yard at Elbing. For much larger battleships built in Great Britain, 33 months from the order to the commis- sion is adequate, and some ships have been handed oVer in less time. The German ships are not equal to the Chilian battleships recently launched, and the Libertad could have been commissioned in seventeen months from the signing of the order. In British practice it sometimes happens that the order for armor and guns is not placed until six or nine months after the keel has been laid, and in such cases work is delayed, but under the decentralizing scheme at the admiralty, with,a separate superintendent of naval contracts, there will be an improvement in many respects. FURTHER HHYACINTH-MINERVA BOILER: TRIALS ' In a former letter I referred to an intended series of further boiler and speed trials by the Hyacinth and Minerva. These