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26 TAE MARINE REVIEW LIVERPOOL SHIPPING LETTER Liverpool, Oct., 30--The suggestion has been made by Lloyds Register of British and Foreign shipping that the lengths of cables required by the rules of that society for steamships .are very much in excess of what are actually needed, with the result that steamers are condemned to carry an extra weight which, it is claimed, is quite unnecessary to the exclusion of a corresponding amount of cargo. It is further urged that Lloyds Register should reconsider their rules gs to stream and kedge anchors, on the ground that they are so very rarely needed that the cargo is more of an encumbrance than otherwise, apart from the question of catrying the' additional weight. The committee of Lloyds Register have invited the views of the Merchant Service guild which has a membership of over 10,000 shipmasters and officers, on the matter. The Guitd in replying state that they offer the strongest possible objections to any amend- ments of the rules in the direction suggested. The length of cables as at present enforced, are, they say, by no means in excess of what they should be, if due regard is to be had to the safety of the ship, whilst they admit that the full lengths are not used under ordinary circumstances, they in- form Lloyds Register that it is case of emergencies, such as bad weather or impending collision, every inch of the present cable-is urgently needed, and it is urged that the fact of these cables being of ade- quate length is a vitally important asset to the safety of a ship. On the point of abolishing or reducing the stream and kedge anchors, this also meets with the Guild's ey disapproval though these anchors are not commonly used, is pointed out that where a vessel happens to strand on aie perhaps is a flat, sandy, or muddy bottom, the value of these small handy anchors for use in assisting her off is unques- tionable, in fact, in some rivers they are absolutely indispens- able. Further the Guild state that any reduction such as those urged would make quite an inappreciable difference so far as a ship's carrying capacity was concerned. Their opinion is that to adopt the suggestions which have been made would mean diminishing the degree of a vessel's safety, and to do this the Guild hopes that the committee of Lloyds Register will emphatically decline: Sir William H. White, late director of naval construction lecturing in London on Oct. 24, on "Naval Construction," contrasted British warships with similar vessels built at cor- responding periods for foreign countries, notably France, and claim that taking ship for ship, and class for class, British ships, costly as they were, had been more economically con- structed. Our advance had been far beyond that in any 'previous period of naval history. Yet. with all the changes certain essentials had held good. The first was that the backbone of a fleet must be vessels capable of giving heavy blows--a view recognized by the Japs. who, in the crisis of the recent war, ordered still larger and more powerful ves- sels of that capacity, and the second was that they must be supplemented by other types of vessels. Alluding to the Japanese vessels, he observed that they were built very much on the lines of British vessels, which was a matter of no very small moment in view of the Anglo- Japanese al- liance, because British seamen could take possession of them if need be, and fight them with very little difficulty. _ Mr. James Gilchrist, the new president of the Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland, addressing the first meeting of the present session on Oct. 23, said that tur- bines were now being largely introduced on board ships, and the results already obtained had, been phenomenal. At present these results were only known to a favored few. Speeds had been announced, but reliable information as to initial cost, upkeep, and coal consumption had not yet been given. The two large turbine steamers (Allan liners), which had been running on the North Atlantic had done good work, ' would give accurate and reliable results. by no means rare that, in' in price, workmanship or design. cheaply as she can buy, but at the same time, the Russian -- but it was rumored that the coal bills were much heavier than was ever anticipated. Shipbuilders and engineers were, however, looking forward with great interest to the running of the Cunard liners, Caronia and Carmania, sister ships in every particular except for machinery, and vessels which The turbine Cun- arder Carmania is, by the way, almost ready for delivery, and is fixed to sail from Liverpool to New York on her maiden voyage on Dec. 2. The "boom" in British shipbuilding. i is still apparent, and shows no signs of waning from the number of new ships that are being booked. The situation at the moment is best described by the October report of the Amalgamated Society of Engineers, relating to Scotland. As an indication of improved trade the secretary reports that over 100,000 tons have been placed with various builders. Outside of the ma- rine shops, in mostly every other branch of the trade, orders are still plentiful, and not a few working at high pressure, overtime and night shifts being the rule. The prospects are best exemplified by the action of the employers on the wage question. At the conference in London in August last, the employers not only refused the application of the engineers for an. advance, but declined to entertain the sug- gestion of a compromise. Yet only six weeks after things had so much improved that they were now willing to restore the last reduction in wages. In the Newcastle district the report says that the local trade outlook has undergone considerable change for the better, one firm having paid 124% percent, whilst reporting prospects for 1906 "decidedly good." The remarkable change which has taken place in the general situation since the beginning of the autumn is says the Glasgow Herald, the result of a combination of favorable influences which have foiced themselves on the trade at large after the conclusion of peace, the latter hav- ing created possibilities of a vast expansion of trade in the far east, and accelerated the reawakening of industrial enterprise in European countries after several years of stag- nation. An expectant feeling has been created in those centers of the shipbuilding industry which turn out warships, by the decision of Russia to build a number of battleships and 'fighting crafts of lower types. Although Germany is on the alert and the United States likewise expectant, British build- ers are confident of a fair proportion of the orders, know- ing that competitors cannot cut them out altogether, either Russia cannot build as naval authorities will do some of the work in the dockyards. It is said that orders for armor have been secured already by two British firms, and altogether there seems to be a very fair prospect that British shipyards will benefit from Russia's need. The Red Star Line are gradually selling their old liners, which formerly maintained the. regular service between Liver- pool. and Philadelphia, and Antwerp and Philadelphia. The Pennland, Rhynland, and Switzerland were sold some time ago to an Italian ship-breaking-up firm, and have ended their. days on the shores of Genoa. Now the ship Neder- land has been disposed of to the same company for the same purpose. The Pennland was built in 1870 at Glasgow, the Rhynland in 1879 at Barrow, the Nederland in 1873, and the Switzerland in 1874 at Newcastle-on-Tyne. Owing to the withdrawing of their regular mail steamer by the White Star Line for overhaul, the usual mid-weekly transAtlantic mail was sent this week by the Norddentscher Lloyd steamer Kaiser Wilhelm II. This company's steamer Havel, in 1891, it appears, was the first transAtlantic liner in which a fully equipped seapost was established, with ar- rangements for sorting the mail bags during the passage. Since then similar arrangements have been made on board the steamers of the White Star and American lines, The