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20 MARINE REVIEW. [July 4, - DESTRUCTIVE QUALITY OF SUBMARINE MINES. » Whether or not the Maine was blown up by an internal or external explosion will very probably be known, a little later on, if the firm of N. F. Chamberlain & Co. of Chicago begin work, as they say they will, on their contract to remove the vessel. Their plan is to build a cofferdam about the sunken battleship for the purpose of raising her. The water will first be pumped 'out, the holes in her sides and bottom closed and the battleship floated. Should it prove to be an external explosion it will offer graphic evidence of the force of submarine mines. During the war with Spain much was published regarding the destructive qualities of these mines, but no opportunity was afforded during actual conflict to test them. A series of experiments, however, have lately been conducted in England which gave some idea to the layman through photography of the terrific nature of these explosions. Navy and Army Illustrated of London has just published an article upon submarine mines and their uses which the Review takes pleasure in reproducing in part: "Submarine mining is a general term used to designate the variots systems of offensive and defensive under-water warfare which a maritime nation might employ in its operation against an enemy. Offensive mining is exclusively a naval weapon, and defensive mining almost exclusively military, for though a fleet carries a small proportion of stores for the de- fence of a harbor, it is to be hoped that our navy, at any rate, will never be in a position which requires a retreat behind a temporary mine-field. Military mining is in the hands of the royal engineers, who have a corps ONLY SPLINTERS WERE LEFT OF THE BOAT, of men specially trained for the work, called the submarine miners. All the more important harbors throughout the empire are defended by mine- fields, whose unobtrusive, and often unsuspected, secrets are jealously guarded. "To begin at the beginning, a mine is a water-tight buoyant iron case, generally spherical or conical in shape, which contains a charge of gun- cotton. This charge is of various sizes, and its weight depends upon the special work for which the mine is designed. A contact mine will average about 100 Ibs. of gun-cotton, and an observation mine about 500 Ibs. The contact mine, as its name implies, floats near the surface of the water, and is fired automatically if:a ship bumps against it. The observation mine, on the other hand, lies 30 ft. or 40 ft. below the surface, and is fired by one or more observers on shore, who follow the course of the enemy's ship, and fire the mine when she is observed to be over it. Both kinds of miné "are, of course, moored in position by means of anchors or heavy sinkers. Both kinds of mine, too, are fired by electricity; indeed, it is only by the use of electricity that the modern mine-field is possible. Ad- vantage is taken of the fact that a current of electricity flowing along a wire raises the temperature of that wire by reason of the resistance which the wire offers to the passage of the current. If the wire is large the resistance is small, and the rise of temperature is inappreciable: but if at any point in this circuit the wire is made so small that its resistance to the passage of the current is very high, then the temperature rises. the wire becomes red-hot, and eventually fuses... Such a piece of wire about a quarter of an inch long and surrounded by gunpowder constitutes an electric fuse. The battery for generating the electric current is kept on shore. To each of the mines a cable is laid which is of sufficient size to carry the battery current without heating. Inside the mine it is con- nected to the fuse. Directly the current is allowed to pass the fine wire inside, the fuse gets red-hot and ignites the. powder round it, which, in turn, explodes the mine. : ; : 'A well-planned and efficient mine-field will be a most difficult thing fora fleet to attack. The shore stations are so small, and so easily con- cealed, and the destruction wrought by a mine upon a ship is so certain, that any man would think twice before attacking a place so defended. In the ideal harbor the mine-field lies well to seaward of the forts and the main positions to be held, so that to attack successfully the enemy must first cross the mined area before he can get to close quarters with those inside the harbor. At the same time, the mine-field is thoroughly well protected by light gun-fire against any boats that may be sent in to cut the electric cables or destroy the mines. The ustial plan adopted is to sow the mouth of the harbor with contact mines, keeping a central chan- nel defended by the deep-lying observation mines. By this means friendly ships can go in and out without fear of fouling the contact mines. Even _if.they did touch one, however, there would be no danger, for the great advantage of these electrically-fired mines is that when the batteries ashore are disconnected the mines are perfectly harmless. "There is another kind of contact mine which is also sometimes used, called the mechanical mine. It would never be used for defensive pur- poses except as a last resource. It is fired by means of a pistol or friction arrangement contained in the mine, and