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2 A BOON TO. HUMANITY. . Fairplay, of London, prints the following very perti- nent remarks concerning the bright thought of an English builder, in arranging a smooth and graceful christening. We think we have seen the same device resorted to in certain lake shipyards on _— occasions for a few: years past: - When a woman is about to shy a atone at an object— Say a predatory hen in the front garden plot—the safest place for any spectator of the exciting event, according to some: bachelor cynic or other, is close to the hen! Something of this sort must'have been present to. the mind of the gentleman responsible for the’ christening ventional gaily decked bottle‘ of——? was cunningly poised and held in suspension by a sort of pendulum device, so that the officiating lady could not, even by _ the wildest of wild shots, miss the “spot?—e, g., an area of the’ bottle and ‘the resultant spirituous sprinkling. The device works well; the bottle, suspended by the usual ribbon from deck, is held poised until, when re- leased, it swings “‘straight as. an arrow from: the bow,’- _ and smashes against the vessel by its own momentum. Shipowners and shipyard managers, therefore, may now breathe freely when at the prow of the goodly ship ‘ about to be conveyed to her native element. No longer 2 will it be necessary for a gallant, but secretly tremulous - manager, to chalk.a St. Andrew’s cross on the ship’s plating, and with abated breath say to the fair marks. woman, “Somewhere near there will do,’’ only to find _ that the bottle at the critical moment curvets round in’ front of the stem, and on the back swing comes whack against the plating on the opposite bow, sending splin- ters of glass and showers of liquor over the unwary spec- tators on the off-side.” The brilliant and beneficent in- _ ventor of the great device for preventing all this does not intend applying for letters patent. He magnani- _ mously foregoes all monetary reward, and presents the devce free gratis to all fellow fering managers. OP ‘COAL FROM THE COAST. The Philadelphia Record has worked up unwarranted _ enthusiasm over the fact that the whaleback steamer 1g Joseph L. Colby aud four barges, ‘which are now on their way to the lakes, were chartered to carry 5,500 tons of hard and soft coal for Geliv.ey at Montreal. _ The paper says: A’ broader market for Pennsylvania coal, both an- thracite and bituminous, is opened’ up by a contract which was signed recently. The new field is Canada, a large part of which has hitherto depended for its sup- ply on the inferior coal of Cape Breton, and the venture is especially interesting because the product of Penn- sylvania’s mines is to be transported across the border by means of whalebacks and barges. A- good ‘deal of American’ coal now crosses to Canada by rail by way of ra Falls, and this will be first serious attempt to wate up a large traffic by water. The distance from Philadelphia to Montreal? by water is about 2,000 miles, including the run up the St. Law- rence river, and it is probably the longest run ever made by a steamer towing a heavy’ fleet of barges astern. ‘This will'also be the first attempt to send _ American coal in barges to a foreign country. A paper so carefully edited as the Philadelphia es ord should see that the advantages in such a trade as that outlined above would be so overwhelmingly in - favor of the railroads that vessels would have no show in aregular trade of this description. ‘The Colby and her-tow needed ballast on their way to the lakes, and 4 one well afford to take low freight,-as it would practi- : be clear money to them. They are probably lucky 4 Baie a single charter of this discription, as the “4 arrangements at a. recent Clyde launch, where the, con-. age he operated a ferry-boat—a _ of 100-square feet or so—intended to receive the impact. CLEVELAND-JUNE 11, 1896—CHICAGO. coal is to be carried as far as the boats can get along with cargo. There is no danger of the trip being made, however, with the coal freight as the only inducement. ee ee eae cape ne Meet Marine Rucorp Life Sayers’ Series. CAPT. GEORGE W. PLOUGH. Capt. George W. Plough, keeper of the U. S. life-sav- ing station at Sand Beach, is one of the older men of the service, although he has not remained on duty continu- ously. Capt. Plough was born in Toledo in 1850. His father removed to Alpena when young Plough was only eight years old, and engaged in fishing. His son, when notin school, accompanied him, and thus cultivated his natural love for the water. When only twelve years of small skiff across Thunder Bay River. ~His