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1901.] - JAPANESE BATTLESHIP HATSUSE. The first-class Japanese battleship Hatsuse, recently constructed by Sir W. G. Armstrong, Whitworth & Co., Newcastle-on-Tyne, is cred- ited with being the most powerful warship in the world. She is 400 ft. long between perpendiculars with a beam of 76 ft. and a displacement of 15,000 tons on a draught of 27 ft. Her armament consists of four 12-in. guns, twin-mounted in barbettes on the middle line at the ends of the ship; and fourteen 6-in, guns, mounted in casemates, eight on the main deck and six on the upper deck; twenty 12-pounder guns, twelve 8- pounder guns, and four submerged 18-in. torpedo tubes. Her armor consists of a complete belt from stem to stern, 9 in. thick over the length occupied by the machinery and magazines, gradually reduced to 4 in. at the extremities. Over .the central portion occupied by the machinery and magazines side armor 6 in. thick is provided above the belt to the height of the main deck, and this is carried across the ship and connected with the central barbettes, thereby forming a citadel and protecting the bases of all the guns on the main deck. The barbettes enclosing the 12-in. guns are of 14-in. armor, the casemates protecting the 6-in. guns are of 6-in. armor and the armor of the conning tower is 14 in. thick. The ship has a speed of ever 19 knots an hour and is equipped with Belleville boilers of the latest type. peer + MW t b MARINE REVIEW. The Most Powerful Battleship in the World. 15 each year the elevating plant and other facilities will become the property of the commissioners. _ The company asks for 2,670 ft. of land of the harbor on Windmill pier, one of the principal piers, upon which it undertakes to erect a first- class modern steel or combination elevator or elevators and freight houses. The company also undertakes to construct, equip and operate a fleet of transports between Port Colborne and Montreal as soon as the facilities of Port Colborne admit of their bringing large, deep draught vessels to that port. The company will erect elevators at Port Colborne, the total cost of both elevator facilities and the transport fleet being $3,500,000. If the St. Lawrence all-water route from the great lakes to Liverpool can be made a success it is expected the company will be in a position to meet its obligations. During the first year after the completion of the Port Colborne improvements the company estimates it will handle at least 100,- 000,000 bushels of grain or its equivalent in other freight. Capt. Wolvin’s proposal is the first practical one that has been made and as it has been accepted by the Montreal harbor board subject to the approval of the government, it is expected that something will come of it. Another important project in connection with the development of the traffic-of Canadian ports is the improvement of what is known as the French river route. The French river is the outlet of Lake Nippissing into Georgian bay. It is an important factor in the Ottawa river scheme JAPANESE BATTLESHIP HATSUSE. CAPT. WOLVIN’S PROPOSITION TO MONTREAL. A dispatch from Montreal sets forth quite lucidly the purpose of the harbor commissioners to take steps to provide that port with facilities for handling the. grain output of the west. It will be remembered that Mr. W. J. Conners of Buffalo endeavored to form a syndicate to provide elevators, warehouses and other facilities and deposited $50,000 as a guar- antee of good faith. Mr. Conners was, however, unable to form the syndicate and nothing has been done. The commissioners have appar- ently awakened to the seriousness of the situation and they have decided if the Canadian government will agree and arrangements can be made with Mr. Conners to accept an offer made by Capt. Wolvin of Duluth. Capt. Wolvin was associated with Mr. Conners at the outset of the lat- ter’s undertaking, but, apparently realizing that it was doomed to failure, he withdrew. He now comes forward on his own account and undertakes to provide Montreal with all that it requires in the way of elevator and harbor facilities. : Capt. Wolvin’s scheme differs essentially in some respects from that of the Conners syndicate. It is his intention to organize a joint stock company which will issue bonds to an amount sufficient to cover the con- struction of the work in the harbor, not exceeding in the aggregate the sum of $750,000. These bonds will be for a term of forty years, bearing interest at the rate of 4 per cent. a year, payable semi-annually. After five or ten years from the date of the bonds the company will undertake to pay off annually bonds to an amount equivalent to one-thirtieth of the total issue at par. This issue of bonds will be secured by mortgage on the works to be erected and the harbor commissioners will provide a satisfac- tory guarantee to secure the payment in principal and interest of these bonds. In the event of the company failing to meet the interest as it comes due and also to pay the proportionate amount of bonds maturing for connecting the upper lakes with tide water by an almiost direct line from the exits of Lake Superior and Lake Michigan to ocean navigation on the St. Lawrence, cutting off the detour around the western peninsula of Ontario. Aside from its part in the larger scheme the French river offers advantages that will probably before long be utilized. Statistics show that the Canada Atlantic railway system by means of its Parry Sound connection brings more grain to Miontreal than has so far come by the upper river canals. The French river would afford an opportunity for establishing a second route as direct as the Parry Sound route. improved, as the Canadian government proposes to improve it, it will give a waterway from the head of Lake Huron into Lake Nippissing, whose shores are reached by both the Grand Trunk and Canadian Pacific railways at North Bay. North Bay is about a hundred miles nearer to Montreal by rail than Buffalo is to New York and while the water distance from Chicago to North Bay is 610 miles, that from Chicago to Buffalo is 1,060 miles, so that the saving in distance is some 500 miles. From Fort William and Duluth, whose traffic comes through the Sault Ste. Marie canal, there is an equal saving in distance to Montreal as compared with New York. Practically the advantage in Montreal’s favor is about one- third. At present much of the grain grown in the Canadian west finds its way to the export point by way of Buffalo. The possibilities of the French river indicate that as a mixed water and rail route it could be made to take from Buffalo much of its advantage in the matter of cheap- ness and expedition. Mr. Tarte, the minister of public works, under whose direction the matter will come, is disposed to push the work of improvement. The Cunard Steamship Co. has declared a dividend of 5 per cent. with a bonus of 2 per cent.