The Market Values of Ores or the prices at which ores were sold in many of these years will also be giv- en. The figures are gathered by a gen- tleman who has been long in the busi- ness and can be relied on in every par- ticular. The figures given are simply the average price at which ores were sold during the years named. For the year 1857, the average selling price of ore "per. ton) wah 9988" 9 in 1858 "it was $650. mi 1850) was $6; in 1860, 1861 and 1862 the average was the same each year, or $5.25 per ton; in 1863 it was $7.50; in - 1864 it was $8.50; in 1865 if was $7.50; in 1866 it was: $950; in 186/ it. was $10.50; in 1868 and 1869 it was $8.25; in 1870 it was $8.50; in 1871 it was $8; in 1872 it was $9; in 1873 it was $12; in 1874 it was $9; in 18/5 it was $7; in 1876 it was $6.75; in 1877 it was $6.50; in 1878 it was $5.50; in 1879 # was $6.25; in 1880 it was $9.25; in 1881 it was $9; in 1882 it was $9; and in 1883 it was $6.25 per ton. By comparing these figures with those paid for trans- portation it can be seen that the mar- gin for other expenses and the value of the ore itself was exceedingly small. An equally interesting story is gathered on The Moving Rates of Coal from the: lower to the upper ports or | from Cleveland to Chicago and Milwau- kee. One dollar and ten cents was paid on the opening of navigation in 1872 and the season closed at $2, the. average for the season being $1.58. In 1873 the opening was at $1.25 and the closing at 60 cents, with the average at $1.20. The year 1874 opened at the very low rate of 50 cents, and closed at $1.25, making the average of that year 62 cents. Sixty-five cents was the first figure for the year 1875 and the closing 60 cents, making the average 77 cents. In the year 1876 rates again opened at 50 cents, but closed at $1.12, with the general average of 57 cents. The year 1877 opened below the rates of the year before, or at 45 cents, and closed at 90 cents, a single charter being made as low as 38 cents but the aver- age was 55 cents. The year 1878 began at 35 cents, but advanced steadily until the close, when 73 cents was reached. The average this year was better than the opening figure, being 44 cents per ton. The year 1879 opened with a better rate than the year before, or 50 cents per ton, and advanced rapidly toward the close, until $1.28 per. ton was reached. The average of that year was 72 cents. In 1880, 55 cents was the opening figure, and the closing $1.05, the average being 85 cents. The year 1881 opened with the best rates since 1872, or $1.05, and closed at $1.38, making the average $1.20. "TAE Marine REVIEW PIG IRON SITUATION. Gloomy conditions predominate in the iron trade, due in part to the pro- posed radical reductions in the tariff on iron and steel products and the expecta- tion that the proposed tariff bill will not be enacted into a law until severai months have passed, Further pessimis- tic sentiment may be attributed to the failure of recent price reductions to re- sult in the development of business to any amount. There are of price cutting, pig iron stocks .are piling high, the market is dull and prices are weak, with the expectation of many plants being closed and a general re- duction in wages. An effort is being made to bring about concerted action to curtail production in the Pittsburg dis- trict and the Mahoning and Shenango valleys. Foundry. iron is selling in the south at from $11 to $11.50 Birming- ham for No. 2, and low prices are pre- vailing. in the central west and in the east. Some irregularity has developed in steel bars, but for the most part the price remains 1.20c Pittsburg. The de- mand for sheets shows some improve- ment. Persistent rumors of structural steel selling below 1.30c Pittsburg are heard. FUNNELLESS BATTLESHIP FOR ENGLAND The keel plate of the British battle- ship Indefatigable, which is to be an advanced Invincible, was laid down at the Dévonport dock yard recently. The armament and speed of the new vessel ate to be similar to those of the latest battleship cruisers, but she will be without funnels, and beyond her tripod masts, gun turrets and bridges, the up- per deck will be as clear as was the case with the old sailing ships when all their canvas was stowed. The construction of such a vessel is made possible by the recent development of the internal combustion engine and it is stated on good authority that the ex- periments which have been conducted by Vickers, Sons & Maxim for the adap- tation of this type of engine to large ships have been so successful that the British admiralty .has decided upon the construction of an entitely new type of battleship which will outdistance the Dreadnought quite as far as that ves- sel did its predecessors, The new battleship will be a veritable floating fortress, the absence of funnels enabling it to move all its heavy guns in a complete circle and fire all of them on either broadside. Probably the new ship will be armed with 13.5-in. guns and will have a displacement of 21,000 tons and a speed of 25 knots. Many rumors - NEW JAPANESE SUBSIDY LAW. The new ship subsidy law in Japan is likely to result in the abandonment of the European service of the Nippon Yusen Kaisha, according to recent ad- vices from that country. The bill is _ said to work greatly to the benefit of the new trans-Pacific line of the Osaka Shosen Kaisha and to the established trans-Pacific service of the Toyo Kisen Kaisha, but the Nippon Yusen Kaisha fought the passage of the bill from the beginning. S The new law provides that the mini- mum speed of subsidized steamers is tu be 12 knots, and an additional subsidy of 18 per cent for every additional knot per hour will be paid, while with re- spect to ships employed in the new lines the subsidy is increased 25 per cent. _ This will make the fast steamers of the Toyo Kisen Kaisha, which developed 19 knots, receive the largest subsidy. The new line of the Osaka Shosen Kaisha will receive a navigation subsidy of 32% cents per thousand miles per ton, while the Nippon Yusen Kaisha will get 25 cents per ton, : NAMES OF NEW BATTLESHIPS. The two new monster battleships for which provision was made by the last Congress, are to be named Arkansas and Wyoming. Secretary of the Navy Meyer in making the announcement classed ithe new vessels as "Dreadnought destroyers,' as they are far more pow- erful ships than those of the Dread- nought type which have recently been added to the navy, being, in fact, larger than any warships afloat. The two big ships have not yet been laid down and work cannot begin on them for some time, as the money for their construction is not available until July 1. They are to be each of 26,000 tons burden and will carry the heaviest batteries of any warships afloat. The choice of the names for the vessels so far in advance of their building or launching is unusual. PERSONAL, Lieut. Commander Hutchinson I. Cone has been appointed head of the Bureau of Steam Engineering of the navy, with the rank and pay of rear admiral. Commander Cone joined the Atlantic battleship fleet in its around-the-world cruise at San Francisco, where he as- sumed the duties of fleet engineer. Just previous to this he especially distin- guished himself by taking the torpedo boat flotilla from Newport News to San Francisco in safety. She