obviously, when once laid down, it is as dangerous to friend as to foe. When these mines have been laid on active service, and it has become necessary afterwards to raise or destroy them, the work of doing so has nearly always been attended with considerable loss of life to those employed on the work. The proper sphere of the mechanical mine is for offensive work, and, as such, finds a place among naval mines. It is conceivable that it might be made very useful under some circumstances. A gunboat or other swift light-draught vessel, armed with a dozen or so of these mines arranged to drop and moor themselves. automatically at the proper depth, could make a night raid upon an enemy's harbor, a favorite anchorage, or some narrow chan- nel used by him, and drop the mines there. The result could not fail to have a disquieting effect upon the enemy. "The other offensive operations which would be practiced by a naval force in connection with mining are: (1) Creeping with hooks and grap- nels for electrical cables connected to the mines, cutting them as found,' and so rendering the mines harmless; (2) sweeping with heavy chains, dragged between small steamers, across the mine-field and so displacing or destroying the mines; (3) countermining, or destroying the mine-field wholesale, by the use of enormous charges of gun-cotton." 5 SUBSIDIES OF NATIONS: THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT ASCERTAINING EXACTLY HOW MUCH MONEY IS PAID OUT FOR BOUNTY PURPOSES TO SHIPPING. : The British government has just published reports from its consuls regarding the shipping bounties of various countries. The compilation was made as a direct result of an inquiry from Lord Salisbury to the consuls. The reports deal with Austria-Hungary, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Russia and Sweden and Norway. The inquiry is particularly interesting to the United States as a new bill to financially encourage shipping has been drafted to be presented to con- gress next December. From the British report the following particulars are taken: In 1899 the Austrian government paid in bounties and for general postal services the sum of £318,988 (against £50,468 in 1890), of which £242,500 was for general subvention to the Austrian-Lloyd, £5,000 for special subvention to that company for parcel post services, £17,208 for subsidies for postal services in the Adriatic, and £54,280 for trading and trip bounties paid to the mercantile marine in accordance with the law of Dec. 27, 1893. The tonnage of the Austrian sea-going shipping has in- creased from 176,042 tons in 1890 to 196,909 tons in 1899. ae The bounties and subsidies granted by the Hungarian government to the Hungarian mercantile marine have increased from £63,791 in 1890 to £80,755 in 1899. Of this latter amount £47,500 was earned by the Royal Hungarian Sea Navigation Co. for running lines respectively from Fiume to Western Europe, North Africa and Brazil: £16,083 by the Hungaro- Croatian Steamship Co. for running lines to the Hungaro-Croatian, - Istrian and Dalmatian coasts; £4,166 by the Schwarz line for running ships from' Fiume to Ancona and Venice respectively; and £7,500 by the Hun- garian-Levant Steamship Co. for running ships from Galatz to Black sea and eastern ports. The total tonnage of the Hungarian mercantile marine has increased from 53,484 tons in 1890 to 62,777 tons in 1898. _ As regards Belgium it is stated that no bounties have been granted since 1852. The Belgium mercantile fleet consists of sixty-six vessels, aggregating 90,971 tons. To the Norddeutscher Lloyd of Bremen £3,200 a year is paid for their vessels from Bremerhaven'to East Asia and Australia, calling at Antwerp, in addition to the repayment of all pilotage and light-dues, etc., claimed from the company by Belgian authorities; while to the Deutsche-Australische Co. £60 is paid for each journey to or from Australia in the course of which their vessels touch at Antwerp. The total amount allowed for subsidies is £4,800, but this sum should be treated as a postal subvention rather than a bounty. The amount of bounties paid by France has increased from £461,641 _ (£122,180 for construction and £339,461 for navigation--tonnage and mileage) in 1889 to £648,000 (£196,000 for construction and £452,000 for navigation) in 1900, and the subvention for postal services from £962,259 to £1,067,271 in the same period. Of the latter figure for postal services £14,200 was for the France and Corsica line, £54,066 for the Mediterranean line, £10,000 for the Calais and Dover line, £450,320 for the New York West Indies and Mexico line, £243,347 for the Indo-China and Japan line, £74,000 for the Algeria, Tunis, Tripoli and Morocco line, £124.317 for the Australia and New Caledonia line, £76,985 for the East Africa and Indian Ocean line, and £20,036 for the West Coast of Africa line. The French mercantile marine has increased from 15,194 vessels, of 932.735 tons net, in 1889, to 15,489 vessels, of 957,755 tons net, in 1899. Sir F. Lascelles dealing with German bounties points: out that the annual sums granted as postal subventions in Germany cannot be re- garded merely as a payment for services rendered, as the sums were asked. "Yor establishing and subsidising German mail steamers between German ports and Australia, Eastern Asia and Africa." The bounties paid by