father sent him to the State Normal school at Ipsilanti, Mich., intending him for a teacher; but while the youth learned rapidly and re- ceived.an education that has sincebeen of great advan- tage, the life of a pedagogue had few attractions, and CAPT. GEORGE W. PLOUGH. young Plough returned to the Lake Huron fisher- ies, remaining there up to the time of his appointment as keeper of Ottawa Point station, where he remained in charge six years. After this time Capt. Plough, who had married meanwhile and was raising a family, re- signed and went to Alpena to secure for his children the proper school advantages. He was appointed to the Sand Beach station in 1888. The Sand Beach crew is one of those most frequently called into service, on ac- count of the many craft that engage in the cross-lake trade, as well as the better known and larger fleét trad- ing up and down the lakes. ‘The crew has gone the en- tire distance to Port Huron, by round-bout courses, since the station was established. oD + Capt. Henry Cleary, keeper of the U. S. life saving Station at Marquette, is remodeling for his own use a steam launch, which he bought ata Oshkosh, Wis., lately. S2 PER YEAR. 10c. SINGLE COPY SUEZ CANAL ANNUAL REPORT. According to the report of the Suez Canal-Company, presented at the annual meeting on Tuesday of last week, the transit receipts in 1895 were 78,426,000 fes., or 4,299,000 fcs. above those of 1894, and surpassed only by those of 1891. The French and Italian expeditions to Madagascar and Abyssinia furnished 2,126,000 fcs. of this sum. Owing to a reduction in subsidiary and in- ereased expenditure in dredging and on the redemption of bonds, the year’s net increase stands at 3,172,000 fcs. The increased traffic has enabled the directors, while proposing a dividend of 71% fcs. or, with interest, 92% fcs. net, to assign 3 per cent. to the reserve fund, and to increase the annual allotment for renovation. ‘The balance from the last issue of 25,000 obligations will meet the outlay on new works to be continued during 1896. ‘The year’s traffic comprised 3,434 ships of 8,448,383 tons, producing a revenue of 75,934,000 fcs., while the 216,938 passengers produced a revenue of 2,169,000 fes., making with accessory receipts, a total of 78,426,000 fcs. It was the first transit of 250 of the ships. Three thou- sand two hundred and sixty-six passed through by night.. The average duration of the transits was 16 hours 18 minutes, being a reduction of 23 minutes. Of the ships 2,318 were English, 314 German, 278 French, 192 Dutch, 78 Italian, 72 Austrian, 57 Norwe- gian, 39 Russian, 36 Turkish, 33 Spanish, 5 American, 3 Portuguese, 2 Chinese, 2 Egyptian, 2 Japanese, 2 Swedish and 1 Danish. Of the military passengers 47,166 were French, 29,837 English, 14,618 Turkish, 10,675 Italian, 8,860 Russian, 3,194 Dutch, 1,794 Spanish, 1,334 German, 1,096 Portuguese, 35 Austrian and 26 Chinese. There were 74,878 civilian passengers, and 23,421 pilgrims and emigrants. rr Oo NOTES. TuE Clyde shipbuilders launched during May 33 ves- sels aggregating 22,000 tons, a falling off compared with last year of 26,000 tons. The fresh work secured reaches only 8,000 tons, as contrasted with 35,000 tons for last May. THE flags to be hoisted at one time in signaling at sea never exceed four. It is an interesting arithmeti- cal fact that, with 18 various colored flags, and never more than four.at a time, no fewer than 78,642 signals can be given. THE Dutch court having given judgment in favor of the North German Lloyd in their suit against the steamer Crathie, of Aberdeen, for damages arising out of a collision with the Elbe, the Crathie will be sold at Rotterdam next month by order of the court. A NEw portable search-light been put upon the mar- ket. It weighs less than 15 pounds, which permits its being carried without fatigue, or it can be supended by a chain and operated by the officer of the watch. With 15 amperes of current at 45 volts pressure, small objects, such as spar bouys, three fourths of a mile distant, can be easily made out, while sails have been seen three miles away. Av the annual meeting of William Cramp & Sons Ship and Engine Building Co., held in Philadelphia on May 28th, the following board of directors were chosen: Charles H. Cramp, Thomas Dolan, Clement B. Griscom, Henry Seligman, Wm, H. Barnes, Henry W. Cramp, Samuel Dickson, Ernest Thalman, Morton McMichael. The new board met at once and elected the following officers: President, Charles H. Cramp; Vice-President and Treasurer, Henry W. Cramp; Secretary and Audi- tor, John Dougherty; Assistant Secretary and Treasur- er, Theodore W. Cramp.